Rayna's Sacrifice (The Katori Chronicles Book 3) by A. Lombardo (intellectual books to read .TXT) 📗

He pulled at the sea, willing the vegetation to attack Lucca. Each strike brought more joy to his eyes. Even though Lucca held his own, the Keegan seemed happy to have this moment.

When Keegan stopped to shout at his men, Kai turned to see the result. On the ship, Kai noticed a line of men. Their arms were raised, and he spotted the silver weapons in their hands—hand cannons. They took aim. Fear gripped at Kai’s heart. They were in trouble. Keegan was besting them by sheer numbers, and now he was using hand cannons. A weapon that could shred any hope they had of surviving.

Kai had to stop this. Heat swelled in his throat. White light sparked within his crystal as his fingers clutched the stone. Within his mind, he grasped the golden thread of creation, embracing the nature of his inner dragon. The speed with which it happened pinched a nerve. Kai had rushed the transformation.

A prick of pain shuttered down his spine, but he kept going. Shoulders curled inward, his bones flexed and expanded. His skin morphed into scales. Wings unfurled, and his fingers curled into razor-sharp talons. Kai transformed into a silver dragon. The heat welling in his throat spat fire across the front of Keegan’s ship. Men screamed and burned.

Beside him, Ryker used his knife to free Rayna from her bindings as she lay on the beach. Her mother stepped back and dropped her knife. She was unwilling to kill her own daughter.

“Fly away, Kai!” Lucca called. “Ryker, catch.” he tossed his hand in the air.

A curved piece of silver and a blue crystal gleamed in the sunlight. Kai’s amber dragon eyes watch his mother’s necklace fly through the air. Everyone’s eyes focused on the crystal. Even Keegan stopped to follow the crescent moon pass between Lucca and Ryker. “Mariana’s necklace? How can this be?” Keegan shouts.

Ryker snatched the crystal and took Rayna by the hand. Kai extended his wing and he flew into the air. Below, faces stare in astonishment. His dragon shadow glided over the white sandbar. A battle frozen by the arrival of a beast few still claimed.

Caught by the idea he cannot leave, Kai circled. In the water to his right, a swarm of dark creatures fly like birds under the sea—manta rays. My mother must be among them, Kai thought. There must be a way to save her. He refuses to leave without her. On his left, the battle resumed.

Kai’s remaining friends struggled. Liam and Yulia fell to their knees. I must help them. He circled, spraying fire across the Caroco men. Yulia shielded herself and Liam with a wave of water. Lucca continued to fight, blocking wind and wave with a shield of light. Basil swatted men into the air with his gorilla strength and Katori speed.

Rayna shouted for him to leave, but Kai ignored her appeal and circled again. Two eagles swooped to attack his riders. Kai banked hard and smacked them with his wing. On his next pass, an iron bolt grazed his neck. The pain trickled down his spine.

Rayna screamed.

Ryker pounded on Kai’s hard scaly back. “Fly away, Kai!” Ryker shouted.

Unsure where the shot came from, Kai came about. He hated abandoning his friends and leaving his mother behind. There had to be a way to win. He was a dragon, after all.

Blue-green water unfolded beneath his massive wingspan. White sand littered with Caroco fighters and Katori warriors. He dove low. Heat welled in his throat. He opened his mouth to belch fire. Pain pierced his wing. A metal bold struck in the bend of his wing.

Rayna screamed. “We must flee, Kai!”

Below on the ship, Kai saw Keegan reloaded another bolt into his crossbow, the bulky stand secured to the stern of his ship.

Afraid, Kai swooped over the ocean. With a few beats of his wings, he was in the air and angled toward the looming fog of the Mystic Islands. In pain, he looked back at the beach. He saw Keegan drop his weapon and raced to the back of his ship. Focused on Kai, he yelled. “Where is Mariana?”

The sun beat down on Kai’s bleeding wing. It hurt to fly. Even the gash in his neck was starting to throb. He felt his grasp on the golden thread weaken. Faster and higher he flew. They were not close enough. The gray haze beckoned him to safety. He wobbled in the air. Panic set in. He was losing control of his form.

Chapter 28

The Hunted

Black waves rolled over the ocean below his wings. The white mist lingered around the hidden islands. Each flap of his wing shot crippling pain down Kai’s dragon spine. He wobbled again. “You can do this, Kai,” Rayna begged.

Warmth ran down his wing. Kai could feel Rayna’s hands press into his scales. She was trying to heal his wound. The bolt held fast. It was not enough. Into the mist he flew, engulfed in the nothingness. Black stone appeared before him, and Kai veered, his barbed tail scraped the side of the island in their path.

The more Kai flew, the harder it became. He turned and rolled to avoid the sea stacks. His dragon eyes gleaned through the maze. He needed to fly up out of the darkness. Pulling against the weight of his own body, he flapped his wings. Every movement felt thick and agonizing. The dense fog gave way to sunshine. A tropical field of lush grasses and wild plants unfolded before him.

Exhausted, Kai curled his talons to his chest. Gliding lower and lower, he felt the grass rake his tail and lower legs. He thought of Ryker. Get ready to jump, he instructed. The moment before his dragon body struck the ground, Ryker and Rayna jumped clear and he rolled to one side. Unable to stop, he slid across the ground, kicking up dirt and grass. Once he came to a stop in a pile of dirt and sod, Kai grabbed the