Magda cast a small blue orb at him. It hit his shield, depleting it in a few seconds, leaving Zuhl completely vulnerable, but still, he focused on the words of his spell.
Abigail loosed another arrow. She was a long way away but her aim was true, she knew she had him the moment the shaft left the bow. She held her breath while the arrow sailed through the air in a graceful arc, counting her heartbeats until it hit.
Zuhl looked up, spreading his arms wide, an orb of utter blackness materializing above him. A moment later it pulsed, sending out a rapidly expanding shell of darkness. When the darkness passed over each dragon, a black tether linked them from their chest to the orb floating over Zuhl’s head. Ixabrax was the only one spared, too far away for the spell to reach him.
Zuhl pronounced the final word loudly and defiantly. Abigail’s arrow buried in his chest to the feathers only the briefest moment later. Magda’s light-lance was next, burning a hole through the simulacrum where his heart was supposed to be. Zuhl slumped to the ground, dead.
In the span of the following three seconds, all of the darkness contained within the orb floating over Zuhl’s head drained into the four dragons. Each became stiff almost instantly, frozen in place, the pure blackness of Zuhl’s magic running its course. All four fell from the sky, their wings becoming so brittle that they shattered and broke off during the fall. Each hit the ground, exploding into a pile of blackened remains.
Anatoly hit hard, falling from Khazad and winding up nearly buried in the broken, desiccated remains of the murdered dragon. Magda leapt free of Nix and landed lightly in the snow nearby, watching in horror as all four dragons crashed to the ground and shattered into mounds of broken black, leaving terrible stains in the snow where they fell.
Ixabrax howled in a low wail, a death knell that carried on the wind for miles. Abigail felt such desperate sorrow in his cry. The pain of his loss was palpable, emanating from him in waves and all but overwhelming. She didn’t say anything, choosing instead to cry silently. And not just for Ixabrax’s loss, but for the guilt she felt for her part in it.
In retrospect, she should have known, she chided herself. Of course Zuhl would have a contingency plan, of course he would never allow the dragons he’d controlled for so long to roam free.
Ixabrax landed amid the lifeless ash of his family, falling silent and still. Abigail held her breath. Magda was moving toward Anatoly, but otherwise, the place was as still as a tomb.
“What have I done?” Ixabrax said. “My whole family … dead.”
“You didn’t do this. Zuhl did,” Abigail said.
Quicker than a cat, Ixabrax reached around, snatched her off his back and tossed her into the snow. Pain exploded from her leg. She gasped, tried to scream but couldn’t. She rolled to a stop and lay still, gathering her wits and struggling to focus her mind on the angry dragon instead of on her broken leg.
“Listen well, Human,” Ixabrax said. “Our business is done. You have failed to deliver my family and so my obligations to you end here. Do not seek me out again.” His anger melted into sadness as if he’d forgotten Abigail’s very existence and all that was left surrounding him were the remains of his family. With a howl of anguish, Ixabrax launched into the sky, turning north, away from Zuhl, away from his past … and away from humanity.
Chapter 44
“Trajan, you have to come out of there for this to work,” Isabel said, standing in the hallway leading to the crystal chamber. Ayela and Hazel, both bound and gagged, were each sitting in the center of one chamber, though Hazel, in Ayela’s body, was struggling mightily to squirm out of the circle.
“She’s trying to get free again,” Trajan said.
“I know. Let one of your men handle it so they can use that thing and make this right,” Isabel said. “As long as you and that bone are anywhere near this room, it won’t work.”
Trajan looked down at the femur he’d taken from the chamber. The bone was solid and sturdy with a large knot on each end, perfect for use as a club. He’d wrapped a leather thong around the end with the smaller knot. Isabel had selected a finger bone and tied a thong around it to make a