Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  Shocked, Daimon didn't even think of what the sight of him would do to them.

  But it was his shadow that scared them first, which was strange in that they hadn't even bothered to see what the threat was, and Daimon knew there were no other dragons in the realm of Kalesia.

  With sheiks of terror, they all fled inside the caves—obviously their dwellings.

  Adults spilled from the caves and shook their spears at Daimon, while some sent arrows streaking through the air.

  Not wanting another poke in the side, Daimon gave a mighty surge and swiftly rose back up into the sky. He cleared the top of the wall, and thinking he was home free, let out a breath of relief.

  Then he almost smacked into a massive blue creature.

  He dove to the side and craned his neck to look back.

  What he saw almost made him fall from the air.

  It had large thin blue wings that flapped really fast, and was utterly breathtaking.

  A giant ... butterfly?

  It looked to be just that, except for its size and the razor-sharp legs, or tentacles, or whatever they were. Still, it was an amazing creature with wings of deep sea-blue that bled to black on the edges, and large shiny black eyes.

  Daimon had never seen anything like it, and it was just over half the size of his dragon.

  It zipped around, and with an ear-piercing, angry trilling, charged after him.

  A thin stream of green goop shot from two long feelers.

  Startled, Daimon pumped his wings and raced to get away.

  He flew hard and fast until he couldn't see the crazy mutant flappy-flappy insect anywhere.

  Then he found a ridge with a flat area on top and landed.

  The strange energy inside of him was not helping matters, and suddenly he needed to rest for a moment and get his bearings. He set the children clutched in his talons on their feet, but he'd barely let them go when something stung his side where the arrow was lodged.

  The mutant butterfly-beast was back.

  With a roar, Daimon covered his charges with his wings as the creature attacked. More high-pitched, trilling pierced his ears, and streams of what had to be venom tried to penetrate his scales.

  Daimon shot a blast of fire at it, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of such a beautiful creature being a mutant terror.

  It came at him again. Sharp razors raked the scales of Daimon's back and neck.

  He swung his head around and blasted it with more dragon-fire until it turned to ash.

  The two he'd been protecting shouldn't have gotten hurt—he'd used his body to keep them safe. But still he worried as he moved away. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't see or smell any blood.

  He shifted into his human body and the arrow fell to the ground, though his side ached.

  With a growl, the girl jumped to her feet, while the boy slowly got up and dusted himself off.

  The Ilyium, when they were in soldier training—from age five or six until adulthood, wore gray uniforms, while the rest of them wore black robes. However, these two were dressed in cream doe-skin pants and tunics adorned with crystal beads down the front. The girl's garb was a bit fancier than the boy's, but it didn't matter. Daimon knew it was the Ilyium's celebration-wear.

  He groaned as he recognized the dark-haired, green-eyed twins from the few times he'd been in the Ilyium city.

  Chapter 4

  Trouble

  Trouble, with a topping of Oh No! That's all he could think. Yup, no doubt about it, things were definitely worse than he'd thought. These weren't just any children, but the Ilyium's most powerful witches born in thousands of years. The celebration of their fourteenth birthday had been the reason the Ilyium hadn't been available to help Daimon, his father, and brothers fight off the demons earlier this day.

  Dark hair a mess, and fury gleaming in her green eyes, the girl started toward Daimon. "How dare you!"

  "Whoa, what?" He froze as the orb of fiery magic in her hand grew bigger.

  "No, Caro!" Her brother grabbed her arm before she could lob it at Daimon.

  Daimon raised his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, I just needed to get you both away from the demon, and then that ... mutant ... flappy-flappy beastly creature attacked." He shook his head, still shocked at what had happened. "Anyway, I'm Daimon, or Dai."

  "I know exactly who you are," the girl snapped. She let her twin hold her back but didn't lower the fireball.

  "I'm not your enemy, I promise. I'm dragonkind, and it's my duty to protect you both until we can get back home," Daimon said.

  The girl scowled. "Protect us by flying us on a wild ride that almost made us lose our lunch? And as for getting back home, did you use the spelled-bomb my people created on the portal?"

  "I did."

  "Right, so then did you notice that the portal imploded? That it is now gone, as in no longer in existence?" she asked, a haughty glare upon her face.

  "Caro, stop," the boy said, then looked at Daimon. "I'm Elan and my sister here is Caro, and we thank you for saving us from that brute, and that ..." He looked at the pile of ash that was slowly scattering on the breeze.

  Caro glared at her brother. "It might have been a mutant, but it was a butterfly, what could it really have done? Stop acting like we're friends, he carried us off in his claws."

  "They're talons," Daimon said, ignoring his still stinging skin where the butterfly venom had hit him, but her comment regarding the portal stung. He didn't want to think about what it meant not only to the three of them here, but to those left behind in their world.

  "Talons, Claws, whatever!" Caro snapped. "In case you didn't notice, the portal is gone, and we'll be long dead before the Irod queen regains enough power to open another one."

  Daimon was well aware, he just didn't want to think about it too closely.

  "Ah, Caro?" Her brother tugged on her sleeve. "What's that?"

  "What?" she asked in annoyance, then looked past Daimon and paled. The fireball fizzled out and she clutched her brother's arm.

  Daimon glanced behind him to see what had them so freaked.

  His mouth dropped open.

  A swarm of flying insects darkened the sky like a cloud as it grew steadily closer.

  Daimon thought it was going to come right for them, when it stopped and hovered over one of the brilliant colored fields of crops down below.

  It was more blue mutant butterflies, like the one that had attacked him.

  They circled above a lush purple field.

  Down below, they could hear the pounding of hooves, as a large group of Irod demons raced to the same field.

  "What are they riding?" Elan asked.

  "Never seen the like before," Daimon said. The Irod rode astride strange, eight-legged beasts. They were short, sturdy things with seven humps upon their backs, and each beast carried six demons between their humps. "But they sure can move."

  Daimon and the twins watched as the Irod halted, jumped off their steeds, and got into a fighting formation, bows ready and shields held in front of them.

  In the sky, four butterflies with a hue so dark it was almost black, broke off from the swarm.

  They watched as what was obviously the leaders, each led a larger group of lighter blue butterflies away from the main one.

  As they attacked the Irod, an irritating droning—the same trilling noise the butterfly who'd attacked him had made—only amplified, filled the air.

  They swarmed the demons, while the rest of the swarm continued to hover, though they added their voices to the biting cacophony, making it unbearable.

  Daimon cringed and clapped his hands over his ears, and noticed that the demons didn't seem to like the sound either.

  Caro glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

  "That doesn't bother you, that horrid, ear-piercing noise?" he asked her.

  "No." She turned back to the scene unfolding below them.

  "Those aren't butterflies," Elan said, pointing to anot
her group headed toward the swarm.

  "What are they?" Caro asked, as this group landed not far from the fighting.

  Daimon wasn't sure, but they appeared to be some kind of hideous winged spider-creature, and he hated spiders.

  The four darker-winged mutants broke away from their troop, dipping and diving in what appeared to a very organized attack. They were fast, and when they grew close to their prey, their long thin tails lashed like razors at the Irod. From their antennae, the mutants released streams of neon green goop at the Irod.

  Daimon figured it had to be some kind of paralytic venom, judging by how the Irod dropped when it touched them.

  "Even with their primitive weapons the Irod managed to bring a few MB's down," Daimon said. But the words had barely left his mouth, when another one left the swarm and took its place.

  "MB's?" Elan asked.

  "Yeah, mutant butterflies. Or, buttfaces," Daimon said.

  The Irod fought valiantly, but they were like ants fighting a vulture. The MB's were bigger and faster.

  Caro gasped. "Look!"

  "What is it?" Elan asked.

  Daimon and Elan looked to where Caro was pointing, and they saw three Ilyium witch children who barely looked to be nine or ten years old raise their hands simultaneously. Then magic blasted from them.

  Butterflies dropped. And more joined the fight.

  Daimon's stomach dropped at the devastation below them.

  The annoying hum rose in pitch, and the main swarm finally swept low and spread out over the lush purple crops. They hovered for a long moment, then the crops seemed to curl up, and a neon green vapor began to rise into the air.

  As one, the mutant insects rose back into the air and the entire area slowly morphed into one of the neon green puddles.

  Daimon wrinkled his nose at the sulfuric stench.

  "You were saying?" Elan asked his sister, watching the horror take place below them.

  "Okay, so maybe the things aren't so harmless after all," she said.

  The main swarm rose back into the sky and hovered while their fighting brethren slowly broke away from the Irod and took wing back to the main swarm.

  The Irod attempted to retrieve their wounded, but the hideous spiders raced in and snatched up the bodies, then they jumped into the air and began to fly away in jerky creepy movements.

  "Where are they taking them?" Caro asked.

  Daimon shuddered. "The bigger question is, what do they plan to do with them?" The words had just barely left his mouth, when a thundering crack of red lighting blasted across the sky.

  With yells, the Irod all leaped back onto their steeds and turning the beasts about, raced off.

  Daimon expected the butterflies to follow them, but the mutant swarm turned and raced away as well.

  "What just happened?" Elan asked. "Lightning scares them?"

  "No idea," Daimon said, but he noticed the air had suddenly gotten much cooler, and the sun was almost gone from sight. The two moons were rising swiftly and seemed as if they were growing larger. The ugly black and purple clouds continued to gather and roll in with shocking swiftness. A cloying, pungent odor—worse than the green stench on the ground—filled the air, making it hard to draw breath. Then a tall wall of what appeared to be blood-red fog, headed their way across the land. "I think we need to find somewhere to spend the night, and fast."

  "What do you suggest?" Elan asked, fear in his voice.

  Daimon scanned around at their choices, which weren't many. "We find a cave that's not inhabited by the Irod."

  "And how are we getting there?" Caro crossed her arms over her chest, though her voice wobbled just a bit.

  "I carry you." Daimon shifted, and before either of them could protest, he scooped Caro and Elan both up and took to the air. They flew over a thundering herd of thin, four-legged creatures with twisty antlers as they raced across the land in a panic.

  Heart thundering in his chest, Daimon knew without a doubt that needed to find a safe place and fast.

  Chapter 5

  Red Fog of Death

  Ice flakes that he couldn't see in the air, coated Daimon's wings as he flew away from whatever was approaching. A prevailing sense of evil swept in with it, freaking Daimon out even more and giving him a sense that something really bad was headed their way.

  The energy inside him ignited, and the urge to turn and fly into the evil swept through him.

  What the—?

  He fought the pull, but it wasn't easy. He turned in a circle once, then again.

  But finally, the sight of the encroaching red fog, or whatever it was, as it boiled toward them with a fury, seemed to help.

  The energy's demand upon him eased up.

  The clouds roiled angrily in the sky as thunder boomed, and streaks of red lightning zipped and cracked through the air, piercing the ground with a vengeance unlike anything Daimon had ever seen before.

  He'd always loved to watch the storms on Tartaria, but this one just about scared the scales off him.

  Daimon dipped down into one of the gullies and concentrated on flying fast while searching the rock walls for a cave high enough that the Irod couldn't easily get too. As soon as he found one that he figured might work, he slowed and hovered outside it. He used his senses to scan, and when it didn't appear there was any living being inside, he finally entered.

  He set his charges down, and then quickly shifted. White dust particles hovered around him for a moment, then disappeared. "Weird." He drew on his power and set protective wards at the entrance, praying that they worked. He'd never actually had to set any before, though he'd been taught how.

  "A little warning next time you grab us would help," Caro grumbled.

  "There wasn't any time," Daimon said as he inhaled a deep breath. "I smell dirt and mildew, which means if we're lucky there might be water here somewhere." At least he hoped that was the case. The cave was bare, but at least the air was breathable. "Wait here while I make sure this place is demon free."

  "What, what?" Caro began, but Daimon ignored her and moved deeper into the cavern. It narrowed at the back, and he had to turn sideways to fit through. Pain bit into him.

  On the other side, the cavern opened into a much larger chamber, and Daimon lifted his shirt. He had a small wound on his side with bruising right where the arrow had gotten him.

  But it wasn't bad and seemed to be healing.

  He let his shirt fall, and then opened his senses and concentrated. A distant trickle of sound—running water, came to him. Daimon followed the noise down a narrow tunnel that zigzagged in a steady decline. The scent of mildew continued to grow stronger until he could hear a dull roar that echoed off the walls.

  He kept going, and finally turned a corner and grinned. The waterfall wasn't huge, but it filled a basin large enough to swim in. Daimon bent his head and drank deeply, letting the water soak his hair and face.

  Satisfied at his find, he quickly returned to the first cavern. "There's no sign of demon or anyone having been in here, and I found us fresh water." Both the kids were now shivering with cold.

  "Water is good, but how are we going to stay warm?" Caro asked, rubbing her arms.

  Daimon thought of going to find some wood, or something to burn, then peered outside. Thunder continued to rumble, and the sky was a mass of angry black clouds that sounded like furious banshees. The red lighting whipped the world in stinging lashes, though not a drop of water fell.

  But it was the carpet of thick, blood-red that covered the ground and blocked everything from sight that gave him chills. It felt like death.

  Did this realm even have forests? He hadn't seen any, but then again, they hadn't gone that far. Yet.

  Daimon turned away and motioned his two charges to follow him into the second cave. The air was already a bit warmer, though not enough. "We'll stay here tonight, and tomorrow I'll find us some food and something that'll burn so we can have a fire."

  Neither said a word, though the events of the day
were clearly catching up.

  "How are we going to get back home?" Elan finally asked.

  "We aren't," Caro said.

  "We'll think of something," Daimon told them, then changed the topic. "Are you thirsty?"

  They both nodded.

  "Okay, let's go get a drink," Daimon said and led the way back down to the water.

  "You didn't say it was an underground waterfall," Elan said, face lighting up.

  Daimon grinned. "And we have our very own swimming pool as well."

  After they'd quenched their thirst, they went back up and settled down against the wall. The twins huddled together to keep warm.

  "It's so cold." Teeth beginning to chatter, Caro tucked her hands under her arms.

  As a dragon shifter, Daimon didn't feel the cold to the same degree, but he knew that his charges were human, and they'd freeze if he didn't do something. "I suppose I could shift back into my dragon and you could sleep beside me." Caro blinked at him as if he were crazy. "I promise I won't hurt you, and you'll be warm."

  The twins looked at each other, and seemed to be communicating silently, though as far as Daimon was aware, the Ilyium weren't telepathic. But these two did share a twin bond, and according to his siblings, the ones who were twins or triplets, that was a powerful bond, so he supposed it was possible.

  Elan finally nodded. "All right."

  As Daimon shifted back into his dragon, he could feel the otherworldly energy swirling, but it didn't turn him into any weird ten-legged beast, so he was good with that.

  He lay down and opened his wings, holding still so as not to scare the twins.

  Elan sat down beside him, and with a deep, resigned breath, Caro joined her brother.

  Daimon let out a small blast of flame that filled the cave with warmth, then lowered his wing over them, trapping some of the heat under his wing to keep them warm.

  They both relaxed and snuggled closer to him.

  Daimon waited until their breathing evened out, and then he rested his head on the ground facing the entrance—and any danger that might come for them. Satisfied they were safe for the moment, he looked deep inside of himself at the two different energies. His was a mix of colors, while the portal magic was pure blinding white.