by Aidy Award
A baby's screams pierced the air. Behind the rock stood an ancient-looking crone dressed in layers of black tattered robes, holding a crying baby. Jules had seen her before, but almost didn't recognize her without the sticky silver substance all over her face. In her other hand she held a glowing red-hot whip. That woman should definitely not have a baby. Where was the supernatural social services when you needed them?
She didn't know which way to go. Dax was alive, but unmoving and going to be under attack in about ten seconds. But the children were in the clutches of evil and probably about to be tortured. Fear for them all spiked through her hitting her skin like a prickly biting Nor'easter wind.
"Damn it, Jules. Get the necklace to the girl or we're all going to die." Fallyn had a sword in one hand, and pulled daggers from her vest and leggings, tossing them at the demons one by one. She took off heads and arms and legs, turning the onslaught of enemies to sludge in her red-leather clad samurai, crouching demon hidden dragon wake.
And here Jules was sitting around whining like a toddler. She didn't know what to do. Saving the world meant losing the one person who'd become the most important thing in her life. Impossible. She couldn't choose between them and that meant they were all going to die. "I can't."
Fallyn sighed. Middle of fighting literal demons from hell and she sighed. She chopped off the head of the nearest wyrm and stood up, pointing the golden sword directly at Jules. "Get your head out of your ass and use your goddess-given powers, witch. Why do you think I brought you down here?"
"Don't you see? I don't know how. Blowing a little puff of wind isn't going to do a thing to stop everyone from dying. I can't save the world. Even if I am a witch, I'm nothing special ." The goddess had chosen the wrong woman to give the power over the elements too. She wasn't worthy because she couldn't even figure out how to use them or what to do in a serious life or death situation. She should have chosen someone else. Anyone else.
Fallyn yanked the sword back and threw it at Jules. "Use your powers."
There was no mirror this time. When it struck, it was going to kill her. Either that, or hurt truckload. That's what she got for following a morally questionable crazy lady and betraying the love of her life in the process.
The one voice that could make a difference popped back into her head.
You're special to me, lass. You are to a lot of people. I know you don't see that, and that flabbergasts me. But take a look around you. You matter to us all.
A fire started in Jules's chest. She raised her arms over her head and time slowed all around her. The world sparkled with a golden light emanating from her. In the span of a breath, she glanced over to where Dax's body still lay prone on the ground. Up on the raised stone, Ellie reached for her, eyes pleading for help. The baby wailed behind her. In front of Jules, Fallyn's body glowed with a red fire that shined in her eyes and she directed that right at Jules.
From one of the other tunnels a pack of wolves were frozen in mid-air, ready to pour into the fray and fight for everyone's lives. Everyone she cared about was here. Her friends, her family.
They needed her help. They didn't need her.
I need you. Powers or not. I need you for you.
The pure love and sincerity in Dax's words boosted Jules’s own confidence in herself like nothing else could. If Dax could believe in her and need her, maybe, just maybe she could believe in herself, too.
She blinked and saw a flash of the immediate future. She knew exactly what to do. She let time catch up with her again and whew, boy did the world erupt around her. Time to take action.
Jules plucked the sword flying toward her out of the air. Not knowing how to handle a storybook weapon, she gripped it like a baseball bat and swung for the fences. The power of wind and sun vibrated inside the sword and Jules used it as an anchor for focusing her powers. Light poured out of her and the sword in huge explosive bursts.
She needed to get herself one of these things. After she saved the world.
The demon dragons surrounding her, the stone where Ellie was, and the ones all over the cave melted in the sunshine she filled the room with like they were the Nazis who looked into the arc of the covenant at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Gross and totally awesome. The gladiator dudes fighting all around her cheered and about half of them shifted into fierce and angry gold dragons.
The remaining ones were still chained, but the women holding their leads were blinded by Jules' light. The men and dragons took advantage of the distraction and either freed themselves or their brethren. A few of the newly freed and shifted threw the women who had been chained to them against the walls or bit their heads off.
Fallyn rushed toward one of the remaining women and blocked any of the dragons from attacking her. "Get back. You can not destroy the Winter Shadow."
The other women rushed to gather behind them and several gold dragons lashed out at the group with rays of sunshine of their own, gusts of gale force winds, talons, and tails. The band of women would have gone down if the attack hadn't been blocked by two huge golds. They landed in front of Fallyn and the women who had just moments ago held them as slaves.
They were going to have to take care of their own problems, Jules still had more work to do. She bolted to her dragon's side and kissed his big ole scales snout. "Dax, babe, are you okay?"
Each place where her lips touched his dragon face, little fires erupted and soaked into his skin. His eyes fluttered open and while they were that of a dragon, she recognized Dax in them too. "Don't you go dying on me, you butthead. I need you too, you know."
Sorry, I was distracted by your utter beauty, that and the fact that you weren't dead. Or allied with evil.
A huge roar filled the cavern, shaking the rock so that pieces of dirt and stone rained down on them from above. Dax extended one of his wings over her head, shielding her from the worst of it. The roar was answered by bellows from at least half a dozen other dragons. Jules peeked out from under Dax's wing and saw the Black Dragon facing down three other ones almost as big as he was. The gold one stood at the front of the pack, the tip of the sword, but was backed up by a red and another black one.
She'd seen all but the other black one in her vision. They all had a certain something special about them and instinct, or maybe her newfound psychic powers, informed her these dragons were the alphas. The ones Dax called Wyverns.
Jules blinked like before and saw another glimpse of the near future. The Black Dragon would not die this day. He was going kill the three Wyverns with help from that crone. He would get away and take Ellie with him.
Jules blinked again and saw a different future. One where she ran toward the standoff, slipped the necklace over Ellie's head, saving her.
She swallowed down the bile rising up the back of her throat. She could save Ellie and the Wyverns. She would also die by the hands of the Black Dragon if she did.
Dark Versus Light
Dax was hurt bad. He was pretty sure one of his wings was broken, along with several ribs, and internal organs. He should be dead. He couldn't care less about his injuries. Jules was alive and well, and whoa was she ever powerful. He'd never even seen Cage wield wind and sun the way Jules had with that sword over her head like a freaking lightsaber.
The force was strong with this one.
Not to mention the way she'd pulled the fire inside of him up to heal his wounds just now. Her love had done that. He had to live. For her.
"Flabbergasted, huh?"
Completely, lass. I will spend the rest of my days proving to you exactly how special you are, if you'll have me. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I'm a fool. He put on his best Elvis impression, even if his voice was still a bit weak. But I can't help falling in love with you.
She nuzzled his snout and in a low husky voice said, "Thank you, thank you very much."
She was so fucking cute. He wanted nothing more than to finish this battle so he could get her home and do lots of dirty things to her. He slowly got up to his feet. H
e wouldn't shift until the fire in his dragon could heal more of his injuries. Besides, this was the best way to fight, beside her. More than anything he wanted to wrap her up in cotton and protect her from the horrors of hell. No can do. She was born to be a warrior. Ready to finish this with me?
Jules bit her lip and if he was in his human form he would have joined her in doing that. "I am, but you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you about how we go about doing this."
The standoff between the Wyverns and the Black Dragon raged on the other side of the room, pulling Dax's attention out of his little bubble of love and life with Jules. The Black Dragon wouldn't let them get any closer to the Black Witch, who was performing some sort of ritual over a baby and the girl.
Go on.
Jules glanced toward the black swirling magic around the children too and lifted her chin, setting her jaw. "I figured out how to control my visions of the future and I've seen two outcomes here. In one we all die."
I vote for the other one then.
She narrowed her eyes at the Black Witch and tightened her fists. "In the other one, we save the world. But … I die."
I choose C. None of the above.
"Yeah, me too. But unless you know where to find a Green Witch and that Blue one who didn't seem to think she was a witch, I'm out of ideas."
Did he know where to find a Green Witch? Of course he did. While half the dragons had been led through the shadow down into this pit of hell underneath the Dragon Tree by Jett, the Demon Dragon Wyvern, Cage, and Match, a contingent had stayed up above with the wolves to battle any stragglers or escaping evil doers.
That contingent happen to consist of his good buddy Steele who was mated to Fleur, the most powerful earth witch around. Plus Jakob and Ciara were up there with Azy. When Kai and Jada arrived from all the way on the other side of the world in New Zealand, they would have all the most powerful Wyverns and witches. Dax had no idea how he ended up in this elite group, but he knew without a doubt that Jules belonged on the team. Where she went, he would follow.
Indeed I do. They're both up on the surface at the Dragon Tree. What's your plan?
"What? Oh. I don't really have one. I just know that we need all the witches and all the dragons to hold off the Black Dragon and Ereshkigal. If we can do that, I can get this to Ellie." She dangled a necklace with a glowing charm in front of his face.
And?
"Umm. I don't know what happens after that. I just know Ellie and Izzy need these necklaces and they and their dragons are the key to defeating the Black Dragon. I haven't tried to see that. Fallyn showed me."
Crazy Fallyn? The one over there defending the succubae who imprisoned the gold dragons?
Jules nodded and bit her lip again. "She's not evil. She's just scared. There's a lot she doesn't know about the world. There's also a lot she does know but it's really confusing and I don't understand most of it. I just know she's on our side."
Okay. I don't trust her farther than I can throw her, but I do trust you. Let's make this happen. I'll call the other dragons down and tell them to bring their mates. Then you get with them and do your thing. Don't die, you hear me?
Jules reached out touched his face and he pressed into her hand. "I won't if you won't."
Deal. Ready?
She nodded and Dax mentally broadcasted to the other dragons. He had no idea of the Black Dragon could hear him or not, but it wouldn't matter in a minute anyway. Surely he couldn't sustain his position against an attack of all the Wyverns and their mates for very long even if he knew they were coming.
The Black Dragon roared and a whole new batch of demon wyrms formed in the shadows. The first wave of them were taken out by the Demon Dragons and the Golds who had escaped. Still more came. The lull in the battle was over.
Dax sent up a quick prayer to the First Dragon for strength and courage and then watched as his mate joined Fallyn and the succubae. She said something to the group and Fallyn whooped. That was one strange chick. Match had his hands full with her.
The ceiling of the cavern opened above them as great roots reached down from above. The wolves howled in a hair-raising cacophony and it seemed as if the world was ending. Not today, it wasn't. Jules and Fallyn threw up some kind of magical shield over themselves and the falling debris, then as one moved toward the Black Witch. Dax still couldn't fly, but he could lay down suppressing fire.
He lumbered forward and shot flames at anything that moved in the general direction of Jules. He was joined by a whole host of allies. Jakob, Steele, and Kai slid down from the ceiling and shifted in midair to their dragon forms. Right behind them were Azy, Jada, Ciara, and Fleur, who dropped gently to the floor on a big branch.
Jules waved the women over and had soon enveloped them into Team Ladies-Who-Kick-Ass. Their plan was working.
The Black Dragon and Ereshkigal had their backs up against the wall and were being attacked from all sides. Dragons, wolves, and witches were all working together for the win.
The witch bared her teeth and pounded the raised stone block the girl and the baby were on. "If you want this dragon's soul, Kur-Jara, hold them back. I need more time. He's a stubborn brat."
The Black Dragon opened his wings and spread them wide. A darkness blacker than anything Dax had ever seen spread from underneath them. He roared and spewed black fire and smoke into the air above the triple threat army fighting him. The ground beneath them all bubbled and boiled as the blackness spread and the same oily evil rained from the cloud above them. The first of the dragons to be touched by the black roared out in agonizing pain. Their skin burned under the onslaught. Several took to the air, but the dark rain from above pierced holes in their wings and sent them soaring back to the ground.
Dax was far enough away that he wasn't yet touched by this torturous device of the Black Dragon. He was also helpless to do anything for his fellow warriors. He had try anyway. He sent one last plume of fire over the heads of the women and jumped into the rain of fire. He ignored the pain, his broken wing was mostly numb anyway.
A drop of the vile liquid hit him square in the face and it seeped into his skin and penetrated his skull. The darkness in his own soul surged up to protect him. His vision clouded over with blackness and his injuries mattered no more. He knew only death and destruction now. He took to the air, spreading his own wings though one didn't obey his commands and he faltered on his path toward his target.
No matter. He would sacrifice all to kill his enemy. He was joined by another dark one and together they stalked toward the one with a soul blacker than their own. No, it wasn't blacker, it was empty. The absence of light tricked him into thinking the creature had a dark soul. He did not. He was nothing.
The creature clapped its wings together and sent all but he and the other dark one hurtling into the abyss of evil. The abyss ruled by the Goddess of the Underworld. He could do nothing for those poor souls now. He and the other dark one must kill the soulless beast before them. A light, bright as the sun, emerged from behind the beast. The Goddess held a sparkling soul in her grasp.
She must not be allowed to give it to the soulless one, the other dark one whispered to him. Destroy it. Destroy them all.
They moved toward the Goddess and the soulless one. Something else caught the attention of the darkness in Dax's soul. A light that crawled out of the abyss. This one golden like the sun. It hurt his eyes to even look toward it, yet he felt salvation with in it.
Wait. Light calls to light.
He and the other dark one paused. The light grew and added more colors. Gold, blue, green, white, red tinged by darkness, and all touched by shadow. The light floated toward the Goddess. She didn't like the light and hurried to stuff it all into a vessel. She clearly didn't understand the power of the soul and it did not fit into her chosen container. Only a shard of it could be contained.
She screamed out as the light got closer, and dropped the soul and the shard, retreating back to her abyss. Good. Now they could concentrat
e on the soulless one.
The beast roared and reared its ugly head. It dove for the remaining disembodied soul. Dax and the other dark one flew into the battle, fighting with all their might against the unnatural beast. It tore at their flesh and still they fought. The light cried out and sent power to them even though Dax didn't understand how they could afford to spare that surge. The light was not his enemy, but it wasn't his friend either. Light did not ally with dark.
He and the other dark one growled at the light and while it shivered and recoiled, it continued to give over its power to them. So be it. They would use that power to defeat the soulless one.
The bright soul hovered, lost. The golden light darted forward away from its pack and laid a sparkling charm on a smaller dimmer light near the soul. The soul quaked and reached for the sparkling charm. It touched the charm for only the briefest of moments and then sank back into the body it had been ripped from.
That angered the beast and it called forth its dark army. Dax and the other dark one tore through the demons like the nothingness that they were. The beast had nothing to defend it now and no prize to fight for. They could destroy him.
The soulless beast stank with fear and turned to flee into the abyss as well. The light blocked its path but it barrelled its way through them, knocking all aside except for the red light tinged with a darkness of her own. Dax was distracted by the distress of the golden light.
He did not care. The golden light reached for him. He did not care about it. Her. Nothing mattered except destroying the beast. Yet the light called to him. His darkness receded. There was light inside of him too.
You betrayed me, little red devil, the beast said to the shining red light. I protected you from the dragons all those years, and this is how you repay me. You are dead to me, daughter. I will protect you no more. Death to a dragon is your fate now.
The beast struck out at the red light with its tainted fire and Dax could do nothing. The golden light held him hostage. He could not resist her pull on his soul. The other dark one was not hampered by the light and threw himself at the soulless one. No, not at the beast, but in front of it, between the black fire and the red light.