Chapter 42: Empowered
Mind held his arm, grimacing as he scooted along the ground, pushing himself further from Draeken. He reached to the shard of light and yanked it from his elbow, tossing the bloody shard aside. He clenched his teeth to prevent crying out and ripped the remainder of his sleeve, using it to tie around his arm. He used his teeth to tie it off and then picked up his sword with his good hand.
Draeken stood in the open, daring the others to strike him down. Shadow lay on the ground at his feet, unconscious, while Light lay crumpled against the Titan’s hand, whimpering in pain. Willow sought to staunch the blood seeping from Light’s wounds.
Water darted in and swung his staffblade, but Draeken conjured his own staffblade out of fire and deflected the blow. Then he leapt into the air and soared above Water. He gathered the light around his form, his body shimmering into dozens of replicas, the images soaring above Water.
“The one piece of Power that remains in a fragment,” he said. “But you are not wise enough to recognize your failure.”
A geyser of water burst from the ground and Water stepped on it, leaping into the air and spinning, slicing through mirages on all sides. The copies shattered from the blows—and Draeken plunged a blade of fire into Water’s back.
Water shouted as he fell to the ground, the blade protruding from his chest. Rune leapt to him and yanked the sword free, allowing Water to reach to the still rising geyser and pull the liquid to help knit the wound.
Draeken dropped to Rune and swung, a blade of light forming in his hand. Sentara shouted a warning and Rune whirled, instinctively raising her hands. The blade shattered on an invisible barrier, and Rune retaliated.
Her sword darkened as anti-magic suddenly appeared, her blade cutting deep. Draeken snarled and leapt into the air. Impossibly, Rune did the same, and soared after Draeken, maintaining the assault.
Mind saw the coil of fire rising. “Rune! Beneath you!”
Too late. Like a snake, the fire reached up and snapped, catching Rune’s leg. She screamed as the long teeth buried in her thigh, most of her leg disappearing in the snake’s throat. Draeken darted in—but Rune spun her blade, and plunged it into Draeken’s chest.
The snake dragged her to the ground as Draeken bellowed in pain, the anti-magic sword sparking and spitting, his body darkening. He reached up and snapped the blade sticking out of chest. Then he dropped to Rune and lunged. The young girl raised a wall of earth, but Draeken shattered it. Needles of light appeared above Rune and Draeken clenched his fist. Mind’s hand shot out, slowing their fall, but Draeken was stronger. As the needles fell on Rune, Sentara suddenly appeared and shoved Rune out of the way, the needles sinking into the old woman.
“Sentara!” Rune yanked the snake of fire away and clawed her way to Sentara.
Sentara’s hand trembled as she touched Rune’s face. “You are my greatest memory, my beautiful Rune,” she smiled, and then her eyes shut. Rune cradled the old woman, tears streaking down her dirty cheeks.
“You live at my mercy!” Draeken bellowed, turning to face them all.
Rune whirled, lightning crackling on her fingertips as tears streamed down her face. “You killed her!”
Draeken swung his hand in dismissal and the ground turned into a hand that struck Rune. The girl went soaring into the air, flipping end over end before she collided with a dragon and fell. Mind jumped beneath her and caught her unconscious body. He placed her on the ground, grateful to find her still alive.
“When will you learn?” Draeken shouted as he hovered in the air. “You cannot harm me. You cannot kill me. My army will defeat you all, and you will either serve in my empire or die on this battlefield.”
“It seems unfounded arrogance exists on every world.” Belrisa wiped blood from her cheek.
“A universal rule,” Tardoq agreed, grimacing as he pulled a spike of fire from his shoulder.
Elenyr leapt from the ground and whirled, her sword slicing across Draeken’s cheek. He winced as the blade split his flesh and tried to backhand her, but she’d gone ethereal. She reached the zenith of her jump and flipped. She turned to flesh and sliced again across his side, dragging her sword down his leg as she fell.
“Elenyr,” Draeken snarled. “You have been a thorn in my side for too long. Fortunately I know what can kill you, and so I brought a friend.”
A dragon abruptly dropped from the sky, bursting through the haze and smoke. She landed twenty feet in front of Elenyr, her jaws opening wide. Her azure scales marked her as a lightning dragon, and pure lightning crackled in its throat. Elenyr leapt backward, but the dragon was too close, and Draeken had chosen his moment well.
“Elenyr!” Light screamed.
Water stumbled to reach her, but they were too far. Willow sought to strike the blue dragon. All was in vain. Mind bellowed his helplessness as the lightning burst across the battlefield, streaking for Elenyr’s body. The blast was as thick as a tree trunk, raising Mind’s hair as it passed—and slammed into Queen Rynda’s wide sword.
Rynda held her blade with her metal hand, the lightning ricocheting off the wide greatsword and exploding into the nearby ranks of fiends. Black bodies were shredded by the lightning, and Rynda straightened.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
The blue dragon leaned in and again lightning kindled, but Tardoq and the Bonebreaker struck, their weapons plunging into the blue dragon’s throat. The dragon died in seconds under the assault, and Draeken roared his anger. Mind sagged in relief.
Rynda sniffed as she turned to Draeken. She’d arrived at the head of an alliance army. Flanked by Jeric and Captain Horn, and followed by Thorilian and his wife, Venia, they were surrounded by dozens of others. Warshard Toril and a druid riding a moordraug, members of the Bladed, Moren and Stella, they all advanced to stand with the fragments.
King Dothlore and a contingent of dwarves, standing with Queen Alosia and her elven guard. Queens Annah and Nelia, both stood with soldiers of men and troll. Lira strode through a gap and stood next to Water, nodding to him as two dark elves joined him. Cutter and Black, the last surviving members of the Queen’s Hand.
“You are nothing compared to me!” Draeken shrieked.
Mind looked beyond the army, and realized why they had been able to come. Fiends had begun to disappear, the ranks thinning as quare and kraka evaporated from view. With two of the generals gone, many of the remaining fiends had fallen upon each other, the ranks roiling in a cascade of battle.
“My army is greater than you!” Flames and light sparkled off Draeken’s arms and shoulders, his eyes wild with rage. “Kill them! Kill them all!”
The surrounding fiends raised their obsidian blades and charged, lunging down the slope. They flooded toward the allies, and Mind shouted for his family to close ranks. Draeken looked on with a disturbing triumph in his gaze. Mind raced to Elenyr—but stumbled when a screaming ball of fire dropped from the sky and landed in the midst of the kraka charge. From the flames a beak and wings appeared, and a phoenix issued a thundering warcry.
“Archeantial!” Elenyr shouted.
They killed the Ancient, the great firebird replied, her tone as dark as midnight. Did you really expect us to miss this?
Another ball of fire landed, and another, the entire flock of phoenixes plummeting into the ring of foes. They exploded in their midst, filling the region in blinding fire. Last to land, a smaller bird swooped into the krakas, flames pouring off his wings to scorch their armored bodies.
My apologies for being late, Reiquen said. We came as soon as we received Fire’s message.
