crashed into the light. The creature
burst into flame and slammed against the Overlord, and white bursts of light
blazed across the sky.
The Overlord shrieked,
all his grace gone, now a being of white fury. Til blasted dragonfire his way,
then dipped down and flew between the trees again. Bim flew at her side. The
light still blazed above, lighting the night, melting snow and ice.
The land sloped
downward, and Til knew this land, knew every curve and fold of the hills. She
crashed through the last few birches, dodged charging chariots of fire that were
braving the forest, and there below she saw it—a red strip in the night,
halving the landscape.
The River Ranin.
"Follow me,
Bim!" Til cried.
She flew downhill,
whipping between the trees. She smashed into an alder, cracking the trunk, and
plunged down into the dark river.
An instant later, Bim
dived into the water with her.
She swam underwater,
eyes open and stinging. The fire blazed above, casting orange light into the
river, revealing stones and algae. Bim swam at her side, tail flailing.
"Keep
swimming!" she said, bubbles rising from her mouth. "For as long as
you can."
Arrows whistled into
the water around them. One cracked a scale on her back, but she kept whipping
her tail, driving herself onward. She plunged deeper until her belly skimmed
the bottom. Bim kept swimming at her side, cheeks puffed out, his tail and
wings propelling him onward.
Her lungs ached for
air, but she kept moving. Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she
raised her nostrils from the water and spurted up fire. Bim followed suit.
At once arrows rained.
The dragons sank back
underwater.
"Come!" Til
said to her brother, tapping him with her tail.
They spun around in the
water and began swimming back from where they had come, diving deep, moving
against the current. Above her, Til thought she could see the fire streaming in
the opposite direction—the chariots following the current.
There was only one way
to be sure.
Til released her magic,
returning to human form underwater. Bim followed her lead, becoming again a
scrawny boy, his cloak fluttering in the water.
They swam toward the
riverbank and raised their heads from the water. They gulped air.
Til stared eastward
down the current and saw the chariots flying there, firing arrows into the
water. The Overlord flew above them, brighter than the others, wings as wide as
a dragon's.
She forced herself to
look away. She grabbed Bim, and they raced out of the water and back into the
forest.
They ran through the
shadows, silent, jaws clenched, trying to ignore the pain of their wounds. The
fire still crackled in the east, and the yips of serpopards sounded in the
west, but here the forest was empty, dark, a place to run and hide.
Because that is what
we're best at, Til thought, smiling grimly. That is what you trained us
for, seraphim. That is what five hundred years of survival gave my race. We
run. We hide. She clenched her fists as she raced between the trees. But
one day, Overlord . . . one day we will rise again. And that day we will fight.
They moved through the
forest, crossing miles, until the sounds of pursuit faded in the distance.
Finally, in a shadowy ravine, they crawled under an outcrop of stone, and they
built a wall of snow to hide themselves from pursuit.
They huddled, holding
each other for warmth, weak, wet, hurt, still bleeding.
"We're safe,
Bim," she whispered, holding her brother, their cloaks wrapped around
them. "We're safe now. We're safe."
They held each other
until dawn, trembling with cold and weakness.
They kept walking
south. To safety. To a dream of hope . . . a dream Til never wanted to wake
from.
MELIORA
The dragons of Requiem were flying
north across the plains, hundreds of thousands strong, when the rancid
creatures rose like a storm cloud, shrieking for death.
They had been flying
for three days now across the deserts of Saraph, moving fast, fleeing the
inferno of captivity.
burst into flame and slammed against the Overlord, and white bursts of light
blazed across the sky.
The Overlord shrieked,
all his grace gone, now a being of white fury. Til blasted dragonfire his way,
then dipped down and flew between the trees again. Bim flew at her side. The
light still blazed above, lighting the night, melting snow and ice.
The land sloped
downward, and Til knew this land, knew every curve and fold of the hills. She
crashed through the last few birches, dodged charging chariots of fire that were
braving the forest, and there below she saw it—a red strip in the night,
halving the landscape.
The River Ranin.
"Follow me,
Bim!" Til cried.
She flew downhill,
whipping between the trees. She smashed into an alder, cracking the trunk, and
plunged down into the dark river.
An instant later, Bim
dived into the water with her.
She swam underwater,
eyes open and stinging. The fire blazed above, casting orange light into the
river, revealing stones and algae. Bim swam at her side, tail flailing.
"Keep
swimming!" she said, bubbles rising from her mouth. "For as long as
you can."
Arrows whistled into
the water around them. One cracked a scale on her back, but she kept whipping
her tail, driving herself onward. She plunged deeper until her belly skimmed
the bottom. Bim kept swimming at her side, cheeks puffed out, his tail and
wings propelling him onward.
Her lungs ached for
air, but she kept moving. Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she
raised her nostrils from the water and spurted up fire. Bim followed suit.
At once arrows rained.
The dragons sank back
underwater.
"Come!" Til
said to her brother, tapping him with her tail.
They spun around in the
water and began swimming back from where they had come, diving deep, moving
against the current. Above her, Til thought she could see the fire streaming in
the opposite direction—the chariots following the current.
There was only one way
to be sure.
Til released her magic,
returning to human form underwater. Bim followed her lead, becoming again a
scrawny boy, his cloak fluttering in the water.
They swam toward the
riverbank and raised their heads from the water. They gulped air.
Til stared eastward
down the current and saw the chariots flying there, firing arrows into the
water. The Overlord flew above them, brighter than the others, wings as wide as
a dragon's.
She forced herself to
look away. She grabbed Bim, and they raced out of the water and back into the
forest.
They ran through the
shadows, silent, jaws clenched, trying to ignore the pain of their wounds. The
fire still crackled in the east, and the yips of serpopards sounded in the
west, but here the forest was empty, dark, a place to run and hide.
Because that is what
we're best at, Til thought, smiling grimly. That is what you trained us
for, seraphim. That is what five hundred years of survival gave my race. We
run. We hide. She clenched her fists as she raced between the trees. But
one day, Overlord . . . one day we will rise again. And that day we will fight.
They moved through the
forest, crossing miles, until the sounds of pursuit faded in the distance.
Finally, in a shadowy ravine, they crawled under an outcrop of stone, and they
built a wall of snow to hide themselves from pursuit.
They huddled, holding
each other for warmth, weak, wet, hurt, still bleeding.
"We're safe,
Bim," she whispered, holding her brother, their cloaks wrapped around
them. "We're safe now. We're safe."
They held each other
until dawn, trembling with cold and weakness.
They kept walking
south. To safety. To a dream of hope . . . a dream Til never wanted to wake
from.
MELIORA
The dragons of Requiem were flying
north across the plains, hundreds of thousands strong, when the rancid
creatures rose like a storm cloud, shrieking for death.
They had been flying
for three days now across the deserts of Saraph, moving fast, fleeing the
inferno of captivity.
Similar Books
