CHAPTER XVIII
Ricard knew what they were dealing with the moment he heard Thrax’s battle bugle. The Dragons were coming to defend their High Lord General. For the first time since they had been built, the Dragon Killers would have a proper target to aim and shoot at, with or without Evart’s help. Ever since he had learned of Gabriella’s capture, he had been getting a growing sense of wrongness about his brother’s affiliations. That he wasn’t moving to help to fight the growing danger to the Kingdom only confirmed his suspicions. Evart was going to have to die, and when it happened, it would be by his hand. For now, he needed to find a way to live through this battle so he could do the deed later.
Ricard raced for the closest Dragon Killer, even as his men screamed in terror at the sight of the massive Dragon when it appeared overhead. They then began to scatter like chaff in the wind. He knew better than to give in to the terror incited by the beast, even as he watched T’Harris hover for a moment breathing flames into the air. At this point, the Dragon was only warning those on the ground of what was to come. There was no doubt others like him would soon arrive, and the chaos now happening on the ground would be eclipsed by what was on the way.
Thrax’s roar of rage upon seeing Gabriella surrounded by men coming at her with weapons drawn was followed by him swooping down to belch fire over the crowd. It didn’t take long for even those lying on the ground to rise and run for cover. Even King Felix fled the field, while Lorne moved through the men at arms and bellowed out orders for archers to shoot down the Dragon. He had seen how effective arrows could be against the monsters during the battle when they had shot the White Dragon. With nothing more effective at hand, he decided to see if he could duplicate the action. He was getting no response, for no one seemed to be able to pull themselves out of the Dragon-induced terror they were in to do anything other than scream and run.
Ricard scrambled to reach the wagon holding the newest model of the Dragon Killers, but it wasn’t easy when everyone was running in the other direction. When he finally arrived, he took his place and shot a hostile glance at Evart. He considered shooting him first, but he didn’t have the time or freedom to work with, at least not yet. The difficult part was to load the machine alone for while the projectiles were simple enough to shoot off, they were heavy and awkward to handle beforehand. It was something they needed to work on, and he wondered what other facts of interest Evart’s books held on the problem. He was sure there were bound to be some. The trouble with that idea was Evart wouldn’t be here to translate the tomes for them because he would be dead.
When Ricard eventually got two quarrels loaded into the machine, he took his place behind the scope and aimed it at the flying Dragon. Now, he would find out how effective the Dragon Killers were against the real thing.
It took Ricard a few minutes to figure out how to work the machine, as he hadn’t worked this one before. It was only slightly different than what he was used to, and when he got the hang of it, he prepared to shoot. There was, he found, a definite difference in the way the scope worked from the one he considered his. This one had a clearer lens and he could get a better focus on the Dragon. He also noted shooting at a moving target was a lot harder than one that was stationary. It showed in the way he angled the first set of quarrels, as neither came close to their target.
Thrax flew fast and low as he breathed fire onto the field to warn the enemy troops away from Gabriella. He was only partially successful, and,to make things more difficult, he could feel her Dragon rising. This meant there was a high likelihood she would shift before he could rescue her if he didn’t move faster. When he saw the projectiles Ricard aimed at him fly past him, he realized how unlikely this was to be.
The reloading of the second set of quarrels went a lot faster, as did the shooting. Again, Ricard missed, but this time his shots were closer. He was also getting help from the Blacksmiths.
Even as the third set of arrows were loaded, the rest of the available members of the Guardians of the Empire appeared on the horizon. They were headed for the field. This meant Ricard needed to make his next shots count or they would all be burned, though to be fair, so far no one had been. The Dragon had only shot off warnings, and even Ricard could understand what they meant.
While T’Harris dodged quarrels and breathed fire in hopes of chasing the Humans away from his Life Mate, Gabriella continued to hold her own against the few members of the forces below that continued to dare her to do her worst. They only man she felt she needed to be concerned with at all was General Anton, for he seemed to rebound after each time she knocked him down. This was a soldier that knew his way around weapons and battlefields. He wasn’t good enough to last for long against her, but he was persistent, which made things difficult. It was a problem she didn’t need at this time, for she felt something happening to her and it was distorting her focus.
T’Harris roared in anger, as he noticed General Anton move in to attack Gabriella from behind while she was busy fighting another soldier. The pandemonium that had broken out upon his arrival hadn’t lasted as long as he hoped. The element of surprise had ended and the armed forces were beginning to rebound under the command of the Prince Lorne. Those unfazed by his appearance, or the Dragon-induced fear people usually reacted to, remained to fight her or aim their arrows at him, as Lorne had ordered. What bothered him the most was that the enemy intended to surround her, and there was no one to back her up. It was making it impossible to keep his attention on the things that mattered to his safety in a fight like this.
As Thrax dove from the high reaches in the sky, he spouted more flames. This time there was no doubting his seriousness. He had given them fair warning and those ignoring him were about to pay the price. He pushed his conscience aside and let Thrax do his job. That was one benefit of having an alter ego you could shift into that happened to be a Dragon, things like incinerating the enemy didn’t bother them.
Evart couldn’t move no matter how much he tried, and he wasn’t certain if it was from fear or excitement. He knew he should get off the wagon, but his limbs seemed to be frozen where they were. He watched, when most of the men forming the combined armies of his family seemed to succumb to a form of mass hysteria and run from a field filled with terror. There were people everywhere, all trying to find any place that might offer them some form of cover from the wrath of the flaming beast overhead. In most cases, they found nothing. Those who didn’t realize the dangers of their situation raced toward Gabriella, and of those, many were turned away from mobbing her by the sight and feel of Dragon fire. Those who refused to heed T’Harris’ warnings ended up facing the risk of death by fire or at the end of Gabriella’s sword.
Gabriella balked at killing anyone, even when she knew the same couldn’t be said for them. Most men faced her with the belief they stood a chance of capturing or killing her. They soon found out differently, as they ended up on the ground in need of medical treatment. She found it didn’t take much to persuade them they had made an error. The problem was, more kept coming and the ground surrounding her was growing red with blood with the injured beginning to pile up.
Ricard kept track of the great Golden Dragon in flight through the scope of the Dragon Killer. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time. He intended to bide his time, and he would release the quarrels when the beast was well into range. He had already ordered the two Blacksmiths to prepare to reload, so if he missed these shots, he would have another chance at him in short order. If he struck him, then he stood a chance at being able to finish the monster off when he landed. He was going to need to do all of this quickly though, for those he had seen flying into Andoria earlier were closing in on them fast.
“Just a little bit closer,” Ricard spoke to no one in particular, as Thrax flew across his path and came into range. He then smiled, as he mumbled, “Now, die you streak of misery. You are mine, and I will have your head to hang over my mantle.”
Ricard released first one, then the other
quarrel in quick succession and, while the Blacksmiths reloaded his weapon, he watched to see what would happen.
The first quarrel tore a hole through Thrax’s left wing, and as he opened his mouth to roar in pain, the second lodged deep in his right shoulder. He immediately began to falter and lose altitude. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was definitely having an effect. He twisted in midflight turning towards Ricard with intentions of removing the danger, when a dozen or so arrows flew through the air to rip holes through the fine membrane in his wings. He lost control. He was in danger of losing the ability to fly altogether.
Ricard bellowed at the Blacksmiths to get them to move faster, “Move it, I need to shoot now.” He could tell he had delivered what could be a killing blow to the Dragon. It was time to finish him off while it was still possible. At the moment, even the smaller arrows were having an effect.
There wasn’t a man on the ground that didn’t stop what they were doing on the field to watch when Thrax gave a great shout of pain after he had gotten hit. No one even noticed Gabriella when she began to glow, and a moment later, an Iridescent White Dragon took form where she once stood.
Upon shifting, Gabriella’s Dragon crushed anyone close. Everyone moving towards her on the field stopped to look up at the action in the sky. They cheered when Ricard’s projectiles struck the Dragon and he gave another cry of pain. A dozen more archers aimed at the injured beast and released several rounds of arrows into the air. They were now able to damage the animal as well and another cheer went up as Thrax began to lose even more altitude. The celebration came to a quick end as more Dragons suddenly appeared in the sky, coming at them from different directions.
Gabriella’s Dragon took over, as it burst into the sky and bellowed orders to the others, “Stop his fall. Take him back to the Valley for healing. Try to get him to shift. Everyone head back. I will finish off here.”
Ricard was so shaken by all the sudden activity he couldn’t shoot straight enough to hit anything. He shot off the quarrels, then yelled at the Blacksmiths to reload again, so he could try again. It was then he noticed the Iridescent Dragon in the air headed straight for him. There was no doubt in his mind what was about to happen. He was going to die.
Ricard would have done anything to have either the quarrels he shot off in place or those the Blacksmiths were now loading into the machine locked into place. Neither was possible. He shot a look of loathing at Evart and noticed his brother still hadn’t moved from where he had been earlier. He seemed to be in shock. Well, as far as Lorne was concerned, this didn’t exonerate him. Evart was as guilty in this as the Dragons that had torn up their land. Lorne decided quickly that if he were going to die in a blaze of Dragon Fire, so would his brother, but he would make sure it was he who struck the killing blow before the Dragon got to them.
King Felix managed to rise up onto his feet. The first thing he noticed was his sword lying in the midst of the ashes and burning chaos where Gabriella had been fighting earlier. There was little left of anything or anyone there anymore. A few men lay on the ground, untouched by the flames because of their wounds. Despite their injuries, he figured they would consider themselves lucky when they woke because they hadn’t been burned. In King Felix’s opinion, nothing hurt as badly as burns when it came to healing. It was also going to take a long time for his Kingdom to recover from what happened on this day. The only good news was that the Female Elf had probably also perished in the flames. He picked his and Lorne’s swords from out of the hot ashes, and as he turned to see to his oldest son, he noticed a White Dragon flash overhead spewing white hot flames at the wagons holding the Dragon Killers. It wasn’t all he noticed.
King Felix watched Ricard race from one wagon to another with his sword in hand, heading for the one holding Evart. His youngest son was standing completely still, looking over the field with an expression of shocked horror on his face. It was as if he didn’t even notice the danger all around him. He didn’t blame the lad. He was a battle-hardened old man, and he could barely believe what he was seeing. What he couldn’t understand was what Ricard thought he was doing, for it looked to him like his second son was about to attack his brother. Did he not realize the boy was in severe shock? Surely he had seen men with more experience act in much the same manner in the past. A heartbeat later, he noticed the White Dragon trailing destruction in its wake. It struck the first of the wagons with fire, then moved on.
As the Dragon Fire struck, the war machines flew into the air bursting into flames as each was engulfed in flames. King Felix bellowed in agony as he saw Ricard disappear behind another wall of flame, while the Dragon curled a massive claw around Evart and continued to fly past. The monster hovered for a moment near the walls of the castle, then let loose another torrent of flames at something behind the structure. Another explosion sounded from within and the beast turned in midair to release even more at a lone wagon near the entrance of the castle.
As the last wagon began to burn, the White Dragon disappeared in the sky, with Evart dangling from its claws. King Felix yelled in anguish, “My son.” Where he had once proudly showed off his three sons, now he only had one left. He clutched at his chest and gave another bellow, as he crumpled to the ground. He was badly injured and heart sore. He looked around him and noted Lorne and General Anton looking back at him in horror. They were in little better shape, but they were alive, which was more than he could say for those they had just lost.
As King Felix considered everything that had happened, he clenched his fists and made a promise on the soul of his dead son. He refused to think of his youngest son as deceased, for that would hurt too much at this moment. Ricard was a man and a Warrior. It had always been a possibility he would die in battle, Evart had never fit into that category. He was a clerk, nothing more. He shouldn’t have died in such a cruel way. While it hurt to think of Ricard gone from their lives, it was something he could live with because of what he was. For the first time in his life, he realized nothing hurt a man like the knowledge he needed to bury his children. Evart, he noted with a sigh, had only begun to come into his own. He had seen the Dragon fly off with him, but there might be hope for him. Perhaps the beast had a soul and would see the merit of allowing the young man to live.
“I will avenge you, my child,” King Felix promised. “I will make their lands flow red with their blood and that of their people. I will hunt them to the ends of the earth until each and every single one of them are dead.”
CHAPTER XIX
By the time Gabriella’s Dragon appeared in the sky over where the Guardians of the Empire had taken Thrax in the Valley, Lariel was already there along with seven healers from the Grey Elven Kingdom. Anamara had also come and she was closely examining his Dragon. It was not an easy task. Thrax was a massive beast, and he appeared to be totally comatose at the moment, which made it even more difficult for the head healer from the Elven Nation.
It was Cambria who rose in her Dragon form to meet Gabriella as she appeared in the sky, first to give her the report on T’Harris, then to see if she needed help. “He hasn’t regained consciousness, and Anamara says she needs him to shift before she can do much. It doesn’t help when the quarrel is still lodged in his shoulder. The lucky part of this is it went through his right side and not the left. The bad news is the shaft went through the upper part of his lung. I am not sure what can be done for him unless he regains his Elven shape and who knows what kind of damage that will cause when he does.”
“Anamara will know,” Gabriella assured Cambria. “This is what she excels in.”
“I see you brought company back with you,” Cambria changed the subject.
“It was either that or leave him behind for his family to kill,” Gabriella pointed out. “I thought he was much more valuable to us as an ally.”
“By that I assume he was in danger again,” Cambria meant Evart.
“Doesn’t seem to change for him,” Gabriella replied. “Sonja and Alexis say they have lived in
fear all of their lives because of his poor luck.”
“How are you going to land with him held in your claws?” Cambria wondered.
“Carefully,” Gabriella answered. She knew most of the others were concerned about how she would handle her first shifts, but she had watched enough of the problems the other Guardian of the Empire Life Mates experience with theirs to know what to expect. Anything unexpected could be handled by using common sense. She wasn’t about to allow a fear of the unknown throw off her concentration.
Cambria chuckled as she matched Gabriella’s gliding movements to the floor of the Valley. When her sister landed, she did it so smoothly Cambria crooned her congratulations. She also liked the way she had done it with the foot she had Evart in curled close to her body. The moment she was on the ground, she set him onto solid earth and a couple of the Grey Elven Healers checked him out and reported.
“The young man has fainted, but beyond this, there is nothing wrong with him. The moment he wakes, I will have him taken to the fortress. No doubt Sonja and Alexis will fuss over him for a while there.”
Gabriella shifted back to her natural state and immediately went to Anamara to see if she could help in some small way. “They say Life Mates can do things a healer cannot. I am not professing to have any healing Talent, as everyone knows I have none, but perhaps I can be of service in another way.”
“Unless we can get T’Harris to shift back to his Elven form, we don’t have the power to heal him properly. If you can think of anything to pull him out of his comatose state and force him to shift, we might stand a better chance of saving him.” Anamara said bluntly, as she informed Gabriella of their predicament.
Gabriella looked thoughtful for a moment, then went to Thrax’s head and knelt beside him, so she could lean over to whisper in his ear, “T’Harris, my love, you must wake up now and shift. This is important.”
The General Page 13