Water frowned at his brother’s willingness to fight. As a fragment of Draeken he’d been strong enough to stand against the great beasts, but now? Water stole a look at Fire, wishing his brother was not so quick to rush into battle. The thought of losing him again made him shudder.
Another roar echoed, and all eyes snapped to look south, where the rumble of a dragon’s challenge faded into disturbing silence. Water and Fire exchanged a look, and for the first time Fire looked uncertain.
“That didn’t come from the same beast,” Water said.
From the east, a dragon burst into view, soaring above the mountains and banking around the valley. The rider on his neck was obviously Serak, his customary cloak billowing behind him. Water ducked back into the trees above the escarpment, out of sight as the red dragon passed above them. He caught Fire’s arm when he noticed flames appearing on his fingers.
“Don’t,” he warned.
“It’s Bendelinish,” Fire said. “He’s big, but the three of us could handle him.”
“Not with Serak on his back,” Water said.
“If that’s Serak,” Lira said. “Why is there a second dragon?”
Another beast appeared on the horizon, quickly growing larger as the great wings flapped. Water sucked in his breath as the gigantic beast approached. The soldiers shouted and scrambled for weapons, the tumult one of fear.
“You’d think they’d be braver,” Fire sniffed.
“It’s twice the size of Serak’s mount,” Lira breathed.
Water spotted the tiny figure on the neck of the great dragon and dread filled his chest. “It appears Draeken has his own mount,” he said.
Chapter 14: A Daring Plan
“That’s Gorewrathian,” Fire said.
“Who?” Water asked.
Water didn’t take his eyes off the enormous dragon. From snout to spiked tail, the beast was over a hundred feet long, it’s scales thick enough to stop spear and arrow, blade and magic. Horns grew from its head, and spikes ran the length of its tail.
“See the scar across his eye and down the side of his skull?”
Water saw the jagged edges to the broken scales, the scar marking an ugly wound from a past conflict. Another dragon perhaps? Other scars marked its scales, the legacy of conflicts with other dragons.
“Gorewrathian is the strongest red dragon his kind has seen in ages,” Fire said. “And a mortal enemy to the phoenixes.”
“How do you know him?” Lira asked.
“I gave him that scar,” Fire said.
“So I take it you’re not friends?” Water asked.
“We’re not the type to get together and share a pint of ale,” Fire said.
The great dragon banked into a hover, each stroke of its wings gusting air onto the army below. Water’s gaze remained fixed on the rider. Draeken, whole and unhindered by the fragments. A flicker of yearning kindled in Water’s chest, and he sensed that his piece of Power wanted to join the whole.
“Armies of Lumineia,” Draeken called. “You’ve come to destroy Serak and the Order of Ancients, but instead of Serak you find another. I am Draeken, the greatest of all, Master of Serak, the fragment of Power.”
“We are not afraid of you!” Rynda’s voice came from her army.
The enormous dragon dropped lower as Draeken chuckled. “Queen Rynda, bold to the end. Before blood stains this ground, I will give you one chance. Relinquish your thrones, your castles, your kingdoms, and kneel before me. Do that, and you may live to be my slaves.”
“I’d rather rip your limbs from your body!” Rynda called.
Draeken laughed. “I did hope you’d say that.”
Gorewrathian rose into the sky and turned to the volcano, Serak following as well. They alighted on the volcano edge as the sun fell below the horizon, darkness settling on the valley. In the ensuing silence Fire muttered a curse.
“I’m going to enjoy destroying him.”
Water continued to watch the great dragon as he wrestled with the sense of dread. The fragments had been unable to stop Serak when they’d possessed the fragment of Power. Now they had to face both the Father of Guardians and the fragment of Power.
“We’ll find a way,” Lira murmured.
She caught his hand and squeezed, and he smiled, grateful for Lira at his side. Muttering to himself, Fire turned and descended to the army below, leaving him alone with Lira. As the stars appeared in the dark night, he swept a hand to the lights of the valley.
“We have the greater force—even against Serak and Draeken—so why does it feel like we’re caught in the jaws of a trap?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t wait until dawn,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “What are you suggesting?”
“Tonight,” Lira said.
