“You and your damnable words, did you not hear me? I said, leave,” he snarled, his eyes began to glow as his teeth lengthened.
“Is that any way of speaking to your old mate?” she chided disappointed.
Ange flinched, shocked by her words.
“You are not Alya, and I am not Harfang. Now be gone!” he spat.
Sora’s eyes became hard, angry. “I won’t leave, Rex Glacies, not till you bond with the girl and tell me where you entombed our Phoenix Queen!”
“Never!” Showl roared.
What happened next was lost to Ange as Showl and Sora shot straight for each other. Monstrous roaring filled the air, the sol lantern by the wall somehow burst into flame with a bright explosion, Ange stumbled back and gasped as a hand grasp her wrist and yanked her away from the main room.
Stone fell, walls shattered as gust of winds blasted past her face and ice began to cap over every object in sight.
“Run!” Richard shoved her past the forge.
“But Showl!” Ange protested. Turning back she watched as Showl shoved Sora into a wall with a roar as she snarled, grappling with him for control of the fight. Ange’s eyes widened as the other Dragondbound dodged around the fight and slowly trudged towards them, her eyes hollow and deadly.
Ange felt completely useless, she had no weapon and she doubt she could take the girl on without one.
A weighty load was shoved suddenly into her arms.
“Move!” Richard snapped.
Ange glanced down at the sack for a moment, confused. She didn’t take time to figure out what it was as she bolted for away, outside to the night. Three moons were climbing slowly up the sky as she stared up, wondering where she could possible run to.
Richard kept hauling her till they were at the center of the open field behind the house that expanded out into the dark horizon.
“I’ll try to stop the girl. Get out of here and find something, anything that can run fast!” he ordered with a hard and determined gaze.
“What can you do?” Ange protested. “This is a Dragonbound we’re talking about here. Her magic could easily surpass yours.”
“I know,” Richard said grimly and in a rush. “But I can buy you some time.”
“Promise me, you won’t do something stupid,” Ange stopped him, gazing up at him stubbornly. “Promise me I’ll find you at the Tower of Ingled, safe and studying and boasting like the pain you are,” she insisted.
He smiled gravely, his expression unconfident. “I’ll try.”
They both flinched as an explosion of wood flung towards them suddenly, Ange shoved Richard down as wood pelted them. She braced herself as chunks painfully landed against her back and hugged the bag Richard had given her tighter and didn’t dare as to so much let out a moan.
“Ange, look out!” Richard yelled.
Ange gasped as the muscular young man easily flipped her over and rolled her away as large eight foot beam landed with a loud thud where they had been laying only moments before, it’s surface aflame.
Ange looked back towards the scene of the house as she sat up, wondering what had caused the large piece of wood to dislodge from its foundation. She gasped in bewilderment.
Over the glow of the flames that was quickly ravishing the house were two mighty beasts that had already rendered the house into rubble. She couldn’t help but gasp in awe at the sight despite the danger that seemed to electrify the very air.
The first dragon was small compared to its opponent, slate colored feathers covered its back down to a long tail, its white throat flashed in the glow of the flames as its reared its head and opened its short maw filled with hundreds of small white teeth that gleamed as sharp as any blade, a black beak-like edge curved to the tip of its mouth. Its front legs slashed up, covered in bright yellow scales that came up to bright orange feathers that covered the upper part of its legs. Short black horns curled out of the dragon’s navy crowned skull, the scales and feathers starting from the base of the neck had black streaks cutting through their shapes.
Ange understood why Showl had stated they looked a bit like birds. Feathers covered the majority of their bodies, their jaws had the edge of beak up to the tip, their heads sleeked down to their necks. Yet they held all the ferocity of a dragon, a long snake-like tail lashed from their hips with long feathers like a bird pressed close to the end of the tail except when fanned out. Scales covered their legs while under the feathers shined plate scales under their throats to the end of their tails, and as Ange looked closer she could see scales under their feathers, covering their entire lengths. And hidden under the feathers she could see long spines running in equal segments from the base of their skulls to the tips of their tails.
What Ange hadn’t expected was their overwhelming immensity. The smaller dragon could easily tower twenty feet over her from just its shoulder. She could only hope to be the length of one of its smallest primary feathers.
Up until that moment, Ange had still doubted a little about the existence of giant dragons.
She recognized Showl in a heartbeat. He was a mighty, and a beauty in her eyes, even as his black fangs gleamed dangerously in the firelight, his eyes glowed with golden fire as his unearthly roar filled the skies and made her tremble with fear.
He was easily three times the size of Sora, his body was covered in pure white feathers, the lower feathers of his tail and wings were dusted lightly with black flecks. His jaws were short like the other dragon, but his ebony fangs were longer as an inky beak edged his jaws, and long curling ebony horns branched from his head. His legs were covered in feathers, unlike Sora, up to his long claw tipped toes that resembled closely to human hands, only with four digits. Long black talons gleamed with deadly sharpness as he reared onto his back legs, slashing down on the smaller dragon.
His long claws connected with the smaller dragon’s shoulder with a horrible shredding and snapping noise where the wing was connected. Sora roared out in pain and fury as she leapt away with wings spread wide, knocking the building further into disarray.
Above, the sky grew darker.
As Ange focused her gaze skyward she noticed thick clouds begin to form, a process that took time quickly played out before her eyes, a chill descended through the air, while the wind lashed violently.
“Get out of here!” Ange shoved Richard away as snow began to swirl through the rough air currents.
Richard tore his gaze away from the dragons and nodded once, without a word he jumped to his feet and rushed away from the house and the fighting. Ange noticed that lights were moving quickly through the storm toward the burning house.
She glanced around, utterly lost and confused. Perhaps she should have followed Richard.
An agonized roar made her wince as anxiety rushed through her, she turned her gaze back to the dragons.
“Showl!” she yelled as she saw Sora’s jaws clamped around right forearm, blood leaked from her jaws and stained Showl’s pure white feathers crimson. Showl roared and opened his jaws.
Ange expected him to lunge for Sora’s neck, it was vulnerable and could easily be snapped if he applied the proper force, but to her shock a stream of ice escaped from his maw instead.
The cone of cold was like an intensified, concentrated, stream of crystals denser than any blizzard.
The ice pelted against Sora’s back like a fierce and unrelenting tide, freezing over feathers in thick caps of ice, the smaller female dragon recoiled with a roar of anger as ice began to climb up her slate colored wings.
Showl quickly retaliated, cutting off the stream of ice as he quickly twisted around. His tail lashed her side with a loud slap, prompting the smaller dragon to tumble away into one of the standing walls of the house, forcing it to collapse over her side in a dust of rocks and dirt.
Ange watched in horror as Showl ignored the smaller dragon and charged straight towards her, she took one step back before she fell to the ground under the tremendous quakes that shuddered through the earth from hi
s every footfall.
She screamed in horror as his massive paw reached for her, she closed her eyes and clutched her heavy burden with dread as his long fingers curled around her, insulating her body instantly as soft feathers tickled her skin and made her shiver.
She gasped as a heavy convulsion thrust the already violent air around them. She opened her eyes and gazed up, past the white fur-like feathers that encircled her to Showl’s contorted snarl high above. At the edge of her vision his wings beat against the heavy air, quickly raising them above the ground and through the violent storm.
As she looked back, she searched for Richards figure in the foul blizzard but could only make out the small sources of light as they quickly approached the fire of the demolished blacksmith’s home. A furious roar echoed out behind them quickly followed by the awkward beating of another pair of wings, one injured.
“Angeline. No matter what, do not fear,” commanded a deep and thundering voice above her head.
She shuddered shocked as she looked up wide-eyed to Showl’s face, utterly amazed words had just come out of his fanged mouth. One large golden eye stared down at her, waiting for her to react.
She swallowed hard and nodded as his eye focused on her. She grabbed hold of a bunch of feathers and tucked her head down as the wind continued to howl and the cold snow began to sting at her face. He returned his gaze ahead, his body rocking up through the currents, the sound of his wings resonating through the air even over the harsh storm as he stoked them with hastened force.
Ange felt his paw tighten around her, as she gazed around she swallowed nervously as she studied one of his long black talons, it was easily longer than her entire height and probably an extra two feet.
She frowned and looked away, hugging her burden closer to her chest, wondering what it was she let go of Showl’s feathers and turned aside the cloth of the bag. The dimness barely revealed a white molded scale in the shape of what was obviously part of her breast armor, silver filigree shone even in the darkness.
A roar echoed behind them.
Ange felt the hairs on her arms crawl with fear. She tossed the cloth back over the armor and grabbed a handful of feathers once again as she glanced back, seeing nothing but snow. She felt Showl’s claws tighten around her again, squeezing her body.
“Hold on tight!” he roared from above.
Ange glanced at his large face for one moment before she felt her little remaining sense of gravity leave her entirely.
She screamed horrified as they began to quickly plummet towards the earth, delving through the snow and ice, she felt her stomach heave as Showl began to spin, the world around her twisted violently and incomprehensively. She closed her eyes tightly and tucked her head down, praying the dizzying fall would be over soon.
She felt her entire frame jerk as a snap of wings sounded from somewhere behind as another furious roar howled out after them, growing quieter with distance and the screaming of the contemptuous wind.
A blistering pain began to sear across her head, a feeling she was becoming all to accustom to. The burning began to lick violently across her skin, harsher then she remember it. Her muscles froze up in excruciation, the cold air only made it worse. Her mind shut down under the stress and torture as her vision failed. A single howl rang to her ears, piercing pain into her skull in a renewed rush of agony.
“Angeline!”
Chapter 13: Ice before Night and Day
A shake to the shoulder quickly roused Ange from darkness. Her mind felt foggy and her tongue tasked of bile. She hissed in disgust as she racked her tongue under her teeth to rid herself of the horrendous taste and blinked her eyes open. She squinted her eyes feeling confused, dizzy, and her head still ached though not as painfully as before. Her skin felt feverish as she noticed the stone floor under her hands as all the bags laid on the floor next to her.
“Are you alright? You need to hurry my little Soulbound, Sora will not be delayed by the snowstorm much longer and I was only able to barely reduce the mana affecting you…” Showl’s normal voice coaxed gently.
Ange blinked the gunk out of her eyes and turned her gaze to Showl, who was crouched over her with a concerned expression, in human form. She sighed relieved, feeling more shocked then awed that she had witnessed two dragons battling over a burning house, calling the very weather to change around them to violent conditions.
Ange pushed herself up, thankful of Showl’s supportive hand as he pulled her up by her right arm onto her feet.
She gazed up and stared for a moment to the still ceiling of the air dome that protected them yet still displayed the ragging snow around them, it seemed like they were deep under an ocean of black with swirling currents of white. She could barely see, if it weren’t for the glow that predated throughout the clearing in the night.
She recognized the plateau high in the mountains in a heartbeat. Her gaze followed the white blue glow to the center of the very tableland.
There at the center of the perfectly circular clearing in its tomb of ice glowed a silvery blade, the sword bade her to come forward, eager for her touch.
She swallowed nervously, intently aware that the draw she felt for the weapon was suddenly more potent than the last time she had been before it.
Her body began to move towards it of its own accord, she grimaced in fear that an object could hold a grip over her that obviously could not be sundered.
A hand touched her back gently, pausing her body for a moment as she turned her eyes to Showl who smiled at her encouragingly, even though worry shone brightly in his gaze.
Ange nodded once in determination and fixed her gaze to the ice and sword once more as she continued at a steady pace towards the cold frozen water, every inch she came closer the pull became stronger, urging her to not hesitate and take what was rightfully hers by birthright.
Cool mist touched her face as she entered the inner ring of fog around the large transparent crystal, brushing the lingering blistering heat away from her skin gently and leaving her feeling relieved as she let out a breath that relaxed her stiff and nervous composure. She felt entirely aware of a dense web of magical energy encircling the perimeter of the article of ice, something she hadn’t noticed before. It thrummed with intense energy, almost suffocating as it enveloped around her form.
Of its own volition once more, her right hand lifted towards the ice. Her fingers touched the frosty surface as smooth as glass. She stared into the depths of the ice to the length of the sword, the crystal at the hilt was the source of light that brimmed the clearing, dazzling her eyes and forcing her to blink till her eyes adjusted to the glow.
Her brows furrowed in confusion as Showl took up a position on the other side of the froze weapon.
“What do I do now?” Ange questioned quietly, confused.
Showl gazed at her with eyes that appeared almost glazed, his voice was like a thundering echo, the voice of a dragon.
“You must feel the magic, allow it in, trust it. Then simply reach into the ice, grasp the hilt and allow the energy it holds to be released.”
“Will it hurt?” she asked feeling anxious once more.
“No,” Showl replied simply.
Ange frowned deeply as she sucked in a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes. She slowly let out the breath from her mouth and within the darkness of her mind she tried to become attuned to the mana, the energy that pulsed around her body.
Frustration quickly took her as nothing happened, she felt nothing except the weight the energy created around her. Darkness existed with no light, no life. The power was there, but it was outside her reach, nothing seemed to touch her as she forced herself to relax, nothing seemed to change for minutes.
Thinking upon Showl’s words she analyzed what he had spoken like it was a riddle. She needed to trust the magic in order for it to enter, that was the barrier she found herself at.
Do I trust the magic? She proposed with honesty. She carefully thought on the answer, examining her
feelings. She didn’t know if she did. How can I trust something I don’t know? She grimaced finding herself at another troubling obstacle, and they were quickly running out of time.
“You must want it.”
She stiffened as Showl’s deep and powerful voice resonated in the silence, echoing in her ears.
She breathed in and out once more, relaxing as she thought on his new words.
Want it? The magic? Or the sword? She was lost again for an answer.
A vision suddenly assailed through the darkness, lighting the night of her thoughts with brilliance.
Upon a mighty white dragon she found herself feeling exhilarated, breathless, and alive as she gazed from the cusp of the world to the dark starry heavens above to the ocean below as floes of ice floated among the glowing sunset of Ebur as Rubor sunk past the horizon that split the world between night and day.
Her envisioned Showl tucked his long wings to his sides as they began a decent for the sea, Ange laughed excitedly, astonished that she was standing upon his head, holding onto one of the many curves of his elegant horns. She felt no fear as they free dived down to the sea and the winds brushed against her face, fanning her hair behind her. She could smell the salt of the ocean and she smiled as Showl twisted through the air once before flaring his wings, curving their trajectory over the ocean. They shot over the water causing it to part in their flight, Ange felt a sparking energy at the tips of her fingers, eager to be released.
She relished the sense of strength for a moment before it became overwhelming, seeking escape from the containment of it vessel. She relaxed and allowed the energy to surge out, her gaze caught upon the waves that rose as they flashed over water towards the last sun in the horizon. As she watched, it was almost as if she could see threads of icy blue trail from her fingers, soaring to the vantage her eyes were locked on. As she gazed on the water froze on contact with the magic, pillars of talons clawed in their direction as they glided by, she laughed exalted and slowed the amount of power escaping from her body, the waves began to collapsed into piles of snow that splashed heavily into the water, melting quickly.
Sky Warriors: Poleuthan's Thief (Sky Warriors Saga Book 1) Page 17