Page 90 of Cleansed By Water (The Nature Hunters Academy 3)

The fire that shot from their mouths wasn’t red like she thought it would be. It was blue. It swept across the clearing, and even through Liam’s shield, she could feel the suffocating heat.

“It’s blue,” she murmured.

Liam nodded. “Like the hottest part of a fire, down at the bottom where the coals burn. The blue flames are the hottest.”

That sort of made sense. If a dragon was going to breathe fire, then they would no doubt breathe the hottest part.

When the blue flames finally stopped, the dragons swooped down, flying so low that those who hadn’t been cooked had to drop to the ground to keep from being knocked down. One by one, the dragons flew back through the portal. As soon as the last one disappeared, the portal snapped closed and vanished.

Liam dropped the shield, and Gabby looked around. The dark royal elementals survived, and some of the dark elementals and acolytes were fighting, but all of the witches lay dead. She guessed they must not have had a way to protect themselves from the dragons.

Osiris and the other demon, who Gabby figured must be the Dolion dude who was trying to open hell, were still going at it. Apparently, dragon fire didn’t do a damn thing to demons, or they’d somehow managed to protect themselves. Okay, so that made more sense. They were powerful demons, and one of them was basically the devil. Of course, they would be able to protect themselves while they continued to duke it out.

When the shock of the fire wore off, the battle renewed as Gabby watched Zuri bellow out a battle cry as she, Frost, Josie, Miles, and the triplets ran full out at the dark royals. They threw everything they had at the evil elementals.

“They’re distracting them,” Liam said as he pointed to where Aviur and the other light royals were forming a circle.

Gabby noticed that Dhara, the earth queen, was on her feet and appeared strong as she raised her joined hands in the air with the other elementals. All around the royals were small pixies, and they’d covered the group in a shimmering globe of magic. Circling them were the boulder golems, their backs to the royals as they deflected the attacks of the dark elementals and acolytes still standing.

Gabby shifted and saw a chalice in the center of the circle where the light royals were chanting. It was beginning to glow a bright red, and as the chanting grew louder, it began to shake.

“No!” The sound of Josie’s cry caused Gabby to turn just in time to see Miles take a blast of fire from the dark fire king straight to his chest. His body went up in flames. A moment later, there was nothing but ash where Miles had been.

“What the…” Gabby breathed out. Her stomach rolled as she watched Josie throw her hands out, bolt after bolt of blue power flying at the dark fire king. Walking toward her, he deflected them, one after the other.

“We have to help,” Liam said. He started toward Josie and then looked over his shoulder at Gabby. “Don’t die, dammit,” he snarled.

Gabby frowned. “You don’t die either,” she snapped back.

“Glad we have a plan,” Liam said.

Ra and Shelly ran toward them from the other side of the clearing, their eyes also on Josie.

Liam held out his hands and muttered under his breath. Gabby placed her hand on his shoulder and pushed her power into him. Blue and red balls of power shot out of his hands, aimed for the fire king, but the dark water king, Radagast, whom Gabby recognized from a text book in her class of History of the Royals last year, intercepted it with his magic.

He laughed and looked at them as if they were the dirt beneath his feet.

“You children think you have a chance against us?” Radagast bellowed.

“Our age doesn't matter,” Ra said calmly. “It’s the light we wield inside of us that guarantees us victory.”

“Naive babies,” Nimue, the dark earth queen spat.

Elias and Tara stepped up as they, too, began to add their power to the fight. Elias stomped on the ground and sent a pulse of power that caused the dark royals to stumble. At the same time, Zuri placed her hand on the dirt and spoke in the language of the earth elementals. A fissure opened up in the ground. It moved across the dirt toward the dark royals, rending a gash in the earth. They had to jump, right or left, to keep from falling into the crack.

Josie took advantage of their distraction and leaped at Viscious, the dark fire king. His arm shot out, and his hand caught her around the throat.

Gabby’s heart dropped to her feet, and she heard herself yell. She wasn’t the only one. Other voices joined in, and other bodies ran toward the dark royals. But the powerful dark elementals were joined by their acolytes, and no one was able to get through to Josie. Gabby watched in horror as Viscious jerked his hand, and Josie’s head flipped at an odd angle. Then he simply dropped her. She fell to the ground in a heap.

Gabby froze, staring at the lifeless body of the warrior she had come to know as a fierce fighter and funny woman. She was gone, in the blink of an eye. Just like Jax, just like Miles, and possibly just like Aston. Alive one second and then … dead.

The triplets—Atticus, Shaw, and Omar—leaped across the fissure, and one of them actually landed a punch on Viscious’s grinning face. One after the other, they either used their power or their fists to battle the fire king.

Professor Frost and Professor Fernis fought Lamia, the dark air queen, while Zuri and Elias kept trying to throw the royals off with ripples in the ground.

Gabby felt Liam’s arm wrap around her waist as he jerked her around, blocking a blast of fire from a fire acolyte. She narrowed her eyes at the acolyte and patted Liam’s back. “Thanks, babe,” she said. “Now do your mate a favor and drown that dude.”

Liam grinned at her. “As my lady wishes.” He turned and water rushed out of his hands. Gabby shot fire on either side of the acolyte so he had nowhere to run. She didn’t allow herself to feel anything when the guy finally dropped to the ground. Her friends were dying. She didn’t have time for mercy. She’d deal with her conscience later.

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