Firestorm by William Stacey

Author:William Stacey [Stacey, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Tec trudged wearily through the southern California wildlands, following Ephix, Prince Kilyn, and the hundred or so warriors who had survived Lodin's ambush. Lodin might have killed them all, but the ambush had been little more than a feint. Angie had been the target.

And Tec had failed her.

He had been too busy fighting to recognize the true threat—the Fey Mermen waiting beneath the piers. By the time anyone realized what had happened, the Mermen had taken Angie beneath the water. In the desperate hand-to-hand fighting that followed, Ephix opened another portal, and the survivors fled back to Earth, dragging a distraught Tec with them.

He had begged Ephix to send him back, but she had refused. Lodin, she claimed, was far more dangerous than she was and could kill with a touch—even a were-jaguar. To even attempt a rescue would be certain death. No, she had said sadly, she and her sister had kept Angie hidden from Lodin all her life, but now he finally had her.

Tec couldn't accept that.

He'd never accept that; the pain of losing Angie was worse than the heartbreak he had felt the day his master Quetzalcoatl had died. For so many decades now, he had been alone, a warrior in service to a dragon master. Now to find someone to share his life with and then lose her again... He made fists of his hands.

No. He'd find a way to go back for her, no matter what.

But for now, the others needed him, needed his help to survive. They were in the wilderness of the post-Awakened world, with the dangerous ruins of Los Angeles to their north, an Aztalan army to their south, and uncertainty all about. They needed to reach the elven refugees who had escaped Coronado Island before the dragon attack.

They marched all day, skirting the ruins of Los Angeles. They would have made better time, but the wounded—and there were many wounded now—slowed their pace. The main Aztalan army was still far behind them, but Ephix feared they might run into scouts, so she kept to the sparse vegetation and trees to conceal their movement. Even wounded and exhausted, the elves moved with remarkable skill, barely disturbing a leaf.

They spent an uneasy night in the open, and the next day, they followed the old Highway 5 through the mountains and reached the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley to find a camp filled with thousands of elves, all that remained of the Coronado Enclave. The sight of the camp encouraged the weary warriors, and they rushed forward to embrace loved ones. Tec saw Prince Kilyn holding the tall Wyn Renna, speaking softly to her, passing on the news of their mother's death. Wyn Renna’s face betrayed her stormy emotions, but she was the heir now and would need to be strong for her people.

They spent another day with the refugees, readying themselves for the trek north. It was more than a hundred kilometers to Sanwa City and another hundred to the Fresno Enclave.

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