Aeryk threaded his shield through fire and falling rock. Lightning struck from above and below, and, in the distance, the unmistakable signature of an opened Gate pulsed like a living beacon.
Ventyre! he called.
I see it. His guardian was only a few hundred yards behind Vissyus’s charging dragon. Closer than Aeryk and shooting through the gorge in a blaze of amethyst light. I’ll hold Fiyorok as long as I can. Ventyre pulled its wings close to its body and altered its course to intercept. You’d better hurry, though. I’m picking up a huge surge close to the Keystone.
Aeryk drew in a sharp breath and hurled his Searching at the Gate.
Half a mile away, behind a cluster of fallen boulders, the valley wall glowed. Red-and-yellow fire lit the gorge from within, smoke boiled from its roots, and an ominous hiss echoed through the narrows. The once-formidable escarpment became a curtain of liquefied rock that somehow remained standing. Inside a great presence seethed – an infinite power, a furnace of madness.
Vissyus.
Helplessly, Aeryk watched tongues of flame burst through and reach Fiyorok, striking and rippling across dragon scales like rekindled fire. Vibrant yellow streaked the outermost layers of the guardian’s shield, while underneath, an angry orange surfaced to mix with red and shining white. Fiyorok vanished behind the incandescent colors until only its eyes remained visible – a pair of twin stars imbued with Vissyus’s strength and spirit. They surveyed the battlefield in one sweeping motion, serious, and yet sparklingly amused.
Aeryk’s eyes widened. No! he roared, wrenching his thoughts from the Gate and hurling them at Ventyre. Sweat coated his hands, guilt making it worse. Fall back. You have to fall back!
Ventyre didn’t question, just did as he commanded, banking into a tight turn that seemed to take forever. As the thunderbird came about, a playfully thrown spark, a comet-sized afterthought, erupted from Fiyorok’s shield. Ventyre saw the strike, but swerved too late. Fire overwhelmed lightning, and Aeryk held his breath as Ventyre slammed into the valley wall like a thrown doll.
Seirin taught him how to lessen their Bond, but in the confusion, he’d forgotten. Pain and disorientation exploded in his head. He lost control of his shield and quickly plummeted to the ground, the blazing sphere gouging a long trail through the earth. Standing groggily, he rubbed his eyes to clear his mind and found Fiyorok crouched behind a newly translucent shield. Watching him.
He staggered back. Through the smoke, from within the seared and glowing orb surrounding Fiyorok, a pair of burning eyes studied him. Fire pulsed inside them – flame within flame. Vissyus’s eyes – unmistakable in the dragon’s face.
“Aeryk?” Vissyus said through Fiyorok’s mouth. “Is it really you?”
The question stunned Aeryk, not so much the words as the voice that spoke them. “I’m here, Vissyus,” he said, his chest tight, his pulse racing.
“Is Teacher with you?” Fiyorok’s eyes glittered at the mention of Seirin. “Where is she? She needs to see what I created for her.”
“She’s had a difficult day,” Aeryk replied evasively. “I decided to let her rest.”
Vissyus nodded. “Ah. Yes. I saw what she did to Lon-Shan. So much pain. You have to let me see her. I can help.” His eyes bored into Aeryk, searching, eager. “I understood Lon-Shan better than either of you.” Fiyorok frowned. “You weren’t very nice to him, were you?” When Aeryk didn’t answer, suspicion crept into Fiyorok’s face. Steam belched noisily from its nostrils, an orange glow building behind its teeth. Fiyorok raked the valley with hellfire then paused abruptly. “Where are we? This isn’t the ocean. This is the heart of the world.” Vissyus swung the dragon’s head back to Aeryk, realization darkening his tone. “You’re here for the Rock Man, aren’t you? Aren’t you?” Spittle flew from Fiyorok’s mouth, igniting small fires wherever it hit. “He turned the Teacher against me. Did you know that, Aeryk? No, of course you didn’t. How could you? You weren’t there when I brought Akuan to meet you.”
Back down the canyon, Ventyre recovered from Vissyus’s attack and took to the air. Aeryk sensed its approach and immediately ordered the great bird into the clouds. “I was delayed,” he said, fighting to keep his face smooth. His gaze remained fixed on Fiyorok until he was sure Ventyre was safely hidden.
“Delayed!” Vissyus mocked. “I had something momentous to show you. You asked for a miracle, and I delivered it: a child for Teacher… and for you. What could be more important than that? I gave you a life!” His voice dropped to a whisper, and a glimmer of his former self broke through. “Life,” he breathed sadly. “Life for you, but death for me. After all I’ve done for you. I thought we were friends, Aeryk.”
Fiyorok lifted its head. Tears ran over the dragon’s scales, and though they boiled away as soon as they formed, the fine mist they left behind wreathed its head like a halo.
“We are friends. Let me help you.” Aeryk moved forward a few hundred yards and extinguished his shield. Close enough not to threaten, far enough to protect himself if necessary.
Ventyre screeched a warning, but he pushed it aside. He and Vissyus had been close once. What if Takeshi was wrong? What if they could still save him? His oldest friend needed him. He couldn’t just walk away.
Fiyorok thrust its head forward and growled. Its jaws gaped, but Aeryk held his ground. After a moment, it closed its mouth and looked away.
“You can’t help me,” Vissyus replied. “No one can.”
“We shouldn’t have asked you to risk yourself for us.” Aeryk strode across the burning ground. “Give me a chance to make it right.”
“I’d do it again.” Fiyorok’s defeated smile looked chillingly like its master’s. Its chin drooped, and the clarity in Vissyus’s eyes faded. “I’d do anything for you. For her.”
Aeryk lurched forward. “No! You can’t give up. I won’t let you. I don’t know what went wrong, but if we work together, maybe we can undo it.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Vissyus snarled, all traces of his old self vanishing like clouds before a dry wind. “Diminish me to become her hero.”
Aeryk raised his hands, palms out in supplication. “It’s not like that. You have to trust me.”
“Trust you? I trusted you with Teacher, and you caused her nothing but pain. You’ll pay for that, Aeryk. I promise you.” The fiery globe surrounding Fiyorok contracted until the shield coated the guardian’s scales like a second skin. Strands of fire twisted out of its aura – orange ropes, burning chains.
Aeryk scrambled back, painfully aware of his vulnerability. Pity opened him to attack, pity and hope and memories. Long ago, Seirin and Roarke tried to reason with the old Vissyus, and both had paid. Cursing his shortsightedness, Aeryk summoned his shield. He’d never been as fast as Vissyus; none of them had. This time was no different. Fiyorok’s white-hot flames drilled through the air toward him before the shield appeared, their powers racing against each other, azure blue facing yellow-orange, shield against shield. One second. Another. One defense desperately forming, the opposing attack leaping across the valley floor.
Stone cracked and melted, and before Aeryk realized what happened, Ventyre was in front of him, its amethyst shield deflecting a second attack, its wings snapping open.
“Shield, lord!” it shouted, firing lightning from its charcoal-colored feathers.
Cursing his stupidity, Aeryk brought his shield to life and pushed into the air, at once embarrassed and relieved. “Thank you, Ventyre.”
Ventyre grunted. “I need your help more than your thanks, lord.” A few of its attacks connected with Fiyorok’s shield only to fly off and strike bare patches of ground.
Aeryk muttered a curt apology and turned his attention to Fiyorok. A thought pulled devastating winds into the canyon. The southern gusts carried moisture, which the northern bursts froze. Snow and sleet pummeled Fiyorok’s shield with enough force to drive it back.
The guardian dismissed Aeryk’s advance, untroubled by either the ferocious storm or the tornados he launched from his splayed fingers. The whirlwinds drove Fiyorok into the far wall, but it quickly shook them off and charged again. Its shield flickered wildly. The pulses became more frequent, as did the lapses between them.
Puzzled, Aeryk was about to fashion a Delving, when Yui’s voice erupted in his head.
Lord Aeryk, she said, briskly. I wish I could greet you properly, but time is short. Fresh tremors shook a spot of earth across the valley floor. I’ve sealed the Gate, but I’m afraid Vissyus might still break through; even bound he is impossibly strong. Despite her words, Aeryk sensed a renewed confidence. Something had changed Yui for the better. My guardian and I have called for help. It should be here shortly.
Guardian? When did you…?
Can you hold out? Yui asked, ignoring the question.
Aeryk glanced at the shaking earth and smiled. We’ll be fine.
Good. Meet us inside when you can.
She cut the connection, and Aeryk turned to his guardian. A change in plans. Can you coax Fiyorok to this spot? He sent an image of quaking ground to Ventyre. The rest will take care of itself.
Ventyre snorted. I think it’s angry enough to chase me anywhere. Fiyorok will follow me into the ocean if I led it there.
We go together, just to make sure. On my mark!
At Aeryk’s signal, they rocketed past Fiyorok, Aeryk aiming for a patch of ground less than two hundred feet in front of the Keystone, Ventyre covering his flight.
The violent quakes intensified as they neared the Gate. Deep cracks opened up beneath them, widening as they moved down the valley. The earth groaned, and a low rumble filled the air.
Aeryk’s head whipped around. He spied a large dome pushing up from the pit. Thick jointed columns thrust in front of it. Silvery light surrounded them, each flexing and grasping hungrily at the air.
Well done, Yui, Aeryk whispered, grinning. Quickly, he shifted his thoughts to his guardian. Double back, Ventyre. We’ll pin Fiyorok down until Yui closes the Gate. After that, we withdraw.
Ventyre squawked its understanding and came about in a sharp, rolling turn.
Ahead, a startled Fiyorok veered away. Ventyre swooped down to block its route, and it swerved again, this time into the path of a hulking stone giant.
Eyes the color of rust glared at the dragon from a chiseled face, brows drawn, full mouth frowning. Its jerkin was forged of cool black iron, as was the mace it brandished over its head. Lunging, the giant shot its arm forward and seized Fiyorok’s shielded throat with its free hand.
Fiyorok thrashed wildly. It brought its head around, an injured expression flitting over its reptilian features. “Malog?” Vissyus asked, aggrieved. “Why, Malog?”
“My master seeks justice,” Malog rumbled. Roarke’s guardian had climbed out of the ripping earth while Ventyre kept Fiyorok distracted. It now stood between Fiyorok and the Gate. “You will pay for what you’ve done, Vissyus!”
“And what about my justice?” Vissyus snarled. “The Rock Man led an attack against me, using my friends as soldiers. Many died because of him.”
Anger sent powerful waves rippling through Fiyorok’s shield. Vissyus pushed at them, throwing off the battle shield and reforming it into the glowing sphere. The force broke Malog’s grip and thrust it away. Tottering backward, Malog lost its footing and collapsed like a fallen pillar.
“Did you think I’d forgotten, Malog? I remember what I did, how Botua tricked me into hurting her guardian.” Fiyorok lifted a claw to the side of its shaking head.
The shockingly human gesture chilled Aeryk. He’d use the moment, though. He’d fight self-loathing and build a strike while his friend suffered.
At his command, Ventyre sent a curtain of lightning between the two guardians before aiming more bolts at Fiyorok. Electricity skittered over the dragon’s fluctuating shield. A few perfectly timed forks connected with its hide, but they slid off like water over slick stones.
Fiyorok countered with liquid fire. Streams flew from its throat. It snapped its head back to hit Ventyre and then around to pummel the kneeling Malog.
Aeryk didn’t know how much damage the giant’s shield sustained, but he felt Ventyre’s give. Instantly, he sent a macro-burst into the valley to help the struggling thunderbird. Trees flattened and rocks disintegrated. Near the Keystone, Fiyorok sank into the earth as if hammered. Its shield absorbed the worst of the blow, and it took a moment for it to crawl out and relocate Aeryk.
Aeryk readied another blast, but a new barrier slammed between his thoughts and the air. Vissyus had moved with lightning speed, seizing oxygen and hydrogen before Aeryk could command them. In seconds, Vissyus split the elemental gases at their most basic level and weaponized them. Aeryk raced to undo the damage before Vissyus ignited them, but as always, the Fire Lord was too fast.
Charges ran from atom to atom in a sizzling current that faltered as another power wrenched the Gateway from Vissyus’s control. A figure stood against the shimmering Boundary, backlit and unmistakable in a suit of crimson armor.
“Takeshi!” Aeryk gasped. “No! Don’t!”
Fiyorok’s head whipped around. “Trickster!” Vissyus roared. “This time you won’t get away!”
Bounding across the valley, Fiyorok raced for the Gate, and with one final surge, threw its body into the shimmering light. An eerie silence followed its disappearance, marred only by the soft crackling of fire and the occasional clack of falling rock.