a mere thirty feet from the bow of the ark. Morgan screamed a battle cry. The demons and Nephilim replied with guttural roars.
Sparks flew from Makaidos’s mouth, sprinkling Thigocia’s face. “What have you done?!”
“I obeyed the eye! It is not my fault you were deaf to its song.”
Arramos thumped his tail on the deck. “Quiet! Do not behave like younglings!” He lowered his voice. “Thigocia, did the Ovulum say anything else?”
“Yes.” She nudged the sword with her foreleg. “The patriarch is supposed to protect the ark with the sword. Something about waving it and making a cloak.”
“We must ” Arramos cast a glance at Morgan. She seemed to be directing the Watchers as they flew to surround the ark. The clouds above boiled bright red, sinking lower in the sky with every passing second. Arramos stretched his neck upward and let out an ear-splitting roar. With another thump of his tail, he growled a low whisper. “Trumpet! Now! Both of you!”
Makaidos and Thigocia raised their heads and poured out a stream of blaring trumpet sounds, shaking the deck, the ark, and the earth.
“Keep it up while I give my final commands. We must make them think this ark is filled with dragons.” He nodded toward Adam’s Door. “Shem and Japheth, send your father out here immediately, then make sure your families are safe. Makaidos, the Watchers will know we are few in number as soon as I attack them alone.”
Makaidos lowered his head. “Alone? But ”
“Trumpet!”
Makaidos trumpeted louder than ever. Shem and Japheth hustled into the quarters, Japheth pausing at the doorway, looking back at the dragons before ducking inside.
“You and Thigocia are the chosen pair,” Arramos continued. “When the flood recedes, you will repopulate the earth with our kind and once again serve the race of Adam.”
“Thigocia and me? Repopulate? But ”
“Makaidos!”
Makaidos trumpeted again, but his volume faded. The dark red clouds sank lower. Peals of thunder shook the ark, nearly knocking the dragons down.
“I know you want to fight,” Arramos continued, “but the battle against the corrupters is over. It is now up to the Maker to finish the war.” He nodded toward Adam’s Door. “Go now.”
The two young dragons silenced their trumpets and lowered their heads. New rolls of thunder replaced their blistering calls. Arramos leaped up to the parapet and looked back with a large tear in each eye. “Good-bye, my son. I am proud of you. You will make a fine king.” He flapped his wings and lifted off. With a sudden turn and sweep of his tail, he dove toward the circle of demons.
Makaidos lunged toward the parapet, slipping on the rain-slicked planks. Thigocia joined him and craned her neck over the side. Blasting waves of fire, Arramos shattered Morgan’s shield and slammed into the wall of Watchers and Nephilim. At least three Watchers collapsed, and the spear-wielding Naphil fell into the trench. Arramos tumbled to the ground, rolling into another Watcher and crushing his body. The other Watchers leaped toward Arramos, waves of darkness streaming from their eyes.
Makaidos jumped to the top of the parapet and unfurled his wings. “I have to help him!”
Thigocia snatched his tail in her claws and pulled him back to the deck. “Are you going to disobey your father’s last command?”
“I am not going to let him die without a fight!”
“Are you so selfish that you are willing to end the dragon race because of your lust for battle?”
“It is not lust for battle! I just want to save my father!”
“Then save him by obeying him! His legacy will die forever if you don’t.”
Makaidos turned back toward the battlefield, stretching his neck high. Thigocia followed his line of sight. With blankets of darkness smothering Arramos, all she could see were his ruby eyes, his gaze focused on the ark, pleading . . . begging. She heard a voice in her mind, faint and trembling. “Go . . . now . . . let me know . . . you are safe . . . before I die.”
She spoke slowly, dreamily, yet with firm resolve. “Makaidos. We must go . . . now!”
“I cannot leave my father!” He stretched out his wings and lifted into the air.
“We must go!” Thigocia bit his tail and yanked him from the sky.
Makaidos twisted and jerked his tail away. “Don’t make me fight you!”
Red light flashed from one end of the ark to the other, casting a blood-like shroud over the deck, its glow seeming to carry a loud, bass hum that shook