Chapter Seventy
Simi nearly halted in the air right before colliding with the simurgh. It was a surreal moment where time seemed to slow for Wilder. His life didn’t flash before his eyes and he didn’t pray, but he did suck in a breath and tighten his grip on the reins. There was nothing left to do at that point except to rely on his training. Thankfully for him, he had more than most since he’d spent a couple of centuries doing nothing else at the Gullington.
The air around the dragon and the simurgh stilled. The beast simply eyed him from a short distance away, a deadly expression in its soulless eyes. Nothing happened for a moment as the dragon and rider and beast faced off in the air, hovering only feet apart.
Then, as if magnetized to one another, Simi’s claws gripped the simurgh’s and the two were intertwined. Her tail wrapped around the bird’s body and squeezed, but as large as she was, the dragon was so much smaller than the monster. Still the bird’s eyes bulged when Simi attempted another squeeze.
Wilder held on for dear life, knowing that he was still steering. Simi’s talons and tail might be wrapped around the monster, but her life was still in her rider’s hands. What he did or thought next would keep her alive or end her very fast.
The trio spiraled through the air and quickly fell toward the ocean below with nothing to stop them as their wings flapped against one another in ongoing assaults.
They must have looked like a strange ball of white and gold in the air as they plummeted one over the other. The simurgh pecked at Simi and got in a few good attacks that pierced her dragonhide, but she wasn’t deterred and held tightly to the monster’s talons, which kept it from moving properly.
The rush of air and screams of the monster and roar of the dragon cut through Wilder’s head, but he tried to maintain focus. This wasn’t the way to end the beast. He knew that instinctively. They were outmatched. This was only a diversion. Another attempt to disarm the creature.
Everything in the magical world was about energy. Take down one defense and you leave an enemy vulnerable. He looked up to the skies where his friend would be watching and hoped that he’d bought Mahkah enough time.
It was all up to him now.
With a hard tug on the reins, Wilder told his dragon it was time to pull away. Simi responded instantly by unlocking from the simurgh and flying away at once, employing the last of their magic to make a quick getaway.
Chapter Seventy-One
The water streaked by Evan and Coral as they plummeted into the cold sea. Water bubbles sped by Evan’s face but he tried to see through them, not knowing what he was looking for.
According to Sophia and Lunis, there was a weak spot on the leviathan. He’d questioned Coral on this but she didn’t have any more information from the collective consciousness of the dragons than that. There wasn’t a lot known about these sea creatures, so they’d have to venture into the new and mysterious territory.
Evan liked that he might be one of the few to take down such a large beast. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife the story. She would undoubtedly be impressed.
The monster was massive under the surface. It was surprising that there could be more of the creature under the sea than above it since it was so gigantic.
Someone needs to go on a diet, Evan thought, not earning a reaction from Coral. That was typical. Most dragons, excluding Lunis and some of the new generation, weren’t prone to humor.
It was hard to tell the various parts of the sea monster until a tentacle nearly slammed him in the face. Then Evan started to make out parts of the beast. He wasn’t sure what Sophia and Lunis were doing in the air, but it appeared to make the creature very angry based on the way it thrashed around.
If Evan had the comm to communicate with, he would have told Sophia to read the monster a bedtime story. Instead, it appeared that she was sticking it with needles, irritating it enough to react but not disable the beast. The whole thing was making it harder to locate this mysterious vulnerable spot. And searching for something like that on a creature the size of a battlecruiser was laughable at best.
Evan was grateful that at least he could rely on his excellent humor to aid him when he realized that Coral was running out of air, which meant that he would soon as well. They’d have to surface soon, which Carl would no doubt notice.
This might not be a fight they could win, he realized with a heavy heart as he pulled his dragon up to the surface of the water, knowing if they stayed under too much longer that they’d drown. And then, that’s when he saw it.
Something red. Heart-shaped. And glowing on the side of the leviathan.
It was only a guess, but Evan strongly suspected that he’d located the monster’s weak spot. Now he had to make an important choice: risk going for it when in plain view, or die kicking up to the surface. Either way, he might die trying.
Chapter Seventy-Two
Mahkah wasn’t the expert when it came to weapons. He knew magical creatures better than any of the dragonriders and specifically winged creatures thanks to his time studying the dragons.
For that reason, and solely because of that, he thought he’d know something about the simurgh. Something that would either save Wilder and him from the monster or make it so terribly angry that it didn’t stop until it killed them and their dragons.
Sometimes, when in battle, a warrior comes so far that they simply have to rely on hope. That’s exactly where Mahkah was at that point. Reason wasn’t going to help him. Delaying would only make things worse.
The time to act was then.
He pulled back his arrow laced with all the magic he could funnel into the small object. Instead of aiming at the body of the beast, the largest of targets, Mahkah pointed the tip at the smallest part of the creature—one of its black eyes.
He let it go as the simurgh realized that Simi had fled. It didn’t waste any time, and that’s why Mahkah laced another spell on the arrow that made it follow the eye of the monster. Hopefully, it would find its target, and that’s what would be its demise.
Otherwise, the Dragon Elite might be done for.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Sophia knew that complete chaos was happening all around her and Lunis. And yet, she felt strangely Zen in the moments that followed.
Carl was shrieking from Lunis’ assault on its tentacle. For being such a big fellow, he was undoubtedly a little baby.
It’s always that way, Lunis related as they streaked away from the many tentacles now seeking to take them out.
Does that make you a baby? Sophia hunkered low as they flew out from the barrage of attempts on their lives.
The biggest, Lunis admitted.
Sophia caught sight of a battle between Wilder and Simi and Howard overhead. The dragon and rider looked so small when compared to the giant simurgh. Still, Sophia didn’t worry—or rather, overtly worry. Her attention was focused on her battle. She had no time for anything else at that point.
Knowing that she didn’t have an option after angering Carl so badly, she encouraged Lunis away. Either their attempts at distraction had worked, or they’d have to try another approach. Sophia also knew that Evan and Coral should be close to out of air soon with as long as they’d been underwater.