Tricked Into Flight

Chapter 36

*Katerina's POV*

My eyes widened as I gawked at the numerous glows.

Belatedly, in a hushed voice, I said, "Diondin, dozens of stones are glowing now! I can't see what the mages are doing, but more keep appearing."

"Dozens? Are they stronger glows or just faint illumination?"

"Stronger, just like the four they were using–" I paused as several figures scrambled out of the rock rubble and began running this way. "They're coming this way!"

"I can't see through the smoke," he growled. "What–"

Another explosion blasted skyward, creating more fire and smoke. A dim bluish shimmer appeared overhead, forming a shield that covered most of the canyon.

"There's three of them!" I hissed. My heart pounded as I waited for his reply. When it didn't come, I repeated myself, "Diondin! There's three of them! They're coming right for us!"

There was still no response. Several runes scattered on the ground by the cave glowed brighter, then flared as more spells were cast skyward. The runes dimmed and slowly began glowing again. They weren't being aimed, not that I could see well past the smoke, but they were sending attacks without distracting a mage.

Three men ran this way, burdened with backpacks and several small stone tablets. I hunched down as far as I could while still watching them.

"There isn't enough time for a true binding, but we can use a lens from a dragon's eye as the focus of this spell to become invisible to the other dragons."

One mage stumbled as he stared at his companion. "We have to pop its eye?"

"Do you have a better idea?" the first one demanded. "I didn't expect seven dragons to show up. They usually only travel in groups of two or three."

Without waiting for a reply, the ringleader dropped his armful of stones on the ground and drew a belt knife as he ran toward Rakota's head. I could barely believe my ears, but the man was definitely prepared to maim a dragon if it meant he could escape.

Swallowing hard, I grabbed my bow and leaned around the boulder. Even as I nocked the arrow, I knew this could very well be a fatal mistake, but I couldn't let them gouge out Rakota's eyes.

I released the string and ducked down without waiting to see the arrow miss. A pained yell startled me so much I almost dropped my bow. I peeked through a different gap. One mage – not the ringleader – sat on the ground with an arrow in his leg, and his stone slabs scattered around him.

The mage with the belt knife was backing up to the stone tablets he'd dropped as he scanned the boulders. The third one held something in the air as it started glowing. It flared and a massive fireball raced toward my hiding place.

A second fireball came from overhead, intercepting the mage's attack. I glanced up to see Serepha on the ridge, standing inside the shield. One wing sagged and more than a few of her luminous scales were scuffed, but that only added to the threat behind her bared teeth.

Her murderous glare was locked onto the mages as she launched another fireball at them. The two mages with the stones each held up one as it started glowing. Remembering how the falling rock had interrupted a spellcasting, I quickly grabbed another arrow and sent it flying. It whizzed in front of a mage, missing, but it was enough to distract him and make the rune go dark.

Lightning cracked down, striking the ground between the ringleader and his pre-charged spells. He slid to a stop, then ran sideways to the boulders, ducking out of sight. I shot a few more arrows at the two mages fending off Serepha but kept glancing to the side nervously.