Dragon Wish (44 page)

for Lior. The white female flew at the desert floor, reversed

direction to rise straight up, aiming for Arcane’s underbelly.

Arcane dodged. He slashed toward the white dragon’s

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head.

Seren’s heart rose to her throat.

Lior swerved out of the way at the last moment. In her

place, Bask blasted Arcane with rays of pure magical energy.

The beast passed through the bright beams, seeming

unaffected. In Arcane’s place, some twenty lesser dragons

surrounded Bask while driving Lior farther away.

Arcane circled, coming closer to the protective barrier,

and the spot where she stood. She kept track of his

movements, feeling uneasy with the way he eyed the magical

wall separating them.

“Leo?”

He grunted in response.

“Are you sure he can’t break through?”

The black man shifted, a frown on his face. “Pretty sure.

Why?”

She continued to observe the hypnotic rise and fall of

Arcane’s wings. “I want you to go below. Get ready to run

with Legion. Just to be on the safe side.”

“Seren?”

“Please, do what I ask. I want to make sure my baby is

safe,” she whispered.

He nodded, pivoted on his heel, and hurried toward the

stairs leading to the caverns.

Magic exploded behind her. She sent a quick glance over

her shoulder to see two huge beasts blasting each other with

fire. When she faced forward again, Arcane hovered even

with her, leering.

Terror froze her to stone.

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Chapter Twenty-Six

His skin itched. The dragon mark on Paladin’s left arm

twitched, the beast struggling for freedom. Rage at the

injustice of Arcane’s actions boiled over into his fighting.

High above the center of the cavern, Paladin sliced through

the armored underbelly of a lesser black dragon. His father’s

words filled his mind.

“Slice with the scales. A clean cut, no jerking. The blade

will go deep, the kill swifter.”

Dark blood, entrails, and dragonstones burst from the

opening. On contact with the air, the flesh and internal

organs evaporated into shimmering dust. The beast howled

while it fell, writhing with its death. Paladin concentrated on

keeping out of reach from most of the rogues’ breath, and all

of their clawed slashes. Lessons from years ago vibrated

through his mind.

“Draw in the magic, it will give you strength whereas

the breath will take it from you. Avoid, duck, roll, flip out of

the way then drive for the kill.”

To his right, Ren managed to avoid a massive swing from

another black rogue’s clawed hand. The wizard leapt from

the beast he rode, flipping over once to land on his feet,

balanced between the wings of another white dragon.

The dark haired man raised his staff to send a powerful

spell at his attacker, but a jarring strike to the underbelly of

his new ride knocked him off-balance. The blow sent Ren

sliding to the right.

Fear for his friend had Paladin angling in his direction.

Behind Ren, a massive billow of air, sand mingled with

glittering magical motes formed into the shape of a fanged,

six-horned dragon. Rimmed with gold, the sandy figure

roared in fury. Ren turned his head as he fell, eyes wide at

the sight.

Hoping to reach Ren before he tumbled off the white

dragon, Paladin whipped closer. Ren remained unmoving,

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his gaze locked on the beast behind him. The form streaked

past the wizard. It struck the dragon attacking him, blasting

a fissure the size of Paladin’s body through its chest.

The wizard tumbled and started the long descent to the

desert floor, his cape slapping against his body. He’d

dropped a few yards. More currents of magically charged air

mingled into four gold-edged dragons. Two caught the

wizard. They carried him to the ground. The others created a

buffer between Ren and any attacking enemy.

Concerned for his friend, Paladin landed next to him. Ren

waved a hand at him, demonstrating he needed no aid.

Paladin, even more determined to finish this fight, took flight

into the fray.

He lifted into the air, relieved Ren had suffered no harm.

After two successful strikes on a red and green rogue, a force

hit Paladin on the right side. Knocked off balance, he flipped

once, dull pain radiating from his hip. He glanced to his left.

Rylen, his wings unfurled, straightened and turned back to

him. The younger man, armored in white, motioned to him.

“Come brother, fight me. Alone. It is I that you desire to

destroy, is it not?” Rylen smirked, his gaze coated with a

misty darkness.

“Below then.” Paladin motioned to a sandstone slab

coated with magical dust a good distance from the entrance

to the caverns. “We will finish this.”

They landed on the smooth sandstone. Their wings

disappeared. Rylen slid both his swords free, one long, the

other shorter by half the length. The longer weapon, similar

to the one Paladin used, glinted in the twinkling sparkles

dotting the air around them.

With a grimace, Paladin nodded to the blade. “You would

defile our father’s sword in this manner?”

Rylen lifted a brow and sneered, “Defile? You foul the

very air I breathe.”

He charged at Paladin.

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* * * *

Seething hatred poured from the glance Arcane sent

Seren. Uncaring, she gritted her teeth and paced along the

edge of the stone overhang. She clenched and unclenched

her hands while she waited for him to make a move.

From the right, Lior rammed against his side, sinking her

pearl-scaled claws deep into his back and underbelly,

holding tight. Her mouth opened. The massive white dragon

bit into his arm, incisors slicing deep. Bones snapped, the

sound loud amid the battle. The mystic dragon’s arm hung

limp against his side.

Arcane roared, pain and fury evident in the cry. .

He swung around, shoving and pushing against the white

dragon, trying to dislodge her hold. He slammed her into

several approaching rogues. Releasing his black fiery breath,

he struck her in the upper body. Lior screamed, ending with

fire spiraling from her mouth. The streams of flames raced

toward Arcane.

While mother and son battled, Seren searched for any

sign of Paladin. The air thickened with a hazy mist. Worry

tightened her chest so fiercely that pain cut into her with

each breath. She sent up a silent plea for his safety.

* * * *

On the defensive, Paladin planted his feet on the stone,

his long sword held horizontal across his chest, his shorter

one at his side. Rylen leapt up, his blade over his head. For a

moment, time stopped. The image burned in Paladin’s mind.

His father’s words came to haunt him.

“You are the future King of the White Dragon Clan. My

heir. Be proud, be strong, and never allow your enemy to

defeat you.”

His brother’s white-gold hair gleamed with the swirling

motes floating in the air around them. Fierce determination

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sparkled in his mist shrouded eyes. The next second, Rylen

swung down with all his strength. The impact of metal

against metal drove Paladin back, his feet sliding on the

stone. Blue sparks lit the blades’ edges grating over each

other. Sandstone dust floated up beneath their feet, choking

Paladin.

With a grunt, face-to-face across the blades, Rylen

complimented him with a grin on his face. “Well, done, but

not good enough.”

He shoved harder. Paladin broke to the left. Rylen swiped

back and forth, driving him toward the edge of the slab one

step after another. Their weapons connected over and over.

Amazed at his younger brother’s fighting skills combined

with his power, Paladin realized Arcane instilled these

abilities in Rylen.

After Arcane’s assault on him in his youth, Rylen cared

little for any type of fighting with weapons or not. Before that

incident, he had acted like a normal young prince, interested

in every aspect of his teachings, in particular fighting. The

dragon’s black breath had fouled him. Paladin tried to recall

the last time he’d seen his brother pick up a blade, but could

not, yet now he fought with an expertise beyond his

capabilities.

Arcane caused Rylen to act in the manner the rogue

believed all humans behaved. Arcane bestowed on his

brother this new fighting ability with the same magic used to

control him. Paladin shot a quick glance up in an effort to see

how the battle flowed. The lesser dragons, along with their

younger kin flew above him. Arcane and the seven great ones

fought elsewhere.

Distracted, he still managed to avoid a slice from the

right. The gust of air passing by his head spurred his father’s

voice to return from his memories.

“Pay attention. Your death is sealed if you lose your

concentration.”

He lifted his weapon to block, and succeeded in stopping

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the blow, but not in time to halt the next one.

“Too slow,” Rylen mocked, his eyes alight with malicious

intentions.

The shorter sword, turned with the handle aimed at

Paladin’s abdomen. The strike broke through Paladin’s

defense to hit him in the belly. The air whooshed out of his

lungs. Rylen shoved him with a shoulder in his chest,

sending him backward several feet. He hit the edge of a

protruding boulder and slumped. He tried to catch his

breath, but Rylen followed him, leaving him no time.

He rolled to the right in an effort to avoid a thrust. On his

feet, he resumed his stance, weapons held in defense. Sweat

dripped from his forehead, slipping into his eyes, mingling

with the dust to sting them. Rylen growled. Annoyance

replaced the intense glint in his eyes.

“Fight me,” he muttered.

“Never.”

“Are you such a coward?”

“No. You are my brother. Blood of my blood. My love for

you is stronger even than the hate I have for all Arcane has

made you do.”

“Fool—idiot.” Rylen charged, frustration disappearing

under his anger. Both his blades cut left and then right in a

flurry. Paladin blocked each one, adding to Rylen’s growing

fury.

Breaking from this new onslaught, Paladin slid away to

leave a broad gap between the two of them. He took deep

cleansing breaths, trying to remain calm under his brother’s

onslaughts. “Soon, the mystic dragon will be gone. We will

defeat him. He will die. Do you truly believe I would harm

you knowing this?”

Mimicking his words in a high nasal tone, Rylen swiped

his sword down from left to right. “We will defeat him. Ha,

more like Arcane will devour all of you. Do not

underestimate the strength of that one.”

“Neither should you believe so strongly that Arcane is the

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better. We fight for our very lives. I swore to protect the

woman and child I love. I will be victorious.”

For the first time since the battle commenced between

them, Paladin surged at his brother. His sword connected

with Rylen’s again and again. Powdery sand coated his

tongue. His breath rattled with each short pant of air he drew

between his teeth.

A dragon’s scream of anguish distracted him. Rylen took

advantage of his quick glance at the sky. His brother swung

wide, missing him, but followed with a thrust of his shoulder.

Paladin took the full force of the shove against his left side.

He stumbled and went down on one knee. Rylen corrected

his direction. His brother raised his weapon above his head,

crazed laughter ringing out in the sudden silence of the battle

around them.

Exhausted, Paladin tried to regain his stance, but his legs,

weak from the battle, trembled, the muscles exhausted. His

brother angled his blade down, aiming for Paladin’s head.

* * * *

So lost in her search for Paladin, Seren didn’t notice

Arcane break free of Lior. The iridescent scales on the mystic

dragon’s body flickered with his pass in front of her. She

stiffened and stepped back, her focus returned to the beast.

He circled and headed straight at her. Opening his