Anya didn’t have much time to listen or try to figure out what they meant by that, though, because in the next instant, a huge battle broke out. The small legion of people on broomsticks rose in the air toward them, somehow shooting out laser beams of light. Izzy and Raven seemed to be shooting out laser beams as well, yelling things in Latin again while they swooped and twirled through the air on their broomsticks. The dozens of laser beams clashed in the air in a dazzling array of sparks that might have been beautiful to watch if Anya hadn’t felt so terrified.
The dragon that had once been Owen was joining in the chaos, breathing out huge streams of fire toward the people chasing them. He moved unbelievably quickly for such a large beast, and Anya watched in horrified awe as his fire sent person after person tumbling from their broomstick in a ball of flames. Finn did not participate in the battle. Instead, he flew forward ever faster, his wings never slowing as he pumped furiously against the cold night air. Anya glanced down at his large claws that encircled her, and she shuddered. A single claw could have easily pierced through her entire body, and yet, he was somehow able to hold her tightly without hurting her.
Anya shook her head back and forth vigorously a few times, trying to wake herself up. She’d had enough of this strange dream, and if this sort of nightmare was the price for sleeping, she didn’t want to sleep. She’d rather go back to the calm and sanity of lying sleeplessly under the silent night sky, with her new friends lying next to her in normal, human form.
But no matter how hard Anya shook her head, she couldn’t make herself wake up. In desperate frustration, she reached once again to pinch herself on the arm. If she couldn’t bring herself out of this nightmare, at least she could prove to herself that it was just a dream. But when she pinched her arm, she was startled by how sharp the pain was. Eyes widening, she tried again. Again, she felt a very real, very sharp pain when she pinched herself. Anya looked back at the battle in the air again, her whole body filling with a sickening sense of dread. It was not possible that all of this was real, was it? And yet, if it wasn’t real, then why couldn’t she wake up?
Anya felt hot tears starting to roll down her cheeks, and then, overcome by the madness around her, she felt everything going black.
Chapter Five
Finn glanced over his giant dragon shoulders, relieved to see that everything behind him was dark. The moonlight illuminated the outlines of Izzy and Raven as they swooped back and forth on their broomsticks, still watching behind them for any sign of straggling pursuers. And he could also see the outline of Owen’s dragon, silently slicing through the night sky with his giant dragon wings. But other than that, the sky was empty. Their small group had managed somehow to outrun the much larger contingent of wizards who had somehow found them in the middle of nowhere.
Finn furrowed his brow as he continued to pump his dragon wings rhythmically. They needed to stop, and soon. He could feel Anya hanging limply in his large dragon claws, and concern filled him. More than likely, she had passed out from the shock of everything she had just seen. But there was always a possibility that she’d been hit by a stray attack from one of the enemy wizards, even though Izzy and Raven had done a good job of holding them off. Still, Finn was hesitant to stop so soon. He wanted to put more distance between his group and the enemy wizards.
They were far enough ahead that they should be safe, but, then again, Finn had thought they were safe back at their original campsite. How had Saul’s army managed to find them despite their invisibility barrier and protective shield?
Finn frowned. They had been without an invisibility shield for a short amount of time after they landed, true. And there was always a risk when flying that invisibility shields or chameleon effects were not properly covering the moving wizards and dragons. But Finn did not think that the Falcon Cross group had had any major slipups. They should have been safe from discovery. As evidenced by the attack tonight, though, they hadn’t been as safe as they’d thought.
Finn’s frown deepened. There was only one explanation. The enemy’s dark magic was growing stronger. Dark magic counter spells were stronger than normal counter spells. The enemy was using such spells to see through invisibility barriers and break through protective shields, and their techniques were only growing stronger.
Finn glanced over his shoulder once more, and made his decision. They would stop now. They were safe, for the moment at least. He had no idea how much longer that safety would last, but while it did, their best use of time was to regroup. They needed to check on Anya, who hopefully would revive quickly once they stopped, and they needed to figure out how to move forward from here. They had to find a way to get the dragon amethyst, but there was no question in Finn’s mind that going into Devil’s Melt right now would be a death trap. Their invisibility spells weren’t working properly, and the area was sure to be heavily guarded.
Slowly, Finn began circling downward. He almost felt as though his heavy heart was dragging him downward, its weight pulling him toward the cold, dark earth. He slipped silently through the treetops, managing to avoid all of the thick branches despite the darkness and his size. Behind him, Owen made it through silently as well. And, of course, Izzy and Raven did not make any noise either. They were much smaller than the dragons, and just as skilled at flying.
Not that their flying skills were doing them much good, Finn thought bitterly as he landed on the forest floor. If their invisibility spells didn’t hold against the enemy’s counter spells, it didn’t matter how skilled they were. They would still be found out, and, in Devil’s Melt, where they would be hopelessly outnumbered, they would quickly be killed.
Finn gently uncurled his long, fingered claws to release Anya onto the ground. She didn’t move, and he felt fear gripping his heart as he bent his dragon head to look at her. He might not know her well, but she’d been quite friendly to him and his friends. He hated to see anyone harmed in the cross fire of this war, but especially an innocent human who was as nice and beautiful as Anya.
Anya’s eyes were closed, and Finn could not tell while in dragon form whether she was even still alive or not. With a low growl and a rush of power, he began shifting back into human form. His thick dragon hide morphed back into tanned human skin as his tails and wings disappeared and he once again took on the shape of a human male. Beside him, Owen was shifting back to human form as well. Izzy and Raven had just landed, and were hopping off their broomsticks. Finn saw Izzy looking over at Anya’s still form with concern, and within moments of jumping off her broomstick, Izzy had shrugged out of the backpack she’d been carrying and was running toward their new human friend.
“Was she hit?” Izzy asked, not even looking up at Finn as she asked the question. Izzy’s doctor training had kicked in, and she was already checking Anya for vital signs. Raven was running over with the backpacks, and began digging in one of them for Izzy’s compact medical kit. Owen had grabbed the other backpack and was rummaging in it for clothes. Finn had not even considered the fact that he was still naked, but he realized as he watched Owen that getting dressed was probably a good idea. If Anya was still alive, it was probably better that he and Owen were fully dressed when she regained consciousness. The poor girl had already suffered enough shocks.
“I’m not entirely sure whether she was hit,” Finn said as he began pulling his clothes out of the backpack from which Raven had just pulled Izzy’s medical kit. “I didn’t feel anything that felt like a hit, but we were moving so quickly and everything was so chaotic that I’m not entirely sure I would have felt a jolt even if one of the enemy’s lasers did hit her.”
“She’s still alive,” Izzy said, her eyes moving rapidly back and forth as she took an inventory of Anya’s status. “And she doesn’t seem to have any injuries. I think she just passed out from shock. Someone hand me one of our sleeping bags so I can warm her up. Raven, can you elevate her feet a bit?”
Izzy continued to work quickly, doing her best to make Anya warm and comfortable. Finn
let out a sigh of relief as soon as he knew for sure that Anya was still alive, but then he turned his attention fully to getting dressed. There wasn’t much he could do to help Izzy. If he tried to assist, he would most likely just get in the way. Once he was dressed, he watched carefully as Izzy worked, barking orders to Raven. Anya’s face looked pale, an effect enhanced by the silver light of the moon that filtered down through the treetops. Even so, it struck Finn how beautiful she was. His heart unexpectedly clenched up, and he turned away to look at Owen, searching for any distraction that would take his mind off the strange feelings that bubbled up inside of him when he saw Anya lying there so still.
“Do you think they’re still following us?” Finn asked Owen, even though he already knew the answer. Of course they were being followed. Perhaps not by the same group of wizards and shifters that had just attacked them, but Saul had an enormous number of soldiers at his disposal. Finn was quite certain that more troops had already been dispatched to chase them down. And the shifters who had been at their campsite were probably still following them on foot somewhere in the dark forest.
“Yeah,” Owen said, answering the question even though they both knew the answer was unnecessary. “They’re on our trail, no question about that. The only question is how long it will take them to catch up. Speaking of which, I don’t think Raven’s put up an invisibility shield yet. Raven!”
Finn saw Raven turn her head sharply at Owen’s urgent tone. Her eyes looked tired, but her reactions were still quick.
“We need a shield!” Owen said in a frustrated tone. “You guys need to stay on top of that!”
“Sorry that I was trying to help revive the human who is now hopelessly tangled up in this mess,” Raven said as she rolled her eyes at Owen. But despite the sarcasm and annoyance in her voice, she hopped to her feet and held her magic ring in the air, drawing large arcs around them as she started to cast protective shield and invisibility spells.
“Magicae arma. Magicae invisibilia,” she said over and over, drawing arc after arc with her ring while Izzy continued to bend over Anya. Finn turned to Owen with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t be so hard on Raven. It’s not really her fault that we were found, you know,” Finn said.
“Not her fault?” Owen said, incredulous. “How can you say that? The enemy must have found us because we didn’t have an invisibility spell put up at our campsite immediately after we landed. That’s the only way they could have seen us. Not only that, but because we didn’t have a spell up, Anya found us and we now have to deal with her. That’s not going to be easy—think of everything she saw back there! Shifters, wizards, and protective shields. Not to mention that she was carried out of there by a dragon. I’ve seen enough of full humans to know that she’s going to be pretty freaked out when she wakes up.”
“I agree that Anya is going to be freaked out when she wakes up,” Finn said. “But I wouldn’t blame Raven for that. I don’t think Saul’s men found us because we forgot to put up an invisibility shield for a few minutes—”
“Because Raven forgot to put up a shield for a few minutes, you mean,” Owen interrupted.
Finn sighed. Owen could be so stubborn when he had decided that someone was to blame for something. And, of course, it was never Owen himself to blame. It was always someone else.
“We all are responsible to make sure proper precautions are taken,” Finn said. “If a shield should have been put up earlier, than we’re all to blame. But, anyway, I don’t think it matters when the shield went up. Even if it had been right away, Saul’s soldiers still would have found us.”
“Why do you say that?” Owen asked, narrowing his eyes at Finn.
Finn shrugged. “We flew that whole way under a cloak of invisibility, and we stopped off in a very remote area of the woods. What are the odds that Saul’s soldiers happened to be flying by there during the small window of time that we didn’t have our shields up? Not very high, I’d say. I think they’re tracking us in other ways. They know tons of dark magic spells. I don’t think even Izzy realizes how powerful their dark magic abilities have become.”
Owen was quiet for several moments, but his silence told Finn more than any words. Owen was always talking, so the fact that he had nothing to say about this meant he realized that Finn was right. There was no denying the fact that they had underestimated the enemy. Saul and his army had become more powerful than any of them had dared to imagine.
“If this is true,” Owen finally said, his voice slow and tight, “Then this pretty much dooms our mission. I mean, there’s no way we can get into Devil’s Melt and search for the dragon amethyst if they know we’re coming and can see us. There’s too many of them. They’ll slaughter us.”
“I know,” Finn said. “We’ll have to reevaluate our plans. But our first priority right now is to make sure Anya is taken care of. The Advocacy Bureau back in Falcon Cross is going to throw a fit when they realize that we let a human see shifters, wizards, and magic in action.”
Owen grunted in annoyance but said nothing further. The Advocacy Bureau was a wizard agency in Falcon Cross that, among other things, made sure that full humans did not discover that wizards and magic existed. There were all sorts of wizard rules and regulations to ensure that wizards did not accidentally use magic around humans, and, if any wizard discovered that a human had seen magic, that wizard was required to report the incident immediately. Finn wasn’t sure what all the rules were, but he imagined that the Advocacy Bureau was going to find a few rules that had been broken tonight. There was no way they were going to shrug off the fact that Anya had seen everything she did tonight.
Finn kicked at a tree root in frustration. He understood the importance of working closely with the wizards. This war was serious business, and the more help they all had the better. But he wasn’t used to dealing with so much government bureaucracy. Before his clan had teamed up with the Falcon Cross wizards, it had just been the ten of them, working on missions in whatever way they saw fit. There were no big government agencies telling them how to act. Finn didn’t like this new way of working, where he was always worrying about what the Falcon Cross agencies were going to think. He tolerated the agencies, for the sake of maintaining peace with their wizard allies. But there was no way in hell he was going to put up with being treated like some sort of disobedient child just because a human had gotten tangled up in their mission. Sometimes, shit happened. Things like this were bound to occur now and then. Besides, the shifters and wizards all had much bigger things to worry about right now. Like how the hell they were going to manage to get the dragon amethyst before Saul’s army did.
Finn’s thoughts were interrupted by a happy shout from Izzy. He looked over to see that Anya’s eyes were blinking open. He felt his heart leap in his chest with a mixture of happiness and trepidation. He was happy she was alive, but he wasn’t sure the group was going to like the way she reacted.
Anya sat up slowly, and Izzy urged her to move even more slowly.
“You’ve had quite a shock, Anya,” Izzy was saying in a gentle tone. “Take your time sitting up.”
“I…I think I had a strange dream,” Anya said. She looked around at the wizards and shifters, furrowing her brow in confusion. She took in their surroundings, and slowly seemed to realize that this section of forest was not the same section of forest where they had all spent the earlier part of the evening.
“Where are we?” Anya asked, a note of fear and suspicion creeping into her voice. “And how did we get here?”
Finn exchanged glances with Owen and Raven. Izzy had her eyes fixed on Anya’s face.
“Well, we, uh, had to leave our other campsite behind,” Izzy said, grasping for words.
Finn stepped in then. He knew that Anya was going to have a hard time processing everything she’d just seen. Hell, it was hard enough for humans to process just the fact that shifters existed. Add wizards into the mix, and Anya’s head was certainly going to be spinning with disbelief by the ti
me he was done explaining things. But Finn had found, in the few times in his life when he’d had to inform humans of the existence of shifters, that straight, frank honesty was usually the best policy. The more you tried to soften the truth or dance around it, the more confused people got—and once they were confused it was even harder for them to believe the fantastical truth you were telling them.
“Anya, listen,” Finn said, coming to sit down on the cold forest floor next to Anya. “You’ve been caught up in some things that are probably hard for you to understand. And you’ve seen some things tonight that are probably hard for you to believe, but you weren’t dreaming.”
Finn paused and gave Anya a moment to respond. She merely narrowed her eyes at him, so he took a deep breath and then continued, gesturing toward Owen.
“Owen and I are what are known as shapeshifters. We have the ability to shift back and forth between human and animal form. There are actually quite a few types of shapeshifters in the world. You saw a few others tonight—there were lions, bears, and tigers attacking our campsite, if I remember correctly. But Owen and I are dragons. We have dragon genes inside of us, and can turn ourselves into dragons at will.”
Finn paused again, and this time, Anya spoke.
“That’s preposterous,” she said. “People can’t just change into animals at will. Especially not animals that don’t actually exist. Dragons aren’t real.”
Finn glanced over at Owen, who gave a slight shrug as if to say, what do you expect her to say? Indeed, Finn thought as he looked back at Anya. What did I expect her to say?
A common human reaction to the existence of shapeshifters was to deny that they could actually exist. Another common reaction was to freak out and think shapeshifting was contagious. If the growing fear in Anya’s eyes was any indication, she was struggling with whether she should laugh in his face or run from him in terror. He decided to try to explain further.
Destiny and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 5) Page 4