by Tara West
Markus turned on his heel and ran in the direction of the dragon’s roar, toward the first place he knew Lydra would look once she awakened and the last place he ever wanted to go to again—home.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alec watched in disbelief as his brother ran toward peril once again. Gone. Markus was gone and he had done nothing to stop him.
Dianna came up beside him as Markus disappeared into the forest. “Does he think a mere stone can stop a curse and that an arrow can fell a dragon?” she asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
When Dianna voiced his thoughts, Alec knew he had to take action. He refused to let his brother face this monster alone. “Go inside with Des,” he commanded.
Alec didn’t wait to gage her response as he swung around and scooped up the axe from the woodpile. Determination fueled his movements as he sprinted toward the forest.
“Alec, you will be killed!” Dianna called behind him.
Alec steeled his resolve as he ran. He knew Dianna was right and he might very well die, but he’d be damned if he let his brother face this dragon alone a second time.
MARKUS BURST THROUGH the clearing with his bow drawn. The sight before him stole the breath from his lungs. The beast had her back to him, her huge hindquarters protruding in the air while her head was embedded inside the hut of Markus’s family.
He watched the dragon’s giant, spiked tail wave circles in the air while she tore through his home with her massive snout. Markus’s heart sank. The small hut, containing the loft he had shared with Alec, was now destroyed.
Anger surged through him as he ground his teeth and he exhaled a shaky breath. Centering his aim on the beast’s big buttocks, he fired his arrow.
Wood splintered and thatch snapped in two as the dragon roared and jerked up her head.
Markus had already nocked another arrow. This time he didn’t plan to aim at the wings or buttocks. This time, he would shoot to kill.
As the beast turned her ominous red eyes upon him, Markus almost lost his resolve. His limbs iced over, not just from fear, but from the chill that shrouded the dragon like a heavy fog and stole all warmth from the spring air.
Thoughts of Alec and Ura flashed through Markus’s mind. He would not allow the dragon to defeat him. He would live to see both of them again. Suspecting the scales covering the beast’s torso would be too hard to penetrate, he had to aim for the throat.
Just as he was about to release the arrow, the dragon’s tail swept him off the ground and sent him flying onto the roof of the skinning shack. Markus broke through it and landed on top of the cutting table with a thud. He gasped as a sharp pain shot up his leg.
A low, heavy growl sounded outside. Markus watched in horror as, board by board, the skinning shack was stripped away by a pair of massive talons. He reached for his bow, but it wasn’t there. Markus cried out when he spied it, dangling next to the gaping hole in the ceiling, though he didn’t know if he’d be able to draw back a bowstring anyway. His body was so numb from the chill of the dragon’s breath that he could scarcely bend his fingers.
The dragon’s red eyes shone through the cracks in the shack. Markus knew the beast was prolonging his death, toying with him in the same way a cat played with a mouse. He refused to die like this. He had come too far to end up as nothing more than gristle between Lydra’s teeth.
Markus struggled to his feet and, despite the stiffness in his hand, he grabbed a large boning blade off the table. In the past it had been used to cut up snowbears and other tough meat. Though Lydra was much bigger than a bear, the blade would have to do.
“Hey! Over here, you big, ugly monster!”
Markus’s throat constricted and he barely managed a sob when he recognized the tone of his brother’s taunts. Why had Alec come?
Now they would both be killed!
Markus burst through the door of the skinning shack just as the beast turned away, and he saw his brother standing on the edge of the clearing. Alec hurled an axe at the monster’s chest. It bounced off her thick scales and fell to the ground with a thud.
Alec jumped as the dragon unleashed a stream of deadly current, but he didn’t move fast enough. He was frozen within a heartbeat, entombed in an impenetrable, icy arc as his body glided through the air. The agonizing sound of Alec’s final cry hung suspended in the stagnant air, and for one interminable moment in time, Markus’s heart stopped beating.
DIANNA COULD NOT STOP the flow of angry tears as she raced through the forest, dodging roots and branches that seemed to jut out of nowhere and slow her chase. How could Alec have risked his life so foolishly?
Even though Dianna used her healing powers to ease the heaviness in his chest, Alec had still not recovered all of his strength, yet now he thought himself strong enough to fight a dragon? He would be nothing more than a sacrifice—an offering to the bitch goddess, Madhea—and he expected her to do nothing? Just wait inside the hut?
During the short time that Alec had lived with her and Des, he’d become more than a friend to them. He had become almost as beloved as her brother. She’d be damned if she was going to wait around while he sacrificed himself on a fool’s quest.
Dianna wondered if she was an even bigger fool. Armed with only a bow, she knew she would be no match for a dragon. Her only hope was to stop Alec before he reached the monster.
As she neared the clearing to Alec’s childhood home, her heartbeat quickened. Though, as part of her magical gifts, she had been born impervious to the Elements, she recognized the chill that shrouded the forest like a heavy fog: the dragon was near. She hoped Markus and Alec would be able to sustain such cold.
The loud roar of the dragon, followed by Alec’s anguished scream, made Dianna skid to a halt. She tried to quell the knot of panic that rose up in her throat.
Great Goddess! Alec had already met his fate!
MARKUS HURLED HIS KNIFE at Lydra’s wing. It cut a hole through a translucent membrane before flying out the other side. The dragon howled as she spun around. Plumes of thick vapor rose from her flared nostrils. The beast pulled her injured wing against her side before hunching down on all four claws. With serpentine grace, she moved toward Markus as a deep, menacing growl emanated from her throat.
Markus cared not for his own safety. All that mattered was that his brother was dead and the beast must pay. He clutched an arrow behind his back. He only needed Lydra to get close enough so that he could lodge the weapon in her throat with his bare hands.
“Come closer, dragon! Look me in the eyes!” Markus cried, slapping his chest. “I dare you!”
Markus tightened his grip on the arrow as the beast moved closer. Her tongue flicked across massive, ice-encrusted jowls as she leveled him with an ominous red glare. Markus’s teeth began to chatter and his innards shook with a chill that seeped into his bones. He tried to roll the tension from his shoulders as he flexed his burning muscles. He would not fail.
Just as the dragon lowered her head and was almost upon him, Markus heard the cry of a woman. “Stop! Leave him be!”
Dianna! Markus’s pulse quickened. No! He would not let another person die on account of him!
Lydra jerked up her head and spun around, revealing Dianna, standing beside the ice spout that held Alec’s frozen form. With tears streaming down her face, Dianna angled her chin and raised her bow.
“No!” Markus screamed. “Run, Dianna!”
But Dianna didn’t budge as the dragon advanced on her.
Markus leapt into the air, wincing as he landed on the beast’s spiky tail. With no time to think about the pain shooting through his limbs, Markus drove his arrow through her leathery hide.
Lydra howled and whipped him through the air. Markus’s head felt as if it would implode after he landed on the soft grass. He rolled over, trying to shake the fog from his skull as pain lanced through his arm, but what he saw when he looked up made him cry out in rage. Alec’s frozen form hovered above him.
As Markus’s eyes shot
from Lydra to Dianna, the breath was stolen from his lungs. Fists planted at her sides, she stood before the dragon, which cowered before her.
USE ME. I CAN FREE the boy from the ice. Hurry!
Dianna’s sharp gaze shot to Markus and the glowing stone hanging inside the threadbare purse around his neck.
Did that rock just speak to me? she wondered.
The amber light from the stone pulsated in response.
Dianna took a hesitant step toward Markus, while keeping one eye on Lydra.
The dragon shut her eyes, giving the impression that she had extinguished the lights in her red orbs. Then the monster let out a low and mournful wail while trembling on the ground.
Dianna took another step toward Markus as he cried against the arced column of ice in which Alec was buried.
“Markus,” she said through shaky breath, “give me the stone.”
He looked at her with wide, watery eyes. “Why?”
She impatiently wagged her fingers. “Just do it!”
Markus removed the stone and placed it in her grasp. Despite the chilled air, Dianna’s hand instantly warmed.
Hold me against the boy, the stone beckoned.
She reached up and pressed it against Alec’s blurred form. Miraculously, the ice began to melt.
Lydra whimpered louder. Dianna glanced at the dragon. The beast was now flat against the ground, shielding her eyes with her paws.
Dianna paid no heed to the frigid water that splashed down her arm and splattered across her forehead. The chill from the darkest winter’s night had never seeped into her bones. This water was no different.
Alec tumbled into his brother’s arms as the final layer of ice surrounding him melted. Markus wrapped his arms around him while murmuring into his ear. With tears streaming down his face, he laid Alec’s prone body on the grass and pumped his chest before breathing air into his mouth.
Markus’s cries became more frantic as he continued to press Alec, whose skin was a pale blue; his body motionless.
Place me upon the boy, the stone said.
“Move aside, Markus,” Dianna commanded.
He pulled back and looked at her with a quivering lip. “Please save him,” he begged through a sob.
When Dianna laid the stone upon Alec’s chest, it began to pulsate; its crimson glow spreading until the warm light encompassed his entire body. As the light slowly faded away, Alec was on his side, coughing water into the grass. Markus sat beside his brother, rubbing a hand down his back until his coughing subsided.
Dianna could not contain the joy that bubbled up in her throat. Alec was alive! But her laughter quickly died when her gaze shot to Markus.
He clutched Alec to his chest while pointing at her with a shaky finger. “You are our sister. You are destined to kill Madhea.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Draped in several layers of fur, Des and his little dog had fallen asleep by the fire, shortly after Markus had relayed his story about the time he’d spent with the Ice People. The boy had been more impressed by the tale of the gnull attack than with the snoring dragon, which now slept outside their hut.
After Markus was certain that Des was lost to a deep slumber, he relayed the rest of his adventures, including what he’d learned from Jae and her sisters.
Dianna shed a tear for Jae, and then her face hardened when Markus told her that Madhea and Rowlen were her parents. Alec leaned over and wrapped an arm around his sister, and she exhaled a long breath before reaching up and planting a kiss on his cheek.
Markus averted his gaze, not wanting to intrude on their moment of sibling affection. Even though he was Dianna’s brother as well, he didn’t feel he deserved her love. He watched the flames dance in the hearth, casting shadows around the small room. Despite the warmth from the fire, it was not enough to drive the chill from his bones. He doubted the night would get any warmer, thanks to Dianna’s new pet.
She pulled away from Alec and shook her head and limbs, as if she was purging herself of the taint of her parents’ blood.
Alec’s expression turned from shock to horror when Markus explained to him that their father’s cruelty had actually been a curse. He kicked his empty bowl of stew into the hearth before jumping to his feet and storming off into the night air.
Markus had sensed that Alec would not handle the news well. “I should go after him,” he said to Dianna.
She shook her head. “No. Many times, when he was plagued by dark thoughts of you or Rowlen, Alec would disappear for several hours, only to return at morning light. I tried to follow him once and he was not happy with my intrusion.”
Alec had suffered too much during his young life, not just physically, but emotionally as well. If it hadn’t been for Dianna’s healing powers and friendship, Markus believed his brother would surely have perished while he was gone.
Markus swallowed the rising tide of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. “Thank you, Dianna, for caring for him in my absence.”
She laughed. “You do not need to thank me. He is my brother.” Her gaze softened as she reached out and clasped his hands in her own. “As are you.”
Markus looked down at their joined hands and a shudder stole up his spine. To think that he’d once desired his own sister. Thankfully, now Markus felt only brotherly affection toward Dianna, though it would not have mattered as she had never shown him any interest other than scorn, and rightfully so.
“You were right to call me out that night during my celebration,” he said.
“Let us not talk of it now.” She squeezed his hands before pulling away. “You’ve learned your lesson. That is all that matters.”
Dianna looked down as the stone in her lap began to glow. “Her name is Sindrí,” she said, picking it up. “She claims to be my cousin.”
Markus swallowed, hardly believing what he was hearing.
“Sindrí says her mother was Kyan, Goddess of the Land,” Dianna explained, turning the glowing stone in her hands. “Madhea turned Kyan and her daughters to stone.”
Markus clenched his teeth as his gaze tunneled onto the rock. All this time, this innocuous-looking object had possessed a soul; a soul which Dianna had awakened. Though Markus could not hear Sindrí speak, he believed his sister. No wonder the stone was able to deflect Madhea’s magic. It had the power of a goddess.
“Sindrí says her mother was a good goddess,” Dianna continued, staring down at the pulsating rock. “She wants to help us defeat Madhea, but we must find her mother and sisters.”
“How many stones are there?” Markus asked.
Dianna paused. “Seven.”
“The Ice People have five. Does she know where we can find the others?”
Dianna shook her head. “No.”
Markus swore, for he now knew what this meant. While he’d managed to deflect the witch’s curse and escape the dragon’s breath, his ordeal was far from over. If Dianna was prophesied to bring an end to Madhea’s reign, she would need help; not only to find the stones, but to defeat the witch as well.
“COME, LOOK!” DIANNA burst into the small hut. Frost hung off the tips of her hair. “Lydra has made Des a slide!”
Markus followed Alec outside. To his amazement, the small patch of soil surrounding Dianna’s hut was covered in rising waves of ice. Des squealed with delight as he sat on top of Zier’s shield and slid down one wave after another.
Alec scratched his head while sipping a cup of warm tea. “This is all very odd.”
“Aye,” Markus laughed, “and somewhat disturbing.”
Dianna held out her arms as a broad smile lit up her face. “Would you rather she was turning you into icicles?”
Alec shook his head while he blew steam off his cup. “No, once is enough for me.”
Des’s little black dog yapped and tried to chase him, but ended up skidding across the ice on his hindquarters.
Lydra sat at the edge of the icy wonderland, looking as complacent as was possible for a demonic-eyed drag
on, while she licked icicles off her massive claws.
It was then that Markus heard the faint sound of barking coming from deep within the forest. He turned to his brother. “Do you hear that?”
Alec held a hand to his ear. “It sounds like a dog.”
Des’s pet must have heard it, too, because he skidded across the ice and onto the grass before taking off at a full run toward the forest.
“Brendle!” the boy screamed as he struggled to rise from the shield. “Get back here!”
The animal hadn’t even reached the tree-line when a massive, furry beast came bounding toward them.
“Tar!” Markus cried as he sprinted toward the dog.
But Tar didn’t have eyes for Markus. He charged past the little yipping dog and straight at Lydra.
“No!” Markus cried. “Tar! Heel!”
Tar stopped at the edge of Lydra’s tail and pulled back his lips in a snarl while growling menacingly. The beast looked down at the dog as a deep rumble rose up from her massive chest.
“Lydra!” Dianna commanded. “Don’t hurt the dog.”
The dragon’s wide-eyed gaze switched to Dianna. The beast whimpered once before turning her back on Tar and lying down upon the ice. The dog continued to bark, but the dragon paid him no heed as she waved her tail through the air.
“Tar,” Markus called, bounding toward the dog, “it’s okay.”
The mutt took one look at Markus, yelped and then knocked him to the ground before smothering him in wet, sloppy kisses.
“Enough, boy,” Markus chuckled, while grasping the back of Tar’s neck and pulling him into a hug. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
“Hold your weapons!” Dianna ordered authoritatively.
Markus looked up to see Ryne and his traveling party advancing upon them with spears at the ready.