He points at the sky, and I see the Elder dragon is coming back. Hell.
“You should try to hit her with your spell while she’s distracted by the fools down the hill,” Tish suggests.
“You’re right.” I grab the crystal again and concentrate, but because I had already started the spell earlier, I don’t feel as strong as before.
No. I can’t give up. I have to give it my all. I close my eyes, blocking everything around me, and just focus on the power that lives inside me. The crystal becomes warm in my hands, and I feel power surge not only from within me, but also from the ground beneath my feet, and from the air surrounding me.
Igor says something, but his words are muffled. It’s almost like I’m underwater. I only open my eyes again when I feel like the energy I created with the spell is about to burst out of me, and I need to aim at the Elder dragon. But she’s not the only dragon in the sky. There’s another equally massive one flying above us. They’re circling each other in a perilous dance, but neither seems inclined to attack, until the middle head of the Elder dragon shoots fire from her mouth.
The other dragon flies out of range, and that’s when I decide to strike. I throw my hands forward, and with a battle cry, I send the power sphere I created barreling toward the Elder dragon. It hits her square in the chest, but unfortunately, it doesn’t kill her.
I fall to my knees, completely zapped of energy, feeling like a failure. Then the world goes dark.
Forty
VAUGHN
Ihave the phone glued to my ear when a power sphere crosses the sky and hits the Elder dragon in the chest. I’ve seen that type of magic before. I look in the direction the sphere came from and see Sophie on the top of a hill just as she collapses to her knees.
“Sophie!” I run toward her, forgetting everyone else. I don’t care about what’s going on up in the sky with the Elder dragon and Larsson. I have tunnel vision, locked in on reaching Sophie.
A sudden roar makes the ground shake. I lose my balance and stagger forward, falling on my hands and knees. Heat comes from above, but I don’t look; I spring back onto my feet and keep going. When I reach the top, Sophie is down and passed out in Igor’s arms.
“Sophie, no…” I drop to my knees next to her. “What happened?”
“She drained herself casting that spell,” Igor replies.
I touch her face, finding it cold. Her pulse is also weak. “Soph, wake up, please.” I pull her into my arms.
“I think she might have gone into premature hibernation,” Tish states, and I notice the sadness in her voice.
“No! She can’t have gone back to sleep. I just found her.” Tears gather in my eyes. “Please, Soph, don’t leave me.”
“Uh-oh. We got company,” Tish says, but I couldn’t care less.
Igor jumps to his feet, body now coiled tight like a spring.
“What the hell! What are you doing here, Igor?” Lucca yells.
“Saving your ass, apparently,” Igor snaps back.
“Saving us?” Lucca laughs. “Who do you take me for? Jacques sent you after us, didn’t he?”
“Jacques didn’t send us, jackass. We did just help you,” Tish retorts.
“What the fuck are you?”
“Everybody shut up!” I shout.
“Vaughn, what’s going on?” Vivi asks.
I shake my head, then cut my wrist and press it against Sophie’s lips. “Wake up, babe. Wake up.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Vivi drops to her knees.
“She’s gone into hibernation. She put every ounce of energy she had into that blast that hit the Elder dragon,” Tish replies.
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have told her I was coming here,” I say.
