64. AURELIA

Chapter sixty-four

AURELIA

W e pressed forward toward the nest, the group of Deathlies depleting behind us. Their shrieks cried out in the air, piercing our ears. They were close. We didn't have time to look back.

We were fighting through the clouds as they were thick, covering the sky like a heavy blanket, blocking our vision. The elevation and the strong winds made it difficult for us as we sought sanctuary. Forging ahead, the rain and storm clouds concealed our movements in the sky.

Belle swerved from side to side with her small body, struggling with the strength of the wind blasting past us, her wings shaking as she pressed forward, determined to not allow her size to become a weakness.

Wiping the dampness of the rain from my eyes, I saw as a glimpse of the deep void we witnessed come to view. More figures crowded the sky in front of us. They were dragons, using their thick bodies to protect us in a circle of Scalekind.

A few passed us in the sky, reaching the Deathlies behind us; they scorched them to crisps, helping us in this battle. Other dragons without riders swooped down toward the nest, blasting their flames, electricity, water, and ice from their snouts, combating the Deathlies in this war.

Being scattered from the remaining of the Scalebound, I searched for their dragons that held them on their backs. I found Clemmy on her dragon, Teiimanam 1 . His scales were a shimmery gold in the small light that bled from the slits the moon poked through. Clemmy utilized their maxz 2 of light by blinding the Deathlies, skipping past them when they could, her dragon erupting flames to finish them off.

They both swooped to be by our side, with more Deathlies coming behind them.

" Teiimanam says that the other dragons who escaped from the gate owe Damian a favor and promised to protect the outside to the best of their abilities as we destroy it," Clemmy said. I thought it odd, as dragons had never owed anyone anything. It made me smile, knowing they would help us as we attempted to defeat the Deathlies. As I shifted my gaze toward Damian, a mischievous glint sparkled in his eye, followed by a subtle wink. In response, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

I could see the deep dark nest below us, a gaping black hole in the center, with blackened terrain around it. Everything was dead and shriveled to a crisped, lifeless land. "How do we destroy it without touching anything?" Luella asked, reading my mind.

Abner and Angie pulled up right next to us on the back of Waimanimet 3 , who towered over all of us in size. Damian was behind me, holding me tight and close. I almost forgot his presence, but the reminder made me smile.

The grass beneath was black and prickly, filled with swarming Deathlies. The dragons in the distance were fighting off the Deathlies that were originally following us. They fought them with fire and their other elements, killing them and making them plop down to their own damned lifeless earth.

We were running thin on time, and had to finish off the Deathlies for good. I thought of what the Scalekeeper told Damian, yamceeii 4 axuaeii 5 uama 6 . And how my father said the same thing to me as his last words.

"I thought by stopping the connection that it would work, but this must be a more potent enchantment, and need more strength. The only thing I could think of would be using the magic of the Old Religion to fight the magic of the Old Religion. My father's last clue to kill off the Deathlies was the Scalebound. In my readings, I remember the Scalebound symbols. Fire, water, earth, and air. What does it mean, though? The Scalekeeper also told us yamceeii axuaeii uama : to use what is ours."

Deathlies were multiplying and appearing at all angles. Their talons and teeth looked sharper with each second that passed. A spark of lightning zapped across the sky, thunder following after. The fade of light showcased the dragons and the Deathlies that filled the air in the middle of war.

"It must have to do with our abilities," Clemmy said, putting two and two together.

"The four abilities," I repeated. "We must have to use our abilities from all four of the elements."

Slashing through clouds, and fighting the wind, we urged forward.

We knew what we had to do. Now we were just seeing if we could do it. The black creatures below us had their yellow eyes peering up, teeth snarling. The creatures were thick and built like smaller dragons. Almost no match for humans. We needed the dragon's help, and I was grateful for it.

The Deathlies saw us and shot up in the sky, chasing us like prey. Their wings were flapping, folding in on themselves as they darted, following each of us individually–choosing their target and sticking with them.

Checking the distance between the Deathlies behind us and the crater in the distance, I wasn't sure how we were going to reach it while being chased. Damian gripped me tighter as Belle suspended through the sky, climbing high, veering away from a Deathly, whipping its tail and attempting to follow us.

A screeching noise pierced the air as a Deathly whipped up toward Belle, barely missing us. Its talons were slashing into the sky, trying to connect to our skin. Fire surged from my hands as Belle shifted to not touch its body, allowing me to scorch its leathery skin.

It shrieked as its wings burned, making it fall lower in the sky, away from our touch.

"Waimanimet told us to make our way to the nest while the others distract the Deathlies in the air," Belle said, her voice cracking. I wanted to protest, not wanting the others to be so close to the war happening in the sky, but I knew that this would not end until we killed them and ended this ourselves.

Belle plunged her head toward the ground, flying into the crater marked in the earth, toward the Deathlies nest. I held onto the horns on her back to the best of my abilities, my legs gripping her sides for support. Belle's wings tightened into her body, making her glide downward. Pellets of rain continued to obstruct our vision, making everything blurry.

Teiimanam , Meiinaraux 7 , and Tanaleiiman 8 , glided down beside us, carrying Clemmy, Loker and Luella. Their skin was slicked and beaten from the wind and the storm above. However, no one was touched by the plague.

"Angie and Abner are going to take care of the dragons in the air while we take care of the nest," I called out to Damian, relaying to him the plan. His grip tightened around my waist, showing me that he had heard.

Belle's wings flicked out, slowing us down as we neared the center of the nest. Luella flew right next to us, her dragon billowing ice from its mouth. Immediately, the Deathly burned straight through with the frozen particles of ice, its frosted body tumbling to the ground.

I saw Loker with his hand in the air as he used his wind abilities to further his dragon's fire, incinerating a Deathly only feet away from him.

Clementine came into view with her dragon, trying to create vines from the closest trees to snatch the Deathlies, but they were too quick and killed each plant with their touch, the plants withering in response. Her dragon whipped her through the air until we all were side by side. All four dragons, besides Abner and Angie above us in the sky.

Fire continued to ricochet above us, the debris flying down in front of our dragons; the sky lighting up each time. I knew we had little time.

"Now or never!" Loker yelled. I knew the order by heart; fire, air, earth, and water.

"Aurelia, you first!" Clementine's voice fought against the storm, her words swallowed by the relentless drumming of raindrops. As I extended my hand, a searing heat surged upward, engulfing my palm in a dancing inferno. I directed my strength and power to the center of the nest beneath me. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to reach into the darkness, black smoke combusting from the contact. The flames ignited beneath me. I concentrated on using my abilities, thinking of the Deathlies end–thinking of saving Nana. The fire coursed through my veins, the pressure building in my hands as the energy shot from them, entering the chasm below.

Next was Loker. He lifted his hand and created a small tornado from it, forming toward the deep abyss of the hole, swirling into the darkness where visibility ceased, his dragon steady beneath him. The energy of the wind was so strong, fighting against Belle and me as my powers continued to surge forward.

Then came Earth. Clementine used her abilities of nature-wielding and flicked her hand as she hovered on her dragon, Teiimanam , moving growing trees into the pit below. They decayed from the disease, and I thought that was the end of it. However, Clementine urged them, grunting from the strength needed to produce the element of Earth into the gate.

Last, it was Luella with water. She pushed through her sobs of aches and pains and used her abilities, propelling every ounce of moisture from the sky into the gaping space. Her dragon, Tanaleiiman , was looming beneath her, large and capable, hovering in place with each flap of its icy blue wings, its horns curling back. The water was forceful, as the waves billowed down.

As all four elements were used, sparks of energy and lightning crackled from deep within the gate of the Deathlies. The wind howled around us from the lethal storm above.

Each of our elements; fire, water, earth, and air, crashed down below, forming from the strength of our hands. The empty hole roared, the ground rumbling with vibrations. Whips and crashes of our elements ripped through it, creating chaos inside. Deathlies forced themselves out of it, pouring into the sky to escape their collapsing energy of life.

We all were exhausted, our powers faltering. Each of us screamed in desperation for it to work. Our hands were outreached and shaking, putting every last bit of our energy into our abilities as they pounded into the gaping void below.

The energy continued to ignite throughout the nest, sparks rising, flurrying around the elements that were erupting from our hands, continuing to fill the void.

The energy from below vanished within a split second, silent as our abilities attempted to press through into the nest when the sparks flew up, imploding, sending us flying off our dragons and across the ground.

Did it work? Were we safe?

A sharp jolt reverberated through my shoulder upon impact, igniting a fiery sensation that raced up my skin. Agonizing cries emanated from the pain of my arm as it protested the force of the blow. Waves of pulsating pain throbbed relentlessly in my head, distorting my vision.

An intense burn crept up my skin, forcing me to forget about the pain in my shoulder.

We were shot on the ground, everyone's bodies scattered along the grass. I wanted to use my voice to call out and see if everyone was okay, but my mouth wouldn't open to do so. My throat was dry, unable to call out. The strength in my body depleted, making my arms ache as I tried to push myself up on the grass.

Looking to my left, I saw Damian forcing himself to stand up. "Aurelia! Are you hurt?"

"Damian," I said, lifting my hand up to reach his face as he neared me, kneeling by my side. As my fingers lifted, I didn't recognize them.

They weren't mine.

They were diseased blisters, the skin fading into a sickly gray color.

It didn't work.

1. Teiimanam (Tee-maw-nawm): Clemmy's dragon

2. Maxz (Mahz): Ability

3. Waimanimet (Way-mawn-imet): Abner's dragon

4. Yamceeii (Yawm-say-ee): (Placed before the verb in a command)

5. Axuaeii (Ah-wah-ee): The verb to use

6. Uama (Wah-ma): Something to have/Theirs/Yours/His/Hers

7. Meiinaraux (Mee-naw-raw-ooh): Loker's dragon

8. Tanaleiiman (Taw-naw-lee-mawn): Luella's dragon