Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Katla’s first jump was easy, but it took her four attempts to teleport the second time. Each second wasted added to her anxiety, which made everything more difficult. It was a cycle she had to break quickly. She only managed to cross a short distance on her second attempt. She was about to try a third time when Kora burst through the trees, Derek right behind her.
“ Wait ,” Kora said.
“ What are you doing? You had Villette ,” Katla demanded when they stopped beside her.
Derek raked a hand through his black hair, shoving the thick locks away from his face. “ Helping Merrill .”
“ What about Villette ?”
Kora braced her hand on a tree trunk as she drew in long breaths. “ We’ll find her again. Merrill needs us. And it’s like I told you. We owe him.”
Katla sighed in relief. “ I’m happy to see you both.”
“ Next time, tell us your plan,” Kora said as she straightened.
Derek caught her eye. “ I’ve alerted Con about Merrill .”
It was the right thing to do, but that didn’t mean Katla was happy about it. Merrill shouldn’t have to face his brethren, and they shouldn’t have to…remove him if it came down to it.
“ There must be some way to reverse what they did to him,” Kora said.
A roar danced upon the breeze, reverberating over the land. All of them knew it was Merrill . Katla grabbed the couple and tried to teleport again, but her ability failed her once more.
“ If there was a way to reverse it, the Star People would’ve found it,” Derek said.
Kora shook her head. “ I don’t believe that.”
Katla shut out their words and concentrated. Merrill was in trouble. She needed to be there for him. Had to stop him from doing something that would do irreparable harm to his soul. When her magic let her down again, she threw back her head and yelled in frustration. The release of anxiety and fear helped, but only for a moment.
“ You’ve teleported before. You can do it again,” Kora said.
Katla shook her head. “ I must get to him now. I can’t wait.”
“ Then I’ll get us there,” Derek said.
Villette wasn’t there to cloak them. They would be visible to anyone who looked up. It would incite more fear and hatred, but they had no choice. She couldn’t take more time teleporting small distances.
Derek shifted. Within moments, she and Kora were situated on his back. Then he was in the air. She had really believed she could get to Merrill before he tipped into madness. She could blame Villette for waiting too long to come to her or herself for not believing Villette sooner, but it didn’t change the outcome. A new kind of apprehension gripped her. For the Dragon Kings . For the humans.
For Merrill .
It didn’t matter whose plan this was. Katla didn’t care who set things in motion. All she wanted was to stop Merrill —however possible.
The first scream that rent the air startled her. Kora mumbled something and looked down. Katla followed her gaze and saw the people. More screams joined the first. Had they made a mistake? Would this flight be what set the war into motion? Again , she couldn’t find it in herself to care when so much more was at stake.
It wasn’t just Merrill’s soul. It was anyone he came in contact with. It was the innocents going about their days, not realizing that death was headed straight for them. It was for the dragons and all others with magic.
Maybe they had been in a war all along and never knew it. Merrill’s capture and torture turning him into this might very well be the thing that ripped the curtain away and exposed the truth—a reality no one had wanted to see.
Kora looked over her shoulder, then nudged Katla to do the same. Katla turned and saw other dragons behind them. They flew higher but were headed in the same direction. She didn’t know for sure what the Kings would do to Merrill , but she had an idea. Katla’s eyes burned with tears when she spotted Varek’s lichen scales. He was ahead of the others, flying fast to catch Derek .
“ Hurry ,” Katla said, leaning over Derek .
A grunt rumbled through Derek as he sped up.
“ What is it?” Kora yelled over the wind to be heard.
Katla leaned close to her so the wind wouldn’t snatch her words. “ It shouldn’t be one of the Kings who has to stop him.”
Kora stared at her for another minute before she nodded and turned to lay low over Derek’s neck. It must have been some sort of instruction because Derek increased his speed even more. Katla had to grab hold of Kora to keep from slipping off. She searched the horizon, hoping to spotting Merrill . But the setting sun, with its vibrant colors, made it difficult to see.
“ Katla !” Kora shouted and pointed up.
She spotted a dark shape just before it moved into the clouds, but there had been no mistaking the orange scales. It was Merrill . Derek altered his course to follow him. Katla’s trepidation doubled when they flew into the thick, puffy clouds. It was a reminder of her ride with Merrill .
They burst from one cloud before disappearing into another. Then another. The clouds made it difficult to see, and the sun blinded her from the front. Katla had to turn her head to either side to make out anything.
She noticed one cloud that seemed to billow toward her. The next second, orange scales erupted out of it. Merrill’s claws reached for Derek’s wings. Derek jerked to the side to stay out of Merrill’s way. Merrill swung around and headed toward them again. This time, his huge claws took aim at her and Kora .
Derek’s wings snapped shut, and he angled his body as he dove. Merrill’s claw was inches from Katla’s face when she found herself suddenly plunging toward the ground. The force of the wind lifted her from Derek . Even Kora had a hard time holding on. Katla watched in horror as Merrill came at them again. Just before he reached them, Varek rammed him. The two locked together, talons and teeth slashing and biting.
Katla craned her neck one way and then the other to keep Merrill and Varek in sight. Derek spun around so the sun was behind them. It made it easier to watch the battle. The other dragons gave Varek and Merrill a wide birth. She wasn’t surprised to see Con’s gold scales. There was a dragon with sea green scales, another with sapphire scales, and a third with gold on top but beige on his stomach.
The battle was loud and wild, with a feral nature that took her aback. It was a fight with only one winner. She didn’t know how they stayed in the air with teeth and claws cutting wings, but they somehow did.
It soon became apparent that Varek was dragging Merrill north, where they had been days earlier. The area was uninhabited, so if there was going to be a fight on this side of the border, it was likely the best place for it.
Katla winced when Varek slashed his talons across Merrill’s chest, drawing blood. Merrill didn’t even react, almost as if he didn’t feel it. In retaliation, he clamped his jaws around Varek’s neck, then threw him.
Right into them.
Derek tried to adjust but couldn’t move quickly enough with her and Kora on his back. He wasn’t able to get out of the way in time. All they could do was prepare as Varek collided with them.
The impact sent Katla tumbling backward, head over heels. The edge of Derek’s wing knocked into her head. Dots edged her vision, and the wind howled ferociously around her. There was nothing to grab hold of. She tried to concentrate but was wavering in and out of consciousness. She was falling. At any moment, she would hit the ground and die, but there was nothing she could do about it. The answer was just out of reach. If only she could focus.
The wind suddenly quieted, and she was cradled in darkness. She thought she heard the flapping of wings but stopped caring as she lost consciousness.