Maxon (28 page)

My eyes widen with comprehension. He may even take the task upon himself.

A thin tendril of smoke pours in from under the door. Zephyr is coming inside. With aching movements, I force myself to stand up. The ordeal is exhausting. There's still too much poison in my system, but I can't give up. Before me, the smoke starts to gel into a human shape.

I'm almost out of time.

That's when it hits me. If I can change my appearance to resemble my old thrax self, why not try something else? Sure, Namare never changed herself to look like another creature. That doesn't mean it can't be done. And that syringe is still sitting in the drawer…

Zephyr's body becomes solid and complete. He stares at me carefully, his fingers playing along the scar on his cheek. I fight the urge to gasp. In the rush, I'd forgotten all about my precious Kristalli of Water. I must have dropped it in the bed.

“She's gone?” asks Zephyr.

I nod and try to look terrified. It isn't hard. I can't talk with a windy voice like a real heliae, so hopefully that'll be enough for Zephyr.

“Chimera failed,” he adds.

More nodding.

“Where is her Kristalli?” Zephyr asks slowly.

I shrug and gesture to the mattress.

Fast as a heartbeat, Zephyr rifles through the bed, tearing apart pillows and blankets in his search. After a few seconds he pauses, holding the Kristalli of Water high. He wraps it with a bit of leather and sets it into a holster at the waistline of his Roman armor.

I'm out of time.

Racing to the other side of the room, I yank open the drawer and pull out the loaded syringe. Twisting about, I stab the needle into Zephyr's neck, quickly pressing down the plunger to inject the paralytic venom. He feels the prick of the needle and roars with anger.

“How dare you?” Zephyr spins, his arms outstretched and ready to throttle me.

I stand motionless as a statue, frozen in terror. One thought echoes through my mind.

Please let this work.

Zephyr's hands brush my throat. After that, they stop. For a few precious seconds, his mouth tries to form words. He can't. Instead, Zephyr tumbles to the floor, paralyzed. His eyes stay fixed on me, while his mouth hangs open in a snarl.

Raising my arm, I conjure an ice sword into my right hand. “This is for Namare.” Raw rage sends my energy levels skyrocketing. Gritting my teeth, I slam the frozen blade into Zephyr's belly. It's a perfect strike, just like Fisk taught me.

I summon another sword and raise it high. “And this is one's for Fisk.”

Before I lower the blade, a dragon roar fills the air.

Chimera.

My arm freezes with fear. Maxon is somewhere nearby. What if Chimera finds him?

Dropping the blade, I force myself into mist form. This shift takes a ton of energy even if I'm at full power, and right now I'm definitely not. I give myself an internal pep talk and hope like hell that it works.

Hurry up, Lianna. You have to find Maxon.

Maxon

I stand on the cobblestone courtyard before one of Zephyr's infirmaries. There are a shit-ton of these places around here. I could search for days and not find Lianna.

Good thing I found these kids instead.

A couple of Air Valta boys stand guard at the infirmary door. It's obvious they know where Lianna is and won't say anything. Stubborn little guys. I've been negotiating with them for too long already. Hell, I called down enough lightning to smash down three trees and burst up a cistern. At least, the kids are softened up now. Dragon roars are now carrying in from the battlefield, so that's helping to loosen them up, too. One more round of threats and they'll be ready to talk.

“Where is she?” I ask.

The kids look at each other, their eyes wide with terror. Neither replies.

“Last warning.” Raising my hand, I summon lightning to crackle across my palm. “This one isn't going into the trees, guys. I'm out of time.”

“She's inside this building,” says the first kid quickly. “Last room on the left.”

“Good work,” I say. “Now go hide. Things are about to get nasty.” The kids disappear in a puff of smoke.

I kick down the front door and race into the infirmary. The place is half deserted. Worried heliae carry wounded elementals out to safety. None of the injured are Valta, though. I picture my Furor allies back in the woods, fighting off the Air Valta. Anxiety constricts my temples. I hope they're okay.

One battle at a time, Maxon. Focus on Lianna.

Turning on my heel, I race down the main hallway. My gaze stays locked on the last door on the left. Lianna's room.

Almost there.

My chest warms with a mixture of hope and excitement. Is she still in her room? Will she be all right? I'm only a few yards from her door when the unexpected happens.

The entire wall of the infirmary bursts open.

It's Chimera, and he's in his full dragon form: A massive body covered in black scales.

At least I lopped off one of his heads back at Charybdis. Less to worry about now.

Chimera's two remaining heads swivel on their long necks, tearing through the wooden walls like tissue paper. I grit my teeth, disappointment and rage battling it out in my nervous system.

I was almost to Lianna.

Chimera's long, powerful limbs flex down into crouch, ready to pounce. I mirror the movement, keeping my tail high above my shoulder.

Chimera launches at me, his dual jaws snapping at my head. Venom-laced saliva drips from his long pointed teeth. Pushing back with my legs, I jump right at him. The arrowhead end of my tail plunges through his dragon scale hide right at the top of his rib cage. Once I have a good catch, I use the momentum to tear a line down his torso. I land in a roll on the courtyard grounds, one thought on my mind.

Nothing cuts through dragon scales like dragon scales.

Chimera sits up on his haunches and lets out a howl of fury. The cut isn't deep enough to kill the old bastard, but I'm sure it hurts like hell. Chimera's bulk twists around to face me. He stomps through the remains of the infirmary wall and onto the courtyard, the venom sack on one neck puffing out as he moves.

Right neck. That means acid venom.

I dodge for cover behind a cluster of trees that line the cobblestone yard. A blast of yellow acid hits the trunks, melting them into the ground.

That was Chimera's volley. It'll take him time to work up another venom shot.

Now, it's my turn.

Rising to my feet, I summon bolt after bolt of lightning. Some slam straight into Chimera, shocking him and giving me time to close in. Once I'm near enough, I leap toward his throat, loop my legs around his neck, and spin until gravity has me hanging upside down. After that, I go to town on his neck. Using my scale-covered hand and tail, I punch into the venom sack, rapid-fire style.

Chimera lets out another big roar. The bare trees shimmy from the force of his cry. I cling to his throat as Chimera tosses his injured head from side to side. For a while, I keep my grip. Soon, the movement tears me free. I fall onto my back with a thud. Chimera's wounded head hangs at an odd angle, unable to focus or speak.

Good. His second head is unconscious. One down. One to go.

Chimera's final head focuses on me. This is the one that spews green paralytic. Opening its jaws wide, the mouth releases a stream of venom straight toward my face.

Nice try, asshole.

I roll out of the venom's strike zone. With a low hiss, the liquid slams into the ground beside me. I leap upright, jump onto Chimera's back, and race along his spine scales.

Paralytic head, here I come
.

I speed up the thick neck. My tail arches over my shoulder, ready to spear its arrowhead end straight through Chimera's last functioning skull.

That's the moment Chimera decides to take flight.

The dragon's huge black wings spread wide, beating in a regular rhythm. I'm tossed onto my ass. Leaning forward, I grip the larger scales with my hands, while my tail plunges through the skin for a better hold. Chimera spirals up and up in a corkscrew motion. Clouds whiz by us. The air turns cold. My vision starts to blur with dizziness.

Chimera pauses mid-flight to change direction. For a second, I feel weightless. After that, Chimera swoops down toward the ground. He keeps flying in a corkscrew motion, only faster this time.

I get dizzy as fuck and lose my grip.

For a while, I tumble through the air. My heart hammers away in my chest. Somehow I'm able to twist onto my side, which is the best way to hit the ground when you fall.

It still sucks when I slam into the earth, though. There's a bone-crunching crack, too. I try to get back on my feet. Every part of me screams with the effort. It's all I can do to look up and see Chimera dive-bombing toward me. The jaws of his last conscious head are wide open, ready to spew paralytic at me.

My mind runs through options and implications. At this speed—and with my injuries—I won't be able to run away. I can't cower, either. It's not in me. I glare at Chimera as he swoops closer. My eyes flare demon-red with rage.

Chimera opens his mouth; the venom sack on his neck flexes as he prepares to douse me with paralytic. I keep my gaze locked with his.

Somehow, somewhere, I'll get you for this. Maybe as a damned ghost.

The paralytic spews from his jaws, ready to engulf me.

But it doesn't.

Instead, the venom freezes into a hard lump and tumbles onto the ground. Chimera does the same. His skin prickles over with frost. He loses control of his wings and crash lands not far from me. His last head rises up, ready to spit more venom. Before he can, the frost along the length of his neck thickens.

Chimera becomes frozen solid.

I grin from ear to ear. Freezing dragons means someone's nearby.

Lianna.

Sure enough, a blue haze forms. The mist solidifies into Lianna's lovely body. Moving as quickly as I can—which isn't too fast—I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. Makes my rib cage scream with pain, but I don't care.

She's my heart and she's come back.

Lianna

Maxon's heavy arms wrap around me, making me feel warm and safe. I nuzzle into his neck and instantly relax. His voice is a sweet growl in my ear.

“How are you holding up, beautiful?” He leans back and I almost fall over. My legs are still jelly after so much time under the paralytic.

“You can't stand up straight,” Maxon wraps his arms around me once more, only more tightly this time. “So I guess that's my answer.”

“Chimera put too much paralytic in my system; I'm having a hard time cleaning it out.” I slide my arms around his waist. “How about you?”

“Got a little banged up back there. Chimera decided to take me for a ride and drop me.”

“I guess he did some damage to us both.”

“I'd be in worse shape without your flash freeze.” Maxon leans back and fixes me with his mismatched eyes. “Thanks for saving my ass.”

“Well, I
am
partial to your ass.”

He chuckles. “Good.”

My gaze shifts to Chimera and my skin glows with rage. “He made me stare at Fisk's body. Sat it right in my line of vision.”

“I'm so sorry, Lianna.”

When I speak again, my voice comes out low and deadly. “I want to kill him. Now.”

“That's not an option, beautiful.”

“Why not? Don't you want to kill him?”

“Fuck yeah. Look, he hurt you and it's taking everything I have not to rip his last two heads off. But I made a promise to Tempest. The Furor are fighting the Air Valta for us right now. In return, they want Chimera. Alive.”

An idea forms in my mind. Chimera has two heads. That's one more than anyone really needs.

“Alive eh?” I ask.

Maxon shoots me a sly grin. “Yeah. Tempest wants Chimera to serve trial for crimes against his people.” He taps his chin dramatically. “But it's probably a lot easier to try someone who can't spit paralytic venom in your face.”

“Good point,” I say.

With a snap of my fingers, I send a fissure through the ice in Chimera's body. From across the courtyard, a long crack forms in one of the dragon's necks. For a moment, his paralytic head wobbles, then it falls to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Nicely done,” says Maxon. “Only one head left. Now, we need to get you out of here. Can you mist away?”

“Zephyr's probably dead, so I should be able to manage it.”

“Probably dead?”

“I might have drugged him with some of Chimera's paralytic and then stabbed him in the stomach.”

Maxon lets out a low whistle. “Have I told you you're perfect?”

“Yes. But don't stop.”

“Good. If Zephyr's down, then it's definitely time you left.”

“No, it's time
we
left. With Zephyr out, I may be able to open a gateway for both of us.”

Maxon eyes me carefully. “Nah, you should go alone. I can't leave until I'm sure Zephyr's history.”

“In that case, I'll check on Zephyr with you. Last time, I had to leave before I was sure he was dead. But if Zephyr's still alive, then I want to help kill him.”

“You're not killing anything. You can hardly stand on your own.”

I roll my eyes. “And you're half dead from fighting Chimera.”

Maxon purses his lips, considering. “You're not leaving without me, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“Well, then.” He gives me one of his crooked smiles. “How do we leave together?”

“I'll need some help. Let me show you.”

Turning away from Maxon, I raise my right arm. A small waterfall of bright blue liquid materializes before us. Within seconds, an image forms in the shimmering water. It's a view into the Hall of Fountains. Once again, Esau appears.