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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

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It seemed abnormally quiet on the streets when Albarad and Night-Sky left Heirwynn's apartment and made their way toward the temple. It was dusk. Perhaps people were at home eating dinner, Albarad thought. It wasn't until they had almost reached the temple itself, that he saw evidence of the slaughter. There were several dead bodies lying in the street. Albarad froze. He looked around and started backing up. Night-Sky was mumbling something about carpet fibers and wasn't paying attention. The black dragon walked into the back of him.

"Hey!" He exclaimed loudly.

"Fly!" Albarad yelled. "Somethings wrong! Get back to Heirwynn. Warn her! The three of you need to leave this town NOW!"

The dragon looked at him in surprise.

Albarad didn't hesitate. He started running. Night-Sky noticed two dark figures suddenly peel themselves away from the shadows and chase after him. Three more moved to encircle him. They carried long spears. Worse, the spears were crackling with magical energy. Leaping into the evening sky, he felt a sharp pain in his wing. They had thrown a spear! It gave him a little jolt but passed straight through the leathery membrane without impairing function. He quickly dodged as two more spears narrowly missed hitting his body. He yelled in pain but managed to stay airborne. Climbing rapidly up and over the nearest rooftops, he circled around. Blood was flowing from his wound. It hurt and made him angry. All three of his attackers had already thrown their weapons, and Night briefly entertained the idea of dropping from the sky onto his assailants, but then he heard an electrical crackle. In the deepening gloom he could see sparks running down their now empty arms. There was a chance that they might be able to throw lightning. He had thought that only the egg eaters could do that! Where had these magically powerful soldiers come from? Climbing higher he looked around. By now he had completely lost sight of Albarad. He hoped the elf was alright! He was certainly a fast runner. Remembering what Albarad had said, he renewed his course for Heirwynn's apartment.

He spotted the rooftop that had previously held the ballistae. He knew it was Heirwynn's apartment. He had landed on that roof before. Crashing down hard he shattered the outer rooftop door and charged down the stairs. To his dismay, Snow and Heirwynn were gone. There were signs of a struggle. The water of the mop bucket had been spilled and there was fresh blood on the floor. It smelled human. It was Heirwynn’s!

----------------------

Starett watched in dismay as the elven soldier threw the young woman to the floor in front of the emperor’s daughter, Preen. The girl had been roughly handled. She had a bloody lip and was holding her own arm with the opposite hand to slow the flow of blood from a wound to her upper arm. Her face, though, still looked defiant. Being captured and violently pushed to the ground obviously hadn’t broken her spirit. For some reason the girl looked familiar.

“We performed another sweep as you instructed My Lady, and found these two. The human actually put up more of a fight than the dragon.” Said the soldier.

"How is that possible?" asked the elven princess.

"All we had to do is rough her up a bit and then threaten to do worse." said the soldier. "The dragon was suddenly eager to comply."

"That is useful information" said Preen. "You are dismissed."

The soldier seemed to hesitate, then cast his eyes downward. "We live to serve." he uttered rotely. He saluted, then turned away.

Suddenly Starett realized who the girl was. He had seen her at the funeral service for the guard that had been killed. What was his name? Harvey! This was Harvey’s little sister! What was she doing here, and with a dragon?

She seemed to recognize the priest as well, and her face reacted with surprise and then disgust as she realized that he wasn’t also a prisoner of the elves. While Starett was watching her, the cut on her lip closed. The bleeding from her arm also stopped. Perhaps it was the look of relief on Heirwynn’s face but the obvious healing drew Preen's attention as well.

"Oh ho!" she cackled. "Did. you see that? The white dragon just healed the human girl! That makes this a pair we can actually use! Bring one of our wounded over here. NOW!" she snapped at one of the male elves holding a black spear.

"A minute or so later there was a commotion and a rudimentary stretcher was brought over from the other side of the room. On it was an elf. He was obviously a fighter, and he was in bad shape. He was missing an eye and had bandages wrapped around his torso. His breathing was rapid and shallow.

The elven princess stared at the dragon. "Heal him!" she demanded.

The white dragon looked at Heirwynn. Nobody missed the almost imperceptible shake of the girl’s head.

Preen struck the girl with a viscous slap. It hit her directly in the face. Starrett wasn't sure but it looked like the blow may have broken her nose. Blood began flowing again. Not surprisingly, it immediately stopped.

"I said heal him!" she demanded again. She gestured to one of the soldiers who moved up. He pointed his spear at the dragon. This time the girl nodded slightly. The elf on the stretcher let out a sigh and then seemed to relax. Starrett watched in amazement as the ruined eye began to twitch and squirm. About a minute later the elf sat up. He looked at the white dragon in amazement. He now had both eyes.

"Bring another!" Preen yelled.

"You can kill us, but that's all the magic she has right now." said Heirwynn. "She usually works as a pair with her brother. He's a black...."

"Insolence!" screamed Preen. She moved to strike Heirwynn again but somehow Starrett found himself in her way. She stopped, but glared at him.

"She speaks the truth!" he said softly, trying to sound calm and yet wondering at the same moment, what had caused him to become so suicidal.

Preen lowered her hand. She scowled at the priest.

"So, you are an expert on dragon healing powers now?" she asked.

"No," he said meekly, "but before I was frozen, we had a large pair of dragons at the temple. They were also a black and white. They always hatch as a pair. The white one does the healing but the black one supplies most of the power."

Preen looked at him. She seemed to be evaluating his loyalty. "Where is this black dragon?" Preen asked, turning to her men.

One of them shrugged. There were a few moments of silence. Preen began to frown in earnest. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"He managed to avoid capture, My Lady." Another soldier finally spoke up. "We put a spear through his wing but he still managed to fly away."

"Well isn't that incompetent of you" she smirked. "I give you one job and you manage to screw it up!"

"He had someone with him that distracted us and it split our forces." said the elf, trying to defend himself. Starrett suspected that, from the look on his face, he was afraid of her.

That information was obviously very important to Heirwynn. She began to fret.

"The white can obviously do at least some healing without the black. How do we replenish her magical energy reserves? Preen tried to bite back a laugh. I doubt very much she would be willing to eat dragon steak.

Heirwynn visibly paled and the white dragon looked more than disgusted.

"They eat cows mostly." offered Starett.

Preen laughed again. It was more of a cackle, really. "More dragon meat for us then. We will need all of the magical recharge to go back on the attack. Those that need healing will have to wait!"

Preen pointed her finger at Heirwynn. "It's lucky for your dragon that we may have need of her or we would put her on the barbecue right now." She started to walk away. "Chain her to the alter!" she commanded her soldiers.

"Cows!" She mumbled, shaking her head. "How domesticated these dragons have become! Another reason the attack on the dairy can't wait any longer." said Preen, still chuckling.

"Jundryn!" Preen shouted across the temple floor towards her sister. "Gather the men and make your preparations. We attack in an hour!"

Starrett breathed a sigh of relief. He tried to meet the girls eyes and smile, but she turned away. That was disappointing. She was rather pretty. He chided himself. What did he expect? After all, he thought, I am one of the bad guys now. I had better get used to it."

--------------------------

Lothinar had just closed his eyes when he heard a couple of small pops. He cracked one open. Michelle and Zinariya were standing in his bedroom. Michelle was softly crying.

"Uh-oh!" thought Lothinar. He didn’t want to wake Ardwynn or the baby, so he slowly slid out of bed. He was only wearing his undershorts so he slipped his head through the hole in the bottom of a shirt. He put his arms through and pointed his finger toward the bedroom door indicating that they needed to move into the front room. He had just come from there during his talk with Firestorm. He plopped himself into a chair that was still warm from his own backside.

"No sleep tonight." he thought.

Zinariya looked embarrassed. She kept looking at Michelle as if expecting her to explain their sudden presence but Michelle didn't speak. She looked inconsolable. Finally it was Lothinar who broke the silence.

"Come here" he said, holding out his arms.

Michelle walked slowly forward and then tumbled forward into him. He gently caught her.

"H-he w-wouldn't e-ven t-talk to m-me!" she stuttered.

Lothinar didn't say anything. He just held her and waited. He had seen that Michelle's eyes were blue so he had a good idea what he was dealing with.

"I think your dragon boyfriend, Vanador is a jerk" said Zinariya. "He was quite mean to me when I was Siophra."

Michelle turned her head to glare at her.

"He's not!" she retorted. "It's me! It's was just too much to ask. It's all my fault!"

"Why is it YOUR fault?" asked Zinariya.

"Because I knew!" she said angrily. "I knew about his past. I knew about his mother. I know how sensitive he is. Especially about something like this."

"Perhaps you should tell me what happened" said Lothinar. "If you want to." He added.

Instead of answering him, she turned to Zinariya and frowned. “You think that you are so special, but you're not the first Golden Dragon I’ve met." she spat. "And I'm not surprised that you prefer being an elf. Shape shifting from dragon to elf has been done before!"

"Shape shifting? Not just borrowing a body?" asked the golden dragon, obviously intrigued.

"I'll explain later. I'm sure that you will find it fascinating." said the girl in Lothinar's arms. She stood a bit stronger and seemed to have recovered a bit from her emotional tirade. She looked up into Lothinar's eyes.

"We need to have a talk, Lothinar"

Her eyes had shifted back to green. She was obviously rapidly flip-flopping between the human and dragon personalities. The Vanquish part of her had retreated again. Lothinar could only assume the ancient blue dragon part was quietly licking her emotional wounds.

"Vanquish has given up on a life with Vanador." said Michelle. "Finally she has actually bonded with me. Now we need to talk about us!"

"You weren't bonded before?" asked Zinariya with surprise.

Michelle looked annoyed at yet another interruption by the young dragon.

"Vanquish has now made a permanent commitment. Previously I was inhabited, not bonded. You, of all people should be able to understand that! Now I am both." she said definitively. "Vanquish and I can not be separated except by death."

Lothinar was a little surprised by the news himself, but he nodded. Then he proceeded cautiously. “Then the effect of my pheromones should be fading.”

“The effects have stopped, almost immediately in fact." Michelle confirmed. “Yet despite that, and the fact that Vanquish is hesitant, I still find myself drawn to you.”

”I’m flattered.” He managed to say.

Michelle laughed, the sound was low and sweet. “I am, however, not quite so insistent that we immediately consummate our growing relationship with a sexual act.”

Lothinar looked relieved. ”I’m not saying no.” He said, meeting her eyes. “I just think it’s wiser to take some time. I rushed into things with Ardwynn and that certainly didn’t go as expected.”

”Vanquish agrees.” Said Michelle, nodding. “She needs some time as well.”

”Are you building a harem Lothinar?” Asked Zinariya, daring to interrupt again.

”Definitely not!” He snapped back.

”Ok, But if you were, would it help to look like Ardwynn and Michelle? They obviously look quite a bit….”

Suddenly they heard two thumps and the sounds of shouting in the yard. Lothinar untangled himself from Michelle, who unsurprisingly didn't want to let go, then turned and went to the door. He opened it.

---------------------------

"We need to send someone to get help." said Cenderick grimly. Even from the dairy they could hear the screams and sounds of battle from inside the town of Delora Natine. The city guard had obviously not fared well against the elvish military fighters. He looked at his friend Amstell.

"Any volunteers?" he asked

"I'll go said Cinnabar."

"Where did all these armed elves come from?" hissed Cenderick.

"I think," said Ronni with sudden dread, "that these are the same fighters that Ardwella froze, and was storing in her closet."

"She did what?" he asked aghast.

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"They are the ones that Enderline captured. They are Argent's personal troops. The ones that didn't accept the armistice."

"I thought that all the combatants were killed." argued Cenderick.

"Many were." she said. "But not these. Ardwella froze them with her blue sword."

"They obviously didn't stay frozen!"

"Someone has found where they were being kept and had the ability to defeat Ardwella's spell." she reasoned. "It's the only explanation that makes sense."

Cenderick started shaking his head.

"How many?" he finally asked.

"About a hundred, I believe." she said.

"Ok, Someone is not going for help. We are all going!" he said decisively. "We can't stay here!"

He looked at their grim faces.

"What a time for both Tundor and Mo-Rung to be gone." said Ronniflass.

An elf stumbled out of the darkness. He was clearly wounded. Dark blood had soaked through his tunic. Amstell quickly had his bow out and pointed an arrow at him. Cenderick quickly pushed his arm down,

”What is it with you always trying to shoot our own people?” He asked angrily. “That’s Lothinar’s father Albarad!”

”Oops! Sorry!” The ranger whispered apologetically.

Albarad made his way into the lantern light before collapsing to the ground. His face was drawn with pain. Blood welled from several deep spear wounds. There was a fluttering of leathery wings and a black dragon landed hard next to him.

”I Found you!” Night-Sky said loudly.

“What are you still doing here?” Asked Albarad with some anger. You were supposed to help get Heirwyn and your sister out of Delora! That's why I drew them away!"

"You still left me three." argued the dragon. "I almost didn't make it myself."

"There are just too many of them" Albarad sighed but it came out more like a gurgle. He looked down at his still bleeding wounds.

”I went back to the apartment but they were gone." said Night. "I’m afraid they were taken.”

”Heirwynn and snow have been captured?” Gasped Ronniflass.

Albarad struggled to his feet and turned to go back towards the town.

”Hey there!” Cenderick shouted as he grabbed the swaying elf. “You’re in no condition to go back there. Your full of holes! The rest of us were just leaving!”

”Heal me!” Albarad shouted at Night- Sky.

”You know that without my sister I can’t do that. I’m, more or less just a magical power source.”

”I can heal myself” yelled the elf angrily. “That’s how I'm still alive. But I’m used up. Depleted. My Magic’s all gone.”

”There is a way.” Said the dragon, “but you won’t like it.”

”Heirwynn’s life…” he stammered. “Snow." He glared at the black dragon.

"Do it!" said Albarad, with resignation.

The wounded elf fell silent as both he and the black dragon began to glow. In less than a minute it was done. Albarad’s wounds closed and his deathly parlor faded. For a moment he looked almost appreciatively at the black dragon. Then he glowered again. The dragon shrunk back.

“You are the last person I ever expected to bond with." said Night-Sky. “I know how you feel about it." Then he stopped. "What’s this?" he asked somewhat softly. Oh Albarad. Is this the secret you were hiding?”

”It would definitely not be helpful for you to bring that up right now, Night.” Said Albarad stiffly.

As if to distract him, Albarad raised his hand and pointed at Night’s wing. Energy flowed and the bleeding hole left by the spear’s passage quickly closed.

Cenderick, Amstell and Ronni were staring at the pair. They seemed thunderstruck.

"You seem fairly adept at using magic." Amstell observed. "I guess Lothinar didn't just get that from his mother."

Albarad nodded distractedly. He was obviously thinking.

”What is your plan Albarad?” Asked Ronniflass “Are you two going back to get Heirwynn and Snow?”

”We are.” Said Night-Sky and Albarad simultaneously. Then Night-Sky laughed. “Ardwella will never believe this!”

Albarad frowned again. "Do not speak of it." he commanded, but his voice held a hint of something else. Suddenly Cendrick recognized it. It was embarrassment."

"But you may have more of a hereditary right to rule the Elven Kingdom than anyone from Argent's line!" proclaimed the dragon.

"My family gave that all up a very long time ago!" countered the elf. "Please! It's not important now."

"Ardewella said you hated anything with Mung-Beans in it and I finally understand why!" crowed the dragon

Finally Amstell couldn't take it anymore. "For crying out loud Night-Sky. We want to know too!"

"I shouldn't" said the dragon. Then he smiled. Cenderick could tell he was going to do it anyway.

Albarad shrugged. "Go ahead. When two people know a secret it isn't going to stay one much longer."

Night-Sky grinned.

"This mild mannered elf that has been running around in Ardwella's shadow all these years, is actually from the original royal house"

"Original house? Cenderick asked. "I've never been a good student of history like Cantrell. "What does that even mean? Is he related to Argent? He suddenly seemed nervous.

"Relax" smiled Night-Sky. "Not by blood. He has no taint. None whatsoever. I would have immediately smelled that. Argent married in. He was a bit of a usurper actually. The historical royal connection is from the other side. Argent's mother's side. In some ways Albarad's claim to the throne is a better one than Mandel's. Well obviously. Wait, that means Mandel and Mavis, being his children are.... Well, anyway.... Albarad is closer to the true royal bloodline....His grandfather abdicated, but then…. This is crazy…his sister the princess was actually the closest blood relative but because she was female..."

"You just got all of this information when you bonded with him didn't you?" asked Ronniflass.

"Yes. It is quite fascinating....And very complicated." said Night-Sky."

"We don't have time for this!" growled Albarad. "Your own sister Snow may be killed any minute. They are eating Platinum's body in there!"

”What? Why?” Demanded Cenderick. He looked disgusted. "How do you know that?"

"I killed a few of them on the way here. One lived long enough to answer a few of my questions." he answered. ”They are desperate for magical power and are historic dragon egg eaters. Dragons are full of digestible magic, if you have the stomach for it." He grimaced. "These folks apparently do."

These are Argent's daughters and personal troops. It’s not that surprising.” said Ronni.

Night seemed to tense up. "Lets go." was his sudden reply.

"We are going too!" said Cenderick.

"Yeah!" said Cinnabar. "Us too."

"Nope!" said Cenderick. "Not you Ronni. You and Amstell are going to make the fastest trip to your cabin that you have ever made. Cinnabar and Salt are taking you. Pepper is coming with me. He will be the reserve magical energy supply for my own magic."

"But" Ronni blurted out.

"He's right." said Albarad. "We need most is reinforcements. Ride the dragons as much as you can. Run when they can't carry you any further."

Cenderick looked again at his fellow warden. "Amstell, I need you to help make sure the message gets through and that you all get there in one piece." he said. "Especially Ronni. I can't do this while I'm worrying about her."

Amstell looked conflicted. Finally he nodded. "I can do that." he said.

"Tell Tundor, Lothinar and the rest what is going on here. Tell them to hurry!"

Albarad and Cenderick looked at each other.

"You ready?" Albarad asked.

"We are all ready" said Pepper. Night-Sky grinned at him.

"Let's kill some very bad elves!" Night growled. Two black dragons and two very dangerous elves sped away and faded into the shadows at the periphery of the dairy. Then they were gone.

"Let's fly!" said Cinnabar. "We've got a lot of ground to cover. Get on!"

Ronni climbed on Cinnabar as Amstell straddled Salt.

"This is not going to be much fun." said Salt. "Amstell is pretty heavy."

"Do your best. There is a lot at stake." said Ronni.

"I'm just glad I spent the first part of my life living in the wilderness" said the white dragon. "I've done quite a bit more flying than your regular dairy dragons." She tossed her head.

"That sounds like a challenge!" said Cinnabar. Who suddenly exploded into motion.

Cinnabar charged down the dairy yard flapping his wings. Salt waited only a second before charging after him. Both of them got into the air. It was just in time. Several black arrows whizzed past them as they cleared the fence.

"Look out!" Amstell yelled.

"Too heavy!" grunted Salt.

They cleared the trees at the end of the meadow before they stopped frantically beating their wings.

"Shut up and fly!" said Cinnabar. "I'll take him if you can't handle it."

"I'd let you, but we'd have to land again." the white dragon protested.

"Just do your best. " shouted Ronni. "Once we are a few miles away we can switch."

"Hey! Do you feel that? What is that? asked Cinnabar. I can feel some sort of magical power coming from way up ahead."

Ronni concentrated. She could feel something too. It was magical energy and it felt strangely familiar. Suddenly she realized what it was.

"Follow that magical flow!" she yelled. " It's Lothinar! The last time I felt that, my sister was being raised from the dead! I'd know that magic anywhere!"

Salt grinned at Cinnabar. The magic she was receiving wasn't an ideal match, but there was so much of it that suddenly flying felt a bit easier.

"How is Lothinar able to send us magic all the way over here?" Cinnabar shouted.

"I don't think it's just for us." said Salt. "It doesn't feel like it's being sent so much as just leaking out everywhere! It's not unlike the power my black dragon brother can send me."

Ronni sighed. Lothinar always seemed to be full of surprises. She briefly wondered if she had made a mistake ending things with him. Then she thought of Cenderick who was rushing into danger for Heirwynn and Snow. He wasn't a dragon god like Lothinar but Cenderick was a hero and he loved her. The fact that she really liked the way he looked in nothing but a straw hat didn't hurt either.

Following the magical wind and drawing on its power, even heavily laden Salt, had no problem making it to her cabin. Circling to land, she saw the damage to the back bedroom.

"Oooh!" She simmered. "If we weren't in so much of a hurry, I'd really give Lothinar a piece of my mind!"

"It looks like a dragon tore the back wall off!" said Cinnabar as he landed in the yard with a thump. Salt landed beside him. Ronni hopped off and quickly walked up the stairs to the front porch. Lothinar opened the door.

"Ronni! I can explain about the house!" he stammered.

"Delora Natine is under attack!" she said. "Someone figured out how to unfreeze the fighters in your mother's closet! Your father and my boyfriend are probably going to get killed trying to be heroes! I expect you to help!"

He blinked.

"Cenderick, and my father?"

"She put a hand on her hip.

"Is there something wrong with your memory again Lothinar?"

"What? No. Of course not." he said. "I'll be right there. Just let me get on some pants."

Ronni looked through the door into the front room as he dashed away deeper into the house. A small golden dragon that had to be Zinariya was talking to a human girl that looked surprisingly like Ardwynn.

"Well that didn't take long." she thought. "He's already got another girl. Knowing him, he will probably bond with Zinariya too."

The Ardwynn look alike walked toward her.

"While the boys are being heroic, we should talk." she said. Fixing her with her vivid green eyes, she stuck out her hand. "I'm Michelle. Lothinar brought be back from Silvantra with him. But I should warn you. The situation is more complicated than it seems."

Behind her Ronni heard a commotion. She turned to look. Firestorm, Candasar and Tundor ran into view. Siophra was already on Tundor's back. Ronni was somewhat relieved that Amstell hadn't even tried to shoot at them.

"No! You are not coming!" Candasar was yelling at her blue dragon children. She looked through the open doorway. "That includes you Zinariya!"

Ronni heard a pop. She looked back into the house. The golden dragon was already gone.

Lothinar sped past her into the yard. He suddenly stopped.

"I don't even have a sword!" he said.

"What happened to it?" asked Siophra.

Lothinar winced. "It got lost in the ocean. I was fighting rocs at the time....I might be able to get it back."

"I'm really starting to regret giving my sword to Mandel." Siophra said. "I don't think he's ever even used it!"

There was another pop. Zinariya reappeared. She had a blue sword in her mouth. Thankfully it was still in its sheath.

Lothinar looked at the golden dragon and smiled. "I guess I owe you one." he said, taking the sword and unsheathing it."

"And I intend to collect, but later." the dragon said with a grin. "Go save your father and your friend."

He looked at the shiny blue sword.

"Did you even ask my mother first?" he asked.

She smirked. "Not a chance. Get this done and I'll put it back before she even misses it."

‘Candasar opened her mouth. She was obviously about to chastise her daughter, but stopped.

”Stay here, Zinariya. I'm warning you!” She said instead. “We will talk later!” Tundor rumbled his agreement.

”Fine!” She pouted.

”What about me? Asked Amstell at last. “I will certainly go back and fight!”

”Your dragon needs to rest.” Replied Ronni.

Lothinar leaped onto Candasar, but he shot Firestorm a glance. Something unspoken seemed to pass between them.

“I’ll take you back.” Said Firestorm.

Amstell held tightly to his bow and jumped onto her back. Amstell wasn’t sure but he thought he heard her mumbling something about favoritism and a pecking order.

Seconds later the small hurricane of three dragons leaping into the air hit the porch.

Ronni looked at the pretty young human, now smiling at her from her own doorway.

"Let me guess. Pheromones?" Ronni asked.

"At first, yes." the girl replied. "But now I think it has grown into more."

"That sounds very familiar." said Ronni. "But let me ask you a question. Besides following Lothinar around, what do you want to do with your life?"

“I’m actually very concerned about all those young dragons heading off to Silvantra without proper adult supervision. I think they are going to need a mentor.” said the young woman.

”How are you possibly going to help with that?” Asked Ronni, holding back a laugh.

Ronni did a double take when Michelle’s eyes switched from green to blue.

”I am older than I appear and know more than you might expect about dragons.”

The sound of footsteps came down the hall.

"Did Lothinar leave? What's going on?" came a voice from behind the girl. Ardwynn herself walked into the living room. She was holding a baby.

The sight of Ardwynn holding what had to be Lothinar’s child gave Ronni an irrational pang. She had never really answered the question of her own fertility. She had really wanted the opportunity to question the dragon Vanquish about such things. Where could she have gone? Hadn’t she flown off with Candasar?

”I know you!” Said Ardwynn suddenly. “Didn’t you cater my wedding?”

”Among other things” said Ronni. “But first, do either of you know what happened to Vanquish?”

Ardwynn looked at Michelle. "Do you want to tell her or should I?"

"You." said the human girl. "I'd kind of like to hear your perspective on it."

------------------------------

They say no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but Cenderick had a new slogan. No enemy survives first contact with Albarad. Lothinar's father didn't even hesitate. He went straight at the first enemy they came across, allowing the soldier to stab him with the greater reach of his spear. Albarad had jinked, avoiding being run through the heart. Once impaled through the abdomen Albarad had pulled on the spear shaft, pushing it completely through his body to get close enough to the elven soldier to use his own knife. The stabber became the sliced as his throat was cut from ear to ear. He had a surprised look on his face as his blood sprayed over the both of them. Cenderick watched as Night-Sky plowed into the dying soldier and knocked the spear from his hands. Albarad looked back at him.

"Can I get a ittle help here please?"

Cenderick leapt forward and finished pulling the spear out of Albarad's body. Night-Sky and Albarad glowed. He was already healing. Albarad reached out his hand and gestured for Cenderick to hand him the spear.

"Are you going to want me to get you one of these or can you get one yourself?" he asked.

"How many times can you get stabbed like that?" Cenderick asked with trepidation.

"Every wound is different. Talk to your dragon. I'm sure he can supply you with more power than you've ever had before. Your own magical aptitude determines how well you can use it."

Cenderick looked at Pepper who shrugged.

"Don't look at me! This is crazy! I've never tried anything like this before!"

"More are coming!" said Albarad, tossing the spear that had just passed through his body back to Cenderick. He turned and ran forward. Night was right behind him.

Cenderick watched him running off and bit his lip.

"This guy is nuts!" he said to himself. Yet he followed.

The two elves and two black dragons carved a path through the town. They dealt more death and damage than they received but without the power of the dragons pouring into them they would have soon been dead. Instead they found themselves alive and staring at the front doors of the dragon temple. Both were breathing hard. They were, for the moment, crouching down and out of sight.

Cenderick observed the soldiers milling around the entrance. There seemed to be a lot of confusion among the elite soldiers as several of their number were obviously missing. They were clumped up and staying pretty close to each other. There were a lot of nervous looks. Cenderick assumed it was because of the twelve or thirteen that they had killed on the way here.

"She's in there!" whispered Night "I can feel my sister!"

"I can't believe we made it this far." said Cenderick. "Or that we are still alive."

"I'm worried." said Pepper. "My power is getting low"

"At least you have managed to avoid getting stabbed. I don't really recommend it." said Cenderick.

"It was only once!" protested the dragon. "I bet it doesn't even leave a scar."

"I bet it does!" argued Cenderick. "I wonder if Ronni thinks scars are sexy?"

Albarad turned to him. "How are you holding up kid?" he asked softly, interrupting the Pepper's reply.

"Getting stabbed freakin' hurts!" he grimaced.

"I never said it didn't." Albarad chuckled softly. "But I think our lucks about to change."

"Why?"

"Because my Son Lothinar is here!" he said happily. "Now we will show these bastards something!"

A shadow passed overhead and Cenderick caught a flash of blue. A red flash followed a second later. Then a huge roar filled the night. It shook the windowpanes in the shop across the street from the temple doors. Filling most of the night sky and flying low over them was Tundor. Siophra was riding him. He bellowed again. The elves in front of the temple all ran back inside. Others farther away from the doors were not so lucky. Flames reigned down on them from the sky. There were a lot of screams. All three dragons had cut loose on anything that they could see.

"Well, we had better get inside!" said Albarad.

"But that's where all the bad guys went" protested Cenderick.

"Heirwynn's in there. We need to protect her and Snow." he said. Then he hesitated. "No, I need to do this. You don't. Thank you for helping me get this far."

Cenderick leapt from a crouch and ran towards the door. "Come on old man! You'll be late!" he yelled. Albarad smiled for a second but still beat him to the door. He yanked it open. Inside it was chaos! Elves in armor were running everywhere. Two older female elves were screeching at them. The door shut behind Albarad and Cenderick. Everyone stopped to look at them. Behind the female elves Cenderick could see a human girl. She was tied up next to a white dragon. One of the dragon's feet was shackled. The girl smiled.

"GET THEM!" screamed one of the female elves.

"Last chance to surrender bitches!" yelled Cenderick.

Behind him the temple door was blasted open. The blue dragon, Candasar powered through and adroitly missed crushing both Cenderick and Albarad. She screamed her challenge. It was a throaty deep roar. An elf leapt from her back. He was holding a blue sword. The smaller black dragons Night and Pepper poured through behind her. A moment later another full sized red plowed through the remains of the wrecked door, completely finishing it off. Flames and smoke were trickling off her face. It was Firestorm.

Several of the elven soldiers began laying down their spears. The two female elves looked at each other. Something seemed to pass between them. Grabbing a spear from a rack near them, one of them spun and heaved it at Heirwynn. The spear sailed through the air. It plunged into the young priest who seemed somehow to anticipate her actions. It pierced him through the center of the chest. He was thrown back and landed hard, pushing the tip of the spear back from where it had gone through him. The soldiers exploded into movement. Another spear was thrown towards Candasar. Miraculously, she dodged it. Dragon fire exploded in the chamber, from multiple sources. It was suddenly extremely hot. Cenderick ducked another spear and tried to find Albarad. He had lost him in the chaos. Suddenly he spotted him. He was most of the way to Heirwynn but still fighting. There was a blue flash and Cenderick knew no more.

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