Chapter Nineteen
Kendrick’s gaze scanned far ahead as he flew. As soon as he shifted, he notified Con about what was happening. It took some doing to keep him and the other Kings from crossing onto Shecrish, but in the end, they realized it might not be ideal to cause even more of a stir.
Kendrick hadn’t been sure how he would feel about having someone on his back, but he found he didn’t mind it. It wasn’t as uncomfortable or awkward as he’d thought it might be. Yet his range of motion wasn’t as unrestricted as it normally was. He was all too aware of the two elves clinging to him. The slightest wrong move could cause them to slip off.
He grinned when he heard Dain chuckling. The Dark Elf was clearly enjoying himself. Esha was coming around. She no longer had a death grip on him. His thoughts halted when he spotted a small cloud of smoke rising from the forest in the distance. He rose a little higher in the sky to get a better look and saw that large sections of trees had been felled. It didn’t take long for him to find what was responsible.
The animal was twice the size of a blue whale. The nightwraith was a pale gray color and moved wickedly fast. The devastation it left in its wake was unbelievable. The trees hadn’t just been downed, the thing had shredded them. Kendrick hoped that if any elves or animals were nearby that they had gotten clear.
Kendrick flew faster. Neither Esha nor Dain had noticed the beast yet. Kendrick went through his options. If he were alone, he’d dive at the beast and battle it from the air, but he couldn’t do that with the two elves on his back. They might be able to hang on for a bit, but his attention would be divided, which wouldn’t do any of them any good.
The best thing to do would be to land now and get Esha and Dain somewhere safe. They would most likely argue, but he didn’t intend to listen. Kendrick hadn’t fought a nightwraith, but he had a better chance of surviving than his companions. He wouldn’t tell them that because they would argue that they should fight together. Esha would claim the creature was after her, but Kendrick wasn’t so sure. It seemed more likely that he was the target. Who had sent it was another matter. But he’d get to the bottom of that soon enough. First, he had to handle the rampaging creature.
Kendrick looked for a place to land. He found an area far enough away from the nightwraith that it would keep Esha and Dain safe until he finished with it. As he descended rapidly, Esha’s fingers gripped his scales.
Behind her, Dain said, “There it is. What are you doing, Kendrick? Go toward it.”
Since he couldn’t speak to them telepathically, there was no way to tell them his plan. Which was good because he didn’t have time to argue his point.
“He’s not taking us to it,” Esha told Dain.
Kendrick tilted slightly to one side, then the other. They both held on tightly. He hoped that proved his point, but when Dain began arguing, Kendrick knew the elf hadn’t gotten the message.
“We’ll join the fight one way or another,” Esha told him.
Kendrick growled, letting the sound rumble through him.
Esha leaned low and said, “You know I’m right. Take us. We do this together.”
Kendrick continued his trajectory to land, when he happened to glance toward the nightwraith. The animal locked eyes with Kendrick and halted in its tracks. It was unlike any animal Kendrick had ever seen. It had a large head with a massive mouth and enormous fangs. Mammoth-sized tusks protruded from either side of its head and extended past the creature’s shoulders, curving upward into sharp points.
The nightwraith’s upper body was humanoid. It had long arms with three digits on each hand tipped in claws. It looked like it had plating over its thick skin along its arms and up to its shoulders, but as Kendrick flew closer, he realized it was the shards Dain had mentioned. The lower half of the beast looked like a snake, and the nightwraith used it as efficiently as a dragon did its tail.
It was headed right for them.
“Kendrick!” Esha shouted.
He dipped his right wing slightly to move away, but the creature matched him immediately. There was no way he could get Esha and Dain to safety on the ground before he and the animal collided. Kendrick could turn around, but that would put more elves in the nightwraith’s way. By the way it homed in on him, Kendrick knew the beast had been searching for one of them.
Kendrick quickly scanned the area and saw nothing but trees below him. The nightwraith had laid waste to much of it, and Kendrick wished they were in a more open space, but there was no time for that. His real concern now was his friends on his back.
In the middle of formulating a plan of attack, Kendrick caught sight of something. He spotted the shard from the nightwraith just before it tore through his wing. Kendrick jerked his wing up, which caused his body to tilt. He felt Esha slip from his back, and his heart leapt into his throat.
“More shards are coming!” Dain shouted in warning.
Kendrick hoped the elf was holding on because all he cared about right now was getting hold of Esha. Kendrick caught sight of Esha falling and spun around. Dain tried to hold on, but he fell, too. The Dark Elf managed to grab hold of Kendrick’s wing. Kendrick dove for Esha and snatched her out of the air with his hand. He glanced down at her to see her holding on to him tightly before she lifted her head and met his gaze.
Dain pulled himself up and climbed back into position just as a dozen more shards came at them. Kendrick tucked his wings and dove, but he wasn’t quick enough. One of the shards struck him where his wing met his body. He let out a roar of rage as pain burned through him. Thankfully, Dain pulled the spike out, easing some of Kendrick’s pain.
They were on the defensive, and that wasn’t how Kendrick wanted this battle to go. He could use dragon fire, but it would decimate the forest. He would leave that as a last resort. He had some other tricks up his sleeve. But first, he had to get the elves to safety.
“Fly low,” Dain shouted. “Really low. I’ll jump off.”
It was a decent plan, but it wasn’t without consequence. Yet it gave Kendrick what he needed.
“Drop me with him,” Esha said.
A growl rumbled through Kendrick when another volley of shards came at them. He turned himself to keep any from finding their mark in Dain, though two other slivers sliced through his wings, and a few bounced off his scales.
Kendrick swung back toward the nightwraith. He spotted an area the creature had cleared in its furious search for them and dove toward it. Kendrick tucked his wings and held his hand against him to protect Esha. Dain leaned forward so his upper body was flush against Kendrick’s scales.
As Kendrick neared the ground, Dain pushed up with his hands and got his feet beneath him. Kendrick hoped the elf realized when it was time, but he shouldn’t have worried. Dain waited until the last possible second and then jumped clear, tucking his body and somersaulting in the air twice before landing on his feet. At the same time, Kendrick lowered his arm and opened his hand. Esha jumped safely to the ground, pulling her sword from its scabbard as she did.
Kendrick wanted to see if they were all right, but he kept his gaze on the beast before him. He could’ve sworn the animal smiled as he approached. Kendrick kept his wings tucked against him as the nightwraith released more shards. They bounced off Kendrick. He flew over the animal, just out of reach. The creature screamed in fury and turned to track him. Which meant it never saw Kendrick’s tail coming at it.
The barbed end embedded in the creature’s neck. Kendrick spread his wings and flew upward, intending to drag the nightwraith with him. But the animal was more clever than he realized. As he climbed, the nightwraith managed to get its mouth around his tail. Its shards might not be able to penetrate Kendrick’s scales, but it was intent on sinking its fangs into him.
With a flick of his tail, Kendrick released the nightwraith and watched it plummet. Kendrick dipped a wing and swung around as the animal crashed into the ground. He hoped it was enough to kill the creature. He stared for a heartbeat before sweeping the nearby area for Esha and Dain. To his relief, he saw both elves running toward the nightwraith. They halted when they caught sight of the thing.
Kendrick was about to land when he saw the beast move. To his shock, the nightwraith pulled itself up and looked around for its target. Kendrick roared a warning at Esha and Dain as he flew over the animal and raked his talons down its back.
The nightwraith screamed in pain and rage. Kendrick quickly zoomed upward as shards came at him again. More cut through his wings, leaving behind sizzles of pain. He finally halted and hovered far above the animal. Kendrick looked down to find the nightwraith trying desperately to jump as if it could reach him.
Kendrick readied for his next attack when he saw Esha and Dain coming at the nightwraith from different directions. Everything Dain had said about the beast rushed through Kendrick’s head, and all he could think about was Esha being killed.
Nay!
No one heard his bellow. Kendrick tucked his wings and dove again. This time, he was sure the creature smiled. Kendrick didn’t care as long as its attention was on him and not his friends. The nightwraith lowered itself as if it were about to spring. It had learned from Kendrick’s previous attack. The animal was smart and clever, a deadly combination for sure. No wonder Dain was terrified of it.
That didn’t stop the Dark Elf from attacking, though.
Right as Kendrick flew over the nightwraith, Dain appeared behind it and plunged his sword into the animal’s back. It screamed and turned to strike Dain. Esha ran toward the nightwraith, her sword glowing gold. She jumped and sliced the beast’s neck and then rolled away right as Kendrick raked his claws over the beast again.
He sighed when Dain used the shadows to get both him and Esha clear. Then Kendrick circled back around for another strike.