Chapter 21 #2
Unfortunately, the protection didn’t help her control the dragon magic that continued to pulse out of her in sharp, agonizing bursts. It felt like Gabriela was digging her talons into Wynn’s soul and yanking out her very essence.
Gabriela continued to pull on the crimson strand deep inside Wynn, but she didn’t use it to attack. Instead, she absorbed the power to spread her greenish evil aura across the stone floor.
She must have realized she couldn’t win in a fair fight against Azh.
Watching in horror as the evil crawled toward the male, Wynn shoved herself to a standing position. The pain continued to batter her, along with the unbearable heat, but she had to do something.
Frantic, utterly unfeasible plans were whirling through her brain when Azh abruptly swiveled away from Gabriela, aiming his magic toward the shimmering strand that ran from the portal to the female dragon.
“What are you doing?” Gabriela demanded, more annoyed than frightened.
Then the shimmering strand started to expand, moving over her back and along the spread of her wings until they were encased in delicate threads.
To Wynn, it looked as if the magic were wrapping the female in a spiderweb.
Or a cocoon. “Stop,” Gabriela commanded, blasting Azh with crimson flames.
Azh managed to deflect most of the fire, but Wynn didn’t miss the stench of scorched flesh. He’d been wounded, she just didn’t know how grievously. Grimly he continued to pump his magic into the strand.
“There’s no escape,” he warned Gabriela. “You’ll be trapped here forever.”
The female screeched in frustration, the greenish glow trying to battle against the silvery web that continued to coat her in a layer of magic. Then, accepting she was losing the battle, Gabriela abruptly turned to point toward Wynn.
“Release me or your female dies,” she warned, the flames already dancing around her fingers.
Wynn sucked in a horrified breath, caught between the terror of dying in a fiery blast and the fear that Azh might sacrifice himself to save her. Instinctively she shoved her hands in the pockets of her coat, holding it tight against her body as if it could shield her from the dragon fire.
That was when her fingers curled around a familiar object and the half-baked plots still whirling around her brain coalesced into one perfectly crazy plan.
“Azh, end this,” she called out at the same time she tossed the skipping stone through the open portal.
Once it disappeared she grabbed the second stone in her pocket and rubbed it with a frantic urgency.
For once, luck was on her side. With none of the usual lag time, the spell snapped into place.
Magic lashed around her and the pit abruptly disappeared as she was jerked from the pit and into the brilliant blue sky of Kazak.
She’d gone so fast the stone hadn’t had time to land, which meant she was left to free fall toward the rolling meadows far, far below her.
Oddly, Wynn wasn’t alarmed. Maybe it was the endless danger she’d endured over the past weeks and months. She’d faced nightmares, zombies, green gooey evil, dragons, the memory of being burned alive, and now falling from the heavens with no parachute.
It was bound to numb her nerves at some point.
But as she watched the violent flashes that leaked through the rift above her, she realized she was waiting. And a few minutes later she watched as a massive, blue-and-silver dragon burst out of the portal to nosedive toward her with blinding speed.
She’d been confident that Azh would destroy Gabriela and appear just in time to rescue her from splatting onto the ground.
Swooping beneath her plummeting body, Azh angled upward, allowing her to land on his back before he was gently floating down and landing on a sandy beach next to the vast ocean.
“I’ve got you,” Azh assured her, the words spoken directly in her mind even as his dragon tilted back its head to roar in triumph.
“I know. I’ve always known.”
Wynn smiled, watching the greenish glow that leaked through the rift fading from view, a sure sign that Gabriela was finally destroyed. It was all the reassurance she needed before she allowed the bone-deep weariness to overcome her willpower and she slipped into a welcomed darkness.
* * * *
Maya was running on sheer adrenaline by the time Micha’s jet landed in New York and she hurried through the early morning shadows to reach Hexx’s apartment. Once inside she found Tia still kneeling next to the unconscious Joe, her face pale and her shoulders slumped with weariness.
Taking a second to sweep the cluttered apartment for a hidden enemy, Maya crouched next to her friend and closed her eyes. Then, concentrating on the mental connection she’d created with her friend centuries ago, she stepped into Tia’s mind.
Nothing had changed since the last time she was there. The mist was still thick enough to make it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of her, except for the spot where Joe was wrapped in glowing green tentacles of magic next to a bubbling pool of sludge.
She was taking a step forward when Tia appeared next to her, grabbing Maya’s arm in a tight grip.
“Stay back,” she hissed. “Something’s happening.”
Confused, Maya stared at the image in front of her, belatedly realizing that she’d been wrong.
There was something different. In the very center of the pool the sludge was changing shade from green to deep crimson.
And the crimson was spreading. Was the evil growing in strength? Or was this a new enemy?
“That’s why I’m here,” Maya announced.
Tia sent her a hopeful glance. “You found the answer to stopping the corruption?”
Maya grimaced. “Not exactly. But there is a prophecy that we think speaks about the evil.”
“A prophecy?” Tia studied her with a hard expression. “That’s it?”
Maya shrugged. “I was sent by Skye. I think you should listen.”
Tia’s jaw tightened as she resisted the urge to tell Maya exactly what she could do with her stupid prophecy. As frustrated as Tia might be, the older woman couldn’t have forgotten that Skye’s premonitions had saved the world more than once.
“Fine. What’s the prophecy?”
Maya had rehearsed the words until she had them memorized.
“‘When the corruption bubbles in the bowels of the ground and violence spreads throughout the land, the heart of darkness will strike from beyond the prison walls. Those too blind to see will drown in the evil while the watchers will be devoured by fire. To survive you must stand steady against the unseen traitor.’”
Tia’s eyes flared with annoyance. “Strike from beyond prison walls? Unseen traitor? How is that supposed to help?”
The older woman’s petulant complaints were abruptly cut off as the ground shook beneath their feet and the center of the pool of bubbling magic exploded upward.
Like Old Faithful erupting to send scalding water into the air.
They stumbled backward to avoid the drops of evil magic splattering around them.
“What the hell was that?” Maya demanded.
“I have no idea.” Tia was pulling a handful of small beads from her pocket, clearly preparing to throw the powerful potions at whatever new threat crawled out of the churning pool.
But as the seconds passed there was nothing more sinister than a tendril of bluish-gray smoke that spread over the puddle of corruption, visibly destroying it.
“Look at that,” Tia rasped. “The sludge is dying.”
“Is Joe doing that?” Maya asked. The healing magic felt as if it were coming from beneath the mist, but it was impossible to pinpoint the location.
“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Tia cautiously inched toward the unconscious male being slowly revealed as the tendrils faded away. “I just want him out of here. Then I’m going to lock him in my castle and let the world take care of itself for a change.”
Maya’s lips twitched. Tia had loudly and proudly proclaimed her independence for years. She didn’t need friends or allies, and she would have laughed herself silly if anyone suggested that she might find happiness in a romantic relationship.
It seemed fitting that when she at last accepted that she had room in her life for a lover, she would pick the most powerful being in the world. A male who would drive any sane person to the edge and who regularly wandered around the streets like a homeless vagrant. They were a perfect combination.
“Good for you,” Maya announced, then a vague movement in the mist warned her that they weren’t alone. “Tia.”
Leaping forward, Maya knocked her friend to the ground, barely avoiding the blast of fire that sizzled an inch above their heads.
“Dragon,” Tia hissed, rolling to the side and throwing her handful of potions toward the shadowed form that darted through the fog.
There was a roar of fury as the beads exploded to send nasty shards of magic sailing through the mist. The creature had been wounded, but it was doubtful it was more than an annoyance.
“Move out of my way or die,” a female voice commanded from the mist, more flames flowing in their direction.
Maya lifted her hands to weave a complicated shield that diverted the fire to the side. The emerald that hung from the chain around her neck glowed in the darkness, amping up her power. Thank the goddess she’d taken the time to restore the magic stored in the gem before she left New Orleans.
“I’ll shield, you kill,” she said between clenched teeth.
Trusting in Maya’s ability to keep the fierce flames from toasting them into tiny bits of charcoal, Tia rose to her feet and called on her magic.
She whispered the ancient words as she released a mire spell, spinning the magic toward the form that suddenly halted as it was trapped in the silvery webs.
“No.” The fire came again, but this time it was directed toward the unconscious male. “He’s mine.”
Maya barely managed to deflect the flames. “I’m guessing she’s not a fan of your Watcher,” she muttered.
The mist parted to reveal the tall female surrounded by a blindingly powerful aura.
It was hard to imagine how she’d managed to keep herself hidden despite the thickness of the fog.
Maya blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting so she could make out the sheer satin robe that the woman was wearing.
It was flimsy enough to reveal the bronzed scales that protected the dragon skin while her brilliant red hair was left to hang down her back.
Still stuck in the mire spell, she continued to send bursts of fire toward Joe.
“The bastard imprisoned my people and turned my own son against me,” the female hissed. “I will destroy him for that.”
“Zanna,” Maya muttered in disbelief. She should have suspected when Azh showed up that his mother wouldn’t be far behind.
The one-time Queen of the Dragons had made it her ambition to destroy the Watchers since they had forced her to sign the dragon/vampire treaty eons ago.
And nothing was going to stop her. “How do you keep escaping out of hibernation?”
Zanna shrugged. “I used the magic I could sense attacking that annoying creature.” Her too-beautiful features twisted into an expression of evil anticipation. “It allowed me to slip through the barrier. Now I at last will have my revenge.”
Tia sent another weave of magic toward the dragon, but with a wave of her hand Zanna managed to unravel the spell. At the same time, she broke free of the webs holding her captive.
Maya barely noticed. Instead she glanced back at the pool of sludge that was fading to a sickly shade of ash. More importantly, it no longer bubbled with power. It was being sucked back into whatever hole had allowed it to enter the mist.
“You’re connected to the sludge?” she asked.
“Sludge? It’s dragon magic,” Zanna snarled. “The most powerful I’ve ever felt.”
“Yeah, well, it’s also dying.” Maya pointed out the obvious.
“What?” Zanna’s brows snapped together as she glared toward the pool. Then her eyes widened, genuine fear rippling over her face. “No.”
“Maya, get out of the way!”
It was Tia’s turn to knock Maya to the ground as Zanna screamed in fury.
The dragon unfurled her wings that had been tucked against her back, in an effort to halt being pulled into the rapidly emptying pool.
Maya was forced to turn her head as the wings beat with enough force to send clouds of choking dust in her direction.
She didn’t see the moment that Zanna was sucked into the hole, but she knew when it happened.
One second she was covering her face with her arm, the searing heat squeezing the air from her lungs, and the next she was lying on a filthy linoleum floor next to Tia.
With a groan, she sat up and glanced around, her nose wrinkling at the smell of moldy food and old sneakers. Thankfully the stench of evil magic, along with the metallic tang of dragon, was completely and blissfully gone.
Turning her head, she watched as Tia scrambled across the sticky floor to lean over Joe, who was just opening his eyes.
“Good thing Skye sent me, right?” Maya demanded, cautiously rising to her feet.
It was a relief when her knees held her weight and the dizziness slowly receded from her weary brain.
Tia didn’t glance in her direction. Instead she brushed her fingers over the strange man in flannel PJs, clearly searching for injuries.
“Go away,” she commanded.
Maya smiled, not blaming her friend for needing to reassure herself the man she loved had survived yet another disaster.
“Gladly.” Maya headed toward the door. Soon Ravyr would be home and she intended to spend every minute reacquainting herself with his delicious body.
Until then...it was time to relax and recover.
“I’m finally going to have that hot bubble bath and glass of wine I’ve been promising myself.
If there’s another disaster, don’t call me. ”