A Dawn of Dragonfire - By Daniel Arenson Page 0,55

shrieks rose behind them, cries like great eagles, like crashing flame, like the pain that still dug through her. The phoenixes soared, chasing suns of fury, crackling and howling.

It's him, Mori thought, eyes burning and wings trembling. The clouds streamed around her. He flies there as a firebird. The man who… who…

Once more she lay upon that oak table, staring into Orin's dead eyes. Once more his hand clutched her throat, and his pain drove into her, and her mouse fluttered in her pocket like a heart, until her weight crushed him. Once more Solina stood above her, watching, laughing.

"Mori!" rose a shout, distant and muffled, as from leagues away. "Mori, fly!"

She blew fire, clearing the haze, and saw Bayrin flying at her side. His green scales flashed between the clouds, and his tail nudged her, steadying her flight. The fire of the pursuing phoenixes gilded the clouds.

"Mori, fly!" Bayrin shouted. "Faster!"

She flew, neck outstretched, tail straight, wings churning the clouds. She sliced the sky, wind blowing around her.

Orin always said I was the fastest dragon in Requiem.

Bayrin flew at her side, flames seeping between his teeth. Soon he was falling behind, and Mori forced herself to slow down, though all her horrors blazed behind. She could not see them clearly—the clouds still hid them—but their shrieks tore the sky, and their fire blazed like sunset.

If he catches us, he will kill Bayrin, she thought. But he will not show me that mercy. He will chain me, and rape me again and again, and force me to watch Solina kill Elethor.

A growl found her throat, surprising her. She had not thought any anger remained in her, only fear, and yet her rage now blazed.

So I will not let him catch me.

"Bayrin!" she cried, flying at this side. "Keep your neck and tail straight! Keep your body smooth! Cut through the wind, like this."

She was slim and small; he was long and gangly. She shot forward, as straight and flat as she could, until she flew before him. The wind flowed around her.

"Fly in my slipstream, Bay!" she shouted. "I'll shield you from the wind."

They drove forward, the shrieks rising behind them, the wind howling. The clouds parted, and Mori found herself under blue sky. Mountains rolled below, their slopes golden, the peaks white with snow. Between them, silver strings of frozen rivers snaked through forests of evergreens. Red light blazed against the landscape, and when Mori turned her head, she saw the phoenixes emerge from the clouds.

There were five. Their flames twisted and rained sparks. Their beaks like molten steel cried in fury. One phoenix led the pack, larger than his brethren, his wings a hundred feet wide. He was Lord Acribus. Mori knew it was him; she knew the cruelty in those white eyes.

"Bayrin, fly!" she shouted.

He was lagging behind, tongue lolling, chest rising and falling. He stared at her, eyes glazed; he had reached the end of his strength.

Again she saw Solina in her mind, scarred face cold, blue eyes staring. Again she heard that voice.

Have your treat, dog.

The fingers dug into her, and she could not breathe, not even scream.

"No," she told herself, wings flapping. I won't let them catch us. Her breath ached in her lungs. Never. Never again.

She looked around madly, over mountain and river and forest, seeking a place to hide. When she saw the fallen tower, she gasped. It lay upon a mountaintop, jagged and crumbling. These were the ruins of Draco Vallum, she knew. She had always loved books of maps and histories; she had spent so many hours poring over them in the library. She remembered reading about these ruins—the crumbling remains of proud, ancient forts from Requiem's Golden Age before the griffins destroyed the land.

"Bay, fly to the ruins!" Mori shouted into the wind. "Do you see them?"

She slapped him with her tail, nudging him in the right direction. He panted and his eyes rolled, but he managed to nod. The two dragons, gold and green, began diving down toward the mountains. Wind howled and Mori's belly twisted. She swooped so fast that she nearly fainted, and the tug of the world pulled her stomach and skull. She gritted her teeth and kept diving.

"We'll have to fight them in the ruins!" she said.

Memories pounded through her, and she saw herself again in Castellum Luna, slamming the doors shut, racing into darkness.

That is where he killed Orin, hurt me, and spat on my bleeding body. Suddenly Mori wanted to turn away