“Stay light, stay nimble!” roared the wind lion. “Avoid mistwraiths and attack the rest!”
Promi saw instantly that they were greatly outnumbered. In addition to the mistwraiths, who quickly formed bands of ten or twelve to converge on individual foes, came a horde of immortals of many varieties. Some took human form, archers with deadly black arrows and powerful bows, wearing uniforms of creamy satin robes. With them flew at least half a dozen red-winged dragons, a whole phalanx of insectlike beasts with twisting tongues, and a band of huge lizards with jagged wings and jaws full of sword-sharp teeth.
Strangest of all came a line of liquid beasts. They flowed through the air, jaws wide open, teeth bubbling in their watery mouths. Shrieking with high, ear-splitting voices, the liquid beasts were wrath in fluid form.
Yet as fierce as those warriors were, none were more terrifying than the mistwraiths. Like shadowy comets, they left trails of darkness in their wakes. Crackling with deadly sparks, they bore down on the defenders, determined to spare no wind lions or eagles or people.
Narkazan, for his part, flew at the rear of this horde. Unlike Theosor, who led the defenders’ charge, the attackers’ leader seemed content to let his troops do most of the fighting. Yet he kept a sharp eye on Theosor—as well as his passenger, the young man who bore the mark of the Prophecy.
At this moment, that mark on Promi’s chest was burning with anxious heat. Shouldn’t I fly separately? he asked the wind lion urgently. So you can maneuver better?
Not yet, young cub. Right now you should stay with me.
Another flashbolt shot out of the caverns. Again, Theosor turned abruptly and barely dodged it. The flashbolt crashed into an enormous floating ice crystal that exploded into millions of frozen shards.
Ducking his head as shards flew over them, Promi said to the wind lion, I see your point.
Tightening his hold on the shaggy mane, Promi glanced back at Jaladay, hugging the neck of the lioness Shellina. The bold defender suddenly changed course, flying straight through a band of archers. Her deft move cost several archers their weapons, which snapped or went hurtling, and broke the bones of several others. The band, now scattered, was no more use to Narkazan.
Just then, Theosor leaped straight up—and plowed right into two of the red dragons who had been soaring into battle. Using his head as a battering ram, the wind lion broke the ribs of one dragon, who shrieked in pain, then smashed through the outstretched wing of the other. That dragon spun out of control and crashed into a block of ice the size of a huge boulder.
Theosor immediately veered to the left, so suddenly that Promi almost fell off the wind lion’s back. He regained his balance just as Theosor made a most dangerous maneuver. Seconds before a large group of mistwraiths closed in on a trio of wind lions, Theosor flew right through the middle of the attackers, roaring angrily.
Promi closed his eyes as they plunged through the mass of shadowy beings. For an instant that seemed more like an hour, the entire world went utterly dark. He felt weak, unable to draw even a single breath. At the same time, black sparks crackled all around—and despite the cold temperature, Promi felt suddenly so hot he could burn to ashes.
All at once, they burst out of the thick folds of blackness that had surrounded them. The intense heat vanished, except for the continued burning Promi felt on his chest. Suddenly he noticed a black spark that had landed on Theosor’s mane, sizzling dangerously. Before it could do any damage, Promi drew his dagger and used the blade to sweep the spark aside.
As he replaced the dagger, Promi glanced behind. The mistwraiths Theosor had charged were reeling in surprise, crackling angrily as they spun in circles, totally disoriented. And they had lost their opportunity to attack those wind lions.
Other defenders, however, weren’t so fortunate. One massive eagle, swarmed by mistwraiths, screeched in agony. As the dark cloud of attackers closed around the bird, the screeching abruptly stopped. When the mistwraiths parted, only a single feather remained, twirling slowly downward.
Many more defenders met the same fate, including several wind lions. Even the big-eyed octopus, whose girth was wider than a band of mistwraiths, shrieked in terror as a group surrounded him. He managed to escape by whirling his many appendages, confusing the attackers, but he then flew right into the line of liquid beasts. Gurgling furiously, the beasts coalesced around the octopus.
Before Promi could see what happened next, Theosor swerved to avoid a gigantic ice crystal. The pack of winged lizards who had been tailing them closely had no time to react—and smashed headlong into the mass of ice.
“Look out!” cried Jaladay, riding Shellina just above them.
Both wind lions veered sharply, barely avoiding a volley of black arrows. It took all the strength in Promi’s arms and legs to hold on. Glancing over at his sister, he felt relieved to see that she, too, had clung to her lionsteed.
Boom! A flashbolt flew past, white-hot, so close that Promi and Jaladay, as well as their wind lions, felt the burst of intense heat. It struck a man and woman who had just evaded a pack of mistwraiths. Their bodies ignited, sizzled, and then vanished completely.
Promi and Jaladay both winced. Such a vivid reminder of how painfully—and recently—their parents had died!
All around, the battle raged. Two defenders, wielding silver swords, fought desperately against a frenzied flock of insect beasts whose long tongues slashed like whips. When one of the beasts wrapped its tongue around a swordfighter’s arm and moved closer to devour its prey—the other swordfighter swung her blade and severed the tongue completely.
Meanwhile, three burly bears dared to pounce on top of a huge red dragon. Roaring wildly, they rode precariously on their foe (two on its back and one on its wing) while it tried to shake them loose. As the dragon spun in tight circles, shrieking angrily and slashing with its talons, the bears tore at its scales with teeth and claws.
As a mass of mistwraiths surrounded a wind lion, closing in for the kill, a swarm of bees and a blue wyvern tore into the attackers. They managed to distract the mistwraiths long enough for the lion to escape . . . but the wyvern and most of the bees perished in the rescue.
Just then, at the edge of his vision, Promi saw something that made his blood boil with fury. Riding on the back of one red dragon was a satin-robed man with a pallid face and dark, vengeful eyes. Grukarr!
Promi glared at the wicked priest who had tried to kill Atlanta—as well as Promi, several times over. Who had masterminded Narkazan’s earlier attempt to conquer all the mortal creatures on Earth. Who had tried to impose the True Religion, as he called it, on the people of Atlantis. And who had, most recently, caused the terrible death of the loyal monk, Bonlo.
Gritting his teeth, Promi sent Theosor a new thought. Time to part, old friend! I have some work to do.
Even as Theosor roared in disapproval, Promi flew off the wind lion’s back. Dodging a cloud of crackling mistwraiths, he shot straight at his old enemy. Judging his angle carefully, he aimed himself like a human missile, both fists held in front of him.
A heartbeat later, Grukarr looked around. Suddenly seeing Promi bearing down on him, the evil priest opened his mouth wide to scream in fright. But he had no time to make any sound.
Slam! Promi crashed into Grukarr’s neck, knocking him completely off his perch on the dragon’s back. Wailing in pain, clutching his neck, Grukarr spun downward.
The dragon, by contrast, wasn’t so easy to deal with. The enormous beast roared, enraged—then whirled around and swatted Promi full force with its bony, batlike wing. Reeling in pain, Promi realized that he’d failed to think about what would happen after striking Grukarr—a mistake that an experienced warrior like Theosor would never have made.
His head spinning from the blow, Promi saw the angry dragon swing around, deadly talons raised to tear him to shreds. Meanwhile, eyes shining like incandescent rubies glowere
d at this little man who had dared to attack a warrior dragon.
The huge beast snarled, opening its jaws to the widest to swallow Promi once its talons impaled him. Desperately, Promi looked around for any sources of help. But Theosor was deep in battle with a swarm of insect beasts. And Shellina was nowhere in sight.
Baring hundreds of bloodstained teeth, the red dragon roared. Its talons started to slice through the air, ready to rip into its helpless prey.
Forgive me! Promi called to everyone he’d ever loved, certain those would be his very last words.
The talons, gleaming with the light of another flashbolt, sliced toward him at lightning speed. Just before they tore into Promi—
Thud!
Something slammed into the dragon, knocking it backward so hard that it flipped over completely. Its talons ripped through the air by Promi’s face, missing him by a hair, as the dragon roared with unbridled fury.
Then another roar erupted. It came from whatever creature had arrived in time to save Promi. And he knew instantly that this, too, was the roar of a powerful dragon. A dragon he knew well.
“Ulanoma!” he cried, astonished, as well as grateful, to see his old friend. “You’re alive!”
The turquoise dragon, taller but more slender than the one who’d been just about to tear Promi apart, shot him a glance from her diamond-shaped eyes. “So arrrrre you, Prrrrrometheus,” she boomed. “But only just barrrrrely.”
“Thanks to you,” he replied.
“And don’t forget your other old friend,” called a much smaller voice. It came from an old, white-haired monk who was riding atop the turquoise dragon’s brow, clinging to the starfish that had attached to the dragon’s scales like undersea jewelry.
“Bonlo—Bonlo, it’s you!”
“Aye, it is, good lad.” The monk gave him a wink. “You don’t think a little swim in the sea would be enough to end my story, do you?”
Promi shook his head in disbelief. “I was sure you’d drowned.”
“So was I, lad, until this loyal dragon-friend hauled me out of the deep abyss and revived me with her magical breath.”
Ulanoma nodded, swaying the huge chunk of ocean glass that hung from one of her ears, held by a net of mermaids’ hair. “Afterrrrr I evaded those mistwrrrrraiths wherrrrre we parrrrrted, I went back to the sea to searrrrrch forrrrr yourrrrr frrrrriend.”
“For which,” added Bonlo with a pat on her massive brow, “I’m most grateful.”
The turquoise dragon’s eyes narrowed with worry. She waved a wing at the battle raging all around them, and her ocean-glass earring instantly darkened. “Now herrrrre we arrrrre again, surrrrrounded by mistwrrrrraiths.”
Promi scanned their surroundings. Immediately, his heart sank. Mistwraiths swarmed everywhere. At least half of the spirit realm’s defenders had been lost. And the brave warriors loyal to Theosor who remained were all fighting for their lives, vastly outnumbered.
On top of all that, Narkazan’s forces kept blasting away with the most deadly weapon of all—the flashbolt cannon. Every time it fired one of its supercharged blasts, more defenders perished. A few more strikes . . . and Theosor’s forces would be decimated.
“Keep fighting, you two!” Promi called to his brave friends the sea dragon and the monk. “There’s something I need to do.”
Instantly, he flew off—straight for the cavern holding the flashbolt cannon. Seeing this, Ulanoma roared in protest. “You can’t do that alone, Prrrrrometheus! You will—”
Her shout ended abruptly when the huge red dragon returned, smashing into her back with devastating force. Ulanoma roared in pain, as well as rage. Regaining her balance, she wheeled around and used her wing to scoop up Bonlo, who had been knocked completely off his perch. Tossing him back atop her brow, the turquoise dragon plunged into battle with her foe. Eyes ablaze, the two enormous warriors tore into each other using their tails, wings, and talons, along with their immense bodies.
Meanwhile, Promi sped away on a mission of his own.
CHAPTER 29
The Flashbolt Cannon
While the battle roiled the sky, Promi zoomed straight toward one particular cavern in the massive gray cloud where Narkazan’s forces had launched their attack. From that cavern, he’d seen several blasts from the flashbolt cannon—blasts that had been utterly devastating to the defenders of the spirit realm.
Not bothering to veer aside to disguise his route, he flew like a human arrow at the cavern. My only chance, he told himself, is speed. To get there before they fire another blast!
A heartbeat later, light all around him dimmed as he entered the thick mist of the cloud. Straight ahead, he could see the mouth of the tunnel. Deep within it, he glimpsed a powerful new light starting to swell in strength—the next flashbolt, getting ready to fire!
Promi shifted course slightly to aim not directly at the flashbolt—which would have sent him right into the cannon—but at the huge warrior who was sitting at the rear of the cannon, working its controls. A warrior whose immense hulk, angry scowl, and four muscular arms he recognized from his first trip to the spirit realm. A warrior whose brutal kind he’d hoped never to meet again.
An amber giant.
In that final instant before he struck, Promi saw that this amber giant was even bigger than the ones he’d fought before. Seated at the cannon’s controls, the massive warrior’s four arms were rapidly adjusting levers to prepare for the next blast. The whole cannon, made of ultrahardened vaporstone, was vibrating with energy, making a loud whirring sound that grew steadily louder. At the same time, the light inside the cannon’s muzzle grew brighter.
Slam! Promi plowed full force into the giant.
The huge warrior flew backward into the cavern, smashing into a wall of ice. He hit so hard that ice shards exploded everywhere and the entire wall collapsed, burying the warrior.
Promi, who had rammed into the giant with his shoulder, rolled on the cavern floor. Momentarily dazed from the impact, he shook himself and sat up. Rubbing his sore shoulder, he realized what had happened to the giant.
A rush of satisfaction surged through him. Success! Now I need to turn off that cursed cannon—and find some way to put it out of action!
He stood up, approaching the controls even as the cannon’s vibrations rose to deafening levels. Inside the muzzle, the flashbolt swelled to maximum brightness.
Hurriedly, he tried to make sense of the controls. More than a dozen levers were engaged—which is why it helped to have four arms to operate them. But which one, he asked himself, mind racing, will stop this thing?
Suddenly he noticed, at the edge of the control panel, two large buttons—one red, one black. Guessing that the black one would shut down the cannon, he lunged for it. Just as his finger was about to reach it—
The collapsed wall of ice exploded! With a roar of rage even louder than the cannon’s vibrations, the amber giant burst out from under the debris and shoved Promi aside with brutal force. The young man flew into the opposite wall, striking so hard that he fell to the floor, his mind spinning.
Before he could get up, the amber-skinned warrior grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up high. Bellowing wrathfully, the giant’s massive hand squeezed hard, choking the life out of this intruder. Losing consciousness fast, Promi did the only thing he could—he kicked with all his might.
But he missed completely. With all his remaining strength, even as darkness fell over his thoughts, he tried again.
That kick connected with the giant’s throat. The warrior grunted in pain and fell backward, dropping Promi on the cavern floor.
Forcing himself to stand, Promi scanned his surroundings for some way to fight this four-armed behemoth. By now, the giant had recovered and was starting to charge. At the same time, the cannon’s vibrations shook the whole cavern, so vigorously that a row of huge icicles on the ceiling cracked an
d smashed to the floor.
Promi darted aside just as the giant lunged at him and bashed into the wall. Seizing his chance, Promi rolled under the cannon’s muzzle. On the cannon’s other side, he bounced to his feet, putting the big weapon between the two of them.
Angered beyond anything in his experience, the amber warrior waved all four arms wildly, even as he bellowed like an erupting volcano. Another row of icicles cracked and plunged down, splintering on top of the cannon.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Promi dashed toward the controls. The instant before he reached the black button, though, the giant threw a chunk of ice that struck Promi hard in the chest. He tumbled backward, slamming into the wall.
Right above him, the biggest icicle in the cavern cracked and wobbled. Seeing this, Promi had an idea—a wild, desperate idea.
As the giant leaped across the cannon and raced toward him, bursting with desire to grab this intruder and rip his body into hundreds of pieces, Promi didn’t run. Instead, he used his final split second to leap up and swat the bottom tip of the enormous icicle. He connected—just as the giant barreled into him and sent him flying backward into the wall.
At the same instant Promi hit the wall, the icicle plunged down on top of the giant. Piercing the warrior’s muscular shoulder close to his neck, the weighty icicle collapsed right on him. Though he was too strong to be killed, the giant howled in agony and tumbled into the cannon itself. So heavy was his immense body, the force swung the weapon around so that its muzzle no longer faced the mouth of the cavern. Instead, the cannon now pointed at a sidewall.
Shrieking with rage, bleeding profusely from his wound, the giant hurled himself at Promi. But the young man hardly noticed. A new idea flared inside his mind—an idea that might well cost him his own life . . . but could silence forever Narkazan’s most deadly weapon.
Promi lunged at the cannon. Reaching out his arm, he slammed a fist on the controls. Instead of hitting the black button, though, he hit the red one.