Chapter Thirty-Seven
Vil
“It’s empty,” Cruce said, appearing back over the wall without warning.
I had heard him coming, but Vanessa was devoid of my enhanced senses, and she hissed sharply, clutching at herself in surprise.
“You’re sure?” I asked, looking at the stone wall surrounding the Iron Estates and pondering why the Nine hadn’t left at least a watcher to check for our return.
“If there’s anyone in there, I didn’t see or smell them,” Cruce said firmly. “And I checked everywhere quite thoroughly. Even …”
I frowned as he trailed off, his eyes darting to Vanessa, then back to me.
“What?” she demanded, also noticing the look. “I can handle it.”
Cruce waited for my permission anyway. After a look at Vanessa, I nodded for him to continue.
“Even the body is still there,” he said. “They didn’t come through. Or if they did, they left him there, which isn’t usual.”
“Body?” Vanessa asked.
“When Vil came back through the Rift,” Cruce explained, “he was being pursued. I was waiting.”
“Oh,” she said, not needing more of an explanation than that.
“They were trying to kill me,” I told her. “If he hadn’t killed them, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
“I know,” she said, but she didn’t look as confident as she sounded.
“So, why would they not come through at all?” I mused. “Not even in force once enough of them had caught up. That makes no sense.”
“I don’t understand either,” Cruce put in, looking unhappily at the wall and the lands beyond it. “We’re missing something.”
His theory made sense. Unfortunately, I had no idea what we were missing. It seemed the only way to find out would be to go inside.
“I’d like you to stay out here,” I said to Vanessa. “Let us scout it in detail.”
Vanessa looked around nervously. We were on the southern edge of the estates, on the far side of the property from the entrance.
It was nothing but wooded terrain back there.
Cruce and I had flown in from the nearest road at dawn, using only our wings, not fully shifting to dragon form, skimming the treetops to ensure we weren’t spotted.
“I’d rather come with you,” she said. “I don’t like being out here alone.”
“Okay, but if something happens, you run. No fighting it, no questions. Understood? You run and take cover somewhere. Hide. Don’t try to be brave.”
She nodded, then we went up and over the wall with her in my arms, courtesy of a boost from Cruce. He jumped to the top of the wall and cleared it, landing with a faint whisper next to us. Then we set out, winding our way through the trees and tall grasses as we approached the house.
We examined it closely, circling it twice from cover, but there were no movements, no signs of life. Nothing. Eventually, I left Vanessa with Cruce and went in closer, sneaking through the house and examining various rooms, but nothing looked like it had been touched or rifled through.
“It’s been two days,” I muttered uneasily. “Why would they not have come through?”
“I don’t know,” Cruce said, just as confused and on edge. “What do we do now?”
I stood up and walked toward the open pit where the Rift lay, its metal arc warped but still operational, the area around it cleared out by giant gouges from Cruce’s dragon claws. Down below, as he’d said, was the headless body of the mercenary.
“Oh, dear,” Vanessa said as she spied the corpse and took a step back from the edge, shaking herself. “That’s gross.”
I didn’t chide her. I liked that she was discomforted by it. There was no need for her to be hardened by such sights.
“What are you planning?” I muttered to nobody in particular, staring at the Rift. “Where are you?”
“Um, Vil,” Vanessa said.
Something in her voice made me turn.
“Cruce!” I barked as I shot forward and grabbed Vanessa, hauling her toward us.
Six figures had emerged from the tree line in a soft arc.
“They were on our trail this whole time?” I said, hissing the question to Cruce as he joined me in confronting them. “How?”
“Either they saw us fly in,” he said. “Or they weren’t waiting in the house but elsewhere around the property’s edges.”
“Give it up, Anvil,” one of the six shouted. “It’s over.”
“You first, Di,” I snarled at the junior member of the Nine who seemed to be leading the group of mercs. “Unless you really think you can take us.”
Di threw back his head and laughed. Two of the dragons with him gathered fire in their hands while electricity curled back and up the arm of a third.
Di and another drew swords out of thin air, the iron forming into steel in their hands.
One, however, simply bared his teeth, and the air around him shimmered.
“Water dragon,” I muttered to Cruce.
“Shit.”
“Why? What’s up with water dragons?” Vanessa asked worriedly, her head darting back and forth between both of us.
I reached into myself and let steel coat my body, turning my skin into its own version of the armor, while my broadsword extended from my right hand, the runes on the blade glowing orange.
“They’re feral animals,” Cruce said. “The Tidal Clan pretend to be politicians, but once the disguise comes off, they’re barely restrained piles of fury.
They spend most of their time under the sea.
They claim to be defending us, but nobody knows from what.
But they’ll rip the water from your body if given a chance to stand still long enough. ”
“Remember what we discussed?” I said, jumping in and keeping a wary eye on the water dragon.
“Yes,” Vanessa said uneasily. “But, Vil, there are six of them.”
“I know,” I said, dropping my left hand as a second sword coalesced in my grip. “They should’ve brought a few more. Now, go!”
She turned and ran one way while Cruce and I set ourselves another, inviting the mercs and Di to approach. They obliged. One of them glanced at Vanessa and muttered something to Di, but he waved them off. His focus was on me.
Not that I could blame him. I’d decimated the upper ranks of the Nine. If he could claim to have been the one to eliminate me, Di would have a legitimate claim to be second on the Nine after Adamantine. A lot more power than he currently wielded.
Fireballs came at us, courtesy of the flame dragons, but I dodged one before crossing my swords in front of me to absorb and deflect the second, my blades momentarily shimmering with the added heat.
Cruce spun aside from a bolt of lightning, clashing with the mercenary iron dragon, their swords clanging loudly in the open air.
I backpedaled slightly as Di, one of the fire dragons, and the storm dragon came at me. My swords wove a defense pattern in front of me, blocking blades and deflecting other strikes.
“Last chance,” I warned Di as he circled me, stalking like a predator ready to pounce.
“For you,” he said. “Put your swords away, and we can work out some terms.”
I laughed. “As if I would trust you. Liar. Coward. Traitor.”
Di raised his sword high while I struck out to either side with both of mine, my arms spread wide, driving my other two attackers momentarily backward.
“Ha!” Di crowed, coming straight at me, his mouth wide open in a mocking laugh.
I spat a ball of molten iron in his face. It went in his eyes, his nose, and down his open throat.
Spinning, I dropped to one knee and took off Di’s right leg mid-shin, carving through the bone with ease. Then I was up and leaping to the side as fire and lightning impacted the spot where I’d been. I landed and sprung forward without pausing. Both swords stretched out in front of me.
I wasn’t aiming at either of my opponents but rather at the fire dragon working his way around Cruce’s back while he battled with the other iron dragon.
Both my blades skewered him through the chest as we dropped.
I turned and rolled, flinging the body free to collide with the storm dragon running after me.
Getting up, I stabbed a blade through the storm dragon’s side but missed killing him outright as a blast of fire hit me and knocked me off balance.
Meanwhile, Di’s screams filled the air as his leg flopped around uselessly.
My body started to stiffen as the air around me whispered. I turned to see the water dragon approaching, his hand reaching out toward me, fingers gnarled inward as water swirled around them, coalescing out of the air as he pulled it from my body.
I arched backward, and the water dragon grinned.
There was one weakness with the Tidal Clan. They were overconfident and arrogant sons of bitches, one and all.
My core contracted, and I snapped forward. At the same time, I let go of the sword in my left hand. The blade flew through the air. The water dragon had just enough time to widen his eyes in shock before the blade plunged deep into his neck and out the other side in a spray of blood.
Fire hit me in the back, flattening me as my armor burned and melted.
I bellowed in anger, dropping my other sword. I picked up a chunk of debris from the exterior of the house and, rolling, flung it back at the fire dragon. The mixture of stone and wood clunked off the fire dragon’s head, leaving him to stumble around woozily for a moment.
That moment was all Cruce needed to fling his attacker backward, pivot, and take the fire dragon’s head from his shoulders.
I was already on my feet, and as the mercenary iron dragon recovered and lunged for Cruce, I bisected him, both hands on the hilt of my sword as I cut the merc in half.
Together, we made short work of the storm dragon, dispatching the final merc, which only left Di. He was mostly recovered from the ball of iron I’d spat at him, but he was still holding his severed leg and rocking back and forth.
I hauled him up with my left hand, snarling.
“You should have listened,” I said.
“Please,” Di mumbled through burned and charred lips. “Please. We can work something out. I was just doing as I was told. Following orders.”
“Some of the worst atrocities from both dragons and humans have been committed by people ‘just following orders,’” I growled. “You should’ve known better than to follow Adamantine. Traitor.”
“Please, Anvil,” Di begged. “Give me another chance. I won’t—”
My sword plunged deep into his chest. I let go of his neck. He landed, his good leg momentarily supporting him as he stared down at the fatal wound.
“You had your chance,” I said and whipped my sword out and around, taking his head from his body.
I jumped back as blood sprayed, much of it spattering me.
“Damnit,” I muttered, swiping at it with my forearm, but it only smeared it, making it worse.
“Oh my god.”
I turned at the whisper to see Vanessa staring at me in horror.
“It’s okay,” I said, my sword fading into my body as I reabsorbed the iron. “They’re gone. You’re safe. I protected you.”
I took a step toward her, but she backed away from me, her face as white as a sheet.
“By slaughtering them in cold blood!” she exclaimed, aghast. “Look at you. That was cold-blooded murder, Vil. Not self-defense. You killed him like it was nothing. Not a care in the world. How could you kill like that?”
She turned and ran into the house before I could explain.
I almost let her go, thinking it was better to give her time and space.
No. Not this time.
“Vanessa!” I shouted and went after her.