The words from Matt caused a hail of metal shards to pelt Nir’lion, whose head swiveled from Eric to him, a blast of flames roaring around him and Anna again. When her flames stopped, Matt conjured his own from the staff. Even as the fire raced toward the dragon, she kicked out at the priestess and sent Anna tumbling across the ground. Matt’s spell faltered, but then fury tore through him and the flames strengthened. The dragon leapt into the air, wings beating furiously as she escaped his attack. Eric ran across the ground to reach Anna, who wasn’t moving. Looking for blood, Matt saw none on her white robes and wondered just how badly she was hurt. Ryan hadn’t moved from where he lay. A growing anger grew within. The dragon flew over the nearby peaks and disappeared, but he knew it wouldn’t last.
Matt heard Eric quietly calling Anna’s name while holding her. That meant she was unconscious. “Get her out of sight,” he called, watching for Nir’lion. Eric seemed to agree, for he carefully picked her up over one shoulder and made for the tree line. Matt raised his shield.
Where is she? he thought, eyes scanning the sky. He looked at his friends and all of them were seemingly out of harm’s way. Matt was the lone target remaining and felt confident his shield would hold. He stood alone in the clearing, the Dragon Gate off to one side. If Nir’lion had been smart, she would’ve brought help, for they’d never have beaten two dragons at once. It didn’t look like they were going to beat one.
A subtle sound of a wing flapping caught his ears, but he still saw nothing. He checked each mountain around them, wondering which one she’d come out from behind. He gazed straight up. Nothing. A sound of rustling leaves caught his ears to one side, but there was nothing there. The wind? He felt no motion. The sound grew louder and he turned to the direction, suddenly seeing the treetops sway violently right at the clearing’s edge.
Invisible! he realized. A blow of some kind. That had to be the reason.
He ran to one side as a whoosh of air reached him, the snapping shut of giant jaws just feet away. The dragon appeared to him now, for the illusion of invisibility only worked if he didn’t know of her spell. The sight of her golden body passing overhead, claws haphazardly swiping at him, stunned him. As she passed him, the staff in one of his hands violently flew away. He watched in horror as it tumbled end over end, up and above the trees for a hundred yards before falling among the boles. The dragon’s tail had struck it. The way to close the gate was gone. The way to shield himself was gone. The source of aid he needed for every spell that stood a chance of stopping Nir’lion was gone. Matt watched in terror as the golden dragon turned, a whorl of fire already brewing in her opening mouth, a look of triumph dawning in the golden eyes.
“Time to die,” she growled, banking toward him.
Matt eyed the distance. Ten seconds, if that, before he died. Then Anna, Eric, and Ryan died. Then everyone on Honyn. And maybe everyone back on Earth if the dragons figured out that’s where they came from. Or thought that’s where the Ellorians were hiding. Andier. Eriana. Korrin.
Soliander.
Before he understood why, his hand reached into a pocket and pulled out a dagger, images of a spell he’d never seen before popping into his head. As if he’d cast it before, the words came to his mind and out his mouth, the hand with the blade held up, pointing toward the dragon that was hurtling at him. He saw her lungs expand. He saw the words on the page of a spell book. He saw what was supposed to happen when he finished the words. Matt searched around him for every source of energy to draw from. With the staff gone, that meant everything that lived. As if the staff had blinded him to other sources of power before, he suddenly saw and felt them all, trees, plants, insects, birds, mammals. With a rush of ecstasy mixed with fury, the power roared into him.
“Kuniali mu'unia a narosmor likaa a rarkimor kiapan. Mu'oste aatsum!” Fly true this steel, as light as air, as fast as light, a fate you seal/steal!
The dagger in his hand erupted into flames and leapt from his outstretched hand. Leaving a trail of fire behind it, the blade arced through the air at Nir’lion, who began spraying her own fire toward Matt. She turned to evade the flaming dagger, but it moved with her like a heat seeking missile, slamming into her chest and passing right through the golden scales. With a look of shock, surprise, and horror, Nir’lion stopped flapping her wings. The flames in her mouth drew back in as if she’d inhaled them. Matt began to topple backwards, his last sight an enormous golden dragon that appeared to be dead in the air slamming into the clearing with a thunderous crash and tumbling into the trees, where she burst into flames.
Chapter 19 – Firestorm
Eric shielded himself and the unconscious Anna from the roaring flames as Nir’lion burned. He finally tore his eyes away to see Matt on his back. None of his friends were moving. He ran to the wizard, stopping above him in shock. Matt’s hair had gone grey. Deep lines creased his face like he’d aged forty years. His breath came in ragged gasps. Thinking quickly, he knelt and looked at the wizard’s Trinity Ring. It had one spell left. He knew that his and Ryan’s were spent. Rather than healing Matt, he removed the item and ran to Anna, whom he used it on. Her eyes fluttered open and he quickly filled her in, noting that her protective spell
