They were almost to the tower and Zollin had to ascend higher in order to land on the top of the tower, which was by far the tallest structure Zollin had ever seen. He had no doubt powerful magic was employed to create such a structure. He could see King Belphan’s opulent palace not far away. It was a stunningly crafted castle, but it paled in comparison to the tower of the Torr. Then Zollin notice the dust and debris billowing out from the bottom of the tower and he realized that a magical battle was already taking place.
The top of the tower was flat, with small stone crenellations circling the top. The tower sloped ever so slightly as it rose, the top floors only half the circumference of the bottom floors. Still, the top of the tower was large, and Zollin, Brianna, and Tig all landed easily on top. Zollin took a moment to catch his breath, letting his magic flow down into the tower to give him an idea of what was happening inside. He felt Gwendolyn, who was hunched over a book in the top floor. Most of the room seemed seared with fire-there were books all around but most of them were blackened and curling. Beside Gwendolyn, sitting on the floor and grasping her sister’s leg, was Andomina.
Zollin could tell immediately that Andomina was a warlock. He could feel childlike emotions, mostly fear, pouring from her, but she reminded him of his old staff that had once been a thick branch of a tree that was split by lightning. The staff had been full of magical power that almost reached out to mingle with his own power. Once Zollin had learned to tap into his own reservoir of magic, it had made the magic of his staff seem weak. But Andomina was brimming with magic-a dark, seductive power that filled Zollin with longing.
“They’re just below us,” he said. “And they know we’re here.”
Zollin felt Gwendolyn call to him. She knew his name, and the call made him burn with passion for her. Even with Brianna right in front of him and his magical shields surrounding him, he wanted to run to her.
“You have to go,” Zollin said. “She’s trying to seduce me.”
“Not for long,” Brianna said angrily.
Tig snarled and they both ran and jumped off the roof. Brianna summersaulted in the air, but Tig pulled a tight loop, twisting through the air and then shooting into the tower with a strong flap of its wings. Zollin felt the desire to join Gwendolyn vanish as fire flashed out the opposite window. He used his magic to learn what was happening below him.
Gwendolyn had not been expecting an attack, and had only managed to shield herself from Tig’s fiery blast. Andomina was burning alive. The usually silent warlock screamed, her wail freezing her sister for a moment before Gwendolyn brushed the fire away with magic. The damage to her sister’s body was not life threatening; most of the burns were only skin deep, but her hair was burned away, as was the filmy dress her sister made her wear. Worst of all was the damage to Andomina’s lungs. Tig’s flames had seared the delicate lining of Andomina’s lungs, making it difficult for her to breathe.
The blast of superheated air had also caused the humidity in the tower to form into drops of water that clung to the stone ceiling. Gwendolyn lashed out at the blue dragon with a blast of freezing air. Normally the cold didn’t bother the dragons, but Gwendolyn froze the moisture in the air and hit the dragon with tiny shards of ice. Tig’s scales were strong enough to deflect the ice, but the dragon’s wings were pierced with hundreds of tiny holes. The blast forced Tig to dive out the far window at the same time as Brianna landed lightly just inside the other.
Brianna was stunned by what she saw. Andomina was writhing next to her sister, but Gwendolyn looked calm. She was watching Brianna with a sense of surprise mixed with fear and anger.
“You are dragon-kind?” she said, half asking, half stating the fact.
“And you are a witch.”
Gwendolyn smiled. It was a sickly sweet look that reminded Brianna of rancid meat. “You should join me,” Gwendolyn said. “Together we can rule the Five Kingdoms.”
“I’m not here to join you,” Brianna said, fire erupting from her hands.
“Surely you don’t think you can defeat me?” Gwendolyn said. “I hold the Torr-not even Offendorl can stop me.”
“Maybe not, but I know one person who can.”
Zollin was on top of the tower, monitoring what was happening. His first instinct was to run to Brianna’s aid, but he didn’t. He could feel Andomina’s magic fading. The poor mute warlock was struggling to breathe-the pain in her body from the burns was overwhelming. Then Zollin saw Tig, struggling to fly. The blue dragon’s wings were in tatters. He reached out with his magic and pulled the dragon up onto the roof. Tig growled, but there was no malice in it.
Zollin then looked out at where Ferno and Selix were still battling Bartoom. All three dragons were on the ground now, their heads lowered and the haunches up, like dogs. Ferno was clearly the strongest of the group, but the green dragon was favoring one leg where Bartoom had sank razor sharp teeth into the thick muscle, and there was blood dripping from several long gashes in Ferno’s stomach. Bartoom’s scales were almost impenetrable except along its back between the massive wings, and Bartoom was as deadly with its long, thick tail as it was with it’s gnashing teeth and razor sharp talons. Selix was forced back by Bartoom’s tail.
Zollin sent the green dragon a mental image. It showed Ferno and Selix dropping as low as they could get onto the ground. Zollin was several hundred yards from the battling dragons, but he let his power build into a crackling ball of white-hot magical energy. Tig hissed and backed away from Zollin, but the young wizard didn’t notice. He sent the ball of power streaking toward Bartoom, who had just reared on its hind legs, preparing to lunge at Ferno.
Bartoom saw the ball of magic, but even though the massive beast jumped, flapping it’s wings and rising into the air, Zollin magically maneuvered the spell straight into Bartoom’s chest. The magic snapped and sizzled, weakening the dragon’s scales.
Selix shot into the air after the black dragon, but Ferno stayed on the ground, watching the golden dragon attack. Bartoom hadn’t been hurt physically by the magic and must have thought its scales had saved it from the attack. But Selix closed with the massive black dragon, ripping with thick talons at Bartoom’s chest. The black beast was shocked to feel the pain as the talons tore through Bartoom’s scales and shredded the flesh beneath.
Bartoom was torn between the order it had received from Offendorl to attack the city walls and it’s own desire to survive. It chose the latter, pulling away from Selix and turning to escape. But Ferno had been expecting Bartoom to flee. The green dragon flew up and sank its teeth into Bartoom’s tail. Once again the black dragon was dragged out of the air and crashed into a tall stone building that crumbled beneath Bartoom’s weight. Ferno’s teeth didn’t penetrate the hardened scales on Bartoom’s tail, but the green dragon held on, keeping the black dragon from flying to safety. Selix swooped in once more, extending talons like a bird of prey, catching Bartoom’s neck in its hind feet and pinning the black beast’s head to the ground.
Bartoom was defeated, but not destroyed-the dragons would not kill their own kind. Zollin found that realization noble, but he had no time to focus on it. Brianna was in danger.
Chapter 30
Offendorl lay in darkness. His magical power was weak, like hearing a voice from far away. He strained to feel the familiar heat, but it was like glowing embers that produced no warmth. He remembered falling, and how the world seemed to crash around him. Now, he could feel the sharp angles of wood and stone beneath him, and the weight of debris that covered him. He lay still for a moment, letting his senses return. First had been touch, and then smell. He could smell the dust and freshly rent wood. Finally his hearing returned, first with a harsh ring deep in his ears. Then, as the ringing faded, he heard something else.