The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 4 The Blessed Curse by Melissa Myers Page A

frowning. “My archers can clear
the Rivasans but there is nothing Faydwer can do against
dragons.
    “We will have to hope that Jala brought her
own dragons then, or that Shade can handle them with his Spell
Hawk. I’ve seen him strafe the field a few times, but it wasn’t
against anything scaly,” Neph replied quickly as he offered a hand
down to Wisp to pull her onto the cat behind him. “You have command
here, Kay. I have to get to Jala,” Neph yelled back over his
shoulder as he pushed his cat forward into the clearing the Faydwer
charge had created. It was a risky maneuver. It wouldn’t be long
before the Rivasans closed ranks again and then they would be
surrounded by enemies, but he didn’t have a choice. Bright light
flashed from the mouth of the valley and Neph’s attention snapped
in that direction.
    “What spell is that?” Wisp gasped behind him,
her bow still thrumming as she peppered the enemies ahead of them
with arrows.
    “That’s not a spell. That is raw magic and
way too much of it,” Neph replied hoarsely. “Jala, what have you
done,” he whispered, his mind filling with dread. The sound of the
battle faded around him as his focus narrowed on the magic and he
pushed the cat forward faster. He had to reach her now. That was
more magic than even he could handle and he knew his reserves were
larger than Jala’s. That much power would rip any mage apart unless
he could reach her and somehow redirect it.
    “Can you use magic to transport us?” Wisp
asked, her voice filled with concern.
    Neph shook his head savagely and motioned
with a free hand toward the chaos of the battlefield. “Too many
moving objects here, Wisp. I couldn’t find a free place to set us
down that would be close enough to her to help. We have to cross
this shit,” Neph answered loudly. The Rivasans were closing in
around them and the noise of battle was growing so loud words were
almost impossible.
    A cheer rose from the inner ranks of the
enemy and Neph’s cat slid to a stop as a massive form rose from the
center of the field. “Oh shit,” Neph hissed as the dragon rose to
its full height and unfurled its immense wings. Its scales were the
deep red of drying blood and by its sheer size there was only one
dragon it could be. “That is Nerath himself,” Neph gasped. The
dragon twisted, his tail lashing, and the screams of horses
shattered the air as the Faydwer forces were scattered by the
attack.
    “You have to do something, Neph!” Wisp
screamed behind him.
    “That is the dragon that killed my
grandfather, Wisp. He is a legend. His own damned country is named
after him. What do you propose I do?” Neph snarled back. He could
see his allies scattering back from the field and knew the battle
was swiftly turning against them. Someone definitely needed to do
something soon, but he wasn’t sure what.
    “I think you should kill it before it kills
my brother!” Wisp snapped, her hand smacking directly into his back
driving the spikes of his vest deep into his flesh. Pain flared and
Neph seized it channeling the magic into a spell. The wind around
his cat rose viciously as his magic tore through the Rivasans that
had been closing on them tearing flesh and armor alike to shreds.
“Pain is still your focus to channel, isn’t it Neph?”
    Wisp demanded loudly.
    “Yes,” Neph growled through clenched teeth as
he readied another spell.
    Agony ripped through his leg and he nearly
lost the spell. Glancing down, he stared hard at the dagger
protruding from his thigh and then back at Wisp who was glaring at
him. “What the fuck!” he demanded as he unleashed his newest wave
of destruction on the Rivasans.
    “Focus and Channel and kill that damned
dragon!” Wisp ordered sharply, her slender hand rising quickly to
point at Nerath.
    Neph started to answer as another sound rose
on the wind and his heart lurched painfully in his chest. It was a
scream and he knew the sound of that voice as clearly as he knew
his own. By