The Dragon's War (17 page)

“Drakar!”

The black dragon turned at the warning roar from his mother, but it was too late. The catapult fired, the golden rope snaked out, and the barbs on its tip hooked into the flesh of Drakar’s wing near the webbing where it joined the body. As they had with Talan, the flying Hyr’rok’kin dove in to capture the free end of the rope and wrapped it around any part of the dragon they could. But where they had managed only an ankle with the Ancient Dragon, they got Drakar around the neck. The black dragon plummeted to the earth like a meteor, crushing the Hyr’rok’kin beneath him.

Talan roared in fury as hell hounds set upon her son. She dove in, then pulled up short. They were already reloading the catapult, and if they were lucky enough to get her a second time, this battle was over. She wheeled about and swept away in anguish. This one would be up to her love.

And Raine was already calculating the way, her fury fanned by the cries of pain of the fallen dragon and the taunts and shrieks of joy of the Hyr’rok’kin. Drakar had fallen about a fourth of the way into the Hyr’rok’kin army, so a large part of their force was between them. She would not risk the imperials or the Ha’kan to such numbers. She turned and signed an emphatic command to Skye.

Skye drew back. She was not certain she could cast the spell again. But one look at the thrashing, helpless dragon infuriated her. Raine had been specific. Not as large, but it had to be fast. She stood up from her crouched position, raised her hands, generated a ball of light perhaps a third of the size of the previous, then hurled it with all her might directly at Drakar. It was moving fast, much faster than the previous one, and it incinerated a path through the Hyr’rok’kin with demoralizing ease.

And Raine was right behind it, sprinting as fast as she could. Her legs churned, her arms pumped, her lungs burned, and she ran so fast that even the swift Tavinter were stunned. She followed the burning path of destruction the sphere cut through the Hyr’rok’kin, knocking down those few who had the presence of mind to try and stop her. The floating ball cleared the ground troops and burned through a trio of hell hounds that weren’t smart enough to comprehend the danger. The rest of the beasts realized the peril and backed off from the orb that was floating right towards the dragon. Raine cleared the edge of the mob and with a final burst of speed, launched herself forward and into the ball of light just as it was touching Drakar’s skin…

And the ball of light disappeared.

Very slowly, Raine got to her feet. She turned and faced the pack of hell hounds and the Hyr’rok’kin army. She drew her short swords, the blue and gold markings standing in bold relief on her forearms and biceps. Her eyes were ice blue as she stood ready to defend the black dragon with her life. The Hyr’rok’kin milled about uncertainly. This was the most dangerous creature in the mortal realm, that they understood. This one had just dismissed, with a touch, the ball of light that had destroyed everything in its path. This one had killed more of their kind than any had in generations, and it had been her people, along with the dragons, that had destroyed their army centuries ago.

But right now she was outnumbered thousands to one. Her reinforcements were trapped on the other side of an army. Her mages were far away, their power diminished by the distance. That red dragon could not come to her aid without risking capture. And she would risk her own safety to protect the creature lying behind her.

Raine did not care. She twirled her swords about her wrists in a practiced manner. She took a stance, took a deep breath, then spoke in Scinterian the words that her father spoke when facing a hopeless battle.

“Let’s play.”

The horde screamed and charged.

The sand in front of Raine erupted and the largest wolf that anyone had ever seen exploded from the depths of the earth. He was followed by a pack of wolves that poured forth in an endless stream, black, gray, white, mottled, wolves from the forest, from the plains, from the mountains, from the glacial north, barrel-chested beasts with sharp fangs and glowing eyes. They snarled and charged outward in every direction, meeting the hell hounds head on. The gigantic wolf stood upon his hind legs and battled the foot soldiers and Raine joined him at his back. They fought ferociously, losing some of their number, but taking down hundreds for every one that fell. The Hyr’rok’kin were at a loss as to what to do, so did the only thing that they knew. They died one after the other, hoping to wear down their foe.

“We can’t keep this up forever,” the huge wolf growled.

“I know,” Raine said, “let me get Drakar loose, and then we can flee.”

She sheathed her swords and ran up onto the back of the fallen dragon. She struggled with the heavy rope, using all her strength to pull the cord from him. But at last she was able to free his neck, and no sooner did the rope touch the ground than the black dragon was on his feet, spewing fire at those behind him.

“Just run!” Raine said, “Before they get the catapult re-aimed!”

Drakar saw the danger as the turret of the weapon was being cranked in his direction. He took two uneven steps, still suffering the effects of the golden rope, and crashed sideways into a crowd of Hyr’rok’kin, crushing them all.

“Well that was effective,” he muttered. “Humiliating, but effective.” He regained his balance, took two much better steps, and leaped skyward. He was going to wheel about to get Raine, but she shook her head and waved him on.

“What will you do now?” the great wolf asked, shaking then snapping a Hyr’rok’kin in two with his immense jaws.

“We need only to get back to our people,” Raine said, “and we can finish this.”

Raine leaped upon his back and with a roar, he called his children to him. They stampeded through the throng of Hyr’rok’kin, cleared them, then easily outdistanced them in an all-out retreat. The Hyr’rok’kin screamed as one in rage and frustration. They had brought down a dragon. They had cornered their most coveted prey. And still, this puny gathering of mortals was thwarting them. They regrouped and began marching forward, still vastly outnumbering their enemy despite their losses.

Once at the front lines, Raine leaped from the wolf’s back and ran back to the platform upon which Idonea, Elyara, and Gimle were standing. It was clear that Elyara was weakening because Gimle was now supporting her.

“Can you do this?”

Idonea nodded. “I can.”

“Good, I will prepare the counter charge.”

Raine gave the order, and the Ha’kan and imperials readied to march forward once more. The Tavinter stood behind them. Raine and the wolves stood at the front.

“And what have you got up your sleeve this time, Scinterian?” Fenrir asked.

Raine grinned. “I believe I have the most powerful mage in Arianthem.”

Idonea stood on the raised dais and gazed out at the approaching horde. She was the daughter of a dragon and the protégé of the greatest wizard the world had ever known. The dark magic in her blood stirred, and her mother circled above, feeling the dark magic in her own blood stir in response.

“You can drop the wall,” she said calmly.

Elyara collapsed, as did the wall. The Hyr’rok’kin paused in their death march, uncertain what this could mean. They were now free to spread out and attempt to surround the enemy, as had been their original intent. They shouted with rapacious glee and began running forward.

“There are still a lot of them,” Nerthus muttered, dismayed to see the number that still remained outside the walls. She felt something hot under her armor, something that went from unpleasant to painful in a fraction of a second. She pulled the chain out from her breastplate, the necklace she wore with the tiny vial of red liquid on it. She dropped it so that the vial rested against the steel of her armor, shaking her hand from the burn.

Raine was also assessing their numbers, but she was more interested to see if there were any more of the catapults remaining. It seemed there was only the one. Also, as the Hyr’rok’kin had again spread out, the depth of their ranks had thinned. She nodded to Idonea.

There were inert piles of sand where the walls had been. These dunes began to shake, tremble, slither about, and then began to flow back towards the small army, almost as if the sand were water. The illusion of liquid was pronounced as it ebbed, surged, then formed a stream that rolled back toward Raine. It began to pool, and the pool became a lake, and then the lake began to swell until it rose up into a single wave. Raine thought the wave would be waist high, perhaps a little more, but it continued to grow. It topped her head, then the head of the great wolf behind her, then it was taller than the Marrow Shards, and still it continued to grow. And as it grew upward, it also grew outward, spreading the entire length of the Hyr’rok’kin army, seeming to take up the extent of the horizon. The size of it was jaw-dropping.

“Well, this is unexpected,” Raine said.

And then the gigantic upsurge began to move. It flowed just like a wave across the desert, churning the earth before it like the froth of the sea. It was steep, the distance between the trough and crest the distance between earth and sky. It curled downward, creating a barrel-like effect, as if it were continually on the verge of breaking.

The Hyr’rok’kin, stopped, stunned, then turned and began to run. But it was to no avail as the rapidly growing wave overtook them and swallowed everything in its path. Some were buried, suffocating beneath the heavy sand, some were trapped, unable to move the limbs crushed beneath the surface, some were knocked unconscious and lie scattered like dolls in the wake of the great wave.

“And now we finish this,” Raine said, and all followed her charge.

The small army was merciless as it came upon its stunned and helpless foe. Hyr’rok’kin were stabbed, beaten, decapitated, incinerated, crushed, impaled, killed in every way imaginable as the Ha’kan and imperials moved efficiently over their fallen adversaries. The dragons were ruthless, having suffered at their hands, and they burned everything in their path. The catapult, now on its side, was turned to ash. The Tavinter rained down arrows, then ran through the sea of Hyr’rok’kin, stabbing and slicing as they went. Raine was in the lead with the wolves, dealing with those so foolish to stagger to their feet once the wave had passed. It was a bloodbath, but not in the way that anyone would have expected, given the way the day had begun.

Raine slowed, and Fenrir was at her side.

“Are you going to chase them all the way back to the Underworld?” he asked drily.

Raine sighed and sheathed her swords. “No, as much as I want to, that’s probably not a good idea.”

“And probably not necessary,” Fenrir said. The fleeing Hyr’rok’kin numbered in the hundreds, not the tens of thousands that had marched across the Empty Land. The wolf god and the Scinterian, surrounded by wolves, started walking back toward the small army in a comfortable silence.

Queen Halla withdrew her sword from a Hyr’rok’kin foot soldier and paused to look around her. Everything was dead. She looked to her First General, who was dirty, sweaty, and covered in blood, and who had never looked more beautiful to her. And Senta looked upon her Queen, bruised and battered, her armor covered with scrapes, nicks, and cuts, and thought that she had never loved her more. And the Ha’kan as a whole looked to each other, stunned and overjoyed, not only that they had survived, but that they had triumphed.

Nerthus walked through her men, quietly congratulating them, and they felt the same subdued, slightly hysterical elation as the Ha’kan. She came up behind Idonea, just in time to catch her as the raven-haired mage’s knees buckled.

“Are you all right?” she asked with concern.

“Of course I’m all right,” Idonea said carelessly, “just a little tired.” She noticed the vial outside of Nerthus’ armor and grinned wickedly. “Did you really think that little thing could ever control me?”

“Not for an instant,” Nerthus replied.

Skye ran to catch up with the Queen and Senta, wanting to make certain they were unharmed. Before she could get a word out, Senta snatched her up and fairly threw her into the air, catching her on the way down and hugging her tightly. She kissed her on the forehead.

“Thank you,” she said simply. Senta knew the Tavinter had been the Queen’s guardian angel during the fight.

And the Queen knew it as well. “Thank you, First Ranger.” Halla grasped Skye’s shirt and pulled her to her, treating her as she did all her staff, which was to say she kissed her fully on the mouth, a passionate and prolonged kiss. She released her and moved on to find Astrid, leaving Senta to catch the stunned youngster.

“Welcome to the Royal Staff,” Senta said over her shoulder as she followed the Queen.

Raine stood off alone with Fenrir.

“Thank you again, my friend,” Raine said, holding the great head in her hands. “I know you will pay for this.”

“It is you who I fear will pay,” Fenrir said. “My sister will not be happy about this.”

“If it comes to that,” Raine began, “if—” She trailed off, unable to go on. “Just don’t interfere,” Raine said, and Fenrir nodded his understanding. The great wolf joined his pack, and the wolves trotted as one back towards the Deep Woods.

Two dragons landed on the expanse of sand, and with a flash of red and yellow light, a silver-haired woman and a devilishly handsome dark-haired man appeared. Idonea had recovered her strength and ran to them, hugging them both tightly. Raine approached, her eyes caressing Talan, then settling on Idonea.

“You….”

“I—,” Idonea tried to explain. “I didn’t know I was capable of that.”

“Yes,” Raine said sardonically, “but in the future we might want to lead with that instead of saving it for last.” She relented and hugged the raven-haired mage. “That was magnificent.”

“I’m very proud of you,” Talan agreed, “and I’ve never been happier that you were born human and not a dragon.”

“Hey now,” Drakar said, pretending hurt, and Talan kissed him on the forehead. “I’m very proud of you, too, dear.”

Drakar was instantly appeased. “And I owe you my life,” he said to Raine, growing serious. “You risked all to come save me.”