Rayna's Sacrifice (The Katori Chronicles Book 3)

by A D Lombardo

  A man punched Kai in the jaw. He fell to his knees. A spot of blood dripped from his mouth. The man dropped in the sand beside Kai. Hand out, Lucca urged Kai to his feet.

  Kai took his grandfather’s hand and stood in time to block a Caroco man about to stab Lucca in the back. More seaweed crept up the beach, dragging men into the water. Rayna was thinning the horde.

  Two new people, a man and a woman, emerged from the chaos. Green light bloomed beneath their shirts. They waved their hands and the sea vines receded and turned on Rayna. She fell to her knees and was dragged across the sand to their feet.

  The woman kneeled at Rayna’s side. Blade drawn, she paused. Kai noticed the bewildered expression as the two women stared at each other. The curve of her face, the shape of her eyes was all too familiar. She had to be Rayna’s mother. There was no other explanation for the similarity or her hesitation.

  The woman reached out, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Rayna, is it really you? How are you here?” She recoiled and looked at the man behind her.

  A punch to the face brought Kai back to his own fight. In several swift strikes, he dispatched half a dozen men. Standing in the center of chaos—Keegan laughed. He pulled at the sea, willing the vegetation to attack Lucca. Each strike brought more joy to his eyes. Even though Lucca held his own, the Keegan seemed happy to have this moment.

  When Keegan stopped to shout at his men, Kai turned to see the result. On the ship, Kai noticed a line of men. Their arms were raised, and he spotted the silver weapons in their hands—hand cannons. They took aim. Fear gripped at Kai’s heart. They were in trouble. Keegan was besting them by sheer numbers, and now he was using hand cannons. A weapon that could shred any hope they had of surviving.

  Kai had to stop this. Heat swelled in his throat. White light sparked within his crystal as his fingers clutched the stone. Within his mind, he grasped the golden thread of creation, embracing the nature of his inner dragon. The speed with which it happened pinched a nerve. Kai had rushed the transformation.

  A prick of pain shuttered down his spine, but he kept going. Shoulders curled inward, his bones flexed and expanded. His skin morphed into scales. Wings unfurled, and his fingers curled into razor-sharp talons. Kai transformed into a silver dragon. The heat welling in his throat spat fire across the front of Keegan’s ship. Men screamed and burned.

  Beside him, Ryker used his knife to free Rayna from her bindings as she lay on the beach. Her mother stepped back and dropped her knife. She was unwilling to kill her own daughter.

  “Fly away, Kai!” Lucca called. “Ryker, catch.” he tossed his hand in the air.

  A curved piece of silver and a blue crystal gleamed in the sunlight. Kai’s amber dragon eyes watch his mother’s necklace fly through the air. Everyone’s eyes focused on the crystal. Even Keegan stopped to follow the crescent moon pass between Lucca and Ryker. “Mariana’s necklace? How can this be?” Keegan shouts.

  Ryker snatched the crystal and took Rayna by the hand. Kai extended his wing and he flew into the air. Below, faces stare in astonishment. His dragon shadow glided over the white sandbar. A battle frozen by the arrival of a beast few still claimed.

  Caught by the idea he cannot leave, Kai circled. In the water to his right, a swarm of dark creatures fly like birds under the sea—manta rays. My mother must be among them, Kai thought. There must be a way to save her. He refuses to leave without her. On his left, the battle resumed.

  Kai’s remaining friends struggled. Liam and Yulia fell to their knees. I must help them. He circled, spraying fire across the Caroco men. Yulia shielded herself and Liam with a wave of water. Lucca continued to fight, blocking wind and wave with a shield of light. Basil swatted men into the air with his gorilla strength and Katori speed.

  Rayna shouted for him to leave, but Kai ignored her appeal and circled again. Two eagles swooped to attack his riders. Kai banked hard and smacked them with his wing. On his next pass, an iron bolt grazed his neck. The pain trickled down his spine.

  Rayna screamed.

  Ryker pounded on Kai’s hard scaly back. “Fly away, Kai!” Ryker shouted.

  Unsure where the shot came from, Kai came about. He hated abandoning his friends and leaving his mother behind. There had to be a way to win. He was a dragon, after all.

  Blue-green water unfolded beneath his massive wingspan. White sand littered with Caroco fighters and Katori warriors. He dove low. Heat welled in his throat. He opened his mouth to belch fire. Pain pierced his wing. A metal bold struck in the bend of his wing.

  Rayna screamed. “We must flee, Kai!”

  Below on the ship, Kai saw Keegan reloaded another bolt into his crossbow, the bulky stand secured to the stern of his ship.

  Afraid, Kai swooped over the ocean. With a few beats of his wings, he was in the air and angled toward the looming fog of the Mystic Islands. In pain, he looked back at the beach. He saw Keegan drop his weapon and raced to the back of his ship. Focused on Kai, he yelled. “Where is Mariana?”

  The sun beat down on Kai’s bleeding wing. It hurt to fly. Even the gash in his neck was starting to throb. He felt his grasp on the golden thread weaken. Faster and higher he flew. They were not close enough. The gray haze beckoned him to safety. He wobbled in the air. Panic set in. He was losing control of his form.

  Chapter 28

  The Hunted

  Black waves rolled over the ocean below his wings. The white mist lingered around the hidden islands. Each flap of his wing shot crippling pain down Kai’s dragon spine. He wobbled again. “You can do this, Kai,” Rayna begged.

  Warmth ran down his wing. Kai could feel Rayna’s hands press into his scales. She was trying to heal his wound. The bolt held fast. It was not enough. Into the mist he flew, engulfed in the nothingness. Black stone appeared before him, and Kai veered, his barbed tail scraped the side of the island in their path.

  The more Kai flew, the harder it became. He turned and rolled to avoid the sea stacks. His dragon eyes gleaned through the maze. He needed to fly up out of the darkness. Pulling against the weight of his own body, he flapped his wings. Every movement felt thick and agonizing. The dense fog gave way to sunshine. A tropical field of lush grasses and wild plants unfolded before him.

  Exhausted, Kai curled his talons to his chest. Gliding lower and lower, he felt the grass rake his tail and lower legs. He thought of Ryker. Get ready to jump, he instructed. The moment before his dragon body struck the ground, Ryker and Rayna jumped clear and he rolled to one side. Unable to stop, he slid across the ground, kicking up dirt and grass. Once he came to a stop in a pile of dirt and sod, Kai grabbed the white light within his soul. His true form returned, and he collapsed in a heap.

  A clump of dirt pressed into his face. He tried to sit up. Tiny white stars danced around his vision. His head throbbed. The world blurred in a swirl of green and blue. Up was down and back again. He felt sick. Rayna rushed to his side and pulled at his limp arms. Her words slurred around his head, and blackness took him.

  ◆◆◆

  Rayna knelt behind Kai’s motionless body in the tall grass. She brushed dirt from his sweaty head. The silver bolt stuck out of his upper back near his shoulder. Blood oozed out of the wound. “What can I do for him?” she asked Ryker.

  Ryker scanned the skies.

  She figured he watched for other Beastmasters who might follow. “Ryker, we have to help Kai. What do I do?”

  He did not look at her. “Pull out the bolt and heal the wound. See if you can wake him. I will keep watch.”

  The task sounded simple, but making a mistake terrified her. Up until now, Jayla or Imani had always guided her on how to wield her magic. They always do most of the work, she thought. She held her breath. This was no time to panic or have self-doubt.

  “We need to move,” Ryker knelt next to Rayna. “Keegan saw us. More importantly, he saw Mariana’s necklace. He will come for Kai.”

  The knowledge that they were still in trouble stirred Rayna into action. She wrapped
her hand around the silver bolt. The metal was warm with the heat from Kai’s body. With the other hand, she pressed against Kai’s back. With her eyes closed, she searched her soul for the knowledge and power to heal Kai.

  Rayna’s breathing slowed. The sun warmed her back, its power filling her body. Beneath her knees, the grass and dirt gave her more energy. Light blossomed within her green teardrop crystal. In one swift motion, she withdrew the bolt and pushed her magic into the wound.

  Her hands glowed with power. Kai’s puncture wound began to close. Deep within the gash, she sensed the bone fracture seal and the muscle regrow. The use of so much magic weighed on her. She did not have enough energy to heal the injury completely. A tear slid down her cheek. A warm hand pressed down on hers. “You can do this Rayna,” Ryker assured her, offering her a bit of his own magic.

  The magic from Ryker gave her the strength she needed. Filled with his power, she continued to repair the damage. “Thank you,” she said, opening her eyes. “I am afraid I do not have enough magic left to wake him, but at least his neck is no longer bleeding and his shoulder wound is closed. If Keegan is coming, what can we do?”

  “We are exposed here in the open. We need to hide, but I cannot carry Kai and run very fast—not as a man anyway.”

  Rayna stood to survey their surroundings. “If we could make it to those mountains, maybe we could hide there.” She pointed across the jungle.

  “Once I transform into a shuk, you will have to pull him onto my back.”

  She nodded. “Will I be able to communicate with you?”

  “I can understand your spoken words, yes, but I cannot talk back to you as I would with Kai.”

  Rayna nodded—she would be on her own to provide direction. After Ryker transformed, he laid next to Kai. Even on the ground, he was a massive beast. His thick black fur felt course against her skin. Thankful for her Katori strength, Rayna pulled Kai onto Ryker’s back and climbed up behind Kai.

  On the move, Ryker eased into a run. Rayna held on with her legs to keep from slipping while putting a hand on Kai to keep him from bouncing off. As before, Ryker’s rhythm felt natural, like riding a horse. When they entered the dense jungle, Ryker slowed to sniff the air. His massive head craned right, then left.

  From atop Ryker’s shuk form, she scanned the area as he did, unsure which way to go. Relieved she did not have to choose, he went left. The ground evened out, and they weaved through the trees. Palm trees and vines gave way to another clearing. Overhead an eagle soared above them. Rayna noticed it circling. Its high-pitched call barely reached her ears, but when a second approached, she knew they were in trouble.

  “Ryker, we have to get out of the open! They’ve spotted us, I am sure of it. Take cover back into the jungle!”

  ◆◆◆

  Kai’s arms dangled next to his head. His upside-down body bounced, making it difficult to breathe. Black fur brushed his face. Where am I? Ryker? He wanted to move but could not find the strength. The rhythm of Ryker’s shuk form rocked him back and forth. In and out of consciousness, Kai caught flutters of his surroundings. Green ferns and giant red stalky flowers. Rocks. They splashed into a babbling brook and he noticed more leafy plants. Rayna’s hands pressed into his back. “Over there,” she called. “Go that way. Back through the jungle.”

  Black paws pounded through the tall grass below his head. The setting sun struck his eyes, and he closed them. The desire to sleep tugged at Kai. Again, he passed out.

  ◆◆◆

  Rayna slid from Ryker’s back and pulled Kai into the grass. His limp body was loose and floppy, making him difficult to move. Behind her, Ryker transformed back into his usual self. To the west, the setting sun cast looming long shadows across the land. “Why are there no Katori on this island?” she tilted her head to glance around Ryker.

  “Not all islands have people,” Ryker responded. “Any that live here are most likely hermits. People who don’t want to live near others. They will not help us—just the opposite, they will avoid interaction and hide like a wild animal might.”

  This was not good news. She and Ryker could not even rely on other Katori to help them. Her arms and legs ached from the riding and holding on to Kai. “What do we do now? Everywhere we turn, there are Beastmasters stalking us. Keegan is sure to find us.”

  Ryker stretched his back. “I need to lead them away from you. Confuse them with new cross-tracks to hide our true trail.”

  She breathed heavy. “What can I do?” She glanced down, noticing Kai stir. She knelt to touch his head and side. “Kai,” she jostled him, but he did not wake. “I cannot just sit here.”

  “Keep him safe. With the sunlight fading, we will be difficult to spot from the sky. But those leopards you spotted will be coming. It will not take them long to discover our trail. I will double back the way we came, lead them away. Hide in these trees.” He stepped into the thicket with Kai.

  Rayna’s stomach tightened as she watched Ryker transform and disappear into the night. Alone, she listened to the creatures of the night. Strange jungle bugs chirped, and other animals squeaked. A rustling noise sent her into the underbrush. On her knees, she hid and held her breath. Connecting to nature, she encouraged the vines to conceal her location. The smell of freshly stirred dirt mixed with a sweet fragrant flower. The vinea around her bloomed with bright white moonflowers.

  Reaching to touch one, she heard another noise and lay on her belly beside Kai. Through the filtered moonlight, she spotted a strange creature scurry around the ground. It sniffed the air and weaved through the grass in her direction.

  Their eyes met, and the animal froze. Sniffing the air, it ventured closer to her and her sleeping companion. It's long, sleek, fur-covered body was milky-white with a black mask, black feet, and a black-tipped tail. It had short legs and a round head with pointy ears on either side. Curious, it climbed into the vine-covered undergrowth.

  The animal’s pungent smell reached her nose, and she scrunched up her face. Its beady black eyes blinked. It sniffed her and nosed closer to Kai. Rayna kept silent—she could not risk revealing her location to anyone nearby.

  Up close, she decided it looked like a cat. Or a cross between a weasel and a cat, given its long body and fluffy tail. “Are you a daakoo, little bandit?” She had seen a sketch of one in a book, but in the low light, she could not be sure. She had no idea what they were capable of or if they were a threat.

  When it let out a trill, followed by a few low whistles, Rayna smiled. It did not appear to be threatening. On the contrary, it was friendly. Then four more daakoo leaped through the vines. Each one circled closer. Three hopped on Kai and snuggled into his back, and the other two curled up around his neck. Kai groaned under the weight but did not wake.

  She was about to shew them away when the daakoo began to purr and rub all over Kai. “Do you know he is a Beastmaster?” she whispered. Unsure what else to do, she kept quiet and held her nose. “You smell awful.” She waved her hand in front of her face to clear the stink.

  Another louder noise caught her attention. The daakoo lowered their heads and hissed. “Shhh,” Rayna whispered.

  Frightened, Rayna peered through the vines into the darkness. A rustling disturbed the vegetation. When the leopard stepped into the moonlight, she held her breath. The leopard sniffed the ground and walked in their direction. Unafraid, the daakoo slipped through the vines.

  Angry barks and screams echoed into the night as the daakoo approached the leopard. Rayna watched the encounter. The leopard moved to avoid the daakoo stepping around it in the tall grass while keeping eye contact. A foul smell bloomed in the air and Rayna covered her face with her shirt collar.

  The daakoo pack darted off the way Ryker had gone. Rayna lay holding her breath, partly out of fear, but mostly because of the smell. The leopard sniffed the air in every direction, but it was easy to tell he had lost the trail due to the daakoo scent. Unhappy with the situation, the leopard left the way it had come.

  R
ayna’s heart thumped in her throat. Thankful, the smell of the daakoo masked their scent and covered their trail. Fairly certain the leopard had been a Beastmaster, she could only hope it would not return. For now, she remained hidden–and grateful the smell had improved with the departure of the daakoo.

  Beside her, Kai stirred and grabbed his head wincing in pain. Bleary-eyed, he stared at her. She was relieved to see him awake. Her face was near his, she could see the relief that she was with him. Moving onto his side, he massaged his ribs. A vine scratched his cheek as he tried to sit up. The action made his head swim and he fell back down.

  Rayna whispered. “Keep still, Kai.”

  “Where is Ryker?” he murmured, but before she could respond, he passed out once more.

  Through the trees, a man darted into the clearing. “Rayna,” he called.

  “This way Ryker. Over here.” Rayna answered, stepping out of the vines. “You were gone for hours, where did you go?”

  “Beastmasters are everywhere. Keegan is here too. They have found the point where Kai crashed into the island as a dragon. Even with all my deception hunting tricks along our trail, they could still find us. We need to move into the mountains.”

  “I saw a long dark ridge,” Rayna pointed, “back that way. Maybe there is a place to climb up or a cave to hide in.”

  Ryker nodded. “Either way, we should get going.”

  She wrapped her hand around the moonflower vine to create an opening. Kai moaned. “What is happening?” he asked.

  “I am glad you are awake, Kai.” Ryker offered a hand up. “Can you move on your own?”

  Kai rolled his head around to see Ryker. “I think so,” he stood and stumbled.