by Linsey Hall
The blue lightning blazed, brilliant and fierce. It pierced down from the sky, striking the cobblestone ground and holding firm, like a harpoon that kept the cloudy black dome in place.
I ran for it, adrenaline pumping through my veins. The lightning was at least a foot thick, sparking and bright. I wasn’t even sure if it was lightning, but it crackled with magical energy, making my hair stand on end and burning my eyes.
I squinted, trying to keep my gaze on the magic. There was no time for hesitation. As soon as I neared it, I raised my sword and struck, slicing through the lightning like I was trying to fell a tree.
Electricity blew me off my feet, shooting me backward. I slammed into the ground, losing my grip on my sword. It clattered onto the cobblestones.
I lay on my back, gasping, frozen with electric pain. Above me, the lightning retreated into the sky, disappearing back the way it’d come. If my plan worked, Alton’s cage would disappear as well.
Morning light illuminated the dome above me. The gray mist receded, starting at the very top of the dome and disappearing all the way to the ground.
Hell, yes.
Now if only I could move, because I had a date with battle.
I groaned as I sat upright, every muscle aching. All around me, people shouted. They were waking up.
Shakily, I stood, then stooped and gathered my sword.
“Phoenix!” My mother’s voice sounded from behind me.
I whirled. She raced toward me, her skin pale and hair limp. Her eyes were wild as she sprinted up to me and threw her arms around me.
“You saved us!” She pulled back and looked at me, pride gleaming in her eyes.
My father ran up to join her. He pulled me in tight for a hug.
“It’s not over yet.” I pointed toward the mountaintop where Alton had been held captive. It was to be our main battleground. Tension thrummed in my veins, a deep need to be at the battle with my friends. “I have to get over there, quickly. My friends are about to fight the army of the man who did this to you. They need our help.”
My mother’s gaze sharpened and she nodded, quick to understand the direness of the situation. The panic in my voice probably helped.
She turned and yelled, “Elesius, to arms! The horses!” She looked back at me. “Come, this way!”
She grabbed my hand, and we raced across the courtyard. I forced the pain away, trying to focus on my friends. They needed me.
We ran up to the stables, which were located at the side of the courtyard. Stablehands were readying the mounts, fast and precise.
“That one.” My mother pointed to a sleek black horse.
I hurried toward it, lodging my foot in the stirrup and then heaving myself up. My mother launched herself onto her white horse. My father followed suit, climbing atop his gray mount. Around us, citizens of Elesius spilled out of buildings, armed to the teeth. Cavalry leapt upon horses, others ran on foot, gathering in the square.
“We go to Darktop Mountain!” my mother called. She looked at me and murmured, “Who the hell are we fighting?”
“Demons. Kill only the demons.” I didn’t want my friends getting caught in the crossfire.
My mother nodded, gaze firm, then turned back to the crowd. “We wage war against the demons who imprisoned us! Slay all those with horns.”
Yeah, that worked.
My mother turned to me. “We ride.”
Then she turned her mount and galloped off up the street. I directed my horse after her, following as she rode expertly towards the edge of the dome, where I presumed there was a shortcut.
Jeez, she was a badass.
My father followed behind me, the rest of the army racing along behind him. The road gave way to a section of mountain ridge. Two hundred meters in the distance, the white barrier shimmered. I followed my mother, guiding my mount around boulders.
We plowed through the shimmering white veil, spilling out onto the other side. In the distance, at the top of the ridge, the blue lightning cage was gone. We were just in time.
My friends dropped from their hiding places in the trees, racing for Alton, who stood bound next to the glittering black orb. Del threw her icicle bolts while Ares raced ahead with his shadow sword. Roarke took to the sky, no doubt planning to do some beheading.
The demons that’d been guarding the cage surged to their feet, roaring the alarm. There would be more. Overhead, Drakon swooped through the sky. Was he recovered from the wound I’d delivered?
I pressed my fingertips to my comms charm. “Cass! Come get me!”
My mother turned back to look at me. I pointed toward the demons. “The fight is there. Mine is in the sky.”
“Be safe.” Her voice was fierce. She looked past me, at the army that had followed. “This way!”
She galloped off, leading the charge. The army surged by me.
Cass plunged down from the sky, already in her griffon form. I leapt off my mount, then scrambled onto her back. Her magic glowed bright and strong as she soared into the sky, golden wings carrying us high.
As planned, she raced for Drakon, who wheeled high overhead, recovering from my attack and no doubt waiting to strike. The sun had now crested the horizon, making it easy to see him. Our goal was to distract him while the army on the ground rescued Alton and the mysterious black orb.
“Hey, Drakon!” I screamed.
He whirled toward us. I could feel his rage, vibrating on the air. He charged. Cass spun and raced away, leading him from the fight. Though my blade could hurt him, I was going to have to be careful about how I wielded it. One touch from him could shock us out of the sky.
In that moment, Jeff arrived. He was huge again, no doubt having recouped his magic. The Pūķi appeared at his side.
Shit.
Please be careful, guys.
They swooped and dived, trying to distract Drakon. They were good at keeping out of his reach, but he was more intent on reaching us. If he turned on them…
“Try to come up on him from underneath!” I called to Cass.
She dived low, flying under Drakon. She was smaller and faster than him, and we shot upward toward his belly. I leaned up as far as I could, stretching my sword arm.
We were nearly to him when I shouted, “Now!”
I sliced with my blade as she dodged away. The tip of the steel gouged his belly, but Cass’s wing clipped his. She shuddered and tumbled in the air as the electric shock tore through her. I clung to her back, trying not to fall as my skin turned to ice and my heart leapt into my thorax.
The ground was so far below. We tumbled toward it through the air, the shock too much for Cass. We were only one hundred meters above when she managed to right herself, hurtling up through the sky on shaky wings.
Above, Drakon hovered. Jeff and the Pūķis darted around him. I’d wounded him, but not badly. And it was impossible to strike from Cass’s back.
Below, the battle raged. My mother’s army fought alongside my friends, wielding weapons and magic. They seemed evenly matched in numbers, but I didn’t have time to study them.
I searched for Drakon. He was still hovering on the air, perhaps recovering from my blow or debating whether to go after the army or me.
I needed a new plan. My mind raced. In the distance, Aidan attacked demons in his griffon form. A thought blazed.
“Jeff!” I cried. “Get Aidan! The griffon!”
Cass stiffened beneath me. Fortunately, Jeff was fast, darting toward Aidan like the wind. Aidan was even faster, at my side in a moment.
“Go below Drakon,” I shouted to him. “Cass, you go above! Jeff, you distract him.”
Cass shrieked, a sound of pure griffon rage. She clearly knew what I planned and didn’t like it. Frankly, I didn’t like it either. But I could see no other way.
“Do it!” I screamed. “Unless you’ve got a better plan! Which you don’t.”
She hissed, another noise I’d never heard her make, then flew toward Drakon, coming up from behind him to ho
ver on top. He’d clearly shaken off the effects of my first blow, because he was going after Jeff, who’d just blown fire in his eyes. Aidan hovered below.
This was it.
“Get lower!” I said.
Cass flew lower, diving for Drakon. When she was only five feet above, I didn’t hesitate. I leapt off her back.
I plummeted toward Drakon, my sword pointed downward and aiming for his glowing black heart. Cass flew away, avoiding his electrical charge. It slammed into me, shooting pain to the marrow of my bones.
One thought flashed through my mind: Don’t let go of the sword.
My blade plunged into his back, close to his heart. The pain made it nearly impossible to see, so I had no idea if I had struck true, but he roared and shook me off. At least I hit something, I thought as I fell off his back. Probably not his heart, but the would was grievous. Through bleary vision, I saw him tumbling through the sky, thrashing from my blow.
Please catch me, Aidan.
The wind whipped past me as I fell, in too much shock to feel the pain anymore. I struggled, trying to see where I was going. I caught sight of a golden blur, then slammed into it.
I grabbed tight, holding to whatever I could. I nearly dropped my blade, but managed to hold on to it as I clung with my legs and gripped the base of a wing with my free hand.
We were near the ground, right over the battle. I tried to grip Aidan tight, almost too weak to hold on. My gaze zeroed in on Ares, who fought like a man possessed, beheading demon after demon.
We were only fifteen feet above the battle and heading down fast. My grip was so weak now that I was going to slide off at any moment. As if he felt my gaze, Ares looked up. His eyes landed on mine.
I fell, losing my grip on Aidan. My stomach fell and my skin chilled.
Ares caught me, going to his knees with an “Oof.”
Up above, Drakon shrieked. Around us, the battle stilled. The demons turned tail and ran. I’d wounded Drakon enough to drive him off. I grinned. Most of my body felt numb, but I could feel the smile.
“We need to stop meeting like this,” Ares said.
“I don’t mind.” Shaking, I tried to stand. Limp noodles were firm compared to me.
Ares had to help me to my feet, keeping an arm wrapped around my waist. “What happened to you?” he asked.
“Electric shocks? Sonic booms? I’m not sure. Whatever it is, Drakon is basically poisonous to the touch.”
He kissed me on the head. I surveyed the battle, trying to take my mind off the pain that suffused every inch of me.
Around us, our allies tended to the wounded. My frantic gaze found all of my friends. Not all looked great—Roarke had a bad limp and Connor’s face was covered in blood, among other injuries—but all were standing. My mother was still mounted on her white horse. She and the horse were spattered in blood. The same for my father.
Bree and Ana were looting the corpses of the dead demons. Looking for transportation charms, I’d bet. At least, that was what I’d be doing.
Cass landed, galloping toward me. Even in her griffon form, she looked pissed. In a blur of golden light, she shifted.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she shouted.
“I don’t know.” I grinned shakily, relieved just to be alive. “In hindsight, it was pretty dumb.”
Ares looked down at me. “What did you do?”
“You didn’t see?” Cass’s face turned bright red. “She jumped off my back, tried to stab a dragon, and planned to land on Aidan’s back.”
Ares grimaced. “That was…risky. Brave, but risky.”
“Yeah. I won’t do it again.” My limbs started to shake, as if my body had just caught up to the stupidity of what my brain had made me do. My knees felt like Jello. “Can we go home? I think I need to puke.”
Chapter Fifteen
The next evening, everyone was supposed to meet at P & P. Connor shut the whole place down for the day. First, so that he and Claire could recover from their wounds, and second, so that I could thank everyone who had fought. Though the whole town of Elesius couldn’t attend, my mother and father managed.
We all walked toward the coffee shop together, along with Ares. The moon was full overhead, and the golden streetlamp illuminated the sidewalk.
“Did you lose many people?” I asked my mother. We hadn’t been able to talk after the battle because everyone had needed their wounds tended to, and I’d been worried.
“Only four,” my mother said.
My heart ached. If only I’d been faster. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We know our duty.”
“That’s very stoic.”
She stopped, grabbing my arm so that I halted next to her, and smiled at me. “We’re stoic for an valuable cause. You performed admirably. You are truly worthy of your role, Phoenix.” Before I could thank her, she scowled. “But don’t go leaping through the air like that again.”
“I promise. I won’t. I really wasn’t a fan.” A laugh escaped me, and I met Ares’s eyes. He smiled, no doubt remembering that I’d puked as I’d said I would. “I don’t think heights are for me.”
“You’re a risk taker, Phoenix. It’s necessary when one has a role such as yours to perform. But be careful.” She hugged me. “We don’t want to lose you.”
I hugged her back, then hugged my father, who kissed the top of my head. Just being around my parents filled me with joy.
“Come on,” I said. “The party has started.”
We continued down the street, entering the cozy warmth of P & P to the sound of Connor’s music. Everyone was here, though most people sported bandages or braces. I still felt a little crappy myself, like I was one giant bruise that needed time to heal.
Ares pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Let me get you a drink. The usual?”
I smiled up at him. “You know me so well.”
He went to get me a bourbon, and I found Cass and Del in the middle of the room.
“Hey!” Del wrapped an arm around me and squeezed. “How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“All right. Healed up.”
“Same.” Cass smiled.
“Good.” I checked out the crowd.
The FireSouls were all here, but they weren’t dressed in their usual armor, thank fates. I didn’t want to see armor or weapons for at least twenty-four hours. Aerdeca and Mordaca wore their usual white and black outfits, while Bree and Ana wore their Mad Max attire like they were ready to jump back into battle at any moment. Even Jeff was over in the corner, back to his normal, small size.
Ares joined us, handing me my glass of Four Roses.
“You’re a hero,” I said.
“You too,” Del said. “Super brave, jumping off of Cass like that.”
Cass caught my eye. “Yeah, brave. But also an idiot.” She punched me lightly on the shoulder. “But you’re my kind of idiot.”
I laughed, then clinked my glass with her can of PBR. Del lifted her mug of boxed wine, tapping her glass to ours.
“I’m going to go say thank you to everyone,” I said. “Then we should meet with Alton to see what he has to say about Drakon.”
Cass nodded. “Good plan.”
I made my way into the crowd, stopping to thank everyone who’d fought at our side. The sight of their injuries made me wince, and the thought of the dead made me tear up, but I was so grateful for their help. I never could have done this alone.
I finished at the group of FireSouls, all of whom sat around Alton in the corner. The wound at his cheek was now a dashing scar.
He smiled. “Thanks for what you did back there.”
“Anytime.”
Ares joined me, and I reached for his hand. Cass and Del came to stand at our sides, along with Aidan and Roarke.
“Is there a chance you overheard anything from Drakon or his men?” I asked.
He grinned. “Didn’t hear anything. He was too smart to talk around me. But he abducted the wrong FireSoul.”
&n
bsp; My heart beat faster. This was going to be good. I could just tell. “How so?”
“I’m a mind reader.”
“Oh, snap,” Del whispered.
“So you know that he wants to steal all the power from the last remaining dragons,” I said.
He nodded. “He was testing a spell that would help him do that. He’d never used it before and wanted to test it on people. He’d hoped to capture you as well, but I don’t think he expected you to go into the city. That upset his plan.”
“He didn’t realize I had a blade that would get me in.”
Alton shook his head. “He didn’t. Nor did he realize the blade could wound him. It saved your life.” He looked at Del and Cass. “And theirs. And mine.”
“So, we rescued you and saved the black orb, which is now locked up safely in the Vampire Realm, being studied by their smartest scholars. Does that mean he can’t deploy his spell against the dragons?” I phrased it as a question because it sounded too good to be true.
Alton frowned. “No. Unfortunately not. He proved his spell worked. Now he just needs to get another magical battery like the black gem.”
“Damn it.” I’d been expecting that—this wasn’t nearly over yet—but it still sucked. “Does he have another battery?”
“Not yet, but soon. There’s one other that he is trying to get, but he didn’t think about it in much detail. I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t think he has it quite yet.”
“But he’s on the path to finding it?” I asked.
“Yes.” Alton nodded. “And he’ll also hunt other FireSouls. He’ll need more of us to steal the power from the dragons.”
“So FireSouls have to be on the alert,” Ares said. “Keep to your realm where he can’t get to you. We’ll protect the ones on Earth.”
“There are more than we know about,” Cass said. “Not just us.”
“But he wants us for the final spell,” I said. “He may not threaten the others.”
“Then we’ll have to be careful,” Del said.
“We’ll help you,” Alton said. “However you need.”
Mordaca and Aerdeca joined us, coming to stand next to Corin and Fiona.