Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
Grayson
What were will-o’-the-wisps exceptionally good at, beyond finding treasure?
Leading others away from treasure, often to their deaths.
It was a deserved stain upon our reputation.
It was the reason most other species didn’t trust us.
It was the ability I pulled on now, hoping beyond hope that it would be enough to catch at least one of the wyverns’ attention.
I traveled up, through the multiple layers of the compound. Treasure’s song was but a distant, inconsolable hum. True to his word, Martin kept their pull at bay. Their songs could have easily overwhelmed me, pulling me toward them and away from the task at hand.
Cool, night air met my wisp form. The sounds of battle raged around me as gigantic beasts fought in the sky.
Lazarus’s deep scarlet was easy to spot, as were the two wyvern attacking him—one ebony and the other a green so deep she almost appeared as dark as her brother.
What was far too clear was that Lazarus wasn’t just struggling; he was losing.
Innumerable scales sizzled, dark, blackened chunks disintegrating and unceremoniously falling to the ground below.
Elvira was there, as were half a dozen other ghostly figures.
Some flew around Verona and Axios’s heads, more irritation than anything else.
Most had attached themselves to the attacking wyvern, sucking the warmth from their bodies.
It could be an effective strategy if given enough time.
Time was not something that appeared to be on our side.
I flew higher. I had to be careful. I didn’t want to catch Lazarus’s attention.
He didn’t need further distraction. Attracting the attention of unsuspecting souls was instinctual.
Some will-o’-the-wisps embraced this side, just as some shifters embraced their more animalistic natures.
Unlike many others of my species, I had never found pleasure nor satisfaction in such deceptions.
Even if the act didn’t lead to the demise of the one enchanted.
I wouldn’t say I was morally opposed to such actions. It simply held no personal appeal.
Currently, my desires and distaste didn’t matter. I remained concealed, hanging on the outskirts of the battle, waiting for my opportunity. Patience was difficult, but it was also key. Seconds turned into torturous minutes until I finally saw my opening.
There. Tabitha’s ghostly army swarmed Axios’s head and he swung it back and forth in irritation. The ghostly apparitions dissipated before reforming. Axios’s roar split the air as he threw his head to the side, once more trying to dislodge the annoyance.
Seizing upon the opportunity, I darted forward, straight into his sight line.
Tapping into my deadly wisp side, I shimmered and spun, flaring brighter and pulling on every ounce of this form’s attraction.
I knew the moment Axios’s eyes locked onto me.
Pupils dilating, his furious agitation dimmed, that vacant stare only for me. Mesmerized, he couldn’t look away.
Axios was mine. Now I just needed to figure out what to do with him. I had no idea how I could stop a wyvern. A tar pit would have been handy right about now. Too bad the closest one was located halfway across the continent.
Unsure where to lead him, all I knew was that we needed to get away from the fight.
It had been too much to hope I could have captured Verona’s attention as well.
One was better than none, and at least this would even the odds.
Zipping away, I flew hard and fast. Axios followed, his ghostly entourage slipping away as we increased the distance between the Magical Usage Council and ourselves.
All of Axios’s previous rage dissipated.
He was little more than a zombie enthralled to my magic, following my intoxicating light with no thought of self-preservation.
Axios was mine to do with as I willed. For me, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
I knew others that reveled in the sensation, the absolute power.
For me, it was too easy. Treasure hunting was where I found my thrills and personal satisfaction.
This…this felt like cheating. Right now, I didn’t care. Desperate times and all that.
The last ghost fell away and with it an idea formed. Cold. I needed arctic cold. Wyvern needed heat. Elvira and her dead brethren had the right idea, they just didn’t have the time needed to see their plan come to fruition.
North.
I turned, making certain I still held Axios’s full attention.
I needn’t have worried. He was completely under my thrall.
Did he believe I was leading him to treasure?
That’s what we all assumed. That treasure could be anything to Axios.
Perhaps he thought I was leading him to the wyvern eggs his sister was trying to falsely claim.
Perhaps there was something even greater he valued, something that only Axios was privy to.
In the end, it didn’t matter. All that was important was that Axios believed, down to his very core, that all he needed to do was follow me and that treasure would be revealed.
In almost any other situation, my actions would have been viewed as cruel. I wouldn’t deny the truth of that now. I also didn’t give much of a shit either.
The air grew colder, my wisp form barely registering its icy grip.
Axios’s body became increasingly sluggish, and yet he ignored the warnings and continued following.
It was impossible for him to do anything less.
I’d been uncertain if wyvern minds would be as susceptible to my wisp form’s mental manipulations.
There’d been no need for concern. Wyvern were almost as obsessed with treasure as will-o’-the-wisps were.
Axios’s mind wanted to believe, and that made luring him all the easier.
I had no true concept of time in this form.
Past experience told me I moved quickly, and so far, Axios had been more than capable of keeping up.
That ability lagged now as his large form struggled against the cold sapping his warmth and strength.
I wasn’t certain how Lazarus maintained himself in these northern climes.
Perhaps his internal fire kept him warm enough.
If we all survived this, I’d try and remember to ask.
Axios’s wings stuttered and his body dropped.
He struggled to rise again and managed only for a short time.
Each instance dragged his body lower and lower to the snow-covered ground.
We had to be nearing the arctic by now. Snow covered everything, broken here and there by ice-covered lakes and oceans.
Had it been winter in the Northern Hemisphere, I wouldn’t have had to lead Axios so far north.
But it was summer and we’d had to go farther to reach the truly bitter cold.
Wings faltering even more, Axios’s body dipped and didn’t recover.
He careened to the ground, his ebony scales a dark hole against the powdery white he crashed into.
The ground trembled, triggering an avalanche that rolled down the mountain, covering Axios’s body in a layer of thick snow, ice, and rocks.
I hovered, waiting to see if he would rise.
Axios didn’t. I had no idea if he remained alive or not.
I’d heard that reptilians could go into a sort of hibernation, recovering when they warmed again.
There was a chance Axios wasn’t dead. Right now, all I cared about was that his current threat level had been eliminated.
I stayed, watching for a few more minutes before I felt satisfied enough to leave.
Turning, I headed back to the Magical Usage Council.
Perhaps I could catch Verona’s attention and do the same with her.
Would I have enough juice to make the trip again?
I honestly wasn’t certain. My wisp form didn’t require as much energy as my humanoid form did.
Still, I’d traveled a long way at a fast pace and needed to return just as quickly.
Latching onto the piece of Martin’s magic snuggled within my wisp form, I sped toward that distant hum, desperate to be back with him and do what I could to keep him safe.
When all this started, Keir asked what my payment would be. Not knowing what lay within the Magical Usage Council, I’d hedged and said I’d let him know. Now, without a doubt, I knew exactly the payment I desired. Martin was treasure—the most elusive and best treasure I could ever hope for.