A heaving lump of clothing next to the sibyl raised a scarf-covered head and choked on a sob. Nillea’s swollen face turned to the Qumeli woman. Nillea’s eyes were bloodshot and her clothing ripped. She crawled a foot in the direction of her daughter.
The sibyl glared at Nillea, and the chief sent his fist into Kessa’s outer knee.
Kessa whimpered and curled tighter against the wall, while her mother wailed inaudible words with a hoarse voice.
“Stop begging,” the sibyl snapped. “Such a slow learner. More you do, more pain she’ll get.” One corner of the old woman’s mouth curved into a grin. “Only when she tells where the other keystones are to be found, we stop and let you both free.”
“She’s only a small girl. Please.” Nillea shuddered. Upon receiving no response, she faced Kessa. “Kinchin, please do this one bit of Great Gramaema Heilia’s magic for these people.” Her voice cracked. “Then we’ll leave here and no more magic ever. It brings too much hurt.”
The sibyl cackled and blew a puff of smoke in Nillea’s face. “You hurt the child, not her seeing.”
Nillea coughed and fell back. Her foot caught in torn layers of her full skirt, and she writhed helplessly, while the sibyl enjoyed a resounding belly laugh.
A dense violet film clouded the vision. Lyra looked at the Unicorn and Imperial Dragon. With white knuckles, she clamped onto the shaft of her wizard’s staff. “If this is true—”
“We can’t take that for granted,” the Imperial Dragon interjected. “Consider the source. Eburscon is deceptive and manipulative. He left that image behind for a reason.”
“To urge me into saving Kessa,” Lyra replied.
The Unicorn nodded. “To play upon your compassionate nature…regardless of whatever dangers Kessa truly faces.”
“And stop me from getting the keystones.” Lyra shook her head and clutched a hand to her chest. “But there’s a chance the vision is correct. I can’t let Kessa suffer. She reminds me of myself when I was ten, afraid to use my magic and unsure how to use it. I know finding the keystones is important. Or is it, since the Dark Realm possesses the one, the Pearl of Pendola? Now, we can’t get the entire set of four. Or are they likely to want the fluorite, moonstone, and Emtori Ruby as well?”
“Possession of the pearl is enough to halt the Alliance from regaining its former power.” The Imperial Dragon lowered his head and examined the Staurolite in Lyra’s palm. “The Elementum Arcesso device will only channel power to our land if all four keystones rest in their original balance pans. However, Eburscon has often revealed his fascination with the fifth power, quintessence.”
The Unicorn reared his head back. “Is it likely he believes with the four keystones that he can command the power of quintessence?”
Lyra nodded. “Maybe. After what was supposed to be my alchemy lesson, Eburscon attempted to steal my aura using a cimafa to attack Cullen and me. He was like a madman craving that power.”
“You are the first of the Alliance Scribes to be able to command the Staurolite, the gem corresponding to quintessence. It has found you.” The Unicorn nosed the edge of the gemstone. “This supports what the Tortoise and I talked about—quintessence is your unique power. How does this master gem help you? What made you so sure of your response to the Black Dragon—to not concede?”
“With it, I can see clear mental images of each of the keystones. Although not information about their exact locations, I see the gems in their immediate surroundings. It helps me feel an energetic connection to the keystones. If Eburscon and the Black Dragon will be seeking them, then finding those stones should be my priority. But what about Kessa? Can anyone else save her?”
The leader met her gaze. “That would require a team of two or more of the four Guardians to even make an attempt against such black magic. We’re in war with many thousands of lives at stake from the Dark Realm’s attacks. Although Kessa’s role as a seer would be an invaluable aid to the Alliance, I simply cannot justify the risk of so many lives in order to save one.”
Lyra sighed and twisted her staff. “But Kessa’s insight might help me locate the missing keystones. The Qumeli seem to think she knows where they are. She hasn’t told them anything yet, so the Dark Realm hasn’t gained any advantage—unless that vision is meant to mislead us.” She traced a finger over the cross shaped crystals of the Staurolite. “From what I understand of the legends, this stone only attracts the ruby, not the others. I don’t know what to do first, find those keystones or save Kessa.” She looked into the yellow concerned eyes of the Imperial Dragon. “Will they kill the girl?”
“Sadly, yes, they may if Kessa doesn’t comply.” Smoke seeped from his nostrils.
Oasth leaned toward Lyra. “In my century serving as the warlord, the dark leadership has never shown one instance of compassion.”
The leader nodded. “It’s a hard decision. I believe the answer lies in the implications of your quintessence, understanding the nature of your power.”
“How do I learn about that?” Lyra asked. “Quintessence is an alchemical concept. We’ve had no alchemist in the Alliance since Eburscon was exiled.”
“The Tortoise and Sire Drake once studied that craft in preparation for his bloodswear quest. Let’s consult with the Tortoise. Perhaps Sire Drake will have returned.”
Lyra nodded. “I hope he was safe in battle.” Her words trailed off, stuck in her throat. She gazed into the distance across the water. Cullen worked tirelessly for peace in the Alliance and for their dreams as a couple to be married and have a family. “I want to do my best for the Alliance—whatever choice we make.”
“Let us return to the lair,” the Imperial Dragon replied.
Chapter Two: The Leaning Geminus Tree
From her seat on the Unicorn’s back, Lyra strained to see the lair’s entrance. Eager to get started on her new assignment, she hoped Yord’s squadron with Cullen and Yasqu had arrived.
The Unicorn flew behind the Imperial Dragon and Warlord Oasth into a turn north over the wide expanse of the Steppe of Ora. Dense clouds, heavy with reddish-indigo evil, spread farther than when they had left the lair.
Lyra scanned the plain for the divided Geminus Tree that marked the border between Alliance and Dark Realm territories. Dry, cracked terrain extended in front of them as far as she could see. Bushes that stood tall and verdant only hours before bent low. Leaves wilted and branches scraped the parched ground.
The Imperial Dragon pinned his ears back. With a glance over his shoulder, he called to the Unicorn, “Keep Lyra behind us and strengthen your protective ward.” The leader lengthened his neck and accelerated, fully engaging his wingsails that extended farther than most dragons, past his hind limbs.
Oasth, much smaller in stature, increased his rhythm to keep pace.
Gliding on an air current, Kenzo positioned himself above the warlord.
Lyra focused on the distant entrance to the lair. She gasped. Lightning bolts, red flames, and blue lasers—Cullen’s blue aura—cut across the inky sky. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Only after they flew another hundred yards, did she pick out the motions of dozens of dragons against the inky clouds.
Magma and fire drakes, the minions of the Dark Realm, darted in all directions, spewing short bursts of red flames.
Nearing the stone cliff that housed the lair, the Imperial Dragon ascended. Their group followed the angle of the trunk of the Geminus Tree. Half-rooted, it pointed diagonally toward the battle. On the side marking Dark Realm territory, desiccated roots curled maliciously into the air, as if to capture whatever life passed near. Compressed under the weight of the encroaching evil, the green portion of the tree, indicating Alliance lands, clung to crevices in the rock wall.
Labored grunts and moans filtered down the cliff. One piercing cry, so chilling there was no doubt death followed it, echoed along the stone wall. Shivers ran along Lyra’s spine.
She craned her neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cullen. A blue laser that pierced th
e sky gave the only sign. She touched her fingers to the lovers’ jadestone brooch at her throat. Lyra released a heavy breath when the stone responded with a gentle pulse, a communication from the matching piece that Cullen wore—he was safe.
A thought flashed through her mind. Would she be able to fight without sharing Cullen’s aura? In the last battle, she needed his to mitigate the extremes when she used her new, heightened power from the previous Scribes. Without Cullen riding next to her, she might suffer a seizure and fall. The Unicorn’s ward would protect her against attacks by minor dragons, like lower drakes, but maybe not from ice drakes. Definitely not from green dragons or cimafa.
The Staurolite felt warm buried in the palm of her hand that gripped the Unicorn’s mane. She wanted to see if the stone changed in appearance during warfare but couldn’t risk letting go. The gem corresponded to her power of quintessence. She wondered how it might react when she fought, if it would sap her power even more or be an aid. She didn’t know much about the Staurolite’s magic. No previous Scribe had been able to use it.
A white haze of the Unicorn’s aura formed around him and Lyra.
She considered calling Kenzo inside the ward but, with his talent of maneuverability, he never liked being unable to fly. She wondered if she’d be able to fire through the stronger ward. She leaned forward, but before she could ask the Guardian, a bolt of lightning catapulted three ice drakes from the landing ledge above.
Their sinuous, white bodies contorted against the dark sky until one gained sight of the Imperial Dragon barreling toward them.
He roared and released a wide swath of flames, squarely hitting two of the beasts.
With tails curled tight, the ice drakes plummeted down the side of the cliff. The third regained its senses fast enough to spread it wings. It flew in an awkward somersaulting pattern away from the ledge, just missing the shot.
Kenzo whipped clear of the two descending bodies, and Oasth narrowly escaped being hit. The Unicorn couldn’t fly as swiftly as the others, and one ice drake deflected off a corner of his ward.
When he swerved into the cliff face from the force of impact, Lyra flinched, then gripped his flanks with her thighs. The passage of seconds slowed to what seemed like minutes as they headed for a collision with the granite wall. She channeled aura into her wizard’s staff. The golden sapphire apex glowed. Holding it forward, she willed her power to push against the diminishing space. Sweat beaded along her hairline. The air compressed—a shower of dust and chunks of rock cracked off the wall. Lyra released a sigh.
The Unicorn’s ward lightly grazed the surface. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Well done! I wasn’t able.”
“I didn’t think my aura could cut through your ward to help us,” she replied.
He shook his white mane. “Neither did I.”
“Are you both all right?” Oasth hovered alongside, his neck extended so far, he teetered to keep his balance.
The Guardian nodded, then followed the warlord up the cliff.
The Imperial Dragon suspended his flight above the ledge, shooting curtains of flames at dozens of drakes that surrounded him. Small in comparison, the action reminded Lyra of spraying insecticide on wasps. A few dropped dead, but most spun away after having a wing or tail singed.
A green dragon darted between them and the leader, teeth bared in a chilling grin. The beast clamped his jaws and puffed his cheeks, preparing to expel a cloud of chlorine gas.
Lyra formed a powerball and arched her arm back.
In the moment before she threw, a huge blue dragon interceded. Yord, a senior sentry, thrust his neck long and spewed a cluster of blue-white lightning bolts at the chest of the green.
“Lyra, wait!” Cullen called from his position on the senior guard’s back, secure between spinal extensions at the level of the dragon’s wings. He hurled a blue powerball, aimed so accurately it sped along a tight laser beam toward the green’s head.
The creature choked out a puff of chlorine before falling.
Once the carcass dropped, Yord flew to meet the Unicorn below the ledge but kept his face turned to the fighting above.
“Lyra, we need to be touching for you to fight,” Cullen yelled to be heard over the noise of the battle. “We can’t physically transfer you. We’ll become a target. Can you transport to sit behind me?”
“I’ll try.” She had only tried to transport once since being granted her wizard’s staff. All of her time since then, she’d spent studying the lost scribal texts. Recalling the basic procedure that Cullen had taught her last winter, she focused on the desired position and twisted her staff. Her limbs lightened and she began to dematerialize.
Yord darted sideways to miss a flash of magma, and the Unicorn swerved in the opposite direction.
Lyra took quick action to diminish her power. Mass returned to her legs, which fell heavily against the Unicorn’s sides. She tried again. This time the tingling weightlessness reached to her head. As her vision faded, she caught a blurry glimpse of the senior blue lurching upward to shoot lightning. Loosening her grip on the staff, she returned to the leaden sensation of materializing on the Unicorn’s back. “It’s no use. We’re moving too much.”
“Stay back then,” Cullen called and leaned forward to launch a powerball at an approaching pair of fire drakes.
An ice drake hissed, causing Lyra to peer behind her. The one who tumbled to the sideline of the battle earlier coiled its serpentine body close to the Unicorn’s hind leg. Near enough for the drake to strike, it exhaled cold vapor of its aura which sublimated into a cloud of myriad ice particles. A bite would bring frostbite to the bitten limb or possibly death.
The Unicorn reared his head, turned, and sped away from the cliff.
With the corners of the ice drake’s mouth curved into a wicked grin, the beast kept at the Guardian’s tail. Its chilling mist penetrated the Unicorn’s ward, and he released a pained cry.
Every Alliance dragon was engaged in battle above the lair’s landing area.
Lyra gripped her staff and flooded it with golden aura. She trusted it would be easier to aim than throwing powerballs bare handed. She worried about having a seizure after releasing so much aura. But the moment her magic flickered in the apex gem, she lowered the tip and fired. A tight laser sped into the hungry mouth of the ice drake and traveled a short distance down the beast’s gullet. The shot exploded like a firework and severed the slender neck. The headless body coiled and flopped without control in its descent. When the gruesome head bounced on the stone below, a billow of icy gas released with a final hiss.
Lyra remembered to monitor her health. Her heart felt too big for her chest, and her pulse rang in her ears…just as they did before she fired. Her balance felt steady with no signs of dizziness—no seizure. She’d spent some aura; her body seemed heavier, more mortal. Encouraged, she reloaded her staff and shot another laser bolt at a pair of magma drakes who ricocheted from the ledge above her. Unlike the quiet hiss of the ice drake, those two yelped and screamed.
Within seconds, two greens, another ice drake, and more fire and magma drakes than she could count surrounded them. Would her power last long enough to kill them all? She couldn’t see past the circle of evil dragons to know if any Alliance members fought to help her. Four drakes parted, and a cimafa slipped inside. Before the ring reclosed, Lyra caught sight of Yasqu and Yord, side by side.
Lyra focused on the stealth dragon. She was the only one who could kill those creatures with a single fire. She saved her power for that strike.
The cimafa rotated, and the Unicorn moved in the opposite direction, like two boxers dancing around a ring. The Guardian’s heart thumped against his ribs under Lyra’s legs.
Sweat formed between his fur and her skin, and she clamped harder to be certain of her balance. The gem of her staff radiated sparks.
At least a dozen blue sentries sailed overhead.
With the odds changing, the cimafa didn’t waste any more time. The beast yawne
d its jaw open. A spiral of red aura widened into a funnel as it moved toward Lyra.
Her laser fire met it halfway, riding the red coils. Watching the dueling energies move, Lyra sucked in a ragged breath. The cimafa’s spirals slowed but continued in her direction, while her own closed on the opponent. If the cimafa’s power met her first, it would claim her aura for its owner, leaving her as an empty comatose vessel. Adrenaline surged through her. She swallowed hard and fired once more, a shot backed by all the power she could find inside her. The laser coursed straight for the cimafa’s chest, not caught in the spiral like her last strike. Would it be fast enough? She held her breath.
The onlookers around the circle froze. In sharp contrast, outside the circle, grunts and cries sounded from every direction.
In one swift motion, the passage of time barreled into fast forward. Lyra’s second laser hit her mark. The cimafa howled a chilling screech. With red-rimmed eyes fixed on her, the beast plummeted, breaking the ring.
Lyra slumped against the Unicorn’s neck. Energy had drained from her body. A heavy dead weight, she clung to the Unicorn with her whole body—arms, torso, thighs, calves, even curving her toes around his sides. Her fingers trembled on the shaft of her wizard’s staff. A glint of golden light sparked from the sapphire—her aura remained, weak, but still hers. The cimafa hadn’t taken it. She rested her cheek against the Unicorn’s mane and sighed.
The circle sprang to life. Snarls of fights surrounded Lyra and the Unicorn. A stream of blues exited from the lair’s entry. Warlord Oasth barked orders.
The Unicorn jumped from side to side, dodging lasers and flames. Lyra prayed his ward would hold against lesser dragon fire.
Enchanted Bookstore Legends (5-book complete epic fantasy romance box set) Page 103