“If you’d been here, you’d know already,” I say dryly.
Uther clasps his bomb to his chest. “This is my phase bomb. It’ll open a gateway to Zephyr’s compound. We know Lianna’s being held there. Maxon found some old maps in the library. The best point of entry will be the forests surrounding the place.”
It’s a scary plan that could wrong about a million different ways, and Raj and Zee know it. Raj’s eyes slightly widen with fear. Zee doesn’t twitch. Then again, he’s a hard-core warrior.
“What happens then?” asks Raj.
“We find Lianna and kill Zephyr. Ty is off in Furonium getting back-up from Tempest.”
“Oh, I see,” says Raj in a low voice. “Do you really think Tempest will show? He’s a…”
“Moody son of a bitch,” I finish. “I know. Hey, I’m not saying that the plan’s guaranteed.”
Uth smiles. “For the record, I’m really excited about this. Great plan.”
“Thanks, Uth.” He’d love anything that involved his bombs. “Let’s get started.”
Raj straightens his backpack. “We’re ready when you are, Your Highness.”
I freeze at his words. The guys never call me ‘Your Highness’ unless we’re in a super-dangerous mission. And this one’s got all the marks of a disaster.
Uther’s bomb. Finding Lianna. Relying on dragons. Killing Zephyr.
Time seems to stop as I scan the faces of my friends. They all look set for action, and yeah, they’ll follow me anywhere. Worry churns up my ribcage. We’ve all been in tough battles before. None like this one. I’m risking their lives so I can save my girlfriend, not protect the thrax.
“Look, guys.” I rub my neck in an anxious rhythm. “This isn’t an official mission. If any of you want out, now’s the time to go. I won’t judge you. This is all a little crazy.” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Okay, a lot crazy.”
A long pause hangs in the air while I wait for the guys to march out the door.
“I can speak for all of us,” says Zee. “We want to do this.”
My voice comes out thick with disbelief. “Why?”
More silence follows until Uther gets up the guts to speak. “We lost you,” he says simply. “Like a year or so ago.”
His words take my breath away. It’s all I can do to stare at the wall, my face burning with shame. “And here, I thought I had you all snowed.”
“That’s not important,” says Uth. He takes a step closer to me. “What’s important is that she brought you back. You started smiling again, man. Lianna brought our friend and prince back to us. We’ll do anything for her.”
His words echo through my mind. For a year, I was only sleepwalking through life. Now, in the last few days, I’m alive again. Happy, angry, you name it.
She brought you back.
“She did, didn’t she?” I ask.
“Yeah,” says Uth. “We’re not letting that go. Not for anything.” He lifts his arms, offering me the small silver box. “So stop whining already and set off my bomb.”
I shake my head. “You sure have a way with words, Uth.”
Taking the bomb from Uther, I place the small metal box on the floor by the stone wall. In my mind, I picture the forest outside Zephyr’s palace: A creepy place filled with bare white trees and waves of choking smoke. I lean over the box, hit the red button and wait.
It doesn’t take long.
One wall of the stone chamber crumbles in on itself. Gray smoke pours into the room, covering the floor. Beyond the open wall, tall white trees stretch out into the murky distance. Long and bare branches reach up into the night sky like bleached skeletons.
Uther jumps up and down. “It worked! It really worked!”
I pat him on the shoulder. “Nice job, man.” I gesture to the other guys. “Let’s move out.”
Zee and Raj answer in unison. “Yes, Your Highness.”
As I step through the wall, my boots move from hard stone onto the soft earth of a forest floor. Tall trees surround me as I make my way toward our first objective, the outskirts of Zephyr’s compound. Behind me, the others march over the same low pile of rubble and follow my trail. The moment we’re all secure inside Zephyr’s lands, the Antrum wall reforms, trapping us in the realm of air elementals.
A spark of excitement flares in my chest. For the first time since Zephyr threatened Antrum and grabbed Lianna, I can actually do something.
The four of us hike in a rough line through the darkened forest. Every step sounds like a drumbeat in the quiet night. Smoke hovers up to our knees. A sickly sweet smell fills the air. Makes me want to puke if I think about it too much.
The rustle of wings sounds nearby. Jetal lets out a squawk.
A pair of crows lands on an empty branch right above our heads. Acting in unison, Raj and Zee point their crossbows at the birds.
“Hold your fire,” I say. “Let me get a closer look.”
I approach the crows. The guys follow slowly behind me. There’s not a lot of moonlight. Still, I can see that the birds have stone eyes, razor-sharp wings, and rusted nails for claws. Both of their rib cages have been cracked open, then sewn back together at an odd angle using leather strips. Bits of mangy straw peep out from the needle holes.
“What the hell are those things?” asks Zee.
“Cross between taxidermy and zombie, far as I can tell. It’s the work of a demon warlock named Silas. Class A job.”
The joy in Raj’s tone is unmistakable. “You think he’s nearby?”
“No doubt.” I scan the darkened skies. “Let’s hope Tempest gets here first, though.”
“Why?” asks Zee.
“I took an oath not to harm Silas. Long story.”
Zee frowns. “Think it applies to us, too?”
“Yeah, I’d assume so. Let’s just say that Silas is a crafty demon and I’m not willing to risk you guys being on the wrong side of his spell.” I stare at the birds a bit longer. Their stone eyes shift, looking each of us over in turn. “These are scouts. You guys have fire bolts on you?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” say Raj and Zee together.
“Take them out.”
A second later, Raj and Zee fire off their weapons. A quick zing sounds in the air, and then the crows go up in smoke. Raj and Zee exchange a high five.
“That was easy,” calls Raj. From his backpack Jetal lets out a happy caw.
“Keep your voices down,” I say. “There are more of them.”
Uth stares at the smoldering bird carcasses, his head tilting from side to side. No doubt, he’s calculating how best to blow them up going forward. Gotta love Uth.
“How many more of these birds do you think there are?” asks Uther.
“Lots.” I reply. “Remember the Scarlet Horde?”
“Yup.”
“More than that.”
“Cool.” Uth pats down the pockets of his body armor. “I brought a ton of mini-grenades. They’ll be perfect.”
“That’s good news, Uth.” I scan the skies. Everything’s clear, both of crows and dragons.
Damn, I hope the dragons get here first.
We march along through the darkened forest. More of Silas’s crows appear in the trees. Raj and Zee have a grand time striking them down, but there are only so many flaming bolts that they can shoot without a magical refill. We need Ty here and soon. More and more, I’m wondering why I sent away my only wizard.
At last, the outline of Zephyr’s compound appears through the trees. It’s a series of huge concrete blocks, each about one-story high and without windows. Some wooden structures peep out from behind them, but they’re far off in the distance.
Lianna’s in one of those buildings. The thought sends fresh adrenaline coursing through my system.
There isn’t time to analyze the view. A figure steps out from behind one of the thick tree trunks. It’s a girl, or what’s left of one. She’s in a nurse’s uniform, only the white cloth is all mucked up and torn, showing her upper rib
cage. Like the crows, her chest has been cracked open and re-sewn together. Her eyes are smooth black stones, while her legs are those of a panther, not a human. Long daggers have been tied to her hands with more strips of leather. She’s the perfect mix of speed and lethal power, all wound up with magic and taxidermy.
Now, I’ve seen some sick demonic shit in my life, but Silas just hit a whole new level of awful. My blood boils with fury. This human was a nurse, like the ones I met back in the club on earth. When I took those ladies for ice cream, they told me all about how they loved helping people heal. Soldiers, especially. And then this demon abducts someone like them. Hatred charges every muscle in my body.
Sure, I gave an oath not to hurt Silas. That doesn’t mean I won’t find a way to kill him anyway.
“Silas!” I call. “Get out here. Now.”
The old demon steps out from behind another large tree trunk. Probably hiding back there so he can quietly cast the spells that direct his poppets. Moonlight outlines his handlebar moustache and bowler hat.
“Hello, Maxon,” says Silas. “I’m here to thank you.”
“For what, exactly?”
“You gave your oath not to kill me, so Zephyr has given me the task of destroying you. He’d do it himself but he doesn’t think you merit the effort. Seems two of his most junior Air Valta locked you and your lady love in a cave without too much effort.”
“They didn’t see me at my best.” I raise my hand so lightning can dance across the palm. “I still have a few surprises for you.”
“I’m sure you think so,” says Silas. “However, I’ve a few of my own as well.”
Within a heartbeat, the forest fills with Silas’s horrible creations. Hundreds of crows fill the branches of nearby trees. Mutilated bears, dogs, and wolves line the forest floor. Undead humans—patched up with body parts from other animals—slink out from the shadows.
There are hundreds of them, and only four of us. I scan the skies. No sign of Tempest or Tyberius.
We’re so fucked, it isn’t funny.
“Quad formation,” I call. The four of us move into a loose square, our backs to each other, our faces turned out to the zombie army.
Silas smiles, showing a mouth of black and broken teeth. “Attack!”
All at once, the creatures come at us. I summon a column of lightning down from the sky. It scares back some of the larger animals, but the birds easily avoid the strike. The humans couldn’t care less. The ones with animal legs vault over the other cowering creatures and leap for our heads. I take them down with my tail or, better yet, my dragon-scale arm.
Silas watches the action from the sidelines, and damn, he’s getting pissed. Raj and Zee are still using their distance weapons. Although they’re out of cross bolts, they’ve simply moved onto throwing daggers and short bows. They haven’t had to get out to their hand-to-hand gear yet, which is good.
The problem is the damned birds. Without any fire bolts left, they’re back to being a bitch to kill. Uther can blow them up with his mini-grenades. The blast radius is small enough. Even so, things get messy. Plus, Uth has to maneuver around to get at them, leaving him exposed for attack. Long story short, I keep having to stop what I’m doing to prevent some souped-up zombie from slicing Uth into mincemeat. Makes it harder to down the baddies who’re coming after me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Silas smile as some wolfhound with broken glass for teeth tries to take a chomp out of my shoulder. It’s the arm covered with dragon scales but still, half my upper body armor gets torn off. Gripping the hound by its jaws, I tear the thing apart and toss it aside. Instantly, a black bear with silver armor takes its place. Moonlight strikes the beast’s armor and I get a better look at what Silas has done.
That’s not silver armor. It’s layer upon layer of long razors, the ends bolted together. The thing’s like a zombie lightning rod.
Beautiful.
I raise my arm and summon a trio of lightning bolts straight into the bear’s skull. The creature bursts into flames and falls to the side. The break in the battle gives me a chance to check out my buddies.
They’re not doing well.
Uther’s back got clawed by some sewn-together mix of human and wolf. Raj and Zee are down to their short-swords. All of them are missing body armor. Their exposed flesh is a patchwork of gashes and blood.
We don’t have much longer.
Another crow swoops in past me, its rusted nail claws scraping across my neck. A razorblade feather makes a gash along my jawline.
“You see?” says Silas. “My birds will get you. I knew they would.” He gestures to the skies. “And now, more are coming.”
As I glance up, I’m only half aware of another rabid hound sinking its teeth into my arm. This is the one without dragon scales, and whatever Silas put in these creatures for teeth hurts like hell. I rip the creature off, snap its neck, and lift my gaze to the night sky. It’s darkened over, and not with clouds.
Something is flying across the horizon and in such numbers, it’s blotting out every star.
Please let it be dragons.
An angry chorus of caws sounds above me. My heart sinks.
Not dragons. That’s the sound of a murder of crows. Damn.
A humanoid monster attacks my arm. This one’s a cross between man and bear. My tail punches its head. After that, I kick the beast squarely in its belly, launching it into the forest. Unfortunately, two more bear-human hybrids quickly take its place. I steel myself and pull a fresh dagger out of its holster on my thigh.
I’m not going down without a fight.
The human poppets prepare to lunge when a new sound freezes them in their tracks. This time, it’s not the caw of crows. It’s a roar. I could fucking cry, I’m so happy.
The dragons are here.
My limbs become charged with energy and hope. “Tempest is here, guys! Get back in a quad.”
The four of us limp into our back-to-back formation once again.
More caws sound from the darkened skies. This time, the birds sound frightened. Bursts of golden fire appear above our heads. Only one kind of dragon does that particular battle move. The Kathikon, Tempest’s personal guard.
In other words, the best of the baddest warriors in the after-realms. Thank Heaven.
Dragons land all around us. The dry and blackened trees quickly burst into flames. Some of the Furor tear through the forest in their dragon forms. Their long tails slam through enemy and tree alike. Other dragons move into a hybrid state where their skin is fully covered in dragon scales. They grab poppets, tearing them apart with glee.
Only one dragon changes into a full human. Tempest. He’s broad shouldered and tall, with strong bone structure and wavy black hair. He’s wearing some kind of tricked-out heavy black armor. His eyes, normally brown, are slitted length-wise like a lizard’s and glow red with demonic rage. Tempest has a tail like mine. As he steps along, it sweeps behind him, taking out Silas’s monsters left and right.
I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my life.
The fight moves to wherever the dragons are, which means less trouble for me and the guys. Still, in our weakened state, it’s trouble enough. Raj is leaning against Zee, hardly able to stay upright. Uther’s body armor is shredded. His exposed skin is covered in bruises and blood.
Silas decides that now is the right moment to join the fight. He stalks toward me, unknowingly stepping right into Tempest’s line of approach. Silas stops when we’re only inches apart.
“No attempt to strike me down?” asks Silas. “Such a pity. It would cause you extraordinary pain to try and break our black magic bond. And I was so looking forward to watching you writhe.”
I meet his gaze straight on. “You’re still going to die, Silas.”
“You can’t kill me. You made a magical vow.”
“I know I did.” I nod toward Silas’s shoulder. “Tempest didn’t, though.”
Turning around, Silas sees Tempest looming over him. The Emp
eror’s slitted eyes are bright red with rage. He leans his head back, and black dragon scales crawl up his neck. The glow of red fire peeps out between the scales.
Tempest opens his mouth and releases a stream of red flame straight into Silas’s face. The Incarnate howls in pain while Tempest’s tail slices Silas in half, brains to balls. The demon falls over, dead. A warm sense of satisfaction blooms through my chest.
Goodbye, Silas.
Tempest’s face returns to his human state. Our gazes meet and we share a half-smile.
“Tyberius seemed to wonder if I would come to your aid?” he asks. His English accent somehow goes perfectly with his lizard eyes and badass armor.
“Well, you can be a touchy bastard sometimes.”
“And you’re an awful lad that I keep meaning to remove from my line of succession. Next month, for sure.”
“You always say that.”
“I always mean it.”
A moan sounds from beside me. Spinning around, I find that Raj has collapsed. None of Silas’s creations are left nearby, but my buddies are a mess. Tyberius races out from the trees.
“The dragons set me down near you,” says Ty while panting for breath. “Then I got lost in the battle. Finally, I had to cast a locator charm and…”
“You can tell the story later,” I say quickly. “These guys need your help.”
Ty finally pauses enough to see the guys. Uther and Raj are now lying on the ground, passed out. Zee is kneeling with his eyes rolled up into his head.
“I’ve got to teleport them out of here,” says Ty.
Tempest nods. “Do it now. My troops are still flying in, so the portal’s open.”
Ty frowns. “Once I teleport them, I’ll be wiped out. These injuries are serious. I won’t have enough magic to save them.”
“Take them to my palace,” says Tempest. “The Hexenwings can help you.”
“Thanks, T.” I pat Tempest on the shoulder and turn to my friend. “Get them out of here, Ty.”
Tyberius raises his arms and starts chanting. For a few seconds, a light purple mist surrounds him, Uther, Raj, and Nizam. A loud crack tears through the air and then they all disappear. I stare at the spot for a few seconds.
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