Page 141 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
“Paul, I need you to alert Hank that the Kandoran have reached the mountains and tell him to have the city sound the sirens again,” she ordered Bailey’s human brother.
Hopefully, the Kandoran dragons wouldn’t make it into town tonight, but there was a chance some of the infected humans could slip past their guard. There were simply too many to repel them all. Hank was set up at the Norman Courthouse, one of the few places that still had electricity so he could broadcast.
People around town either used radios with batteries—Javier had been generous in supplying them—types of radios that could be wound up, or the sun somehow powered them. She didn’t bother trying to understand their mechanics but simply nodded sagely when informed.
Phoebe glanced between Rayna at one table and Galadon at another. “You two need to head out and position yourselves atop the mountains. The high vantage will give you an edge. Kill as many Kandoran as fast as possible, but pull back to the valley below if they get close.”
“No problem,” Rayna said, standing.
Galadon gave her a grim smile. “Good. I am tired of waiting for battle.”
He walked so quickly that the slayer had trouble keeping up as they exited the great hall. Phoebe overheard him muttering something to Rayna about behaving herself and not breaking her promise. Since they’d arrived the day before, Galadon had kept his distance from her even more than usual. The tension between them was palpable, but none of her business as long as they did as ordered.
Phoebe looked at Xanath. The old sorcerer was sitting at her table, appearing older than ever. She wouldn’t put him into the fight until it was necessary. He’d used so much magic during war preparations that he had aged years in a matter of months. Considering he’d already looked quite decrepit, that was saying something.
“Why does the lone shifter hate Rayna so much?” she asked, knowing Xanath often had good insight.
The older man rubbed his long beard. “One would have to look into his past to find the answer to that question. Galadon has faced much tragedy and betrayal in his life that would break a lesser male. He’s attracted to her, and he hates himself for it, but there is a reason beyond the most obvious.”
“That’s ever so helpful,” she said, sighing.
He merely gave her a slight shrug.
“You’re staying here for now, but tell Ingo and Gia to come here.” It was time for the twin sorcerers to switch to offense. “I’ll have Donar and his mother carry them to the mountains. They must help repel the Kandoran for as long as possible.”
She’d kept her cousin, Donar, at the fortress to use his second flame to assist with making more warrior garb. It wasn’t his specialty, but he knew the basics enough to do a fair job. It was time for him to fight with the war's end nearing. Esphyr, his mother, had been on the front line for the first two weeks, but Phoebe had pulled her back to the fortress to join the rear guard and sent another to replace her. She’d done that for as many as possible so they could take breaks and stay fresh. As a skilled warrior, though, it was time to put her back into use as well.
Xanath rose from his seat at a glacially slow pace. “I will pass the word along.”
While Morgan, Skylar, and her parents were already fighting on the western front near the shield, three others had remained here because they were better at spelling items that needed continuous replacement and creating elixirs. They did have some offensive magic, though, so she’d planned to use them when the situation became critical. Thatcher would be the only other one aside from Xanath staying behind, so those two would be fresh to defend the fortress.
Phoebe turned to Boden, who was the newly promoted captain of the guard. He’d watched over Bailey for a while, but they decided he’d proven the most capable for the position once the war was imminent. Boden had an even temper, aquick mind, and excellent fighting skills.
“Get your warriors ready to fight,” she said, tone grave. “I want them prepared to be in the air the moment the Kandoran crest the mountains.”
He gave her a respectful nod. “Of course.”
She gave further instructions to the others waiting before hurrying back to the battlements. This time, though, she took position at the guard tower with the best view of the mountains. It required going up a spiral staircase from the top of the wall to the highest level, which was another ten feet above the ramparts.
Ten minutes passed before she spotted an ominous storm cloud forming over the jagged peaks. A minute later, lightning forked down from it in half a dozen directions. Despite the distance, Phoebe caught the faint dragon screams before thunder rumbled to cover them. The process continued as she watched. From what she’d been told, Rayna could deliver strikesusing far less power when she had a storm cloud to generate them. That must have held true because the slayer-sorceress sent down several dozen before Phoebe lost count.
Galadon had to be using considerable power to maintain the elements, but pairing their gifts together was supremely effective. Phoebe wished she could have watched their work up close.Then again, she’d likely see them in action before the war ended.
The lightning flashes stopped, and she held her breath.
A moment later, red dragons filled the sky as they retreated from the mountains by the hundreds. Sixty percent of the shifter forces were in that direction, with only forty percent remaining to defend the shield. So many were headed her way that it was impossible to see anythingbeyond them.
Boden and his warriors lifted into the air. They wouldn’t go farther than a mile from the fortress, but it was best to keep the Kandoran from getting any closer than that before dawn. From near the village, she spotted a massive group of humans racing toward the mountain range. They were a mixture of coalition forces held in reserve, soldiers that Miles and Justin had trained, and volunteers who said they’d only fight if the enemy infiltrated this side of the shield. The large group, numbering almost seven hundred, had used the currently empty village as a staging point while they waited.
As the storm clouds dissipated, Phoebe used the sky to discern the time. It was less than two hours before dawn. The Kandoran would retreat no longer than an hour before now. She glanced to the west, breathing a sigh of relief that she couldn’t spot any activity in that direction. It likely meant the shield remained up, and their forces continued to repel the other side.
Another half hour passed before the red dragons were forced back so far that Phoebe could make out the Kandoran. She gasped. There were so many of them even after Rayna had to have cut down hundreds with lightning, and the shifters would have taken down many more.
They filled the sky with moonlight glistening off their green wings. Flames shot through the air as both sides sought to blind and distract the other. They were close enough now that Phoebe could see each time a dragon fell to the earth. She pressed her hand to her stomach as several red ones plummeted, worrying about the future of her growing baby. They had to survive this no matter what it took.
Ruari and Freya joined her in the tower.
Her brother put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “We have just come from the shield, and it still holds. The battle is fierce but not like here—at least not yet. They are mostly sending humans to that side to keep weakening the magic. Aidan has the dragons tearing them up from above, and Bailey is leading the charge against the ones on the ground. I almost feel sorry for the infected.”
