‘I lingered too long in the forest,’ said Frostback, her voice strained. ‘My home… my family…’
Another dragon swooped down from above. It had a dark green body, with blue streaking its wings. Frostback saw it, and the two dragons circled each other.
‘Frostback!’ cried the green dragon. ‘You have returned.’
‘Halfclaw,’ said the silver dragon; ‘what happened?’
‘Blackrose and Sable provoked the Ascendants, and they destroyed the Catacombs. Many dragons died. Deathfang and Ashfall survived, though. Come, I will show you.’
The green dragon raced off to the east, and Frostback followed.
‘The Ascendants?’ whispered Aila. ‘Do you think…?’
‘Arete?’ said Kelsey.
‘She might have come here after she lost our trail.’
They crossed the broken valley and came to the slopes on the opposite side. A dozen dragons were in the sky, circling or hovering, while others were gathered in clusters on the barren hillsides.
‘I see Blackrose,’ said Aila. ‘What’s she doing?’
‘It looks like my father has challenged her to a fight,’ said Frostback. ‘We must hurry.’
She broke away from Halfclaw and soared down at high speed as Aila and Kelsey clung on. Below them, the large form of Blackrose was facing a huge grey dragon, while others were arranged around them in a wide circle. Blackrose had her claws extended, and flames were dancing over the jaws of both dragons. Frostback surged down, landing a few yards from them.
‘Stop!’ she cried.
The grey dragon turned to her, his eyes glowing. ‘Frostback?’
‘Fath… I mean, Deathfang.’
The three dragons stared at each other.
‘I am very happy to see you alive,’ said Blackrose. ‘We thought you fell at Yoneath.’
‘I was badly injured, but I survived. Shame has kept me from returning until now. Why are you fighting?’
Deathfang glanced from Frostback to Blackrose. ‘Have you seen the Catacombs?’
‘Yes,’ said Frostback.
‘That was Blackrose’s doing. She brought the Ascendants down upon us, her and her witch.’
‘That is not true,’ said Blackrose. ‘My only crime was to escape the pits of Alea Tanton.’
‘You were in the pits?’ cried Aila.
Deathfang and Blackrose glanced up at the two women on Frostback’s shoulders, as if noticing them for the first time.
‘I was. How did you come to be here, Aila? I thought Amalia had you held prisoner.’
‘We escaped too,’ said Kelsey.
‘And who is this?’ said Blackrose. ‘Wait. I saw you in Fordamere briefly. Kelsey Holdfast, is that right?’
‘Aye, that’s me.’
Deathfang emitted a low groan. ‘Frostback, why are you carrying a Holdfast witch on your shoulders? The sight saddens me. Has she ensnared you with her powers?’
‘Kelsey saved my life,’ said Frostback. ‘She can block the death powers of Ascendants. We were also attacked, by an Ascendant called Arete.’
‘That is the same one who destroyed the Catacombs,’ said Blackrose.
‘Is my aunt here?’ said Kelsey.
‘She is,’ said Blackrose. ‘She is resting at the moment, exhausted after driving the Ascendant away.’
‘Let me down,’ said Kelsey. ‘I have to see her.’
‘Of course,’ said Frostback. She angled her forelimb awkwardly, and Aila and Kelsey slid down to the barren ground.
The two women hurried through the cluster of dragons. Maddie and a young man were sitting by a shallow cave where Sable was lying. Maddie stood as she saw them approach.
‘Aila! Over here.’ She ran forward and threw her arms around the demigod. ‘You’re safe; you’re alive! I thought old Amalia was going to kill you or something. Hey, did you know that Corthie’s not dead?’
‘I certainly hope he’s not dead.’
‘That’s right; you don’t know that he was killed. You were snatched before that happened.’
Aila pushed Maddie back. ‘What? He was killed?’
‘Eh, yeah. By two Ascendants, then Belinda brought him back from the dead. I didn’t see it either, but Belinda told Blackrose all about it. Corthie fought the two Ascendants and lost.’
Aila felt tears flow from her eyes. ‘Where is he?’
‘Sorry; I don’t know.’
‘He was in Kin Dai,’ said a voice.
Aila looked down and saw Sable sitting up. Although Aila had never met the Holdfast woman, she had seen her in vision form, and remembered what she looked like.
‘Hello, auntie,’ said Kelsey.
Sable grinned and struggled to her feet. ‘Hello, niece. What a place to meet.’
Sable embraced her. Kelsey stood stiffly for a moment, then returned the embrace as the others watched.
‘Two Holdfast witches together,’ said a dark red dragon who was close by.
‘This is Sanguino,’ said Sable. ‘I’m his rider.’
‘What?’ cried Kelsey. ‘How did you get a damn dragon? That’s not fair.’
‘I saw you ride in on Frostback’s shoulders,’ said Sanguino. ‘Are you her rider?’
Kelsey looked sheepish. ‘No, well, no, but I’m, eh, trying. I want to be. How did you do it, Sable?’
‘Sable and I have a deep bond,’ said the dark red dragon. ‘She helped me fly again after I was blinded in one eye.’
Sable swayed a little, and sat back down. ‘I’m still tired,’ she said, as Aila, Kelsey and Maddie also sat.
‘What did you do?’ said Aila. ‘Blackrose said you drove the Ascendant off. How?’
‘I went into her mind and “persuaded” her to go back to Alea Tanton.’ She met Aila’s eyes. ‘I’m sorry about before, you know, when I manipulated your feelings. I shouldn’t have done it.’
‘It’s alright,’ said Aila.
Sable turned to Kelsey. ‘It’s good to see you again, niece, but I have to tell you something.’
‘Aye?’ said Kelsey.
‘I won’t be going back with the rest of you to the Star Continent.’
‘Oh?’
Sable glanced down. ‘I’ve decided to go to Dragon Eyre with Blackrose, Sanguino and Maddie.’
‘And me,’ said the young man sitting next to them.
‘Yes, and you, Millen. And three other dragons as well. We have our own little army.’
‘Wow,’ said Kelsey. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Makes a change,’ said Sable. ‘You might be the only Holdfast who’ll care, though. I can’t imagine Daphne will lose any sleep over it.’
‘What about Corthie?’ said Aila. ‘Did you say you met him?’
‘No, I’ve yet to lay eyes on my nephew. I saw him via vision, though; like I said, in Kin Dai. He was with Naxor and a couple of Banner officers.’
‘Van?’ said Kelsey.
‘Yes; you know him?’
Kelsey’s face flushed.
‘How was Corthie?’ said Aila. ‘Maddie told me he was
