Wyvernhail by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Author:Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Legends; Myths; Fables, General
ISBN: 9780440240037
Google: J4WWzurzpb4C
Amazon: B000W93B96
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2007-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

I screamed as magic ripped into me and tore my wings away, and I fell from Ahnmik’s skies.

Oliza screamed as the magic of her daughter, Keyi, destroyed her; and Nicias screamed as he fought the Mercy who had come to take Sive’s daughter, Aleya, and Salem’s son, Zenle, away—

No!

That much I could stop.

The rest of these images were long gone, ash in the wind, but Keyi was still the future, and the future could be changed.

With one final shriek, I slammed into Salem’s magic like a blade into water, gasping and choking as I forced myself deeper. The world swirled—violet, white, black, red. Distantly, I was aware that my body was somewhere.

I could hear my breath and my heartbeat slowing…slowing…

The shards of Anhamirak’s magic in Salem were searing, and I felt them slice into my mind as I struggled to retain my focus. The poison—

There was a black cobra at the edge of my field of vision, but when I twisted to see, it was gone.

The poison. Falcons had created it; I needed to destroy it. I concentrated, and brought into view the places where Salem’s undulating magic shuddered, the golden waves becoming black and charred.

The poison consisted of two parts. The primary ingredient was a toxin, which would cause little damage in the bodies of most shapeshifters; we healed too quickly for that.

However, there was a spell built into the poison, and I struggled to read it as it devoured even more of the magic that made Salem a serpent. The patterns kept shifting, melding themselves with the lines of that which they destroyed.

So vulnerable, I realized. The Cobriana had only half of the magic they had been created with; the other half had been used long before to form the avians. The falcons had cleverly fashioned the poison to meld with what remained of Anhamirak’s power. Once it ate away at the magic that protected serpiente flesh, the base toxins could stop the heart and end the life.

I twisted about, wrapping that deadly magic around myself like spiderwebs. Strands ripped and shifted as I reached for them and altered the patterns to make the spell harmless.

I shoved the energy that made Salem’s heart spasm into him. Again, again, again, until it beat on its own. I did the same for his lungs, making them rise and fall.

I surveyed the damage, and it was vast.

Left behind by the poison’s onslaught was a battered, crippled remnant of the magic Salem should have had, needed to have. His body was performing the motions of life now, but his soul…

Was that lost?

I could force animation of Salem’s body, but the poison had done so much damage that his mind and spirit had fled. I reached out as far as I could, trying to find him.

Again I saw a cobra at the edge of my vision, and I spun about, shouting, “Salem!”

Suddenly I slipped on a patch of black ice. On all fours, I scurried back as the ice began to crumble. Where—Salem! I screamed, but received no response.

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