Light Chasers (The World of Lasniniar Book 0)
Page 46
Malarin surveyed the carnage below. From this height, the elves and the defending drakhalu looked like a nest of swarming ants. She flew lower to get a closer look, narrowing her eyes to pierce the constant gloom. The elves were making progress. Eranalfia was a clever leader.
Although they had sustained losses, he kept these to a minimum by luring the drakhalu into the Dira Nelar before using cut-and-run tactics to pare down the enemy force. Although this was not their home territory, the elves were experts at blending in with almost any natural surrounding. They were slowly advancing eastward toward the Rilloda. The river was the natural barrier between the swamps and the dead plains of the Pelo Gali. The riverbed also cut a clear pass through the Hamad Orom into the dark lands. Hopefully this would lure the creatures farther from their base of operations in and around Hamadi Glaurinu, allowing Valanandir, Iadrawyn, and the others to continue their mission unhindered.
Malarin’s own forces were in the air behind her. The other dragons of the Hamad Sinta range had finally become tired of the constant raids by Nargaz’s followers. Too many had been caught unawares in their home skies, or had returned to their lairs to find their unborn clutches murdered in their shells. Malarin had roused them, and convinced them it was time to take matters into their own hands. They had banded together to eliminate the intruders and brought the battle south to the dark lands. The elves would not fight alone.
Her thoughts went back to Valanandir and Iadrawyn. She had flown them, Daroandir, and Lodariel in a wide arc around Arindaria, circling over the southern seas to deposit them on the southwestern shore of the Pelo Goro. It was by no means a direct route, but it kept them out of sight of the hive of activity centered at Hamadi Glaurinu. As much as Malarin had wanted to get them closer to their goal, it would be safer for them to approach it by foot.
In many ways, she wished she were still with them, but it was much more difficult to hide a dragon than four elves. Instead, she would lead her brethren in the battle of distraction until Valanandir and Iadrawyn’s party managed to retrieve the Quenya. Once Iadrawyn was back in contact with the Quenya, she could use it to call Malarin so they could make their escape. It was a good plan. Still, it didn’t make Malarin’s desire to be there to protect them any less.
The blast of a horn from below drew her attention to the task at hand. That was the signal! The elves were going to retreat, drawing the drakhalu farther into the nest of traps they had laid in preparation for them.
Nargaz’s dragons had not appeared on the battlefield yet, leaving the drakhalu to fight alone. While Malarin suspected this would soon change, she had no compunctions about taking advantage of the situation. Although the elves used wooden stake arrows, and whatever melee weapons they had, the drakhalu were just as susceptible to being turned into a pile of ash by dragon fire as any other creature.
Rolling her body in midair, Malarin led her wing of attackers in a path over the carnage below. Wounded drakhalu drank the blood of fresh elf corpses who had fallen nearby. The two armies had to wade through the dead. Although darkness was the natural habitat of the drakhalu, the creatures were so focused on the elves, they hadn’t noticed the danger approaching from above. It was the perfect time to strike. Once the first attack was made, her dragons would lose the element of surprise.
Taking a deep breath through flared nostrils, Malarin exhaled a torrent of flame on the drakhal army. The creatures writhed and shrieked as they became living pillars of fire. Her dragons made short work of them. In a matter of moments, the area was a smoking pile of ash. The air reeked of burnt hair and flesh. The rest of the creatures had been lured farther into the Dira Nelar, and were too close to the elves to be considered safe targets. Eranalfia and his army would have to take care of the rest.
Malarin flew into the peaks of the Hamad Orom to find a suitable perch. She and the others would guard the pass from any drakhalu who either fled the battle or arrived as reinforcements from the south. It felt good to finally be doing something after all this time. The drakhalu had no range weapons, but if Vlaz and Nargaz were in collusion as Valanandir and Iadrawyn suspected, it wouldn’t be long before some of Nargaz’s lackeys arrived. It would be in neither the drakhalu nor dark dragons’ best interest for the elves to gain a foothold in the dark lands.
Malarin secretly hoped they would come. While killing drakhalu from the air was entertaining, it was nothing compared to the challenge of aerial combat with another dragon. Perhaps even the great demon, Nargaz himself, would join the battle. To use her wiles against such a ruthless, cunning adversary would be an adventure indeed. He should suffer for all the cruelty he had caused. Malarin flexed her talons against an outcropping of rock, crumbling it to dust in her agitation.
Yes. The time of reckoning had come.