Ashes And Spirit (Book 3) (35 page)

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Now
! She opened her eyes, arms reaching to grab the saddle as Syrakynn flew right underneath her. Kirynn struggled to hold on, her shoulder screaming in protest, as Syrakynn twisted to avoid the flames of a Shadow Dragon. She hooked one arm through one of the handles on the front pommel and managed to get one safety strap fastened.

The red rolled and banked to avoid another Shadow Dragon, leaving Kirynn dangling by one leg and one arm before Syrakynn righted herself again. Kirynn switched arms and pulled the other safety strap tight. The catcher strap would have to wait.

Below, the entire city of Marden shook and crumbled among the green flames of Shadow Dragons. People ran screaming in every direction. Border Guards and the group of Ke’han warriors battled side-by-side against Kojen. Men and women in black robes walked through the mass of Kojen, throwing weaves of magic into the Shaderian ranks.

Loki and Merru flew low over the Kojen, burning a swath through the creatures. A wide dome of light sprang up, protecting part of the city. Kirynn reached for Syrakynn,
“Tell Merru that he and Loki need to try and get all of those people behind his shield and moving east out of the city.”

“They are switching courses,”
Syrakynn returned.

Merru veered sharply and disappeared into Loki’s light-bending weave. The Shadow Dragon tailing Merru pulled up, hovering and swinging its head wildly around, searching for the invisible pair.

Syrakynn folded her wings and streaked through the air toward the stationary shadow. She hit it with such force it slammed Kirynn forward in the saddle. Another black dragon appeared and Kirynn twisted, sending a lance of fire through the rider’s chest. The black dragon shrieked and fell through the air with its dead rider flopping in the saddle.

Yanking her bow off her back, she nocked an arrow and sent it slicing through the air toward the first Shadow Rider. It missed and instead pinged harmlessly off the dark scales of the dragon.

“Call for help. There are too many Shadow Riders and mages,”
Kirynn sent to the red.

“I already have. Calladar and New Sharren are also under attack. Serena comes with mages, but she cannot stay. She must reinforce the other two battles as well.”

Marcaius and his red, Tanis, battled with Shadow Dragons farther out over the city. A riderless Namir tore a black to pieces in mid-air. Dragons and fire filled the sky above Marden.

A Slide spun open. Mages and Defenders of Galdrilene, along with soldiers from Boromar and Kanther, poured out as Miya flew slowly through above them.

Serena caught Kirynn’s eye, casting her an agonized look as the last of those on the ground cleared the edges of the slide. The yellow disappeared back through and was gone.

Lances of glowing light, small fireballs, and bolts of lightning flew through the air, exchanging places with their shadow counterparts. Silver-robed mages quickly brought order to the evacuation of the city even as they dodged crumbling walls. Mages in yellow robes pulled the injured to the side, and worked to heal them. With them stood Nira, dropping any enemy that came near with weaves designed to kill. Her yellow, Saria, circled overhead, defending the group of healers from the air.

Another Slide opened. Jocelynn and her green, Adirynn, burst through, engaging a Shadow Dragon before the Slide fully closed. The green dragon snatched its black wing in her jaws and braced her back feet against the dark dragon. The black swung its head around and scored her side with shadow fire. Adirynn responded with a snarl as she ripped its wing off. Screaming, the black spiraled toward the ground. It struck the stones of the street, and crushed its rider.

A loud rumble echoed over the city. Kirynn turned in time to see the entire, massive keep disintegrate into a pile of rubble.

K
ellinar wiped the sweat from his eyes and paused to assess the progress. The wall was nearly complete. The day was overly warm for early spring, but at least the ever-present wind was cool against his skin. It made the mid-day sun bearable.

Inside the wall, the tiled roofs of dwellings and buildings reflected the sunlight. On the far side of the city from where he stood, near the Dragon Hold, the newly finished University rose higher than any other building. With the help of Galdrilene, the New Sharrens had come far in the months since settling in their new home.

Kellinar reached for another massive stone block with his magic then stopped and drew back. Dark weather weaves flowed through the air all around him. Black clouds boiled in the sky, rolling over the city, and blotting out the sun. The wind picked up until it howled between the buildings. Kellinar ran a few steps toward the Dragon Hold before faltering to a stop. Shryden was in Galdrilene along with Keta getting more supplies of rock.

“Shryden, I’m going to need you here. Now.”

“What is happening?”

“Dark weather weaves are all over the sky. I can only assume we have seconds before Shadow Riders show themselves.”

“We are coming,”
Shryden returned. And then, another sending from the blue,
“Shadereen is under attack, as is Calladar. We will be there shortly. Given the reports from the other dragons, we are going to need reinforcements.”

Varnen came through a Slide opened above the city. His blue, Abrax, banked and swept a wide circle overhead. Kellinar threw together a quick weave to amplify his voice. “Take cover!” The shouted warning carried over the city.

It was the warning they had practiced and drilled since they first arrived. Instead of panic, the New Sharrens fell into an organized and practiced scramble. The elderly, young, and men and women with no weapon skills were ushered into the University while everyone else moved into battle positions, ready to give their lives in defense of their new home.

Two more Slides opened. Keta came through one while the other opened all the way to the ground. Mages and Defenders of Galdrilene marched through the Slide with Shryden. Nordhas sat on Shryden’s back. His blue, Arkhas, had just taken his first flights with his rider and was too young to Slide.

Kellinar turned his attention to the dark Weather magic. Though the Shadow mages remained unseen, their magic wasn’t. The clouds churned, growing darker. Lightning arced across the sky and several bolts jabbed the ground. Claps of thunder crashed over the city so loud they left Kellinar’s ears ringing.

He shook his head at the arrogance and disrespect the dark mages displayed for their magic. Natural elements couldn’t be used like this without causing ripples everywhere. It’s why the Earth Riders hadn’t raised New Sharren in a single week. Doing so wouldn’t allow the ground time to adjust and would, in turn, destabilize everything. The disturbed flow of the weather caused by this artificial storm was easily visible to Kellinar. The rivers of air that carried the weather were off. It would take weeks to straighten it out.

Reaching out with his own weaves, he worked to take control of the storm. The energy swelled as Varnen and Nordhas joined their magic with his, the three of them working together. A Jump ripped through the air. Black dragons, mages, and Kojen poured through.

Shryden landed long enough for Nordhas to leap off. Kellinar barely made it into the saddle with the safety straps secured before the blue launched himself back into the sky.
“Should I call Paki, Adirynn, and Vasa?”
Shryden sent.

Kellinar reached for the dragon,
“No. We have no idea how wide spread this is. If some of the Shadow Riders decide to Jump over these battles and start another farther west, we need them there. Both Haraban and Markene border enemy nations, they need to keep an eye on those as well.”
He struggled to hold the storm back for a moment before continuing,
“It’s going to take everything Varnen, Nordhas, and I have to keep any control over this storm.”

“You concentrate on that. I will take care of you,”
Shryden returned.
“Keta and Sumara are doing a good job of keeping the Shadow Dragons from bothering us too much. Keta’s speed is an asset; she’s practically in three places at once.”

It didn’t take long before it became obvious the dark weather weaves weren’t woven by dark mages. One of the weaves felt familiar, and Kellinar could sense Oksana’s hand in the storm. The other weaves had to be from other Shadow Riders who handled Weather magic, there was no way it could be this strong otherwise.

The wind increased and a deluge of rain poured down, soaking Kellinar within seconds. The lightning was constant now. A long finger of clouds poked toward the ground as it howled and shrieked. Dirt, grass, stones, and anything not secured went flying. The finger danced straight through the city though the houses, built by the riders and mages, withstood the destructive force.

Kellinar threw a second weave out and caught the twisting finger of clouds. Sweat beaded hot on his forehead and was washed away by the icy rain. He increased the flow of magic to the weave and with effort dissipated the destructive rope. Then he turned the full force of his magic on the storm.

A glance below showed the fields beyond the walls filled with Kojen and dark mages. Trebuchets hurled massive flaming balls into the invaders, while archers lined the walls shooting at will. The launcher pulled back and released, sending a long steel spear through the wing of a Shadow Dragon. Mages on the walls exchanged weaves with those down in the field. The launcher was loaded and released again. Its target rolled and the steel spear sailed through empty air.

Kellinar only spared a small amount of attention for the battle on the ground, the rest remained fixed on the storm. The world rushed by, filled with rain, lightning, wind, and small hail that smacked against his exposed skin. Sometimes everything yanked to the side, or flipped upside down as Shryden swerved and spun, keeping him safe while engaging Shadow Dragons.

In spite of the downpour, sickly green flames crawled up one side of the city wall. Kellinar reached for Shryden,
“Make sure the mages are prepared to evacuate and they have everyone in the University ready to run out the door and into a Slide if necessary.”

Keta flashed past and grabbed the wing of a Shadow Dragon, flipping it off course and sending it spinning through the air. She immediately engaged another then streaked away like a green blur. Her speed, quick attack, and retreat offense took Kellinar’s breath away. The green appeared in a slash of teeth and claws, and then was gone before the Shadow Dragons could retaliate although they pursued. It was a game of cat and mouse, and Keta was the cat in this game.

Shryden righted for a moment and the rain slacked under the restraint of the three Guardians. Kellinar looked down and his hope dwindled. The city walls were completely surrounded by a seething mass of Kojen. The Defenders hadn’t made a dent in the invading force. More green flames ate at the wall, burning the stone as easily as if it were made of wood.

Only four Shadow Riders were present but with Kellinar and his companions trying to keep the storm from shredding the town, their dragons could do no more than fend off the Shadow Dragons. Kellinar scanned the area, searching through the falling rain for Oksana.

Anger curled in his stomach when he failed to find her. He wanted her dead.