Page 134 of Ash

As he fought his way through the bombardment of possible futures—or was it pasts? He could no longer tell—she shot him a startled look over her shoulder. Her hands glowed as they rested on the Dragon she tended.

“It’s a parasite,” Ash managed. His voice came out as a hoarse croak.

She scanned him with the practiced eye of one who heals. “I know. I can sense them eating them alive. I can kill them one at a time, but they are resilient. And there are too many.” Her gaze sharpened. “You’re the Oracle.”

He had no idea what she knew or heard of him, but he accepted it with a nod. It wasn’t important. Not anymore. What was? “I am infected too.” The words were out without conscious thought. A second ago, he hadn’t remembered it.

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. What did she see? A man—no, aDragonshifter—wobbly as hell, and confused, but alive and not bleeding. And in human form. “I told them not to shift to human,” she began.

“Don’t let them.” The concept alarmed him; he groped through memories. How did he know this? “It would kill them.” He took a deep breath—crystal. It was all about crystal. “If they call on the crystal power to shift, the parasites will go crazy. There is too much dust in them. The parasite feeds on it.”

Her lips formed the word “crystal,” then she refocused on the Dragon beneath her hands. His scales rippled in every shade of purple, and he was nearly unconscious. “C’mon Razir. Give me your dust.”

Ash’s eyes widened as tears leaked from the Dragon. They rained down upon the ground as solid crystals.

“Bess!” the woman called to the other Watcher. “Push the crystal dust out of their bodies. The parasites are activated by it. They might go dormant if we can cut the dust down. It will buy us time.”

The other Watcher, a tall, thin woman, nodded. The Dragon beneath her hands began to cry—crystallizing liquid oozed from every orifice.

The Dragons had already reduced in size to fit through the gate. As the crystal was extracted from them, they shrank even more, down to the base phase-one model.

The meadow became a lot less crowded.

“I think it’s working,” Bess panted. “The parasites are slowing down.”

Cara spoke through gritted teeth. “If we can get them to go dormant, don’t worry about killing them right now. We have too many to help.”

“Weneed help,” Bess pointed out.

With a flash, the gate activated, and a turquoise Dragon came through.

His eyes scanned the bodies and fastened on Ash.

Ash’s heart accelerated. It washisDragon. For a moment, their eyes met, and a pulse of pure electricity zinged between them. Powerful, it was a thing of the soul, and as it flowed through him, Ash closed his eyes. For just that second, his beleaguered brain cleared.

“Tyrez,” the smaller Watcher called. “We need the Gryphons.”

The turquoise gaze wrenched away from Ash. “Theres ares more. Throughs the gate. Theys ares dying. I can’t brings thems through. Theys are ins phase two.”

Bess broke off. “I’m going.” She ran through the gate, which pulsed as she passed.

Cara ran to it and gestured to Tyrez. “I’m reorienting it on the Gryphon realm. Bring as many as they can muster. I have to send word through to your father, but it will only reorient for a short time. Get the healers gathered, and I’ll bring them through.”

She held her hands to the gate, her brows drawing down in concentration. Energy swirled around her.

“There.” She turned to the Dragon. “Tyrez, you have to hurry.”

With a quick backward glance at Ash, the Dragon passed through.

Ash’s legs gave way, and he crumpled to the grass. He focused on breathing, long and deep, and forced his brain to function.

His name was Ash...

31

Tyrez came back through the gate into the meadow beneath the giant trees, and brought the Gryphons with him.

Cara was waiting. The moment the last Gryphon passed through, she reoriented the gate to the ocean realm.

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