Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
ZANDYR
“ P ity, that,” I said, staring dispassionately at the fallen snake even as my own blood boiled with exhaustion. I instantly felt the Blood Brotherhood magic rushing after the first gushes of the monster’s blood as it seeped into the muddy riverbank; he had more of it in his veins than hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers.
One by one, the blood rivulets were guided from the shallow layer of dirt toward the river with a ferocity I hadn’t felt before.
The soldiers closest to the beast rushed away as the gore soaked the earth.
The other snakes hissed in unison, fearful.
Kleonos’ gaze finally lost that conceited glint as he twisted his head in shock. The ruckus startled his horse, who kicked its front legs up, almost throwing the Butcher off its back. Thankfully, I’d left Madrya in the safety of the camp.
Kleonos held on tightly to the reins, refusing to fall. He cursed at the horse, as if it was its fault.
The blood in my sword’s hilt swirled faster.
Soon.
“So much effort to magic the snakes, risk the Council’s wrath for breaking the rules of war, and dreading the beasts might gulp up your own soldiers in the dead of night.” I sighed dramatically. “Only to have them die on you right before a battle.”
“We have more snakes,” Kleonos hissed. “And they can scale that sham of an embankment faster than you can pray to your gods for mercy.”
The Butcher was finally angered.
Good.
I savored his clenched jaw and thinned lips. The surprise in his eyes was exquisite.
“They don’t look too happy.” I nodded at their slimy, writhing bodies as they tried to slither away from their fallen brother.
They must have smelled Elysia’s poison, which had been slowly eating away at the snake’s body these past few days.
“He’s eaten more deer than I anticipated or the pyres are too hot,” Elysia whispered, running her palm over her mouth so the Serpents couldn’t see. “His body should have collapsed closer to the water.”
“It’s close enough,” I said, barely moving my lips. The blood gushed out of him faster, thicker.
I felt the blood being accumulated into tight streams as they flowed in the river. The pressure in my own body was turning unbearable.
“They’ll be happy enough once they’ve had their fill of your warriors,” Kleonos shouted. “You’ve wasted your chance, Dragon. Your army will be destroyed and your Clan will fall, all because of you.”
The snake’s blood rushed upstream. With the beast dead, its blood was as unprotected by the veil as the fallen soldiers’ had been.
The water looked too murky for anyone near it to notice. But I felt it and I rejoiced.
Ryker tensed, breathing ragged.
Dark spots danced in front of my eyes from the pressure. I tilted my head to the side, trying to seem unaffected. “So you won’t accept my offer.”
“Offer?” Kleonos spit on the ground. “It’s an insult. You’re outnumbered.”
“My warriors are the best in Malhaven and we both know it.”
I sent a warning pulse through my powers. Kleonos’ pride had been tested enough.
He was ready to attack.
We were running out of time.
The blood streams raced up the river, entering the violent stream up into the dam. Droplets were beginning to dissipate in the water, despite the frantic hold on them.
If they spread out in the river, we’d all be dead.
My powers flowed out harder, draining every last drop of me.
My spine turned liquid and my knees shook, but I refused to bow.
I would have rather cut my own throat than fall in front of Kleonos, even from exhaustion.
“They might be.” Kleonos’ face contorted with a grin that was pure deviousness. “But we have the powers of three Clans on our side. You don’t.”
Three Clans?
I ignored my shock as the snake’s blood crawled through the ancient stone crevices, undisturbed by anything but water for eons.
Faster. You need to go faster.
My vision was blurring.
I could barely make out the shape of Kleonos as he raised his fancy, curved sword, which hadn’t seen one battle in this war.
The snake’s blood mixed in with the water and creeped through the small fractures in the mortar, vibrating and swelling in the fissures.
The stubborn rock held true, not budging.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
The blood pulsed harder in the fissures.
“Kleonos, say your prayers,” I said, gritting my teeth against the pain.
The bond pulsed with Evie’s energy. She was trying to keep me conscious. I distantly wondered how she could do that, half delirious from the blaze and the pain in my veins.
“It will be my pleasure to end you, Dragon. Soldiers!”
I felt the first crack in the Crimson Dam’s mortar as if my own spine had fractured.
The throbbing was unbearable, trying to snap me in two. I grinned through the agony.
The plan was working. Even if I drew my final breath here and now, I knew my warriors would survive.
The crack spidered through the dam.
“That’s been your problem since the start of this war, Kleonos,” I growled. “You thought a Serpent could defeat a Dragon.”
As soon as the words rushed out of my mouth, Ryker’s unconscious body collapsed with exhaustion. Elysia and Myron rushed to steady him before our Brother hit the ground, as I blinked myself back to reality.
I yanked my powers away from Ryker’s blood as soon as I checked his vital signs were recovering fast.
The magical tether between us snapped–but we’d succeeded.
Ryker had gotten his Blood Brotherhood powers first and his mastery of them was unmatched. While I’d been struggling to keep him alive and his heart from imploding, Ryker had controlled the blood gushing from the snake, which Elysia had expertly extracted through her slow poisoning.
A true leader used every weapon and skill at their disposal.
An ominous boom resounded in the distance.
The Serpent army flinched as one.
The remaining snakes jerked wilder.
Realization finally darkened Kleonos’ face as his head whipped toward the Crimson Dam.
Only there wasn’t a dam there anymore.
That was the thing about blood–it could seep into anything, even ancient stones protected by forgotten magic.
No human hands could destroy the dam. Only nature could end it, chipping away through the generations. Nobody had guarded the dam from creatures, even magicked ones like this monster.
The snake’s blood had moved the water violently enough that the stones had finally succumbed to its might.
With his magic, Ryker had released the full force of the river.
Uncaged, the Obsidian gushed toward us with a deafening roar. The water began to swell hard and fast. In a blink, it had already engulfed the Serpent soldiers’ feet up to their ankles.
Kleonos stared at the currents with utter disbelief–which quickly morphed into horror as the water rose up his horse’s legs
“Attack!” he yelled, pure fear in his voice. Music to my ears. “Attack now!”
Finally unleashed, the first line of soldiers went against every survival instinct and sprinted into the surging river. Their sickening veins swelled even more.
This was Kleonos’ second mistake. The first had been underestimating my army.
A great big wave barreled from the dam, high enough to tower over the tops of the trees.
The Serpents screamed.
Half the army turned around and fled.
Kleonos yanked on his horse’s reins and followed, abandoning the battle.
The Obsidian river, which had nourished and protected my Clan for eons, engulfed the remaining soldiers. Their howls were lost in the roar of the waves which swallowed their bodies into the dark depths. One of the bigger snakes flailed as the current yanked it away, the rest trying to slither to safety.
The water reached the edge of our embankment, splashing me and the first line of warriors, who hadn’t moved an inch. The ground shook, but held true.
Kylian huffed in satisfaction. “Proper Blood Brotherhood craftmanship, that.”
Ryker shifted in Myron’s grip, groaning loudly. “Leave some of the Serpent soldiers for me.”
“You can have your fill once you open your eyes, Brother,” I said, not bothering to hide my triumphant smile.
The bond between me and Evie throbbed. She was screaming with joy on the other end.
I would come back to her, like she’d asked me to.
We’d done it.
We’d survived–and now we would take our revenge.
Despite all the odds and three Clans plotting against us.
As the water quieted, we saw the scattered Serpent army, running away. Whatever veil they’d used, it had been broken.
Kleonos rode faster, passing his troops without a second glance.
The horse would be spared, at least.
“Warriors!” I roared, unsheathing my sword. “They invaded our lands, killed our brothers and sisters, and left their own dead to rot.”
My warriors howled in response, weapons hissing through the air.
“Do what you must for the good of the Blood Brotherhood!” I pointed the tip of my sword at Kleonos’ back. It was time he met his fate. “But the Serpent general is mine .”