Dragon Talons (Indigo Apocalypse Book I)

Chapter Twenty-Three: No One Is Ever Truly Immortal

SYDNEY:
I was thrown back, the power of my father's lava too much. I screamed, the lava churning around me. It didn't burn, no, it didn't. The lava, no, I was resistant to it, it was the power, the sheer force he had on it that burned like acid. He roared and lava spewed forth. I raised my arm, deflecting most of it. To my left, Huntor battled the Snow Queen. Briella and Camille battled the two, Kimopoleia and Khione, while Kitana and Wenzi took the legion of spiders, Amanda, and the supposed children of the Dark Queen. I dove forward, lifting with both arms. Lava surged ahead, slamming into the King, into my father. He retaliated with a blast of earth that slammed into my chest, sending me flying backward into a wall. "SYDNEY." Huntor shouted. Then he swore, "Ωλασφεμισο Σ Σκυλα." "Was that Greek?" I wondered to myself. Huntor was fighting, a sword in each hand, his eye glowing with sapphire power. Water surged out the pit and slammed into the Queen. It froze into ice, then just as quickly returned to water. She bellowed her rage and threw her arms forward. Huntor ducked the torrent of water and rolled through it. "Come on, you can do better than that." He mocked. She gritted her teeth and swore viciously. Huntor spun and threw one sword. She spun aside, but the blade sliced into her side, leaving a deep gash. Huntor used his telekinesis to bring the blade back. She lashed out, swinging her arms. I struggled to my feet, and another huge bolder came crashing down on me, sending me flying. I screamed and tried to stand.
"You aren't worthy to live." Dargonue snarled viciously. He attacked again, again, again, again. Lava surrounded me from all sides and I looked up and saw him falling for me, his face alive with ire. I dove off the side of the circle and into the lava. Suddenly, everything was quiet, and I allowed my senses to spew forth, to feel everything through the lava, use it as another sense like echo location. Dargonue landed in the lava and swum for me. I spun, and slashed with a column of lava. He dodged and swung back with his own column. I rolled, feeling my lungs constrict with the need for air. He swam down and slammed into me. He wrapped his hands around my throat. I bucked, feeling a surge of strength, and sent him flying off me. Then his power slammed into me and I went flying out of the lava and into a wall. I got shakily to my feet and lifted my arms, feeling the tomb shutter as a bolder rose. I threw it at my father when he appeared and sent him flying into another wall. I started forward, but something slammed into my side. I rolled through the air, and saw the four foot long spider wrap it's many legs around my body. I screamed, but yellow-gold telekinesis flashed over my tongue and Kitana appeared from the shadows and sent the monster flying off me. I landed hard on the stones and slid across them. I raised myself on to my elbows, trying to think, to breathe. Dargonue bellowed his rage as he broke free, and came charging for me, throwing huge bolders at me. I rolled away, trying to manage a breath as huge rocks landed around me.
Huntor's body landed a dozen feet away, his body trembling slightly. "Huntor." I cried, but the Snow Queen laughed, and stepped in front of us. I looked around. Kitana was in a hord of spiders, her face feral as she tried to use her dark power. Amanda and the two, Arachnid and Arachne, walked toward Kitana, their faces in feral glee. Briella and Wenzi stood back to back, Briella in her human form, Wenzi in her dracon form, both surrounded, frozen from shoulders down. I didn't see anyone else, and, suddenly, I realized that it didn't matter how powerful Huntor and I were, that no matter what, the prophecy would be set in motion, that we'd die, and our blood and powers used to wake the Dark Queen. "Huntor." I gasped. "If we don't make it out. I need you to know I love you so much, always have, since the first time I saw you in my cell." He turned his face toward me. He had cuts and bruises from brawling with the queen, but he still managed to give me that wolfish smile, that smile that made heat and love blossom deep inside. "I love you too sweet Syd, my sweet Syd, but we are going to get out of this alive." I frowned, but at that moment, Dargonue appeared, landing between us. "Bring out the poison—"Venom." "Venom." He corrected himself. He snarled at Amanda, the one who'd corrected him. She gave him a bloodied smile, droplets of the stuff sliding down her chin, her tongue lolling out insanely. Amanda waved her hand, and a jar of glowing purple liquid swirled and churned as if a pot of water on boil. "Now, we can finish this." He said. He and the Queen knelt, and began to enchant. Huge stone ropes rose and snapped around my ankles and arms, one wrapped around my waist. A second later, Huntor was bound in earth ropes. "The age of dragons has come to a close." Dargonue said. "The age of darkness, is starting." He rose slowly as the Ragni Di Morte all around scuttled excitedly. He stomped, and another pit opened wide, large, and empty. "Essence, of the kin, offered." Six huge spiders came forward as hee poured the purple liquid into the pit, it glowed as it dripped down the sides, then disappeared. He gestured, and the six stepped excitedly forward, and fell into the pit. There was no sound of crumbling bodies though, instead, there was a flash of purple, and then, nothing. "Flesh, of the young, chosen and created, given, for, this, purpose." He gestured to Amanda, who grinned evilly and said giddily, "Go on gorgeous, both of you are going in." For the first time, I saw emotion flicker over their faces. The female, Arachne, she looked scared, looked, looked, scared and revolted, the male, the male looked like he would vomit. "Come." Dargonue ordered.
    Amanda said, "Don't be squeamish now. You both did worse, and look, you're heelping your dear mommy return to life. Go on, now." The way she said that, said, "Now," sounded more like a threat than anything else. Finally, the female stumbled back, while the boy, stumbled forward. "Oh holy Snow Queen." Amanda swore. "Yes." The Queen said. Amanda pointed to Arachne. She stumbled forward, then away. "No," She stammered. "No, no no no no, no." "You said you had her under control." Dargonue snarled. "What's wrong with it?" One of the others, Khione, asked. "I don't know." Amanda said, sounding like she was struggling with something. Then, "Shove them in, now." The other other, Kimopoleia said. Arachne screamed as a powerful wind came through, ice cold, and frigid. It shoved them both, and sent them flying. Arachnid was silent as he fell, and with a flash of purple, was gone. I saw purple oozy mud boil higher, lapping against the pit walls. Arachne screamed as her body was flung over the edge. But stopped, and, was flung back. I tasted yellow-gold and realized someone was using telekinesis. "Dragon dung." Khione snarled. "To Tartarus with it, just use the boy." "She needs both of them." The Queen's voice was angered, and filled with irritation. "Too late." Dargonue snarled. "We need to finish this." Finally, the Snow Queen nodded, and raised her hands. "Power, from both ancients, power as ancient as the oldest dragons, stolen, stolen, through venom." Dargonue gestured to the Queen. She drew two Ragni blades, and stepped toward us. I screamed as I realized what she was about to do. She crooned to me, as if to an infant. "Shh shh shh, it'll be ok." My heart pounded. Kitana snarled as she tried to extricate herself from her spider prison. Briella and Wenzi struggled in their frozen prisons, their voices joining the cacophony that rose. Then, the Queen stopped in front of Huntor, and tossed a blade to Dargonue. He caught it and hovered over me. They rose over us, raising their daggers, and, together, plunged them into our stomachs.
    I screamed, screamed as agony that wasn't hot but frozen and cold began to swoop through my body, my blood. They both raised their hands and dropped the blades into the pit, then said together, "The Dark Queen, Queen of death, Queen of despair and hatred, of fear and horror, Queen of nightmares and demons, hear our chant, hear our honor, our adoration, wake, and fill the world, with, darkness." The tomb shuttered, and above, lost in the gloom, the huge spider's body, moved. Then, a huge roar tore from above, and the ceiling shuttered. Rocks fell from above, and I heard thick strong ropes tear, tear, and, before my eyes, the huge spider's body fell and splashed noisily into the mucky thick purple ooze. I struggled against the paralyzing venom. Struggled to do something other than watch. The purple ooze boiled higher, swirling and bubbling, and, from deep within, there was a horrifying, terrible sound. Like many, many, many bones breaking and shifting together. "NO." I shouted. "No, NO, NO." But Huntor didn't move, didn't scream, didn't say anything. He just stared at me, stared with his blue eye, as if trying to tell me something. "What?" I wanted to ask. "What what hwat, what?" Then, his eye flicked away, and I followed his nonexistent gaze. Then, Dargonue spoke, "Soon, soon the age of dragons will end, and the darkness will overtake the world, and we'll rule in the Queen's shadow, we'll control everything." "Maybe you could." Huntor said, his voice cheerful. "Maybe you won't." Then, an explosion of fire blasted from one wall. At the same time, Huntor threw himself toward me, moving so fast that he was a whirl of blue and black, then he was on top of me, and suddenly, power surged through me, battling the venom inside. I felt my eyes glow with gold light, and felt sudden, tremendous triumphant power blast through me. I bellowed in rage and threw my arms outward, sending the Queen, Dargonue, and others into the walls. I saw several figures surge into the tomb, and recognized Sarah, Leia, Joy and Luna, Seeka and Theia, Camille, then there were more I didn't know. Huntor roared a battle cry and water surged forth, slamming into the Queen again. I screamed and ran forward, but screamed again as a huge bolder slammed into my back, and sent me flying, into a wall, and, through it. "SYDNEY." I heard Huntor bellow, then, I was falling, open air surrounding me and I realized I was falling down the face of the mountain, thousands upon thousands of feet above the ground.