We landed in the woods near the clearing where I had fought my mother and the angel Enoch for control of the Earth and humanity. The place still showed signs of the battle we’d fought there, mere months earlier.

  It gave me the creeps to be there.

  Glynus tucked her head under my chin and wrapped her tiny wings around my neck. She was shivering and I could feel her heart pounding against my chest.

  The woods were eerily silent but filled with a malevolence that coated the skin along with the thickening mist.

  Flick dropped my hand and we started walking in the direction of the clearing. The same unnatural wind I remembered from when I’d been there before with Emo swept through the trees, filled with the tension of black magic being spun nearby.

  Though the wind swung my hair away from me and pulled at Flick’s robes, it did nothing to displace the mist around us.

  My heart pounded and I glanced at Flick. His freckled face looked drawn and pale. I knew the effects of all the black magic on his light soul would be terrible. His forehead already glistened with sweat from the effort of putting one foot in front of the other. I put a hand on his arm. “You need to stay back, away from the conduits.”

  He nodded. “I know. I need to keep a clear head so I can call the army at the right time.”

  “And protect the tadpole.” I handed Glynus to Flick and she squawked in alarm, flapping her tiny wings toward me as if to grab me back.

  “Hush, Glynus!” I told her sternly and felt my heart rip as her sweet face reflected my reprimand. She sagged back into Flick’s arms with a final, sad, “Bleurp.”

  I looked at Flick and he said, “I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry.”

  I nodded and started to turn away. But I realized I couldn’t leave without saying something more to him. I turned back, staring into his nondescript brown eyes. “Whatever happens, I want you to know it’s been fun working with you. Even if it’s only been for a short while.” I leaned in to give him a kiss on his freckled cheek.

  He actually blushed. “Stop talking nonsense, Astra. You’ll be fine. You don’t have any choice. You have to be.”

  I grinned at him. “You sound just like Myra.”

  He grinned too. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Astra.”

  I shook my head, chuckling and turned away. The last thing I heard before stepping through the final line of trees rimming the clearing was Flick’s mumbled supplication, “Go with His love, Astra and bask in His protection.”

  “Amen,” I whispered. Then I looked up into the hell that was my future.

  They stood in a semi-circle around the stone altar, completely motionless and silent. All eyes were fixed on me. Something I couldn’t identify from a distance lay on the altar. It was blurred and shrouded by the mist but it looked like a pile of robes, like the ones the Hopefuls wore.

  I noticed that my family had not escaped some abuse. My father, Myra and Darma were all looking a bit tattered around the edges. And they appeared to be in some kind of trance.

  Probably like the one Mother had put Darma and me under in the dungeon. Just for grins I initiated a trip into my mental drawers.

  Dialle?

  Nothing.

  Emo?

  Nothing.

  Darma?

  Slight static. She was trying to break through. That was good.

  My father’s head drooped and his hands were chained together in front of him. His robes were torn from one shoulder, exposing pale, bruised flesh beneath and they were filthy. He held his wings at an odd angle.

  Myra held her chin high, defiant. I smiled. So like my guardian…I mean ex-guardian. Her robes too were torn and dirty and her hands manacled. A glistening chain ran from her hands to Prince Nille, who stood beside her.

  I saw now that my father was chained too, though his chain went to my mother.

  “Shit!”

  Chained angels could only be freed through death. Either theirs or their captor’s.

  “Cheet!” a high pitched, warbly voice said from somewhere down at my feet.

  My gaze jerked downward.

  Glynus looked up at me, her beautiful eyes bright and a dragon smile on her face. “Bleurp?”

  “Holy shit, tadpole, how’d you get away from Flick?” I threw a glance toward the line of trees at my back. “You can’t be here, you’ll get hurt.”

  Glynus fluttered her wings when I reached down to pick her up. I grunted with the effort. “Girl, have you grown already?”

  The little dragon did a happy dance in my arms and blew a wisp of smoke in my face. Then she did the strangest thing. She placed her snout on my temple and wrapped her wings tightly around my neck, holding me firmly.

  I gave up trying to jerk away and hugged her back, casting a worried glance at the horror show by the altar. They stood firm, waiting for something.

  I realized then that the Serpent hadn’t yet arrived. Or if he had he wasn’t showing himself to me.

  Suddenly pictures started sliding through my mind. Pictures of a different time, when blacks and reds flew freely together in the skies and other fantastical creatures such as unicorns, hippogryphs, centaurs and the beautiful phoenix walked and flew above the Earth. It was a time before the veil became twisted. A magical time. Humans walked the Earth freely too, unencumbered by the dark stain that was currently driving them mad. They were oblivious to the magic around them but they weren’t harmed by it.

  Then the great wars came. A horrible, violence-filled time. Man killing man. Hate, fueled by the Serpent and his minions, consumed far too many in that time.

  When man finally stopped the destruction to take stock of what was left, evil had already gotten through. It had taken hold in thousands of tiny, poisonous ways. It had started the process that was culminating around them now.

  The taint that twisted the veil now had begun then and had been nurtured and grown since, carried in bits and pieces around the Earth by the Serpent’s minions and through his own efforts.

  The enchanted creatures I was seeing in Glynus’ magic picture show no longer graced the Earth with their presence. I had always presumed they’d flown to Olympus decades before, where they could still find a safe haven, away from the taint that was like acid to them, as it was for the elegant black dragon.

  The pictures in my mind showed me how a few humans seemed aware of the veil and kept their guard against it and how the Angel Council had used this awareness to the Council’s own ends, while nurturing the hope that someday it would be of some use to them.

  The pages of prophecy flashed by my inner sight, filled with words of hope in the form of a special magic, a magic that could be wielded against the Serpent and his poisonous veil at the correct juncture in time…with the right mix of conduits in place…and under the perfect circumstances.

  As the reel in my head stopped playing, a sense of sadness overcame me. A sense that all rested on what was to come. And a feeling that nothing would be the same again unless the veil was somehow beaten back…obliterated.

  Zerphor’s musical voice finished off the reel playing itself out in my head, I saw her beautiful face, transposed above the destruction of the Earth as it had been in that time decades ago, after the great wars. Her beautiful eyes ran deep with pain and something that looked like fear.

  All rests on this time and this place. Hearts that break will surely mend. But souls ripped from living tissue die and wither painfully. Guard well the tools at your disposal, dragon fighter, they have been gifted to you through the centuries behind us and will pass from you in due time. But while you wield them, you are all. And your failure is the loss of everything. But most of all remember this… Heart’s desire is a powerful ally and trust and faith complete your force for good. May the gods go with you, dragon fighter.

  Then Glynus bluerped and pulled her soft, warm snout from my temple, releasing my neck and flapping her tiny wings with uncertainty. She was shivering slightly and I realized the pictures had frightened her as much as they had me.

  A change in the air brought my awareness back to the horror show awaiting me by the altar and I felt my heart take up a rumba rhythm in my chest.

  The Serpent’s cold, red eyes glared at me from only a short distance away. And his clawed hand was lifting toward me even as my gaze found his.

  My father jerked as the Serpent sent a dark, pulsating stream of power in my direction. I saw in my father’s face the sure knowledge of our failure, condensed inside his helpless condition.

  I started to pull my power forward but knew I would be too late.

  The Serpent’s power surged toward me, filled with death or worse and I felt its heat just before it touched my skin. Its depths swirled with malice and despair and knifelike evil. I cringed back as it met my aura and squeezed my eyes tight, pushing my own power forward to stop it. Too late.

  But after a second I realized the power wasn’t affecting me and I opened my eyes. I was looking at the back of my tiny dragon. Glynus hovered in the air between me and the Serpent, her tiny body filled with a special kind of light that formed a barrier between the evil one and me.

  She was somehow blocking his evil power from me.

  A musical, childlike voice trickled through my mind, He knows not that I protect you. My power is beyond his awareness. But know this, the Serpent’s power is meant to subdue and control, not kill. Your pretense here is your strongest weapon.

  Glynus? Is that you?

  Hello mother Tweener.

  Gasp!

  Although the little dragon had offered me infuriatingly prophet-like advice, I managed to grasp the meaning of the words in my head and I allowed my eyes to glaze over, my body to grow slack. I mirrored the demeanor of the other conduits waiting beside the altar.

  The Serpent’s power slowed and died away. Shortly after Glynus’ protective power dimmed.

  You are mine, Tweener. Welcome to the end of the world as you know it.

  I forced my mind to clear, unsure what he could hear and what he couldn’t.

  Glynus’ voice remained silent so I assumed, now that she’d stopped protecting me, my mind was an open path to his.

  It was all I could do to just stand there and allow my mother, who had come forward in response to a sweep of the Serpent’s hand, to grab my hand and lead me to the circle. I saw pain and resignation in every line of my father’s body.

  My aunt Myra just looked royally pissed.

  I allowed a flash of anger to enter my eyes as I looked at Myra and realization sparked across her features. She gave me the tiniest of nods.

  When my mother had positioned me in the circle, Dialle stood directly across from me, his gorgeous face dark and unreadable in the mist. His expression and body language told me he was either under the Serpent’s power or a full and willing participant to the coming ritual.

  Darma stood to my right and Emo was to my left, with a few creatures between us. They both seemed oblivious to my joining them. Torre stood beside Dialle. I looked around the circle with a subtle shift of my gaze and saw that, aside from my merry group, we were joined by a dark fairy, an elf, a superdemon and, amazingly, a Brownie.

  I hadn’t seen a Brownie for years. Nasty little creatures. When I had been just a little knee basher, they had always tried to sell me cookies filled with poisonous fat.

  I realized my mother and Prince Nille would complete the twelve.

  The fact that the Royals made up such a high percentage of the conduits was disconcerting. It would take an inordinate amount of light power to offset their contribution to the locking ceremony.

  I knew my father’s and Myra’s power would be tainted by their connection to the owners of their chains. Dialle’s contribution would most likely be pure dark, given the fact that he appeared to have crossed over. Beyond my reach.

  Tears threatened as I looked at him. He stared back at me, unmoving, seemingly unconcerned with my being there. I blinked back the tears, unwilling to give him that gift.

  My mother circled me, watching me closely. “I do not trust her, majesty.”

  The Serpent moved into the center of the circle and looked at me. She could not have resisted my power.

  My mother shook her head, frowning slightly. Nay, she could not have. Not alone. However… She glanced toward where Glynus hunched on the ground outside the circle, looking small and extremely vulnerable. Majesty, do you remember the legends of the black? Their imperviousness to evil intent? The special quality of their resistance?

  The Serpent’s handsome features folded inward on a slight frown. I do. My understanding is that they lose this special imperviousness as they age.

  Yes, my mother responded, it is meant to be a special protection for their young until they grow large enough to fight more effectively. But as young dragons they…

  My mother was not allowed to complete that thought.

  The Serpent, apparently deciding that Glynus was a risk he was unwilling to take, reached a clawlike hand toward the baby dragon and I jerked, realizing what he meant to do.

  Do not move, mother Tweener. They are testing you.

  The Serpent’s power emerged from his clawlike hand in a deep green stream that appeared black…until it hit Glynus’ light power. Then it shot out into a wider spectrum of green light, thinned and refracted by her special powers of light.

  My mouth opened and I jerked in horrified reaction but a firm, tiny voice kept me still. Do not!

  Glynus shimmered behind the dual waves of power for a moment and then, with a glance at me and a final, surprised bleurp, exploded into a fractured rainbow of light and color.

  I closed my eyes and let the tears slide down my cheeks. A memory of Zerphor’s words slid through my horrified mind, use the tools you have been given.

  I wanted to scream out that baby Glynus hadn’t been a tool. She’d been a life, a wonderful life.

  You see my daughter…she cries for the little one but she did not try to stop me killing it. She is truly under my power.

  My mother moved to stand in front of me, pushing her painfully beautiful face to within a few inches of mine. Her dark, almond shaped eyes probed me carefully for a long moment and then she gave a tiny sigh, shaking her head. I succumb to your great wisdom as always, Your Majesty.

  I thought she turned her back on me with reluctance.

  She lives.

  I blinked and my mother swung around.

  “What was that?”

  I stared at her, hatred filling my gaze.

  The Serpent, puffed up with his own power, swung a hand at my mother and sent her flying into a tree. Stop with your paranoid imaginings daughter. Let us engage the conduits.

  I set aside my relief at Zerphor’s reassuring but brief words and concentrated on the task at hand. As usual, I seriously had my work cut out for me.

  The Serpent was suddenly standing above us on the stone altar. He stood on one end, his feet nearly touching the bundle of robes that lay in a crumpled heap there. As he swung a clawed hand toward the mass at his feet, the mist cleared and I saw a familiar dark face under a tousled shock of dark brown hair.

  I jerked in shock as I stared into Raoul’s open but blank eyes. Blood had dried in a trail from both of his eyes and his mouth and it was spattered across his handsome face. It was obvious to me that he’d undergone some kind of magical abuse. He didn’t look good at all. I couldn’t tell if he was even breathing.

  The Serpent’s falsely handsome face creased into a smile as he looked down at us. It wasn’t a nice smile. He opened his lips and spoke in a multi-toned voice that echoed through the clearing and lashed against the trees. The surrounding woods swayed violently beneath it. His words emerged from his throat in several voices, speaking in tandem in a haunting rhythm.

  “A thousand years ago I made the first twist in the veil of magic that rides above us today. With that stroke, I began the process of ridding the Earth of the weak and stupid non-magic races. The effort has not been without its complications and setbacks. The frail and inconsequential race of man is protected by Him and His golden army. But I knew that eventually I would prevail. The time for that is now. The veil thickens and grows. The conduits have been gathered. And those who would stop me have been laid asunder by that which they have named after me.

  “I stand above you here, today, to see the culmination of my goals. I have drawn the best of each of your races to help me in this goal. Some of you have come willingly and some, as designed by prophecy and determined by the needs of this effort, have not. From each of you I take what nature and breeding have offered. Merged as one power, you will create an inimitable bond, which will bring the veil to Earth and hold it here for all time. I call upon you now to give me what is yours to give. From each as declared by prophecy, whether willing or not, given for this glorious cause.” He pointed a horrible claw at Raoul. “This human will serve as the vessel for the power that pulls the veil into place. A truly fitting vessel for my purpose.”

  Static filled my head. Astra don’t answer me. They’ll hear you. I think I’ve managed to block them for a moment.

  Darma! Thank the Big Guy she’d broken through.

  My mother and Prince Nille took up their places in the circle. The Serpent watched them move into position and then raised his clawed hands high above his head and threw back his head. Immediately the air in the clearing thickened and filled with dark intent.

  Raoul’s body jerked hard, as if pulled by a string and flew upward to hang in the air above the altar, his limbs twitching convulsively.

  My father and aunt began to show the effects of the black magic almost immediately, swaying on their feet and looking as if they would pass out.

  Dialle and Torre seemed to expand and pulse with the thick, black energy that filled the clearing. I felt my heart sink as I watched Dialle draw the energy in, by all appearances savoring its blackness and immense power.

  Father managed to give me the highlights. You and I need to work together, like in the dungeon, right?

  I kept my gaze on my sister’s slack face, my eyes burning into hers in an attempt to communicate without words. Finally I settled for the tiniest of nods.

  Will Dialle help us?

 

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