as planned,” the demi-lord said as his eyes roamed over the room.
Viscious hated that he had to rely on a demon. Demons couldn’t be trusted, not that he could trust anyone else in this room, either. They all had their own agenda and thirst for power was at the top of everyone's list.
“The dragons have been released?” Radagast, the dark water king asked? His eyes swirled a dark blue like the sky above a pending tsunami. The power emanating from him smelled like salty sea air.
“The witch contacted the dragon tamer,” Dolion confirmed.
“The witch has a name,” one of the witches, no doubt a high priestess, judging by the dark aura around her, snapped.
“Dragon tamer?” Lamia, the dark air queen asked curiously. “Since when is a witch a dragon tamer?”
“Apparently my daughter has many talents,” the high priestess replied.
“And you are?” Viscious asked. He didn’t like not knowing the names of those who were supposed to be working for him.
“My name is Danni. I am the high priestess of the Cornwall coven.”
“Pleasure,” Viscious lied.
“Can we get on with it?” Nimue asked, sounding bored and as if they weren’t about to take on the light royal elementals in the battle of the ages.
“Perhaps we should go over things before we jump right in?” Dolion suggested.
At least someone has a brain.
“Very well,” Nimue agreed. “What is the plan that will guarantee our success?”
Chapter 18
Aston woke with a start as he felt heat rush over him. He and the other elementalists had been guarding the portal to the realm of the dragons for twenty-four hours, and they’d been sleeping in shifts, not that Aston had been able to get much rest. The pain in his chest wasn’t abating, and he felt himself being pulled to the very portal he was sure he didn’t want to walk through. It didn’t take a genius to know that walking into a realm filled with huge, fire-breathing lizards was a dumbass move.
But there had been many times he’d had to stop himself from standing up and doing just that. He’d distracted himself by asking Professor Fernis every question he could come up with about all of the different supernatural creatures and battles he’d faced. Regardless of the pull that Aston felt, one thing he could always count on was his curiosity. He loved to learn, loved to figure things out, to solve problems, and tell others of his solutions. It was a different kind of power than using his magic, and it was just as potent in some cases.
Aston stood and noticed the others who had been sleeping were now awake and on their feet.
Jax, Ender, and Colt had been the ones on watch, and they were already in fighting stances, their magic causing their hands to glow as if they were waiting to fend off an attack. Aston looked past them and noticed the portal shimmering.
“Should that worry us?” Aston asked, pointing.
“Considering none of us are the ones opening it? Hell yes,” Colt said.
“Just wanted to make sure,” Aston said. He pulled his glasses from the side pocket of his pants and slipped them on. He didn’t take his eyes off the portal, and though part of him was fascinated with the idea of a dragon soaring through, he was also praying to Mother Gaia that it wouldn’t happen because that would be bad. Very, very bad.
“Be ready,” Jax called out.
“How does one prepare himself for a fire-breathing dragon?” Colt asked.
A blast of wind whipped around them as Rush and Brianna, the air bonded couple, stepped up next to Jax.
“You can’t,” Rush answered. “Just don’t run away. They’re predators. They chase things that run.”
Aston pulled his power up inside of him and felt it filling his body and running down his arms. He knew his hands would be glowing a bright white like Rush, Brianna, and Colt’s were doing.
Jax and Professor Fernis’s hands glowed green while Ender, a water elementalist, had what looked like globes of liquid encasing his hands.
“Do you think we should call for backup?” Ender asked.
“This isn’t a game show,” Jax growled. “There is no phone a friend or ask the audience.”
“But there is pluck a team from a portal,” Ender pointed out. “We totally have that option.”
“They’ve got their own missions going on,” Jax answered. “We don’t want to bring them in unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
The portal began to expand, and the pain in Aston’s chest increased tenfold. Was he having a heart attack? He was scared. Who in their right mind