by Linsey Hall
I pointed and screamed. “That way!”
At least I could save them before I went into the mountain. Jeff swooped toward them. I turned back to Ares. I didn’t even have to ask.
He nodded and kissed me hard. Jeff plunged low over our friends, and Ares leapt off his back, landing right next to Roarke. No one could see him but me, though Roarke and Aidan jerked, clearly able to hear that something was up.
As Jeff flew away, I watched Ares cut their bonds with his shadow sword. It took several tries—possibly to cut through magic as well—but eventually the men burst free.
Immediately, they shifted. A dark gray tornado formed around Roarke. His dark wings flared wide, and he lunged into the sky. Golden light glowed from Aidan, then the massive griffon stood in his place. Ares leapt upon his back, and they flew high into the night.
A shriek from my right forced me to look away.
Drakon was fighting his way toward me, but the Pūķi were trying to hold him off. Three more figures pelted him with blasts of light. I squinted, trying to make out their forms in the dim light.
Three flying horses, each ridden by a woman in armor. One wore gold, one silver, and one opal.
The goddesses of fate. Laima, Karta, and Dekla had made their way here.
For the first time, hope surged in my chest. No matter what happened to me, we’d be victorious here today. We had to be. The goddesses of fate fought on our side.
“To the back of the dome!” I cried to Jeff. There was no time to race along through the tunnel. It, too, was surrounded by the dome, so it wasn’t a shortcut. We’d have to go straight in.
Jeff flew toward the dome, looking for a place to land. Magic and power flowed through me, coming straight from my dragon. He did make me stronger, as Fiona had said he would.
Jeff climbed high in the air. I looked down, catching sight of my friends perched on the mountainsides that ringed the valley, hidden. Waiting to attack. It was possible Drakon might see them from the air. I’d have to be fast.
Jeff climbed higher. I caught sight of another valley.
It was full of demons. Demons we hadn’t seen. Fear turned my blood to ice. There were twice the enemies as we’d thought, outnumbering us now.
No. No. No.
My success was vital. I had to wake the dragons now. It’d always been necessary, but this made it even more so. To have any hope of survival, my friends needed the dragons fighting on their side.
And they needed them quickly. I had to get through the dome. But if my blade hadn’t cut through the electric blue cage, would it work on the dome? It was probably made of stronger stuff as well.
My mind raced. How was I going to do this?
Jeff neared the dome, clearly looking for a place to land.
But maybe we shouldn’t land.
I needed Jeff’s strength. His power.
“Hover near the dome!” I cried.
Jeff flew close. I leaned over his side, reaching out with my blade. I struck, stabbing hard into the smoky barrier.
“Fly forward!”
Jeff followed my command, flying along the dome. I kept my blade sunk into the black mist, tearing a hole in the barrier that was big enough to fit us both. His magic had helped—no question.
From there, Jeff knew what to do. He plunged through the barrier, going straight through the weak spot. I shuddered as we passed through, then I was in the darkened interior of the mountain.
The white light shined up from below, beckoning.
“Down!” I called.
Jeff flew down. I clung to his back, heart pounding. He landed on a ledge between the silver and black dragons. This was right where I’d stood when I’d watch my deirfiúr be abducted. The dragons were still dead asleep.
I climbed off Jeff’s back, then walked around to his face. I touched his cheek and looked into his black eyes. He was just so big now, but I could still see the little dragon there. “I love you, Jeff. I always will.”
He snuffled, his nose blowing warm air all over me.
I smiled. “Now go help my friends. And be safe.”
Confusion glinted in his onyx eyes.
“Go.” I hardened my voice. “They need you. Be ready to pick up Cass and Del when they are freed.”
Understanding shined in his eyes. He nodded, then took off, flying back up through the mountain and slipping through the tear that I’d created.
Suddenly, I felt so alone.
The dragons were no company. They were so deeply asleep that they might as well be dead.
But that was the whole reason I was here. To see to it that they wouldn’t die. I looked at the three of them, the source of all magic, and couldn’t help but be awed all over again. I focused on that awe as I stepped toward the edge of the pit.
White magic and light flowed up, feeding the dragons.
But it wasn’t enough.
Because I possessed the rest of that magic. I was life. Not just for me and not just for the world, but for the dragons as well. All the magic that Elesius had given me wasn’t for me. I was just a custodian.
I still wasn’t sure how I was supposed to give them my magic—Elesius’s magic—but instinct drove me to hold out my hands, directing them at the glowing pit below.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I forced my magic out of myself. I envisioned it as liquid pouring from my fingertips, falling into the light below.
My village had sacrificed for me, and I would sacrifice for the dragons. For the world. This magic had never been mine, but theirs.
Weakness stole over me as the magic poured out of me. Was Elesius growing weak as well? Without me to help it grow, would it die fully?
Was I sacrificing my village as well as myself?
Pain lanced me at the thought, but I remembered my mother. She was obsessed with the choice, and she’d made hers. Elesius had made theirs. As I would save the dragons, so, too, would they. Because of them, I would save the dragons.
I forced more magic out of myself, my muscles trembling. According to the laws of magic as I knew them, this shouldn’t be possible. But I was standing in an impossible place, doing an impossible thing.
Possible meant nothing.
The air sparked around me as my magic flowed into the pit, and then into the dragons. I could see it pulsing as a white light, no longer my own. Soon, I could hardly stand. Weakness flowed through me. I forced more magic out. More. More.
But the dragons didn’t wake.
Finally, there was nothing left to give. Or at least, whatever was left was so small it couldn’t find its way out of me.
And still, the dragons slept. The energy in the air was stronger. They looked stronger. But they slept on.
Tears poured down my face. It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough.
I dragged in a ragged breath.
Or was I?
Was I only giving it half? Did I need to give everything, even my life?
My mind calmed.
It was obvious, wasn’t it? I hadn’t wanted to believe the forest spirit, but she’d been clear. I had to become one with them. Or my magic did, at least.
I dragged in a ragged breath and said goodbye to Cass and Del. Their faces flashed in my mind’s eye. Memories. I said goodbye to Ares. My parents. Aidan and Roarke, Connor and Claire. Mordaca, Aerdeca, Dr. Garriso. All of them, their names in my head, I stepped off the ledge.
This time, nothing rose up to meet me.
Wind tore at my hair as I fell, plummeting into the light. But my mind was calm, my heart convinced.
I didn’t understand this magic, but I didn’t have to.
When the white flames engulfed me, the pain was sharp, but brief. It tore through bones and muscles. But right before my world went black, I heard the dragons roar, and I smiled.
Chapter Thirteen
Light exploded behind my eyes. Power surged through me, foreign and strange. My body felt wrong.
But instinct drove my muscles, my mind. I moved my arms, realizing only t
hen that I no longer had arms.
I had wings. Brilliant red wings, tipped with yellow feathers.
I was a phoenix.
Lightness and joy tore through me. I flapped my new wings, clumsy at first, in the middle of this bright white light, then stronger. Fiercer.
I shot from the light, following my instinct toward the sky.
Was this real?
Did I care?
Not even a little. I pushed my new body, flying toward the darkness above. Flying was amazing. I felt so strong, so free. The roar of dragons echoed from above. Calling to me. I followed their cry, shooting up from the pit and into the mountain cavern.
The dragons no longer slept. The ledges were empty. My heart soared as I flew for the top of the mountain. I shot out into the sky. Drakon’s barrier was broken—no doubt by the dragons.
The aurora borealis shone bright in the sky—purple, green, yellow. It highlighted the two dragons who swooped through the night, diving for the demons below. It was impossible not to notice them—they were terrifying and beautiful. Power incarnate, lunging toward the demons below and blasting them with their brilliant red flame. There were only two dragons, though. Where was the third?
I didn’t know how long I’d been—dead?—but the battle raged in the valley and on the mountainside. I swept up into the air, taking in my surroundings. The mountainside teemed with my allies, racing down through the snow to collide with the enemy in the valley below. The demons roared and ran for them, brandishing weapons and throwing bursts of flame and magic.
I sought my deirfiúr, but their blue magic cage was gone. It had happened when the dragons had destroyed the barrier, most likely.
Cass and Del were gone as well. Demons crowded in their place, as if they’d raced for the captives when the cage had been destroyed. Fear chilled me. I dived low, flying over the place where their cage had been. Demons trampled the ground, but I saw no sign of them.
I shoved aside the fear. They couldn’t be dead. I would feel that.
Drakon was nowhere to be seen, but perhaps he was in the other valley. As I flew that direction, hoping to find him, I inspected the battle below.
From the mountain to the west, the shifters pounded down into the valley. Bears, tigers, wolves, and dogs. All variety of predators raced toward the demons. The clash was fierce, with the biggest animals going straight for the demons’ throats. An orange house cat rode on the back of a bear, straight for a demon the size of a football player. A house cat?
Even as a phoenix, I realized that this was seriously weird. The battle animals were usually large predators, like the lions. As the bear neared the demon, he turned right, headed for another enemy. The cat leapt off the bear’s back, fangs glinting in the light of the aurora. It landed on the demon’s chest, sinking its fangs into the neck. Blood sprayed. The demon roared. The cat chomped again.
I could hear it.
My senses were incredible. I had to be two hundred yards away, but I could hear that specific fight because I focused on it.
No longer worried for the cat—that cat could handle himself—I swooped low over the battle. The mercenaries from the Order of the Magica were on the eastern slope, launching coordinated attacks against the demons in the valley below. They lobbed massive balls of fire and sonic booms, bowling over the enemy. They used their positioning to their advantage, hiding behind conjured barricades. I didn’t see Claire with her colleagues.
Please be with Cass and Del.
Her loyalty was to us first, so odds were good that she was with them and not already downed.
Movement through the crowd of demons in the valley caught my eye. A large vehicle drove through the crowd, plowing the demons aside.
Ana and Bree!
Ana drove the modified buggy. It had larger tires—for the snow?—and a cage around the cockpit. Bree hung off the platform in the back, wielding a sword like a madwoman. She was wild, slicing at the demons with more enthusiasm than skill. But it worked. Blood flew as she cut them down. Ana shrieked every time she hit a demon, a bloodcurdling war cry.
Why didn’t they use their magic?
Did they even have it anymore?
I couldn’t wonder, not when I had to find my deirfiúr. And it wasn’t like it mattered—I couldn’t stop them. They threw themselves into the fray anyway, going to the most dangerous spots—right in the middle of the demons.
I flew toward the other valley, the one right on the other side of the mountain. Before I crested the mountain, I caught sight of a giant creature rampaging through the demons.
Emile and Prince Louie. The Animus Mage rode his giant two-headed dog. I hadn’t seen the beast in months, but it was plowing through demons like they were kibble. The canine monster was twenty feet tall, and each head was different. One was that of a golden retriever, the other that of a white poodle. The poodle’s eyes were cloudy, and its breath was green gas, a deadly poison that I’d once gotten a horrible whiff of.
Prince Louie was having the time of his life as he chomped on demons, though Emile looked more serious as he directed the dog through the enemy. Ralph and Rufus, the two little rats, rode on his shoulder, their whiskers twitching in the wind.
I couldn’t get over my new senses. To see rat whiskers from this distance … It was incredible.
As I neared the other valley, I finally caught sight of one of my friends. Roarke. He stood with Alison and Jennn, the two portal mages. Magic shimmered in the air as they worked, their hands outstretched and light glowing brightly. But demons were charging toward them. Roarke didn’t stop what he was doing to defend, so I dove, tilting my wings to clip a row of demons.
I was pretty sure I was big enough to do damage—it was hard to say, really—but it seemed to work. The demons flew backward, as if shocked by the feel of my feathers. Did I deliver electricity?
“Thanks!” The voice was feminine. Jennn or Alison, I wasn’t sure.
I swooped and dove, buying them time to finish their portal. If Roarke was there, they had to be creating a portal to the Underworld. To drive the demons back to hell?
So smart.
We could kill every single one of them, and they’d wake up in hell anyway. But if we built a portal and herded them in….
So much faster and less dangerous.
I grinned—or at least, I thought I did since it was hard to tell with a beak—and snuck a peek. Through the portal, I saw a flaming red hellscape.
Yep, genius.
“We’re done!” Roarke waved, his face confused as he studied me. Then delight spread across his features.
Did he know me?
I screeched in greeting, then wheeled off and flew over the mountain. The second valley looked much like the first, and I was grateful for the number of warriors who had volunteered.
My family and the people of Elesius rode horses along the edges of the valley, striking at the demons within. My mother and father rode side by side, slicing their swords with precision. It was a bloodbath near them. An outrider protected my parents from any demons who threw long-range spells, blocking the magic so the fighters could cut down the enemy. In fact, there were many magic blockers amongst my mother’s people. They worked as a team—blockers and fighters. Was this how so many had survived the last battle?
It was genius.
Near them, the vampires fought under the light of the aurora. Thank fates we had that and not the sun. Doyen and Magisteria led the charge, racing through the demons and obliterating them with their shadow swords. They swung with such strength that heads flew into the air, bouncing off of other fighters. It was gruesome, but the vampires seemed to love it. The League of FireSouls fought alongside them, fierce in their burnished red armor.
I ignored them all, searching the sky for Drakon or my friends.
First, I saw the third dragon. The white one swooped over the demons, barbecuing them like he was preparing for a picnic. Beyond the white dragon, a shadowy form glinted in the light of the aurora. They were far of
f, hundreds of yards away on the other side of the valley, but it was Drakon and my friends.
I screeched and flew toward them, racing through the sky as the wind tore at my feathers. Drakon was chasing Cass and Del. He couldn’t return them to their cage, so it had to be vengeance. Cass was in her griffon form, bigger and stronger than I’d ever seen her. Del, in her phantom form, rode on her back. As Cass raced away from Drakon, Del leaned back and fired massive icicles at him.
Drakon was fast, ducking away from the projectiles. But every now and again she hit him. Aidan, as a massive golden griffon, swooped around Drakon, going for the eyes. He slowed the bastard, but Drakon was still fast. And mostly impervious to the blows of my friends.
On the mountainside nearest us, Connor and Claire stood. Claire fired massive fireballs. Like Del, she only occasionally hit Drakon. While Drakon might roar and falter, he kept going. Connor shot potion bombs using some strange contraption I’d never seen before. They sailed hundreds of yards through the air, slamming into Drakon.
The Pūķi dived around as well—each carrying a rider? Mordaca and Aerdeca directed the red dragons to fly in front of Drakon, getting between him and my deirfiúr. They positioned themselves in front of him but to the sides. Wind tore at their hair as they each sliced their palms, then held out their hands. A massive bolt of lightning formed between them, an electric wall that Drakon plowed into.
He crashed through the barrier, then flailed and roared, finally righting himself and charging on.
I suddenly realized—Cass and Del weren’t running from him. They were leading him toward dangers. They hoped that with all their strength combined, they could beat Drakon.
But where were Ares and Jeff?
I searched as I flew for Drakon, finally catching sight of Jeff near my parents. A massive demon—a giant, actually—was charging toward them. The creature was thirty feet tall, with spikes all down its back and a massive spiked club in his hand. He swung it high, clearly aiming for my parents, the leaders of that faction.
Ares and Jeff raced toward the beast, colliding with him right before he brought the club down on my mother. Ares leapt off Jeff, landing on the giant’s shoulder. He swiped out with his shadow sword as Jeff flew into the air, catching sight of me.