Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (59 page)

“Shryden, get down there.”
He searched the sky with a quick look and spotted only Varnen.
“And find out how many Guardians are down.”

The blue reached Namir and Vaddoc an instant later. Kellinar yanked off his safety straps. Grabbing his knife, he slashed the catcher strap loose. As soon as Kellinar was free from the leather, Shryden turned and waded into the battle still raging on the ground with Syrakynn at his side.

“Sumara and Keta are recovering at Galdrilene. Taela and Paki are heading your way and will be there soon,”
the blue sent.
“Jocelynn and Adirynn are down but alive. They need healing. Varnen and Abrax are with them and in need of it as well. Nolan is taking care of them, although he and Vasa could use healing too. Maleena and Mckale will arrive from Galdrilene shortly. Nira and Saria are relatively unscathed. Nira is healing Marcaius and Tanis now. Serena and Miya also are in good shape. You should be seeing them any second. Belynn and Farynn are injured but not critically.”
Shryden paused
. “Merru doesn’t answer. He and Loki are unaccounted for as are Brock and Olen.”

Kellinar tried to push away the worry over Loki, Brock, and their dragons as he reached Vaddoc. The two Ke’han kneeling next to his friend pressed their hands around the gaping wound in Vaddoc’s chest. It looked like something had burned a hole through it. Blood oozed between their fingers. The Ke’han dug in the pouches on their belts and pulled out wads of a moss-like substance, packing the wound before reapplying pressure.

Kirynn knelt with her hands on either side of Vaddoc’s face. “If you even consider dying I will make Maleena take me to Maiadar so I can kill you.”

Unsure how to help, Kellinar stood back. Vaddoc hung from the safety straps at an unnatural angle, although the blood from the chest wound had slowed. Was it because whatever the Ke’han used was working or because Vaddoc was dying?

Paki landed and as soon as Taela was out of the saddle and free of the catcher strap, the silver moved to help finish clearing the battlefield. Kellinar glanced up. The Trilene soldiers were in full retreat with Boromari on their heels. As he watched, more Boromari rose out of the tall grass in front of them. There would be no retreat.

The humans and Ke’han withdrew from the fight, allowing the dragons to finish the Kojen. It didn’t take long. The cries of the Trilene and the roars of the Kojen faded, and silence hung over the cleared battlefield. In the distance, the Yari had regrouped and were drawing close to the bridge.

Miya landed, and Serena leaped from the saddle. She had removed the safety and catcher straps mid-flight. She dropped to her knees next to Vaddoc. “You two,” she pointed at the Ke’han, “cut those safety straps and let’s get him flat on his back. Kirynn, find Loki and Merru. Taela, you find Brock and Olen.”

“I prefer to stay,” Kirynn said, her gaze locked on Vaddoc. “It was my arrow that caused the chest wound. I was aiming at Sadira, but Ranit and Namir twisted and placed Vaddoc in the line of fire. I stopped the burning weave as quickly as I could.”

“You will go.” Serena shot her a stern look. “This isn’t your fault; it’s a tragedy of battle. You of all people should know that. It was beyond your control and the product of an ever- shifting and changing fight.” She glanced at Taela. “You too will leave. Neither of you can heal him. But you can find the two that are missing.”

Grumbling a string of curses under her breath, Kirynn stood and strode toward Syrakynn. Taela nodded and left as well. Maleena and Mckale landed as the Ke’han maneuvered Vaddoc until he laid flat on his back. One by one, the others arrived, though Serena barely noticed. Her attention and magic were focused on the broken man before her. He was one of her friends, one of her family, but right now, she couldn’t think about him that way, not if she wanted to keep from breaking down.

What she found when she delved into him wasn’t encouraging and made her doubt any amount of healing would save him. She could only start with the life-threatening injuries and see if he survived.

Serena examined the wound in Vaddoc’s chest. “What have you placed in this?”

One of the Ke’han withdrew more moss from the pouch at his belt. “It grows around the home settlement on the eastern coast. It has something in it that stops the bleeding.”

“It saved his life,” she murmured as she snapped the arrow shaft and drew it out. Then she placed one hand on Vaddoc’s chest and reached into the wound with the other. Slowly she worked the moss out, healing the damage behind it as she pulled it free. When the last of it was out, the surface of the wound closed over the freshly healed tissue inside.

Serena pulled her hands away and moved to his neck. “That was the most critical of his injuries though the others are significant. The injury to his back is…catastrophic. I will heal his neck and stabilize his back before we move him.” Her magic made its way to Vaddoc’s broken neck.
That
she was able to heal fully. She wasn’t sure about the rest. Finally, she pulled her hands away and rocked back on her heels. “I would do more but it takes energy from him as well. It’s possible I can put things back where they belong, however, his body has to follow the instructions of the magic.”

Mckale frowned and crossed his arms. “You can’t heal him the rest of the way?”

“Not at this moment.” Serena sighed and stood. “He is barely alive as it is. Whether or not he stays that way remains to be seen. If he lives, it will take at least two more healings to finish. If I were to try now it would only hasten his death.”

The chances of his survival were minimal. There was so much damage left. His upper back could probably be mended as soon as she could link with the others. But the entire lower half of his spine was like a puzzle whose pieces had been scattered. Even if Vaddoc woke that moment, he would be unable to move his arms or legs. If he survived the healings, it would still take months before the nerves in his lower back came completely alive again. Magic could only do so much.

“Can he be moved to Galdrilene?” Maleena knelt in the grass and brushed Vaddoc’s hair out of his face.

“He can.” Serena turned to Kellinar. “I would like to secure him to a board to stabilize him and his back. There is a lot of internal bruising and a couple of tears to his organs that I could only partially fix. I still need energy for Namir, and I don’t want them tearing open.”

Kellinar nodded. “I’m sure there’s something in Markene that will work.” He hurried to Shryden and hauled himself into the saddle.

Serena watched them go and reached for Miya,
“Any news on Loki and Brock yet?”

“No. There continues to be no response from Merru or Olen. It worries me.”

“It worries me as well.”
She walked around Vaddoc and the Ke’han and laid her hands on Namir. The gold’s wings lay crumpled and twisted at odd angles. Long, deep tears marred his neck, head, and entire underside.
“For now though, I need to see if I can save Namir. Without him, Vaddoc has no chance at all of recovery.”

Taela kept her gaze on the ground as Paki flew low in their search for Brock. They made broad sweeps across the entire area that had been the battlefield then began working their way out from there. A thin scream echoed in the air.

“Did you hear that?”

“I did.”
Paki banked in the direction of the sound.

Taela’s heart almost stopped as the source came into view. A tall tree had been stripped of every branch but one. A shirtless Brock hung from it by his wrists. Blood ran down his neck and chest where a black chain burrowed into his skin. More blood flowed down his side from a stab wound just under his ribs.

“Oh Fates, Paki,” she whispered.

The silver landed, sending a distress call to the other dragons. Taela yanked the safety straps loose and dropped to the ground.
“There’s no way I can reach him. Can you get him down?”

In answer, Paki reached up and carefully severed his bindings with her claws. He fell heavily to the ground. Sobs wracked his body then he stiffened and screamed again. The agonized cry made Taela cover her ears, the emotional torment unbearable. He sobbed incoherently and crawled to where Olen lay unmoving in the grass, his color faded to white.

The others arrived in a rush of wind and wings. Tears burned Taela’s eyes and rolled freely down her face. Brock reached Olen and laid his head on the dragon’s neck, one hand resting on the white scales of Olen’s face.

Nolan, Nira, and Mckale ran to Brock, but he pushed them away. Nira rocked back on her heels. “Brock, you will die if you don’t let me heal you.”

He placed his hand back on the dragon’s face and shook his head. “Let me die.” Another wave of pain wracked him. His scream was cut short as his muscles seized, clamping his jaw shut.

Nira and Nolan stood and took a step back. Taela stared at them. “You’re just going to leave him?”

Nolan sighed and ran his hands over his face. Frustration rolled off him in waves. “Yes, we are just going to leave him. We have no right to force healing on someone who refuses. He has the right to say no.”

“What are you talking about!” Taela stormed forward until she was standing in front of the two healers. “He isn’t thinking straight. Olen is dead. How can you respect a decision made under such circumstances?”

“Because of the circumstances!” Nolan shouted back. “He already suffers Separation.”

Nira placed a hand on Nolan’s arm and looked at Taela. “He has no bondmate. No bondmate dragon to help ease the pain. Even if we healed the injury that kills him as we speak, he would never survive Separation. It is kinder to let him go. To respect his decision.”

Taela turned to face Brock again. Mckale remained kneeling beside him, holding the hand that wasn’t on Olen. All of the grief squeezed her chest until it was too painful. Brock began to gasp, his breath shuddering. He stared at Olen as the life faded from his eyes. His chest heaved one last time and he lay still.

Nira leaned into Marcaius’ arms, a look of utter defeat on her face as she stared at Brock and Olen for a long moment. Suddenly she pushed away from Marcaius and sprinted toward Saria. “We have to find Loki and Merru. Now!”

Sobs shook Taela as she ran to Paki. She could barely see through the tears to fasten the safety straps.

Kirynn found Loki in a tangle of young trees flattened by Merru’s body and a shadow. The two dragons, gold and black, lay in a twisted pile. Neither riders nor dragons moved. The safety straps had torn loose, and Loki lay several paces from the gold, impaled on a broken piece of tree. The side of his body was horribly burned, and his left eye wasn’t visible through the gash that split open his face and left a portion of his scalp hanging. One leg was bent at the hip in an awkward angle.