The Wings of Dragons: Book One of the Dragoon Saga (37 page)

She sat with her back against a tree,
panting as she frantically tried not to black out. She’d put
everything short of her biological magic into that lightning bolt,
leaving her helpless against a retaliatory strike. Had she
possessed any sense at all, she would have let Feng kill her.
Instead, survival had intervened. Instinctively, she’d drawn a
miniscule amount more of Okthora’s magic, just enough to grant her
a little extra speed.

Using that magic, though, had been more
damaging than anything Feng could throw at her. Already she could
feel Okthora’s will brushing against her own. If she lapsed, even
for a second, he would rip control from her.

��
Come now, Rondel,” a
tantalizing male voice whispered inside her mind. “Would I really
do something like that to you?”

She spat blood. “Yes, you absolutely would,
Okthora.”

The dragon’s smooth voice became affronted.
“Really, Rondel, you should think better of me. I merely wish to
talk. I so long for conversation. After all, the last time we spoke
was the Battle of Serona, correct? It’s been a thousand years.”

“
Another thousand would
have been too soon,” she growled.

A burst of white light filled the plain,
interrupting their conversation. Rondel beheld Iren shining with
two brilliant wings on his back. Though initially gratified to see
the boy alive, her expression quickly darkened.

“
No!” she cried. “Iren, you
fool!” The boy had used too much of Divinion’s magic. Even if
Okthora didn’t take over her body, Raa would soon have two
unstoppable monsters to deal with anyway. Their inevitable duel
could level the continent.

Inside her mind, Okthora chuckled. “It isn’t
quite that bad, you know.”

“
What are you talking
about? Iren’s turning into a dragon!”

“
Actually, the opposite is
happening,” the Storm Dragon replied. “Iren isn’t turning into
Divinion. Divinion is turning into Iren.”

Rondel scoffed. “Impossible.”

“
You know that using my
magic requires a contest of wills between us. Draw a small amount,
and you easily win. Draw more than you possess, and my will breaks
yours and takes over your body. That happened to Amroth, unleashing
Feng. But what would happen if you had a will so resolute, so
unyielding, that I couldn’t break it, even if you drew more magic
than your body could handle?”

Rondel’s breath caught. “The
Dragoon . . . no, that’s just a theory. Every
Dragon Knight arrogant enough to attempt that transformation
failed. Besides, I never spoke of it to Iren; I didn’t want to
tempt him. How could he succeed where so many others failed without
knowing what he was doing?”

“
That I cannot answer,”
Okthora conceded. “I can say this much, though. Whatever Iren is
fighting for must be very important to him.”

As Okthora spoke, Rondel gazed in wonderment
at Iren. Despite the absurdly bright light emanating from him, she
didn’t need to shield her eyes. Rather, a great sense of calm
flowed from the glow. Iren stood there, toe to toe with Feng, and
Rondel knew the young man felt no apprehension. She couldn’t
believe it. “Okthora,” she asked, “just what is happening to Iren?
What does it mean to become the Dragoon? If he isn’t transforming
into a dragon, why did his body change at all?”

The Storm Dragon laughed. “No one can
channel that much magic without changing. When a knight becomes the
Dragoon, their mind remains in control, but they acquire wings, as
well as armor forged from the dragon’s scales. The Dragoon is the
Dragon Knight perfected. It has all of the dragon’s power without
any loss of control.”

At these words, Rondel grew puzzled. “Why
are you telling me all this? Had you kept it secret, I might have
despaired to the point that you could wrest control from me.”

“
I considered that,” the
dragon admitted, “but you know my law. Evil must be annihilated. I
dislike Kodamas and Maantecs, but I hate Feng. He is a perversion
of what the dragons are supposed to be, and he must be punished.
The Dragoon is our best chance of stopping him. The boy doesn’t
need any distractions from me. Besides, I can already feel the
Storm Amethyst tugging at my will. I probably couldn’t overcome you
now if I tried. Next time, though, I won’t go so easy.”

Gradually, Okthora’s presence faded from
Rondel’s mind. When she was certain he couldn’t take over her body,
she turned her full attention to Iren. With the smallest of motions
of his right hand, the Dragoon sent a wave of light rippling behind
him into the forest. It filled the woods, briefly brightening
Ziorsecth’s understory to the level of a desert at noon. It
collected on Rondel, and a brief tingling sensation swept her body
as her shattered bones knit themselves together.

The young man next stretched his wings to
the sky and, with a glance toward the heavens, took flight,
shooting into the air at such a pace Rondel could barely track
him.

Rondel heaved herself to her feet. As Iren
climbed ever higher, she couldn’t help taking a step forward and
saying, “That’s the way, Iren. Go; fly on the wings of
dragons!”

* * *

Iren didn’t have a clue what had happened to
him, but that fact didn’t bother him. Every movement felt natural,
no more unusual than walking or speaking. He didn’t concern himself
with the knowledge that he could fly, or that he had healed, in an
instant, the wounds of every living thing in Ziorsecth within ten
miles of his location. All he knew was that he had to protect those
important to him, and that meant stopping Feng.

For his part, Feng expressed no concern at
Iren’s transformation. No doubt the dragon believed that since he’d
swatted this insect once, he’d easily do so again. Without any
effort, Feng sent a jet of flame at Iren, engulfing the Maantec.
The dragon sneered, “Perfect shot!”

When the smoke cleared, however, Iren
remained unfazed, not a scratch or burn on him. His armor absorbed
the heat without difficulty, and inside Iren felt perfectly
comfortable.

Focusing magic on the Muryozaki, Iren
launched himself at Feng. With a single swing he slashed through
the dragon’s left shoulder, his magic forming a blade that extended
beyond the sword’s tip. Feng’s arm separated from his body and
fell, extinguishing itself before it reached the ground.

Iren comprehended in a flash. Without its
connection to the Karyozaki, the fire couldn’t survive. He readied
for a second strike, but without warning the dragon regrew his lost
arm. Grabbing Iren’s leg, Feng swung him in a broad arc and then
hurled him through the air. He struck the plain at immense speed,
leaving a crater where he landed. Even so, he got back on his feet
in seconds, uninjured.

“
Divinion,” he shouted, “I
thought that would work! I severed his arm; how could he make a new
one?”

“
Arms and legs belong to
the flesh,” Divinion explained. “Feng is pure flame. He only has
arms and legs because he chooses to have them. As long as the fire
exists, he can change its shape however he wishes. Moreover, he can
move the Karyozaki to any point on his body.”

The dragon’s voice echoed inside Iren’s
brain. Ever since the Dragoon transformation, as Divinion had
called it, the two of them had become partner minds. Iren gritted
his teeth. “So the only way to stop him is to put out the entire
flame all at once?”

“
So it would
seem.”

“
How do we do
that?”

The dragon thought for a moment, then
replied, “I have a plan.”

Divinion relayed his idea, but Iren shook
his head. “He’ll never fall for that.”

“
You survived two of his
strongest attacks, and you’re the only obstacle left in his path,”
Divinion pointed out. “He won’t let you escape.”

“
I hope so.” Iren fired a
tight beam of white light at Feng’s left leg, just like what he’d
used to strike Rondel during their training in Ziorsecth. The
attack cut through the limb, severing it as the beam pushed the air
away. The dragon toppled precariously, but then he just created a
new leg and regained his footing. Iren surrounded himself with a
shield of light and took flight once more, this time heading not
only up but also north, away from the battlefield.

“
Coward!” Feng bellowed,
but Iren didn’t change course. In response, Feng spread his wings
and shot into the air, chasing Iren at full speed.

Glancing behind him, Iren yelled, “Well, we
got his attention!”

Divinion’s voice stayed calm, “Keep on this
route, and don’t let him fall too far behind.”

Higher and higher Iren climbed, until the
trees of Ziorsecth looked like blades of grass. All the while
flames scorched past him. The better-aimed bursts hit his shield
and deflected, but each impact jarred the barrier. As Feng’s rage
grew, so did his power.

After a few minutes, the flames striking the
shield abruptly stopped, and Iren halted his flight. A moment
later, Feng loosed a terrible cry. Iren whipped around. To his
amazement, the Fire Dragon was shrinking. Already the head and
upper torso had vanished. Iren smiled. Divinion’s plan had
worked.

At this altitude, the Holy Dragon had
explained, there was no air. While Iren’s bubble of energy
contained enough for him to breathe, Feng had no such protection.
Without air, the Fire Dragon’s flaming shape couldn’t burn.

As the fire shrunk, the Karyozaki responded,
sinking lower in Feng’s body. At last it rested at the bottom of
the infernal monster’s toe, and Iren knew it was over.

The last flames, however, did not
extinguish. Inside his mind, Iren felt Divinion’s annoyance. “The
toe must be just low enough that is has enough air to continue
burning. Quickly, fire a beam and destroy it!”

Iren never got the chance. Its tiny flame
keeping it alive, the Karyozaki abandoned its quarry and plummeted
to the ground. As it fell, the fire rekindled, and from that
remnant, the firebird returned.

“
I’m sorry, Iren,” Divinion
said.

“
He won’t make the same
mistake again,” Iren pointed out. “Now that he knows the limits of
his flame, he’ll stop before he gets this high. He’s also likely
realized that he doesn’t have to come get us, either. We’ll have to
descend soon, or I’ll suffocate.”

“
What do you propose,
then?”

Iren had no answer for the dragon. Still, he
couldn’t abandon his friends. As long as he continued living, he
would never stop fighting this beast. He must come up with
something. He had to win! If only he could force Feng back to this
altitude! He wracked his brain but couldn’t think of a way to do
it. Despite the immense magic the Dragoon form gave him, creating
and sustaining a bubble large enough to trap Feng was beyond him.
He felt certain he could make one, but extending his energy out
that far would weaken it tremendously. Feng could easily breach
it.

Seeking inspiration, he surveyed the world
far below him. From this height, he could see nearly all of
northern Raa. To his horror, as he beheld Lodia, he noticed dots of
flames in a rough line running east to west across the landscape.
Amroth’s army must have pillaged their way across the country in
order to maintain their supplies. The demented king had come to
Ziorsecth to incite a tragedy, but he had done that in his own
lands long before reaching the forest.

At the limits of his vision, Iren spotted
the eastern ocean that bordered Lodia. He fantasized that he could
see the Tower of Divinion, his residence for so many years. He
wondered if the Holy Dragon’s painting still remained after
Haldessa’s destruction, and whether he would ever see it again. His
whole life, he’d tried to get away from that place. Now, he had an
odd feeling of nostalgia. For all its prejudices against him as a
Left, Lodia still deserved protection. It deserved better than
Feng.

As he floated there at the edge between air
and space, the first stretches of dawn appeared far to the east
over the ocean. The sun cast forth its tendrils over the darkened
world. Iren marveled at the way the light spread, pushing away the
darkness and replacing it with the hope of a new day.

Immediately, he knew what to do.

“
Iren, you must descend,”
Divinion warned. “Your air supply has nearly gone.”

He had already begun to drop. As he
plummeted, he released his shield and took a deep breath, savoring
the crisp autumn air. Feng sent a torrent of fire blazing at him,
but Iren dodged it nimbly. He careened around the monster, flying
at a dizzying speed. Undeterred, Feng shot wave after wave of
flames, filling the sky with their blistering heat, crimson glow,
and choking smoke. Two miles above the ground, the fires detonated
all around Iren, but he didn’t retaliate. Instead, he merely spun
in ever tighter circles, the Fire Dragon at their center. All the
while he kept his attention focused solidly on Feng, his expression
locked in concentration.

After several minutes, Iren’s speed dropped.
The Dragoon armor, which previously had felt all but weightless,
grew heavier with each passing second. The wings on his back
flickered; even the legendary Dragoon’s magic had limits. He was
almost out of time, yet he couldn’t quit, not yet.

His wings flashed once more, then vanished,
sending Iren hurtling toward the plain. His armor remained intact,
but he knew it had only a few moments left. Seeing Iren fall, Feng
crowed in victory and sent one of his arms surging forward,
snatching Iren from midair around the chest. The dragon pulled Iren
to his mouth, the flames adopting a smug expression.

“
All that effort, all in
vain,” Feng laughed. “You never attacked me once!”