All through the site, fires began to rage out of control as the screaming armies fell into chaos, trying to get away from the dragons, but there was nowhere to run. The dragons were everywhere. I began to realize we were just along for the ride. Vishana had this planned out and we were coming along on her terms.
And then we were near the back of the armies, and the goblins gave way to a group of men—Fae and dark crossbreeds. I realized we had found a group of sorcerers. Telazhar had conscripted just about every sorcerer he could find to be part of his plan, and a good share of Otherworld’s malevolent mages were here. Vapor made a run at them and let out a long blast of flame. One of the men raised his staff and the flames licked to the side, repelled by some sort of force field. Without further ado, the dragon headed toward the ground and I realized we were going to land right on top of the men. I braced myself for the impact.
Don’t get off my back unless you have no other alternative. The thought intruded in my mind and I realized Vapor had managed some sort of link to me.
I won’t. I closed my eyes as we landed. The jolt was as good as an earthquake as the skeletal dragon slammed into the ground as hard as he could without hurting himself. We landed on at least seven of the men who had been trying to keep away the flames, and I knew they couldn’t have survived the impact.
It was then that I found myself staring down at a robed figure who looked all too familiar. Oh fuck, we were right in front of Telazhar. I screamed his name so Vapor would hear, but I needn’t have bothered. Apparently, dragons were good at figuring things out. Vishana landed in back of Telazhar. And to either side, Shade and Delilah, and Smoky with Camille on his back, landed.
I froze. It couldn’t be this easy, could it? We had been fighting Telazhar, a necromancer, for over a year now, and in that year he had managed to terrorize Otherworld once again. Long ago—thousands of years—he had led the Scorching Wars in Otherworld. He had been responsible for creating the Southern Wastes—vast areas of desert that had, at one time, been unending forest. Like Mt. St. Helens when she blew back over in Earthside, his forces had taken down millions of trees and turned a massive swath of vibrant forest into wasteland. The magic had flown so strong and fierce that it had seeped into the very soil and sand itself, creating pockets where rogue magic flourished—shifting and changing everything that passed through it. Telazhar had annihilated cities and countries back then, before he was caught and sentenced. Queen Asteria had fought for his death, but the Great Fae Lords sent him to the Subterranean Realms.
And now he had returned, with a Demon Lord standing behind him.
I glanced over at Camille and Delilah. In the flickering lights from the fires that now raged around us, I could see their expressions. They were staring at the necromancer with blended fear and hatred. We had found our quarry. It was time to end it.
If we flame him, he will use it against us. Vapor’s whisper crept into my mind. We can rip him from limb to limb, but we have to get that staff away from him. And he wears one of your spirit seals. If you want it, you’re going to have to take it back.
I slowly slung my leg over his neck. We’ve got this.
I noticed that Camille and Delilah were doing the same. We managed to time it right and landed to surround the necromancer at the same time. Just what we were going to do, I had no clue, but then Morio came racing into the fray along with Roz, Vanzir, and Trillian. Smoky and Shade stayed in dragon form.
Morio and Camille joined hands and a brilliant pentacle of glowing purple flame surrounded them. Vanzir held out his hands and long, neon-colored tubes began to shoot forth, heading toward the necromancer’s head. Rozurial swept open his duster and the next moment I saw the magical stun gun in his hand that we’d been carrying around for months now. And Trillian, a glint in his eye, pulled out a thin, long curved silver blade.
We didn’t bother trying to bargain with him. He knew we were out for his blood, so why waste our breath? Instead, we began crowding in toward him, surrounding him on all sides. And now—on the ground, this close to him—I could see it. Around his neck, the spirit seal. The gleaming sapphire pendant rested against his robe, gleaming with life and power. He reached up to lightly stroke it and the next moment, with a quick flash of his fingers in the air, a vortex began to appear.
“Demon Gate! He’s creating a Demon Gate!” We had been down this road before with Telazhar and I didn’t want to go there again.
Morio and Camille lurched forward, his left palm and her right one facing out as they kept their other hands clasped. “Mordente, destavano, del gattius.”