Cassandra PendragonWe had dropped significantly and were much closer to the sea now. I stood on the air above him, a fresh breeze brushed through my dark hair and tickled my ears. Galathon had fallen even further after I had vanished and was now pulling out of his dive more than 100 meters below me. Even from up high I could see the rivulets of blood that ran down his neck and flowed from his body, forming a veritable waterfall beneath his chest. He was hunched over and his wing strokes were laboured while I felt much better. I hadn’t been able to recover my bodily stamina from the spells I had devoured, they had lacked a life force component, but my meridians and wing bases felt as good as new. For the first time during our encounter I held the advantage and I didn’t plan on losing it again.I allowed gravity to take hold and helped along with a couple of strokes while I rushed towards him, like a hawk hunting a mouse… that was admittedly several times the hawk’s size. Faster and fa

Viyara NamelessIn the growing darkness of the approaching night an angel descended form above. Stunned into silence we looked up, the only sound the soft thump with which the decapitated pirate fell to the ground. Bright torrents of energy swirled through the air and slithered over the deck, heading straight for my binds but no one cared. Halfway along the mast, maybe 10 meters above us Cassandra stood in the air, her beautiful face drawn into tight lines and a threatening shine flickered from her eyes while she studied the scene below her. Her wings spread out behind her, filling the deck with fleeing shadows and her tails framed her figure like a halo of molten silver. Dried blood, nearly black in the dwindling light, covered her body and her shirt was torn to shreds. Alabaster skin shimmered in the darkness, the colourful tattoo on her chest clearly visible. Palpable waves of anger rolled off of her and the brigands took an involuntary step back, cowering slightly. I smelled their

Cassandra PendragonWe didn’t dawdle much longer. A short discussion broke out when Viyara offered to carry us on her back, she’d be much faster at navigating the lair in her dragon form. I was all for it but Barzuk insisted that it would sully her dignity, transporting others like a common mule. Viyara’s temper was rising again when I decided to put a stop to their argument. I blinked onto her back and pulled Barzuk up with a couple of my wings. I placed him in front of me and ignored his yammering:“We can worry about appearances later when we don’t have a crater full of enemies at our door. Until then I don’t want to hear another word about how she should behave.” I applied just enough pressure to emphasise my point before I retracted my wings. “Did I make myself clear?” Barzuk grumbled under his breath but he didn’t object loudly and with a smug roar from Viyara we were off in a trice. Riding her felt strange, her arms and legs were too short to run at speed and she had to support

Cassandra PendragonWith a thought I rose into the air and headed for her, assuming she really was the fey and not some kind of illusion. I activated my second sight again but it wasn’t much help, the whole valley was ablaze with light and I’d need ages to actually make out any useful detail. It seemed like I had to rely on my charm and hopefully a rather enticing offer.I didn’t take me long to reach her, even though I was itching to have a closer look at the forest while I soared over it. There weren’t any animals, at least none I could see from above but the flora was unique with a multitude of plants that were obviously magical. Leaves, glittering in all colours of the rainbow rustled beneath me with an astoundingly musical sound and the smells that reached me reminded me of a trader’s ship I had visited back on Boseiju, loaded to the brim with spices and precious ingredients for potions. Much too fast I had passed over the forest and hovered over the beach, maybe 15 meters away f

Cassandra PendragonI had wanted to ask Barzuk what he had been on about but the scene on the magma screen shut me up. Galathon had been in conversation with one of the pirates, a burly man with a dark tricorne on his head. Suddenly he erupted with a howl I thought I could actually hear and his hand cracked the poor bloke’s rib cage. A fountain of blood gushed from the wound and when Galathon pulled back, his claw-like fingers encircled a still pulsing hunk of flesh. We weren’t close enough to see many details and thankfully smells weren’t conveyed through Erya’s magic but the look of poor horror on the mutilated man’s face, his rolling eyes and the frantically working mouth made my stomach churn. What a terrible way to go. Whatever he had done, nobody deserved to end like that. His agonised and desperate expression reminded me of the fallen and turned kitsune I had seen on Boseiju, his panic and pain palpable even through the spell.To distract myself from the rising nausea I focused