Empires of Moth (The Moth Saga, Book 2) (43 page)

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Authors: Daniel Arenson

BOOK: Empires of Moth (The Moth Saga, Book 2)

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Shenlai gained
speed. They passed through smoke, rising higher than the palace
walls. Shenlai was a long dragon, but his body was no wider than the
back of a horse. Clinging on with one hand, Koyee gazed at the city
below.

The armies of
sunlight covered Yintao. They spilled across the palace and into the
emperor's hall. They stood upon walls and roofs. They drove toward
the port where the last ship of Ilar, cannons blazing and archers
firing, made its way downriver. Around them lay countless corpses.

"After the
ships, Shenlai!" Koyee pointed to the river; a hundred ships
were sailing into the darkness.

They flew over the
city streets. Shenlai dipped, his blood raining, losing altitude.

"Shenlai!
Fly!"

The dragon blinked
and strained, rising several feet higher. They flew toward a pagoda,
and Koyee winced, sure the dragon would slam into the bricks. They
managed to clear the tower, the dragon's tail thumping against its
roof. Timandrian archers stood within, firing their bows. More arrows
slammed into the dragon, and he whimpered, the sound of a creature
too weary for screams.

"Fly, Shenlai,
please," Koyee begged, clinging on as her own blood spilled.
"For Jin."

The last dragon of
Qaelin, full of arrows and shattered blades, flew across the burning
streets. With a last roar, he gained speed and the city blurred
below. Through fire and smoke and flying arrows, they cleared the
last walls and burst out into the great darkness of the plains.

"There,
Shenlai! To the river."

She pointed. The
Yin River flowed south, lined with the lanterns of the fleeing ships.
It would lead them to the southern coast, to the sea, to the island
of Ilar . . . to safety. Torin waited upon one of those ships. Okado
would be there too. Hope. Life. All of her friends and family were
sailing on that river.

"Fly!"

Yet he could not.
He had reached the end of his strength. With every breath, the dragon
flew lower, until his tail skimmed along the riverbanks. Koyee tugged
on the saddle as if she could lift him higher. For a moment, it
seemed that Shenlai did rise higher again, but then he dipped, and
his belly slammed against the earth.

Koyee grimaced,
banging her teeth together. She clutched on with all her might as the
dragon crashed, drove through rocks and dust, and finally lay still
by the water.

Koyee lay for long
moments upon the dragon's back. She blinked weakly, her vision
blurry. She tilted her head back and saw the stars. Her hand loosened
and slipped off the saddle. She rolled off the dragon and lay upon
the ground. Her head fell back, and she could see the last ship sail
south, its lanterns growing distant, leaving her behind.

"Koyee . . ."

She blinked, pushed
herself onto her elbows, and turned toward the sound. Was her mother
calling her? Was this the voice of the afterworld?

"Koyee . . ."

She reached out and
placed her hand in Shenlai's beard. The dragon had spoken, his voice
barely a whisper. His eyelids were low upon his crystal orbs. Koyee's
body felt wrong, too hurt, too thin, too dry. She crawled and wrapped
both arms around the dragon's head. She whispered into his ear.

"I'm here,
dearest dragon. I'm here."

He blinked, his
long lashes brushing against her. "It's time, Koyee. It's my
time to leave."

She shook her head,
her tears falling upon him. "Don't leave me."

The dragon managed
a smile, and his scales rubbed against her, smooth and cool. "For
thousands of years have I flown across the night, and now I fly to
the sky beyond. For thousands of years have I kept my secret. Now I
must share these words with you."

"No . . ."
Her tears flowed, and she howled and shook him and tugged his beard.
"No, Shenlai! No. No. Please." She trembled. "You
cannot leave us. You cannot go, dragon of Qaelin, sweet prince of the
night."

"We all must
go when our time comes, child. It is only when we leave too early
that we may grieve. I have lingered. I have watched too many seasons
come and go, too many turns of the moon, too many lives kindled and
darkened. Watch over him, Koyee of the night. Watch over Jin . . .
and watch over Eloria."

She trembled with
sobs. She shook her head. "You will watch over us."

He rolled his head
back and gazed at the stars. She lay against him, her cheek against
his beard, her arms wrapped around him.

"Always,
Koyee. I will always watch over you, my child, even as I fly where
you cannot see."

She held him close.
"I'm afraid."

"So are all in
darkness." His eyes were but glowing, blue slits, his lashes
low. "But there is hope."

Her tears rolled
down his scales. She knew it was coming, the words she dreaded, the
words that meant he would leave them.

"Speak, dragon
of Qaelin," she whispered, trembling as she held him so tightly.

Shenlai smiled, and
suddenly he no longer felt cold but warm and full of comfort. He
whispered into her ear, his breath soft against her.

"Fix the clock
and the world will turn again."

Like setting moons,
his eyes closed. Their light dimmed and was gone.

Koyee shook
silently and held him close. The distant lights of the ships faded
over the horizon, and darkness fell upon her.

The story will continue in . . .

SECRETS OF MOTH

The Moth Saga, Book Three

COMING SOON

AFTERWORD

Thank you for reading
Empires of Moth
. I hope you enjoyed this novel.

Want to know when the next book is released? Here are some ways to stay updated:

* Join my mailing list at:
DanielArenson.com/MailingList

* Sign up for Amazon notifications; click the "Email me" link at:
www.amazon.com/author/danielarenson

* Like me on Facebook:
Facebook.com/DanielArenson

* Follow me on Twitter:
Twitter.com/DanielArenson

And if you have a moment, please review a
Moth
book on Amazon. Help other fantasy readers and tell them why you enjoyed reading. And please help spread the word! Lend
Moth
to a friend, talk about
Moth
online, and help others discover these books.

Finally, remember to visit the
Moth
website, where you can find original
Moth
music, artwork, a wiki, and more:
DanielArenson.com/Moth

Thank you again, dear reader, and I hope we meet again between the pages of another book.

Daniel

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I could not have written
Empires of Moth
without help. Thank you to:

* Jeff Bryan and Megg Jensen for beta reading.

* Ashley Davis for editing.

* Ekaterina for composing and performing the music of Moth.

* Peter Ortiz for cover art.

* Everyone who read the first
Moth
book and came back for the sequel. Thank you for exploring this world with me.

NOVELS BY DANIEL ARENSON

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