Tears of War (68 page)

Smoke choked the air, the smell of burnt hair and feathers billowed out of the Mallay from the animals that had failed to escape. It mingled with the reek of death and the sickly scent of blood soaked, scorched earth. Bile rose in the back of Maleena’s throat and she gagged, coughing several times in an attempt to clear it.

Kalila and her guards waited patiently for the survivors. For now, the people of the Mallay and the surrounding villages would be taken in by Markene.

What was to be done with the prisoners from Turindar and Hanover had been decided by the dragons. A large swath of ash marked where the prisoners had been.

No enemy left behind to bite you in the tail later had been their reasoning. Though many had pled that they only followed orders, the dragons had informed them that their actions were their own to decide. Their path had been their own to choose and the blame could be laid at no feet but their own.

Dragon justice was swift and hard.

Kirynn and Syrakynn opened a Slide for Kalila, the people of the Mallay, and the survivors from the Trilene and Dellar Districts that had fought for them. Galdrilene would have to help Markene with its new burden of people.

Maleena shook her head. That could be dealt with later.

As the last of the allies were returned, Maleena stared across the field. So much lost. The dead of both sides beyond the dragons and their riders would be left. Maleena hoped the stench of rotting corpses would haunt the Trilene and Dellar Districts for weeks.

Mckale stopped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Everything is done that can be done here. Jocelynn, Varnen, and Serena took all of the healers home.”

Maleena swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. “I want to go home to Galdrilene for a little while.”

“I think that is what we all need for now.” He laced his fingers through hers as they walked to Nydara and Tellnox.

Maleena sat at the edge of the caldera, staring out at the glittering waters of the bay. One hand rested on her swollen belly while the other absently stroked Cat’s fur. Galdrilene mourned its losses. The hold felt empty, even with everyone home. The gaping hole of five lost riders and four lost dragons remained a raw and open wound.

Wiping the fresh tears from her eyes, Maleena contemplated the future without Emallya, Bardeck, and Mernoth. How would they go on without them? They all still had so much to learn. Could the Guardians make it through the coming war without the wisdom of the older couple and their dragon?

The view of the bay offered no answers.

Please note the following preview is an unedited, early version of the prologue from the exciting conclusion of the
Dragon’s Call
series,
Ashes and Spirits.
In the final version, the prologue will be fully edited and its content may slightly change.

M
aleena stood in the middle of a blackened field. Ash floated through the air like snow. Tears streaked her face as she slowly turned and a fist closed over her heart. Tellnox lay still and crumpled on the burnt ground, his brilliant green scales charred. A long, jagged tear laid his neck open from jaw to shoulder. Mckale lay not far from Tellnox, his silver eyes staring sightlessly at the sky.

With a sob, Maleena turned away. Her eyes fell on Kellinar’s body. Next to him, Shryden’s now white scales were evidence of a dragon that died after his rider. Taela wandered lost and screaming through the battlefield. Paki’s body lay partially submerged in the perfectly round and still lake.

Syrakynn raised her voice in keening sorrow as she dragged herself across the ground to her fallen rider. With each passing moment, more of the red washed from her scales.

Loki leaned against Merru. Both of them bled heavily from too many wounds. Serena sat next to her dead Miya, her eyes filled with loss and desperation as she stared off into nothing.

Maleena turned, frantically searching for Nydara. The silver lay behind her, both wings shattered beyond repair and one back leg useless. It was too much. Too much sorrow, too much devastation, too much…

The screech of a Shadow Dragon spun her around. More Kojen charged over the battlefield. Maleena grabbed a discarded sword, maybe one of Mckale’s, and braced herself to meet them. Despite the pain in her wings, Nydara pulled herself forward. Using the last of her strength, the silver sent fire into the sky to hold off the Shadow Dragon while Maleena met the wave of Kojen.

There were far too many, but Nydara could no longer fly. Maleena fought with her last breath to defend the Silver. Pain exploded in her head as a hard swung Kojen sword connected. Darkness closed over her as she fell to the ground. Nydara’s grief filled roar echoed in her ears as the world faded…

The image shifted…

Maleena worked a weave she had only used once before under the direction of a much older dragon. Mckale and Tellnox tried to keep the Shadows at bay while Nydara made defensive moves as Maleena wove. It was nearly finished, two more threads…

A black dragon crashed into Nydara and the weave fumbled. A wave of white light burst away from Maleena, ripping apart and destroying everything in its path. The concussion from the exploding wave stunned Maleena and knocked Nydara from the sky. The still lake rushed up at them.

The last thing Maleena saw before the not-quite-water of the lake closed over her was the wave tearing her friends from the sky. Then the lake claimed her and the silver and their souls fled…

The image shifted…

And again ended with the deaths of her and those around her. Over and over the images shifted each one different and yet each one ending the same. The Shadow Riders won. The Guardians and their dragons were all killed.

Until the last image…

This one saw her friends mostly intact, the Shadow Riders and their dragons dead along with the Kojen. What she saw in the sky stunned her. As the image faded, Maleena saw herself in Mckale’s arms as he wept into her hair. Nydara lay nearby, her silver scales slowly fading.

A fading, familiar voice whispered through her mind.
“The unfinished weave is the only way.”

Maleena shook her head slightly and reached for the voice, desperate to hear it one more time, but it was gone. She turned the images over, examining them for any information that could be gleaned. Each one had ended in her death. The last one though showed her friends still alive. Her life for those of everyone she loved. If Nydara was willing, it would be a fair exchange. Either way, it looked like she would likely die anyway. She would rather do so saving her friends and their dragons.

“I will make the sacrifice with you and we shall go together into Maiadar. It will be a worthy death,”
Nydara sent.