Dragons of Kings (Upon Dragon's Breath Trilogy Book 2) Page 20

  Saffron called out the dragon’s name again.

  For a moment, my vision blurred as Verkaia’s pain swept into Jaydra’s thoughts and into mine. But I didn’t need to see in order to feel what we had to do.

  Fly to her, Jaydra, fly fast!

  My heart was in agony as I held on tightly to Jaydra’s new harness. Jaydra gave a roar and sped toward Verkaia’s side. Reaching out with her claws, she snagged the huge arrow and pulled it from Verkaia. Verkaia gave a snarl. A smear of blood marred her scales, but she could still fly and soared upward now.

  Who did this? Who is attacking us? Jaydra’s thoughts swirled with a mixture of panic and fury.

  However, she was not as furious as Ysix, who roared spit fire and then sent thundering thoughts that rocked me. Who dares attack Ysix’s brood?

  The sun seemed to darken for a moment as Ysix crossed in front of it, her rage sweeping out as dark as her shadow.

  “Saffron?” Bower shouted. “Down there!”

  I looked to where he was pointing. For a moment, I saw nothing—but then the ground shimmered. Shapes began to emerge and soon became the forms of soldiers. Enric had indeed been using his magic to hide his troops, but now they were on the move, spilling out from under the cover of magic and trees. I glimpsed immense shapes, much taller and broader than a human, their armor dark with rust. It was the king’s Iron Guard. They held huge spears and swords, and carried giant bows of blackened metal with long darts that they aimed skyward.

  Only these were not darts.

  “Harpoons!” Bower shouted.

  He was right. I had seen such metal harpoons used by the island villagers to hunt the huge fish of the ocean.

  One of the Iron Guard hefted a metal harpoon and threw it toward one of the black dragons. The dragon turned and spun, but the harpoon hit, and then I saw the chain attached to the end of the harpoon. The dragon thrashed in the air and her rider only barely managed to hang onto her horns as the dragon spun about on the end of the chain.

  “Jaydra, the chain,” I shouted, pointing her in the direction of the thick iron chain that was attached from the end of the shaft.

  The black dragon and the guard were engaged in a deadly tug of war, but more of the Iron Guard were raising their deadly bows.

  Jaydra dove underneath Ysix, who was belching fire at the Iron Guard. Seizing the chain between her front claws, Jaydra wrenching it apart. The black dragon whistled her thanks and spun away as another wave of harpoons sped past us.

  Don’t get hit! Please, den-sister, fly fast!

  I sent all of my strength to Jaydra as she dodged and dived, batting away one of the harpoons with her tail.

  Cowards! Ysix's anger nearly split my skull. With a snarl and a roar, she tucked her wings close, falling into a dive.

  “Ysix, no!” I shouted, but too late.

  One harpoon tore through Ysix’s wing, another speared her tail. She slammed into the Iron Guard archers, scattering them and smashing two of them, their parts left to flop on the ground. Ysix lit the forest with her fire, sending every man in the king’s arm running.

  “Saffron, we have to help her,” Bower shouted.

  I knew what he meant. We had fought the Iron Guard before but we only barely survived.

  Glancing around us, I saw the black dragons had become what seemed an angry, dark cloud. I knew they must be unsure what to do—Ysix their den-mother was on the ground. They both must wish to flee and must want to help her.

  Turning, I called out to Bower, “How many Iron Guard do you see?”

  Jaydra was already getting ready to launch into a dive that would take her to Ysix’s side.

  Looking down, I could see the Iron Guard were converging on Ysix and trying to chain her to the ground.

  “No more than fifteen,” Bower called to me.

  Reaching out to Jaydra, I showed her the idea I had in mind for our attack. She agreed with a fierce snarl, flicking her tail to change her direction just slightly.

  Jaydra fell into a steep dive. Bower gave a yell, and Jaydra roared.

  Release Ysix and fight like hunters!

  Ysix managed to catch one Iron Guard in a jet of orange dragon fire. The force of the blaze knocked the guard down and it let go of the chain it had been holding. Its metal armor glowed red, but it was not melting. It rose again to its feet.

  We would need a hotter fire than what a blue dragon such as Ysix could produce.

  Jaydra swooped low to the ground and seized one of the largest boulders on the hilltop. She spread her wings and soared up again.

  A harpoon narrowly missed Jaydra, and I glanced back to see it skim past Bower. He ducked closer to Jaydra’s spines.

  Looking down, I judged us to be high enough and called out to Jaydra, “Now!”

  She released the boulder. It fell, smashing onto one of the Iron Guards holding Ysix and pinning the guard to the ground.

  But Ysix was still tangled in chains.

  Ryland came hurtling past, his dragon roaring. The dragon seized an Iron Guard in a grip that would have crushed any weaker creature. It swept the Iron Guard up into the air and then dropped it from high into the sky, sending it tumbling, its arms and legs flailing even as it crashed onto the sharp rocks below.

  Four other Iron Guards swarmed over onto Ysix, trying to hold her while the others raised their bows again.

  One harpoon missed and Jaydra batted another aside with her tail, sending it slamming back at the Iron Guard.

  “Bower, you’ve read the stories of the Dragon Riders. How do we fight this?”

  He shook his head. “I never read of this happening. This is a new weapon—we need a new attack!”

  Before I could ask what he meant, the air around us seemed to darken and chill. It was too much like the dream of the darkness. Cold seemed to seep under my skin and spread through me like a sickness.

  Below us the forest seemed to move—but it wasn’t the trees moving. No, Enric’s army became visible, stepping out from under the trees, a force so vast I had no idea how we could ever defeat them

  But there was something else here—I could feel Enric here as one feels the ice of a freezing winter.

  20

  Countering the King

  “It’s an ambush!” I shouted to Saffron.

  I had thought we had only fifteen Iron Guards and a few troops to deal with, but now I saw mounted horsemen and infantry in such large numbers that this had to be nearly the entire army of Torvald.

  How had he hidden them? Or gotten them here so quickly? Or had they been on the march here ever since our first fight against the Iron Guard? He must have thought to crush us early, before we had a chance to prepare.

  I glanced around at the few dragons we had in the air, and then called out to Saffron, “We have to pull back!”

  She didn’t seem to hear me. But I could see from the direction of her gaze that she was staring at the army that was appearing over the land like a dark tide.

  Neither of us had ever seen a battle of this size, but at least I had read the accounts in a few books. I also knew what happened when a large force such as this met a small one, such as the one we had. “We aren’t ready for this battle. We lack the numbers we need.”

  She pointed below us. “We have to free Ysix. Call in the other dragons. Any other dragon. All the other dragons.”

  She was right. Our only hope might be the havoc the immense Crimson Reds could cause.

  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and reached inside to the place where I could feel the tingle of Jaydra’s thoughts.

  In the next instant, I could feel Ysix’s anger and pain. Jaydra’s desperation filled my mind. I sensed the black dragons panic and their need to reach Ysix.

  And then I stretched out beyond these dragons.

  The world suddenly seemed filled with dragons—some curious about me, some insulted that I would disturb them, some excited about my contact. Breathing hard, my heart pounding, I sent my thoughts to all I could touch.
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  We call for your aid. Come protect your brothers and sisters, your winged family that makes their home in the skies.

  A pulse of power seemed to ripple out of me and shimmered on my skin like sunlight. The hairs on the back of my neck and the back of my arms rose. A tingling vibrated in my chest and head. This was like the feeling I’d had when Saffron had called on her magic—but it was also different. For now I could feel a pulse that seemed to extend in every direction, as if I was hearing the heartbeat of every dragon in the word..

  The sensation vanished in an instant as a single word floated up from the forest below us.

  “Fools.”

  Eyes flying open, I stared down at the Iron Guard below, which now numbered at least a few hundred. They faced the sky, ominously still now.

  And I knew Enric was speaking through them.

  But then Saffron turned, slapped my arm and pointed to a single black steed. The rider wore pale, gold armor. Even this far away, I could see the waxy sheen of his skin and the glint of a crown on his head.

  Enric.

  The contrast between his glittering armor and his soldiers with their dark uniforms and grim, shadowed faces seemed as stark as the contrast between day and night.

  An army of mounted knights surrounded Enric. Behind them rumbled stranger contraptions pulled by black horses.

  Enric raised one white hand and the world seemed to still. I could not even hear the whisper of the wind. There was only Enric’s voice.

  “Foolish children, you have disobeyed the rightful king for too long! I gave you, Saffron Maddox, the chance to reign at my side, to learn who and what you are, and all you do is cavort with dragons and traitors. May you all be cursed!”

  At the last word, a force seemed to erupt from the Iron Guard, like a wave made of pure air. It spun up, dust marking its path and hit like a gale. The blast left my limbs aching. Pain slammed into my chest. I clutched at it, unable to draw a breath.

  Saffron cried out and doubled over, and Jaydra for a moment tumbled free before she could right herself with a rumble. Around me, I saw the other dragons and riders tumbling as if rocked by a sudden wind.

  How can we fight against this?

  I had no magic like Enric. I had no army of metal soldiers to do my bidding. My eyes stung and I wanted suddenly to turn and run. Enric was right—I was nothing. I had—

  Bower has no magic. Bower has Saffron.

  Jaydra’s thoughts spun into me and seemed to be the slap of warmth I needed. I straightened. Jaydra was right. I had Saffron—she had me. We had beaten back Enric’s magic in the dream. Why not do the same here and now.

  “Saffron, take my hand!” I reached forward to touch Saffron’s shoulder. Despite how my arms ached with the residue of Enric’s curse, the connection I had with Saffron and Jaydra thrummed between us. Warmth bled into me, pushing back the chill that had seemed to seize my heart.

  I went beyond that—reaching out again to every other dragon in the world.

  “What are you doing?” Saffron mumbled. Jaydra began to steady in the air.

  “It’s our connection. I am connected to every dragon, and to you. And you have your magic. Use that! Use your magic through me—through the dragons. Enric might have an army and his Iron Guard, but we have our dragons.

  Saffron stiffened, but then she held out her hands. Her power glittered on her fingertips and spread up to her wrist and then to her arms. It was a like the rising spark of a dragon’s fire, growing hotter and building into an explosive power.

  The ache left my arms, and the world seemed to warm.

  Saffron was doing this—she was pushing back Enric’s magic. But Jaydra gave a shriek and wobbled in the sky. I glanced down to see a blackened harpoon jutting from Jaydra’s side. It had slipped between her scales and dark blood began to well. It was distraction enough.

  “Jaydra!” Saffron screamed the word. The glow of Saffron’s power began to fade. I could feel panic pouring out of Saffron and into me through our connection—and then Saffron’s power erupted with a flash.

  21

  Riders on the Storm

  One instant I seemed to be connected with Bower—and with more dragons than I knew existed. The next, my own side throbbed with an echo of Jaydra’s pain. My heart seemed to stutter and then the magic I had been holding within me uncoiled and took over.

  “Saffron!”

  I heard Bower’s yell as if from far away. I knew without looking that he was staring at me, eyes wide, but I had slipped to another place. It was as if I could see everything at once from high up in the clouds and also from very close. Black dragons tumbled and scrambled away. The army below seemed to shrink back. Even Enric’s illusion of youth and power faded. Only the Iron Guard stood still and unmoved.

  I felt oddly detached from everything, and I watched myself as if it was someone else muttering the ancient, odd sounds that tumbled from my lips. My hands, raised in the air, moved of their own accord, making shapes I knew but did not know. Drawing power I did not recognize, but also knew within my heart would crush those who had harmed me.

  For to harm Jaydra was to strike at me.

  My magic would not stand for that.

  Den-sister, come back to us!

  Jaydra’s thoughts reached me, but only barely.

  For now my head could only heed the power that filled my heart.

  Lifting my head, I muttered in a tone of voice that seemed to be someone else’s voice. I spoke the words that called down fury, that pulled the storm from the sky. I wanted the world to hurt as I hurt. I wanted the storm to rage as I raged.

  A boom split the sky, the answer to my words. Dark clouds boiled up, turning the day to night. Rain began to fall, and wind howled.

  And still it was not enough. My anger and rage wanted more. I was fury.

  Saffron?

  Jaydra once again tugged at my thoughts, but her worry could not sooth the pain in my soul. My power was unleashed—and it would only be satisfied with the storm I was pulling

  Jaydra lurched to one side. I could hear Bower shouting as if from miles away. And Ysix screamed in fury and agony that found a home within me.

  Rain began to lash my face, fierce as I was. Storm clouds swirled and thickened. But it was still not enough for me.

  “Saffron?” Bower shouted.

  I couldn’t seem to think what he wanted. Power raged through me, and Bower’s clumsy attempts to reach me were less even than Enric’s futile grabs for my attention.

  I was the storm now. I was cleansing rain and wind that would sweep away all who stood in my path.

  Jaydra. Use tail. Use chain against the guards. Bower’s words made no sense to me, but from miles up in the clouds I saw him unclip himself from his harness and crawl with a dagger in hand to where the black harpoon lodged in my side. Or was that in Jaydra? I could no longer tell.

  From far below, Enric bellowed through his Iron Guard, “Surrender! Surrender your dragons!” With a twist of my hand, I turned the rain to hail, sharp and biting. Everything seemed to be happening not to me, but to someone else, someone far away. I caught a hailstone almost as big as my thumb and stared at it, then tossed it to let it fall on its way to the army below.

  Spreading my arms wide, I spread myself into the wind—into the storm.

  Glancing down, I saw Enric, surrounded by his knights, staring up at us, watching what he thought was our demise.

  We’ll see who is the fool now.

  The hail grew, becoming as large as my fist at my command. They pummeled dragon, rider army, king and Iron Guard—for my magic wanted all to hurt. All to feel my pain.

  I raged—and the sky raged back at me.

  Lightning streaked down from the black clouds I had called, scorching the ground, striking down one Iron Guard.

  I knew suddenly I would blast the world—I was the lightning, I was the storm. I was—

  Saffron!

  Jaydra’s urgent plea shook me from my magic—I was suddenly in my b
ody again and not in the clouds. Glancing around, I saw Jaydra was being pulled down to the ground by the Iron Guard and the chain attached to her side and the harpoon.

  She suddenly whipped around in the air, pulling on the chain that held her. She lashed out with her tail, striking the Iron Guard, sending them toppling like dominoes. They released their grip and Jaydra soared back into the air, roaring, the heavy iron chain still dangling from her side. With a slash, Bower cut a gash and the harpoon dropped away, out of Jaydra’s hide.

  Jaydra’s mind brushed against mine, as close as if she had never vanished.

  Jaydra, where did you go?

  Where did Jaydra go? Saffron’s magic took Saffron away. Jaydra couldn’t reach Saffron or Bower.

  Her fear drifted to me through her thoughts. I could see why, for the heaviest storm I had ever seen had fallen upon us.

  Bower climbed back to his harness, his knife bloody, and yelled, “You called the storm—can you send it away?”

  I shrugged and waved my hands. “I don’t know what I did. I just reacted to Jaydra being hurt. But where is Ysix?”

  Pointing down, I waved at the ice and hail now covering where I’d last seen Ysix.

  The Iron Guard that had held her now seemed to hold noting but frozen chains. Icicles from frozen rain weighted down their arms from the wind whipping against them, slowing them even more than the ice. Even the dragons were having problems flying in these conditions.

  But the ice was one thing the Iron Guard could not defeat. I saw that at once and shouted to Bower, “We have to use the ice and your idea together!”

  “The tail whips?” Bower asked.

  “Tell the other dragons, Bower. Talk to them as their king!” I gasped, the air biting cold in my lungs. I shivered and glanced around. The mountain dragons were handling the cold better than the island dragons, and I wondered how long even great Ysix of the warm Western Isles could last under this freezing sleet.