Chapter 6
Rayna
Since Onyx was restless the next day when she looked in on him, Rayna decided to take him out for the hunt. He would get plenty of rest while she was away in Texas. Conrad and the other slayers borrowed horses from the same stables, so they could all travel quickly.
Normally, they’d have left their mounts shortly before coming near the last Kandoran dragon sighting for the animals’ protection, but her stallion would guide the others and keep them out of harm’s way. While she could speak mind-to-mind to all creatures on some level, the other horses didn’t know Rayna and wouldn’t necessarily listen to her. Onyx would make certain they did as they were told and protect them if needed.
So far, they’d traveled about ten miles beyond the Taugud border just north of the former town of Newcastle—it was pretty much destroyed after the war—and stopped at the Canadian River. They let the horses drink water while they planned where to go next.
Conrad rubbed his chin. “They gotta be close to here. We spotted that pile of dragon shit half a mile back, and even the Kandoran gotta hydrate now and then.”
“Look over there.” One of the former NAC slayers pointed across the riverbank. “Fresh tracks, and looks like a big dragon’s.”
James was a large man with dark skin, tight dreadlocks, and a look in his eyes that said he’d seen many hardships in his life. Rayna estimated him to be in his early thirties like her. He was mostly quiet, so she knew to listen when he spoke.
“Good eye,” Maya said, narrowing her gaze to look that way.
She’d helped fill the silence during their journey and told Rayna a few things about herself. Her family immigrated from Mexico when she was five years old, and the dragons attacked when she was fifteen. She and her mother turned out to have the slayer gene, but not her father or two siblings.
While her mom rejected the urge to hunt, Maya, despite her young age, completed the ritual to become a full slayer. That required killing a dragon and eating its heart. Within minutes of doing it, one would begin a painful transition that would make a person stronger, faster, and able to recover from major injuries quickly. Now, she was twenty-two and one of the toughest women Rayna had met for her age. It was hard to imagine someone so young taking on such a dangerous responsibility. They’d compared scars along the way, which were rare since slayers usually healed fast. The wound had to be especially bad for a trace of it to be left.
Their body types were totally different despite each being a slayer. Rayna had a toned body with just a bit of extra curves in her chest and hips and stood about five and a half feet tall. Her hair was coppery brown and only reached a few inches past her shoulders.
Maya was shorter at only two inches above five feet and had an impressive hourglass figure that drew the eye when she walked. Her thick, black braid reached all the way to her waist. While she had a quick temper, she also loved to crack jokes and laugh.
“Let’s check the tracks and see if they can give us any clue which way the dragons went?” Rayna suggested.
Of course, if the Kandoran took off in flight, there wouldn’t be a trail to follow, but they might figure out a direction to hunt. They got back on their horses and used the I-44 bridge to cross the river since—by some miracle—dragons and war hadn’t destroyed it. There was a half-burnt car, scorch marks, and missing railing on one side, but otherwise, it appeared sturdy.
James took the lead while everyone else followed, constantly checking the skies for movement. It was quiet so far—almost too quiet. No bird or insect sounds or even wind. Once on the other side, they made their way down the riverbank to the tracks. The prints were large, indicating sizeable dragons, and there were about six. Those matched what the border guards had reported when they spotted them two days ago. The imprints had to be fresh since there had been hard rain early that morning, and the storm would have washed away anything older.
Rayna glanced at the sky, calculating it had to be around four in the afternoon. The Kandoran kept a later schedule than the shifters, so they must have been here no more than half an hour ago, maybe less.
“We just missed them,” she sighed.
James nodded. “I agree.”
“Damn, man.” Conrad clucked his tongue. “There’s even extras, so I can get more than one.”
Maya snorted. “Only if you can kill yours faster than us, and that…” She patted him on the back. “Is highly doubtful since you play with your prey like a cat.”
She wasn’t wrong. Rayna had never seen anyone toy with dragons as much as Conrad, slicing and dicing for ages before striking the killing blow. He also taunted them almost non-stop with demeaning remarks and a slew of curse words. It was the only time she ever felt sorry for an enemy.
“Hey, I gotta get my kicks wherever I can find ‘em,” he said with a toothy grin.
James rose from where he’d crouched over the prints. “I think they went west.”
“Then let’s head that way,” Rayna said.
They mounted their horses, following James’ innate sense of direction. She remembered hearing talk among the other slayers that he had an uncanny ability to track anything and rarely got it wrong. Since magic returned to the world with the dragons, so many oddities had popped up—good and bad. Some people gained abilities they didn’t have before, with no explanation for how or why. He wasn’t even a hybrid like her with sorcerer abilities.
They followed him for the next half hour until he stopped at a copse of trees and dismounted. As he patted his horse, he glanced over at them. “We’ll walk from here.”
All their mounts had taken the fireproof potion, but only Onyx had experience fighting Kandoran. He did fine against the humans, but he didn’t dare mess with the dragons in a direct confrontation. The most he did was kick them with his hooves if she was down and needed a distraction. Then Rayna took back over the fight before he got hurt.
Stay under the trees for cover unless you’re spotted, then you run for Taugud territory as fast as you can with the other horses, she said telepathically to him.
He snorted. I know that.
She rubbed his nose. True, but I still felt like I needed to say it.
Humans are odd…waste words.
Rayna almost responded that everyone thought he was the odd one, considering he liked to munch on dead dragons, but she left it alone. Let him think what he wanted as long as he stayed safe.
They began walking west up a gently rising slope. As they climbed, Rayna’s stomach began twisting in a knot. Something dark and deadly lay on the other side. It was a feeling she often got when she came close to Kandoran, especially groups of dragons. They emanated the evil magic that tainted them.
The mystical orb they’d used at the end of the war had cured most of the tainted, but some had been too far out of range. Those were the ones they had to keep hunting down. Nothing could cleanse man or beast if they’d been infected for a long time, and anyone who emitted the darkness she felt now was far beyond saving.
In silent agreement, all four of them slowed and crouched as they neared the rise. Her heart leaped into her throat when she peered over the top. Giant, green dragons lifted into the air and blasted fire straight at their faces.
“Shiiiit!” Conrad screamed.
The heat of the flames made Rayna’s eyes water. “Get down!”
They were all experienced slayers and knew what would happen next. Though she couldn’t see the others through the wall of fire enveloping them, she trusted they would lie flat on the ground the same as her. She’d barely pressed her cheek to the cool, damp earth before the loud snap of teeth sounded a foot above her head.
The fire disappeared, and she found the others in the prone position beside her. All of them had a mix of horror and relief in their gazes. The Kandoran had been clever, lying in wait, and it had nearly cost them their lives. She’d known they were close but not that close.
Rapid wing beats came from behind her, and Rayna rolled over to see six green dragons splitting off to bank and come back around for another attack. They had maybe a minute before their enemy returned. They’d become the prey in this hunt and needed to develop a strategy fast.
“Spread out,” she ordered.
These were large dragons, and at their current positions, only one or two could fly directly over their heads. To improve their odds, they needed to take down at least a few of them on the next pass.
After everyone was spaced about fifty feet apart, she called another command, “Don’t move until the flames hit your face, then drop to your knees and thrust your sword up into their stomachs. Try to cut as deep as you can.”
“Good idea,” James said, giving her a nod.
Gutted dragons tended to crash, which made it easier to finish them off. Every one of them was an experienced slayer and wouldn’t flinch in the face of danger. Those who did usually died within the first few months after completing their ritual. This job was not for the weak-willed or indecisive.
The dragons came back around and soared straight for them with their jaws wide open. Rayna was glad the trio of sorcerers who originally controlled the Kandoran were gone and couldn’t use them as puppets for their magic. They’d used spells to make the beasts shoot green fire that burned anything, including slayers and other dragons. She’d had some close calls during the war. Every time a Kandoran opened its mouth now, she had flashbacks and had to remind herself it wouldn’t happen again.
“Hold fast,” she reminded the others as the dragons neared them.
A hundred feet. Seventy-five. Fifty. Twenty. Rayna’s body shook with the need to move, but only once the wide jaws came within five feet did she drop to her knees and spread them to brace herself. Gripping her sword with both hands, she thrust it upward and plunged it into the dragon’s stomach. The beast screeched and tried to jerk away. She used every ounce of her enhanced strength to avoid losing the blade as the Kandoran’s momentum kept it moving forward. After a few feet, though, her weapon slid out with a spurt of blood splashing her face, and she barely managed to keep her grip on the hilt.
Rayna ducked as a tail swung to hit her, barely dodging it in time.
“Ahhh,” James cried out.
She glanced over and found he’d been thrown several feet and had a gash running from his cheek to the side of his head. Apparently, he hadn’t escaped his dragon’s tail. Maya lay gasping on the ground, also covered in blood, but no apparent injuries.
Rayna spun around, unable to find their fourth. “Conrad!”
“Hurry up. Get down here!” he called from below.
She twisted to find him at the bottom of the hill, already going after his dragon where it had crashed to the ground. He certainly got points for enthusiasm. Two other Kandoran were down there as well, but the fourth must not have been injured enough and stayed in the air. They rushed to finish them. Rayna found her dragon a couple of hundred meters away, screeching and trying to rise to its feet, but one of its wings was caught underneath it.
She leaped as the beast’s tail swung at her as she came close. If she hurried, this would be an easy kill, so she wasted no time running up the Kandoran’s back, switching out her sword for a dagger. Before her foe could buck her off, she dropped onto its long neck and plunged the blade into a small area just behind the skull where they were the most vulnerable. It was dead in moments, massive body going still.
“Anyone need help?” she called out.
A quick sweep told her Conrad and Maya had finished the other two they’d brought down. Rayna spotted James—despite his injury—running in the distance. The fourth Kandoran had crashed two hundred meters away, having soared much farther before succumbing to its injuries. The dragon was struggling and making squalling noises.
She couldn’t find the last two that they didn’t injure anywhere in sight. Unlike those who belonged to clans, these beasts weren’t very loyal to their brethren and behaved more like rogues. She was willing to bet they flew off and wouldn’t return anytime soon.
They’d missed their chance. On the bright side, the ones that escaped would be unlikely to come this way for a long time, making them less of a threat to Taugud territory. All the slayers got a kill, too, thankfully. That gave them about a week before they’d absolutely have to hunt again or become a threat to any dragon near them.
James returned from killing his beast, wiping the blood from his face with a cloth. The gash that had run from his head to his cheek was already closing. Rayna was relieved that none of them were seriously wounded.
“Well, that was a clusterfuck,” Conrad said as they walked back to the horses.
She glanced over at him. “It could have gone worse.”
Despite the surprise attack, no one was seriously injured or killed. They’d lost so many good people—slayers, humans, and even dragons on their side—during the war because of being outnumbered. Those who survived had become even better at fighting. They’d proved that today by reacting quickly and forming a strategy on the move.
James studied her, knitting his brows. “I don’t know how you live out here full-time and risk running into that many.”
She shrugged. “I pick my battles carefully. The Kandoran rarely roam in groups as large as this one, and I can handle two or three at a time—if I plan it right. Anytime I think there’s more than I can handle, I avoid them.”
Conrad snickered. “Havin’ a bloodthirsty horse helps if you gotta face more than one. He’s weird, but I wouldn’t mind havin’ a stallion like him if he had my back.”
“Ha!” Maya snorted. “As if any smart horse would put up with you. Even your girl’s mule hardly lets you ride him.”
He lifted his chin. “If the right stallion came along, I bet it would.”
James remained silent, but the corner of his mouth twitched as he held back a smile.
“I thought you still held a grudge against Onyx for that prank last year,” she said, giving Conrad a pointed look. “Or are you finally over that?”
He gave her an alarmed look, probably hoping she wouldn’t tell the other slayers about him being tied to her horse’s back, only wearing thin boxer shorts, and trotted all over a town in Tennessee. Rayna had supplied the horse, but Bailey and her friends had wanted revenge against him for something he’d done. It did give her a good laugh to hear him screaming when he woke up and realized what was happening.
“Oh, well, that wasn’t really Onyx’s fault.” Conrad cleared his throat. “We’re good now.”
They reached their mounts—still under the trees—and headed back for the fortress. It took a little over an hour, and Rayna was starving by the time they settled the horses in their stalls. She made sure Onyx had some fresh hay and oats, along with water, and gave him a quick rub down.
She exited the stable to find Titan and Kade—Aidan’s uncle—waiting for her.
“Hey,” she greeted them. “What’s going on?”
“We’ll leave directly after the noon meal tomorrow. I’ve taken care of everything, so I can be away for a couple of days to fly you,” Titan said, giving her a reassuring smile.
Kade was an older shifter whose black hair was half-covered in silver, and lines creased his brows. Their kind didn’t start to age until sometime in their ninth century or so. He still appeared healthy, with some muscle defining his shoulders and arms, but he moved slower than others younger than him. The most notable thing about him, though, was that he also had sorcerer powers. His primary ability being to see the future.
Rayna braced herself for whatever reason he’d have for coming out here to see her. “Kade, how are you?”
“I’m well. Thank you.” He dipped his chin in greeting. “I came to inform you that you must go directly to Galadon’s territory tomorrow before you visit the Faegud jakhal.”
She stiffened. “What? Why?”
“I sense he’ll be in danger and unable to handle the problem alone.”
Titan frowned at him. “From what?”
“I do not know the specifics, but I believe the Takaran will be involved.”
While such a pronouncement worried her, Rayna still found it hard to believe. “Galadon has been protecting his land for six centuries, all alone. Why would he need our help now?”
“Not always alone.” Kade shook his head. “Others have been guided to assist him during his greatest times of need, and now, it’s your turn.”
She wondered what he meant by that. “You know he hates me and has no desire to see me.”
The older shifter studied her. “You have unresolved feelings for him. I think this would be an excellent time to talk to him and attempt to work through those. Even if you fail, it will help you down your path.”
“Are you kidding me?” Rayna narrowed her eyes. “I saw him a few days ago, and he made it clear he wants nothing to do with me.”
“And yet, he came to you—far from his home and unable to resist.”
It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered that, but she’d decided it was pure chance. Not that he’d actually missed her. “He just yelled at me for getting too close to a Kandoran nest and left. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Oh, and how many shifters have checked on you or worried for your safety other than Titan in recent months?” Kade asked, giving her a knowing look.
“Well.” She shifted on her feet. “No one else, but…”
“Exactly my point. Go get in his obstinate face and tell him what is on your mind. Perhaps it will help, perhaps not, but at least you can find some closure,” he said, giving her a sympathetic look.
Rayna sighed. “I’ll consider it.”
“Good.” He smiled. “I wish you a successful journey.”
Titan shook his head at the older shifter before turning to Rayna. “I assume you’re hungry after your hunt?”
“Yes. Very.”
“Then join us for the midday meal,” he said, gesturing toward the fortress.
She considered it. The others in the great hall would give her looks, but the food would be better than what she could get from the village. “Okay. Sounds good.”