Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 632(@200wpm)___ 505(@250wpm)___ 421(@300wpm)
I felt a surge of confidence from the assembled dragons and knew they were projecting the feelings of their riders. The tide of battle was turning—the confusion and terror was over, replaced with confidence and courage.
The Madlings were now literally flying blind. Their burning red eyes, blind in the sunlight, were useless to them. And the terror they were hunting for was gone, leaving them to fly aimlessly, searching for prey that was now essentially invisible.
L’eesha took full advantage of their blindness.
“FLAME!” I heard her shouting. “THEY CAN’T SEE YOU WHEN YOU’RE NOT AFRAID! FLAME THEM!”
As one, the dragons obeyed her. Almost four hundred jets of white-hot dragon fire shot out at the same time. Madlings shrieked and sizzled, dropping from the sky in burning clumps.
I felt a surge of triumph and sent it to L’eesha, who fed it to all the others. They flamed again and again, wheeling through the sky in brightly colored patterns as she directed them effortlessly. There wasn’t a single collision or a single break in the pattern.
But she wasn’t controlling them—she was directing them, I thought. The Wing Leaders took their cues from her and their Wings followed their lead. And all the time, L’eesha kept sending confidence and love and courage and bravery until I couldn’t feel a bit of the terror and dread which had filled the air only a few minutes before.
But as many Madlings as the dragons flamed from the sky, there always seemed to be more. The battle went on and on. The Wings worked tirelessly, slowly clearing the evil threat and my hands grew tired from gripping onto L’eesha’s long dorsal spine.
Occasionally the Madlings threatened us, but L’eesha was flaming them without a second thought now. Her fire was so hot and reached so far, she was able to keep the air around me clear almost effortlessly.
And then, just when it looked like most of the Madlings were gone, I saw it happen—a single Madling got past M’alex’s fire and fell like a stone, landing on Ryse’s back.
“Ryse—no!” I shouted and L’eesha felt my terror for him.
She managed not to project it—which was more than I could say for myself—but she bugled for M’alex, and I heard her shouting for him to come in quickly.
The huge Midnight Gold-wing turned at once, beating his way through the chaos. Diving and weaving through the formation and the fighting, he headed for the Flight Terraces.
L’eesha sped back to the Terraces too and the moment she landed, I was already sliding off her back, waiting anxiously for M’alex to land.
“HURRY! HURRY!” I could hear L’eesha shouting. “HURRY UP AND LAND!”
The Midnight Gold-wing came in fast and barely managed to stop in time. The Terrace workers scattered as he slid to a halt and then I was running to his side.
The Madling was clinging to Ryse’s back, and it had its long, needle teeth sunk into his shoulder. He fell out of the saddle and rolled down M’alex’s foreleg with the thing still on him.
“HELP HIM! OH HELP HIM!” L’eesha was begging, but none of the Terrace workers were coming anywhere near. They all knew that a Madling bite meant death and they weren’t willing to risk their lives for a rider who was already as good as dead.
M’alex was keening with distress and pawing at the thing on Ryse’s back. I could feel L’eesha wanted to flame it, but I knew if she did, she would kill them both.
“No, no!” I shouted to her and M’alex both, in case he had the same idea she did. “No, don’t flame them—you’ll kill Ryse too!”
“At least fire is a clean death.”
I whipped my head around and saw Professor Zephyr standing there with a sorrowful look in her eyes. Beside her were several other Healers as well as the Head Master, who wasn’t part of any of the Wings and so hadn’t flown out with the rest of the Academy.
“She’s right, lad,” he said to me now. “Let the dragons flame them. I know how you feel about Skoren, but he’s gone now. You don’t want him to end like…like…”
But he couldn’t go on and I knew he was thinking of his lost son.
I wasn’t about to lose Ryse, though.
“Give me your dagger!” I demanded, glaring up at the Head Master. He was dressed in his battle uniform, and I could see the jeweled hilt of his ceremonial dagger at his side.
“What?” He frowned at me in confusion.
I had no time to ask again. Darting forward, I grabbed the hilt and pulled the dagger free. Then I ran to where Ryse was still grappling with the abomination on his back.
The Madling had him in a death grip—its long skinny arms and legs wrapped around his body as it gnawed on his shoulder. Ryse’s golden eyes were slitted in pain as he tried unsuccessfully to throw it off.