From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(162)

Within moments, the others joined him. Nigel was bare to the waist and the three women stood in nothing more than their small clothes apparently not the least bit shy. The small group spoke quietly for a breath and then parted each moving a distance from the other.

“It won’t take them long to shift and then Gunny will wish he had never left Nerathane.” Jala looked down at the unfamiliar voice and stared in disbelief at the boy beside her. He barely looked over thirteen by human standards. His sandy colored hair was cut short and was tousled as though he had just crawled from bed. Unlike the other dragons he was not garbed in rich clothing and wore a simple linen shirt that hung on him in loose folds. His rough spun trousers were stained and patched at the knees and the boots he wore looked ready to fall apart.

“You are a dragon too?” Jala asked hesitantly and wondered if Dresharn had left his groom behind to guard them rather than another dragon as she had assumed.

“Name is Vosha, and yep,” the boy answered, his eyes on his comrades.

Jala nodded slowly, giving Valor a look of disbelief as she turned her head once more to Nigel. At first it seemed as though he was just standing there. Then Jala began to notice the muscles in Nigel’s back bulging. He stretched his arms straight out to either side of him as his back rippled once more. Jala was about to ask Vosha what was going on when the skin on Nigel’s back burst open. Pale shreds of flesh fell to the ground as Black scaled wings unfolded behind him. Jala stared open-mouthed, her words utterly forgotten as Nigel’s body twisted and grew at an alarming speed.

“I was in love right until this moment,” Noble mumbled from the ranks of knights behind her.

“Looks painful doesn’t it,” Vosha said with a smile as the dragons before them shed the last of their humanity like a snake shedding its skin. The entire transformation had taken less than five minutes.

Jala nodded, her gaze still locked on the very large black dragon that sat where Nigel had stood such a short time before. Swallowing heavily, she glanced at Valor. “I’m so very glad I’m not a dragon,” she whispered.

“Me too, I’d hate to watch you do that,” Valor returned with a smile.

“That would severely f*ck up your naughty dreams about her,” Neph added with a snort of amusement.

“Look, Margundrak is close enough that you can see his spikes now,” Vosha said happily beside her.

“Spikes?” Jala asked in confusion and turned her attention once more to the sky. The boy spoke truthfully. The dark shape that had been no more than a speck minutes before was much larger now and she could barely make out the ridges that must be the spikes that Vosha spoke of. Her attention returned to the dragons and she studied them with fascination. The women had taken on scales the same color as the gowns they had worn, emerald, sapphire, and a deep ruby with tinges of silver tracing their scales. All three of them seemed petite and graceful compared with the towering giants Nigel and Dresharn had become. Both of the male dragons were black in coloration, though Nigel had gold tracing across his wings and neck while Dresharn was simply black.

“Now things get good,” Vosha said eagerly as the three smaller dragons moved forward at a sprint and took to the air, their wings beating fiercely to gain altitude. “The three sisters are nasty mean,” he informed her with a wide smile.

Nigel and Dresharn took to the air next, their massive wings raising clouds of dust across the field. The approaching dragon loosed another roar as he spotted his quarry and Jala clamped her hands to her ears at the volume of the cry. Her horse snorted and danced back and she could hear the knights behind her struggling to keep their own mounts under control.

“If he is as mean as he is loud, we are screwed,” Neph said dryly as he fought his own horse back under control. “Damn, I hate horses. I would give anything for a snow cat right now instead of this useless bag of steaks I’m sitting on,” Neph snarled as the mare continued to prance, her eyes rolling.

“Probably not the best idea to call a horse 'steaks' while sitting in front of a company of armed Arovan knights, Neph,” Sovann said softly.

Jala shook her head at the banter but kept her eyes fixed on the dragons as Nigel and Dresharn closed on the larger dragon. There was no sign of the three jewel colored dragons and she wondered idly if they had some sort of camouflage such as Marrow did.

“And now!” Vosha crowed beside her as three bright colored forms dived from the air above Margundrak. The emerald dragon struck at the head while the sapphire and ruby each hit a wing. The attack was blinding in speed and Jala watched hopefully as Margundrak seemed to falter in the air. The three smaller dragons scattered before their adversary had a chance to retaliate. Then Dresharn and Nigel were on him.

Margundrak reared back his massive head, rising in the air as Nigel hit him head on. The two dragons locked together in mid-air, raking and snapping at each other as Dresharn hit from the side, knocking Margundrak back with the force of the blow. Nigel quickly broke off his assault, his wings pumping frantically as he tried to regain altitude. Pivoting in the air, Margundrak spread his jaws wide as a blast of fire erupted from his mouth to bathe Dresharn in flames. Tucking his wings Dresharn dove as he tried to escape the worst of the attack. Within a breath of the flames, Nigel was on Margundrak once more forcing the larger dragon’s head up and away from his quarry.

Movement from above the two dragons drew Jala’s eyes and she watched in silent awe as the three sisters dove for the attack once more. With a deafening roar Margundrak knocked Nigel back away from him and spun in the air, his tail lashing as he faced the jewel toned dragons. The smaller females twisted in the air trying to avoid Margundrak as he turned his fury on them. His tail caught the sapphire hard with a crack that seemed to shake the trees below them and the smaller dragon plummeted from the air. With screams of anguish the remaining two sisters launched themselves at Margundrak, their claws tearing at his wings and back.