Dragon Falls (Indigo Apocalypse Book III)

Chapter Twelve: I Do Love Playing With Toys

LUCY:
I hung off a tree branch, watching Sarah and Zavala training. "Why are you going to bother them?" Kupoa asked. I turned, my hair waving about as I hung upside down. "Because it's fun." Kupoa sighed dramatically. He waved to my body. "At least cover up." I looked down, or up, and saw that my white shift was hanging over my breasts, showing every inch of me from the breasts down. "Meh." I answered and flipped right-side up. "Well, let's go then." I said, then slithered smoothly down the tree. Sarah spun, ducking under Zavala's lashing tail. Sarah stood, and flapped her wings, then took off, rising twenty feet into the air. "Well dung, and I just got down here." I complained, looking around for a suitable tree. Then, Sarah dove and slammed into Zavala. Kupoa winced. "That looked like it hurt." Sarah popped up, shaking her head. Zavala stood, and brushed off her wings primly. "Well then, since practice is over, why don't we take a turn about the city huh?" I asked.
Zavala hummed. "Why?" Came my brother's mate's cool even bored tone from the doorway of the cottage we all stayed in. "So you can make all the males flock after you?" "Why of course." I preened. "And because it's rather boring watching those two fight." I waved toward Zavala and Sarah. "You could join." I laughed, clutching my belly. "You're so so so so super funny Zavala." Briella unleashed her claws. "I mean Sister, you and I could go at it if you like." I stuck out my tongue. "I'd hand you your ass Bri." Her gold eyes glinted. "Is that so, Luce?" "Yep." I chirped, then squealed as she dove for me. I jumped on pure instinct and grabbed a tree branch, hanging there for a moment, before flipping on to it. "That was mean." I said. "Mean, but effective." Zavala murmured. "How about this then." Said Briella. "You beat me, we go into the city." Instead of answering, I swung off the branch and slammed into Briella. Briella uncoiled and I flipped on to the ground, rolling to my feet. She swept out her clawed hand and I backpedaled. I swept out my leg and she ducked the kick, then grabbed my foot. She pulled, I tightened the muscles in my leg and flipped over her shoulder. I landed and lashed out at her legs. Briella went tumbling to the ground.
"You let me kick your ass." I said as we stood at a crossroads heavy with foot traffic. "I guess you'll never know." Said Briella blandly as we took the left fork and headed down the dirt path. Following the path, we came across a kind of marketplace. "Hmm, they do have more than just satires here." Said Sarah. Indeed, half human half goat people weren't just the norm. A few half horse half human things were walking about, walking, cantering? Trotting? "Centaurs." Said Sarah. "I've heard about them. More so when I got into the Symbol." "Why does that not surprise me." said Briella. "Centaurs," Sarah continued, ignoring Briella. "Those look like river naiads." She pointed to a collection of females with long willowing hair, shades ranging from brown to chocolate, to coffee, a drink I abhorred, to pitch black, to palest brown. One turned toward her companion and spotted Sarah, then me. Her mouth fell open in a perfect "Ohhh," she melted into opaque mist, and the mist swirled around her companion, and she melted into opaque mist too, then they swirled around and around, then appeared a few feet away. "Why?" Briella asked, in sincere wonder. "When you can simply walk over here." "You mustn't be here." "Why not?" Sarah asked. "They will find you." Said the other Naiad. "They will find you, they'll throw you in the fields of death, you must return to your cottage." "Fields of death." Commented Briella dryly. "Sounds terrifying." "Please," one naiad tugged my arm. "Why? Who are you talking about." But as several dryads entered the marketplace, I realized just whom they meant. Both naiads squeaked, and shoved against my arm, pointing frantically toward a closed off stall. "In in in in in in, get in there."
    Both naiads shoved us into the stall. Briella bared her teeth in a snarl, but got in. "Down down down down down down down." One said, shoving us under the table. We ducked, and both naiads started picking over the wears on the table. "What do you think?" Asked one as the dryads came closer. She shrugged. "Not your color." Frowning, she lowered the item, then smiled at a dryad who caught her eye. She came closer. "Have you seen," she lifted a cleverly carved image of Briella. "No, why would I have?" Asked the naiad. "They are new arrivals moving about the city without their dryad escorts." "How sad." Said one naiad, her voice a convincing sepulchral sound. The other dryads began to search the area, checking behind stalls, asking questions. Sarah looked like she wanted to swear. "Relax." I wanted to say. "This'll be more entertaining than training all day long." "Indeed." Said the dryad. She raised her spear, but a satire entered the marketplace, galloping through with cheerful grace. She giggled as a male galloped after her and they flew out the marketplace. "Those two have been warned too many times." Snapped the dryad, and they moved off. Both naiads let out a collective sigh of relief. "Up." "You're going to give us one too many orders." Snarled viciously. "We're trying to help you out." Said one. "You shouldn't have left your cottage." Said the other. "Now dryads—"Are—"Looking—"For you." THey seemed to enjoy finishing each other's sentences.
    Sarah was staring with her mouth wide open. Briella nudged her. Sarah closed her mouth. "Why are visitors not allowed out without escortws?" Asked Zavala. The naiads looked toward each other before answering. "Dodona." "Dodona?" Kupoa asked as Briella rolled her eyes. "Dodona sees all, reports all to Dione, and Dione abhors those who disobey her law. Be lucky we found you and not a dryad. They'd have been ordered to bring you to Dione right away, to stand trial." "Trial?" Asked Sarah as Briella snorted. "So what, the trees just tell Dione, yo Bitch, we got intruders or some such shit?" Asked Briella. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Perhaps not so irreverently said." Briella shrugged. "I'm normally irreverent so." She waved a clawed hand. "You should return to your cottage right away." Said a naiad. "Why? What is so damned wrong with exploring the city without babysitters?" Both naiads looked afraid to answer that question. "Briella." I warned as I heard a tree groan. The other merchants and would-be customers frowned as they looked around. "Maybe we oughta go, right now." "You were the one who wanted to get out the cottage." "Yeah, but still." I pointed to the trees. "That's an ominous sign. That augurs—" but I never got to finish. At that moment, thunder boomed overhead. But it was a very, very, very familiar sound of thunder. Now every merchant and buyer looked upward, looked and stared, as the Snow and Molten army flew overhead, hidden from us by the foliage.
    "No flipping way." A horseman whispered. "Snow and Molten." Whispered a satire reverently. Then three dryads entered the marketplace, and their eyes shot straight to us and the naiads. "STOP." One shouted. "Shit." Said Briella. "Made." Sarah added. "Run." I said. "Run." Said Kupoa. We turned and fled up a path. The dryads chased after us, the naiads however, ran along side us. "THIS WAY." They shouted together. We followed them down a rocky path. I ran down one side of the path, and leapt, grabbing a branch and slithering along it. Oh, yesss, it felt so good to be the creature I was. I uncoiled and flipped to another branch and caught sight of Kupoa, slithering and undulating along and through another tree. A dryad threw her spear. It sail fast through the air and arrowed, speared, straight for Kupoa's back. But my brother uncoiled and caught the spear. He dropped and ran several dozen feet before climbing another tree. The naiads lead us off the path and on to another. "HURRY." One said. Briella snarled and sped up, her booted feet pounding the rocky terrain as she ran. Sarah shifted back into her human skin and Zavala opened her wings slightly, as if to keep her balance. Another flying spear was thrown. Sarah wove, and the spear went wide, slamming into the ground five feet away. Sarah waved her hand and an ice fan flew from her arm and spun in a deadly ark toward the dryads. They scattered, then leapt into trees. "Fuck me." Muttered Briella. I thought it was completely apt to say, "So not interested." Kupoa said, "You'll have to wait on that." Briella snarled, but there was a laugh in the sound. A tree groaned, and branches elongated, lashing out for Briella's side. Kupoa swung languidly off a branch to intercept his mate. They went spralling and Briella snarled at him. "Get off me you bastard, I'm fine." "You're very welcome." He said cheerfully. They rose and continued sprinting.
    I slid down the tree and on to the ground as it groaned threateningly. "Hi." I said as I ran along side Sarah, who was puffing like a newborn chimp. "Don't really get out much to you huh?" I asked. "Bite me Bitch." Snarled Sarah. Playfully, I snapped my teeth, gnashing them. "Bye." I said as I slid up a tree and along it's branches. THe tree groaned, leaves slapping liek little hands. I grabbed a branch, but it swung me upward, not downward. Swearing, I grabbed another, this one too swung me upward, further from my companions. A spear flew from a tree trunk. I ducked and it missed by mere inches. I dove and missing another branch, I felt my heart stumble as I free-fell. A hard male body slammed into mine and we went tumbling on to another tree branch. "Now look at who I'm saving." Said Kupoa as he slid off me. "At leastt I'm grateful." I said. I wondered if the naiads would just vanish on us. If they'd just on us and say, "Bye-bye fools." And leave us to deal with the dryads.
"This way." One naiad called, turning straight off the path. Sarah didn't hesitate, she jumped off the path and vanished into the trees. I followed, Kupoa behind me. A dryad appeared out of a tree, spear in hand. I ducked and spun with a vicious arm, slamming it into her throat. Shee went tumbling away and I ran after my friends. The sound of rushing water alerted me as we ran into a stream. "HOLD YOUR BREATH." A naiad shouted, then we were swamped by a wave, and shoved underwater. I vaguely heard the dryads swearing as we took off through Dodona. In what barely felt like any time, I surfaced and found myself in an underground cavern. Water churned around me and I saw Briella surface, for a moment, panic lit her golden eyes, bone deep panic. She lashed about, her claws slashing through the water. Then Kupoa was there, his arms around her and once she saw his face, she relaxed. Sarah and Zavala surfaced next and we were sloshed toward a bank. The water bubbled by the bank and the two naiads surfaced. "No choice." One argued. "Now they must flee, otherwise it'll be the fields for us all." "They don't know where our hideout is, Dodona only sees above ground, not under it." "Well we may as well try it anyway—"Excuse me," said Briella sweetly. "But what the fuck—"Dodona isn't what it should be." Said a naiad. "Well we've figured that much out for ourselves." Said Zavala. "We mean that she, the entity we are all spoken by, is no entity." Said the naiad. "That the one in control is the ruler, is Dione."
    "And why do you say that?" Asked Sarah. "Because we have proof." Said a male voice from deep within the cavern. Two creatures stepped into view, and between them, was the Dark Phoenix. Phoenix stood between a pair of centaurs, their weapons pointed toward the ground, his violet eyes glinted in the near darkness. "Because she outcasts any who is not what she believes should be in her precious country." I turned to the two naiads. "And you two?" "She controls our life forces, the rivers do not belong to us anymore, and unless she stays as the ruler, they never will be ours again." "What the fuck do you want us to do?" Asked Briella harshly. "You brought the only one who can dethrone Dione." "Huntor and Sydney have enough on their plate right now." Said Sarah. "Not the Ilio Drakous." Said one naiad. "Though they sure can intimidate her." "They mean Delphi." Said Phoenix. "The most powerful of all the Oracles." Sarah frowned. "I thought Dodona—"Dodona is a place, an oracle within a jungle. But a human oracle, they are not so powerful, only in seeing the future. But your Delphi, she can not only see, but she is able to fight with that ancient blade." "And you'd know that how?" Asked Briella. "Because I still am connected with my fleece." Said Phoenix. "And because she bares her blade, it's not hard to miss." "Fair point." Sarah said. "So what, you have this underground movement, literally, and you were waiting for the first chance to strike and now you have it?" I asked. "More or less." Said one naiad. "We can't deal with this." Briella said. "We have a war to fight, literally creatures who are nightmares, creatures that apparently the Dark Queen has held secret that are warriors. We don't have the time to liberate Dodona like this." "Even if Dodona could give you a standing army?" Asked one fo the centaurs, speaking for the first time. "Phoenix was not lying when he and Callianna said Dione is a tyrant, and hides her army. She uses her dryads to the fullest extent she can, and has power, do to the golden fleece, to make her fields of torture grow to exponential size." "We'll need to talk it through with Huntor and Sydney." Said Sarah. Briella rolled her eyes. I grinned lecherously. "And when they agree, we'll help free you."