Without the sword, I wasn’t sure I could. But then another presence surged within me, and Caliel was there. Not strong, but equally motivated, opening a channel between me and the Ice Drake.
I rotated my wrist and managed to bring my fingers into contact with the Dragon’s foreleg.
Through the link, Riggs pushed supportive energy to me. I hadn’t even realized he could do that, especially without the sword. It merged with Caliel’s abilities and helped me channel the Drake. Icy cold swept from my fingers, and into the Dragon.
The great wings faltered, found their rhythm, and then faltered again. His talons opened, and I started to slide free…
Then he grabbed at me, clumsily, the talons missing my arm and slicing deep into both shoulders. Pain lanced through me, but I managed to get a grip on one of his toes, sending ice right into his veins.
He shuddered and dropped from the sky.
We crashed in the swampy shallows at the north end of the lake. I struggled free from his talons as he began to sink. Blood flowed down from the tears in my skin, soaking my hoodie. Butwhen I glanced at the Dragon, his entire body was rimmed with frost.
Well done!Riggs said.Who in the heck was that?
Underworld Dragon,I surmised, glancing at it.
Your friend Victor,Riggs snarled.Get back to Cody and the team. No way he only sent one.
I sensed him pelting through jungle—heading for the gate closest to the treehouse. But with Cara gone, the only one available was a distance away. What he hoped to do, I had no idea—he might gain passage back to the academy, but he’d have to then get to this realm…
The gate Bellati can get me through,he growled.I’m going to rip those guys apart.
I acknowledged the reality of it—Riggs was too far away to help, and the Dragon had carried me a long distance away from the team. As I pushed myself through the pouring rain and sludge along the shore, I nervously glanced up to the clouds.
Might need my frosty girl again right away,I stated.
You will need to use the sword to do it,Caliel said.I have little control.
We can’t let these guys get hold of the sword,I countered.If I’m waving it around, it’ll shine like the sun.
We might not have any choice,Riggs stated. Apparently, teeth grinding carried through mindbonds.We also don’t know who is with them,he added.Your ice might kill, but you need backup.
I knew he was worrying about the Fire Drake. I adjusted the scabbard so I could reach it as I pushed myself as fast as I could through the slimy water and mud that rose to my thighs.
Through our link, I sensed Riggs pelting through his own jungle.
There isn’t anything you can do to help,I said.
Get yourself under cover.It almost sounded like an order.I am on the way. Cody will come for you, too.
I appreciated Riggs’s determination, but what was he going to do against a Dragon?I need the Drake, Caliel,I demanded, and pulled enough of the sword free from the scabbard to give us a surge of power.
He growled through my mind, but he cracked open the wall. My limbs began to writhe, the pain almost robbing me of breath. I kept my gaze focused on the firmer ground of the bank, and beyond it, a rock wall barely visible through the trees and driving rain.
I never even saw it coming, but something slammed hard into my back, knocking me off my feet and my hand free from the sword. It drove me back into the mucky water, and I rolled, to see another Dragon hovering overhead. I caught a glimpse of someone on his back—and he aimed not one, but two odd-looking guns at me.
Use the sword!Riggs screamed through my mind.
But half mired in the sticky muck, I struggled to grab at it—my fingers were already thick and tipped in icy talons as the Ice Drake surged. I couldn’t get a grip on the pommel, and as I snarled up at the rider, he used the first gun to fire darts. They avoided the scales popping up on my skin and sank deep into the still human part of me.
I struggled to yank them out—they’d be using drugs rather than parasites. But before I accomplished that goal, the second gun fired a net. I thrashed within it as it sank around me in the mire. But the cable on the edges drew it tight, and then lifted my body clear out of it and into the air.
One leg remained tangled in the cable and I twisted, attempting to either reach the Dragon, or the sword. But no matter how or what I tried, I couldn’t do either.
Caliel was there in an instant.You didn’t have to physically touch those men who attacked Nettie…
Pain shot through me—I was in mid-transformation, but I closed my eyes and concentrated on pushing the power through me. When my taloned fingers tingled, I looked to see strands of icy lightning extending from them.
