‘Did everyone get out?’ cried Blackrose.
‘Yes,’ said Sanguino. ‘Sable and I were the last to leave.’
‘Find the Ascendant, Sable,’ said Blackrose, as the black dragon hovered close by.
‘I can’t,’ she said, ‘not when I’m using my powers to help Sanguino fly. I can’t do both at the same time.’
‘Then land. The Ascendant must be close, if she could bring down the tomb.’
A few other dragons were taking to the air to see what was happening.
‘What have you done?’ cried Burntskull, soaring up from Deathfang’s lair.
A deafening roar of noise cut off Blackrose’s response. Beyond the Catacombs, the two volcanoes both erupted, sending twin blasts of lava, burning rocks and ash into the sky. A ragged crack split the face of the cliff where the tombs lay, and ancient pillars and pediments toppled down to the valley floor. A surge of lava overwhelmed the top of the cliff, and began to pour down, entering some of the tombs, from where the terrible sound of screams echoed.
‘Evacuate!’ cried Burntskull. ‘Get everybody out! Flee!’
Dragons shot out of the tombs, some carrying infants in their jaws or forelimbs, as the Catacombs were devastated. Some dragons emerged from their tomb with their wings on fire, their bodies spattered with lava, and others were hit by the burning rocks that were raining down like a fiery hailstorm. Deathfang appeared, a bloody wound on his right flank as he escorted Darksky and their three infants into the air.
Sable stared at the destruction. Dragons were dying; the old, the young; those who had hesitated or who had remained behind to help others. Floods of lava were cascading down the front of the cliffs, burying the tombs with molten rock. The surviving dragons circled higher and higher to escape the rain of rocks and the rising cloud of ash. The sky filled with dragons, each staring down at the catastrophe that had enveloped their homes. The two volcanoes were blasting ever more material into the air, and the flows of lava had transformed the cliffside. Not a single tomb entrance was visible; every one had been destroyed.
‘Who is responsible?’ said Deathfang, his voice echoing across the valley. ‘Who has done this?’
‘An Ascendant,’ said Blackrose, rising up to join the chief where he was circling. ‘She did this.’
‘Where is she?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You brought her wrath down upon us,’ cried Burntskull. ‘This is revenge for your escape from the city.’
‘Is that true, Blackrose?’ said Deathfang.
‘Should I have meekly died in the pits?’ she said. ‘Did you not also escape? They hate us, and fear us, that is why they have attacked.’
Deathfang said nothing, his eyes on the destruction of his home as his forelimbs gripped one of his children.
‘What should we do, sire?’ said Burntskull.
Rage burned in Deathfang’s eyes. ‘Retreat. Flee to the other side of the valley. The Catacombs are no more.’
He surged away, heading east, and the others followed, leaving the cataclysm behind them.
* * *
‘I see her,’ said Sable from where she sat on the barren slope. ‘She’s standing a couple of miles from the base of the southern volcano. She’s watching us.’
‘Are you sure, witch?’ said Deathfang.
‘I am.’
Deathfang nodded and glanced around. The survivors were stretched out along the ragged hillside, close to the caves where Grimsleep had lived. A count had been undertaken, and twenty-five dragons were missing, including six infants. The sky to the west was filled with smoke, and the rumbling of the volcanoes could be felt through the ground.
‘What should we do?’ said Ashfall.
‘Why do you care?’ snapped Deathfang. ‘You were leaving us anyway.’
‘You think I don’t care, father? My love for you and the Catacombs is no less for my decision to go to Dragon Eyre.’
‘Twenty-five dragons!’ he cried, his voice strained. ‘My heart burns for revenge. The accursed Ascendant did this, and she must pay, but so too must those who provoked her into this attack.’ He glanced at Burntskull. ‘We shall first seek out the Ascendant, and consume her with fire.’
‘She will strike you down if you approach her,’ said Sable.
‘Be quiet, insect,’ said Deathfang, his jaws open.
Sanguino moved to protect her. ‘Do not speak to my rider like that. She is not to blame for what has occurred.’
‘No?’ said Deathfang. ‘That witch has turned your mind. It was she who rescued Blackrose, was it not? It was she who engineered the slaughter among the humans that ensued. She is the reason the Catacombs have been destroyed. Frostback should have killed her that day, and I should have allowed it. You are weak, Sanguino. Sable and Blackrose must pay for this.’
‘Calm yourself,’ said Blackrose. ‘You are doing what the Ascendant wants you to do; lashing out at your friends instead of blaming the true enemy.’
Deathfang faced her. Sparks ran across his teeth, and he raised a forelimb, the claws extended.
‘You are the enemy,’ he growled. ‘It was always you. From the moment you arrived, you have spread dissension and estranged my own daughters from me. I should have fought and defeated you then, before you had a chance to poison the minds of the others.’
The dragons backed away, leaving Deathfang and Blackrose standing facing each other.
‘I curse you,’ said Deathfang; ‘may rats eat your flesh, and crows peck out your eyes while you lie helpless on the barren soil.’
‘I will not fight you,’ said Blackrose. ‘I will not do the work of the Ascendants for them.’
‘Coward,’ snarled Deathfang.
Blackrose’s red eyes glowed with rage, and her body tensed, ready.
‘Stop this nonsense,’ said Sable, striding along the slope until she stood between the two
