Tricked Into Flight

Chapter 34

*Rakota's POV*

I ignored the flurry of fire spells and blue orbs as I shifted my magic back and forth to match the types of stone. Like a human wheeling with hard clay, it was a slow process, but possible with enough effort. Holes began emerging and growing larger as I uncovered a few upper sections of the cave system. The foolish mages had only protected the front entrance and hadn't realized we could make a backdoor.

More and more tunnels emerged into the open air as my companions continued hammering the shield at the entrance and blocking the blue orbs. I worked from the rearmost tunnels toward the cave opening, making sure no mages were hiding farther back. It also cut off their retreat and removed any potential hiding places. I didn't find any mages, but other than a couple of bedrolls, I also didn't see any gear or stashes positioned for a retreat.

"They're all near the entrance and have all their magical supplies with them," I warned the others.

"In that case, they're cornered and won't be holding back. Be careful," Victorya said as she cast another smoke spell by the entrance to hinder their view.

Rock shifted like thick mud as I used my magic to soften it and pull it to the side, manipulating several layers at a time. The unexposed area grew smaller and thinner as the branching tunnels all led to the one pointing to the entrance. Suddenly, a shield sprang up, protecting the tunnel and shimmering over the remains of the rock that formed the cavern ceiling.

The stone disappeared from my senses, hidden under the shield. I snarled as I glared at the small section of remaining rock. We had been so close! The rock still sheltering them wasn't much bigger than a half-grown dragon– That thought cut off as I realized exactly how little rock was left.

Narrowing my eyes in speculation, I folded my wings for a dive. The air whipped by me as I used my weight and magic to gain speed. When I was closer to the ground, my wings snapped open, sending me skimming above the boulders at the bottom of the gully. My flight listed to the side – one wing still not functioning properly after its brush with the immobilization spell – and I hastily used more magic to stabilize my flight.

I passed over Andar and grabbed a large boulder off the ground. My wings spread wider to support the heavy load, slowing my flight. With my red wings almost spanning the entire gulley, it was impossible for the mages at the cave entrance to not see me. It also made me an easy target, and all the blue orbs now came my way.

Grandel and Serepha swooped down to help intercept them, sending dozens of small fireballs at the magic-numbing spells still rapid-firing through the shield. I hefted the huge stone higher as I passed above the cave and slammed it down, releasing it as I let my speed take me to a safer distance.

I climbed for height and glanced back as part of the remaining rock crumbled and collapsed. My experiment had proved the shields wouldn't stop a physical object. I bared my teeth triumphantly and did a wingover, already focusing on another boulder.

Grandel swerved behind me and followed like a shadow. Both of us kept using small fire spells to block the blue orbs as we headed toward the cave. I snagged another large stone and had to use numerous fire spells to stop all the orbs streaking in our direction. I bashed the stone onto the cave roof as I flew past, feeling the vibrations through my arms and shoulders.

"Drop the stones from farther above," Grandel told me.

I glanced back, noticing he was above the gully cliffs. He released the boulder he was carrying, and the resulting crash of stone on stone echoed his words.

"It worked," I retorted, miffed I hadn't thought of that, "but dropping them from the sky is probably safe–"

Before I could finish speaking, the smoke rolled as something large barreled through it. My eyes widened as two immobilization spells rocketed out of the entrance. There wasn't even time to shout a warning before one blew through Grandel's shields and struck his hindquarters.

I rowed my wings and threw my magic into my flight abilities as the other headed straight for me. Glints of blue whizzed through the smoke, forcing me to spare some magic for fire spells. Something akin to a splash of ice-water struck my tail, and when I glanced back, the fading blue ripples of an unnoticed orb lingering on my scales. Like a veil, the spell slid between me and my magic.

My wings once more felt my true weight as my flight magics disappeared. Before I could roll mid-air, the air shimmered like a heatwave right before the nearly invisible immobility spell crashed into me. Even as my muscles lost their strength, I tried to alter my course for a halfway safe landing.

I careened toward the boulders and rocks at the bottom of the gully. Even though I couldn't sense the spells, my body became lighter as my companions came to my aid. It helped some, but it was barely enough to keep my wings from giving out.

As I drifted to the side, I struggled to keep my wing from striking the side of a cliff. Serepha swooped lower, and my speed rapidly slowed even though I wasn't able to flare my wings. I braced myself, knowing it wouldn't do much to cushion my fall.

My chest hit the rocks hard enough that my breath huffed out from the impact. Gravel and stone grated against my scales as my lingering momentum pushed them ahead of me. Dust drifted through the air as I came to a stop.

As my neck muscles gave out, I managed to turn my head sideways. I could see the cave entrance behind me, where shadowy figures were barely visible past the smoke. Ahead of me, Andar continued to glare at the blue orbs firing skyward at the remaining fighters. Grandel wasn't in sight; he must have been able to land on top of the cliffs.

I tried to shift my wings and legs without success. This spell was stronger than the one by the lakeshore, and I couldn't even flex my claws. My body refused to respond to my demands, but my mind remained clear.

Rage surged through me as I grappled with the turn of events. How had a mere handful of human mages grounded three dragons? If it had just been the immobilization spells, we could have continued to attack with magic. And if it had only been the blue magic-numbing spells, a couple of us could have physically dispatched the mages while our comrades above countered any battle magic.

This unfortunately effective mix of spells gave me a first-hand lesson about how the Mage Wars had almost decimated the dragonkin population. No wonder Victorya had wanted so many dragons in this fight, even before she knew about the magic-blocking spells. Nor had I ever encountered a group of mages with this much magic stored in pre-charged runes.

Spell after spell formed in my mind, yet remained uncast without my magic to power it. How I wanted to wrap my claws around those mages! Regardless of how hard I tried, my fingers refused to even twitch. As if my current situation wasn't bad enough, I could barely even form a growl since my muscles had decided they were too relaxed to perform their proper duties.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Katerina – paler than I had ever seen her – frantically undo the harness straps with shaking hands and slide out of sight behind me.