Blood Runner: Book Three of the Empress Saga

CHAPTER THIRTY

    "Not how I thought the day would go when I woke up this morning," Josy muttered.

    Maya snorted.

    Saveen grimaced. "This is weird for me, too, you know."

    "It's a girl dragon," Josy exclaimed.

    "Most of us are. Obviously. The mighty are in something of a population crisis, if you didn't know, so of course we incubate eggs on low flames to get females."

    There was a crack of sound like thunder directly overhead. Saveen flinched but managed to keep herself from veering off-course. Starra had warned her to expect it.

    A fluttering of a silk gown preceded a third weight landing on her back. Starra balanced effortlessly and sat with her legs on either side of Saveen's neck.

    Saveen beat her wings harder, and the effort to stay aloft was getting taxing. Three women and a runt of a mortal boy weren't all that heavy on their own, but together they were more than Saveen could keep in the air for long.

    "What did you do?" Josy demanded of Lady Starra.

    "Hmm? Oh, just a little thing I learned from a fellow apprentice."

    "That was teleportation!"

    "Was it?"

    Josy made a frustrated sound. "That's lost magic, vampire."

    "And Lady Renoit has made the study of lost schools her life's work. Are you really that surprised she got results, or like most of the magocracy, think an aged dowager was thrown a pittance to occupy her final years and would never actually produce anything?"

    "Why the song and dance with the dragon, then? If you could just teleport in and out..."

    "In sight of an Aleesh sorceress? And who knows how many of her minions have ethersight. Forgive me, Duchess, but this isn't the sort of spell you want them learning how to manifest. I'm reluctant as it is to use it in front of you two. Pleased as I am to have you, House Algara has a poor reputation in my circle."

    Josy huffed. "Your vampire circle or the Merovech's secret cabal of... demon hunters?"

    "Take your pick."

    There was another loud crack to split the air, as well as a flash of light that almost blinded Saveen. She yelped at the sudden blast of lightning and shut her eyes against the bolts that followed. Maya now stood on Saveen's hips, a hand on Josy to steady herself. Again and again, she used astramancy to fire lightning bolts at the pursuing arcanist knights.

    Saveen heard the knights shouting warnings to each other to spread out and the ringing of wards deflecting the lightning. Maya loosed spells even faster. She let go of Josy and began casting with either hand. The air around them shook with successive cracks of thunder.

    "Above us!" Josy shouted.

    Maya turned her lightning upwards. There was a startled cry of pain from a yellow dragon. She and her Amber Knight fell behind. Nineteen others continued the chase.

    "Wards," Maya rasped. "Now!"

    Josy put up a barrier just in time to block a dozen different spells. Some of it had been dragon fire. The ward was too wide and interfered with Saveen's wingbeats. Their altitude dropped sharply, but everyone managed to hold on until Josy rectified the error. It ended up working to their advantage, as the drop put a little more distance between Saveen and pursuit.