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She readied herself to defend against whatever they had in store, raising her sword.
Magic passed between them on a crackling current. Building. Building. Then, in unison, they raised their hands. Magic burst forth. She braced for it, but soon saw it wasn’t directed at her. To her astonishment, they targeted Prince Gideon. Why would they attack their own ally? Unless he was no longer useful to them. Did they want him out of the way?
Too late, she realized they weren’t hurting him, but helping. Gideon’s reptilian muscles bulged and expanded. His body grew to twice its normal size, like the dragon version of hulking out. His increased size and mass didn’t slow him down, however. In fact, he seemed to grow more agile. He roared as he spewed white-hot fire at Orik.
Jessie glanced down at Phoenix. “Help him.”
Like a shot, she was off, climbing up Gideon’s haunches and using her razor-like teeth and claws to tear open his thick flesh as she went.
“Ah,” Rathmort drawled, “but who will help you? I can tell you expelled a lot of your power with that last spell. Maybe too much?” He cocked his head as he assessed her. The glyph on her hand burned, but she ignored it this time.
“Try me,” she snapped, pointing her sword. The blade had visibly diminished in size. A foreboding sign?
He smirked at the challenge, then slammed his palms together and muttered something under his breath. When his hands separated, he produced a fiery sword of pure black flame, seemingly from nowhere. “This should prove amusing.”
There was no time to think. Rathmort flew straight at her, appearing to not even touch the ground. She barely managed to block his attack with the edge of her sword. Several strands of her hair were severed, carried away by the wind. Their blades kissed like two opposing magnets, instantly repelled, and they both stumbled back. She touched her cheek, which felt like it had been sunburned. The heat from his black-flamed sword had nearly scalded her.
Looking into that black flame was like staring into an abyss. Deep, unending, permanent. Death.
Shoulders straightening, she countered with a decisive swipe of her blue-flamed sword, her power flaring, but he vanished before her strike landed…only to reappear directly behind her!
She sensed his presence before she saw him and quickly ducked out of the way, narrowly escaping that fearsome blade a second time. Damn, he was fast. Plus, he could sift. She felt she was at a major disadvantage—
A powerful blast of magic slammed into her back, tossing her several yards. The air whooshed from her lungs as she landed hard. The painful impact blacked her vision for a moment. Her rattled brain pulled up flashes from the past. From her childhood…
Her mother gazed at her through the cracked rearview mirror, blood dripping from her forehead. The world was cockeyed, tilted all wrong. Despite her wounds, her mother managed to choke out words Jessie still remembered:One day you will be very powerful.I will watch you from the stars.
Gulping in breaths, Jessie shook her head to clear the memory. Leaves and twigs rained from her hair. Past the ringing in her ears, she heard Orik bellow, then saw him leap to defend her, but Hulk/Gideon tackled him to the ground, his jaw gaping on a snarl, razor-sharp fangs glistening in the moonlight, dripping with saliva...
Terror like she’d never felt before crashed through her bloodstream. “Orik!” she cried. He could lose his head in a single chomp!
Phoenix darted back up Hulk/Gideon’s spine and shimmied up to bite off one of his humongous horns, snapping it at the base. The way Hulk/Gideon reared back and screeched told Jessie it must have been excruciating.
The violent way he shook his head jostled Phoenix loose and sent her flying into a thicket of bushes.
With the mammoth dragon distracted, Orik was able to scramble away. Jessie felt a dizzying relief, but the danger was far from over.
She pushed to stand, realizing the attack on her had originated from one of Rathmort’s followers.Cowards!“Of course you wouldn’t let this be a fair fight.”
Rathmort laughed. “Fair? Ha! You don’t win by playingfair. You win by cheating and lying and taking what you want. I will rule over the dragons. And once I do, I will establish the most powerful coven on the entire planet. All will bow to my power. I will be legendary.”
She scoffed. “Cue the maniacal laugh.”
“You could still join me,” he offered. “I admire your resilience, your loyalty, misplaced though it is.” He stepped to the right, lifting his sword. “We could rule together.”
She stepped to her left, raising her own sword. “Tempting, but no thanks. I prefer to be on the right side of history. And no one in the history of the universe has ever said, “Gee, that tyrant turned out to be beneficial to the welfare of our society.”
“Too bad…for you. I am going to enjoy breaking you.” He took another step to his right. If she countered his position again, it would put her closer to another set of his cohorts and make her vulnerable to another cheap shot. She did it anyway, knowingly.
Rathmort’s lips twitched with arrogance. He thought he had her beat.
* * *
Orik roared, desperate to get to Jessie—she didn’t see the witch behind her gathering power for another devastating blow. This one could knock her out completely…or kill her—but Prince Gideon’s dragon form was too formidable. He’d gained the mass and strength of three dragons, and Orik could barely fend off his attacks.
Prince Gideon swiped out his razor-tipped paw and ripped into Orik’s shoulder. The pain was excruciating, but all he could focus on was Jessie. She was about to be blindsided.And there is nothing I can do.If he could only put himself between her and the threat, he could take the shot for her, but Gideon blocked his every attempt. Over and over he slammed into Gideon’s body with his own, used his claws and teeth to shred his thick hide, but it was like ramming and tearing at a concrete block.
Then it was too late. A blast of power erupted toward Jessie, ready to take her out in one fell swoop.And my heart will go with her.
