Moon Shimmers(92)

“Crap.” Shade squeezed past the others till he was near the front with Smoky.

I turned to Bran. “Do you have anything to counter an Earth Elemental? Because I don’t.”

He was staring beyond me at the growing mound of walking dirt. “Uh, no. Frankly, I have never dealt with one and even though my mother would, no doubt, have some ace up her sleeve, I’m afraid I don’t. I wish to hell she’d left me out of this.”

“I wish she had, too,” I muttered, trying to think of what I might have running around in my magical bag of tricks. I had my doubts if a lightning bolt would do much against the Elemental, considering that the ground just absorbed lightning. Rain might turn it into mud, but it would have to be a downpour that would wash us off the mountain, too. Fire? I didn’t even want to go there. And earth would just strengthen it. Death magic wouldn’t work, even if Morio had been here. “Without the horn, I’m useless in this fight.”

Venus shook his head. “My magic works differently, and I don’t think there’s much I can do either.”

That left the two dragons. Smoky and Shade couldn’t turn into their natural forms, but they were both far stronger than the rest of us put together. They approached the Elemental, who seemed to be following their movements with its head, even though it didn’t have any eyes or ears. I had no idea how the creature worked, or who had set it to guard the mountain, but right now wasn’t the time for speculation.

Smoky glanced over at Shade. “The Ionyc Sea.”

Shade shook his head. “Could be suicide and I can’t shift there unless I’m in dragon form.”

“I can drop the creature off in the Sea. Leave him out there. There’s nothing else we can do. We can’t turn form and attack him. We can’t fly around him. We can’t just climb the mountain. We have to do something.” Smoky called back to me. “Camille, I’m going to grab hold of it—well, some part of it—and shift over into the Ionyc Sea.”

Before I could stop him, Smoky raced ahead toward the Elemental. I clasped my hand to my mouth, trying to keep from screaming at him to stop because the truth was, I couldn’t see any other way. Even if we turned around and headed away, we had activated the creature and I knew enough to understand he was a guardian. Once awake, he’d pursue us until either he was dead or we were. I wanted to curse the monks for not telling us what to expect. Logically, I knew that wasn’t fair, but right now my husband was about to body-slam a giant walking ball of mud and attempt to stay alive long enough to transfer it into the Ionyc Sea, where he would then do his best to shake the creature off before it killed him.

Smoky raced toward the Elemental, his duster flying behind him. Delilah put her arm around my shoulders, holding me as I watched, unable to drag my gaze away. The Elemental turned toward my dragon, rearing upward. The creature was a good twelve feet high, and as Smoky aimed for one of his legs, grabbing hold, the Elemental echoed a thundering rumble that shook the ground below our feet. Without another word, Smoky vanished, taking the creature with him. I collapsed to my knees, unable to move, waiting to see if my husband would return alive.





Chapter 16





“IT WILL BE all right. He’ll be back.” Delilah leaned down and, holding my shoulders, helped me stand up. I huddled against her, staring at the last spot the Elemental had been standing. “Breathe, Camille.”

It was then that I realized I was holding my breath. I let it out in a burst, gasping.

“How long does it take? He wouldn’t have to go far, would he? The creature couldn’t get back here on its own, could it?” I turned to Shade. “You know the Ionyc Sea. Is what he’s attempting even possible?”

“Oh, it’s possible. I imagine he’s just making sure the creature’s far enough away.” But Shade looked worried, even as he spoke. “There are potential complications, though.”

“Don’t say that!” Delilah smacked him on the arm.

He blinked at her. “But…” Turning to me, he said, “Please don’t worry. Smoky’s experienced. He’s not all that young, even though he’s quite a bit younger than me.”

I slowly moved forward until I was staring into the gaping hole from where the Earth Elemental had appeared. “This mountain is far more dangerous than I thought.”

“It’s even more dangerous further up, beyond the cavern. I’ve heard tales of massive birds—rocs, they call them—big enough to tangle with dragons. And still other horrors that lurk in the depths of the mountains.” Bran stared up through the night sky at the mountain next to us. “Do you want to go on and let Smoky find us when he returns?”