Chapter Thirty-One

Loralie ran to the front door and went out into the courtyard along with almost everyone who had been inside the house. A man ran into the courtyard from the street, saw them all and screeched to a halt. He cast his eye around everyone, and then, Loralie felt him gather magic.

Sweet Mother of All! He was a mage, and he was about to let loose with something aimed at… She looked around to see who he was looking at, and her heart caught in her throat to see the twins standing together at the side of the house. They must have come out of the schoolroom to see what was happening when they heard the bell, just like everyone else.

Loralie ran to put herself between the mage and her children, pushing outward with her hands to try to stop the flow of his magic. To no avail. She was too far away, and he was too fast. Even as he struck, he ran away, leaving a mess behind him.

That's when she realized he was trying to create a diversion so he could get away. He'd attacked the most vulnerable—her children—and then run, leaving chaos behind. But, when Loralie reached them, the twins were unhurt, despite the broken flowerpots on either side of where they stood. The giant crocks had been full of herbs and a few flowers and had suffered the worst of the magical blow, cracking and spilling their dirt everywhere.

"Are you two all right?" Loralie sobbed, dropping to her knees in front of the twins, taking them in her arms one and a time and examining them for any damage. They were a little shellshocked but smiling.

"We deflected, like teacher taught us," Petr piped up.

"Oh, dear Goddess! You did?" Loralie hugged them closer as relief flooded through her.

"Yes, Mama. Didn't you see? The magic went around us, just like in class this morning," Penny said, looking back at the house behind them. Her eyes went round. "Wow. Did you see what that did to the wall?"

Loralie looked around Petr as she hugged him close and nearly fainted when she saw the angry black scorch marks on the solid brick of the wall. If that blast had hit the children…

"I am so proud of you two!" Loralie said on a gusty sigh of relief. "You are both so amazing." She kissed them all over their little faces, then got up and looked at the staff all around. Luc was there, his sword drawn, but there was no foe in sight. She beckoned to him. "Children, go back inside with Uncle Luc for now. I'm going to find the man who did that…" she gestured angrily to the damaged wall, "…and give him a piece of my mind."

Anger was stirring hot and heavy in her blood. Nobody got away with sending that kind of destructive magic at her babies. Nobody.

Luc nodded at Loralie and took charge of the children. She could trust him to keep them safe. Then, she turned to the others who stood around watching.

"Which way did he go?" she demanded, and several of the staff pointed to the left.

Loralie took off on foot, following the faint magical trail left behind by the sloppy mage. She would run him to ground, and then, she'd have a little talk with him about the nastiness he'd just tried to inflict on her family. He'd be damn lucky if she didn't kill him outright. She was just in the mood.

As she ran, Loralie became aware of two dragons following her path. She looked up, somewhat unsurprised to see Lea and Neff ghosting her from above. Of course, the twins' heartmates would have a vested interest in seeing their attacker brought to justice. Or killed. She was still open to murdering him for what he'd tried to do to her babies.

"He's slowing down," Lea said into Loralie's mind. "At least, I think that's him. He's trying to blend in, but I saw him running. Now, he's walking."

"Where is he?" she thought back at the red dragon.

"Just around the next bend. He's walking at the tail end of a group of four heading for the outer regions of the city," Lea reported.

Loralie kept running, gathering her magic as she went. She rounded the bend and stopped short. She was in a small square, and there were lots of bystanders, including the group of four and the tagalong that trailed them.

"Hey, you!" she shouted. "Mage!"

The man at the end of the group froze then turned to face her, a look of smug arrogance on his face. Loralie stalked forward, anger in her every step. The people around them stopped what they were doing to watch events unfold.

"How dare you attack innocent children?" she shouted for all to hear. "You sent magic against my babies! You could have killed them!"

The man narrowed his gaze at her. "I wish I had," he replied in a chilling tone. "Half-human hybrid freaks and heirs to House Adain. I won't be happy until every last Adain is dead! Do you hear me?"

Clearly, the man was more than a bit unhinged, and gasps sounded from the crowd around them. A few burly men came forward as if to assist, but she felt the magics gathering and shook her head at them. This was going to be a mage battle, but this time, she had experience and knowledge. She judged she could probably take him, though the amount of raw power he'd thrown at the children was not trivial.

"What's wrong with the Adains? They seem pretty nice to me, and they started out hating me," she said, trying a different tack. She wanted to know why this man had attacked her family and why he'd turned traitor and freed Gebel.

"You're just a puppet," he scoffed. "Like everyone else in this enclave. All dancing to the tune of the mighty Adains." He spat on the ground. "Well, they'll learn their place when Skir rises. Either that, or they'll all be dead. Where they belong."

The folk in the background looked really upset now, hearing the man invoke the name of one of the most infamous wizards of history. He'd done all but declare his allegiance to the evil wizard. That was proof enough for Loralie.

She prepared herself as the man struck out with what could have been a killing blow. The same magic he had thrown at the children. And she deflected it the same way, being careful to craft her shield in such a way that people behind her were not hit with the stray magic. Then, she lobbed her own mage bolts back at him.

But he was powerful and able to deflect too. She walked around him, looking for a better vantage point where nobody would be behind her and she wouldn't have to be quite so careful. She jerked her chin at those fair folk on the street behind the man, and they figured out what she meant, moving away quickly to clear the area for the showdown.

As soon as the square cleared out a bit, Lea and Neff descended from the rooftops to land, one on either side of Loralie. She knew they could be of some help redirecting the mage's attacks away from the townsfolk. And just about every building in the enclave was built of brick or stone. When people lived side by side with dragons, they apparently learned to build things that were flame-proof.

"Why did you free Gebel?" she shouted at the man as they both gathered power for the next volley.

"Why?" The mage's voice rose shrilly. "We were so close! Gebel would attack, and we would crack the Gate to free Skir. We were almost there, and then, you had to ruin it." He launched his next attack almost before she was ready, but she put up her shield at the last moment, and the dragons helped deflect the magic away so that it couldn't harm anyone.

"So, that's why you gave Gebel the map of this city and the whereabouts of the Gate?" she pushed, wanting to get everything she could out of him before she bashed him unconscious with her magic. At least, that's what she intended to do. Whether it would work remained to be seen. "Where did you even get a map like that?"

"I drew it myself, you self-righteous tart. Not that it's any of your business."

He tried hitting her again, but she stood firm, and the dragons helped again. They were really handy to have around, and she realized her children would be in very good shape with brave and capable heartmates like these two.

"Argh! Why won't you just die?" the man shouted, clearly losing what little he had left of his mind. "The Citadel must fall. It must! Skir commands it!"

The words sent a chill down Loralie's spine. Was this man under Skir's control? If so, things at the Citadel were even worse than she'd feared.

"Do not speak his name!" Neff said, flaring his wings at mention of the evil wizard. It looked as if at least half the crowd had heard the dragon's words. "He is the enemy of all dragons."

"If you are allied with him," Leasharra pronounced quietly, "then you are also the enemy of all dragons. Think carefully about your next words, mage."

"What has a dragon ever done for me?" the man shouted, enraged, spittle flying from his mouth. "Skir gave me knowledge, and the knowledge gives me power."

"The power to attack our heartmates? Children?" Neff's voice rose in outrage.

"Adains," the mage spat back. "Dragon-loving Adains. Skir will deal with all of you soon, and then, you'll see."

"But you won't," Leasharra said, still in that fatalistic tone. "For your crimes against your people and the use of deadly magical force to attack innocent children, you are condemned."

"Who are you to decree such a thing? You're just some upstart dragon from another land. You have no say here, Red Demon," the mage shouted.

"But we do." A flight of dragons had landed on the rooftops all around and were watching carefully. Mena, Lady Adain's heartmate and leader of the Dragon Council, spoke for all of them. "These two youngsters have the right to protect their heartmates. We have heard enough." Mena bowed her head briefly at Neff and Lea. "Proceed."

Flames filled the street as both Neff and Lea let loose with streams of fire that turned the mage to ash almost at once. Two such concentrated heat sources meant he did not suffer. One minute, he was there. The next, he was ash on the street as Loralie caught her breath at the swiftness of dragon justice.

When it was over, Loralie went to the remains to see if anything had been left behind. The local people were starting to come back out of their stone houses and the brick buildings, which had not been harmed by the dragon's fire. Loralie was distracted from her inspection when all the dragons took flight, heading in the same direction. Only Lea remained.

"Det and Gren have found Gebel," Lea reported to Loralie. "If you get on my back, I will take you there."

Scrambling to get the nearest man's attention, Loralie issued instructions. "You probably shouldn't let anybody touch these remains. The mages need to check them over, in case there is magical residue or something that wasn't destroyed in the fire. Can you set up a barrier around the area, please?"

"It will be done, milady." The shopkeeper nodded, even as Loralie climbed ungracefully onto Leasharra's back. They were up in the air in the next minute, flying out over the city after the rest of the dragons.

When they landed some distance from the center of the action, Loralie hopped off Lea's back and made her way closer, pushing through the crowd that had gathered. She heard them before she saw them.

"You'll regret this!" Gebel shouted, his voice thin and trembling as if he were at the end of his rope. When she got a look at him, his eyes were wild as he searched for a way out, but he was surrounded, and more people and dragons arrived every second. "Skir will destroy you all!"

Here we go again with the threats about Skir, she thought. This was starting to get tiresome. And worse, it was clear Skir had been communicating more easily, and with more people, than Loralie had thought. She pushed her way toward the front of the group near Det. She was already preparing to put Gebel on ice again, but she couldn't get a clear shot at him.

"If you have any other friends," Det practically sneered the word, "among our folk, you should reveal them now, Gebel. The dragons tell me that last one—the oh-so-helpful mapmaker—has already been reduced to ash." Gasps sounded from the crowd, and Loralie realized Det was playing this up for the crowd. If there were more traitors, he was probably hoping to flush them out. "If any of your accomplices surrender now, the Council will go easier on them. If they are caught by us, they will receive no mercy."

"You're all just a bunch of freaks!" Gebel screamed. "Dragon-fucking freaks!"

And with that, he let loose—or tried to loose—a torrent of magical power that made shingles fly off nearby roofs and glass window panes rattle in their frames. A few people fell to the ground, but nobody was seriously harmed because Loralie had redirected her magical energy at the last moment from the ice spell to one of protection.

The dragons had unfurled their wings to shelter anyone who might have been caught in the line of fire as well. They formed a barrier that was flame-proof and somewhat magic-proof, and a moment later, gouts of flame engulfed the enraged sorcerer. Gebel burned to ash under the dragons' judgment. Just like the other mage. The dragons were in fine form today. That was for certain.

When it was over, Loralie and the others in the area looked a bit singed, but otherwise whole. Gebel was a little pile of ash on the street, and stunned silence filled the air for long minutes. Then, some of the Guards came forward to speak to Det and the rest of the crowd began to murmur and move away.

Loralie looked at the dragons. Lea and Neff were lost in the crowd of older dragons, but Grennulf and the other dragons she'd seen in the Council chamber were close by. She turned to look at Gren, who was behind her.

"Sir Grennulf," she said formally. "I thank you for doing what I should have done yesterday at the manor house."

"Nonsense," Gren said with a lightness she had never heard from him. "If he had not been tried, there would still be doubts about what happened to you and Penny. There would be unanswered questions about his true motives, and everything else. This way, everyone got to hear it straight from him, taking away all doubt. You and your children are free to go on with your lives, free of Gebel's taint, though I am not sure the ice dragons will feel quite as forgiving. One of the Scouts will be delivering a message to their leadership as well. Just so you know."

"I did not doubt it," Loralie said, shaking her head. "If I survive the work I need to do to shore up the Citadel and send Skir back to sleep, I will be glad to answer to the ice dragons. They, above all dragons, have a right to be seriously angry with me."