Dragon Chameleon: Episodes 5-8 (Dragon Chameleon Omnibuses Book 2) by Sarah K. L. Wilson

Author:Sarah K. L. Wilson [Wilson, Sarah K. L.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Sarah K. L. Wilson
Published: 2019-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

I WAS ON THE BRANCH, holding the orb, the flames leaping around me like I was back in Vanika, like I was back in that hellish flaming city. The other Tor crouched beside me, a torrent of curses flowing from his mouth. I agreed with the sentiment, but they wouldn’t save us now.

“You,” Apeq A’kona growled from across the orb. “How could you stop me? I had the crown! I had the bracelets!”

He lifted his empty hands, fire reflecting in his eyes. It was in the leaves behind his head, dancing along the edge of the branches.

Smoke burned my lungs and I coughed violently. Beside me, mimic Tor doubled over in his own coughing fit. Our branch was on fire, too, bits of it raining down in flaming tongues in the air below, adding to the whirling inferno of fire that was the world beneath us.

I saw Gautm appear behind Apeq and then vanish again as if he couldn’t find his corporeal form.

We were all going to die.

“Look what you’ve done!” I growled at Apeq. “You’ve killed us all.”

“It shouldn’t have killed me,” he spat. The smoke was affecting him now, too. He drew a wicked dagger from the folds of his cloak as he coughed. “It should have just given me the crown. With the crown, I could have written the future.” He coughed. “And left this place behind.” This time he had to pause to fold double as he coughed. “I was supposed to be the last one to enter this place!”

“But I was already here,” I said, understanding dawning.

He’d been a fool with his wish and now here we were. Together, again. Oh, the irony.

But if Apeq’s life was ended here, that could only be a good thing. Even if it meant that I would die, too.

At least the people in the vision hadn’t been real. At least they were okay somewhere.

“Or already dead,” the mimic said aloud. I gave him a dirty look.

“One of us should have won,” Apeq said, spinning around on our perch above the flames as if he could change that now. As if someone would emerge from the flames with a crown. He was crazier than I’d imagined.

“Sucking souls out of people will do that to you,” my mimic remarked.

I began to laugh. My feet hurt. The flames were already licking through my leather boots. My legs were on fire.

I threw back my head and laughed.

I didn’t regret my choice to save my friends. Not at all. At least I wasn’t the idiot here still expecting a reward ... still expecting to live.

Ha!

“And you get to die with me,” the other Tor said. “Which isn’t the worst fate. They say some people never know themselves, but that can’t be said of you!”

We both got our wishes. Apeq was going to kill all the Ko Bearers – me and him included. I wasn’t going to die alone.

Pain seared through me, scalding my skin, lashing at my exposed limbs.

I didn’t scream.

I just laughed. I let the madness take me.

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