“A little occupied, ghosty,” Jaxs’ voice rasped back.
I stole a glance over my shoulder, staying in my ghost form, so I wouldn’t get killed for the distraction.
Four thatchers were surrounding him, while another one held him down.
I bolted toward him, only materializing the second before I was in front of them and used my dagger to slice through the throat of the thatcher holding him down.
I whirled, not waiting to see if Jaxs came out of its death grip as I threw a dagger through the heart of another one, then pulled two more out and swiped both blades up the leathery material between the bony wings of the third.
It wailed, its rotten breath encompassing me.
Jaxs broke free the next second, but before he lifted his blade, teeth snapped as Bluey bit off the heads of the remaining two.
“I think this,” I blurted, gesturing around us, “is a distraction.”
Jaxs whirled his head, his gaze locking in on the tunnel. “Dammit,” he swore, seeing it too.
Jaxs had instructed the drakins that wanted to fight, to fly back after the Ferro moon took over. We were supposed to surround the monsters from the outside of MonClem, but the skies were still empty. It was too calm above the mountains. There should be dragons, there should be more monsters, there should be the Dead King…
“We need to get out of here,” I said, materializing for a split second to take out the nearest thatcher.
“How the hell are we supposed to get out of here when we’re surrounded by a freaking army of theflying deadand voicelesstin-men?”
A laugh escaped me because those were the perfect nicknames for the thatchers and sentries.
“How much of the lake can you pull?” I asked, bringing my focus back. “Can you completely flood MonClem?”
Jaxs hesitated for a moment, glancing at the buildings around us. I was asking him to destroy his home, but we weren’t getting out of here alive if he didn’t, and if Dahes won, everything in Viven would be destroyed.
We could rebuild, but we couldn’t bring people back from the dead. I learned that the hard way.
“Jaxs, can you?” I pressed.
“Aw, fuck. Yes,” he nodded. “Give me a few minutes and I can.”
He pointed toward the sky, to the moons about to shift again. The Ferro moon was still forward, but I was starting to see glimpses of blue appearing behind it. The Caerulus moon was about to take the front position. It meant we’d been trapped in here for an hour, getting absolutely nowhere.
“What does the shift in moons have to do with draining the lake?” I asked.
“Drakins’ powers are enhanced during the Solstice,” Jaxs grinned. “And it’s about to be my fucking turn.”
“Enhanced? What are you talking about?”
The Caerulus moon was moving faster, now adding a blue glow over the gray Ferro, about to fully move in front of it.
“Each moon that is forward has amplified powers during the Solstice,” he answered, cutting into two thatchers. “It’s another blessing from the Gods.”
Well, that was handy, and terrifying. Would Dahes’ power be amplified during the Ater moon? Dahes had to have had the Plenus bond since his magic didn’t fade after his dragon died, but would the Ater God still bless him?
I had to find Dahes before the Ater moon came forward.
“We need to leave now,” I said. “Will your dragon fly me?”
“Not unless you want to burn.”
“But I flew with Hael?—”
“Yeah,” he cut me off. “I don’t have the time to explain that to you right now.”
