His fire met with quite a bit of resistance. The protective shields that the wizard guards had up did their jobs well, and Weston knew it would take quite a bit of firepower to get through them. He had expected this, though, and was not disheartened by it. He took another deep breath and swooped back in the direction he’d just come from, sending a second streak of flames at the enemy wizards.
He saw Knox and Holden fly up to join him, sending their own streams of fire across the group. And then, to his surprise, he saw a fourth dragon joining them. For a moment, Weston tensed up, thinking that somehow the enemy had recruited an evil dragon. Dragons were very hard to turn away from the side of good, but it could be done—as evidenced by the fact that Saul himself was a dragon. But then, Weston realized who the fourth dragon was, and his lips turned up in a smile. It was Nick, Holden’s stepson. Nick was only twelve, and far too young to be on the battlefield. Nick’s mother would have certainly told him not to come, but Nick, like many twelve year olds, didn’t always listen to his mother. He must have snuck in at the tail end of the army, and now, here he was, joining in the fray.
So be it, Weston thought. Nick’s dragon looked like it was strong and healthy, and the boy seemed to be holding his own in the battle. There was no sense in taking time out from fighting to try to convince the boy to go back. Weston took another deep breath and continued on with his fire attacks.
For what felt like a long time, not much seemed to change. The battle continued to rage on around them, and Weston and the other dragons kept their steady fire attacks going. The guards in front of the prisoners’ cave were strong, and refused to back down. Weston could only hope that he and his fellow soldiers could outlast the evil wizards.
Weston hadn’t been paying much attention to what was going on in the rest of the headquarters, but it seemed that his army was doing a good job of taking down Saul’s soldiers, because at some point he realized that more and more of his own wizard soldiers were joining the fight at the front of the prisoners’ cave. This meant that they had managed to beat back the enemy they had been fighting in other parts of Saul’s lair.
Weston felt a fresh rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins as more and more good wizards joined him. He finally paused long enough to look around, and was happy to find that there were no bats visible anywhere. His army must have taken down the last of those pesky creatures. Weston flew even faster, breathing fire in a nearly constant stream. The noise of the battle had become deafening, but this also energized Weston. He knew that the rising noise was due to his soldiers growing excitement as they saw the battle slowly turning in their favor.
And then, suddenly, even the noise of battle was drowned out by the sound of a giant explosion. Weston slowed his flight path and turned his giant dragon head to look in the direction of the noise. About a hundred yards away, he could see a giant ball of fire rising into the sky. Several wizards were zooming around the fire on their broomsticks, shrieking. Weston could not tell from this distance whether the wizards were excited or angry, or even which side they were fighting for. Everything around the ball of fire was a chaotic mess. Time seemed to almost stand still as all of the soldiers, good and evil alike, turned to look at the fire in confusion. And then, to Weston’s astonishment, he saw another dragon rising in the flames—a dragon he knew immediately was the infamous, evil Saul.
Saul’s dragon was dark red, like the color of diseased blood. The light from the explosion’s fire lit up his form as he flew, his translucent, scarred wings beating furiously against the night sky. Black spikes, almost like horns, extended from several points on his wings, and the same black spikes covered his enormous tail. One of his large dragon feet carried a wizard’s wand. Weston shuddered. He knew already that Saul had been given wizard abilities through the use of dark magic, but seeing for himself the ugly, twisted dragon with a wand in his claws sent a chill through even Weston’s boiling hot dragon blood. That chill only got worse when Saul turned his own dragon head to look back toward where Weston and the others were watching. Even though Weston was at least the length of a football field away from Saul, Weston could see that the evil dragon’s eyes glowed red. For a few horrifying moments, time seemed to stand still, as Saul seemed to be looking straight at Weston. Weston could no longer hear the noise of the battle, or see anything except those horrible red eyes.
But then, the awful spell seemed to break as Saul turned his head away and started to fly as fast as he could away from the battle raging in his ruined headquarters. The noise, heat, and smell of the battle once again flooded Weston’s senses, and he heard screaming all around him.
“Saul’s retreating! He’s leaving! He’s abandoning headquarters!”
Weston couldn’t be entirely sure whether the voices were happy or upset. He finally realized it was a mixture of both. Weston’s own soldiers were overjoyed to see their greatest enemy on the run. Saul’s soldiers, though, were in a state of panic. Weston knew in that moment that the battle was won for the side of good. All around him, the wizard guards were abandoning the prisoners’ cave and taking off at full speed to fly after Saul. Weston’s own soldiers started chasing after them, and they took a great number of them down as they attacked their retreating forms.
Weston didn’t join in the pursuit. He would have loved nothing more than to take down Saul himself, but trying to do so without the help of one of the dragon stones would be a pointless exercise. Although Saul’s lair was being destroyed, it didn’t take an expert in magic to see that Saul himself was still surrounded by powerful protective shields. After all, he’d risen from a huge, powerful explosion without any wounds. Weston figured the dark dragon wizard must be concentrating all of his magic power on protecting himself. Saul had given up his headquarters as lost at this point, and with good reason. Weston could see that the majority of Saul’s soldiers had fallen due to the attacks the good wizards and dragons were throwing at them.
Weston flapped his wings gently to hover in the air and watch as Saul’s form grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Any of the evil soldiers that caught up to Saul seemed to be covered by his protective shield, because the good soldiers eventually were unable to attack them anymore. Soon, most of Weston’s army was turning to fly back to where Weston waited, watching.
To his left, Violet was hovering on her broomstick and watching as well. Once it became clear there was nothing more worth seeing of Saul’s retreat, Weston looked over at her. She looked back at him and smiled, her eyes dancing in the flickering light coming from the fires that seemed to be burning everywhere now. Weston smiled his best dragon smile at her, memorizing in that moment how beautiful she looked outlined against the chaos of battle. Then he slowly circled down to land right in front of the prisoners’ cave. Violet followed him down, landing with a quick thud and hopping off her broomstick.
“Looks like we drove Saul out of his comfortable little lair,” Violet said, her face lit up by a happy grin. “Serves him right, after he stole the Redwoods base away from you.”
Weston huffed, sending two circles of smoke up from his nostrils as he did. It still hurt to think about how Saul had taken over the Redwoods Dragons home base. Sure, their little homes might only have been a group of cabins in the midst of the Redwoods, but those cabins were Weston’s favorite place in the world. It turned his stomach to think of Saul’s soldiers sitting around in them, acting like they had a right to be there. Weston, along with the other Redwood Dragons, had vowed to get the cabins back from Saul’s men. But the dragons had to be patient. In the middle of this wretched war, other things took precedence over recovering the cabins. Like destroying the master bat, and searching for the dragon ruby. Weston sighed again, sending more smoke into the air. Violet must have sensed that his mood had dampened at the mention of the cabins, because she reached over and rubbed his neck.
“Hey, don’t worry. We’ll get your home back. And maybe, once we do, you’ll find room in your cabin for your lifemate?”
Wes
ton turned his dragon head to nuzzle Violet with his nose. His heart warmed at her words. He was still getting used to the idea that he wasn’t alone in this world anymore. He had a lifemate! A beautiful, smart, brave lifemate. Violet was right. They would get the Redwoods base back eventually. And when they did, it would be even better than before, because she would be there with him.
Most of the wizard soldiers in Weston’s army were back by now, all landing in the area around where Violet and Weston were standing. They looked expectantly at Violet and Weston, awaiting further instructions. Weston realized suddenly that he hadn’t seen Knox, Holden, or Nick for quite some time. He looked around, worried, but his momentary fear was soon appeased. He saw them flying around, breathing fire into all of the caves Saul had been using for his operations. No weapons or supplies would be left behind for Saul to return to. The dragons were making sure of that.
Satisfied that his clan members were safe, Weston started scanning the crowd for Peter. He wasn’t really worried about the old wizard. After all, Peter could cast the best protective spells of any wizard Weston knew. Still, Weston breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the old wizard zooming above the crowd on his broomstick, heading toward Violet. Violet saluted Peter as he landed in front of her and dismounted.
“How are the prisoners?” Peter asked.
“We haven’t checked yet,” Violet said. “We were waiting to make sure Saul was really gone before we started talking to them.”
Peter nodded. “Understood. Well, I guess I’ll go in with you now, if you’re ready?”
“I’m ready,” Violet said. “Do you know what that explosion was, though? The one that seemed to drive Saul out of his hiding spot? I was surprised that anything could break through his dark magic shields.”
Peter laughed. “Zoe, one of our younger wizard soldiers did that. She was actually attempting an attack spell but messed up the wording and set off a powerful explosive spell instead. It’s one of the more dangerous spells, and can kill the wizard casting it when performed improperly. We don’t teach it to our soldiers because of that, and Zoe is lucky to be alive. I’m going to keep an eye on her. That girl has more power than she even realizes.”
Weston saw Violet’s eyes widen. “The Crepitus Spell?” she asked.
Peter nodded. “Yes, that’s the one. You know it?”
Violet nodded. “I know of it. They warned us about it in Advocacy school. I was told no one even uses it anymore because of the dangers. How in the world did this Zoe girl do it by accident?”
Peter shrugged. “You’ll have to ask her. In any case, I’m glad she did, since she survived and the spell got Saul out of here. Should we go talk to the prisoners, who I suppose are no longer prisoners?”
Violet nodded, and looked over at Weston. “You coming?” she asked. He nodded his dragon head, and turned to follow her toward the mouth of the cave.
Inside, about one hundred bodies huddled, looking out at them with terror. Weston could easily see that the group was a mixture of humans, shifters, and wizards. The humans might have been from nearby Sandview, but he couldn’t say where the shifters and wizards might have come from. He hoped that they would be willing to talk, and that the information they had might help in the fight against Saul. Peter, though, wisely realized that it was best to get the former prisoners out of the cave and to safety before attempting to grill them with questions.
“Good evening,” Peter said. Holding his magic ring up to his face. He had a light spell on the ring, which made his face clearly visible. “I’m Peter, head wizard of the Falcon Cross clan of wizards. With me are some dragons from the Redwood Dragons clan of dragon shifters. Together, we are fighting against Saul, trying to bring an end to the evil he is doing in the world. We are here to help you.”
“So it’s true, then,” one of the imprisoned shifters said with a gasp. “There is a resistance fighting against Saul. We’d heard rumors, but we didn’t dare to believe.”
Weston watched Violet stand a little taller next to him. She was proud of her clan, he knew. As she should be. He was proud of his clan. They were the resistance, and they were beating back Saul, slowly but surely.
“Well, it’s time to believe,” Peter said. “Because we’re here, and you are all free. We will give anyone here who wants it safe passage and shelter in Falcon Cross. First, though, let’s get all of you out of here. We have a safe house on the outskirts of Blackstone. Our dragons will fly you there, and then we can sort out where everyone wants to go next. Is that alright with everyone? Flying with a dragon is very safe, I assure you.”
Weston could see that a few of the prisoners were frightened at the thought of riding on a dragon, but they all nodded in agreement nonetheless. Weston looked around for his dragon clanmates. They were still flying around setting stuff on fire. At this point, they were just having fun burning things. Weston rolled his eyes, and then let out a roar, calling them over. They turned at the sound of his roar, and flew over to him.
“We’re going to fly this group back,” Violet said to them, gesturing toward the frightened faces inside the cave. Knox, Holden, and Nick nodded their dragon heads, then lined up next to Weston. All four dragons crouched low to the ground to make it easier for people to climb on. Even though dragons are large and can hold several people, it soon became apparent that not all of the prisoners would fit on the four dragon backs. Violet had a solution for that problem, though.
“Those of you who are wizards, are you willing to fly on the back of a broomstick with some of our wizards?” she asked.
The wizards who had been prisoners readily agreed. Weston had the feeling that they probably preferred riding with wizards instead of dragons anyway. Soon, all of the former prisoners, who were now refugees of sorts, were either loaded onto the dragons’ backs or had climbed onto wizards’ broomsticks. Violet herself climbed onto her broomstick, then looked back at Weston to make sure he was ready. He winked at her, and she winked back before starting to rise into the sky.
“Let’s go, everyone!” she called out. “Time to go home and celebrate another resounding victory against evil.”
Weston flapped his wings, rising quickly into the sky along with the other dragons and wizards. They turned toward Blackstone, tired but happy. They had shown Saul once again tonight that they were a force to be reckoned with.
Chapter Twelve
The morning sun streamed through the windows and glowed against Violet’s hair as she walked through the rows of refugees one last time, making sure that no one else still wanted more breakfast. She’d lost track of how many cartons of eggs and loaves of bread they had gone through. These poor people had been hungry. Saul’s soldiers had only fed them the bare minimum to keep them alive. Some of them, who had been imprisoned for quite some time, had wasted away to skin and bones. Violet could not understand how anyone could treat fellow shifters, wizards, and humans so cruelly. She looked over at Weston and her heart overflowed with love for him. He had been the one to make sure these people were rescued. It was because of him, her dragon with a heart of gold, that the battle last night had even been fought in the first place.
Weston caught her staring, and walked over to plant a kiss on her lips.
“You should sit down and rest,” he said. “You’ve barely taken a moment to catch your breath since you got up at five o’clock this morning.”
Violet sighed as he wrapped her arms protectively around her. She loved how he felt strong and gentle all at the same time. “I just wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of,” she murmured into his chest. “I can’t imagine how scared these people must all have been, starving and at the mercy of Saul’s awful soldiers.”
“I know,” Weston said. “But they’re safe now. And well-fed. You should get off your feet for a minute.”
Before Violet could respond, her moment with Weston was interrupted by Holden’s voice. “Hey, you two lovebirds! Break it up and come to the meeting room. Peter and Knox want to powwow.”
Violet blushed and tried to pull away from Weston, but Weston pulled her closer and gave her a big, showy kiss on the lips. Violet looked up just in time to see Holden rolling his eyes and turning around, but Weston just laughed.
“He’s one to talk,” Weston said. “He has a new lifemate of his own.”
Violet smiled. It was true. Holden had found love when he met Nick’s mother, Elise. The two of them had been nearly inseparable since they finally admitted to having feelings for each other. Elise was here now, but was busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm. She had worked in the restaurant industry before meeting Holden, so she was an old pro at making meals for large groups of people.
“Come on,” Weston said, grabbing Violet’s hand and pulling her toward the stairs. “We better head to the meeting room before Knox has to come looking for us. He doesn’t like to have to ask twice to get people to show up to meetings.”
Violet followed Weston to the meeting room on the second floor of the house. The whole house was overcrowded right now, since it had gained about a hundred new occupants overnight. But Peter and Knox had still managed to clear space in this room for a meeting location. Along with Peter, Knox, and Holden, several of the refugees sat at a long table that had been dragged up here. Violet had no idea where they’d found the table, but it fit quite well in the room. She sat down next to Weston and waited for Knox or Peter to begin the meeting.
Peter stood and gestured toward Violet and Weston. “I’m sure you all already know these two, but I’ll introduce them, anyway. Weston here is a dragon shifter, and a member of the Redwood Dragons clan just like Knox and Holden. He’s the one responsible for planning the attack last night, so you can all thank him for the fact that you’re no longer captive to Saul’s men.”
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