by Quinn Loftis
“The dragons have been released?” Radagast, the dark water king asked? His eyes swirled a dark blue like the sky above a pending tsunami. The power emanating from him smelled like salty sea air.
“The witch contacted the dragon tamer,” Dolion confirmed.
“The witch has a name,” one of the witches, no doubt a high priestess, judging by the dark aura around her, snapped.
“Dragon tamer?” Lamia, the dark air queen asked curiously. “Since when is a witch a dragon tamer?”
“Apparently my daughter has many talents,” the high priestess replied.
“And you are?” Viscious asked. He didn’t like not knowing the names of those who were supposed to be working for him.
“My name is Danni. I am the high priestess of the Cornwall coven.”
“Pleasure,” Viscious lied.
“Can we get on with it?” Nimue asked, sounding bored and as if they weren’t about to take on the light royal elementals in the battle of the ages.
“Perhaps we should go over things before we jump right in?” Dolion suggested.
At least someone has a brain.
“Very well,” Nimue agreed. “What is the plan that will guarantee our success?”
Chapter 18
Aston woke with a start as he felt heat rush over him. He and the other elementalists had been guarding the portal to the realm of the dragons for twenty-four hours, and they’d been sleeping in shifts, not that Aston had been able to get much rest. The pain in his chest wasn’t abating, and he felt himself being pulled to the very portal he was sure he didn’t want to walk through. It didn’t take a genius to know that walking into a realm filled with huge, fire-breathing lizards was a dumbass move.
But there had been many times he’d had to stop himself from standing up and doing just that. He’d distracted himself by asking Professor Fernis every question he could come up with about all of the different supernatural creatures and battles he’d faced. Regardless of the pull that Aston felt, one thing he could always count on was his curiosity. He loved to learn, loved to figure things out, to solve problems, and tell others of his solutions. It was a different kind of power than using his magic, and it was just as potent in some cases.
Aston stood and noticed the others who had been sleeping were now awake and on their feet.
Jax, Ender, and Colt had been the ones on watch, and they were already in fighting stances, their magic causing their hands to glow as if they were waiting to fend off an attack. Aston looked past them and noticed the portal shimmering.
“Should that worry us?” Aston asked, pointing.
“Considering none of us are the ones opening it? Hell yes,” Colt said.
“Just wanted to make sure,” Aston said. He pulled his glasses from the side pocket of his pants and slipped them on. He didn’t take his eyes off the portal, and though part of him was fascinated with the idea of a dragon soaring through, he was also praying to Mother Gaia that it wouldn’t happen because that would be bad. Very, very bad.
“Be ready,” Jax called out.
“How does one prepare himself for a fire-breathing dragon?” Colt asked.
A blast of wind whipped around them as Rush and Brianna, the air bonded couple, stepped up next to Jax.
“You can’t,” Rush answered. “Just don’t run away. They’re predators. They chase things that run.”
Aston pulled his power up inside of him and felt it filling his body and running down his arms. He knew his hands would be glowing a bright white like Rush, Brianna, and Colt’s were doing.
Jax and Professor Fernis’s hands glowed green while Ender, a water elementalist, had what looked like globes of liquid encasing his hands.
“Do you think we should call for backup?” Ender asked.
“This isn’t a game show,” Jax growled. “There is no phone a friend or ask the audience.”
“But there is pluck a team from a portal,” Ender pointed out. “We totally have that option.”
“They’ve got their own missions going on,” Jax answered. “We don’t want to bring them in unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
The portal began to expand, and the pain in Aston’s chest increased tenfold. Was he having a heart attack? He was scared. Who in their right mind wouldn’t be? But he wasn’t pissing in his pants or trying to run and hide.
If he was honest with himself, he wanted to dive into the portal, which didn’t make him insane at all. Because sane people dove into portals leading to dragon realms all the time. All. The. Time. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath as his heart pounded painfully in his chest. The tugging that had been there since they’d arrived became more insistent and, honestly, Aston thought whatever was connected to him was going to pull his spine right through his stomach.
“Jax,” Professor Fernis began to speak just as Jax took a step toward the portal, effectively placing himself in front of everyone else. Elias had told Aston and the others that Jax was very protective of those he cared for, but also about the warriors he was in battle with. He felt responsible for them.
Aston appreciated the fact that Jax wanted to protect them, but what the hell did he think one guy could do against dragons if that’s what came through the portal?
“Jax,” the professor said again. “I think—”
Those were the only words that Fernis got out before the portal opened, and a massive beast exploded through it. Its mouth was gaped wide, showing teeth the size of an adult human. There was no time to react, no time to even yell. One second, Jax was standing there at the ready, willing to protect his team, and the next he was in the mouth of the largest reptile Aston had ever seen.
The huge jaws closed as the beast turned, its massive wings flapping hard, causing the trees to sway and bend. The combination of the growls from the beast and the noise from its wings was deafening.
It soared up, higher and higher, into the dark sky. Its scales, which had been blue and green when it had come through the portal, now appeared black, and before too long, Aston couldn’t see the beast at all.
In a matter of mere seconds, a dragon had appeared, Jax was gone, and all was silent again, though the portal still shimmered dangerously.
“WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?” Ender yelled as he stared at the spot where Jax had just been standing.
“Take cover in the trees,” Fernis snapped. “Now!”
Everyone dashed off, but Aston could see on their faces the shock he felt. Jax was gone. Dead. He’d been eaten by a bloody dragon.
“I’m going to get help,” Fernis told them. “Don’t engage the beast. And try—”
“Not to get eaten?” Colt growled.
Ender’s head snapped around as he glared at the air elementalist.
Colt shrugged. “Too soon?”
Aston hoped that perhaps dark humor was how Colt handled shock and stress. He’d been standing a foot from Jax. Colt could have easily been the one swallowed.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Ender coughed as he turned away from them and lowered his head into some bushes.
“Everyone else okay?” Rush asked as he wrapped an arm around his mate.
The elementalists knelt in the shelter of the trees. The moon wasn’t bright, and that was turning out to be a blessing. Aston had been cold not too long ago, but he no longer shivered. Instead, he burned with the adrenaline running through his blood. They’d all be running on instinct, fear, and whatever else their adrenal gland would gift them with.
It was only a couple minutes more before a portal opened up behind them, deeper in the woods. Fernis came through first, followed by Professor Frost and Zuri, who looked ready to kill and possibly skin a dragon alive.
“What happened?” she yelled, her eyes sweeping over all of them.
More portals opened behind her, and more elementalists Aston recognized, including Elias, Ra, and Liam, stepped through. His three friends were by his side a minute later, with each of their mates holding their hands.
&
nbsp; “You okay, mate?” Liam asked him.
Aston met his eyes and was honest. “I don’t know if anything will ever be okay again.”
Gabby wasn’t sure if truer words have ever been said. Suddenly there was a loud bellow, and all of their heads whipped around.
“NOOOOOOOOO.” Zuri knelt on the ground. Her hands dug deep into the soil as she screamed, eyes closed, face tilted up to the night sky.
Gabby trembled at the anguish lining the female warrior’s face. Tears flowed freely down Zuri’s face, and her body shook so hard it looked as if she had electricity running through her.
Nobody moved. Their heads hung low as they stared at the woman who was usually such a fierce opponent, now broken on the ground.
“What happened?” Gabby whispered.
“Jax is gone,” Aston said, his voice gruff with emotion, his eyes on Elias as he spoke.
Tara wrapped her arms around her soul bonded as Elias stumbled.
Gabby watched as he wrapped his arms around Tara and buried his face in her hair. His shoulders shook as he held her tight. Gabby had to look away from the intense emotion, but her eyes fell back on Zuri, and the woman’s sorrow was even more painful to watch.
“Were they soul bonded?” she asked Liam.
“Not that I know of. But Elias mentioned a few times that they were an on-again-off-again couple. He said that neither of them would admit it, but they loved each other. Elias never heard of Jax or Zuri dating anyone else.” Liam looked at Aston. “How did it happen?”
Aston’s eyes glanced at Elias before stepping closer to Ra and Liam. “The portal opened, and a damn dragon flew out of it. I’ve never seen anything that big move so fast. Jax was standing at the front of our group. One second he was there, and the next, the dragon had taken him.”
“Like in his claws?” Shelly asked.
Aston shook his head.
Liam leaned even closer to Aston and asked in barely a whisper, “In his mouth?”
Gabby gasped as Aston nodded his head.
Zuri let out another anguished shout, and Gabby looked to see Professor Fernis kneeling beside her, speaking softly as he wrapped an arm around her. He must have just told her the same thing Aston had told them. Jax had faced a horrible fate, and there hadn’t been a damn thing anyone could have done about it.
Gabby looked around the area and noticed a significant number of warriors and professors had joined them while they’d been talking. Most of the experienced warriors who were no longer students had formed a circle around their group and were staring up at the black sky. Their hands glowed with power.
To her surprise, even the royals joined them. Aviur, Kairi, and Nasima were standing about ten feet from the shimmering portal. They were each glowing and shimmering with their own elemental power.
Gabby saw Aviur’s fire began to flow up his body, starting at his feet. Kairi had water flowing through her hair, moving down her body until she looked like a human waterfall. And Nasima’s blew all around, her dress swirling yet somehow none of it was tangled. Gabby could feel their power from where they stood, which had to be a good fifty feet away.
The trees swayed, and their branches groaned under the onslaught of power the elementalists were releasing.
“Shit is about to get serious,” Shelly muttered under her breath.
Liam put his hand in Gabby’s, and she felt the water flowing over him. She glanced at him and saw his skin glowing blue while water seemed to ripple under his skin. She reached for the fire inside of her then lit up like a human torch. Ra and Shelly were the next to light up. Josie and Miles, the water bonded couple, came over. They, too, were covered in their power.
One thing was for sure, Gabby thought, they weren’t doing a good job of hiding, not that that was their goal.
“You guys all right?” Miles asked as he looked at Elias, who was running his forearm across his face. The grief had been replaced with resolve, and he looked deadly. His hands glowed green, and the ground beneath his feet rippled, but he didn’t stumble.
“We are ready,” Ra said, answering for their group.
Miles looked as if he were going to say something more, but before he could, three guys came bounding up. They were covered in fire, except for their faces. Gabby noticed immediately that they were identical triplets. The second thing she noticed was that they were grinning, and a crazed look danced in their eyes.
“Josie,” all three of them said at the same time with the same grin stretching across their faces.
Josie rolled her eyes. “Triplets,” she said dryly. “You guys are way too chipper for the situation.”
“Who are the kids?” the one in the middle asked.
“These are academy students who are helping,” she answered.
“Guys, these are the fire idiot triplets.” She pointed to the one on the right. “That’s Atticus.” Pointing to the middle one, she said, “That’s Shaw, and that’s Omar.” She nodded toward the last one.
Beneath their fire, Gabby could see that their skin was the color of melted chocolate. They were handsome and obviously trouble … which made Gabby like them immediately.
“How can you tell them apart?” Shelly asked.
Josie’s brow rose. “I’ve known them for too damn long. They each have their own unique annoying mannerisms.”
“Get ready!” Aviur bellowed. His voice thundered through the night above the sound of the whipping wind.
There was a frenzy of movement as warriors spread out across the clearing.
The ground began to shake. Gabby and her friends followed Miles and Josie to join the others. A moment later, four huge beings constructed from massive boulders walked out of the trees.
“Please tell me they’re on team good guys,” Shelly said.
“Hold!” Professor Frost yelled as some of the warriors put their hands up, ready to use their power. “They’re with us,” Frost told them.
Gabby’s heart pounded painfully in her chest as she watched the huge rock creatures move to stand in front of the three royal elementals.
The portal pulsed with light.
“Shit,” Aston said as he lowered into a fighting stance.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse,” Tara said. “That has to mean things are about to get bad.”
“Another one is about to come through,” he said, pointing at the portal. “That’s what happened when the first one got Jax.”
They all spoke loud enough to hear each other over the wind that was now gusting violently.
Gabby looked down at the ground. Her feet were held in place. “Why are we not falling over?”
“I’m holding you steady,” Elias yelled. “The other earth elementalists will be doing the same thing. The ground will stay level under you, and the wind elementalists will help the wind blow around you in an even amount so your body isn’t thrown around.”
Gabby’s face must have clearly shown that she had questions because Elias continued.
“Aston has done it for us, and I’ve done it for them when we practice together,” he explained.
Gabby nodded. “Cool.”
“But that’s not cool,” Shelly hollered as another dragon, this one purple, moved through the portal like a bullet.
The huge boulder creatures threw up their massive arms and roared as they slammed into the dragon. The beast reared back and caught itself with its wings as it was shoved backward. There was another rumble as the dragon that must have killed Jax was suddenly just there, swooping out of the black sky. His scales shimmered a brilliant blue and green. It was larger than the second one, so Gabby assumed that must mean it was male and the smaller one was female.
The female sported various shades of purple scales that shimmered in the light of the fires the elementalists were burning. The male nudged the female forward as if telling her to move back, and they both flew higher into the air.
“Why aren’t they attacking?” Tara asked.
The minute the words le
ft her mouth, both dragons turned and dove at them. Fire shot from their gaping maws, and Gabby was sure they were all about to become ashes where they stood.
Before the flames reached them, however, a burst of power shook the air and ground as Nasima’s hands flew up, and light erupted out of them. The air power she’d just released was massive because it pushed the dragons back as if they’d flown straight into a solid wall and bounced off of it.
“Air elementalists,” the air queen yelled, “join me!”
Next to Gabby, Aston’s arms rose, and she felt a blast of air as his power flew out of him. All of the air elementalists in the group were lit up like white light bulbs, illuminating the sky and forest around them.
“They’re holding the dragons back,” Shelly called out, her eyes wide and full of anticipation.
Gabby started to feel a sliver of hope. Maybe they had a chance against the huge, fire-breathing beasts.
That sliver was crushed when, out of nowhere, a huge figure appeared in the middle of their group. Gabby had never seen one in person, only in her books from the academy, but there was no doubt he was a demon. A very large, and she would assume, powerful demon.
He was over six feet tall, probably close to seven. His eyes were as black as night. Sharp cheekbones were set around a grinning mouth containing pointy teeth. Two horns grew out of the top of his head and curled backward. His muscular arms ended in hands tipped with razor-sharp claws. His legs were shaped like that of a hoofed animal, complete with the actual hooves.
Gabby felt Liam move closer to her, his shoulder pressed against hers.
“Okay, so I seriously thought we had a chance there for a minute,” Gabby said.
“I was totally with you, Gabs,” Shelly said, nodding her head like a bobblehead doll.
If the massive demon wasn’t enough, a portal opened beside him and out marched two men and two women. Gabby had seen their pictures in textbooks as well. The four dark royal elementals.
“We’re so screwed,” Gabby muttered.
Then more women poured out of the portal. They wore black robes and black pointy hats.