Page 142 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
She appreciated the ill humor he used inan attempt to cheer her.
“I need you to join the fortress defense,” she said, tearing her gaze from the battle in the sky. “But be careful. You might be my most annoying brother, but I still love you.”
Ruari grinned. “Have you learned nothing? I am most adept at keeping myself alive, little sister.”
“Truer words have never been spoken.”
Freya brushed him aside and hugged Phoebe. “Ignore him. We will defend the fortress with our lives and show the Kandoran the mistake they made by attacking us.”
“Thank you,” Phoebe said, her voice catching.
Keeping a calm demeanor while one’s pregnancy hormones raged wasn't easy.
The pair left, hurrying down the spiral stone steps. Phoebe turned back to the battle in the sky, icy cold hitting her veins as the fighting drew ever closer. Dragons tore into each other with vicious intent. On the ground, the clash of humans fighting rang in her ears. Swords clanked, the injured screamed, and fallen bodies thumped. She almost wished she didn’t have such sensitive hearing that she could catch the sounds from so far away.
Her eyes rounded when a large horde of Kandoran dragons broke through their ranks and headed straight for the fortress. The guard of fifty she’d held back met them, more than ready to enter the fray. They were fresh and fought full of energy and ruthlessness.
They managed to finish that first group, but more skirted around their forward forces. The warriors closer to the mountains were outnumbered and couldn’t contain them all. She spotted her brother, Zoran, with his docked tail as he flew close to the tower. He flared his wings so that he could hover near her.
The Kandoran have entered the north end of the city. Our allies are slowing them down, but they are causing much damage and devastation. When I left, they’d just brought down a section of the shield near the town of Mustang so they can reenter tomorrow evening closer to us.
Phoebe closed her eyes. Damn. The news kept getting worse and worse by the hour. Mustang was a suburb to the southwest of Oklahoma City on the edge of their safe zone. If the Kandoran used the opening tomorrow, they could technically reach the fortress in a little over twenty minutes. Of course, they’d put their own forces in the way, but it was still too close for comfort.
“Did you tell Aidan?” she asked. That should have been Zoran’s priority.
I did. He told me to tell you there is still no sign of the sorcerers.
Even their oldest brother didn’t know the full details of their battle plan with the orb, which is why he didn’t say it was a trio of sorcerers. The fewer who were aware, the better until the time came. Phoebe only wished the cowards would show their faces instead of hiding behind their massive, malignant army.
She spotted another throng of Kandoran heading for the fortress guard, who already had their hands full with the latest wave that came at them. One of the shifters fell in a tangle of mangled wings, screaming on his way down. She hoped he survived, but she couldn’t see well enough to tell if he had other significant injuries.
“Please, go help them,” she urged Zoran.
I suggest you tell your reserve warriors to prepare themselves for an imminent attack on the walls,he said, then flew away before she could reply.
In fact, Phoebe had shifters and human volunteers spread out across the ramparts. She cupped her hands and yelled, “Get ready!”
They repeated her words down the line since the fortress spanned nearly a mile in width and length. Her kind might hear her from the other side, but the humans wouldn’t, and there were more of them manning the walls than shifters. It was also to alert the group waiting at the castle gates. Their job was to finish any fallen dragons that didn’t die and retrieve weapons for reuse.
Zoran was already in the fight when she turned back to look. He’d always been an impressive warrior, but his time away had made him even better. She supposed being alone in a territory where it was survival of the fittest would test anyone’s skills. He sent two Kandoran to the ground within a minute.
Time seemed to tick by slowly, but after a while, she realized it had to be about an hour before dawn. The enemy wasn’t retreating like it usually did at this time. What did that mean?
More Kandoran broke through the front ranks, skirted around the busy fortress guard, and headed straight for their southern wall. Phoebe shoved down her fears and prepared to defend her home with everything she had.
“Ready your arrows and spears!” she called.
The sound of them sliding out of barrels filled the air, and others notched their bows.
“Ground fighters, prepare to clean up!”
A minute later, Phoebe spotted them moving quickly below, staying close to the wall. Then she grabbed one of her spears. The five-foot-long weapon was constructed of zaphiriam metal and had an ultra-sharp tip. She waited in her tower until the dragons reached within twenty feet, hurling it with all herstrength. It struck her target in the chest, sending the female enemy plummeting to the ground.
Running footsteps on the grass below ensured the ground crew would finish her if necessary. Phoebe took another spear. A giant green dragon spewed red flames at her tower, briefly blinding her, but it didn’t do any damage. He must have been testing their battlement's construction for weaknesses.
She tossed her spear, pinning the Kandoran’s wing to his side. It wasn’t a kill shot, but it stopped the male’s flight, and he went tumbling to the ground. She kept repeating the process whenever a dragon came close enough. Occasionally, some managed to get near the walls and use their teeth or feet to tear off the spikes. They were trying to create an opening to get inside.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time the Taugud fortress had been hit, so they’d anticipated it. That was why they had a significant force on the walls with plenty of projectiles. The arrows and spears were tipped with a poison that would dull a dragon’s senses for about ten minutes, buying the ground forces time to finish them if their injuries didn’t do the job. They had spare jars of it spread across the battlements so when weapons were returned to them, they could dip them again.
