Dust and Cinder (Rise of the Dragons Trilogy Book 3)

by N. R. Hairston

  Reid was beside me and quickly snatched it up, as I stared, shocked at the barrier they’d created. “Nope,” he said, waving a finger as one would toward a naughty child. “See we can get out, but you can’t get in.”

  To prove his point, he held out his hand and lejet exploded from it straight into our crowd. A few from Erden opened their umbrellas to deflect the attack. The lejet hit the top of the metallic umbrellas then bounced to the ground, hurting no one.

  Efren laughed and kicked Kyla’s lifeless body toward us. “You have no fight here, and I only want the dragon born.”

  I flew to the ground and took in Kyla’s pale features and the amount of blood she’d lost. I felt sick to my stomach as I put a shaky hand to her throat, feeling for a pulse.

  “She’s still alive!” I shouted to Iago and Lantana, causing them to head my way. “Can you save her?” I asked, while Efren still called out his demands in the background.

  Both siblings put a hand to her throat and said a few words. Blue swirling light swarmed around her neck, and the bleeding stopped, but she still didn’t look good.

  “It’s healing,” Iago said as he and his sister came to their feet.

  “It may not heal in time to save her life, though,” Lantana said.

  I looked to where Efren still floated in the air. “This is the last time. Go home now, or you will be sorry.”

  “Can you break the shield?” I asked the siblings, and they both nodded.

  “Depends on how strong it is,” Iago said. “But together there’s not much that Lantana and I can’t accomplish.”

  “Good,” I said, my hands shaking. I looked down and swallowed hard as I noticed the siblings were now covered in blood, Kyla’s blood. “Do it in a way that they won’t notice and follow my lead.”

  I walked forward, away from the rest of the crowd, and my crew of five did the same until we stood right dab in the middle.

  “I am the dragon born,” I said, stepping forward a little more. “And this is my crew. You take one of us, you better be prepared to take us all.” In the background, I could hear Iago and Lantana chanting quickly under their breaths.

  Efren looked at me, eyes blazing, face hard and cocky. “Then you will all die together.”

  He leaned his head to the side, and the only warning I got was a whoosh of air before I was face first in the dirt, something large and heavy on my wrist.

  My heart went to my throat as I realized I now wore powerless bracelets, as did Reid and the others. My bones began to shake. In one quick moment, they’d stolen our power, and now the terror was real. Don’t show them fear. Don’t you ever show them fear.

  I closed my eyes and strengthened my resolve. When I opened them again, Efren along with ten of the Tact were coming out of their protective bubble to where the six Azzen already had me and the rest of my team face down in the dirt.

  Sharp rocks bit into my face, as the foot on my back pressed me deeper into the ground. It felt like I was being pushed onto the tip of a knife edge and it was taking everything in me not to cry out. I felt wetness on my cheek and knew that the skin had been broken.

  “Get them up,” Efren said when he and his hired help from Tact reached us. “All except for her.” He pointed at me and then put a boot to my head, pushing it even farther into the ground.

  I opened my mouth to scream, but Reid’s voice in my head stopped me before any sound could come out. Eat it. Eat the pain, but know before this is over I’m going to kill that motherfucker.

  I closed my mouth, but my whole body began to shake with the force it took to keep quiet. “Get her on her knees,” Efren said, removing his foot.

  I was jerked up, and saw Reid and the others in a straight line, large swords being held to their throats by the Azzen.

  Somewhere in the midst of all of this, one of Efren’s people must have put up a shield on our side, because I saw Yemsa and the others slinging themselves against an invisible wall, not able to break free.

  I looked to Reid and saw the hard line of his jaw and the murderous look in his eyes. Do not show them fear. He said into my head, and I wondered why the cuffs didn’t affect that particular ability. Something to ask about later, if I had a later, because at the moment, it didn’t look promising.

  “Him.” Efren pointed to Trout who was at the beginning of the line, and I saw Iago visibly flinch.

  The Azzen man behind him pushed Trout to his knees, and I felt a snarl rip from my throat as I tried to figure out what this Efren was up to. “Where she goes they go,” he taunted, looking at me and pointing to Trout and the rest of my crew. “You heard her say it.”

  His eyes turned to stone as he looked at me and I had no doubt he’d kill me dead if I moved but an inch. “Dragon born. Going from world to world burning my kind alive, creating her own little genocide.”

  I could feel the anger radiating off him, and I wondered if he’d lost somebody close in this whole thing. Still, it’d been his choice to rob and steal. If someone attacked me, I was going to defend myself. That’s who I was. I didn’t know how else to be.

  “Dragon spawn.” He spat the words out, as he looked down his nose at me, and I felt my blood boil at his condescension. His eyes held nothing but disdain, and a cold chill went through me, because I knew in order for me to make it off this world alive, I’d have to kill him first. “Dragon born, yet there are no dragons. All of the dragons are dead and you and your crew.” He said ‘crew’ like it was a dirty word. “Will soon join them.”

  I spat on the ground by his feet to let him know he didn’t scare me. Even if he did a little. I’d eat hot coals before I let him know that.

  He threw his head back and laughed at my defiance. My heart hammered in my chest because it was the most horrific sound I’d ever heard.

  He pointed to Trout again, then looked at me. “They go where you go. Which means you’re close. Good, because now you’re going to watch as we slit the throats of each and every one of your crew, starting with him.”

  He whipped his head around, talking to the person with the blade to Trout’s throat. “Cut his head clean off his shoulders. I’ll mount it on my wall with the ones already there.”

  Something in Iago’s eyes went wild and unstable at that remark, and I feared what would happen if he were able to break free.

  Trout had a stony expression on his face. He looked like someone who knew he’d reached the end of his line but was okay with it because he knew he’d done all he could up to this point.

  The guy drew his sword back, his swing coming hard and swift.

  Then Iago moved almost as quick as the Azzen it seemed, and sunk his teeth into the neck of the man who’d been holding him. He pulled back blood and tissue as the man dropped to the ground, unmoving.

  Taking the opportunity for what it was, Trout jumped from the ground, and headbutted the guy who’d just been ready to chop his head off. The dude’s head snapped back, and Trout put his hand on either side of the man’s neck, and I heard a sickening crunch as he snapped his neck.

  It all happened so fast that the air literally froze for a second, and then Efren let out a low growl and held both his hands out, sending blasts of lejet to both Trout and Iago.

  Before the lejet could reach its marks, the power was snatched from the air and sent back with such force that it sent Efren flying.

  Chapter 22

  I looked up to see Ridge with his hands up, as he, Chibo, and Fletcher came through a portal. I blinked, and then looked at Fletcher, wondering why he’d been on my world in the first place. Also, what in the hell made him think that bringing two kids, who were just learning to deal with the death of their parents, to a battlefield was a good thing?

  Chibo held her hands up, and the Tact and Azzens all went flying. Then I felt a whoosh of air and Fletcher had six pairs of powerless cuffs at his feet.

  Seeing that they were free, Iago and Lantana turned to the barrier protecting the Yango, said a few words, and then nodded at me, letting
me know they’d finally broken it. Then they turned to the one holding our people back, and in a couple of seconds, Yemsa and the others charged forward.

  Iago grabbed Trout by the back of the neck, and the two shared a sloppy, wet kiss, filled with blood and body tissue.

  Now that both barriers were down we were in the thick of things. The sound of swords clashing reverberated through the air as lejet and energy flew all around us.

  I saw Yemsa hit the ground, an Azzen woman holding her by the throat. In the blink of an eye, their positions reversed and then they were both whisking through the crowd, only slowing down every few seconds to show one of them pounding the other.

  A hand grabbed me from behind, and I flapped out my wings, throwing the person off me.

  Coen clapped his hands, but even our allies’ bodies began to shake, so instead, he put all that energy into one fist and punched the Yango headed toward him in the face.

  The man shook, as his eyes popped out, and he keeled over, his expression wide and horrified.

  Trout had silver energy wrapped around one Yango’s neck while another one came at him from behind. He ducked, turning the Yango who was in his grip around, making sure the lejet hit him instead, then he took the second Yango down with a quick blast.

  Like his sister, Fletcher went head-to-head, toe-to-toe with an Azzen, sometimes fighting too fast for the eye to see.

  The Erden were holding their own, taking down Yango, Azzen, and Tact alike with their engineered weapons and quick thinking.

  The Tact were a hardy group, and like the Loden, one hit from them could take your whole head off. They moved through the fight, their bulky frames pushing others out of their way and taking out anyone that crossed their paths.

  The thing was, Fletcher’s people were as strong as the Tact and as fast as the Azzen, which made them formidable enemies and I was glad they were on our side.

  On the battlefield, a Tact came up to Iago, a tall man who walked as if he’d already won the fight and was now ready to feast on the spoils. He reached out and wrapped a meaty hand around Iago’s throat, lifting him in the air.

  Iago, for his part, stayed calm, as his feet dangled to-and-fro. He said a few words under his breath that made the man’s face freeze in horror. Then he said a few more words and blood came bubbling out of the man’s mouth.

  He dropped Iago, who kept himself balanced in the air. The man stumbled back a few feet, and then began to claw at his own throat, ripping it out as he did so.

  I blinked, simply amazed at the power Iago and Lantana had, and then turned back toward the fight. I fought my way through, breathing fire and ice at every Yango, Tact, or Azzen I saw.

  I heard the words still standing in my head and threw back me too, to let Reid know that I was okay for now.

  The sound of slashing metal filled the air along with the scent of blood, and open wounds. I put a hand over my mouth, the smell making my stomach turn.

  The sword people and the mountain people fought the Yango, Tact, and Azzen from air to ground.

  Lantana stood, arms wide, a pile of bodies and limbs at her feet. She stood alone, using her telekinesis and a few choice words to throw back anybody that got too close to her.

  As I fought my way through the horde, I saw the twins. They were fighting back-to-back, shoulder-to-shoulder. A stream of lejet flew toward them and Ridge snatched it up and rolled it around, adding his own twist before throwing it back at the Yango, causing him to explode on the spot.

  A Tact crept up to them from the side, and Chibo used her telekinesis to pull the man’s whole vertebrate out, spine and all. The man dropped like jelly to the ground a mess of skin and bones.

  I shot fire at one Yango who aimed his lejet at me and missed. This distracted me enough for someone else to grab me from behind.

  Because of my position, I couldn’t tell who held me, but I sent a quick elbow to their face. They grunted, and their hands loosened enough for me to turn and jab them in the nose.

  It was an Azzen woman, and for the moment she looked dazed. Not wanting her to gain her equilibrium, I headbutted her, causing her head to snap back. She fell to the ground, and before she could get back up, I breathed ice out of my mouth, freezing her in place.

  I looked up to where two Azzen and a Yango had Reid in a circle midair. Reid’s body changed, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen as his orange protective shield settled into place and became a part of his skin.

  The Yango and two Azzen jumped back, mouths open, as they stared at him. While they were stunned, Reid opened his mouth and shot acid at all three of them, melting them on the spot.

  Knowing that he was okay and could hold his own, I turned to get back into the fight and saw Efren standing in front of me, shoulders wide, blood running down his face. “Dragon spawn,” he taunted, and I felt my blood run cold because I knew there was no escaping his wrath this time.

  Chapter 23

  Not willing to play his games, I jabbed him in the nose. It didn’t even move him. Instead, I felt like I’d come up against a brick wall.

  I pulled my hand back as pain shot all the way to my shoulder. Damn, was he made of stone? He smiled, and it was the most sickening thing I’d ever seen.

  “Dragon spawn,” he said again as he raised his hand, aiming it toward my face. I floated in the air and then sent a line of ice at him.

  It hit his hand, causing it to crystallize and break into pieces. He threw his head back and roared, and I started to land a kick to his face, realized it would probably jam my foot, and encased his feet in ice instead, rooting him to the spot.

  The ice was slowly moving up his arm now, freezing and burning off flesh as it went. While I was busy looking at that, he came around with his other hand and hit me so hard that blood and teeth flew out of my mouth.

  My head wobbled, and I felt like someone had just dropped a mountain on me. My vision blurred, and I couldn’t see in front of me, that and the constant throbbing in my head, sent me spiraling.

  He grabbed me by my throat, and I clawed at his hands, panic setting in as he began to squeeze. Reid!

  He squeezed even harder, his nails biting into my flesh, and I felt myself go weak, and my eyes droop. I’m coming. Don’t you dare give up!

  Tears rolled down my face, because I didn’t think he would make it in time and I didn’t want the only thing he saw when he got here was my dead limp body. I didn’t want Ridge and Chibo to have to live through that again either.

  At that thought, something stirred deep within me as my dragon started to claw its way to the top, begging to be set free. Images of my family and my clan flashed through my head as fire busted through my pores setting my whole body aflame, forcing him to let me go.

  He screamed as the fire claimed him, a look of shock on his face as he realized that he was about to be defeated by this “Dragon spawn.”

  I spat fire out of my mouth and formed it into a ball in my hand. My head was still ringing, and my neck felt like someone had draped it over an open fire. “Imagine what your friends will think,” I said as the fire worked its way up his body. “The great warrior Efren, brought to his knees by the likes of me.” His eyes widened, and I threw the fireball at his face, giving it the command to peel the skin from his bones.

  The smell was horrendous, and I turned away as chunks of him began to fall off.

  “You’re okay,” Reid said, coming up behind me, and I fell into his arms, exhausted.

  “Who says I’m okay.” He laughed hoarsely, his arms tight around me as he pulled me to him and kissed my forehead. His shirt was gone, and his body was covered in black and blue marks. He had a large gash under his eye and a large bruise on his right cheek.

  I touched the scar. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “Don’t worry about me.”

  I lay my head back on his chest. He was still breathing. The rest we’d figure out later.

  We floated to the ground to see a field of blood and body parts. I ached with tiredn
ess, but there was a fire still roaring in my gut. My vision cleared just a little, and the ringing in my head went down to a minimum. My neck still throbbed with pain, though.

  All around us the fight was winding down. People were tired, and the fight had been long and hard. Some fighters limped by, while others had to be carried. Some were missing limbs, some eyes, and hands.

  My stomach turned. This was death and destruction on a grand level as people fought for the right to live free of Yango terror. I saw many more of my allies standing, than I did the Yango’s, and that right there meant this fight was almost over.

  I took a deep breath, still wrapped in Reid’s arms and then panic set in as I realized I didn’t know if the rest of my team was okay. I detangled myself from him, my eyes searching desperately for a sign of them.

  “Hey.” Reid put a hand on my arm and then pointed to where Chibo and Ridge stood talking to Yemsa and Fletcher.

  I gasped, as tears sprung to my eyes at the sight of them and I realized up until this point I’d thought them dead. They were both battered. Ridge had a gash under his eye, and his clothes were all but torn off him. His face was bruised and swollen, but he was still standing, and that’s what mattered.

  Chibo’s face too was swollen, and she had about a million cuts and scrapes on her arms and face. Plus, she had a hand on her side, and every few seconds she would grimace, so I knew she was in pain.

  Yemsa and Fletcher looked about the same, haggard with clothes half off them, their bodies covered in marks, but they too were still standing.

  I scanned the crowd some more and saw Coen and Lantana searching as well. They spotted us after a couple of seconds, and holding each other up, they limped our way.

  “Have you seen Trout and Iago,” Lantana asked, her eyes frantic as she looked around. She’d probably dismembered more people out here than anybody, but somehow her face and body was clear of marks. Her clothes were torn, and her hair was a mess, but other than that, and the fact that she looked like she was ready to pass out at any second, one could hardly tell she’d been in a fight.