Chapter 26 ~ The Battle

~Duncan~

We plummeted toward the mass of monstrous creatures, the air vibrating with the buzzing sound of their wings, an annoying whine just a few notes lower than a mosquito. I snarled, my needle-sharp fangs exposed, as I dove and caught the draft from Fiona. I shot forward as if I had grabbed the tow-rope on a ski lift, barely moving a wing as the huge dragon thundered through the air in front of me.

Just before we collided with the huge cloud, I heard a rumble from Fiona, and a torrent of fire blossomed in front of her, showering the front ranks with a substance that seemed part lava and part giant welding torch. It glowed an almost electric blue-green, with the edges fading to white and yellow and orange. I could feel all the moisture in the air around me instantly evaporate, and closed my mouth with a snap, before the furnace-like air could dry out my weaponized saliva. In front of me, I could see Kerata glowing blue where she was dangling from one of Fiona's claws. The air around her steamed.

After a few moments, Fiona's jaws closed with a snap. The burning insects created a wall of flame around us as we dove into the midst of the horde. It was like swimming through a school of sharks. The disgusting things zipped and zagged between us, raking their black talons down any exposed flesh they could find. I was the only one in our group who could match both their speed and maneuverability. I shot after a group of them, quickly losing sight of the others as the swarm closed behind me. Concentrating, I ducked and weaved, spitting and clawing, sending the creatures spinning toward the earth with each well-placed blow. Behind me, I heard a sharp roar, the vibrations shaking the air around me. Without hesitating, I shot straight up, emerging from the cloud a few seconds later.

Turning around, I spotted Fiona.

She was hovering at the center of the flashing swarm, her wings driving hard to keep her, Kerata and Dane in the air. Thin slash marks criscrossed her body, thicker ones on her wings, which had several long rents in them, and her tail, the end of which appeared to be dangling uselessly. I cringed, mentally. That looks painful.

On her back, Dane flailed at any creature that came within range, the pocketknife he always kept with him in his hand. "COME AT ME BROOOOOOO!" He screamed, nearly standing up on Fiona's back.

Kerata, still dangling from one of her forepaws, lashed her hooves at anything stupid enough to come near. Whatever she hit iced over in a matter of seconds, and fell from the sky.

Fiona herself was panting, fire still dribbling from her jaws, as she snapped at the creatures, slashing with her unoccupied claw. Her wings did most of the work, the massive downdraft sucking hundreds of enemies from the sky, and hurtling them like hail on the roofs below, many of them being shish-kebabed on various antennas and pipes.

I snarled fiercely, and dove at the remaining Shifters. Opening my mouth as wide as I could, I sprayed acid in a huge arc, splattering everything beneath me in a coating of hissing blue-green slime. I only had a moment to feel satisfaction at the pained screams of the creatures I had spat on, before I slammed back into the whirling mass. From there, everything seemed to blur together in a mishmash of brilliant green and foggy gray, with the occasional flash of white.

It came as a surprise, then, when I did a loop in the air, planning to come down on the enemies from above, only to find that there weren't any more left. I wobbled in the air, suddenly exhausted, before leveling out and gliding alongside Fiona toward the top of a low, wide building. As soon as we all reached it, we collapsed. Fiona stumbled to a halt, setting Kerata down shakily, before groaning and flopping to the side with a ground-shaking thud. I flopped down as well, my wings spread out to either side, gasping. Kerata was on her knees where Fiona had dropped her, her muzzle almost touching her chest as she breathed heavily, eyes closed. From Fiona's back, I heard Dane coughing.

Blood spattered the pavement as Fiona moved a wing, painfully. She reached her neck around, carefully, and picked Dane up like a kitten again, setting him down to one side, before slowly getting to her feet. Her joints wobbled, but she closed her eyes. A second later, light swirled up around her paws, the liquid radiance looking thinner and dimmer than usual, and moving sluggishly. As it encountered her wounds, it became streaked with pink and red, until finally, when it engulfed her whole, huge body, it was a brilliant shade of ruby. Then, it began to rapidly shrink. From inside it issued a scream, at first thin and high, before lowering and becoming more human. The light began to fade, and I looked away quickly. She was naked, obviously being too tired - or perhaps even unconscious - to put on clothing.

I heard Dane walk over to her, his steps careful, as he was also trying not to look. There was a rustle of cloth, and then a sigh. I peeked back around, and saw that he had taken off his hoodie and laid it over her, covering her. Now he was sitting by her side, stroking her hair softly.

I turned my attention to Kerata, who was still in the same position, still a horse, but breathing more easily.

I gathered my wings up on my back, before padding over to her, limping slightly from a gash on one forefoot. I nudged her shoulder, slightly. "Are you alright?"

Her head jerked slightly, and she opened one crystal blue eye and looked at me. "I'll live. But you look like you need some help with that forefoot... oh, and you have a pretty big scratch on your back, too... and one of your wings is torn!" She turned her head and nosed my side, gently. I tried not to wince. "I'll live," I echoed.

She gave a snort, and glanced over at Fiona. "She alright?"

I sighed, and flopped to the ground, leaning against Kerata's side for support. "Yeah, I think so." I yawned on the last word, drawing out the 'o'. Lazily, I watched a piece of a Shifter's wing drift past on the ground, fluttering along like a leaf. "The question is, what do we do now?"