by Ashley Meira
Fiona and I exchanged a quick glance and nodded, steeling ourselves for the renewed onslaught. We had to stand our ground to buy the others more time. At least all this moving around meant we wouldn’t be cold.
My arm burned with the strain of blocking so many attacks, but I didn’t let the pain keep me from going. Ducking under a spear, I aimed for a pair of thick, scaly legs. Blood splattered against my chest, joining the multitude of red stains already covering my clothing. I rose up and shoved my sword through the legless charybdis’ throat before spinning around and slicing off his brother’s hand. Fiona took his head off and used his body as a stepping stone to jump onto another enemy.
I followed, working with her to safely dispatch our foes. Their attentions seemed to be focused on us for now, so we could afford to play more defensively. I’d fend off the charybdis, dealing out debilitating injuries, while she flew around and delivered the finishing blows.
The longer we continued our dance, the more charybdis spewed forth from the pools. How deep did these pools go? Was it possible they led all the way down into the ocean? They didn’t seem natural — could Seraphine have anticipated our arrival and created these?
Burning heat scorched my side, and I abandoned all thought — and combat — to escape the inferno before I was consumed. Sliding into a roll, I took cover behind a rock and waited for the blaze to die down before surveying the field.
A brilliant phoenix flew over the valley, spitting fire at the charybdis that had been hounding us. I’d have been more grateful if Adam had given us a warning before letting loose. Still, it was a relief to see the charybdis scamper back into their pools. Less relieving was the realization that they were still down there, and if those pools were as deep as I thought, Adam boiling the water with his breath wouldn’t kill them all.
CRACK!
I covered my ears, wincing at the sharp sound of lightning as I watched it rain down upon the earth. The bolts slammed into the ground, leaving scorch marks and fire in their wake. Some landed in the pools, and I could smell the scent of burnt flesh follow soon after.
Shushing my rumbling stomach, I peeked my head out of cover once more. My jaw dropped as I gazed upon the dragon flying over us.
Damien’s dragon form was beautiful. His scales were an iridescent silver that shone with a rainbow of colors underneath the light. It was like an aurora with wings, made more brilliant by vibrant ice blue eyes that contrasted his body’s softer colors.
When I first saw Adam shift, I didn’t think any creature could be bigger — he even matched sanctuary dragons in size. But Damien had at least twenty feet on him, both in height and width.
I watched them rain fire and lightning down on the battlefield with untamed ferocity. There was no way we could lose this with them on our side, right?
A sharp clang drew me back into the moment. Fiona had deflected a spear aimed for me and was charging toward the offending charybdis now. I flung my sword in his direction. It landed in his gut as Fiona’s weapon went through his neck. He collapsed in a bloody pile and we met each other halfway.
“Think she’s dead?” Fiona panted, wiping a layer of sweat from her brow.
I did the same, enjoying the adrenaline pumping through my veins. “I don’t know. Let’s go check—”
A barrier rose up beside us, intercepting five crystal spears before they could impale us into the ground.
Diana appeared through the army of charybdis, her snow white armor stained deep crimson. She sliced and diced her way toward us, throwing bolts of lightning into bubbling pools and stopping as many reinforcements as possible.
She hit the ground, sliding under a spear before whipping around and killing the charybdis who’d attacked her. Three more fell to her blade before she rose to her feet and shot a fireball at another charger. She ducked under an howling charybdis and sliced upwards, taking his head and left arm off in one clean swipe.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “Do I look that cool when I fight?”
Diana shot an annoyed look in our direction, but she was too far to have heard that. She was psychic. “Her barrier is still up!”
Or that.
I looked at Adam and Damien, who were still firing a barrage of magic toward the end of the valley. They still hadn’t broken through? How was that possible?
I ran forward with Fiona hot on my tail. The charybdis were more nuisance than challenge in my race to get to the barrier, and I cut through them like a crazy person on a mission.
Sharp pain lanced through my arm as a spear hit its mark. I spared the injury a glance, relieved to see it was merely a flesh wound. It hurt, and would likely leave a scar without treatment, but I could still fight.
The crystalline barrier soon came into sight, its thick opaque shell as brilliant as ever. I threw my sword, growling in frustration when it bounced off with a loud clank. The amount of magic it must require to create and maintain such a dense shield must be immense. Seraphine must be diverting some of the power she’s been gathering to this thing, which meant we still had time to stop her.
I just wasn’t sure how much.
I beat my fists against the barrier, ignoring the sharp pain in my bones. “Break, damn you! Absorb this shit or something! Stupid fucking Fire, you spend my entire life crying for magic and now that it’s laid out in front of you, you’re gone!”
The earth shook, and I ducked in time to avoid a spear to the skull. My sword sank into the charybdis’ gut with a sickening squelch. Light flashed in my peripheral. I rushed away from the barrier before Damien turned me into toast.
I fell to the ground when his attack hit, the vibrations too violent for me stay standing. At this distance, the sound of thunder cracking against the barrier shattered my ears. A shrill ringing overwhelmed all other sounds. I covered my ears, futilely trying to block some of it out. Thanks to that and the trembling earth, my legs were worse than jelly.
Rocks scraped at my fingers as I forced myself to crawl forward. What was I thinking going to the barrier? Well, I knew the answer to that. I’d held the foolish hope that I’d be able to absorb some of the barrier’s power like I had on the Pyrenees. Stupid girl! My lapse in judgement cost me dearly — as my torn skin and screaming ears kept reminding me.
A shadow fell over me, followed by a spray of blood. The charybdis’ head fell at my feet and his body collapsed to reveal Diana. She grabbed my arms and pulled me forward, unconcerned with the rough terrain shredding my clothes.
Her hands were hot against my cheeks as she cupped my face, sending bursts of healing magic into me. I could feel her heavy breaths scattering my hair as she looked to the sky.
“Stay…. Going…. Careful….”
I shook my head. “I can’t hear you! My ears are messed up!”
My wounds began healing even quicker, but there was no spell for the ringing in my ears. That would have to go away on its own. Once she was satisfied I was healed, Diana turned to yell at Fiona. Her words sounded similar to what she’d told me, but I still couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Nothing good, if the look on Fiona’s face was any indication. Still, my fae sister nodded and went back to holding the charybdis at bay. A firm shove against my shoulder told me Diana wanted me to go help her. I cast my twin a thankful look and forced myself to my feet.
My equilibrium was shot, but I managed to get back into the fray without falling. I felt hobbled with one of my senses screwed over. It was harder to dodge attacks when I couldn’t hear them coming. Thankfully, the charybdis were heavy enough that the shaking of the earth tipped me off. I was getting hit more than before but hadn’t yet suffered a serious injury.
Fiona was helping me, too. It made me feel guilty that she had to spend time babysitting me, but forced myself to remember this wasn’t much different than what we’d been doing before. Except this time, she was incapacitating and I was decapitating.
Something tugged at my senses, but there were too many charybdis for me to pay it any hee
d. Fiona would have to deal with any unexpected scenarios — I wasn’t good for much but killing at the moment.
The tugging continued as the fight dragged on, causing me to make sloppy mistakes. Part of my calf paid the price as I failed to dodge an incoming spear. I let out a cry loud enough to pierce my ringing ears and hit the ground. I had enough presence of mind to kick myself away from more attacks with my good leg before inspecting the damage. His spear hadn’t pierced the bone, but it had gone through the muscle nearby.
Any weight on my leg caused me to topple. I wouldn’t be able to walk like this. Fuck.
“Get Diana!” I yelled at Fiona. “I can’t walk.”
I saw her lips move in reply as she fought off two hulking fish monsters, but couldn’t understand her.
“My ears! I can’t—” The words left me along with the air in my chest. Even as I began explaining things to Fiona, I’d started searching for Diana. She was farther from the charybdis, so I might be able to crawl my way to her again. Then, I saw where she was.
Her body was slumped against the barrier, pale skin sallow and sickly as she forced herself to remain in contact with the now faded crystal.
She was absorbing its magic, weakening it for Adam and Damien to destroy.
But that much magic…. I doubted Nicholas had ever allowed her to absorb that much power. He wouldn’t risk it. I remembered what happened to me when I’d absorbed that much magic.
What would happen to her? Would she just be supercharged, ready to fight Seraphine single-handedly? Based on her current state, it was more likely she’d—
“ENOUGH!”
The words pierced through my damaged ears as the barrier Diana was draining shattered, sending shards of solid magic flying through the air. One landed at my feet, piercing the ground with such strength it looked like a fault line.
My eyes shot back to Diana as I pulled myself toward her. Did any of them hit her? That amount of strength hitting her at point blank range….
“Diana!” I yelled, trying to find her bloodstained uniform underneath the glimmering shards.
A bloody hand reached out from the rubble. Diana pulled herself into a sitting position against the wall, her head lolling side to side. I could see her chest moving, but her eyes were rolled back and lifeless.
Seraphine stepped toward the edge of her former barrier. Her beautiful face was now a contorted mess of deep grooves and throbbing veins. Once hypnotizing eyes were now slitted and filled with insanity. Teeth that would frighten even the charybdis grew from her peeled back lips as she glared at us.
“Insolent worms! How dare you treat me like this? I am your queen, your superior in every way! If you will not serve, then you will suffer.” She turned her maddened gaze to the charybdis and they all dropped to the ground in prayer. “Loyal children of the Ocean Queen, show me the depth of your devotion! Give me your strength so that I may once again claim dominion over this world!”
Several charybdis jolted forward then vanished in a flash of white light. The lights flew toward Seraphine, sinking into her flesh like snowflakes. More charybdis fell, sending light to their queen until there were so many she couldn’t absorb them fast enough. She was engulfed in a white light that grew more blinding by the second.
What was she doing? Had she gathered enough magic for the storm? Impossible — Diana had drained the power she’d used for her barrier. If she’d had enough without it, Japan would already be gone. What—
A loud roar answered my question.
There was no awe in me as I looked this time, just a cold terror that turned my blood to ice.
Seraphine had turned into a dragon.
Chapter Twenty
I stared until my eyes burned, then blinked until tears filled my vision.
But nothing changed. Where Seraphine had once stood, now rested a dragon, bigger than any I’d seen before, including Damien. She didn’t reach past the valley’s massive walls, but she made them look a hell of a lot smaller.
Where Damien’s silver scales reflected a dozen different colors in the light, Seraphine’s scales were pure white. Stark and unchanging, they glistened as if she’d just emerged from the depths. Spikes lined her spine, each sharper than the last as they descended toward her tail. Their harsh purple tinge made them seem poisonous, a theory I had no desire to test out.
The inhuman mask that had ripped across Seraphine’s once beautiful place looked right at home on this creature. Ugly fangs stuck out haphazardly from scaly lips, and black, hate-filled eyes glared at us from above.
With another screech, she spread her wings and took to the sky. If I’d been standing, the ensuing gust would have knocked me clean off my feet. As it was, the snow around her went flying and doused me in a thick layer of frost.
I dusted off what I could while surveying the situation. The hailstorm of magic that had been bombarding us was long gone, leaving behind a still battlefield as the fight took to the skies.
A blinding light filled my eyes as a shockwave of energy slammed me back against the mountain wall. Black spots dotted my vision. Through them I could see Damien and Seraphine clashing against each other, throwing magic at a breakneck pace.
Adam swooped in from above, his fiery talons carving a path through Seraphine’s right wing. It was too far for me to gauge how deep the wound was, but her outraged roar gave me a clue. While she was distracted with Adam, Damien lunged forward, a ball of blue lightning crackling in his open mouth.
The blast whited out the sky like before, and I quickly covered my ears to block the deafening crash of thunder that would follow. That didn’t stop the earth from shaking underneath me or parts of the mountain wall from crumbling.
Heavy chunks of rock crashed down around us, thankfully too far to cause any damage. Any direct damage, at least. If this kept up, the damn valley could cave in and bury us.
Damien seemed to have the same idea, because he flew higher, letting out a raging screech that goaded Seraphine into chasing him. Adam followed them, breathing fire and tearing at the Ocean Queen’s body.
With a heavy breath, I forced myself to believe they were fine and turned my attention to other matters.
The charybdis had abandoned the fight in favor of kneeling. Their monstrous faces were pressed against the ground, their weapons resting at their feet.
Fiona was a few feet away from them, her dark red hair a tangled mess even in its ponytail. Her back was to the wall, her chest heaving with every breath. The orichalcum blade was clenched in her hand, but she made no move toward the charybdis.
Her eyes were trained on their prone forms, waiting to see if any of them would jerk forward and vanish, their essence soaring directly to Seraphine. I knew she’d interfere if that started up again — I would if I could stand — but she wasn’t going to risk poking the beast if she didn’t have to. We’d been lucky enough to hold our own so far, but the charybdis were vicious fighters.
Deciding my sister was fine and the charybdis weren’t going to suddenly charge us, I turned my attention to more pressing matters. Thick piles of snow blocked my path to Diana, her dark hair barely visible behind the mounds of white. I pulled myself forward, gritting my teeth through the pain as sharp rocks tore at my battered leg.
The spear had gone clean through, thin enough to not cause massive — or permanent — damage. I suppose I should be grateful, but it was a hard feat when there was a damn hole through my leg. Worries of infection had me trying to keep my leg from dragging against the ground, but it was impossible when my lower half was essentially dead weight.
A quick glance over my shoulder revealed no angry charybdis coming for me. They were still prostrating themselves to Seraphine. For all they cared, we didn’t exist at the moment. Fiona had taken a more active stance — her body turned to intercept anything that might come my way — but kept her distance.
I continued my trek toward Diana, trying to force her name from my lips. It felt wrong. Above us was a cacophony of inhuman cries, b
ut down here, everything was silent. As I looked up, it was almost like I could see a solid line separating us from the pandemonium above.
There was nothing actually there, though, something the crumbling mountainside was quick to remind me of. Stray rocks cut my cheek as I was forced down by another landslide. It sounded closer than before, but I was too focused on my goal to pay it any heed.
Get to Diana — everything else could wait.
The mounds of snow fell apart easily underneath my hands, but there was too much for me to break through quickly. My fingers locked from the cold, each joint stiff enough that I was worried they’d snap at my next movement. I kept them as prone as I could, turning my hands into makeshift shovels and scooping the snow away. It slid across me, coating my body in a freezing blanket. I suffered through it, almost thankful for the cold relief it brought my injured leg.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been digging before I hit something solid but pliant. Leather. I scrambled forward, unable to hold back a cry of pain as my leg scraped the ground.
“Fuck,” I panted, tears blurring my vision. “Shit. Damn it. Dying would hurt less.”
My lungs burned with each word, but if I didn’t let out some frustration, I thought I’d burst. Screw this eerie silence, my leg had never hurt so bad. I allowed myself an extra five seconds of self-pity before plowing my way forward. Another curse escaped my lips as my cut cheek slammed into Diana’s knee, but I was so happy to see my sister I brushed past it.
“Diana,” I breathed, her name a prayer on my lips. She had to be okay. She had to be okay. “Diana!”
I grabbed her shoulders with trembling fingers and shook her as best as I could with stiff bones. She didn’t stir, her brown eyes hidden under pale eyelids. Her ponytail was half loose, the wayward strands plastered to her face with sweat. A thick layer of it coated her body, causing her to radiate even more heat than usual.
The warmth gave me back the feeling in my fingers, but I was too pained and panicked to appreciate it. My thighs burned with the strain of holding me up, every muscle screaming for my mercy. I collapsed beside her, feeling a cold, sharp pain shoot up my tailbone as I did so. At least my ass wasn’t bleeding.