by Amy Sumida
“Shayteen!” King Iblis roared as he ran forward with his people, vanishing as they went.
Battle cries burst down our front line and everyone surged forward. Kirill led the Intare this time. I had my dragon form back, and I intended to use it. Luke, Odin, and Arach were already shifted into dragons, Luke and Odin leading their forces into the fray while Arach waited on me with the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt didn't get released often, and my husband didn't want to miss a minute of flying beside me at the head of it.
I shivered through the shift, my clothing exploding into pieces as my body became enormous. Golden scales lifted through my flesh and coated me with a near-impenetrable shield. Talons replaced my fingers and deadly horns sprouted at my temples then down my lengthening neck. I lifted my leathery wings, crouched on my haunches, and sprung into the air. The Wild Hunt of Faerie screeched in delight, and I roared back.
My Dragon-Sidhe husband flew up beside me, and we led the shrieking, clambering, clawing mass of fire faeries through the air and across the new grass, leaving ash, slime, and smoke in our wake. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs and transforming the air into fire. With precision, I released my breath, burning only our enemies. Three other dragons streaked across the bright sky with me, and my beastly heart lifted in joy. We circled the shiny palace and laid waste to those who tried to reach its sanctuary.
Arach's massive claws tore off a golden dome and cast it against a tower. Dragon bowling. Stone crumbled and metal twisted, shrieking nearly as wildly as the gods within the edifice. The other dragons followed Arach's lead and started tearing apart the only shelter in the territory, but I circled around and flew back to our troops to make sure they didn't need my help.
God heads went flying, separated from their bodies by Froekn claws. The enormous werewolves howled with every victory. Lions leapt through the air and brought down their victims to tear into tender throats with strong jaws. Greeks in traditional, leather armor and elaborate helmets launched spears, arrows, and magic into the air, all aflame. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse rode above the danger zone, directing the troops as they shot their own magic and missiles into the mass of Mesopotamians.
Egyptians fought beside Demons, the latter looking even more terrifying beside the golden, pristine glory of the former. The Wild Hunt was the most horrifying of all, though, and my blood ignited with pride. Beautiful Leanan-Sidhe glided across the grass among giant Red Caps, snarling Phookas, and cackling Hags. The glow of Fey magic boiled around them, echoing with diabolical laughter and canine howls. Amid them all, on land and in air, came the Hidden Ones with their nightmarish forms, spreading terror through our enemies like the plague. I roared my encouragement, and they shouted back gleefully.
No one needed my help. Not the Valkyries who flew around Odin or the Ghouls who feasted as they fought. Not the Hinn who leapt among Anubis' Jackals, teaming up to bring down gods, nor the Vetala who drank greedily from Mesopotamian throats, or even the Marid who crashed into their victims like linebackers. All of my troops were doing well, surrounding the palace and vanquishing the gods who started surging out of it.
The Mesopotamians had rallied and armed themselves. They poured out of the palace with a resounding battle cry. No one traced away to save themselves. They refused to give up something they'd waited so long for, and I couldn't help admiring that. Then Marduk came running down the steps in his armor. He stared around himself furiously then angled his head back toward the sky. His stare found and focused on me.
“You traitorous bitch!” Marduk shouted at me as he called lightning from the sky. With a fist around a crackling lightning bolt, Marduk pulled himself up into the air before me. “I would have let you be, but you dare to attack me again? Haven't you learned your lesson?”
Marduk had the Tablet of Destinies harnessed to his chest as usual. I expected him to reach for it, and I shot forward to literally bite his head off before he could. But Marduk didn't reach for the Tablet. Instead, he made the smallest gesture and the golden dome that Arach had torn off the palace came flying at me. The metal hit me in the belly and sent me tumbling to the ground, wings bent forward with the speed of my fall. I landed on a few Mesopotamians, but Marduk didn't seem to care. He rode the lightning down to the ground beside me with a triumphant look on his face as I scrambled off the groaning bodies and onto my feet.
“You didn't think I could do it, did you?” He sneered at me. “You didn't think I could figure out how to use my territory magic. But I create such things every time I touch the Tablet of Destinies. I must focus on the future I want to change and weave it into something new. It's very similar to this.”
Marduk lifted his hand again and the ground beneath me rose up in long ribbons that swung over and around me, trapping me within an earthen cage. I struggled and rocks crumbled, but they quickly hardened into steel bands. Enormous bands thick enough to hold a dragon.
“You're in my territory now, dragon whore,” Marduk growled.
Arach roared and dove for us. A tree uprooted nearby and went hurtling toward my husband. It transformed midway into massive chains that twirled around Arach, pinning his wings to his body. He went crashing into the palace then laid limply in the rubble. I roared as more of our troops ran and flew forward to help me, including Luke and Odin in their dragon forms. Marduk flung them all away, earth rolling like the sea as pieces of the palace shot through the sky. They all went tumbling away as he strode forward and grinned at me.
“Never attack a god in his own territory,” Marduk announced.
The land beneath us rose, forming a column that lifted Marduk and me into the air. As I continued to struggle against my bonds, Marduk went to the edge of our circle of stone and stared down at the battle below. Like the conductor of an orchestra, he lifted his hands and started to direct his territory to defend itself. Wolves whined, Lions made pitiful shrieks, and Jackals whimpered. Gods and Goddesses shouted as they tried to rally their troops but among those battle cries were the moans of injured soldiers.
“You fucking bastard!” I shouted. “You were the one who broke your vow, not I. You forced me into this when you attacked Sin.”
Marduk blinked and frowned over at me with narrowed eyes. “Your lies won't work on me, harlot.”
“Spin it all you want, but I care about Sin; he was included in our bargain!” I growled.
Marduk gave me another scowl then went back to bashing my friends with pieces of my old territory. A boulder hurtled through the air and knocked a cluster of Valkyries out of the sky. Hades launched hellfire at Marduk but a swirling circle of water appeared before us and it sizzled into nothing. Persephone was completely crippled, none of her earth magic working for her in a place where the land responded only to its master. Horus and Re teamed up; Horus laying his hand on Re's shoulder to magnify my husband's sun magic. Re sent a sizzling ray spearing toward Marduk. But just as with Hades, Marduk deflected the attack casually, using another column of stone this time. Seconds later, Marduk swung a chunk of palace rubble at Re and Horus, crushing them both.
“I am more than my magic,” I whispered urgently. “Think, Vervain!”
I transformed back into my human body. Naked and vulnerable, I was nonetheless free of Marduk's cage. He was too focused on tearing our troops to pieces to notice me climbing through the metal bars. I emerged behind him, going through possibilities in my mind. Fire wouldn't work on Marduk and water had failed as well. I didn't want to make him insane nor did I want to make him fall in love with me. Forcing lust onto him wouldn't be a good idea with only us up on that column, but the agony of heartbreak had brought Marduk to his knees before. Should I try that again? There was always my emerald, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to attempt to drain Marduk's magic again; the last time hadn't gone so well. Maybe I should just shift back into a dragon and squish him with my foot.
Wait, I had one more trick up my sleeve.
I cast an illusion around us, making it look as if the territory had suddenly st
opped responding to Marduk. Boulders fell to the earth, hovering weapons vanished, and waves of water receded. Marduk flinched and swung his hands out more violently. I kept the illusion in place and added to it, showing our troops getting to their feet and rejoining the battle. It wasn't that difficult, what with only him to fool and only the small area around the column to focus on. I could keep the illusion in place with minimal effort.
Marduk shrieked in fury as he spun to face me. He flinched when he saw me out of my cage then his eyes scraped down my body with a sneer. “Did you truly think you could seduce me?”
“As if,” I huffed. “I left my clothes in pieces on the ground when I shifted. Feel free to manifest some new ones for me.” I looked around as if I'd just noticed that his magic had stopped working. “Oh, never mind; you seem to be having some problems with that. I'll take care of it myself.”
I shifted into my weredragon form.
Marduk's eyes narrowed at me in both disgust and suspicion. “What did you do? How did you stop the territory from obeying me?”
“I didn't,” I said honestly. “You must be losing your touch. Or maybe the territory doesn't like you.”
Marduk rushed at me, hands extended toward my throat. Victory surged through my body and gave me a burst of extra strength. I swung with my fist and connected with Marduk's jaw. He went tumbling aside, nearly rolling off the edge, but caught himself and came barreling back. I swung again, this time with claws extended. My blow scratched over the Tablet. If I could just slice away the straps holding it, I could take the Tablet of Destinies away from him.
I moved to strike again. Marduk growled and desperately waved a hand at the metal bands nearby. They twisted and lifted, shielding him from my attack.
Marduk grinned in revelation.
“I haven't lost my touch at all.” He glanced around himself. “What is it; an illusion?” He grinned wider. “Of course it is; you have moon magic like Sin. You thought you could trick me!”
A band of metal formed into a spear and shot toward me. I dove off the side of the column, shifting into full dragon form as I went, and the spear glided past me. I looped around and flew back up to cast a curtain of darkness around Marduk. An intricate illusion wasn't necessary anymore and there was no point in wasting my focus on one; all I had to do was blind him.
Marduk roared and lowered his column back to the ground with rumbling speed. As soon as it settled, he ran forward blindly, trying to move past my shield, but I kept it tightly over him. Mesopotamian Gods tried to grab Marduk and keep him from tumbling into our troops, but he shoved them away, unable to tell friend from foe.
“Pull back!” Marduk shouted to his people. “Stay away from me!”
The Mesopotamians backed away as I circled the battlefield, taking stock of our damages. Gods and demigods alike were scattered among the debris. I couldn't tell if they were dead or merely injured. They still had their heads so I hoped for the latter. The Jinn had vanished; all of them. At first, I'd thought they had abandoned us but then I started seeing flashes of Jinn bodies; warriors jumping into solid forms to administer a blow before becoming spirits again. I couldn't tell how many Jinn were left, but they were still there and they were some of the most effective fighters on the battlefield so I was grateful for any who remained.
Marduk started lashing out with the territory again, sending trees flying along with stones and earth. Moving objects is easier than transforming them. I assumed he was going for quantity over quality; like a machine gun fired in blanketing swipes instead of being aimed at one particular target. Whatever his plan was, it was working. Even without being able to see, Marduk was managing to hit my army. There were so many of us and his missiles were massive. It was like cutting wheat in the field; he only had to swing his scythe to cut us down.
Speaking of scythes, Azrael shouted, his cry echoing hollowly in his Death skull, and pointed his scythe at Marduk. The Horsemen jerked on their reins and directed their mounts at their new target. Nor were they the only ones to decide that taking Marduk down was imperative. We had all realized that without Marduk and his territory of doom to defend them, the other Mesopotamians would quickly fall under the mass and might of our army. So, every soldier refocused on the Mesopotamian God of Light and headed for him.
Including me.
Arach finally burst free of his bindings and shot into the sky beside me. I bared my teeth at my husband, and we dove together, claws extended and wings tucked along our bodies like falcons. We were nearly upon Marduk when a burst of light flashed out from his entire body and sent all of us tumbling away. Amid the light were tiny particles of soil. They condensed as we rolled and formed solid slabs of rock that slammed onto Arach and I seconds after we hit the ground.
With the wind knocked out of me, I struggled to get off my back, claws scratching at the stone. Ominous sounds echoed around me; booms, screams, and groaning. The rock grew heavier and began pushing me deeper into the soil. I was being forced into the territory itself, earth caving in above me. Buried alive.
I roared and struggled harder but it was like quicksand; the more I fought, the deeper I went. I heard Arach shouting as if from beneath water. But I knew it wasn't water that covered him, it was earth just as it was with me. The sounds of battle dulled, and I knew that my army was being buried along with Arach and me.
Help me! I begged my star in my mind. I'm making a wish. That's all you need, right? I wish for victory. I wish for our survival and Marduk's death. Help me!
The Trinity Star flared inside my chest, giving me strength from the combined force of all of my magic, but nothing else happened. I was on my own. But I was more than my magic. There was a way out of this, I just had to think of it. As soil cut off my air, I began to panic but a lack of air wouldn't kill me. It might, however, kill Arach and any of our fire faeries who had been sucked below ground with us. Faeries can be killed with an element not their own. The fastest way is to send that adverse element through their heart, but encasing them in it could work too. So, I needed to act fast.
Despite Marduk's strength there and the power of the Tablet of Destinies, he was still only a god. I had defeated him easily when I was the Dark Star. Of course, I had unlimited power then but the point was; he could be defeated. If I took Marduk's head, he'd die. I just needed to find a way to get back to the surface to do that.
If I can't go up, I'll go sideways, I thought.
I began tunneling through the soil and soon worked my way out from beneath the slate. It tumbled into the space I left behind. I could feel Arach nearby, just ahead of me, and I followed the magical cord that connected us straight to my mate. Claws scraping, soil falling to fill in the tunnel behind me, I dug like a mole toward my lover. I hit scales suddenly and a claw reached out to tangle with mine.
“A Thaisce,” Arach growled through raining dirt as he clambered into the hole I'd made, “you brilliant woman.”
We started digging straight up, our massive talons making short work of the packed earth. Arach and I reached the surface in seconds, bursting through the last few feet to come screeching out of the ground like zombies. Blood and bodies drenched the land around us and terrible shrieks echoed in my ears. I roared and shot into the air, shaking off soil as I flew. My heart stuttered as I saw the bodies lying everywhere; Intare, Froekn, Egyptian, Greek, and Fey. I cried out when I noticed Pan lying beneath a boulder. I started to veer toward him, but Arach angled beneath me and nudged me toward Marduk.
Marduk was free of my illusion, the magic having failed when I'd started focusing on survival instead of it. He stood on the palace steps, casually bashing back every god who dared to approach him. Then he spotted me and his expression hardened. Lightning slashed past me, and Arach roared in pain. He toppled, one wing torn, and fell to the ground with an echoing crash. I shrieked furiously but kept going. Arach would survive that fall, but only if I stopped Marduk from making a second strike.
I needn't have worried; Arach wasn't Marduk's main tar
get. As soon as my husband was out of the way, Marduk focused on me. He sent lightning sizzling toward me, but I dodged every bolt. Tucking in my wings, I missiled toward him. Marduk grinned at my rapid approach and slapped his palm on the Tablet of Destinies. I narrowed my eyes. One bite through his neck or a slash from my claws and he'd be dead. I could simply land on him and that should do the trick. I just needed to keep going.
No matter what happened.
But as I plummeted, pieces of me started to tremble. My scales rustled and lifted, my wings creaked and pulled at their joints. Inside me, my star buckled, its points shrieking as they were once again pulled apart. I screamed and it was human, no trace of dragon inside it. My body betrayed me and shifted without my permission. When I crashed into Marduk, I did so as a woman.
Marduk rolled us so that he straddled me. I laid naked and bleeding beneath him on cold stone—the landing just before the palace doors. Marduk chuckled low in his throat as he stretched out over me, his armor digging into my vulnerable skin. I grimaced but made no sound, only glared at him as I fought to keep my star in one piece. Marduk slapped me, sending my cheek to the stone and cutting my mouth on my teeth. I licked blood from my lips and angled my face back to his.