Soulblade (42 page)

“We met at the Magroth Crystal Mines,” Sardelle said, “where you were stationed as the commander.”

His brow wrinkled. “That sounds unlikely. I’m a—”

“A pilot, I know. Wolf Squadron. But you punched a diplomat, and General Ort and King Angulus decided to teach you a lesson.”

“That sounds more likely.”

One of his wry smiles ghosted across his lips, and it tugged at Sardelle’s heart. She wanted so much wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his shoulder, to tell him how much she had missed him and how she had worried that he was gone forever.

Instead, she slipped her hand into her pocket. “I found something that you left behind when you crashed.”

His eyebrows rose.

Careful to get a good grip on it—he would never forgive her if she dropped it into the harbor—Sardelle withdrew his wooden dragon charm. “This might be a good time to rub it,” she said, tilting her head toward the castle.

Ridge stared at it. For a moment, he didn’t react, but then he blinked a few times, moisture filming his eyes. He reached for it, but hesitated, as if not certain he could take it.

Sardelle pressed it into his hand.

“Thank you,” he whispered and stroked it with his thumb a few times before meeting her eyes again, his expression faintly sheepish.

“I already rubbed it,” she told him, knowing he was self-conscious about his superstitious streak. But it was the truth. She had taken it out of her pocket to hold several times on the trip down from the mountains, not certain if she would ever find him. “We’ll need all the luck we can get.”

Bhrava Saruth landed on one of the walls, talons grasping the crenellations.
Phelistoth is almost here and Yisharnesh too,
he announced,
so I must go immediately. She has thoughts of razing the city in her mind, because—ah, that is the Cofah emperor they have stolen. How delightful!

Therrik leaped from Bhrava Saruth’s back, running for the nearest set of stairs.

Ridge and Sardelle slid off too.

She paused to rest a hand on Bhrava Saruth’s scaled side.
Be careful.

Most assuredly, high priestess. You be careful too.
A wave of power flushed through Sardelle’s body.

Judging by the way Ridge staggered back a step, he must have received it too. Sardelle did not know what it was, but she immediately felt strong and invigorated.

A god has blessed you
, Bhrava Saruth said and leaped into the air.

“Should I find that alarming?” Ridge asked.

“Not until later, when he asks you to be his worshipper.” Sardelle gripped his arm—it was the first time she had presumed to touch him—and nodded toward the stairs Therrik had gone down. “We need to stay with the colonel. That sword is the only weapon that’s proven it can damage dragons, and it should be able to hurt a powerful sorceress too.”

She thought he might balk at the idea of going to hurt Eversong, but he nodded once and followed right behind her.

“Tell me what I can do to help.”

Sardelle wished she knew. Her thoughts of him being used against her or getting into Kasandral’s swing path returned to mind, and she almost told him to stay right there. But she wanted him with her, where she could keep an eye on him, and protect him if need be.

Chapter 18

T
olemek could almost feel the female dragon’s breath heating his back. Or maybe she had started shooting flames. He didn’t want to look back and find out for certain. The dragons had crossed the ocean far more quickly than fliers could, and the Iskandian shoreline had come into view, but he was not certain it represented hope.

Yisharnesh has the power to destroy the city
, Phelistoth informed him, and perhaps he spoke to Kaika, too, because she looked at their prisoner. The emperor was tied and gagged between them, though he had regained consciousness hours earlier. Now and then, he looked toward the rear. His expression had grown quite hopeful since the gold dragon had come into view behind them.
She is threatening to do that, after she slays us
, Phelistoth added.
I also sense... I could be mistaken, as it’s quite far away, but I believe there may be a second dragon after us.

What? We never saw another dragon in Dakrovia.

Three came out of that cavern. Bhrava Saruth is here in Iskandia, as is the female, and there was a second male. It’s possible Yisharnesh has made him her mate and requested his help in this matter.

Two
enemy dragons?
Tolemek slid his hand down his face. It had taken everything they’d had just to kill one dragon at Galmok Mountain. And that had been with Phelistoth’s help. He was in no condition to engage in another battle now. He had poured all of his energy into keeping ahead of Yisharnesh on the flight across the ocean, and he hadn’t managed to heal his wounds yet.

Is there anyone in the city who can help?
Tolemek asked, though he couldn’t imagine who might be there. Sardelle? She couldn’t do anything against a dragon.

There is no one I wish to ask for help.

What did
that
mean?

“Ask anyway,” Kaika said. “We’re not giving our prisoner back, not after all we went through to get him.”

The emperor made an indignant noise that was muffled by the gag.

“If we did give him back, would the female take her mate and go away?” Tolemek asked.

So she says,
Phelistoth responded.
I do not believe her. I..
. Something akin to a groan sounded in Tolemek’s mind.

Problem?

Help is coming.

That’s good, isn’t it?
Tolemek wondered what constituted help. A flier squadron?

He peered toward the shoreline, which had resolved itself into the familiar terrain features of the capital, the harbor, the bluff, and the inland sprawl of the city. He
did
see fliers taking off from the bluff.

No, not them. They can do nothing.

Then who?

Phelistoth kept flapping his wings, but he turned slightly, and Harborgard Castle came into view. A gold dragon flew up from its walls, startling Tolemek. He glanced back, half-expecting that their pursuer had leaped ahead of them somehow and had reached the city first. But no, there were two dragons in the sky now in addition to Phelistoth.

“Is that Sardelle’s dragon?” Kaika asked.

The emperor twisted his head, which dangled down Phelistoth’s back, to look away from
his
dragon and to the one rising from the castle.

“I think it’s more that Sardelle is his person, but it must be.” Tolemek couldn’t imagine a human laying claim to a dragon, but he allowed himself to feel hope. Would the dragon—Bhrava Saruth, that was his name—be a match for this female? From this distance, it was hard to gauge which one was bigger.

Females are always bigger and stronger,
Phelistoth said.

“So, we have help, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to drive her away before the enemy male shows up? Or at all?” Tolemek almost asked if Phelistoth and Bhrava Saruth together would be able to beat the female, but they couldn’t ask Phelistoth to go into combat while he carried three people on his back, especially when one was such a valuable prisoner.

Absolutely not. Bhrava Saruth is flaky. I’m surprised he isn’t on a mountaintop somewhere, stroking his crystal.

Tolemek did not know whether his irritation with the other dragon had to do with the crystal or just that Bhrava Saruth claimed an Iskandian heritage. If the latter, he would have to get past that if he wanted to live here.

It is I, the god Bhrava Saruth,
a new voice resonated in Tolemek’s head.
I am here to assist you. Would you like to become my worshippers? I will bless you before we go into glorious battle together!

Maybe it would be
better
if he was on a mountaintop, stroking his crystal,
Phelistoth grumbled.

“What’s a blessing?” Kaika asked. “I might worship a dragon for something that would protect me from explosives, bullets, and dragon fire.”

A roar came from behind and Tolemek grimaced. The female had closed the gap. Another ten meters, and she could reach out and snap down on Phelistoth’s tail as it streamed behind them. Her maw opened and flames shot out. They struck a shield just behind that tail, curling around it, cupping them with fire.

It seems she wants to get us before our help arrives,
Phelistoth said.

He had scarcely finished the last word before a wave of power slammed into him. Tolemek felt it, too, but some counter magic kept him from being hurled from the dragon’s back. However, the wave
did
affect Phelistoth, knocking him to the side and from his course.

“Can you drop the emperor off at the castle, Phelistoth?” Kaika shouted. “Maybe we can get some pilots and come back up to help. Oh, Tolemek, do you have any more of those bullets?”

“No, but I have some of the dragon-scale eating acid at my lab,” he said.

“Castle, then lab, please.” Kaika leaned down and kissed one of Phelistoth’s scales as he righted himself, recovering from the attack and dipping toward the harbor.

“Are you
flirting
with the dragon?” Tolemek asked.

“Just trying to be a pleasant passenger.”

More flames battered the back of Phelistoth’s shield as he dove toward the castle. It might have been Tolemek’s imagination, but the fire seemed to come closer before that shield deflected it, almost to the tip of Phelistoth’s tail. After battling the female back in Dakrovia and flying across the ocean, he must be tired. How many attacks could he withstand?

The flames stopped abruptly as a golden form streaked past. Bhrava Saruth crashed into the female, and they flew sideways, somersaulting through the air. Phelistoth flapped his wings faster and did not look back.

Yisharnesh
, Bhrava Saruth cried.
You’ve come back to me. You wish to dance with me, after all.

The irritated roar did not sound like an agreement to dance. Tolemek focused on the castle and the courtyard, hoping Bhrava Saruth would either drive the female away or buy them enough time so they could craft weapons that would work. He also couldn’t wait to hand the emperor off to Angulus and his guards.

His hope of depositing Salatak in someone else’s lap faded when he saw how much smoke was streaming out of the castle. One of the towers had been destroyed, and flames leaped from many of the windows.

“What’s going on down there?” Kaika asked.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.” He thought about saying they should bypass the castle and go straight to his lab, but what would they do with the emperor? Tolemek doubted he could go to some of the scientists on the floor and ask them to babysit a kidnap victim.

A sorceress is causing destruction
, Phelistoth announced.

“It can’t be Sardelle.” She didn’t run around, causing havoc. “The Cofah one?” Tolemek asked. “Eversong?”

I do not know the names of all the humans you deal with. Do you still wish me to land?

Several bodies lay in the courtyard. Tolemek pushed his hair out of his face with a frustrated hand swipe. There was nobody down there to whom they could hand off the emperor.

“Yes,” Kaika said, with a sigh. “I’ll watch him.” She looked back to Tolemek. “You’ll have to help the dragons by yourself. I lost all of my explosives during our swim anyway.”

Tolemek nodded. Yes, if anyone could handle a prisoner, it would be Kaika. If nothing else, she could flirt with him.

Phelistoth swooped down and alighted on one of the few towers that were not in flames. Kaika slid off, grabbing the emperor’s arm. He tried to struggle, but they had tied him well, and he could barely stand. Kaika saluted Tolemek—or maybe that salute was for Phelistoth—and tugged her prisoner toward the stairs.

Up in the sky over the harbor, the two gold dragons fought, diving and raking each other with claws. Definitely not dancing. For the moment, the fight appeared even, but what would happen if that second male showed up?

“To the lab, please,” Tolemek said.

Phelistoth sprang into the air again, stealing the location from Tolemek’s mind and flying into the city.

• • • • •

Ridge was not an expert on barging into castles to defeat malevolent sorceresses, but felt he should have a weapon. Not that a firearm would be of any use to him if he came face to face with Mara again. He had been powerless to keep from delivering her to the castle. If anything happened to Angulus—or anyone else here—it would be his fault. So far, the halls had been empty, but they were full of smoke, and he dreaded the moment when they stumbled across wounded or dead guards. Given the shouts coming from deeper inside the castle, that moment seemed inevitable.

A door banged somewhere behind him. His hand darted to where his pistol should have been. He clenched his fist, annoyed that he was defenseless. He hated to rely solely on the two people ahead of him in the hall, not when he had no memory of Colonel Therrik or the person Therrik had introduced as “your woman.” Sardelle. His mind boggled at the notion that he might have a relationship with her. With a
witch
.

Even if she had been a normal woman, his mind might have boggled. He was not sure he could imagine them as a couple. Oh, she was beautiful, even in simple travel clothes and with her dark hair pulled back in a braid, but she had a dignified and proper mien. She did not seem like someone who would appreciate his irreverence and immaturity. Still, she
had
brought him his luck charm and had humored him when he rubbed it. He’d been teased about that habit before, by men and women. Sardelle had smiled gently at him, and he’d felt an inexplicable warmth toward her. Her admission to having witch powers had thrown him, but he had to admit there was a faint familiarity about her. He couldn’t remember her, but the thought of trusting her seemed... right.