A weapon would take time to create, but I had caught a thread of possibility and the excitement of a new idea firmly wiggled itself into the forefront of my mind. The others had continued talking, after Illaise's bargain, but I blocked them out. What if it was as simple as spreading a toxin through the air as opposed to introducing it to the blood? At the least it would act upon more than one creature at a time. There were so many variables to test. Could the poison even be dispersed through smoke? Or would the acid destroy it the same as exposure to oxygen did? Maybe a simpler solution would be better. I knew for certain that the moonblossom smoke worked now. I could concentrate that and give any warriors a chance to act with their blades. Could I make enough smoke for a hundred creatures? How would I get it to spread far enough?
I blinked when Cillumn nudged me. Everyone was looking at me.
"How long will it take you to prepare?" Illaise asked, from her tone it was apparent this wasn't the first time.
"Twelve hours," I guessed. Exhaustion pulled at me, I hadn't slept for a long while, and the reprieve from my unconscious flight here and subsequent tending was quickly fading. But I couldn't sleep, I dare not wait any longer, not with what was happening to the other Shifters. I wasn't sure how Adda was surviving so long, she certainly hadn't felt the pain required for the degree of mutilation the creatures had faced. But how long would her luck hold? No, I had to hurry, if I could just get back to the workshop and....a flash of memory stalled my thinking. The workshop, the dead medic, and my missing poisons. I opened my mouth to speak, to warn the others that something more than the attack was happening at the aerie...just as four dragons dropped from the sky into the open space we gathered in.
It hit me without warning, the fear. My heart leapt for my throat. Dragons, four dragons, and they were close enough to get to me. First I froze, my lungs screamed for air, but I couldn't convince them to draw a breath. Sweat broke out along my back.
Strong arms circled me, trapping me, holding me firmly, but I didn't recognize arms. In my fear it was a dragon that seized me. I twisted and fought, but my strength was no match for his. Without warning I found myself turned, my head pressed firmly into the hard planes of a very solid, very male chest.
"You are safe," Cillumn's voice whispered above me. I hadn't noticed, when he had found me, that he wore nothing above the waist...nothing below it either. At some point he must have shifted. Even now I could sense that wings protruded from his back. Except, it didn't frighten me the way it once had, and it was far better than the full beasts that had landed in front of me. I took a deep shaky breath. Focus on something else. It was getting darker and there wasn't much for my eyes to latch to, so I trailed my fingers upward, rubbing the hard planes of muscle that formed Cillumn's pectorals. Even his ribs and stomach were all firm lumps. He inhaled a sharp breath and caught my fingers with his.
"They are Lords now, are you under control?" his voice was strained.
My heart still thundered in my ears, I did my best to force it to slow. There were no more dragons, I was breathing, I was safe.
After another deep breath I nodded and allowed him to turn me back around.
"Get him to the medic," the Archon was saying. He stood, among the group that had landed, along with Firestriker and Strale, both whom I recognized. The fourth man I did not, nor did he look well. A long gash and several punctures marred his upper shoulder. The wound bled heavily, but it did not look as though it would be fatal, especially with a Dragon Lord's accelerated healing. Besides, there was another problem...
"Ah," I started, "... that might be an issue."
"What is it Lis?" Cillumn asked.
"The medic is dead, I discovered him while leaving the workshop."
It was a strange feeling, to have every eye turn to me and await in silence. As if they expected me to say something more, or retract what I had said maybe.
I blew out a breath. Steady Lis. My fear was still high, though thanks to Cillumn I had managed to get it under control. Dark shadows stretched along the open street, shifting and moving as the wind picked up blowing dark clouds across the sky. The moon was rising, but it hadn't reached a high enough peak to chase away the sinister feeling gloom.
"It seems our troubles did not end at the Onyx Aerie, but have followed us here," the Archon said at last. His posture sagged a little from the proud stance he had held. A man almost physically burdened by the weight of his leadership.
"Whatever your troubles are, you should end that man's misery right now," Illaise demanded.
"Mother," Firestriker warned. He had been brooding in the background, staring off in the direction they had chased the other dragons I guessed. Was he concerned that they would return even now? But at Illaise's words his attention focused.
"This wound will fester and not heal. After a week he will start to get delusions and lash out at anyone near. After two he will be as one of the creatures, clawing out his own eyes and scratching his flesh to the bone."
I shuddered. Illaise spoke as one with personal knowledge, one that had seen such things with her own eyes.
"It is kinder to kill him now," she finished.
The Lord in questioned stiffened, understandably. He seemed paler in the rising moonlight, his lips pulled into a tight line.
"No one is killing anyone," the Archon announced meeting Illaise's eyes and holding them until she shrugged at last.
"It is your risk to take."
"Take him to the medic wing, someone will have to tend to him and stop the bleeding," the Archon ordered. "And check on the medic, I want to know what in the six realms has happened."
I watched the Lords, and the Shifters who were present act on the Archon's command. An alarmed feeling was growing within me.
"When you say 'be as one of the creatures'...." I began, not looking at Illaise, but studying the injured Lord.
"They become possessed, just as that Shifter in the forest was. There is no cure, and once they turn feral their bite is infectious as well. I lost four good men for that information Archon, use it wisely."
My stomach dropped, worse than any fear of the dragons as a realization set in.
"They are reproducing." I took an agitated step, and then halted. I didn't have anywhere to go, nothing I could do was going to solve this. "That is why they are taking Shifters...and Dragon Lords it seems. They aren't just possessing them, they are using the more corporeal bodies to grow their population."
Hope sputtered, nearly going out in my chest. So many things were obstructing my chances, I needed to get to Adda.
"Best set some guards at his door," the Archon spoke, it was unclear to whom, but it was Firestriker that nodded. "If this is true then we are in deeper trouble than we thought. The Quatori do not need sleep, not as we do. And these things are nearly impossible to kill. We can close the gates and walls to repel the possessed Shifters, but if they are claiming Dragons now as well we will have no defense except to fight. And that, we have learned might just be deadly if we do not avoid a simple bite. They will wear us out in a matter of weeks attacking the aerie."
"Not all of those dragons were possessed," Cillumn pointed out. "Why would any sane Lord work along side the Quatori? I've never known the beasts to show restraint in their feeding. How is it that Grim has not killed those that flew with him?"
I had forgotten that Gayriel stood among us, until then her smaller stature was unremarkable next to the large...and naked...males that surrounded me. She cleared her throat.
"I think it has something to do with the Master. Kurath and Grim both spoke of him that night in the forest. A leader of the Quatori to some degree."
"Wait, the Quatori have leaders? They are mindless savage beasts, we have seen the evidence over and over," Strale interrupted. He was, for the first time in my presence, not strutting or posing, instead he was staring pensively at the sky.
"Well we are seeing evidence otherwise now," Gayriel argued.
"So what has changed?" he frowned.
"I am worried that the ending we thought Grim faced was his plan all along, that he wanted to be possessed by the Master. He spoke of having what the Master sought, and a deal, or exchange."
Worried was an understatement. I had not interacted much with the Lords of the Onyx Aerie, before my pack left—save the medic who was useful to me. But there had often been talk of the mental instability of the Archon. It appeared that such instability ran rampant through all the Onyx Lords.
"Assuming Grim is now possessed by this 'Master', then why attack now? What does he want? Or is it simply to infect our warriors? To...reproduce?" the Archon muttered.
"He wants the glyph," I thought out loud, but the moment I said it I was certain I was right. "They are seeking the glyph we brought back, the one the shifters attacked my pack for."
The Archon made a strange face that I couldn't interpret. His lips pulled into a frown. "Not just the glyph, the glyphs then, for Scet gave me the one he had been protecting as well."
Two glyphs.
I struggled to free myself from Cillumn's grasp...sneaky man...I was growing so accustomed to his touch that I hardly noticed that he was still holding me.
"Archon, I believe I can use the glyphs, if you will allow..."
He shook his head, stilling my words. Disappointment raced through me. I had a vague idea that I might use the glyph to lure off some of the danger when I rescued Adda. I had retrieved it after all, at the risk of my life. Just like a Lord to grasp something like that and take possession.
"I am sorry Lisrith, but if these creatures seek the symbols with such fervor, then they must hold some power. I would prefer, at this junction, that they gain nothing more. The glyphs are best protected here, in the aerie."
I glanced around at the Lords and Shifters. No support there. Illaise stood, unreadable and slightly apart from the group. Gayriel was immersed staring at her mate, some sort of silent communication between them. She hunched a little, unlike her regular posture.
"Come, mate of mine, you require your tincture I believe," Dynarys was frowning, but his voice was soft and gentle. Reverent even.
"Cillumn?" I practically begged. Someone had to see the importance of what I was asking.
"I am sorry Lis, but the Archon is right. We cannot allow the glyphs to fall to the Quatori. They are best protected here. And I will not see you put yourself in such danger as to hold one again."
I growled inwardly, trying hard not to feel like this entire foray into the Amber Aerie was a waste of my time. Once again I was reduced to not knowing how to get the importance of my task across to the others. Once again I would be reduced to simply taking what I needed from those supposed to trust me.
I contemplated the Archon. He didn't look any more like the forgiving type than my Alpha had been.
A mournful, desperate cry rose from the forest. In the deepening silence of night it was alarming, and close. Several more joined the first. Like wolves, but much, much scarier. A pack, and they hunted.
"Best prepare yourselves my friends, while we have reprieve. I fear dark days are coming to the Amber Aeirie."