Page 106 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
“Hugo?” she called out.
No response.
“Yoouuu!”An infected Kandoran came running at her.
He was a young man, maybe twenty years old, covered in blood and gore. Rayna could barely make out his features through the grime but couldn’t miss the red-rimmed eyes. His gait was awkward as if one of his legs had been wounded. These people weren’t zombies and didn’t try to eat flesh, but they were single-minded with violent tendencies.
The infected human raised an axe, leaving himself wide open. She sidestepped and struck her sword into his chest at the last moment. Gurgling sounds came out of his mouth as she stood face-to-face with him. His weapon fell from his fingertips and thunked to the ground. Keeping her grip on the blade hilt with her left hand, she pulled a dagger with her right.Best to make this quick and get moving.
Rayna shoved the smaller blade into the man’s temple. “Night, night.”
He crumpled to the ground, both of her weapons sliding out of him as he went. While beheading was ideal, she’ddiscovered if she shoved a knife deep enough into the brain, that did the trick as well.
A ferocious growl came out of the darkness. She spun around, trying to find the source. A painful roar came next that sent her running. There were so many dead dragons on the field that she couldn’t see much else as she skirted around them and kept searching.
The ground began to slope downward, and she could make out the Red River, still and quiet. It was the border between the Taugud and Faegud territories for this section of land. Along the bank, she caught sight of a dragon with burnt-orange scales. He had a larger-than-average body for a shifter. To her horror, seven Kandoran humans were attacking him simultaneously with blades in their hands, stabbing him relentlessly.
Need some help?she asked.
Galadon growled in her head.Not from you!
Rayna winced as one of the attackers dragged a blade down the lone shifter’s already mangled wing. He’d probably suffered severe damage in the air and worse when he hit the ground. Seven humans wouldn’t have been a problem for him otherwise. Of course, he’d likely die before accepting her help, but she couldn’t stand by and watch. These guys were the more relentless kind that were harder to kill.
Dashing forward, she almost slipped on the riverbank as her boots hit the mud. At the beginning of the battle, Galadon had sent a storm that covered both sides of their respective borders for miles. Rayna had taken advantage of it.
Shooting more than a few lightning bolts usually drained her powers quickly, but he’d already created the perfectelements. She barely had to use any magic at all. Mostly, it was guiding the energy down to hit her targets. A dozen died by her strikes before she had to concentrate on the enemies coming at her on the ground. The later rainstorm had been natural, or at least she didn’t sense any magic from it. By that point, though, she was too tired to use it.
Rayna went for the human who was tearing up Galadon’s wing first. He didn’t notice her since she came from behind. She swung her sword, lopping his head off in one swift motion. A Kandoran, stabbing a knife gleefully into the shifter’s back, stopped what he was doing and leaped onto her.
They landed in the mud, with his blade sinking into her shoulder and sending shocks of pain through the joint.Ow, that hurt.
It didn’t hit anything vital, but it did make it more difficult to move her left arm. She punched him hard with her right. That sent him sprawling to the ground with an annoyed grunt. The infected humans rarely spoke, but they sure made a lot of sounds.
She jerked the blade from her shoulder and stabbed him just below the sternum, angling it for the heart. He gasped and cursed at her. Next, she leaped to her feet, drawing up her sword. Rayna sent it down to plunge into the Kandoran’s neck. He raised his hands to block her, but her momentum was too great. She sliced through his arm and halfway through his throat. His eyes rounded, and his mouth opened, but no sounds came out.
She jerked the blade back and swung it down again, separating the man’s head from his body. One thing she’d learned was that she couldn’t count on grave wounds killing the infected humans. Unless they lost their heads or took severebrain damage, there was a chance they’d heal and rise to fight again. It was annoying.
Rayna looked around for more enemies, but Galadon was smashing the head of the final one into the ground with his feet. By the time he finished, it resembled a bloody pancake. The others lay on the ground, torn into pieces.
“Well, that one isn’t going anywhere,” she said, aloud this time.
He snorted at her.
Upon closer examination, it appeared both his wings were a mess, though one had been torn up more than the other. His scales were covered in gashes and blood, and several of the spikes along his spine were shorn off. He undoubtedly kept taking on more enemies than he could easily handle—stupid males and their egos.
More are coming,he said in a strained voice.
His tone told her he must be in a great deal of pain. She wouldn’t let him fight alone, whether he liked it or not. How he ended up on the Oklahoma side of the border, she didn’t know, but he must have inadvertently flown in this direction during the battle. Rayna had initially been a little farther north, so she understood how easy it was to migrate on the battlefield.
“I lost my partner, so I’ll stay with you for now. It will be dawn in about an hour.”
He glared at her.I don’t need your help.
Good grief, did he have to make everything difficult? Rayna didn’t know why she persisted in helping or talking to him. He was such an ass. It was just…she was drawn to him and couldn’t stay away even when she tried. Just like the sorceressforetold years ago when she said the two of them would meet. Yoel had said a lot more, but it hardly mattered at the moment.
“Would you at least consider watching my back then?” she asked, deciding on a different approach. Let him think she needed help if that would soothe his enormous ego.
Footsteps squished in the mud nearby, alerting them to the enemy’s approach.
