by H. D. Gordon
A moment later, I saw what had stopped him in his tracks.
Just beyond the thick shadows of the trees, the sun had sunken fully behind the imposing mountain, and a million stars were starting to blink to life as the night swept in to replace the day. Just as we’d been told, the valley—a vast expanse of lush green grassland sitting at the base of the mountain—stretched out before us, the glow of two moons painting the grasses silvery yellow.
As magnificent as the land was, it was not the beauty that drew the eye, but the thousands of Firedrakes pouring out of the top of the mountain, the way a giant swarm of bees might pour from a hive.
I stood in stupefied wonder as they erupted from the top of the mountain like lava from a volcano, their ear-piercing screeches scraping across the night. The sound of their massive wings beating against the air brought gusts of hot wind down and rustled the grasses and trees.
The creatures were even larger than I’d imagined, easily large enough to swallow me whole.
For several moments, the three of us could only stand and stare, our task suddenly more impossible.
There could be no taming these creatures, because these creatures clearly were not meant to be tamed.
I whispered as much to Bakari and Yarin, and it was the latter who grinned slowly and answered.
“Let’s just see about that,” Yarin said, and moved out of the superficial protection of the trees.
We scouted until we found three Firedrake females near a creek.
We’d picked them for several reasons, and if not for the use of a healthy dose of magic from me, we would have been Drake dinner.
The first reason was that these three seemed to have formed their own mini pack, while most of the others hunted in groups of ten or more. The second reason was because we had watched them on a successful hunt, and we were relatively certain that their bellies were full, at least for the moment.
I cringed at every second we had to wait before making our attempt, because my gut told me that time was running out for Rukiya and the others, but approaching a hungry Firedrake was just stupid, and so the sacrifice of waiting for them to finish their hunt was necessary.
Luckily, the three we’d tracked were fast and efficient huntresses, and the blood still coating their scaled faces was proof.
The creek cut through the forest and trickled softly, adding a cleaner scent to the smoky air. Around its banks, the three females lounged, stretching and unfurling their massive wings, cooling themselves in the shallow waters.
Bakari, Yarin, and I exchanged a final glance. It was now or never.
Summoning my magic, I cast a protective spell around us. The magic obeyed, albeit reluctantly. I had not allowed myself enough time to recover from the poison, and opening a portal here had been a drain as well. But I managed to cast the spell and hold the magic in place. A thin bubble of impenetrable scarlet surrounded the three of us, and we stepped out into plain sight of the enormous females.
Three scaled heads swiveled in our direction, three sets of huge, diamond-shaped eyes locked upon us. My heart skipped three whole beats as my breath caught in my chest.
The blast of orange fire came so fast that I nearly fell back onto my bottom, but instead stumbled into Yarin’s hard form, knocking the wind out of me. With every ounce of effort I had, I managed to keep the protection magic in place, and it was a good thing that I did. Otherwise, the fire would have burned us to ash in a matter of seconds.
It still hurt like hell, though. It felt like walking through the fires of the Ten Hells, like swimming in lava.
When the flames subsided, I was sweating terribly, my vision slowly recovering from the harsh glare. Beside me, Yarin and Bakari were also rubbing their eyes, their fear scenting the air around them.
When I could see again, the first clear image was of those large diamond eyes staring back at me. The Drake that had tried to burn us looked curious at the fact that we were still alive.
“We come in peace,” I said, feeling ridiculous. I knew from Rook that the Drakes were capable of communicating verbally when they saw fit, but all the books claimed that they only spoke with their Riders—a supernatural race that had been extinct for nearly a thousand years. The communication was telepathic, much like the way Wolves could communicate mind-to-mind, and thus, highly intimate.
So it was unsurprising that the three Drakes did not respond with words. Instead, they stood to their full height and surrounded us. Once they’d formed a ring of scales and muscles around us, they began to circle, and I gave my head a sharp shake as Bakari’s hand twitched toward his dagger.
His jaw went tight, but he dropped his hand.
The Drakes continued to circle, so close that the heat of their bodies was nearly suffocating. It struck me rather late that they were simply waiting for my magic to drop. Absorbing the flames had sapped even more energy, and I still needed enough to portal us the hell out of here if things went south.
When one of the other females spat more blindingly bright flame at us, I almost lost my grip on the protection magic, and a glance into the eyes of the Drakes, at the intelligence there, told me they knew it.
“Please,” I panted once the flames had subsided, revealing the still circling ring of Drakes around us. “We’ve come seeking help. The fate of an entire peoples rests on it.”
Sweat trickled down my neck and back, broke out across my forehead. When I swallowed, my throat was painfully dry.
Still, the Drakes did not acknowledge my words. Instead, they smacked into my magical barrier with their heads, whipped it with their barbed tails. I felt each strike like a blow, and gritted my teeth against it.
Bakari and Yarin were sweating as profusely as was I, their faces strained and apprehensive.
I felt the magic slipping, and wanted to groan in frustration, but tried again. “We’ve come with the purest of intentions, with the truest of hearts,” I tried again.
If I had not been watching so closely, I might not have seen the Firedrakes pause. These words were ones I’d read in an ancient tome in Mina’s library. It was said that Firedrakes chose their Riders, and that they chose those with the purest of intentions and the truest of hearts. Of course, there had been exceptions to this, and some Drakes had sided with terrible people, who had used their all-consuming fire to oppress others, with devastating results that had been recorded by scribes throughout history.
Still, the Drakes did not respond. Only continued to circle, to wait for my magic to fail.
I knew what I had to do, and the knowledge that it could mean instant death for my comrades and me was clearly evident, but I didn’t see any way around it.
I dropped the shield.
The scarlet haze protecting us dissipated. Bakari cursed lowly beside me. Yarin still had that strange look of excitement that was so rare on the Halfbreed’s face. As soon as the shield dropped, Yarin leapt up fast, jumping onto the back of one of the Drakes. He was not a small male, and the Drake was utterly enormous, but Yarin managed to straddle the creature and throw his arms around its neck as his thighs held tight for purchase.
This gave Bakari and I enough of a distraction that we were able to do the same, and if we had been any less nimble and strong, the task would have been impossible. A screech, loud and ear splitting, erupted from the Drake who was now trying like hell to buck free. I dug my fingers into its tough, scaly skin, and kicked my heels into its side, just like I’d read to do in the histories.
To my utter amazement, digging my heels in worked like a charm, and the Drake shot up so quickly into the sky that I was nearly thrown from its back. Tree branches whipped my face and arms, and a moment later we were beyond the canopy, sailing up and up and up.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the tearing of the wind, and when I opened them a few moments later, the ground was hundreds of feet below me.
The Drake dipped and dropped, banked and barrel-rolled, but I held tight for dear life, my stomach rising and falling. I tried to speak aga
in, but the wind tore the words away, leaving room for only the cries of the Drakes and the beating of their wings and my heart.
“Please,” I whispered, not even able to hear the words myself. “Please, we need your help. My intentions are good. By all the Gods, I swear it.”
When a voice, so low and rumbling and ancient spoke into my head, I was so shocked that it took me a moment to realize where it had come from.
“You speak only half truths, Mixbreed. You come with intentions of war, and the Gods are selfish bastards who overestimate their worth,” the Firedrake told me. “Get off my back now, and I promise a quick death.”
Another roll nearly sent me flying, but I clung tight, supposing that this was progress, and praying to those selfish, bastard Gods that we would make it on time.
21
Rook
Wolves were still pouring into Dogshead, all of them professing their readiness to fight for the cause, all of them giving me thanks I wasn’t sure I deserved.
I hadn’t heard from Adriel or the others, and I could tell that even Asha was beginning to grow concerned about him. She didn’t say it, but I saw it in the set of her shoulders, heard it in the snap in her voice when she was helping to organize and direct the new arrivals.
Night fell, and I snuck away from the tension of the impromptu war room and found myself wandering amongst the high stalks of lavender wheat. The scene was like a flashback, the landscape one I knew intimately, and had hoped to never see again.
As a thick cloud passed over the nearly full moon, painting the dark countryside a silver-blue, I supposed that it was fitting that things should end where they started for me. Based on the reports we’d been receiving from Akila’s Harpy daughters, I wasn’t sure I could expect to make it through this war.
These thoughts kept me company as I looked up and saw that I had wandered rather far from the main area of Dogshead, and was now near the outskirts of the massive plantation. When the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and the night bugs quieted, I paused in my tracks and studied the surroundings.
Someone was watching me. I could not see them, but I could feel it.
I teetered on the edge of shifting into my Wolf form, chastising myself for wandering so far from our main encampment when I was likely at the very top of the Pack Masters’ most-wanted list.
My eyes lit up Wolf-gold as the invisible threat heightened. A low growl rippled up my throat.
I was answered with silence. Even the wind paused, calming the usual rustle of the swaying wheat.
Just when I was about to call out an invitation for the stalker to make themselves known, the tall stalks of lavender to my left parted, and a Hound stepped out of the shadows.
Not just any Hound.
Mekhi.
The bastard who had started this whole mess all those moons ago, by first beating Goldie, and then trying to purchase her. If not for Adriel stepping in and purchasing my friend instead, Goldie would’ve suffered greatly at the hands of the sadistic bastard.
I’d also beaten his ass on that first occasion we’d met, for leaving bruises on Goldie’s neck. Ryker, who had been Head Hound at the time, had intervened. Mekhi’s revenge had been to attempt to purchase Goldie.
I knew Hounds like him well; they were not just following orders. They delighted in the oppression of others. They were Wolves who just liked to set the world on fire and watch it burn.
“Long time no see, Rook the Rabid,” Mekhi crooned.
Three additional Hounds slipped out of the stalks, forming a circle of toxic masculinity around me.
I shifted into my Wolf form in a heartbeat.
And tore the guts from the Hound nearest me in the next.
Mekhi and the others descended upon me, whips snapping through the air, murder in their glowing golden eyes.
A howl of pain tore out of me as one of the Hounds managed to coil the end of his whip around my throat. He yanked it taut with a jerk, and the air was crushed out of me as my vision momentarily went black.
Panic tried to rise; the sensation of being once more collared almost overwhelming, but I swallowed it back. Bucking, growling, snarling, and snapping, I fought to break free. The two Hounds in Wolf form darted in with teeth bared, trying to get a shot at an artery. Mekhi delivered a kick to my ribs and laughed like a hyena as he did so.
I took in the scene in flashes of images and pain, catching glimpses of the dark night sky and dirt ground between those sharp canines, fur, and barbed whips.
“You’re mine now, bitch,” Mekhi said into my head, knowing I was too distracted physically to keep him from communicating telepathically.
I decided then that if I was going to go down, I was going to take that son of a bitch with me. I leapt, but was dragged down as powerful jaws clamped around my hind leg, and another set sank into my shoulders. A howl of pain tore out of me, the agony momentarily blinding.
My legs buckled, the strength leaving me. I sent a final thought to Adriel, wherever he was, thanking him for the short time we’d had together.
Then, dark shapes blotted out the stars, and the sound of enormous, beating wings filled my ears. Four arrows whizzed past me in rapid succession, coming so close I could feel the stir of the wind.
A split second later, those arrows were sticking out of the eye sockets of the two Hounds in Wolf form. Their deaths were instant; their teeth still sunk into me as their jaws slackened and they slumped to the earth.
The third Hound dropped before I even had a chance to look up from the bodies.
Another arrow whizzed.
I jumped up, using a last burst of energy and causing my fresh wounds to sing, but managed to catch the arrow between my teeth before it reached its target.
I shifted back into my mortal form, gritting my teeth past the agony this caused, and held a hand up to Akila and one of her Harpy daughters. Two more arrows were already nocked in their bows, and they hovered overhead, their massive wings holding them aloft and lifting my hair from my shoulders.
“Not this one,” I said, running a hand under my nose and seeing blood there.
Mekhi gave me a look that would make it much easier to do what needed to be done next.
I met the Hound’s gaze and offered a grin that made his eyes narrow in anger that I suspected was mostly to mask the fear.
“I need him alive,” I said. “At least for a little while.”
“I’ll conduct the interrogation,” Goldie said.
I blinked, wincing as one of the healers who’d committed to staying in Dogshead applied some smelly paste to my wounds. “You don’t need to do that,” I told her. “I’m okay with it.”
Goldie gave me a look like she knew better. “I want to,” she insisted.
No one else in the room spoke, despite the fact that Akila and two of her daughters, and Asha were also present. I stared at my oldest friend for a long moment, seeing that she meant what she said, and that perhaps this was not just something she wanted to do, but needed to do. As a female who’d spent her entire life being abused not just sexually, but physically and emotionally as well, by any male with enough money to pay the house fees, Goldie surely had demons that would not be easily slain. Demons that would live beyond the other side of this war should she make it through it.
I nodded, holding her blue gaze. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll come with you.”
The others went back to their various tasks as Goldie and I left the former smoke room that had become our impromptu hub. We walked a few paces in silence, taking in the bustle all around us as the sky finally began to lighten with the first breaths of a new day.
“What kind of information do you think he has?” Goldie asked.
I glanced over at my friend, wondering when her voice had adopted that stony strength she used so sparingly under other circumstances. “Mekhi was third in command to Reagan Ramsey, second to Ryker,” I said, cringing internally at speaking the name aloud. “But Ryker never liked him, so I wouldn’t be surprised
if he bypassed Mekhi as Head Hound when he became Alpha, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that pissed Mekhi right off.”
Goldie’s delicate hand brushed her throat as the barn where we were storing Mekhi came into view, as if remembering the bastard’s fingers wrapped around her neck, leaving bruises that would fade but scars that would not.
We came to a stop in front of the barn, where two Wolves were standing guard. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I reached into my pocket and removed a small but very sharp dagger that Adriel had gifted me upon my last departure from Mina. Goldie stared down at it a moment before taking the blade into her hand.
Then she opened the barn doors and we stepped inside. I shut the doors behind us.
Sitting in the middle of the barn floor, tied to a chair with silver chains and gagged with what looked to be an old sock, was Mekhi. On the loft overhead, a Harpy girl with a bow and arrows within reach sat looking bored. She perked up when she saw us, her pretty face breaking into a relieved smile.
“Thank the Gods,” she said in that strange accent I’d only ever heard from Akila and her daughters. “I hate guard duty.”
The girl unfurled her wings and flew out the barn window before we had a chance to respond.
Goldie approached Mekhi, and his eyes darted down to the dagger in her hand. She used her free hand to remove the gag from the Hound’s mouth.
“What do you think you’re going to do with that, whore?” Mekhi asked.
Goldie’s responding smile was cold as ice.
She bled him out.
Slowly.
Methodically.
If not for the fact that I knew her so well, that she was my oldest friend, and had saved my life on many occasions, I might have been disturbed. If someone had told me a year ago that Goldie was even capable of such things, I would have laughed in their face.
But Goldie was not the same person she’d been all those moons ago, and whatever smug confidence Mekhi thought he had when she’d first entered the barn was gone within thirty seconds.