Until he’d flown Linara into battle, Pax had never before experienced the feel of a human upon his back. It was annoying at first, as if a parasite had attached itself to his scales. He instinctively wanted to shake off that which should not be there, but he had not.

And now he carried two. A woman and a child.

And me, Kitty said, slipping too easily into his mind.

He gave thanks that his own sword didn’t talk. After that, Kitty remained silent.

In short order, he could cover ground it would take days or even weeks for a man to walk. If Linara’s mother was in danger, they had to hurry, and he had to make sure they weren’t seen too soon. He stayed low to the ground, and he kept his fire contained. For now.

He swerved sharply to avoid a stand of trees, and Linara held on tighter than before. She gasped and her heart raced. The girl Val laughed. That one had been made for riding dragons.

He could deposit Linara here, far from the village, where she would be safe when the battle that was to come started. But safety was not her concern, nor was it his. In darkness, he flew around the village and set down on a narrow section of rock. He looked down upon the collection of plain buildings. If not for a few soldiers standing watch, it would look like any other small village.

Sword in hand, Linara clumsily climbed over one side and slid off his back. He heard her stumble a little, but she did not fall.

He turned his head to look at her.

She looked deeply into one eye, placed a hand on his scaly face, and said,

“I wanted to wait, but I have to confess, in case I don’t see you again…I love you. Man or beast, lover or dragon, I love you. Take care of yourself.”

He loved her, too, but did not have the words. Not at this moment.

And then she was back to business. “Give me half an hour to get into position before you attack.”

“Half an hour?” Val snapped. “Does he have an internal clock of some kind, because I sure don’t.”

Linara looked to the east. “As the first sliver of the sun shows on the horizon, show them what it means to truly be at war.”

With that, Pax rose into the air.

* * *

Linara watched them fly away, in darkness, low to the ground. They were a magnificent sight, these prophesied three. They would survive this day; she knew it. Val would return to her Cyrus, and one day, in a few years, they’d marry. Pax would return to his mountain, or to another mountain, where he would continue to cook and eat the worst of men. Or women.

She had no idea what happened to a magical sword when its purpose had been served.

And she had no confidence at all that she herself would survive.

Linara scrambled down the hill, careful to make no sound even though she was not directly behind the village. At this time of the morning, the demons and soldiers slept. Most of them, at least. There were a handful of guards, but the army was overly confident. They had demons on their side, and so they knew no fear.

If Stasio slept, this would be the time. If her mother was there, somewhere…

She wouldn’t think of that, not now. Find Stasio. Find Sophie Fyne Varden. End this, one way or another.

Very soon, the landscape began to look familiar. Ahead, through the trees, she saw the rear of the tavern. All was quiet there, at this hour.

She stumbled a bit, tripping over her own two feet it seemed. She caught herself without taking a tumble, and looked to see what had caused her to lose her footing.

There was no light to speak of, no reason for the amulet to sparkle as it did. And yet there it was, calling to her. She had not seen it since the night she’d ripped it from her neck and tossed it away. It had been here, all this time, waiting for her to return and claim it. Linara almost gleefully snatched the charm from the ground and dropped it in her pocket.

And she was more positive than ever that her mother was here, and still alive.

She walked forward, more determined than ever, and she whispered, “I’m coming.”

* * *

Stasio paced the small room, glancing only occasionally at the woman who was bound to a wooden chair in the center of the room. Sophie Fyne Varden was unnervingly calm. He could kill her for that, and might, eventually, but she still served a purpose.

She would bring Linara back to him.

Having Sophie here had cost him dearly. Only one of the four soldiers he’d sent to collect the witch had returned with her. The other three had, one after the other, attempted to help the woman they’d been assigned to kidnap. She’d worked her way under their skin, thanks to her magic. Their chivalry had been rewarded with death at the hand of one of their compatriots. Thank goodness the last soldier had been dark enough to resist her white magic long enough to deliver her.

He had watched the night’s disastrous battle through the eyes of two of his strongest girls, but what he had seen had been maddeningly disjointed and vague. They had died, he knew that much, in dragonfire. Fire from the dragon Linara had been sent to kill. She’d failed in that task, but had she assisted the dragon or had she been fighting against it?

He could not trust her. She’d shown him the dragon’s death; a man’s death. She had made him believe…

He could no longer see through her eyes; she had learned to block him. But she wasn’t dead. No, she couldn’t be dead.

The woman, who thankfully did not speak too much, surprised him by saying, “You should release me now.”

He looked at her, annoyed by her calm demeanor, by her strength and beauty that had survived too many years.

“And why should I do that?”

“My husband will be here soon, and he won’t come alone. I can feel his nearness from here. They’ve traveled through the night.” She tsked, and lifted her eyebrows in a chastising manner. “He’s annoyed with you.”

Stasio was pretty annoyed himself. He planted his feet in front of the chair, and leaned down to place his face close to hers. He didn’t like it; being near to her made him intensely uncomfortable in his own skin. But he forced a smile. He whispered, “When he gets here, I will skin him alive. I’ll let you live long enough to watch.”

She was no longer calm. Her blue eyes flashed. Her fair hair — more gray than blond now, but in a silvery way that reminded him of Linara — lifted a little, as if a gentle wind rushed around her. “If you lay a finger on Kane, you will regret it.”

Stasio scoffed, he turned away before the witch could see the fear those simple words ignited in him.

Perhaps he should have left Linara’s mother alone.

Unfortunately for him, that knowledge came too late.

He drew the dagger he had taken to wearing and held it before the witch’s face. “You will bring Linara to me, and I will kill her for her betrayal.”

Sophie’s eyes flashed with anger. “You well know a Ksana is hard to kill. You’d be better off to let me and my daughter go.”

He moved the blade back and forth, experiencing a surge of confidence. “Do you think I would surround myself with demons without having a way to end their lives? This blade will destroy the heart of any demon daughter. I fashioned it, and the dark magic within, myself.”

He expected another flash of anger, but Sophie remained calm. She almost smiled. “My daughter does not have a demon heart.”

* * *

The sky turned gray, but the sun had not yet shown itself; not even a golden sliver was visible on the horizon, but…soon.

Linara crept along the edge of the tavern, staying in the dark shadows as she listened. Stasio didn’t sleep much. He seemed to think sleep was a waste of time, that there were better things to be done with his hours. Fortunately all but a handful of posted guards slept at this hour. If she listened. If she tried very hard…

And there it was. A whisper. A voice only she could hear. No, voices.

One of them was her mother’s.

There was no time to be cautious. Soon the sun would arrive, and Pax would come soaring in, fire blazing. What would Stasio do then? He would realize that Linara had failed, and he would kill his hostage.

The faint whisper led her to a house three doors from the tavern. It was not a place Stasio had called home in the past. Was he hiding from her? Was he afraid to be found?

Linara peeked through an uncovered window near the narrow front door. Her heart stopped for a moment when she saw her mother there, tied to a chair, foolishly smiling and arguing with Stasio. She blinked twice. Her mother…glowed. She was surrounded by a powerful white light. Did Stasio see that light, or was he blind to it?

The wizard stood apart from her, thank the heavens. If he had been too near Sophie, if he had been threatening her, Linara’s next move would’ve been a bit trickier.

She opened the door and stepped inside.

* * *

She was riding a dragon. A dragon! The wind blew Val’s hair behind her, pulling at it. That wind whipped her clothing; it stung her exposed skin. And it was wonderful. It was all wonderful.

The dragon — Pax — seemed not to tire of flying. They could’ve set down under cover of darkness and waited for sunrise, but instead, they flew toward the mountain in the distance, low and fast, then turned toward the village, increasing their speed with every passing moment.

Val gave a moment’s thought to Cyrus and what he’d said after the battle. Married? She did like him. She liked him a lot. And he had been a steadfast companion during the journey to bring her to this place. Sometimes she looked at him and got butterflies in her stomach, but she was young, and he was young, and who knew what the coming years might bring?

She could easily imagine Cyrus being a part of her coming years…

Since finding Kitty, Val and the magical sword had been connected. Mentally, spiritually, they were, on occasion, one. It was that way now with the three of them. Val dismissed musings of a future with Cyrus. Three minds melded. Three souls entwined. One born, one hatched, one created. They had one purpose.

Stop the demons. Save the world.

I am ready.

The first sliver of an orange sun peeked over the horizon.

It is time.