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

of burned flesh. He turned his hand over and gazed at Lucca while his hand began to heal itself. Red, blistered skin turned pink and then healthy. “You’ll have to do better than that, old man.”

The remaining Weathervane pulled lightning from the sky. Yulia deflected the strike, sending it back at the wielder faster than he could react. The man dropped to the ground; a black mark burned into his chest. Smoke rose in a twist above his prone body.

The remaining Beastmasters transformed. Basil attacked Keegan’s Beastmaster. His gorilla grappled with a grizzly bear. Ivory bear claws racked across Basil. Blood poured from the wound, andBasil returned the blow. As a shuk, Ryker attacked the two remaining Beastmasters, two leopards.

Using his dragon claw, Kai ripped through the remaining tethers. Two Kodama rushed him. He recognized them from the beach. The woman who favored Rayna stared at him—her mother. Tears streaked her cheeks, but she fought anyway. Her blade slashed at him while the man, presumably Rayna’s father, sent new vines to restrain Kai.

Kai used his own dagger to block her blade. The creeping plant coiled around his leg and climbed to his torso. Sucking power from the vine, he felt the Kodama’s magic pour into him. It felt awful to think he was fighting Rayna’s parents while she lay dead only a few yards away. Drained of all they had to give, the spent plants fell to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai saw Keegan charge Lucca. Kai feared the man’s grip; he knew his father’s touch could paralyze his grandfather. No sooner did Keegan’s fingertips touch Lucca than his grandfather's arms went limp. Kai had to save him. Instead of using his own energy, Kai used the power he’d collected and transformed into a dragon.

Unable to spray fire for fear he’d hurt Lucca, Kai struck them both with his wing. Both men flew into the air in opposite directions. Lucca hopped to his feet first, hands at the ready, bloomed with light.

Keegan pulled the crossbow from his back and aimed it at Kai. A blinding light exploded from Lucca. The heat was palpable to Kai even in his dragon form. Screams rang in Kai’s ears. Helpless, Keegan recoiled several feet back, shielding his face. Again, Kai smelled burning flesh.

Magic poured from Lucca. Bright white light consumed his grandfather’s body. Kai watched in awe at his grandfather’s might. The sound of his magic hummed and began to expand. Everyone stopped to behold the sight. It was like looking at the sun. Lucca’s power thrust Keegan across the ground.

Behind the raw display of power, Kai could actually feel Lucca’s rage. A wave of light poured over Keegan, burning away his clothes and hair. Keegan's skin tried to heal but the new flesh burned away. Curled into a ball, Keegan tried to shield his face and core.

Kai couldn’t help to feel sorry for his father. He shook off his dragon transformation. “Lucca, stop, that’s enough,” he shouted over and over.

Lucca dropped his arms and the light sucked back into his body. In shock, his grandfather dropped to his knees. Kai looked at what was left of his father. He lay barely breathing, his charred form gasping in agony. The red and black burned flesh left little of Keegan. Smoke rose from the ground around him and glowed red hot. It was astonishing that his father survived. Kai wondered if Keegan’s Kodama powers could reverse so much damage.

Haunted by what he’d done, Lucca wept. “I promised never to use my powers to hurt another.” Unable to look Kai in the eyes, he covered his horrified face. “I am so sorry. I never wanted this.”

They all gazed at the ground. Kai almost felt bad, but then two eagles swopped in and carried Keegan’s body away. Basil and Ryker released their enemies, and they too fled into the night. Rayna’s parents darted into the jungle.

A renewed sadness washed over Kai as he beheld Rayna’s split tree. The realization of what he’d lost crippled him. Rayna was gone, and it was his fault. He should not have circled back to attack Keegan and his men. They could have flown to freedom. His arrogance put her in harm’s way.

Kai wept at the scorched remains of her hollow tree. Smoke twirled over her charred remains. The loss of Rayna was more than he could bear. Their time together had been too short. He screamed at the sky and grabbed the broken earth, his tears melted into the soil. He wanted her back. “Why is there no body?” Kai wept. “I thought Katori return to our true form when they die?”

Yulia came to his side. “We do.” She crawled up the dirt mound to gaze inside the hollow tree trunk.

Lucca joined them. “Kai, I am so sorry for your loss. Let me help you recover, Rayna.” He reached the base of the split tree, but he too found it empty.

Kai grabbed at the dirt, begging it to return Rayna to him. “Where can she be?” He connected to his sight and gleaned the area. Hoping maybe she had crawled away during the fight. She was nowhere. Then he looked down at the knoll on which he knelt. Below the dirt, he saw her body curled in a ball cocooned by twisted roots and vines. “Hurry everyone. DIG!” he shouted.

Unsure why, everyone began to dig away the earth below Rayna’s tree. Lucca ripped roots from the ground. Kai clawed like his life depended on it. Basil pulled dirt away and snapped several large roots. Ryker dug and then stopped. “I feel her,” he announced.

Together they removed the dirt from Rayna’s burned body. Her shirt and pants scorched black, the entire right side of her body was seared black. Kai pulled her from the shallow grave and held her to his chest. Tears streamed down his face. The smell of her burned flesh made him feel sick.

Lucca reached for Kai. “I am so sorry for your loss, grandson.”

Then