Dragon Unleashed (Book 1 of the Dragon Mage Saga)

The Crystal Temples

The Crystal Temples were mammoth structures that plunged into the skies above. A large mass of sprawling blue and silver crystal, it was unlike anything Darla had ever seen before. Huge turrets were thrust into the air, glittering like chips of diamond. It was even more beautiful than the palace.

            “Shift,” Darla whispered.

            They were here. They were finally here at the Crystal Temples. Everything they had been working for the past few weeks was either going to pay up today or crash and burn. Everything was at stake. There was no time to mess up, no room for error. It was now or never. Chaos had been unleashed.

            “What are we going to do?” Cecily whispered, now in her dragon form. “Are we all just going to charge in there?”

            Darla shook her head, seamlessly transforming into a dragon. Her gaze sharpened. She could smell the evil lurking within the Temples-a thick, overwhelming, intoxicating stench of bitterness and cursing.

            “Charles and Cecily will go find and rescue Fern,” Darla decided. “She must be first priority. Ruby, Audessa, and Slate will hold off the Wrecker as Hugo and I try to find some answers about the whereabouts of the Shadow Master, Laurel, and the Spirit Sword. If the Shadow Master is in there, we might not have enough time before it starts the Final Fire.”

            The clock was ticking fast.

            “I love you guys,” was all Darla managed to say before they plummeted into the Crystal Temples.

            In a flurry of motion, Darla landed softly on the ground. They were in a surprisingly empty ballroom, with slick golden floors and tall, ornate walls which were embroidered in fine silks and jewels.

            “No one’s here,” Audessa murmured, clenching her fearsome scythe.

            Darla shook her head. No. They were here. They just knew better than to do their devil business out in the open.

            “The Temples are huge,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes. “Okay, split up. Remember what your goals are, and stick together. Stay in your monster forms for as long as you can, and focus on using the weapons instead of our magic or dragon fire.”

            Everyone nodded and scurried off into different direction. They were all children, so young and vulnerable. But they knew the cruelty and bloodshed that was out there. All innocence had been drained so long ago.

            “C’mon,” Hugo snapped, taking off down the hallway.

            Darla followed swiftly as she flew passed polished marble floors and gleaming statues of centaurs, satyrs, and mermaids. What kind of place was this?

            “It’s so dark and empty,” Darla whispered aloud. They had seen the three Wreckers waltz in, but where could they possibly be? They’d blend perfectly into the eerie shadows that bathed every corridor.

            Ah, yes…the mission was a success. Now go, bring the essence to His Darkness. The Earth is about to burn.

            Wreckers.

            Hugo nodded towards two large oak doors. They were in there, doing their nasty deals. Darla shivered, feeling the evil seep through the stone walls.  It smelled like death and murder and misery-as if being near them made all the purity and goodness inside of her dissolve. Darla remaindered the excruciating pain and the icy cold emptiness that engulfed her when the Wrecker tried to kill her.

            Just then, the doors flung open.

            You didn’t think we knew we were being listened in on, Dragon Mage? Oh, please come in…

            In front of them was an army of Wreckers-hundreds upon hundreds of the ghastly beasts, each a deathly black. Each more rotten and revolting than the next.

            The battle began without hesitation.

            Darla’s sword, gripped tightly in her razor sharp claws, sliced through the first two Wreckers. The ancient Pegasi magic from the Gem of Narebus must have done the trick, because they dissolved into thin air instantly.

            She lunged over to swipe at another attacking Wrecker, but was grabbed from behind by inky, life-sucking tentacles which wrapped around her.

            You’ll never win. You’ll never beat us. You can only join us

            Join them? What did it mean, join them? Darla wasn’t evil. She wasn’t a devil. She was the Dragon Mage, the hero, Laurel Crowe’s replacement.

            The only thing she was going to do was fight.

            She struggled for her sword and plunged it into the Wrecker, who evaporated immediately. Just then, the doors flung open.

            Darla had never been so happy to see anyone before.

            Audessa. Ruby. Slate. And Wren and Alfred? What were they doing here? But Darla didn’t care that they disobeyed her orders.

            “You killed my brother,” the achingly beautiful white Pegasus spat, her voice hot and acidic. “You’ll pay.”

            So the battle continued, raging on and on like a blazing fire. Ruby expertly beheaded the Wreckers with her spears, Audessa with her gleaming horn and scythe, which she threaded into her lush, violet-tinged mane.

            Slate had proven to be the nomadic warrior he claimed, wielding daggers and knives. And Wren and Alfred? The two were a lethal mix of brains and brawn.

            Darla quickly slashed her sword through two charging Wreckers before she saw it…a flash of light, so radiant and unordinary.

            The essence of Wimble.

A Wrecker, holding the essence tightly, scampered out the doorway.

            Darla didn’t even think twice before running after it.

A/N: The book is almost over! (: Anyways, I finally (after a lot of Internet surfing) found the right actors and actresses for the characters. However, I couldn't find any for Hugo, Wren, or Pipperina so if you have any suggestions, tell me! I hope you guys liked the chapter.