GAIA?"
Ivan was up and dragging me to my feet. I was too preoccupied with watching the Dragon. Watching Crwys. He bellowed fire as he spoke and focused on an entire stand of Faeries. Yellow, red, amber fire belched forth and covered the stands. When the smoke cleared, nothing moved.
Dear Goddess…
-You have to stop him before he destroys this land again.-
How…how can I stop him like this?
-Look deep and you'll know.-
I frowned. That was not helpful. My Undine popped up at that moment and moved in front of me. She smiled and clutched her chest. Was she in pain? Did she have heart burn? Did she need to go?
In what looked like a frustrated attempt to prove a point, the Undine rammed my chest just over my heart—
My heart.
Ivan had pulled us to a small alcove behind the dais. I couldn't see Brendi and the hooded man was long gone. I saw Bastien and his wolves as they ushered Faeries through doors behind the remaining stands. I grabbed Ivan's hand and pushed the book into it. "Put this in my backpack. And keep down. Do not get killed or Dharma will never let me hear the end of it."
"Was she worried?"
"She thought you were dead, Ivan. We both did. We were wrecked. Now wipe that grin off your face and do what I said."
"What're you gonna do?"
I looked back at the rampaging Dragon. The temperature of the room rose. I noticed the heat but I didn't feel the heat. I wasn't sweating. I looked at Ivan. Neither was he. "Are you hot?"
"I don't know. Dharma thinks so."
I poked him. "No, I mean look at the fire. The heat of a Dragon. We've seen what he can do when he's not in his true form. Shouldn't we be like…melting?"
He put his hand to his face. "Yeah…what's up with that? You don't think this has anything to do with why Brendi couldn't set us on fire either do you?"
I did. I believed it had a lot to do with it.
-Go to him!-
"Just do what I said." I pushed myself up and ran through the exiting crowds of Faeries like a salmon swimming up stream. Crwys took up the entire back of the room as the stands burned. The ceiling was on fire as well, and I was pretty sure we had minutes before it came raining down on us.
I ran right up to him, as close as I could get and started shouting his name. "Crwys! Look at me! It's Sam! Please…look at me!"
He wasn't listening. I didn't think he could hear me through the shouting and his own roaring. The hiss of fire alerted me to a falling ball of flame and I sidestepped it. How was I going to get him to see me and not get barbecued?
Can you help?
-Yes!- the Arcane sounded as panicked as I felt.
I didn't fully release control, but I gave up enough as I felt the Arcane Magic fill the space around me. I saw my hands glitter red and I felt my vocal chords expand and strengthen. I called my Sylph. He came to me as I opened my arms. He wasn't a small, cute burst of wind now, but a fully formed golden man with hair like a wispy breeze. He was invisible from the waist down.
He offered me his hand, so gentle and graceful in the midst of the chaos. I placed my hand in his and we rose above the cracking obsidian floor and into the smoke filled air. We paused just in front of the Dragon and I faced him. My Sylph vanished from sight but he still held me in the air.
The Dragon set the other stand on fire and then brought that fire up and braised the ceiling. This part of the palace had very little time left. "Crwys!" I bellowed and my voice carried in the hall.
The Dragon paused and looked in my direction. I recognized his eyes, those beautiful amber red eyes. But now they were as big as me and filled with hate and pain. "WHO ARE YOU?"
My heart skipped. "It's me! It's Samantha!"
"LIAR! SAMANTHA IS IN HER WORLD. SHE WOULD NEVER ENTER HERE!" I recognized the slant of his head and I watched as his chest glowed. It'd done that seconds before that last blast of fire. Did he plan on killing me?
"No I'm right here! I would go anywhere to find you!"
"YOU LIE!" That's when he let loose a plume of dragon fire at