Page 90 of Galadon
Astaroth laughed loudly in the distance. They were getting closer to freedom, but would it be in time? And what if Morgan lowered the shield only to allow the fog to infect the rest of their forces? There were so many variables that she had no idea if they’d make it out of this alive.
Chapter 33
Galadon
I gave the fog box a menacing glare, which shockingly had little effect. There had to be a way to shut it down and destroy it. I glanced at Rayna, ensuring she was not in trouble, and caught her jolting several more shifters who had turned on the other side of the dome. Titan stood near her and used the flat of his sword to knock out any from the first group that began to rise. I had to trust that she would be fine.
Grabbing it, I shook the box hard. All that did was make it spew a thicker cloud into the air and leave me coughing and choking. I cursed the damn thing, wishing I didn’t have to rush figuring out such a complicated device.
“Yeah, I tried that already,” Conrad said from where he stood a few feet away with his sword raised, guarding Rayna’s other side as some newly infected ran around the fallen. “That sorcerer probably knew we’d rattle it like a Christmas present and set it up to give us a nasty surprise.”
I grunted my response.
As he turned from me to face another dragon coming at him, I noticed something. The box had an electric charge far more powerful than anything else inside their prison. I wantedto ask Rayna to pull it out, but she had to concentrate on a sudden surge of shifters turning—likely due to the extra fog I had set off in the air. Due to helping her earlier, though, an idea formed in my head.
As she pulled from the shifters, I used our bond to connect her magic to the box and extract the charge from it as well. I found I could borrow her power, so when she finished, I kept going until the box went inert.
Finally, the fog stopped.
Rayna turned to me with wide eyes. “Did you just use my magic?”
“Yes.” I had needed to act quickly and hadn’t noted any distress from her by doing it, but could I have missed something? “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
She shook her head. “No, not at all, but it felt strange. Somehow, you were using your power to funnel the spell.”
That lined up with what Aidan had said about her scent covering me in more ways than one. We truly had joined together in every way possible.
“Which means you could potentially use my magic as well,” I surmised.
Her expression lit up. “Imagine if we sync together to fuel the storms and guide the lightning.”
That was an idea I could appreciate. How many times had I envied her that she aimed all the strikes while all I did was create the fuel for them? If we worked together on both…
A loud fizzling sound interrupted my thoughts. Morgan shouted as the shield went down, and we were finally free.The remnants of the fog dissipated as it flowed over the land. We turned to find that few of the remaining shifters were left uninfected, and Titan appeared close to the edge.
“Conrad, guard our backs while we cure everyone,” I ordered. He might be an annoying male, but he was an excellent fighter and slayer. That made him somewhat useful.
Rayna, Morgan, and I raced to the nearest shifters. I quickly discovered that the ones hit by lightning only took moments to clear. The electric charge must have neutralized some of the infection. For the rest, it took a minute or two each, depending on the severity. I sent the ones we treated to help the struggling forces fighting near the Kandoran camp. It was a race against time to even the odds.
After fifteen minutes, we’d taken care of most of them, and I determined Morgan could handle the few that remained. We needed to join the battle. At last look, there were already more than twenty red dragons lying still on the ground, either grievously injured or dead. We’d already lost too many in the war and couldn’t afford more.
“Conrad, stay with Morgan until he’s finished, then you can both join the battle,” I said, taking Rayna’s hand. I looked at her. “Once we’re in the air, we will create a storm and take down as many as possible before we fight.”
She nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
By my estimates, our magical reserves were down by more than half, but even eradicating a few dozen would turn the fight in our favor. I only regretted that Astaroth had disappeared as soon as the dome came down, but we’d find him no matter how long it took. He could not be allowed to live.
Rayna didn’t flinch as I let flames overtake my body, willing myself to shift as fast as possible. It went more swiftly, to my surprise, with her in my arms and her magic boosting mine. Each day, I seemed to discover another way we were made for each other.
I shot into the air, beating my wings hard until we reached an acceptable altitude where we could view as much of the battle as possible. Then I drew the elements toward the sky above us, grateful they were accessible again. The storm I created was a force all its own with dark, ominous clouds and howling wind. Light rain began falling, though it would transition to heavier drops soon.
Rayna took advantage of it immediately and began pulling down lightning. Keeping a tight hold on her, I studied how she did it and guided extra forks beyond hers. The first time we hit our targets, ten Kandoran dragons fell with holes burned straight through their bodies. I marveled at how powerful our strikes were when we worked together. We repeated the action several times, rapidly selecting enemies from the largest clusters to kill. It took away their advantage to separate and overwhelm members on our side.
Javier, the sorcerer who governed downtown Norman, stood on the ground outside the camp, using his massive electrical net to catch groups of Kandoran and slice through them, but he couldn’t find opportunities to do it often. The risk was too high that he’d accidentally hurt one of our dragons. Even through the pouring rain, I could see his frustration as he searched for clear targets.
By the time we killed fifty of the enemy, our powers were waning. If we did any more rounds, we’d lose the physical strength to fight, and there were still too many of them left. Itdidn’t help that our numbers were down, too. I dropped altitude, ready to enter the fight, and sensed Rayna’s eagerness through the bond.
“Look over there—it’s him!” she yelled over the battle sounds, wind, and downpour of rain. Her coppery-brown hair was plastered to her head.
