Page 33 of The Dragonrider and the Void
There,Hardin spotted a clearing through the smokey haze below.
Energy churning inside him swelled against his will to hold the power at bay. It was almost like the magic from their bond was reacting to the storm. Ice crystals formed along his sleeves, crackling with violet tendrils of energy.
Quinthara banked toward the opening in the trees, but a massive lightning strike forced her to veer sharply out of the way. Magical energy other than their own was palpable here. This was no ordinary firestorm. The gods were using it to send their influence through the veil. The abrupt movement in flight forced Hardin to lose focus, his control over his bond slipped.Ice crystals formed down his arms, spreading rapidly from his hands across Quinthara’s scales.
She sent a warning through their bond, but not from the purple-hued frost spreading on her back. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose as he smelled what she had already sensed on the wind. It was the scent of sweat and blood mixing with soot and smoke.
We’re not alone,he realized. Looking through a new lens, he noticed the differences in magical signatures swirling within the storm.Paragons,he realized.
They hit the clearing harder than intended. Quinthara’s claws dug deep furrows in the smoldering earth as she fought for balance. Hardin maintained his seat in the saddle, his knuckles white, as they skidded to a stop.
All around them, smoke puffed off blackened trees. Stumps smoldered and charred brush stood out like black spines emerging from the soot-stained ground.
As he covered his face, his throat burning from the smokey haze, Hardin began to make out figures moving in on their position. Armored soldiers with green shields marched toward them from the left. Orcs bearing copper flags emerged through the murk to their right. A third line of infantry wearing the Vermillion Keep’s red helmets marched straight on.
For a moment, they both held still, hearts racing in unison.
We landed between the forces of three advancing Keeps,Hardin realized.
He looked down at the charred earth at their feet. Brilliant blue glowing Yogo Sapphires littered the ground.
“Just our luck,” Hardin said, feeling an intense longing to drink in the energy from the Yogos, fueling the river of power they held with their bond. “We need to move before?—”
A crack of thunder drowned out his words, followed by shouts. Through the smoke, armored figures charged toward them. They’d been spotted.
“Dragonrider!” The shout came from among the Vermillion Keep’s troop. “Secure those Sapphires!”
Quinthara’s instincts flashed with the willingness she gave to Hardin to gather the Yogos and take their power back to the rebel camp.
We can’t fight all of them,Hardin thought, projecting through their bond.I don’t have the training.
She spread her wings, preparing for takeoff, but a volley of arrows from the Nordraven troop forced her to pull them back.
The green-shielded soldiers of Storm Keep charged in. Lightning split the sky again, illuminating the hazy battlefield in glowing flashes. Each strike made the scattered Sapphires shout for Hardin to draw on their energy.
Hardin felt it building in him again, stronger than before. His attempts to contain it were failing. “Quin. I can’t?—”
Quinthara’s idea struck him with startling clarity. She wanted him to let go; to use the power and let it flow through their bond unfettered.
Another arrow whizzed past them as the Vermillion Keep’s troops closed in from the front. The Nordraven troop flanked right, copper flags snapping in the storm winds. Time had run out.
Hardin released his grip on their bond, but instead of letting it explode outward, he directed it downward. Violet energy erupted from his hands. Water welled from the ground, pooling at the surface and mixing with the ash the Yogos rested in. The magic flowed, drawing more water from the ground as it spread, expanding like a lake around them.
Hardin blinked.It’s working,he thought. Somehow, with Quinthara’s help, they were able to guide their influence over the groundwater.
The water swirled around him, purple lines of energy crackling between them and the water. He guided the Yogos through the water, using the surface tension, causing the Sapphires to gather around Quinthara’s feet.
The closest soldiers staggered back as the moat of water created a barrier. Hardin built it up, raising the water like a spinning wall encircling them, blocking any of the soldiers from attacking. Arrows hitting the water were swept aside and spit back out toward adjacent forces.
“Stop him!” a commanding voice carried through from beyond the torrent. “Don’t let him take the Sapphires.”
But it was too late. Hardin and Quinthara pulled each Yogo into their possession. The blue light flickered and winked out in those Hardin held in his hand. The wall of water shrank slightly. An orc’s head emerged through the wall, his shoulders pressing through before the water carried him off his feet and spit him out among Lamar forces.
Quinthara’s urgency for them to flee keyed Hardin into their growing lack of control over the magic in their bond.
Hardin desperately wanted to cling to that feeling of control. But even as the Yogos dwindled and as the water lowered, Hardin knew they had to flee. As the wall of water dropped further, he could see that wards had formed around each of the three armies. Where before, he needed to locate the runes and feel for the magic, now he could physically see them. The energy rippled like curtains in his magically charged vision. Without thinking, he reached out toward them with his mind and pulled.
The wards protecting the three armies twisted and snapped with an explosion of magical light. Chaos erupted as their defenses collapsed, leaving each army exposed to the others.
