Firestorm Forever: A Dragonfire Novel (56 page)

Finally, Jac struck the match, lit the flare and flung it into his mouth. It fell end over end and disappeared down his gullet. Marco kicked his opponent in the teeth then and retreated quickly as the
Slayer
fell back. The
Slayer
laughed, obviously thinking that Marco was trying to escape the fight and gave chase.

Marco beat his wings hard against the night, although the
Slayer
was in hot pursuit. Marco knew Jac was watching over his shoulder, and he held her tightly in front of his chest. He knew the
Slayer
might breathe fire, and he’d be able to take its assault better than Jac.

“I think someone has indigestion,” Jac said softly and Marco looked back. The
Slayer
’s eyes had widened as he realized something was wrong. He glanced down just as his gut exploded in a very satisfying way. He bellowed with pain and black blood spewed into the air.

“Talk about heartburn,” Jac said and Marco chuckled. He turned in a big arc over Uluru and saw that the moon was coming out of the eclipse.

The injured
Slayer
fell limply toward the earth, and he was rotating between forms.

To Marco’s surprise, Thorolf ripped himself away from his fight and seized the falling
Slayer
. He flew off quickly with the injured dragon, leaving Brandon to fight the last two identical
Slayers
.

They had turned on Brandon, who battled valiantly even though he was outnumbered. Marco had to guess that Chandra and Liz were in the vicinity and knew his fellow
Pyr
would want to defend their mates. As he raced closer, one
Slayer
locked all four claws with Brandon. The pair snapped and bit at each other, their tails thrashing with fearsome strength. The other
Slayer
turned on Marco, his eyes gleaming with malice. When he lunged toward them, Jac lit the flare and threw it.

Marco saw immediately that her enthusiasm had failed her and she’d moved too quickly. The
Slayer
dodged the flare and it dropped toward Uluru like a shooting star.

The
Slayer
laughed and lunged at Marco.

His partner shredded Brandon’s gut, who faltered in flight. The
Slayer
beat at Brandon with his tail, but the
Pyr
rallied. Marco saw the gleam of purpose in his eyes before he attacked the
Slayer
with newfound strength.

Meanwhile, the closest
Slayer
and Marco locked claws and battled with savage force. The blows they gave each other sent first one and then the other plummeting toward the earth. Marco had never fought so hard, but the firestorm made victory imperative. He slashed the
Slayer
’s face so that black blood dripped, then flung his opponent across the sky. The
Slayer
flailed, then regained control. He soared back toward Marco, dragonfire blazing and talons extended. He attacked Marco with even greater vigor than before. Marco breathed fire and swung his tail, defending himself and Jac, then took a blow to the head that left him dizzy.

The
Slayer
ripped Marco’s gut open while he was disoriented, and he felt Jac’s heart skip a beat in fear. Marco’s blood was flowing even before the
Slayer
snatched at Marco’s wings. The
Slayer
made the wound bigger and it bled more profusely. He breathed fire at Marco then, and Marco turned, taking the heat of the flame on his injured back to defend Jac.

When he spun in mid-air, Marco discovered that Jorge was hovering in the air behind him. The
Slayer
must have flown silently in pursuit. His jaw hung by a tendon, blood running from his wound. Marco recoiled slightly, then stiffened at the new assault of dragonfire. He wrapped his claws around Jac, even as he took fire on all sides. His scales burned and the pain was excruciating. He wanted to tip back his head to scream, but that would have exposed Jac, so he bent over her, shaking in agony.

He realized he could die here, before satisfying his firestorm.

Jorge’s eyes narrowed slightly and when he spoke, his words were hard to distinguish. “
Let me help,
” he offered in old-speak, as oily as ever, and he reached out to pluck Jac from Marco’s grasp. Marco tried to grip her more tightly. Jac kicked and struggled, but the
Slayer
’s claw closed over her so tightly that she could barely squirm. She spat at him, having no shortage of spirit, and Marco was proud of her. He hung on to her to the best of his abilities, and she gripped his talons as the firestorm burned hot.

Jorge breathed slowly then, sending a stream of dragonsmoke at Marco.

“Dragonsmoke,” Jac whispered and Jorge nodded with satisfaction.

Marco couldn’t make a sound other than gasping at the pain. His scales burned and smoked, and then they curled so that his skin was exposed. He’d never been so pounded before. The dragonsmoke slipped beneath his scales, setting his flesh on fire. He was too injured to use the darkfire to manifest elsewhere, even though he tried.

Jorge reached out and ripped one of Marco’s scales free, and Marco winced at the wrenching pain. He felt his blood flow from that new wound, warm on the skin so suddenly exposed. Jorge exhaled with a vengeance and the skin felt as if it had been burned by acid. Marco couldn’t bear much more.

Only a feint would give him a chance to survive. Otherwise, he’d die here and now, and he owed Jac better than that.

He had to convince Jorge to snatch them both and take them both to his lair.

There was only one way to tempt the
Slayer
to do that.

Marco groaned, twitched and flailed. He let his body go limp and fall toward the earth, well aware that Jorge watched him with satisfaction. Jac was panicking and Jorge was flying in pursuit, clearly intent on snatching her away as soon as Marco’s grip loosened.

Marco whispered in old-speak, sending the ultimate temptation to Jorge.
“The Elixir,”
he whispered.
“Please give me the Elixir!”

He felt Jorge’s shock.

Then the
Slayer
’s delight.

A heartbeat later, he was snatched out of the air. He smelled that Jorge had seized the wounded
Slayer
, then they were all caught in a ferocious windstorm.

Marco sighed with relief, because his ploy had worked.

His firestorm was burning and he wasn’t dead yet.

* * *

Brandon couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

Thorolf had carried off the one newly hatched Boris Vassily, that
Slayer
seriously wounded and unconscious but not dead. He didn’t doubt that Thorolf would have to thump the
Slayer
en route a couple of times to keep him in that state, because the Elixir would repair his body quickly. Ideally, Brandon would have gone with Thorolf, but he didn’t dare leave Chandra and Liz undefended.

To his relief, Jorge snatched up the second hatchling, who was also wounded, and disappeared in a flash of light along with Marco and his mate.

The third
Slayer
hesitated, as if indecisive. Could he follow Jorge? Or did he have doubts about the wisdom of doing so? This
Slayer
had to be one of the ones who had hatched at Easter Island.

He circled with Brandon, preparing to fight instead of following Jorge. Brandon was ready to thump him, when the
Slayer
was jumped from behind by a version of Boris Vassily that appeared abruptly. That one had only a stub of an arm, but that didn’t keep him from seizing the uncertain
Slayer
and ripping his throat open. His prey had time to gasp, then they both disappeared as if they’d never been there.

There was nothing saying this armless one wouldn’t stash his prize and return. Brandon patrolled the area, then returned to Liz and Chandra, disgruntled. “I wish I could spontaneously manifest elsewhere,” he muttered when he’d shifted back to human form and Liz gave him a hug.

“You have other skills,” she said with a wink. She was clearly in a better mood than he was and gestured to the sky. “Did you see what she did with the flares? I love a mate who thinks quickly.”

“I don’t think the news is as good as that,” Brandon growled.

“What do you mean?” Chandra asked.

“I heard their old-speak at the end,” he admitted, sparing another glance at the sky. He couldn’t smell
Pyr
or
Slayer
but he didn’t trust any of the
Slayers
to stay wherever they had gone. It would be sweet to see the end of the Dragon’s Tail Wars and be rid of
Slayers
for good.

Even if this night’s events meant there would be one more.

“Weren’t they just exchanging taunts?” Liz asked.

“It always just sounds like thunder,” Chandra agreed.

The two women faced him expectantly, both of them so pleased that Marco had had his firestorm that Brandon didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. “I’m afraid Erik is right,” he said. “I don’t think we can count on Marco anymore.”

“I don’t believe it,” Liz said. “He loaned me the darkfire crystal during our firestorm, and that was the only reason I was able to defend myself against Chen.”

“And he helped Lee during our firestorm,” Chandra said. “Just because he’s mysterious doesn’t mean he’s bad.”

Brandon sighed, knowing he had to tell them the worst and destroy their optimism. “After he was injured, Marco asked Jorge for the Elixir. That can only mean one thing.”

Liz caught her breath.

“He’s turning
Slayer
after his firestorm,” Brandon said, knowing it had to be stated aloud.

“I don’t believe it,” Liz said. “He could have been trying to trick Jorge.” She shook her head vehemently. “I’m going to need more proof than that.”

“Where did they come from?” Chandra said. “They must have been staying in the vicinity to arrive so close to the eclipse.”

“There’s really only Yulara,” Brandon said. “Let me see if I can find their scent.”

* * *

Jac wished she could understand old-speak. Marco and Jorge had clearly communicated that way before Jorge had snatched them, and she wished she knew what Marco had said. He was folded protectively around her in his dragon form and she could smell the damage to his scales. His thigh was bleeding where Jorge had ripped that scale free and the skin there was blistered with a burn. He was also out cold, which meant she couldn’t ask him what was going on.

It was a little bit disconcerting to discover that her dragon was vulnerable.

They landed hard. Jac felt as if she’d been plucked out of a maelstrom and flung down by an invisible hand. That wind swirled around her for a moment and she kept her eyes closed against the assault.

When the air stilled, she looked.

She was in a room that looked like a great library, with Marco lying on the carpeted floor beside her. His scales were still smoking and his blood flowed onto the rug. His tail stretched almost the full width of the room, and he was clearly unconscious.

At least he wasn’t dead.

The weird thing was that they were alone together. Where had Jorge and the
Slayer
gone?

Jac looked around, searching for an escape. The room was lined with built-in book cases that had glass doors, so she could see that the books inside had gilt on their spines. They appeared to be leather-bound volumes, and Jac could see a couple with gems mounted on the spines. Each pair of doors locked, and even the locks were incredibly beautiful and intricate in their design.

The doors on the cabinets were ornate, elaborately carved and adorned with gold as if they’d been transported from Versailles. Candles were lit in sconces mounted on the walls, which were placed at regular intervals between the bookshelves.

The ceiling was fancy, as well, with detailed moldings at the tops of the walls and a large plaster medallion in the middle of the ceiling. A glittering gold chandelier thick with crystals and aflame with lit candles hung from it, but the ceiling was so high that it seemed too far away. There was a massive carved stone fireplace on one wall and a fire blazed on its hearth, heating the room. The carpets were thick underfoot, but there were no windows.

And there wasn’t a door.

A pair of chairs upholstered in red leather were placed before the fire, the brass studs gleaming in the upholstery. The wooden legs of the chairs were carved, and each one had four feet. Jac supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that each one was a claw holding a ball, like a griffin’s claw.

Or a dragon’s.

Despite all the candles and the fire, the air seemed damp, and Jac shivered in the chill. She eyed the chandelier and wondered how the candles had been lit. There wasn’t a ladder in sight. Then she considered the dimensions of the room and guessed.

This was Jorge’s lair. In his absence, she should seize the opportunity to learn a little bit more about him. The treasures in his hoard should offer some insight, if she could find them.

On the wall opposite the hearth, there was a reading table, high enough that a person could stand to examine a book. It wasn’t empty, so Jac went to look at what her host was reading.

She gasped when she saw that Sigmund’s book, the volume that had been hidden in her closet, was open on the table. So, Marco hadn’t retrieved it, after all. She should have known it would have been Jorge—on the other hand, she hadn’t understood his true nature then.