RUMAL LEANED HARD OUT AND felt his stomach drop. Over the tops of the mountains leading into the valley more enemy marched. Thousands of troops of armed Arumites.He cursed, pounding a fist against his thigh while Kassie demanded to know who they were. 'Arumites, Kass. Our guys are screwed.''What do we do? Do we attack them?' Kerak asked.'No, Kerak. We deal with the dragons.''What'll we do?' Kassie shrieked against the wind. 'We need to split up, we could tackle those troops.'Gritting his teeth Rumal pulled her close, unable to keep the harsh sound from his voice when he spoke in her ear. 'We deal with the dragons. When the way to the castle is clear, we leave. We have our orders.'Kassie struggled in his hold, twisting to stare at his face, her eyes angry and lips pale.'No! We can't, we have to help!'They had seconds before they reached the other griffons. Rumal caught her chin with his fingers, eyes boring into hers and in an angry but even tone, snapped. 'We follow o
'THEY KNOW AND AREN'T HAPPY,' I thought to Loushka. 'I've shut the link off.''Good. I'll keep watch from outside, make sure to keep your mind open so I can see what's going on.''I will.''And be careful, Cat. Jenviet is cunning.'I gulped. 'I'll try.'I could see now that our army had done exactly as desired but the massive gap between the enemy and castle just reminded me of the atrocious position they now stood inwhere we'd left them. The land bridges created by Loi did mean a large group would have difficulty in moving en-masse but still-'Don't despair, Cat. The chance of anyone getting home was always slim. If we succeed here, then it is a worthy sacrifice.'Leaving good men to die felt anything but worthy and I clenched the saddle handle tight, building the fury against Jenviet while focusing on the castle ahead. High formidable walls surrounded the towers, and a solid metal gate that would be an issue if we weren't flying in. The tower roofs looked like the conical hats
THE AIR AROUND ME CRACKLED with screams of anguish and my knees turned to water when I recognized Alek's final cries from that awful morning. The sounds rooted me to the spot as I heard the laboured breaths, the groans and whimpers of pain before it startedthe slight crackle of energy followed by his inhuman, bone jarring, shrieks of agony. My chest heaved and I gulped breaths, holding back tears until the sounds grew quiet and I heard his broken whispers to me, his tortured voice shattering my heart. Tears fell, plodding on the thick carpet at those final words.Then it vanished. The room still and silent like when I'd entered.Swallowing, and swallowing again, I shook off the sudden, overwhelming grief and turned to glare at the portrait, dagger itching against my palm. The gaze looked blankly past me.Stumbling on the thick pile carpet, I stiffened my limbs and ignored the portraits, continuing my way around the curving corridor. Those bulging lights continued and I counted two m
IGNATIUS THOUGHT THE CASTLE GATES would pose a problemhe hadn't expected to find them open. The Lieutenant studied the open gatehouse uneasily and paused to draw his sword and dagger, then continued up the wide path into the courtyard. Aiming for the first door he spotted, he stopped at a soft throaty warble and looked up. Loushka sat on the roof of the highest tower and peered down at him then made a deliberate motion with her head to the central door, into the tower she sat on. With a nod of thanks, Ignatius moved silently up the stairs and pushed one of the stubbed iron doors wide. After a vigilant look around, he slipped in and let the door close behind.THE SILENCE I STEPPED INTO after all the noise from the shadow creatures felt unnerving. It looked like the first floor; dark wood walls and a thick rich carpet. Again, I could see no one around. Only a few feet before me stood a beautiful blue tank. Large and cylindrical, taller than me by another half easily. The warmth of the
COMPARED TO THE OTHER FLOORS this floor shone with light and I couldn't see any wood panelling, instead marbled dove grey stone walls and floors that reflected the light from ornate iron and glass lamps hanging from the ceiling. It felt like stepping into an art gallery, so pristine and modern; but the coppery scent of blood stopped me. I paused in the narrow corridor, ears straining to make out the strange grating sound I could hear. It seemed vaguely familiar, yet set my teeth on edge.Keeping my shield in place I followed the corridor around to the left and around further until I reached an archway. Peering through I saw a spacious corridor with archways into alcoves down either side. From this archway I could count three on the left and two on the right, although it looked like the end one on the left might lead to the stairwell. The archways had elaborate wrought iron detailing over the stone and more lamps hung down. That odd grating noise continued intermittently but I couldn't
KASSIE CLUNG TO THE SADDLE when Kerak dived with a screech and Rumal lunged up from a crouch, hurling another spear through the rapthna's head. The ancient dragon bellowed in pain and lashed out with its strong tail, making Phroma and Nesha take sudden evasive action. All the griffons scattered when the dragon roared and snapped, massive wings pumping the air while it shook its head and body, trying to get rid of the spears piercing it.'Phroma and Gredel's turn,' Kerak thought. 'Then we leave!'Kassie kept her eyes on the fight, refusing to look and see how their army did. Loi's hysteria echoed through their link and neither she nor Sian commented, but the feeling of despair at leaving those men reverberated from each girl.Focus! Sian thought sternly while they watched Phroma make a run for the dragon, Gredel sitting high with his crossbow ready.We mourn everyone if we don't succeed, Kassie thought to the girls, knowing her words were true but feeling like a traitor for thinking
THE DEAD SHADOW CREATURES MADE Ignatius smile grimly, their charred corpses a sure sign Cat passed this way, and he opened the door, alert for any sign of movement. The brightness of the stone walls and floor made him blink a moment, and he almost missed the warning buzz, feeling something brush past his head as he threw himself to the side. The giant scorpion lashed out again, and again. Ignatius lunged and scrambled to keep out the way, the smooth stone floor proving a hindrance as his boots slid over it.Making a desperate snatch for the bola, he hurled it out and the chained stones wrapped around the creature's tail. It weighted the tail enough that the scorpion couldn't lift it. Ignatius stood, sword in hand and dealt a fatal blow to the creature's head. Retrieving the bola, he jogged down the corridor, eyes searching for the door to the next staircase. The gruesome sights in each alcove didn't surprise him and the different species made him shake his head at the witch's audacity
THE BLUE GOO SMELLED FOUL, a sickly sweet you could almost taste, with an underlying tang of acid and decomposition.'Phew,' Sian exclaimed, blocking her nose when they crept past the mess left over from the empty tanks. 'I understand why Cat smashed them, but she could have thought of us behind her.'No one else said a word and Daron, his face tense, kept a tight hold on her hand. The gruesome display of the previous Elementals chilled them all, and then to find the plaques on the bases of the shattered tanks; Sian shuddered.Not happening, she thought, we don't belong in that psychopath's private collection.Rumal made a quiet sound and Daron dragged Sian over there, Sabyn and Loi right behind them. Kassie pointed at the open door through which they could see a stairwell, covered with the charred bodies of strange pale creatures. Sian stared at the talons and weirdly oversized jaws of the otherwise fine boned creatures and gingerly stepped over another, climbing the stairs behind