Dark Hope of the Dragons Read online

  “Theruses is coming,” he hissed.

  “I can’t go out there. It hurts.”

  “Out there is your freedom,” he replied, pointing roughly toward the entrance. His nerves burned with the certainty that Theruses would be upon them any minute. “You’ll die in here.”

  Raine brushed a tear from her cheek brusquely, perhaps hoping he would not notice it, and shook her head.

  Siniva snarled. This child’s fear was nothing to the people he had killed, and he would not let their deaths be in vain. Grabbing her arm with bruising force, he hauled her after him. Small stings of pain assailed his hand and arm as she tried to fend him off with daenox, but she either was not willing to really hurt him or simply did not know enough to cause him significant pain. He rather hoped it was a little of both.

  At the entrance he shoved her ahead of him and she staggered falling to her knees in the brilliant afternoon sunshine that was so much harsher than the lights she had known in the cave. Siniva watched her struggling to open her eyes in the bright sun. Pity was all he could feel. Pity and anger. Unlike the dragons, she was afraid to be free, something he did not think even she knew until now. He would give anything to be free. Free of the body that would remain his prison even now with the dragon-child free.

  The stallion Dephithus had left and another horse were both standing to the side of the entrance. Hydra, the stolen king’s horse, stepped up to Raine and looked down on her with his neck arched up in an almost regal posture, intrigued by this new creature. Siniva sank down on the rocks, fighting against the misery of the freedom he could not have and realized he had no plan from here. Getting the child out had been the extent of his goals. What would he do now?

  Theruses burst from the cave entrance and lunged into the air on blinding gold wings. Circling above them, the Death Dragon focused in on Raine with eyes that were still as black as pitch, marking him for life as a creature of the daenox. Siniva could see blood on his ribs and abdomen. Dephithus had gotten in a few good strikes before he fell. Neither he nor Raine had any weapons to fight a dragon and Siniva was too drained to pull upon what powers might still be available to him now that he was split from the dragon web.

  Raine crouched closer to the ground when the Death Dragon dove at her.

  When he rose up again, she got back up onto her knees, seeming unaware of the hard, rocky ground beneath them. Her focus turned inward and daenox began to stream from the cave in visible dark violet tendrils, gathering around her. Behind her, Rakas sprinted from the cave entrance, glancing once at the girl and the power gathering around her before he leapt up on the other horse waiting there and kicked the animal hard down the hillside. He would go free as well, but Siniva was too enthralled by Raine to care. She had the power to hurt him earlier, that much was becoming obvious fast.

  Theruses dove down at Raine, his claws bared before him to grab or tear at her. When he was within inches of her the daenox gathering around her swept up into a violet barrier.

  The dragon’s outstretched claws struck, and he reeled back with a scream of pain and frustration. Theruses touched down with his hind legs to redirect himself away from this barrier. In the few moments that he was on the ground, Hydra reared up next to Raine striking out with his hooves. The first two hits tore into the Death Dragon’s wing as he lunged skyward. The damaged wing slowed his ascent, but he was still clear of the stallion’s reach before the animal could attack again. Raine looked up, her eyes starting to adjust to the light, and watched as Theruses circled again. This time the circles were rough and graceless because of the injured wing. Finally, with a growl so deep it vibrated through the air between them, Theruses left, his vast gold form disappearing over the ridge.

  Raine glanced at Siniva, her expression unreadable and the brassy highlights of her hair and eyes shimmering like moonlight on a dark pool as she stood.

  “He will go to heal,” Siniva said, feeling like he should put something out into the stretching silence.

  “Yes. Then he will hunt for me.”

  Siniva nodded, still troubled by his own uncertainties. What now? They were both outcasts among human and dragon kind, but Raine had a link to the powers of the daenox, and the dragons would have linked her to the dragon web to facilitate their freedom. She was a creature of many worlds, made unique by the powers that had fostered her. Finding acceptance for her might be even harder than it would be for him.

  “Eventually,” he agreed. “Though he will have many other things to occupy his time outside of finding you.”

  “Yes.” Raine’s gazed down at her hands as though expecting to find something there.

  He saw the same realization in her that he experienced. They were alone. They did not belong here. They were lost in this world.

  The magnificent stallion stepped closer to her, his head dropping in a peculiar mimic of her own bowed posture.

  “Shall we go back for Dephithus? He’s likely to need help.”

  Raine shook her head. “He is gone.”

  Siniva was startled by the silent tears that slid down her cheeks. “And you would mourn this man you never knew?”

  “No,” she shook her head and wiped at tears with the sleeve of her rough made shirt. “I mourn the loss of what he might have been to me. A mentor. A companion. A father. I mourn because I am alone.”

  Hydra nudged her hand with his soft nose and Raine glanced up at him, her face twisting in a curious expression that made her look almost as young as she really was. She tentatively touched his soft nose. Hydra pushed his head into her hand. Encouraged, Raine got to her feet and stepped closer to stroke a hand down his stark white neck under the beautiful black of his mane.

  Siniva smiled sadly at the two. “Not completely alone.”

  She smiled wistfully in return. “It seems that my silver dragon left me his wings.”

  *

  Vanuthan was woken from her hibernation sleep by a surge of power that coursed through her like fire in her veins. Startled, her head snapped up, her burnished red cat’s eyes unfocused as she tried to turn her gaze inward on this surge of power. Despite her efforts, the Mother Dragon could not control it. Before she could understand what was happening she was assailed with a barrage of images. She saw each of the dragons as they went free. Though there were hundreds of them all leaving their stone prisons in the same moment, each individual image was perfect in her mind.

  R’Gos, the River Dragon, with his gleaming violet-blue scaling, massive horns that curled uselessly down and a long, beak-like snout, rose to the sky in a flash of brilliance. He was the one who had originally designed and presented the idea of the dragon web. Undoubtedly, the freed dragons would converge around him. Arrogant and temperamental though he was, R’Gos was a strong leader and had long been the one the web-builders turned to. Where he was heading, Vanuthan could not tell from the short vision, but he departed his prison in Corbent Calid with a challenging roar that probably terrified the residents of the city.

  Colvan, the Storm Dragon, leapt into the air, head down so that his horns curved up and back before him. Vanuthan had seen him kill with those horns, proving they were for more than just show. Colvan was a massive creature and he looked very much like a storm with his burnished charcoal coloring as he flew up against the backdrop of a pale blue sky.

  Not far from him, Tikat, the Hope Dragon, rose up on gently curved pale bronze wings. Ever sensitive to the suffering of others, the Hope Dragon looked almost sad as she rose up over the troubled land.

  The long, snakelike, green and gold form of Cyrsyth, the Sea Dragon, did not rise to the sky on his wings, but rather he dove from his seaside cemetery into the raging waters of the Illtide coast. That Cyrsyth had ever conceded to the building of the web had always surprised Vanuthan. The magnificent Sea Dragon, who could navigate the sky and the water with equal skill, though he seemed to favor the latter, had never been much for unity. Yet, his solitude was something he preferred for himself and did not encourage in the other drag
ons. Vanuthan could see him so perfectly that she even noticed the gills on his neck flaring open as his webbed front claws touched the surface of the rough sea.

  Rythis, the silvery-white Song Dragon, was blinding to see in the bright afternoon sunshine. Her crystal eyes and elegant form had always won admiration and Vanuthan envied her now more than ever. Then the beautiful Song Dragon screeched in pain and the Mother Dragon could see blood welling around an arrow in her foreleg. A woman stood at the edge of the graveyard, apparently thinking she was safely out of harm’s way, but Rythis, indignant at her injury, was quick to prove her wrong. With amazing speed, the Song Dragon launched herself into the air over the woman’s head and whipped her tail out underneath her. The muscular tail struck the woman and sent her flying. Blood sprayed from her mouth with the impact and she landed limp like a child’s doll, all in the few seconds the vision lasted.

  Cylan, the War Dragon, Simpar, the Moon Dragon, and hundreds more went free within the same instant. Vanuthan witnessed all of them, and Rythis was not the only one to encounter problems. Ovith, the Fear Dragon, was attacked by a pack of daemon-dogs who had been digging in the graves and were enticed by the opportunity for fresh meat, despite the daunting size of their quarry. Ovith escaped the attack with only minor flesh wounds and considerably healthier than his defeated assailants.

  Fyth, the Dream Dragon, was freed amidst a band of well-armed Silent Watch who were preparing for that evening’s burial. Unpleasantly surprised by her sudden movement, they hid their fear behind a vicious attack. Fyth was struck from several sides at once with the long-handled halberds the Silent Watch expertly wielded. Gashes opened in several places unleashing streams of dark blood over her blue and gold scaling. Disadvantaged by her confusion, Fyth lunged desperately skyward, suffering several more brutal wounds before she was clear of their reach. Vanuthan wondered if she would survive the injuries as the blue and gold dragon struggled skyward. The world they had left was not the one they were returning too. People did not know the dragons like they once had and were not likely to be very accepting in this dark time.

  The only one dragon Vanuthan did not see was her favored companion, Siniva, the Fire Dragon. Before she could question this omission, the power left her suddenly empty and alone. Recognizing the power as it departed, Vanuthan laid her head on the cold floor and faced her misery. It was the power of her son’s death that had visited her, and she could do nothing for him this time. At least she knew he had kept his promise. His child was free, so the dragons were now free, those who had not trapped themselves in another way as she had. The child was free now. No longer needed by the dragons. Set loose in a world that would never accept her.

  Vanuthan mourned for them all.

  THE END

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  As always, there are many people in my life I’m leaving out here for brevity sake. All of you are still very important to me and I am always thankful for you.

  To my mom Linda for your loving support and for helping me work out and refine my ideas.

  To Kai for your support and for being the most amazing creative and life partner.

  To Rick and Ann for being two of the best of friends anyone could ask for and for being willing give honest feedback on my books.

  To Aradia for knowing I would succeed from the first time we met and being an inspiration in your dedication to your own art.

  To my cover artist, Rob, my editor, M Evan, and my interior designer, Brian, thank you for your fantastic work and for being such wonderful people to work with.

  To my fans for being awesome people and continuing to follow my work. You inspire me to write even when my muse goes on hiatus.

  To my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Johnson, for being so pleased and excited when I told you I was going to be an author and to my eighth-grade algebra teacher, Mr. Siebenlist, for almost letting me flunk because you were so delighted that I was writing books in class rather than notes.

  AUTHOR BIO

  Nikki started writing her first novel at the age of 12, which she still has tucked in a briefcase in her home office. She now lives in the magnificent Pacific Northwest tending to her sweet old horse and a wondrous cat-god. She feeds her imagination by sitting on the ocean in her kayak gazing out across the never-ending water or hanging from a rope in a cave, embraced by darkness and the sound of dripping water. She finds peace through practicing iaido or shooting her longbow.

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  Thank you for taking time to read this novel. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it.

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  For more about me and my work visit me at

  http://elysiumpalace.com.

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  OTHER NOVELS by NIKKI McCORMACK

  CLOCKWORK ENTERPRISES

  The Girl and the Clockwork Cat

  The Girl and the Clockwork Conspiracy

  The Girl and the Clockwork Crossfire

  FORBIDDEN THINGS

  Dissident

  Exile

  Apostate

  THE ENDLESS CHRONICLES

  The Keeper

  STANDALONE WORK

  Golden Eyes

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2018 Nikki McCormack

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

  Published by

  Elysium Books

  Seattle, WA

  Written by Nikki McCormack (https://nikkimccormack.com/)

  Cover Design by Robert Crescenzio (http://robertcrescenzio.artstation.com/)

  Interior Design and ebook formatting by Brian C. Short

  First Edition 2018

  ISBN: 978-0-9983765-7-8