She fell to the dirt street gasping for breath. The demon screeched and squealed in a horrid high-pitched tone. Trying to get more air into her lungs before she blacked out, Kirsten saw the crystal’s light glowing in the demon’s hand. Her vision began to clear and she realized the demon had stopped screeching.
While the effect she’d caused the crystal to have on the demon released her from its grip and nearly scared it away, her connection with the magic inside it had been severed. The demon stood near the end of the block fifty feet away. It still held the crystal in its hand. She saw its eyes fix on her with a deadly glare as it spread its wings. The demon lifted off the ground, flying directly at her. Kirsten knew this time it would kill her.
As the demon lifted off the ground, Kirsten saw a swarm of Rollo warriors rounding the corner, close on the demon’s heels. Britt was in the lead, sprinting after the creature. The demon was quickly closing the gap on Kirsten. She had to act. Kirsten reacted as if she still held the sapphire in her hand and attempted to unleash a blast of energy. She saw a white flash of light and fell back against the reverberating push of air that followed.
Sitting up in the darkness, Kirsten first saw the glowing crystal in the middle of the street. Next she saw the demon rising from the debris of the building it was thrown into. Then her eyes glimpsed the Rollo warriors scrambling back to their feet. The sapphire was closest to her. With her throat on fire, Kirsten tried to reach the crystal first. The demon was faster to react and flew out to where it lay. The demon landed and in a desperate attempt she threw her sword at the creature.
The blade spun through the air and hit the demon, not blade first as she’d intended but more with the whole side of the hilt and sword. The flat of her steel weapon slapped the demon’s face stunning it and causing it to step back. In the delay, the Rollo Islanders fell on the creature, tackling it to the ground. While they wrestled with the deadly beast, Kirsten found the crystal on the ground. She moved to pick it up off the ground. She turned to see the demon rising from a pile of dead warriors. She felt the energy in the crystal surge through her. She charged the demon with all she had. They collided with a bang and everything went dark.
Chapter 97
Changing the Tides of War
Zahara collided with a dragon at full speed, wrapping it in her tight grip. Anders sent a stabbing spear of energy through the dragon’s head and Zahara dropped it to the plains below. Targeting one of the dragonriders before they lost him in the fighting again, Anders reached out with his mind, trying to grab hold.
As he’d expected, the combative elf rider had a mental wall strong enough that Anders wasn’t able to break into it easily. While he prodded for a way through the rider’s defenses, Zahara tried to break into the dragon's mind. Cutting through the chaos around them, Zahara and Anders met the enemy dragonrider with a clashing of jaws and blades. Anders allowed Tarron to take over his movements while he doubled his efforts on cracking the elf’s mind. Zahara fueled their shield while she flew in and out of reach of the rider’s deadly blade and the dragon’s gnashing teeth.
They fought across the sky, dodging attacks from rider-less dragons as Zahara guided Anders safely through the fighting. The elven rider matched whatever Tarron was able to throw at him. Neither one could gain the upper hand. Suddenly the dragon carrying the elven rider peeled away. Anders withdrew his mental attack and watched the dragon chase after Raffa and Maija, who were distracted by two wild dragons at the moment. Anders could see they weren’t prepared to defend against the elven dragonrider. Anders aimed intending to fire a carefully placed pulse of magic when the dragonrider was attacked from above. Hannah and her purple dragon forced the dragonrider off course and away from Maija.
Anders felt a wave of relief as he and Zahara quickly changed targets to help Maija and Raffa. Maija hit one of the dragons with a surge of magic, shattering its shield. She quickly followed through with a second. The targeted beam hit the dragon’s side, burning a hole into its chest. It spiraled out of the sky. Zahara was on them with her speed and caught the second dragon. Anders saw two more coming for Maija and Raffa from behind. Anders extended his blade, making a clean pass through both of Maija’s pursuing dragons’ necks, severing their heads. Zahara tangled with the dragon she’d caught and while Anders searched for an opening to stab it, he recognized the creature. It was the wild dragon, Kodoulen, from Nagano who’d tried to bar their return to the Everlight Kingdom. Before Anders could find a way to help Zahara without hurting her in the struggle, Raffa came in with the fury of a wild dragon. The scarlet giant had clearly recognized this adversary and bit into Kodoulen’s back, crushing the creature’s wings in his powerful jaws. Raffa ripped the lesser dragon away and flung it out to the side. As Kodoulen’s crippled body flew into the air high above the plains, Raffa delivered a final blow. Whipping his tail with deadly precision, Raffa sent the long spines of his tail deep into Kodoulen’s neck. The enemy dragon fell lifeless onto the plains below.
Three dragons flew in front of them, chasing after a Northland rider. Raffa and Zahara quickly joined the pursuit. Raffa snapped, catching one of the enemy dragons by the tail. He pulled it back and caught the creature by its neck. As it flapped, trying to escape, he snapped its neck and continued to chase after the others.
Zahara and Anders worked to keep the two dragons away from their new comrade. Not able to get a clean strike, Zahara had to continually switch from one dragon to the other as they chased the Northland rider. Suddenly the two dragons peeled away. Before Anders realized what had happened, the silver-backed dragon and rider had caught his companion. The elven rider’s sword stabbed quickly through the chest of the allied rider. By the time Anders and Zahara reached them, the evil rider had started harvesting the Northland rider’s soul into a sapphire strapped to his saddle.
Zahara flew near the enemy rider and Anders released a flow of energy at him. The rider dropped the dragonrider’s body to meet Anders’ attack. Light exploded around them. Anders found himself bombarded by a mental strength much more intense than he’d felt the day before. All he could do to prevent the dragonrider from breaking him was withdraw into himself again.
Suddenly the pressure on his mind lessened and he became aware that Tarron was backing up his mind. Zahara fought the silver-backed dragon while he poured more of his own skill into Lazuran. It didn’t take the elf long to learn that Anders was a better swordsman than he was.
They each worked with their own strengths to try to gain control of the other. Each time Anders felt the overwhelming force of the rider’s mental attack, he struck harder with his sword, causing the elf to focus more on his physical movements.
During one of their exchanges, Anders finally got the opening he’d been trying to create. He stabbed at the rider the moment his dragon bumped Zahara. Anders’ blade missed his intended target, but still managed to score a cut on the elf’s torso. When the silver-backed dragon fled, Anders knew he’d injured the rider.
Zahara stayed on the dragon’s tail as she followed him out away from the rest of the fighting. Wondering whether the rider would return to Merglan’s safety net, Anders urged Zahara on. We need to catch them before they get any farther. It could leave us open to Merglan if he chooses to come after us. If we wait too long, we’ll be too far away to protect the others.
Zahara increased her speed to catch the dragonrider. Anders sensed a weakening in his opponent’s mental strength. The dragonrider was focused on his wounds. Anders saw magic pass from his hand as the elf tried to heal his own wound. At that moment, Zahara unleased a stream of fire on them, forcing the rider to shift his use of magic to create a shield to protect himself. Realizing they had caught him and knowing that Zahara was faster than his dragon, the dragonrider steered his dragon to the plains below.
The dragon landed abruptly and the elf instantly jumped off to face them. Anders leapt off Zahara just before she touched down. He faced the elven rider with his sword in hand. The strategy the elf took by dismounting his dragon seemed risky, but Anders knew Zahara could out fly him if she had to. If I could land another strike on him, I know I could beat him, Anders thought, stepping closer to the rider.
The silver-backed dragon sprayed him with flame, but Anders was ready. He blocked the fire with magic while Zahara lunged at the dragon. Anders used that distraction to launch another mental attack at the rider. Anders thought he was being clever because he knew the elf was more powerful mentally than he was, but he’d broken his mind before, if only for a moment. He thought with the distraction, he could do it again.
The elf's mind proved as strong as it was earlier, despite the surprise. He closed on Anders, moving as if the cut on his side didn’t bother him. Their blades met with a clang. Anders moved with magically enhanced speed trying to outpace the rider. The dragonrider matched his speed and went blow for blow. Anders couldn't find the opening he needed to finish off the elf. Anders then began to worry that the elf had tricked him into following him away from the help of others. As the swordfight drew on, however, Anders realized the elf’s speed was beginning to decrease. Anders wondered if the elf’s energy was draining. Zahara had kept the dragon separated from the rider, distancing him from the sapphires he’d stolen from Maija. Suddenly the elf attacked his mind with renewed force. Anders then realized that he was shifting his energy from physical to mental. Without Zahara to move him away from the rider, he would be forced to defend his mind with nothing left for a physical defense.
Reacting on instinct, Anders stepped away from the elf and turned his back toward him. He hoped the elf would take the bait. The dragonrider charged at him with blade raised. Anders ducked forward and spun. As he spun, he held his sword out. He felt the blade hit and its sharp steel edge pass through flesh.
Anders followed through on his spin to see the elf’s top half slide away from his bottom half. The enemy dragon’s upper body desperately tried to pour magic at his severed half. Anders could smell flesh burning as the elf’s magic started working. Not allowing him to succeed, Anders stepped to him and buried Lazuran into the elf’s neck. The rider’s head fell away from his upper half and the magic within him fled, along with his blood.
He saw the silver-backed dragon closing in on him, its chest glowing with flame. Zahara was right on his tail. Anders generated a shield barrier and blocked the fire that could’ve consumed him. A moment later the fire ceased. Anders prepared to strike down the dragon with magic. When the flames disappeared, though, he saw Zahara’s head moving away from the broken neck of the silver-backed dragon.
Anders ran to her. He saw the horror of what they’d done, of what Merglan was driving them to do. They had killed a trained dragonrider and his dragon. A part of him hated himself for doing such a gruesome deed. He pushed that idea into the back of his mind and did what had to be done. He cut away the crystals the dragonrider had taken from Maija and placed them into his saddlebag. As he fastened the top tightly, he looked to the heart of the black cloud where Merglan watched atop Killdoor. Anders didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that Merglan was watching him, so he shouted, “What are you waiting for! I’m right here!”
Merglan continued to hover over his army. The dark rider’s mind and energy were drawn to the attack below. Wisping light faintly expelled from his body and illuminated the darkness surrounding Merglan. Although faint, Anders could see that the magical energy emanating off the evil rider was flowing out toward the mass of enemies below. Merglan was using his powers to control his forces. He was orchestrating their attacks like a master puppeteer. Anders needed to stop him. If he didn’t, Merglan would use this control over the orcs, kurr, and monsters to keep attacking until every last member of the allied armies was dead. Anders could see dragons and riders falling from the sky as they killed relentlessly to gain control of the sky. The fairnheir and monsters below battered the elves and Rollo Islanders with unnatural determination. Merglan hovered, fueling his hateful magic into his army of monsters.
“Come on and fight!” Anders shouted at Merglan and into the darkness consuming them.
Merglan’s gaze seemed to find the lone rider in the midst of the aerial battle. Instead of being provoked to ride out, Anders watched Merglan turn away apparently to issue a command. A moment later, his wild dragons flew from the fighting and Anders could see the damage they’d done to both sides. Four Norfolk dragonriders used the sudden reprieve to fly back toward the city and the allies they were protecting. One of Merglan’s elven dragonriders and ten wild dragons obeyed their master’s command and gathered around him. Merglan’s arm waved, and a sweeping spell fell onto his ground forces. A moment later, they moshed forward. Anders could hear the thundering charge of thousands upon thousands under Merglan’s control rushing toward the city.
We have to stop him, Anders thought, climbing back into his saddle.
Zahara’s steadfast agreement was evident as she took flight. At the same time, the allied forces charged out from the streets of Aquina to defend their proud nations. As Anders and Zahara climbed higher, Anders saw that their reinforcements had finally arrived. Westland and Southland soldiers and the dwarfs rushed out onto the fields to meet the enemy head on.
***
Britt screamed as the demon and Kirsten collided. Kirsten’s head bounced off the demon’s skull and fell limp to the street. Then the demon’s eyes snapped onto Britt before looking back down at her friend's unconscious body. The beast had just killed eight warriors and survived a magical explosion. Without thinking, Britt charged at the demon with her sword at the ready. She would not let the demon win.
The tall human-like form with wings quickly bent down and pulled the sapphire from near its feet where it had fallen from Kirsten’s limp body. Britt tried to react quickly to its change in position. She intended to cut off its head, but she missed altogether and tripped past the demon without success. Moments later the demon was on her, clawing at her armor and cutting into her skin. Warm liquid flowed down through the demon’s claws. Britt didn’t know if she’d been mortally wounded or not. Her adrenaline pulsed and she swiped her sword at the demon’s head. The blade hit its face, cutting across bone and thick flesh. The beast howled and pulled its head away from her. Britt quickly reached forward with her free hand to catch the demon by the throat. She held on hard and drove the tip of her sword up under its chin and through its skull. A breath later, she heard the crystal fall to the dirt.
Britt pushed the weight of the demon’s head to the side and let her sword slide from her grip, remaining in the demon’s skull. She dropped to her knees, panting from her sprint and labored fight. Looking at the few warriors who’d come with her to fight the demon, she slumped to the ground. She was exhausted. From behind, she heard the footfalls of another beastly creature. She felt its hot breath and smelled the stench of death on its breath. Whatever devilish creature it was had caught her off guard and defenseless. She closed her eyes, too exhausted to move.
In a second, her mind wandered between thoughts, I shouldn’t have told Max to stay at the front. I want to see his face one last time. If only I had my sword, I might have a chance. Death by hellish creature is a glorious way to die.
A whooping cry broke her concentration. She opened her eyes to see a burly warrior with long hair and beard waving a battle axe over his head at the end of the block. He shouted, “Come and get me! Over here, you worthless maggot. Come and test your teeth on a real warrior!”
Red? He wouldn’t save me, she thought. But she could see and hear him. Red was calling the beast off of her. Britt saw a large fur-covered leg step past her. The overgrown fairnheir was larger than any she’d seen on the battlefield. It could’ve easily fit her entire body in its mouth.
“That’s it, you mongrel!” Red shouted at the beast. “Come on then, what are you waiting for!”
The beast growled and snapped into a run. Red darted down the street to the side, leading the creature away from Britt. Moments later she heard shouts and growls as the fairnheir clashed with Red and more warriors.
