Valanandir ran toward the northern coast with Lodariel at his side. His hair and clothes were plastered to his skin by the pelting rain. Malarin was supposed to meet them there to bear him, Lodariel, Iadrawyn, and Daroandir across the sea. The ships had already left. Malarin had assured him it would be no problem for her to catch up with them. Valanandir hoped she was right. The ships would need someone to scout ahead for this new land, especially with the rising storm.
Malarin came into view on the rocky shore ahead. She was alone. Valanadir felt a surge of panic. Where were Iadrawyn and Daroandir? They should have arrived already. He turned to Lodariel to see his concern mirrored in her eyes.
“We have to go back!” he yelled over the howling wind. A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, flashing weird shadows across Lodariel’s face. She nodded her agreement.
Just as they were about to run back into the trees, someone ran out into the open. Both Valanandir and Lodariel drew their weapons, unable to see who it was in the darkness. Lodariel reacted first, lowering her spear and pulling Valanandir forward. As they drew closer, he realized it was Daroandir. He carried Iadrawyn in his arms. Daroandir lowered her to her feet as soon as they reached him. Iadrawyn seemed weak and disoriented. Valanandir put an arm around her to steady her.
“You have to go now!” Daroandir shouted. “If you wait any longer, Malarin will not be able to get off the ground.” An echoing boom of thunder punctuated his words.
“But you’re coming with us!” Valanandir felt as if the earth had opened up beneath him.
“Our place is here. Daroandir and I must stay behind.” Lodariel put a hand on Valanandir’s shoulder.
Iadrawyn struggled to awareness. “No! You will be in the new world. I have seen it!”
Daroandir shook his head. “We may meet again, but I doubt it will be in this life. You foresaw this, Iadrawyn. It is time to let go.”
Iadrawyn threw an arm around each of them, sobbing. Valanandir joined the group embrace. Even though Iadrawyn had foreseen it long ago, he had hoped it would never come to this. As much as he wanted their closest friends to come with them, he could not ask them to turn their backs on their destiny. He could only hope Iadrawyn’s second vision of them on the new continent would come to pass during his lifetime.
“Thank you for all you have done,” he said. “We will never forget you.”
Iadrawyn wiped her eyes. “We will await your return.”
Both Daroandir and Lodariel hugged him and Iadrawyn in turn. Valanandir thought he heard Lodariel congratulating Iadrawyn on something, but he wasn’t sure. When he frowned at her, she gave him an impudent wink.
Another bolt of lightning forked across the sky. The magical barrier over the water warped and heaved.
“You must go now!” Lodariel pushed him toward Malarin.
Iadrawyn gave him a nod, hoisting the Levniquenya under her arm. Hand in hand, they ran toward the dragon. Lodariel and Daroandir watched them go.
“The others aren’t coming?” Malarin rumbled. “I hope they know what they’re doing. No time for delay now. Climb up and let’s be off while we still can.”
Valanandir helped Iadrawyn clamber onto Malarin’s back, settling behind her. Malarin launched herself off the ground, raising even more wind with her wings. For a few heart-stopping moments, Valanandir thought she might not gain the air as the storm whipped around them, but after a brief struggle they were aloft and rising. Daroandir and Lodariel waved from below. Valanandir watched them get smaller and smaller as his throat closed with tears. As much as it had been predestined, this had been his plan. Would the result be worth the loss?
Another boom of thunder rocked the heavens, and the magical barrier shimmered and fell. The earth below them trembled and heaved. What had they unleashed?
They were all so focused on what was going on below them that they didn’t see the huge black shadow approaching until it slammed into them. Valanandir clutched Malarin’s sides with his knees and held Iadrawyn close as they turned sideways in the air. Red, slitted eyes glared at him in the darkness.
Nargaz had found them.
Malarin twisted to right herself, lashing out with her claws. Nargaz writhed out of the way, snapping at her. Valanandir fought down a wave of terror and cursed his helplessness. Iadrawyn was clearly too drained to do anything with the Quenya, assuming the Quenya could even do anything right now with Ralvaniar coming apart at the seams. He didn’t dare let go of Malarin or Iadrawyn to draw his bow. All he could do was hold on.
Malarin evaded Nargaz as best she could, but it was difficult with two elves on her back. The high winds buffeted both dragons, but Nargaz fought like a creature possessed. He lashed at them with his tail, rocking Malarin’s head back. He darted forward, his teeth closing just inches from Iadrawyn’s face. She huddled over the Levniquenya, using her body to protect it.
Slamming into Malarin once more, Nargaz propelled himself upward to hover above her. His shriek of triumph echoed across the churning darkness. In a moment, he would dive in for the kill. The sky around them gave an ominous rumble. Valanandir clutched Iadrawyn, waiting for the inevitable.
Two arrows sped past his cheek, grazing him before landing in Nargaz’s chest. The dragon let out a roar of anger, pawing at the offending projectiles. Valanandir knew they must have come from the bows of Lodariel and Daroandir, far below. The arrows weren’t deadly, but they were a distraction. How they had managed to hit Nargaz from so far away in such high winds, he had no idea.
A terrible cracking sound rent the air. Valanandir wanted to cover his ears, but he didn’t dare. Malarin shook her head and rolled sideways. As she moved, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky right where they had just been. It struck Nargaz full in the chest. The flash was so bright, Valanandir could see it through his closed lids. Nargaz’s agonized howl split the air. Valanandir’s nose filled with a horrid, metallic stench he could taste in the back of his throat.
He opened his watering eyes to see Nargaz’s limp, charred form plummeting toward the ground like a boulder. There was another sound, like grinding bones and the land below buckled, splintering apart. The ocean poured in.
Valanandir, Iadrawyn, and Malarin looked on in horror at what they had wrought. Mountains tumbled down. Trees fell like dominoes. Ralvaniar broke into countless pieces only to be swallowed by the sea. Even after all the land was gone from sight, the ocean floor crumbled in an ever-widening ring where the continent had once been. The surging waters roared into a seemingly bottomless pit, swirling and seething.
No one left behind could have survived.
The buffeting winds slammed them backward, freeing them from their trance. The storm had only just begun. He, Iadrawyn, and Malarin were still alive and in possession of the Quenya. Somewhere out on the waters was a fleet of ships bearing the refugees of the elven nation and his own precious daughter.
Iadrawyn slumped against him, the Levniquenya still clutched in her hands. Tears streamed down both their faces. Their plan had worked. Valanandir didn’t know whether to celebrate or grieve. Malarin banked westward and they turned their backs on the storm.
Ralvaniar was no more.
Light Chasers (The World of Lasniniar Book 0) Page 68