Asaph found it hard flying, the mix between water and air made conditions unpredictable and he fought against the turbulence. He had to blink the water out of his eyes a lot, too. The other dragons flew with much greater ease so he was thankful when they finally descended out of them, and he was able to shake the rain from his body.
The dark ocean stretched below. He couldn’t see any land but he sensed great land masses in each direction. Soon, red-tinged clouds bloodied the dark sky, and the taint of Dromoorai assaulted his senses. Enemy-held lands were ahead.
‘I can feel them, my undead cousins,’ said Asaph, his voice grim. It was a hard truth; the Dromoorai were the only other beings closer to his kind on all Maioria.
‘Whatever inhabits those things is far from living,’ said Pennarc with a shudder. ‘They’re not your cousins.’
‘I can feel them too. Some close. Many further away. There will be a fight,’ said Garna, her voice showing that she was both excited and pensive.
‘You don’t have to fight for me or any of the humans,’ Asaph reminded them. ‘If it starts to turn bad, get away. Don’t let them enslave you. We can return to fight another day.’
‘We don’t just fight for you, we fight for all our kin these bastards have slain. The memory of Drax has returned to all of us.’ Rust finished with a roar.
The other dragons joined him, proudly announcing their presence as the dark cliffs of Venosia loomed. Asaph’s roar shook the air and he took the lead, constantly checking the Flow for the indigo hue of Issa’s power.
Magic flared in an explosion of purple and white far into the distance. Wizard magic, he thought, and flew faster. The dark coast sped by on their left, and lights dotted the coves and clifftops.
Enemy lights, he telepathed to the other dragons.
A burst of fire caught his attention out to sea. It could be a ship, he thought, but when it was followed by a flare of indigo, he lunged towards it. The seconds felt like hours as he closed the distance. Not one Dromoorai, but three appeared, and they chased someone glowing indigo blue in the Flow.
Issa!
Issa focused on the Flow, drawing it beneath them. She felt Duskar give the briefest hesitation as his hooves hit the water’s edge, then they both felt a slight lift, and he was galloping upon the surface. Duskar raised his head and neighed and she laughed wildly.
She glanced behind her. Three hideous monsters of black wings, teeth and blazing red eyes followed. A horse could not outrun those wings. Issa focused on the orb and the water moved beneath them, carrying them faster.
A terrible howl reached her ears. Glancing back, a Dread Dragon had been ensnared in a blazing net of fire. It thrashed and spun then crashed into the ocean. Issa grinned. A unique trick, Haelgon. But the other two were swiftly closing the gap between them.
Issa focused on keeping Duskar galloping on the water’s surface, lifting them up and speeding them on with the orb’s power. They were soon a mile from the shore and out upon the open ocean, but however far they went, she would have to bring him back. Leading the dragons away had worked perfectly, but what now?
Red lightning flashed, striking the ocean barely yards ahead. Spooked, Duskar reared and she clung to him barely staying mounted. Claws the size of tree trunks swiped past her head. She dodged to the right. Duskar scrambled away, panting heavily, his flanks lathered in sweat.
‘Water Wall!’ she commanded the orb. Water shot up around them, cocooning them in thick walls of swirling ocean. She screamed as a spiked tail slashed easily through their water barrier and scraped across her chest, tearing her armour and gashing her skin beneath. Water was not going to be enough to keep the dragons out.
‘Sink!’ she screamed, clutching her wound. Already her armour was knitting itself back together, but the shallow cut still smarted. Her cocoon immediately dropped into the ocean becoming a huge bubble of air with them inside. Duskar turned around, confused.
‘Easy,’ she soothed. She urged him forward and the bubble moved with them.
Above the sloshing water, dragons howled in frustration. Her head pounded as magical fatigue set in. Commanding the Flow and fleeing Dromoorai was exhausting. Using magic in new ways was always more draining. But if she remained hidden, she risked losing the interest of the Dromoorai. She suddenly felt trapped in her bubble beneath the ocean’s surface.
She turned back towards the shore, but moving in this manner was much slower than galloping upon the surface. It was becoming stuffy too. She glanced up and saw the dragon’s underbellies and the red flare of eyes and amulets. They screamed and then turned away.
‘No!’ she said. All she had to do was keep them away from the battle for as long as possible.
‘Up,’ she commanded the orb, the pounding in her head increasing. The bubble rose, and again they stood upon the ocean. She kicked Duskar into a gallop, now chasing the Dread Dragons.
‘Here!’ she screamed. Raising her hands she shouted, ‘Lightning!’
White light from her fingers tore into a Dread Dragon. It roared and turned back. Not letting Duskar slow, she banked right. The cliffs and the shore loomed close, but between her and them was the other Dromoorai.
One came at her straight on, the other took a wide berth. It’s going to come at me from behind! She focused on the Flow, preparing to sink again when a strange noise ground and screeched so loudly she flinched. Duskar stumbled and shook his head. The noise expanded in her head like a living entity that was trying to take her over.
She forced her attention to the enemy. Two Dromoorai hung in the air, one in front of her, one behind, and their eyes were no longer glowing red but revolving between red, blue, green and back again. They were taking their time as if waiting for something, but what?
She raised walls of water and just as she tried to sink, the sound came again, louder, piercing, driving all sense from her mind. The sound of the Dark Rift! Beyond the awful grinding sound of tortured metal twisting against itself, garbled voices gibbered.
Red clouds bulged above her. They separated to reveal the tear splitting apart the sky, blacker than black. Issa’s heart thundered, Duskar’s back legs gave way and she slid off his back. The water turned spongy beneath her and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold them on its surface for much longer.
A voice cut through the noise, low and airy.
‘Bring the one,’ commanded Baelthrom.
Within the black tear, four shapes appeared swathed in darkness. Their mounts breathed soot and their eyes drained the Flow from her hands.
‘Duskar, go,’ she gasped against her thundering heart. The horse staggered to his feet but he would not move.
‘Sink!’ she commanded her orb, but something blocked its power. In the Flow she saw the ocean black with the Under Flow. The Dromoorai had imprisoned her with black magic.
What a stupid idea this had been! She cursed herself for her reckless foolishness, her desire to fight everything and anything. Who could help her, out here on the ocean, against the immaterial beasts descending out of the Dark Rift?
Her eyes locked on to the four horsemen. They took on hideous forms as they galloped into the material world. Their long swords and shields reflected the red clouds, and their empty pits for eyes began drawing the life from her, paralysing her in a terror worse than dragon fear. The horses snorted smoke and their manes of spines clacked as they shook their enormous heads.
In her side vision, she saw the Dromoorai descending, could even smell the rotting sulphur of the dragons’ breath. Ehka cawed then flew at a Dromoorai only to be swatted away.
‘Don’t Ehka. Save yourself!’
She held up the raven talisman and commanded it. Lightning flared out, scorching the Dromoorai and forcing them to withdraw. It did not affect the horsemen, for they moved in another dimension. She would have to face them or flee. She had a thought, one last trick to try.
‘A’farion, A’farion, A’farion,’ she screamed and slammed the talisman to her chest.
&nb
sp; 7
Dragon Truth
In the Realm of the Dead, a blanket of dark grey replaced the red, thunderous clouds of Venosia.
The sky pressed down on Issa, and the sea upon which she stood moved sickly and sluggish. She hunted the skies but the Dromoorai were gone.
A screaming neigh made her whip around. In the fog beyond, shapes formed. Issa ran, her feet slapping the ocean’s surface. She gripped the orb in one hand and her raven talisman in the other. The orb’s magic was weak here, but it still commanded enough power to keep her on the surface.
Another scream came, this time much closer. She spun around. Four horsemen emerged out of the grey. They reached for their scabbards and unsheathed long black blades. In this open space, they could see her clearly and there was nothing to hinder their steeds. Her flee to safety had become a flee to her death.
Suddenly it became harder to run. The sea beneath her feet began to flow backwards. It felt like she was running up hill, each breath gasping in her throat. She was being drawn back to the horsemen. Clouds raced past and howling winds battered against her, forcing her to stop.
She turned and held up her orb and talisman. Magic flared between them, each strengthening the other. She lifted the sea, forming walls of swirling grey, and smashed them back into the horsemen. Spiked hooves thrashed, and inhumane voices howled as they sprawled, halted but not hurt.
The wind increased, forcing her to a stop. She began to lose her balance. There was nowhere else to turn. Defeated, she slammed the raven talisman against her chest and let the Realm of the Dead go.
Cold water and a vivid world of raging magic and fire engulfed her. Splashing at the surface, she hunted wildly for the horsemen, ignoring the Dromoorai in the sky above. There were none…yet. Perhaps she had got away.
Duskar struggled in the water and Ehka cawed somewhere above. Her arms were so tired she could barely keep herself afloat.
Roaring came from a distance. Dear goddess, not more Dromoorai! She struggled with the flagging Flow and glanced to her left. Her heart skipped a beat. There, in the sky, flew dragons. They moved so fast they were streaks of red, green, gold and yellow flames. Ehka plunged towards her with a squawk and Duskar whinnied as a different dragon fear grabbed hold of him.
Spluttering, she stared at the three glorious dragons of Feygriene as they smashed into the Dromoorai in a hail of fire.
‘Asaph!’ she cried. Praise the goddess, he did it!
Issa vanished moments before Asaph slammed into the first Dromoorai.
He had no time to look for her as his teeth closed on a membranous wing and he ripped at it viciously. Its wing torn, the Dread Dragon tumbled in the air and crashed into the sea.
Asaph lunged at the Dromoorai on its back as it flailed underwater. He wrenched it off the dragon and tossed it aside, intending it to sink under the weight of its armour. The Dread Dragon snaked its head back and clamped its jaws on his thigh. Asaph howled bubbles and heaved them both to the surface.
Pennarc was a blaze of green scales and orange fire in his vision as he dropped from the sky onto the Dread Dragon. The green dragon bit down hard on the back of the black dragon’s neck, forcing it to release Asaph’s thigh.
Shadow stone magic flashed red and the Under Flow moved. Asaph gathered the Flow that swiftly turned sluggish and pulled himself out of the water into the air. The Dromoorai stood upon the ocean surface, red magic glowing beneath its feet, claymore drawn, eyes and amulet flashing. It held one gauntleted hand out and clenched.
Asaph found his throat crushing. He forced the Flow to his bidding, spending it all in one command. He disappeared from his current location, lost the Dromoorai’s hold on him, and reappeared just behind it.
Asaph spewed white fire. In the blinding blaze he watched the Dromoorai’s armour slowly begin to glow and buckle. As if unaffected by the enormous heat, the Dromoorai inched around to face him, eyes flaring red, fist still out-stretched.
In its amulet, Asaph saw the image of Baelthrom, strikingly similar to the Dromoorai before him, same tripartite helmet, same armour—even his hand was held out in the same manner.
An immense force exploded into Asaph. Hurtling backwards, he spun head over tail, glancing off the ocean’s surface before submerging.
He floundered, dazed and stunned. After several long moments, the world stopped spinning and he regained his senses and found the surface.
No Dromoorai or Dread Dragon pursued him. He couldn’t feel their presence at all anymore. Blinking salt water out of his eyes, he saw a strange sight.
Standing on the surface was Issa mounted atop Duskar with Ehka circling above them. Rust and Garna hovered just above her and they appeared to be communing. He could sense the dragons’ curiosity towards his mate.
There was a huge black lump bobbing between her and him, the body of the Dread Dragon he had just been fighting. Had the blast of magic not come from the Dromoorai? Issa looked pale and shaken as she held up a glimmering Orb of Water.
‘Dead?’ He asked the dragons meaning the Dromoorai.
‘Dead,’ Rust replied. ‘But more will come.’
Pennarc flew towards them. A bloody gash ran the length of his side but he still flew steadily. Asaph flapped his wings above the surface and pulled on the Flow to help him get airborne.
‘You came!’ said Issa. ‘A little late, perhaps.’
‘Dragons can’t be late,’ Asaph replied. ‘I’ll carry you,’ he said aloud.
Issa smiled at him and reached up. Gently he lifted her from Duskar’s back then gripped the horse in his other claws. The horse bucked and whinnied as he usually did before giving in.
‘Ahead, there, see those burning braziers? That’s where our ships are. There’s our war.’ Issa pointed.
He nodded, catching her excitement and anxiety, and headed towards the dark cliffs with the other dragons following.
As they neared, more Dread Dragons appeared on the horizon, and between them, legions of scurrying black armoured Maphraxies. The Under Flow gathered heavily here, on enemy lands. Asaph didn’t like it one bit.
‘Look, we’ve pushed them out of the cove completely!’ Issa shouted over the wind.
The Maphraxies were in retreat as the Feylint Halanoi pushed them back beyond the brow of the hill. Her victorious smile faded as she took in the coast littered with dead. Stretcher-bearers ran left and right, unable to pick up the dead for the number of injured.
She hunted for Velonorian and the wizards, praying none had fallen. The elf she couldn’t find, he would be helping his Elven fellows, she hoped. To the left of the cove on a rocky platform a third of the way up the cliff stood Luren, Haelgon and Drumblodd.
She looked for Domenon. Far to the right on the other side of the battlefield came a flare of pale magic. Was that him partially hidden behind a ridge? She saw movement of pale robes beside a darker figure. Naksu, thank the goddess!
‘You’ll be safer on my back,’ said Asaph.
‘Maybe, but I have to help the wizards,’ Issa shouted over the screams and howls and clash of weapons. ‘You’ll have to drive back the Dromoorai. We must protect the ground army from them. Can your dragons do that if the wizards assist you?’
‘There are five.’ Asaph clocked the five Dromoorai, three of which were heading towards them. ‘We can try,’ he growled. ‘But I’m not straying far from your side.’
‘I was hoping you wouldn’t.’ She patted the huge claw wrapped around her waist, wondering if he could even feel her small hand. The Dromoorai approached fast and she swallowed. ‘Set me down by Domenon, there’s no orb that side of the battle other than Orphinius’.’
Asaph turned hard back out to sea and dropped low, trying to create distance between them and the Dromoorai. Dread Dragons followed. He flew faster, then banked back to the coast, moving at such speed that Issa felt the world spin. Pulling his wings in tight he plummeted out of the sky towards the ridge where Naksu and Domenon stood.
Hovering a foot off gro
und, he set her and Duskar down and leapt into the air to meet the Dromoorai. He dodged the black dragon’s snapping jaws and blazed fire over its underside. Swooping low over the battlefield, he scraped his claws into hordes of Maphraxies, lifted them up and threw them at the pursuing Dromoorai.
Naksu came to Issa’s side, grabbing her attention from the golden dragon.
‘So, the mighty dragons have awakened!’ Naksu laughed in wonder.
Domenon smiled but his luminous eyes were hard. He closed them to focus on his magic.
‘I only ever dared to believe it would happen,’ said Issa, turning her gaze upon the three other dragons further away. ‘Now they’re here, I can’t believe it. Incredible, aren’t they? Pray to Feygriene we don’t lose any today.’
‘Some assistance would be nice,’ Domenon’s strained voice caught her attention. The Master Wizard had entrapped a Dromoorai in a giant, glowing orange net and the beast was thrashing madly in the air above the battle field.
Issa entered the Flow and Naksu held up her staff. Issa felt the seer’s fast command of the Flow. Her staff pulsed once, the air trembled, and the Dromoorai and its dragon vanished.
The seer sagged.
‘What the…’ said Issa, eyes widening.
Domenon blinked at the seer.
‘It’s not a spell to do lightly,’ Naksu said, her voice weak. ‘And neither is it a complete solution. I just put it somewhere else for now, about five hundred miles down the coast. It will return and probably be very angry.’
‘I need to learn that,’ said Issa.
She focused on the Flow and the battlefield, using it to hunt for Velonorian and his familiar aura. She spied the tall gangly elf amongst a group of Elven archers, closer than she had expected and back from the frontline. His long pastel hair tumbled down from under his helmet. Velonorian had already spotted her and was trying to make his way through the press of warriors.
War of the Raven Queen: The Goddess Prophecies Fantasy Series Book 6 Page 8