Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (41 page)

Kellinar took Belynn long enough for Mckale to secure himself on Tellnox then lifted her up. Maleena slogged back to Nydara and climbed into the saddle, swallowing a cry of pain when her legs touched the leather. She glanced down. Red, blistered skin showed through large holes burned through her pants. Wincing with the pain, she thought of Galdrilene. They would be there soon. It helped her focus through the agony of the burns.

When everyone was ready, Nydara, Tellnox, Miya, and Shryden lifted off. Farynn was slow getting off the ground, her fatigue obvious in the sluggish beats of her wings. Tellnox opened a Slide large enough to accommodate both the red and himself. Shryden too disappeared through a Slide and then Nydara was opening one.

They came out over Galdrilene. The clean, fresh air was a relief to her lungs and the clear early evening sky seemed bright after the gloom of the ash cloud. Only Tellnox and Mckale were with her. Kellinar and Serena had went back to Markene. Nydara landed in a shower of accumulated ash. Marda was there with Emmaleen asleep against her chest, directing the moving of Belynn from Mckale’s arms to the rider’s lair.

Farynn tried to join her rider in their lair but fell back, too exhausted to make the short flight to the ledge. Instead, she curled up right where she was and fell into a deep slumber while Toren and Liora removed the saddles from the dragons.

Tellnox watched over Farynn while Nydara took an overdue bath in the lake to wash away the blood and ash. As soon as the silver was clean again, she took the green’s place while he took his turn in the lake.

“You know you don’t have to stand guard over her. She’s safe here,”
Maleena sent to Nydara.

“I know,”
came the return though the dragon remained where she was, watching over her grown offspring.

Mckale brushed Maleena’s braid over her shoulder. “You need to be healed and then get your own bath.”

She nodded and glanced at the healers around Nydara, taking care of the wounds she’d suffered in the battle over Calladar. Had it only been less than three hours ago? It felt like a lifetime. “When they have finished with her.”

It wasn’t long before the healers went to work on Maleena. She breathed a long sigh of relief when the pain faded and the burns healed.

“I know you need the rest, Fates know I do, but there is a distress call from Syrakynn.”

Maleena turned toward Nydara.
“What happened?”

The silver replayed the events seen through the eyes of Syrakynn of a massive battle raging in Shadereen and a falling Kirynn. A bath and rest would have to wait. Mckale was already striding toward Tellnox with the saddle in his arms. Maleena jogged to the equipment cave and grabbed Nydara’s saddle. It didn’t take long to have it secured on the silver, then she heaved her tired body up and fastened the straps.
“What of Farynn?”

Nydara looked down at her daughter as her younger children gathered close.
“Toren, Liora, Nordhas and their dragons will watch over her.”
The silver moved away from the sleeping Farynn then leaped into the air and brought her wings down in a strong rush.

K
irynn smacked into the icy, raging water—the force knocking her breath away as they sank deep below the surface. Something stabbed her side, and a waterlogged branch slammed into her head sending them rolling. She focused through the pain, and tightened one arm around Lenya while throwing the other out. Kicking furiously with her legs, she attempted to reach the surface of the churning water. The thick, muddy mess was almost impossible to swim through. It clung to their clothes and skin, weighting them down. Finally, she managed to get both of their heads into the air.

Lenya coughed and sputtered as Kirynn grabbed for a limb sticking out of what had once been a massive tree. Her hand caught then slipped, raking a layer of skin off her palm. Breathing in controlled pants around the fiery agony in her side, she grabbed for it again and held tight despite the sharp sting. After taking a few more short gasps of air, she kicked her legs to get closer to the branch and locked her arm around it.

“You’re injured,”
came Syrakynn’s worried sending.

“I’ll live. If you come for me now the Shadow Dragons will use your distraction to attack you. Fight for both of us.”

It took everything Kirynn had to hang onto the branch and Lenya while keeping their heads above water as the turbulent river carried them downstream faster than a galloping horse. The debris in the water turned deadly. Other logs slammed into her, trying to knock her hold loose. Branches from other trees grabbed and tore at them leaving lacerations that bled into the muddy water.

Another log shot through the river like an arrow, careening into the tree that Kirynn desperately clung to. Rocking wildly, the tree rolled and bucked in the water, dunking them under the surface. The world disappeared in a swirl of sloshing brown. The force of the current sent something sweeping into her leg. The loud crack of bone reverberated through the water, sending her scream bubbling out. Pure agony assaulted her and nearly loosened her hold on the tree. Her lungs, depleted of air, burned even as she tried to reassure Syrakynn everything was fine. Then the tree wobbled, rotated again, and pulled their heads above the surface.

Kirynn sucked in air, her teeth clenched against the pain, and focused on keeping one arm securely around Lenya and the other around the tree. Her muscles burned and her vision tunneled from shock, and still she refused to give in.

An eternity passed before a strong eddy grabbed the tree and wedged it against the freshly eroded bank. Kirynn’s foot found the bottom and shoved them into shallower water. With one hand and one leg, she dragged them onto the muddy bank until they were well above the river’s edge before she collapsed beneath a scraggly bush. Her vision faded in and out as she reached for Syrakynn.
“I need you…”
was all she managed before darkness rolled over and carried her away into sweet oblivion.

“Fall back!” Vaddoc shouted over the roar of the battle. Varnen, flying close by, repeated the order with a weave of air, amplifying his voice. Below, the ground forces stopped trying to hold their fracturing line and fell back to the river’s edge. The ground given throughout the battle now lay well behind enemy lines, awash in blood and fire.

Mages on both sides continued to exchange weaves, though those pressed against the flooded river worked defensive weaves more often than not now. Vaddoc tried to keep a close eye on the battle raging on the ground while at the same time throwing spears of light at Shadow Riders in an effort to aid Namir in the aerial fight. He lost sight of the ground briefly when the gold jerked violently in the air as a shadow slammed into them.

Namir roared in pain and swung his head to grab the black dragon. Another black struck and dug its claws through the golden scales. The combined weight drove them toward the ground. Vaddoc released a hail of weaves, sending glowing lances into the black bodies. Screeches ripped through the air, but still they held on. The wind whipped past Vaddoc’s ears. The ground rushed up at them. One of the shadows jerked loose, hit by something invisible. Golden scales, torn free, flew through the air. Vaddoc sensed the deep gashes in Namir’s side.

With the other black gone, the gold was able to twist around and sink his claws and teeth deep into the muscles beneath the foul scales of the one that still held on. Using powerful thrusts of his wings, Namir flipped their positions just before they hit the ground.

The black smashed into the blood-soaked earth, softening the impact for Namir and crushing its dark rider beneath it.

Namir launched himself back into the air. The other black still fought with an invisible opponent, and Vaddoc knew Loki and Merru had rejoined the battle. He hoped the pair weren’t too exhausted from the healing.

Keta streaked by like a bolt of lightning. Syrakynn shredded a Shadow Dragon in mid-air. Even with Paki, Miya, Tellnox, Shryden, and Nydara joining the battle it wasn’t enough. On the ground, the line fell back until there was nowhere left to go. The two Nagas helped hold the line as much as anyone. Their long, sinuous forms moved at blurring speeds along the bank, fighting where the line was weakest.

Vaddoc reached for Namir,
“We have to get them out of here. Between me, Loki, and Brock, we should be able to shield the others so they can open Slides and get the survivors out. There is going to be tremendous pressure on the shield, though. We will not be able to maintain it long.”

“I will spread the word through the dragons,”
Namir returned.

Olen and Merru appeared out of the smoke-laden sky. Vaddoc wove the strongest shield possible and raised it at the same time Loki and Brock raised theirs until the weaves overlapped. An onslaught of weaves from the dark mages and Shadow Riders bombarded the translucent barrier. Kojen pounded against it, and shadow fire blasted it. It took every shred of concentration for Vaddoc to maintain the weave.

Focused on the task, Vaddoc barely registered the Slides opening below. All three shields wavered. The exhaustion of the day, combined with the heavy use of magic, was taking its toll. How much longer could they hold it? His strength waned. The shield flickered.

“They are all through,”
came Namir’s sending before the gold opened a Slide between them and the diminishing barrier.

They flew over the grasslands near Spirit Lake. The sun hung low on the horizon, staining the sky in brilliant hues of pink and purple. The beauty of the sunset was completely at odds with the bloodshed and carnage endured that day. Beneath him, Namir faltered for a moment. The fatigue dragging at Vaddoc was mirrored back at him in the dragon.