Get up, Toli told herself, leaning into the rock. She didn’t know what to expect in this battle, but as dragons began dropping out of the sky like a rain of jewels, she knew it couldn’t be good news for her. She crouched low. Just survive, she told herself as her heart threatened to throw itself out of her chest. You can figure out what comes next later.
The Scorch Lands, as the Dragon-Mother had called them, reached far into the distance. They crept from the lip of the Mountain down across a wide plain. Toli could just see the outer edge, where it met forest again. Dragons lined either side in wave upon wave of glittering scales and teeth.
Toli’s heart pounded. She scrambled up on the rock to get a better vantage point. Her stomach sank. It was the highest point for miles. There was nowhere to run to—and nowhere to hide.
I’m going to die here. The thought ran through her head on a loop as she watched Krala and the Mother circle each other.
At one side of the Scorch Lands, Ata crouched, with waves of gleaming dragons behind her. At the other side of the charred arena, Toli spotted Bola, with the Mother’s loyal brethren gathered behind her. And still more dragons flew in, picking their sides.
Toli dropped to the ground with a cry as one passing over her got jostled and shot flames. The heat roared over her head. Her stomach convulsed as the Dragon-Mother’s roar filled the sky.
Toli pressed herself to the smooth surface of the outcrop and tried not to scream as Krala Frost and the Dragon-Mother crashed to the ground together in front of her, knocking bits of scale from each other’s wings.
The scales rained down on her like light.
Along the edges, dragons snarled and snapped.
With dragons on either side of the Scorch, the only place out of the way of the battle was behind her, toward the Mountain. She could stay near the rock, but she was right in the middle of everything. Toli was almost ready to make a run for it, away of the center of the expansive battleground, when a movement caught her eye. Something small moved closer through the jostling legs and wings. She paused, squinting to see around the twisting, howling fight. Krala drew back for a moment, and Toli lost sight of it.
Blood coursed down Krala’s side as a cry echoed through the mass of dragons behind Ata. “First blood!” someone roared.
The two ranks of dragons attacked from opposite ends of the Scorch in a mass of boiling flame and claw.
Toli stood next to the only rock in the Scorch Lands, precisely between them.
First blood, she realized too late, must be the signal for both forces to battle in earnest. Heart pounding, she looked back toward the Mountain. The edge of the battlefield looked to be a ten-minute run. She’d never make it.
She spun, balling herself up in the lee of the stone as flames shot back and forth above her. The ground shook with the impacts of dragons meeting in the sky and on the ground around her.
Her mind went back to the bison stampede. She’d had Spar with her then. Everything was different now. The air was rife with growls and the sound of tearing flesh. I have to get out of here, she thought as a huge blast of flame rolled just inches above her, its heat filling her lungs. Scorched feathers drifted down like ash, bringing with them the scent of burning.
Toli crouched low and watched the ground between her and the Mountain. She just needed the right time to make a break for safer ground.
Two dragons battled in her path—a huge red one with a riot of feathers and a small, fierce green one with almost no feathers at all. Toli took a deep breath. If she moved fast, she might be able to slip around them.
She took another deep breath and steadied her will. She tried to imagine herself standing on the far side of the battle, out of harm’s way.
Then she ran.
She passed the two dragons just as the green one took hold of one of the red one’s wings. The red stumbled back, forcing Toli to dodge left.
Behind her the red dragon crashed to the ground, its wing feathers burned away. A foul smell drifted through the air. Toli started coughing.
A black blur dived past her in a flurry of feathers, a wing whipping across her. She shot backward—straight into the middle of the battle, her ears ringing.
Toli rose from the ground and stumbled sideways. She caught herself on the charred ground, crying out as a long slice opened across her palm.
There were dragons everywhere, filling Toli’s view in every direction. It was impossible to see for more than a few feet, much less guess who was winning the battle.
Blue forelegs touched down over her, one to either side, narrowly missing her as talons gouged the earth. Toli had time to gasp, reeling back, before a huge yellow dragon descended and used its tail to smack the blue dragon across the Scorch Lands. The sounds of talons grasping and clawing at the burned ground echoed in her ears. The air filled with deafening roars and a constant, shifting hiss. Toli shook her head, trying to get her bearings.
Which way is back toward the Mountain? The yellow dragon shifted and she spotted the sloping ground beyond the Scorch just as the dragon turned and met her eyes.
Toli turned and ran.
Blood stained the ground. The yellow dragon lurched forward, snapping its jaws as Toli switched directions and somersaulted forward, just out of its reach. Dragons filled the space between her and safety.
Sweat ran into her eyes, blurring her vision. Where could she go?
She spun.
The stone where the Dragon-Mother had set her down was just a hundred yards away.
In a heartbeat, Toli made her choice. Her ears rang as flame heated the air behind her, instinct driving her forward. She half ran, half stumbled her way back toward the rock. There was no time for thought. No time for breath.
A deep-purple dragon dropped to a crouch in front of her, a long bloody tear marring her left eye. She came at Toli, low to the ground and roaring. Toli sprinted out of the dragon’s reach, pulling an arrow from the quiver on her back and lifting her bow. The dragon advanced and Toli put on a burst of speed, hoping it would give her the distance she needed to aim true. The chances of hitting anyplace that would cause damage were almost none, but it might distract the dragon long enough for Toli to reach the shelter offered by the stone.
She spun to shoot as the purple dragon inhaled to blast her with fire.
Her arrow flew, but never landed. A green dragon shot past, grabbing the purple dragon’s neck and rolling.
Toli reached the rock and leaned forward, dragging air into her lungs. Then she pressed her back against the stone and looked up.
A loud rattle echoed across the battlefield like a handful of rocks dropping down the walls of a chasm. Toli lifted herself far enough to peer over the far side of the stone, just in time to see the Dragon-Mother shoot a wave of barbs from her ruff of quills. They lodged themselves in three dragons, who cried out together. The Dragon-Mother rose, her gleaming white teeth stretched wide toward Ata Sky as she swooped down to attack. Her jaws closed on Ata’s neck.
Moments later, Ata Sky fell to the ground next to Toli, her once-bright eyes dull and fixed in death. Krala dropped to the ground just to Toli’s left and rose up on her hind legs. She opened her wings and roared. The Dragon-Mother stalked toward her.
Behind her, Krala’s faction of traitorous dragons began to scatter, rising into the sky. Some of the Dragon-Mother’s brethren gave chase, but the attention of most was riveted on the Dragon-Mother as she faced down her challenger. Toli tried to figure out what was happening. The air around her was tense—waiting. It didn’t feel over, but most of the dragons were as still as statues. It was as though the death of Ata had stopped them in their tracks.
“You are losing, Sister,” the Mother said with bloodstained teeth as her talons gouged the earth. “Look around. Mine have won their battles, and Ata has taken the fate meant for you. Will you stop the fight now, or will you join her in the other lands?”
Toli let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Was it over?
&nb
sp; Krala dropped to the ground and let out a roar that shook the surface under Toli’s feet.
Spar’s tight voice echoed from behind Krala. “I’m glad you live,” she called.
Toli saw a sudden flash of movement, and an arrow soared toward the Mother. It bounced off the Dragon-Mother’s scales. A distraction, Toli’s instincts told her as she scoured the Scorch for signs of Spar. Her mentor would be looking for a way to get closer—to find the Mother’s weak spot.
Bruised and dizzy, Toli wiped her hands over her face. Her vision was blurry, but even so, Spar was nowhere to be seen. How did she just disappear?
From the corner of her eye, Toli caught sight of Krala. The dragon was looking around the field, assessing her losses. She turned to narrow her eyes at Toli and fled, launching herself into the sky. Several other dragons followed.
The Dragon-Mother inhaled, then made her deep rattle, rising up to look across the charred ground, searching for Spar. Another mantle of barbs were shaken forward from underneath her quills. If I can stop Spar before she causes damage, Toli thought, maybe the Dragon-Mother will let her live. Maybe the Mother would spare her mentor if Toli could end this madness.
A flash of black as Spar moved, and Toli realized what she had done. Spar had covered herself in ash from the ground, hiding herself in plain sight.
Toli’s grip tightened on her bow. Another flash of Spar—this time right behind a coil of the Dragon-Mother’s tail. Toli had one arrow left. She took careful aim at her mentor’s leg. If she could just stop her … but Spar was already moving again.
Spar launched herself through the air, a blade held high.
The Mother took two running steps to meet her attacker. Barbed quills flew like arrows. One caught Spar in the shoulder and she fell to the ground, sending up a plume of fine gray dust.
Without thinking, Toli rushed to Spar’s side, lifting her head and clutching the barb. Spar cried out, putting her hands over Toli’s to stop her.
Spar’s face was sad. “Leave it.”
The Dragon-Mother crouched low, waiting. Spar’s eyes slid from Toli’s to focus on the Mother again. She reached up to Toli with one arm and for a single wild moment, Toli thought her mentor might be drawing her down to say goodbye. Her heart turned over. Then she felt the sharp cold of Spar’s blade at her throat.
For a moment, Toli couldn’t breathe. A flash of anger freed her words. “What are you doing?” she asked between clenched teeth.
The dragon’s pale barb glowed where it stood out from Spar’s shoulder. “Look what they have brought us to,” Spar hissed. “Look what you’ve done!” she shouted at the Mother. “Help me up. Slowly,” Spar said to Toli. Toli helped her mentor rise to her feet. Nausea rolled over her. What could she say to get through to Spar?
“Spar, please stop this. You’re going to get killed,” Toli whispered as her gaze flew to the white dragon’s bristled face.
Hundreds of dragons stood still around them—witnesses to this last battle rage. Many were bleeding. Some had flown in pursuit of Krala’s traitors, but among those who were left, tooth and scale gleamed in the dim light as they waited for the Dragon-Mother’s judgment.
“Shhhhh,” Spar hushed as Toli met the dragon’s wide, fathomless eyes, her expression pleading with the Mother not to kill them both out of sheer frustration. There was nothing to stop the dragon from eating them in one open maw-ful.
“Don’t move, Toli,” Spar hissed in her ear. “Don’t struggle.”
The Dragon-Mother’s head hovered above them. Twin flames lit her nostrils. What was she waiting for?
Hissing surrounded them as the Dragon-Mother addressed Spar. “Your burns … do they pain you still?”
Spar’s body went rigid. Toli’s blood ran cold.
“Always. Every moment,” Spar said.
“It is hard—to be a child,” the Dragon-Mother said. “It is hard to lose—and to be punished.” She slid behind them, her head weaving back and forth.
The hair rose on the back of Toli’s neck as all the dragons rattled around them in an eerie chorus of support for the Mother. None spoke or dared to interject.
Spar spun. Her arm wrapped around Toli’s neck from behind, and the blade of her knife pressed tightly against Toli’s skin. “Stop moving. Stop moving, or I’ll kill her.”
Toli opened her mouth to plead with Spar, but no words would come out. It was as if Spar had already stabbed her in the chest, and all her air had drifted away until she was empty inside.
“You won’t,” the Dragon-Mother hissed. “I hear your heart.”
Toli could see Spar’s pulse beating in her neck. It was the same profile she had always admired. The same strength. She couldn’t look away.
“I will.” Spar grimaced. “Believe me.”
Toli wanted to pretend this wasn’t happening—that her mentor wasn’t threatening her life, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t a bad dream. Spar had made her choice.
The Dragon-Mother let out a dry chuckle. “I see it in your eyes. Her heart beats fast. Yours races too—like prey.” She paused. “Do you hear it?”
Spar’s face contorted. “You know nothing about me. Nothing!” Spittle flew. “You have ruined me!”
Toli’s chest flooded with rage and sorrow as she edged her fingers down to wrap them around her last arrow.
“You are fire kissed. Honored above all others,” the Mother hissed at Spar. “You will never be a dragon, but you will be special. Soon we will see your scales. Rejoice in it.”
A cry ripped from Spar’s throat. “What have you done to me?” she wailed. “What have you done?”
“This is the right question at last, my youngling,” the Dragon-Mother rattled as if she were scolding a child.
“I’m not yours,” Spar cried, letting go of Toli and diving at the Dragon-Mother with a roar, her blade raised high. Toli stumbled and fell to the ground.
The dragon’s head lashed out fast and low, grabbing one of Spar’s legs and whipping her to the ground. Toli heard a sickening thud and saw the knife drop from Spar’s hand.
Toli watched, as if from a great distance, as the Dragon-Mother enclosed her mentor in one taloned hand. “I will discuss Spar’s transgressions with her when she wakes,” the Dragon-Mother said.
There was a hollow ringing in Toli’s ears. “She … She’s not dead, is she?”
“No. She lives.” The dragon lowered her head until one silver eye was even with Toli’s. “But she is mine.”
Despite all that Spar had done, Toli shuddered at the thought of her fate.
Two dragons appeared—one was blue, and Toli recognized the other. Bola Stone. The green dragon shifted forward. She rumbled a greeting. “The battle is won, Great Mother.”
Bola moved to her other side and the Dragon-Mother hummed a purr. “Traitors who return to the Mountain will be judged,” the Mother said. “After your judgment, they will swear an oath of loyalty in the heart of the Mountain. Those who leave will be tracked and killed.” Her pupils dilated. “Where is Krala?”
Bola cringed. “Fled, when Spar attacked, along with several others. We will find her.”
The blue dragon lifted her snout, inhaling inches from the Dragon-Mother’s face. “Are you well?”
The Dragon-Mother rattled. “The battle is ended. Now we can have quiet.”
Goose bumps raced up Toli’s spine. “Are you going to kill them? Krala? And Spar?”
The Dragon-Mother lifted a single claw, pressing it gently against Toli’s chin to lift her face. “So you have survived the challenge. You are strong, little truth-teller … What do you think we will do, little warrior?” The Mother paused. “I am curious. What would you do with such broken and inconstant things?”
Moments passed as Toli tried to find an answer through the sound of her pulse pounding in her ears. The blue dragon gave a loud cough of laughter.
The Mother coiled with an agitated shiver. “Well?”
Her father’s gentle smile flashed through Toli’s
head, and she remembered something he had told her late one night by the fire. “We … we don’t have much in Gall,” she began. “And what we do have is far too precious to waste.” She lifted her gaze to the Mother’s. “Even the most broken things can be made into something new.”
The Dragon-Mother gave her a considering look. “Hm. Well, it does not matter now, firstborn daughter of Ire. The Spar child is ours.”
Toli knew truth when she heard it.
“I need to see my mother.” Toli was surprised by the strength in her own voice.
“You have earned your freedom, Anatolia Strongarm, and your family’s, but you will not return home yet. We have things to discuss.”
The dragons returned to the Mountain, some returning along the route they had taken while others took a longer route back to the wider entry. Bola carried Toli out of the Scorch Lands. When they got to the crystal chamber, the Dragon-Mother, silent as the dark itself, moved beyond the cavern, deeper into the Mountain. Toli followed, the heat closing around her in thick waves.
The path turned, winding downward. She hadn’t thought it was possible for the air to get hotter. She imagined she could hear the walls sizzling. That couldn’t be right though—no drop of moisture could have made it this far. Her skin, which had been prickly with sweat in the crystal chamber, was now parched dry enough to crack.
Ahead, the tunnel opened into a small, low chamber. Still shaking, her thoughts spinning, Toli moved toward the small piles of glowing crystals that were parceled out around the cave. Though the light from them was dim, she blinked in the sudden brightness after the long dark tunnel. The Dragon-Mother rose up to survey the room from above, then sank back down. “You asked of your mother.”
“Yes, I’d like to see her, please.”
Before the Dragon-Mother could respond, Toli’s mother appeared from behind a pile of gems. She froze as she saw Toli, joy radiating over her face.
A moment later, she had Toli wrapped in a hug that stole Toli’s breath away. “Thank Nya’s light, you’re all right! What are you doing here? Where’s your sister? Is everyone all right?”
Rise of the Dragon Moon Page 21