“Go, go, go!” Denski motioned us forward. “We have to get to Dolion before he escapes.”
Part of the ceiling had fallen down. Debris lay everywhere. The fireproof walls had been sliced in half and lay in rubble. A gaping hole had been carved into the side of the building, letting in the driving rain.
The phoenix fluttered just outside before curling up his wings and diving in a little. He stumbled, awkward on the ground, before shifting into Hannon, breathing heavily.
“Did he come this way?” Hannon asked, looking around as though Dolion might pop up at any moment. “He ran this way to get away from me. He was in the room at the end. I got two of his people, but he had one more with him.”
“No.” Govam struggled forward, limping and hunched. “He’ll be in the safe room. It’s the one without windows. Can you use brimfire to punch through the walls?”
Hannon followed Govam, helped along by Sonassa.
A demon popped up from behind one of the half-walls, eyes wide. Before he could move, a whip crack rang out. The demon grabbed its throat as two wolves launched at it, tearing into it.
“Leala is still here, at least,” I said.
The next room over held a narrow corridor with a torn-off door at the end. Through that was the same sort of havoc as the room we’d just come from.
Screams drifted from behind us, but they sounded like they were coming from outside and drifting in from open windows. Dessia was still making her way through the castle. She was cleaning house.
“There might not be much left of your kingdom after this,” I told Govam.
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” Govam murmured, slouched against the stone wall.
“Are you going to make it? Do you heal well?”
Govam huffed out a laugh and then winced. “You were always such a peculiar dragon. You’re always thinking of healing, even if it’s your enemy.”
“Not if it’s my enemy, no. Them I kill.”
He nodded. “I do heal, though not as fast as a dragon. This won’t heal in enough time to keep me out of death’s door, though. I don’t care. I’ll stay until Dolion is dead. If that means I die too, so be it.”
“Punch through the wall here, Hannon,” Nyfain said, indicating the door. “Basically, aim for the middle if you can. Flush him out this way. Hurry. Finley is going to want to save Govam.”
Govam looked at the place Nyfain was pointing at for a long moment.
“This is where it counts,” he said, grunting with each word. He struggled for breath. “When he teleports, it’s essentially his body traveling through space at an incredibly fast rate. He is only invisible because he’s moving too fast for your eyes to see. But his body is there. Stab at the air. Position yourselves at every exit and stab all around. A wound will slow him down and make it easier to catch him.”
More than a few of us took deep breaths. Adrenaline coursed through me. Rage and vengeance rushed through the bond.
Hannon gave me a pointed look, which didn’t communicate anything to me, and then he jogged back the way he’d come. The sound of fluttering suggested he’d taken to the sky again, and we all backed away from the spot Hannon would be aiming for. If he missed, it would mean bad things for all of us, especially if he could punch through both walls in a single go—and depending on how thick the walls were, there was a good chance of that.
The firelight is cool, my dragon admitted as we waited. Too bad it also drips out of his ass, though. That’s gotta be embarrassing.
The light in the next room flickered through the darkness. A loud crack and then a boom sounded before a stream of pure white fire tore a hole right next to the door. It swept a little to the side and down before cutting off, leaving a door next to the door.
Nyfain stuck his blade into the hole, pointy side facing the outer wall. A body screamed, appearing on the blade, and then it was forced through the opening as though someone was pushing from behind. I stepped forward, but Vemar got there first, blocking the way. He shoved back as though struck by an unseen blow, grunting. Dolion appeared in front of him, a dagger in his hand, the end embedded in Vemar’s stomach.
“Fuck you,” Vemar said, not pulling himself off the blade, but instead grabbing hold of Dolion and holding on tight. “Let’s see you get away now, you shitbird.”
“Throw him,” Govam shouted. “Throw him now—”
Dolion disappeared, and Vemar was ripped forward. He didn’t let go, though. He was pulled along, digging in his heels despite his wound. Nyfain was there in a moment, grabbing the air and ripping Dolion to the side. The demon king flew, his body becoming visible, right for Govam.