Pure Destiny (PureDark Ones #12) - Aja James Page 0,100

hated to be separated from her especially when danger still surrounded them from all sides, he was the one best positioned to lead the rescue team.

Although the Master’s new lair was unfamiliar in its location, he’d been in others. He had a sense of what to expect and how to get inside with his hyper senses. By now, they all had the coordinates that Dalair was given by the tech master, but that was merely a location; it didn’t give them the key to the Master’s lair.

Tal was the next choice, for he had possession of the laser sword that ended Medusa in the recent attack. It could only be used once, and Dalair cautioned him not to cut off the remaining head, for if the Master was to be believed, two would grow back in its place. Nevertheless, Tal could still inflict significant damage to the body, tail and legs with a strike from the sword.

And, too, the General likely wouldn’t have taken a back seat in the rescue mission no matter the reasoning. Dalair could sense that he needed to see to it personally that the boy was brought home safely.

Eli’s ability to turn to wind and air made him a no-brainer to bring along. Both defensively, because none of them, including Dalair, knew the full scope of the Hydra’s powers. As well as offensively, because he could snatch the boy if needed right out from underneath the monster’s nose. Or even from between its jaws.

Finally, Rhys was chosen for his ability to turn into the Great Golden Eagle. He could fly at least two of them to safety in a pinch. Three, if absolutely needed. And if the two helos’ interrupted approach to the clearing was any indication, knocked back by the force of Sophia’s power, Rhys would be their safety net if the aircraft malfunctioned.

As Dalair flew the helicopter toward the Master’s lair, the warriors within kept their silence, each immersed in his own thoughts.

Finally, Eli spoke.

“In all the millennia that I have existed, all the wars that I have fought in and led, never have I encountered such creatures as this. I thought it was only myth. Such monsters are as intangible to me as the gods themselves.”

Rhys slanted a look at him, sitting on his left side in the narrow two-seater behind the cockpit.

“Have you come across animal spirits like me before?”

“No.”

“Likewise, shadow warrior,” the eagle spirit grunted. “I haven’t lived nearly as long as you, but I’ve only heard legends of Elementals before. Never thought I’d meet one in the flesh. Between you and Ramses, a man’s liable to get an inferiority complex Gift-wise. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you transform to wind or shadow. I haven’t seen Ryu in action either…”

He trailed off, subtly and teasingly suggesting that the shadow warriors were all hype, no substance.

Eli didn’t respond, but Dalair sensed the male’s amusement.

Rhys turned to Dalair and Tal in the cockpit.

“You both have tangled with the Hydra before. Tell us what to expect.”

“The remaining head, if I am not mistaken, spews hellfire,” Tal replied.

“And that’s different from regular fire, how?” Rhys sought to clarify.

“I cannot tell you how it looked to the naked eye, but I can tell you what I recall about its descriptions in oral legends. And I can tell you how it felt, though I hadn’t been in its direct blast.”

“No, I imagine had you been, you wouldn’t be here now,” Rhys quipped.

No one took offense at his casual sarcasm. They’d understood early on that the eagle liked to diffuse tension with flippancy. And they could all use a little reprieve from tension while they still had the opportunity.

“The hellfire of a dragon is said to burn silvery blue in the dark, almost invisible in the light,” Tal explained. “As such, you feel it before you see it, making it much more dangerous and deadly. It is stronger than regular fire in that it can exist without air. Even in water, hellfire will burn. In fact, perhaps it is most potent in water, for it is said that dragons who breathe it tend to dwell most comfortably in lakes and beneath the sea.”

“Well, that explains the location we’re headed towards,” Rhys said. “All it shows in my GPS is a large body of water.”

“The Hydra prefers underwater caves as her base,” Dalair inserted. “Do not engage her in the water. She is most deadly there. She can grow to the size of a four-story building