“Reece doesn’t stand a chance out there by himself.”
I point to Blaze, who’s made a nest out of a charred patch of ground and underbrush. He quickly rises, understanding me, and lumbers over. It’s like we have a link of some sort. I only have to think, and he reacts.
“No.” Kera grabs my arm as I’m about to vault onto Blaze. “There are too many.”
“If it were me out there, or your dad, what would you do?”
Although the rain is far less than it was, water drops slide down her long hair like she’s an elaborate Japanese rain chain. So beautiful even soaking wet. I want her to be brave. To know there’s more than just us. It’s taken me a while, but my human side has finally taken over. I’m in control now. Me.
“I’ll be okay. I’m a first and a human. They don’t stand a chance against me.”
I can feel her whole body shaking, but she lets go. “You’re right. Go get him.”
I bring her close and kiss her in the way that makes her knees weak and her heart melt. I love her so much, I’m nearly devastated by the longing in her kiss.
I pull away and mount Blaze. She touches my leg and I touch her hand. “Protect Baun and Signe. You’re smart and clever and stronger than you let on. If anything goes wrong…if I don’t come back, find a place to hide until your strength returns. Between you and Baun, you’ll figure out a way to get out of here.”
Leaving her isn’t what I want, but it’s the right thing to do.
I nudge Blaze and as he lifts off, I feel Kera’s fingers sweep down my leg. I push Blaze higher into the clouds and thank God humans can lie.
Kera’s right. There are too many.
I lean forward, hold low and tight to Blaze, and begin our dive.
Game On
There’s a shout. A clash of swords. Reece has made himself known, and it won’t be long before he ends up hurt or dead. Blaze swoops down and lets out a stream of fire. The camp comes to life. We buzz over the area time and again, avoiding their attempts at bringing us down.
When the dark souls appear, I spin Blaze away and he rumbles deep within his throat. In no time, four dragons, scarred from tip to tail, appear and slash at the dark souls, tearing them apart, yet just like at Ainsbury Cross, the black ribbons repair themselves and strike back.
Searching the area, I find Reece. Our landing shakes the ground, drawing Reece’s attention. I shout for him to get on Blaze. “You can’t fight them. You won’t win.”
“I can’t let him live.”
I know his hate for Granel is strong—I feel it, too—but this is a no-win situation for Reece.
“He’ll die. I promise you. But right now we need to get Signe and Kera out of here.”
A big hairy thing charges us. I don’t have time to do anything but launch myself at Reece, wrap my arms around him and tell him to trust me. The ground opens up under us and we fall through. Reece screams and I clamp my hand over his mouth before covering our heads with dirt. Confident Blaze has taken care of the problem, I pop us back out of the ground.
I immediately slam Reece against Blaze’s side. “This is my world. My problem. I’m not asking you to get on. I’m telling you.”
Reece nods and mounts Blaze. I take my place in front of him and tell him to hang on. Blaze leaps up and we lurch through the air, dodging all manner of missiles and magic they’re throwing at us.
“We’re going to need your friends,” I tell Blaze. A few moments later, the massive dragons flank us like a bombing squad. We sweep down and skid to a stop close to Kera and the others. We don’t have much time. Granel’s army is pulling together fast.
A dozen wolflike men charge out of Granel’s camp, and two of the dragons turn to face them. From deep in the ground, I bring up a line of sticky tar that traps a few, but others jump over and meet the dragons head-on. Several of them are charred by the dragon’s breath. Others are crushed by the heavy tails or ripped apart by the dragons’ jagged teeth.
Reece jumps off Blaze and pulls Signe to one of the other dragons, ignoring her questions about Granel. I go to Baun and help him mount the other, and then settle Kera in front of him. A cannonball flies over our heads and tears through the woods behind us. It hits the ground and explodes into a million pieces that shred the trees into mulch.
I don’t want to know what damage one of those will do to flesh and bone. They may have overestimated the distance, but knowing Granel, he won’t make that mistake again. “Go straight over the gorge.”
“Are you sure we can make it?” Kera asks. “If dragons can fly out, why haven’t they before?”
“Arrows!” Reece yells. We all turn to see a hailstorm of arrows fly our way. Reece nudges the dragon he and Signe are on and they leap into the air and head toward the gorge.
Before I can think, Baun raises his hand and the arrows turn into butterflies. Hundreds of black and gold wings fill the sky. Without missing a beat, he digs his fingers into Kera’s shoulders for balance. “Why would they leave? The Unknown is more of a sanctuary for them than a prison.”
“He would know,” I tell Kera, then grab my dad’s arm, forcing his attention onto me. “Whatever you do, don’t turn back.”
“What are you doing?” Kera tries to hold me there, but I yank free and slap the dragon on its side, sending it after Reece and Signe.
Even as Kera’s cry lingers in my ears, I jump onto Blaze and we spring into the air. The other two dragons follow, leaving behind the crushed and burned bodies of the wolf-men. I fly low, and we scour the camp with fire, diverting their attention so the others can escape. Arrows zing past. A net shoots out and entangles one of the dragons. With its wings and feet caught, it spirals down to the ground, where a swarm of beasts converge on it until there’s little left.
The largest, most scarred dragon lets out an earsplitting wail. From out of the trees rises a massive flock of hybrid lizard-birds. They descend on the camp like a wave of locusts.
I seize the opportunity and wheel Blaze around and head for the gorge. The big dragon follows, but stops short, landing near the bridge. As Blaze and I pass over the gorge, I glance back and see the heavily scarred dragon spit an arc of fire toward a line of men, and then leap into the air and fly off toward the volcano.
We enter the silent air of the gorge, and that feeling of being sucked down hits. Blaze, the smallest of the dragons, fights to make it over the dead space. When we hit the cloaking magic, it feels as if we’re flying through syrup, and with each wing beat we drop a little more. Then, we break across the gap that separates the Unknown from Teag, and in the distance, I see a huge fiery ball fly high, then descend with a thud that shakes the air.
Blaze spins out of a patch of thick smoke and ash. Everywhere I look, villages, trees, and field are burned or burning. The devastating sight makes the Roman invasion of Gaul look like a half-hearted effort. The whole landscape has been transformed. We collide with another smoke plume, and when we punch through to the other side, Kera’s dragon comes alongside us. She points in the fireball’s direction. “Someone made a fortress and is driving all the people toward it.”
Reece and Signe are heading that way. I have my doubts as to the wisdom of that, but there doesn’t seem any other choice.
One moment we’re flying, slipping in and out of smoke and ash, the next we’re dodging artillery. Blaze gains speed and zips close to the ground before he pulls up, skimming a huge stone wall as we climb toward the top. We veer to the left, and I urge Blaze to land on the roof of a tower where I have a perfect view of the place. An elaborate stone city stretches out in front of us.
I can’t imagine Hadrain creating this. Why would he? Why here?