I Dream of Dragons

7. Enemy

Something struck the dome again, sending strong tremors throughout the structure. For a moment, the shaking was so violent that Ailysia stopped breathing, certain that the building was going to collapse. But the tremors passed, and the dome stood. For now.

Heart thumping, she followed the guards out of the transporter room, and into the great hall. The guards all had their weapons out, a silver, metallic firearm with a triangular body, a wing-shaped cover, and a pulsing ruby crystal embedded in the barrel. It looked more like an ornament than a weapon, and Ailysia wasn't sure what good it could do against whatever terror was outside.

They ran all the way to the gate, until the ice wall abruptly cut off their exit. The guard who had escorted Ailysia issued a string of curses, her jaws snapping with anger. "Where is the Lady?" She barked at another guard. "Find her!"

The second guard ran off to find Ashermoran, but until the dragon-woman could get here, there was nothing they could do. Meanwhile, Ailysia could hear constant banging and screaming from the other side of the wall. The sound was faint, dampened by the ice, but the desperation it carried was unmistakable. She remembered the tens of thousands of aliens stranded outside. They were probably trying to break the wall down, desperate for shelter.

Once again, she was furious with the dragon-woman. How could Ashermoran do this, abandoning her own people? And how many of those people would be left by the time she finally returned?

I must be able to do something! Ailysia thought. She had conjured ice before, twice. She must be able to control it as well. She stared up at the ice wall, focused all her attention on it, and willed it to move, to lift. Sweat broke out on her forehead from the intense concentration, and for a split second, hope sparked as she felt something shift. But the ice was heavy, all thirty tons bearing down on her will. She struggled mightily against it, but couldn't keep going. Her concentration broke with a shudder, leaving her gasping for breath.

The wall remained standing, not budging an inch. And beyond the wall, the cries for help were growing weaker.

Frustrated, Ailysia pounded her fists on the wall. She hated feeling so useless!

However, as the icy coldness stung her hands, an idea occurred to her. When she conjured ice those two times, she didn't exactly make them out of nothing, did she?

Phase transition—she remembered from her chemistry class. Ice was the solid phase of water, which was also present in the air as vapors. When she "conjured" ice, she had probably pulled the vapors from the air and solidified them. She had done it unknowingly—but now that she knew, she could reverse the process.

As soon as she thought of it, cracks began appearing on the surface of the ice. With every second, the cracks spread, blooming out until they were all over the wall. And then, with a forceful tug of her mind, the wall shattered, vanishing into a shower of water.

The first alien came splashing into the hall, followed by a dozen others, wailing in pain. Ailysia saw scorch marks on their body, entire patches of skin burned away. She wanted to ask what attacked them, but there was no time for questions. She guided the wounded further inside, to the safety of the corridors, and rushed back to the gate.

Just then, a giant porpoise-like creature staggered through the gate, her long neck straining in desperation, and her spiky back engulfed in fire. Making it through seemed to drain the last bit of her willpower, and the creature collapsed to her knees, uttering a piercing cry. Ailysia hurried to pour cold water onto the alien, drawing water from the air as fast as her mind could spin. However, even as the fire died out, the alien choked out a last shaky breath, and fell motionless, glassy eyes staring out into nothing.