A shiver passed down Lindon’s spine.
“I will approach the Ninecloud Court for assistance,” she continued. “In the meantime, use any methods available to contact our teams. If we can determine their location, we can send protection.”
Lindon fumbled in his outer robe for the broken communication construct. He poured madra into it, flooding it in an instant and creating a shrill shriek of sound. The binding only dissolved faster, but he flooded it with even more power. Even an instant of connection would reassure him that she was still alive.
Mercy squeezed his arm with one black hand. “Nothing to worry about. We have much better lines of communication with the Empire than with the Frozen Blade school. If something had happened, we would have known.”
That would be reassuring except for the concern in her own voice.
Dross didn’t help.
[That’s right, don’t worry,] he said. [I can see why you might be worried. The Blackflame Empire is closer to the dragons and even weaker than the Frozen Blade school, so you might expect them to be in much greater danger. But you can’t ignore the possibility of good luck!]
The construct in Lindon’s hand exploded, sending fizzing chunks of madra flying in all directions.
Mercy patted him again. “Someone onboard will have a way to communicate with the Naru clan. I’ll find out where they are.”
Lindon tried to thank her, but he was focused on the damaged cloudship. The gold dragons had done that to weaken the Akura clan in the tournament. They were the ones who would get the Blackflame Empire.
He remembered Ekeri, the Truegold who had suspected him of carrying around a treasure from Ghostwater. She had hounded him relentlessly until he had barely managed to kill her.
If the Akura team didn’t perform well enough—if he didn’t—her family would take over the Empire. Including his homeland.
Maybe they had already…
Before his thoughts could make it too far, his spiritual perception screamed at him. He collapsed to his knees as the two Sages and the Heralds dropped their veils at once. They all looked west, across the jeweled city, but through his watering eyes he couldn’t see what had drawn their attention.
Most of the other Akura clan members on the deck had crumpled just like him, but he noticed that the Ninecloud servants on the dock only flinched in their multi-colored robes. They did not shrink back.
The rainbow light returned to surround the cloudship, and the pleasant female voice that had greeted them drifted through the air again. “Welcome, guests. Please enter your rooms.”
“We have reason to worry for the safety of our teams,” Charity said. “Can you confirm that the Rising Earth and Blackflame Empire teams are still en route?”
“The Rising Earth team missed their arrival date last week,” the invisible Ninecloud representative admitted. “Enter your tower, and we will be happy to give you a full accounting of their absence.”
“We will have our own accounting,” the Winter Sage said, her voice furious. Still staring into the west, she drew her sword. Lindon wanted to see what she was watching for, but she raised her weapon into the air.
It looked the same as Yerin’s.
Hers couldn’t be the only white-bladed sword in the world, but Lindon recognized it immediately. He had been with Yerin when she’d pulled it from the Sword Sage’s body. This was exactly the same as the one Yerin carried, from the shape of the hilt to the length of the blade.
He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Had Yerin’s master carried a sword from the Frozen Blade school?
A winged silhouette flew from one of the distant towers to the west, growing larger and larger, clutching something huge in its talons. The shadow resolved into a dragon, golden and serpentine, with a cloud of sand rolling around it like smoke.
Its wings were each big enough to strike their cloudship from the air, and it bared its gleaming fangs. Golden dragon eyes, with their vertically slitted pupils, glared at the ship.
The power of its spirit enveloped the city, driving air traffic away. Cloudships and winged horses fled at the dragon’s approach. This gold dragon’s power rivaled Akura Fury’s.
A Herald.
[Xorrus,] Dross said, [left hand of the Dragon Monarch. She is called Desert-bringer, the Breath of Destruction, the Eternal Sandstorm.]
Lindon could barely breathe, but he tensed further. How do you know?
[Just like your new friend Fury, she was one of the Heralds who formed the original pact of Ghostwater. I found a record of her personally ignoring me.]
From this distance, it was clear that the dragon Herald was carrying a massive chunk of stone. Perhaps the top of a tower or a segment of castle wall.
He strained against the spiritual pressure to keep his eyes clear and open; a fight here could kill him and everyone else on the cloudship. Surely the Sages would know that better than he. They would hold back.
The dragon’s mouth opened, and her mocking laughter shook the ship. Xorrus said, “A gift from my father to the Queen of Shadows.”
She darted upward, deceptively swift, and dangled the stone over their ship. Its shadow covered Lindon entirely.
Then she dropped it.
The masonry was big enough to crush the ship, but Lindon didn't even have time to flinch before Fury caught it. Hovering two dozen feet over the deck, he held up the massive rock with one hand, staring upward. He didn't seem to strain in the slightest.
But from this angle, Lindon could see an emblem carved into the stone, larger than Fury's body: a series of rising stalagmites.
“Oh, you wiped out the Rising Earth sect?” Fury’s tone was light, even conversational. “I see, I see.”
The rainbow light around their ship intensified. Now the voice from the Ninecloud Court sounded nervous. “Honored guests, we humbly ask that you please settle your grievances in the arena. The collateral damage from a clash between you—”
Fury hurled the boulder.
It shot toward Xorrus with such an explosion of force that the wind pushed back everyone on the deck. A deafening roar tore through Lindon's ears, and he could no longer keep his eyes open.
When he opened them again, the gold dragon was laughing. The cloud of sand around her had grown. Had she dissolved the boulder into sand?
Akura Fury laughed with her.
Together, the Heralds laughed and laughed, but every second Lindon grew more nervous. Dross, if they start fighting, how much trouble are we in?
[I wouldn't say we're safe , but it’s nothing to be worried about. Heralds never come to blows. And besides, look how friendly they are!]
Charity had dropped her veil, her spirit unleashed, though she looked as calm as ever. And Min Shuei, the Winter Sage, still bared her sword. Small blades of frost, barely visible, played in the air around her in a constant snowstorm. Her expression twitched and her hand shook as she fought to keep herself under control.
Fury's laughter died down first, and he sighed as he wiped a tear from his eye. “It's funny, isn't it? Life is funny. I brought you a gift too!”
Charity's voice resounded in Lindon's mind. Get down! The mental command was so strong that everyone on the cloudship threw themselves to the deck at once.
Then Akura Fury struck.
A dozen black palms, each bigger than the ship, slammed into the gold dragon at once. The handprints of shadow madra dissolved the cloud of sand, but they didn't crack scales. They seemed to sink into the dragon's spirit. She roared in pain and gathered up golden fire in her mouth.
Cords of multi-colored light looped around both Heralds, locking their bodies and spirits in place. Xorrus' dragon breath dissipated, but she didn’t struggle against her rainbow bonds.