Dragon Falls (Indigo Apocalypse Book III)

Chapter Forty-Eight: A HummingBird's Last Flight

THIRD PERSON:
They raced forward, their pincers waving as their queen ordered them to fight. Nyx winked at Kitana and vanished in a puff of night wind and was gone. Her army nodded to the force before them, and they too vanished in a great night wind. Turning, Kitana watched as some of the army appeared within the lines amongst the scorpions, watched, as the night swirled, and out came Nyx. She gave another look up, up at the Dark Queen, before shouting, "CHARGE." Her army raced forward to meet the scorpions. Turning, Kitana spotted Sahara, and saw her raise her arm, and her scorpions charge, flying through the ocean of death to meet the Ragni Di Morte. Diving down, the dracons in the air slashed at the spiders, rose, and slashed again. Thunder crashed, lightning lashing with it, bright, poisonous green. the Ragni Di Morte raced, their claws kicking up flesh and blood as they raced to lash into the Dark, no, the Night Queen's army.
The two armies clashed, a puissant horrible sound, as night met venom and crawled through and over each other. Ragni Di Morte snapped at any of the Night forces they could. But, the Earthen dracons swam through night, night winds of their own making. Ragni slashed to no avail, unable to strike, and as they couldn't, the Earthen made their dent in the Ragni Di Morte force. Spiders went down, shrieking as they were torn apart by unseen forces. Their legs slashed, pincers slashed off and used against them. Nyx fought at the head of her army, raising her arms to call the power, the beauty, of night to her. Joy and Luna landed on either side of her, and their power glowed within them, as they gave stars to the night. As the ground beneath them trembled, trembled, as forces shook the world. Nyx raised her arms again, and night swept through the army, blinding the spiders, and giving way to the Black Demons who razed their forces. Behind them, scorpions came pouring in, their claws snapping, tails waving, stingers poised to strike.
    Black arrows swooped from the Ragni Di Morte side, falling amongst the fighting armies below. Lightning lashed, snow thunder on it's heels. Tinkers spread like an unfurling flower over the battlefield, their tiny war cries sucked away by the renewed din of battle. A Tinker flew into a Ragni's eye, stabbing with her spear, twenty more Tinkers came in behind her. The Ragni shrieked in agony, a ball of flames took it out, the Tinkers vaporizing in tiny stars to escape the inferno. Sahara directed her scorpions, her chains lashing about her as she took out Ragni Di Morte. She ducked and lashed out, her chain taking out a great line of spiders. Camille leapt through the air and shifted into a scorpion, her tail waving, rippling with rainbow colors as she landed and started her own assault on the Ragni Di Morte. Diana lowered her bow, back on the cliff from which they had a great view of the battle. "We need to figure out where those arrows are coming from." "Rumor has it the Dark Queen has hybrid Ragni Di Morte." Said one dracon. "She does, and I'm sure they are the ones firing those arrows." Diana gestured to the arrows that sailed high into the air and fell into the battle below. "I'm going to figure out where they are and send word." "Let one of us go with you, you've no idea how many are out there." "I'll be fine." "No," argued Hecate. "Let Lorna go with you." Lorna advanced, nodding as her power coiled around her. "Fine," Diana said, shifting into a hummingbird and taking off.
    Nyx ducked, slashing her sword across the thorax of a Ragni Di Morte. She kicked sending it into the fangs of one of it's brethren. She grinned as more came toward her, and, she vanished into darkness, into night. Night swept over the spiders blinding them, suffocating them in it's relentless embrace. Night roared through her blood, night that was rightfully her's, as she slashed through the spiders. The ground trembled and more of her dracons rose from the earth, carving their own way through it, surprising the Ragni Di Morte. As Nyx stepped out of the night and into the day, she glanced yet again upward, up, at the Dark Queen's figure, still in that male's body. She grinned at her, opening her mouth to show off her dracon fangs, showing that none of the demon the Dark Queen created was in her face, in her body. A Ragni Lashed at her back, she swept it aside with her tail, bashing it into it's brethren. Joy dove in from overhead lashed sapphire starlight into the force below her. Nyx smiled, and swept Joy into night, letting her starlight flash and glisten. Nyx ran deeper into the force before her, dracons shaking the ground as they ripped it open, tumbling Ragni Di Morte into the earth's embrace, cold and hard as it was. She slid down a sloping crest and set it rights behind her. She waved her hands and night evaporated, allowing Kitana's forces to surge further into the battle.
    Diana flew as high as she could over the battle, trying to see where they were. Below her, Molten and Snow dracons worked as one, falling upon the Ragni, rising, falling again. Night still cloaked part of the battlefield, and as it did, Diana could only presume what was going on within it. She could see bits of starlight, lashing about, but, nothing more than that. She saw Sahara and her scorpions, Asia and Camille among them. There was no mistaking that rainbow tail and stinger. "Show off your pride Camille." Thought Diana dryly. But she couldn't see the hybrids, see where the hybrids were standing. Brooklyn fought, side by side with Lucy. Her Katoptris sword lashing about, green fog coiling off it like serpents. Wenzi dove with the dracons, her flames pouring over the battle. Lightning lashed again and thunder boiled. Diana dove a little, and only then spotted them. Out of the corner of her eye, something glistened like wet silver, if you looked directly at it, you couldn't see anything, but if you turned your head, looked at it just sideways, you, saw, it. "Go." Diana ordered Lorna. "I see them go tell the others, tell them it's too many, I can see there are at least fifty thousand." Lorna faded. Diana folded her wings in, and dove. As she dove, she accepted what she needed to do. Accepted what would happen. Deep within her soul, she bashed against the cage holding Artemis's power, bashed against it with puissant force. Arrow after arrow after arrow after arrow. Yet, as she dove, she knew her fait, knew her tale. She exploded anew, her power screaming out of her as she lit up the web that screened the Ragni Di Morte hybrids. As her power, bright and silver, lashed, blinding them, and burning the web that hid them. Above, the Dark Queen bellowed in rage as her other forces were revealed.
    Kitana looked up, up, as a horn blasted from on high. As Wenzi pointed with a flaming arrow. As more indigo gesticulated, to a silvery web, a web that was burning away, burning, to reveal line upon line of Ragni Di morte hybrids. Line upon line with black bows raised, arrows loosely knocked as they stared in shock, in shock, at the little creature that had revealed them. And, even from this distance, Kitana could clearly see the hummingbird, the hummingbird, that shifted into a girl, with and archer's bow on her shoulder, an limitless supply of arrows on her back. Could clearly see, as she drew that bow and quiver, and they melted into a sword and shield. Kitana watched, unable to do anything, as Diana, her best friend, her sister by choice, her everything but lover, faced off with the thousands upon thousands of Ragni Di Morte hybrids. Kitana's heart squeezed, as she fought, slashing with her sword, bashing her shield into spider hybrids. A hand touched Kitana's arm, she looked around, her masked face hiding her expression, though no mask could hide it from her, "Go." Said Kendra, kissing her blood soaked mouth through the mask. Kitana turned, and with a puissant furor she'd felt once or twice before, faded into death. Souls of the dying and the dead cried out to her from both sides of the line. As Kitana ran through the lands of the dead, she spoke. "Die, fade, move on." Great winds swept through the forces, through the spirits. Demonic spirits and specters of the Ragni Di Morte, fallen souls of the dracons and Tinkers.
    Kitana flew through death, her incorporeal body fluid as water as she moved through the Ragni Di Morte force, slaying all those in her path. She hurried, racing as fast as she could, ready to defend her sister by choice. Diana swung her sword, the hoard of Ragni hybrids pressing against her, some fell under the swing of her sword, others fell under the flaming arrows that sailed overhead from the dracon force. Lightning lashed out, a great green bolt slamming into the hybrids. They bellowed and scattered, though some of their lines remained. Diana swung her shield, bashing a hybrid away. She flipped her sword and it shifted, glowing as it changed into a spear. She swung the spear around and threw it. It sailed, going straight through several before returning to her hand. An ice fox came charging from between the legs of one hybrid and clawed it's underbelly, before pawing away and clawing into another. Then more ice foxes came charging through the hybrids, and as they did, snow thunder roared. Sarah came flying down, atop a dragon of pure ice, her masked face gave nothing away as she sailed down and into the ranks of the hybrids. She raised her arms and more ice dragons joined the fray, their blank eyes empty of all emotion. Polar bears joined the fight, huge beasts of pure snow and ice. They smashed into the hybrids crushing and splitting them apart. Eagles dove over the Ragni Di Morte, eagles of ice and snow.
    Kitana became corporeal as an ice dragon swooped low. She leapt, grabbed it's claws, and, ignoring her fear of heights, let it fly her to the top of the cliff. As it swooped high over the face, she readied herself for the drop and, ignoring the humanity in her, let herself fall, and fall into death. As she rolled and rose to her feet, nothing of Kitana would've been seen in her face. No, as she rose, it was the Uccisore Della Morte who stood in her place. The goddess of death, agent, of death. She raised her sword, her sword, of death, and flung herself into the fight. Ragni Di Morte Hybrids fell under her blade, under her will, died, as she commanded them to, slaughtered without being touched. The Uccisore Della Morte made her way toward Diana, who still fought with her spear and shield. The Snow Goddess flew over them, swinging spears of ice, letting them fly into the hybrids. The Uccisore Della Morte swung her sword, and flung a fan of death through the chest of one hybrid, then threw another through the chests of several before it faded. "Die," she purred. Hundreds of the horrifying hybrids fell under the wake of her words.
    The Uccisore moved, her body like that of a god, puissant and immortal. She didn't think of words said long ago, to a creature who was a torn soul, resurrected too many times. "No one is ever truly immortal." She ended lives as her power demanded, as her honor demanded. Becoming the thing that stood between one, and true immortality. To be immortal, one must chain death, and to stop immortality, death must be unchained. So long as death existed, no one was ever truly immortal. The wrath of immortality, would be the zenith of death's chains. The Uccisore understood this, understood that duty wasn't a curse unless you let it become a curse. Understood that honor wasn't cruel unless you let it become cruel. As she made her way toward Diana, the Uccisore moved with the grace of death, yet knew, knew, knew. Sarah swooped over her, swinging a great ice chain through several hybrids. Sarah flung the chain aside, letting it sail and slice through hybrids at random. She held up her arm, and row upon row of Ragni Di Morte hybrids froze, their bodies going stiff. Green lightning lashed out, slicing the frozen hybrids to pieces, sending bits of burning flesh and gore everywhere. Thunder lashed out, a sound wave on it's heels. The two battles were utter chaos, utter destruction, utter brutality. Blood washed over the shale like river water, pouring over the face of the cliff in a great rushing torrent.
The Dark Queen stared down at the battlefield, rage and ire in her face as she watched the indigo army make their stand against her own forces. She stared, stared, at the hybrids who were now in the open, stared, as the dracons honed in and fired their arrows of fire directly for them. She wanted to kill them all, wanted to join the fight with her creatures, wanted to slaughter indigo after indigo. She could too, she knew she could. She could slaughter them all if she transformed into her true flesh, into the flesh a succubus had made long long long ago. A flesh that only grew more powerful the longer it was hidden away. Flesh, that grew bigger, the longer it was contained. Flaming arrows felled more of the hybrids, more of her beautiful venomous hybrids. On the floor of the canyon, Ragni Di Morte fell, taking indigo with them. Tinker, Tinkers, TINKERS, flew in, their tiny weapons raised and waving. They flew into the eyes of her spiders, into the jaws of others, under their guards and into their bellies. Another war-horn blown by a Tinker sounded.
The Dark Queen watched as the sound rallied the troops, watched as they fought back with renewed effort. She vibrated in her male body, but knew not to shift, not to shed this disgusting mortal flesh and assume her true skin. If she did, she had the potential of loosing her power, loosing even a drop of it, before, those dragons flew here. She looked up, seeing the clouds roil, green and silver lightning lashing down. Ice beasts flew in, taking out more of her hybrids, the Snow Goddess slashing through the hoard with chains, swords, stranger weapons. Arachne opened her mouth, ready to shout at her forces, when another war-horn was blown. She spun, shale spraying as she looked, looked in disbelief, at the thousands of creatures who pounded the shale toward battle. Centaurs and satires with their fawn counterparts, at their head, Arachne stared, stared, because she recognized those two. The Dark Phoenix, and the Golden Fleece. She knew those two, because her servant Dodona was supposed to have killed them and claimed their powers, and when she was killed, her powers claimed by Arachne herself. "Do it." A hybrid lifted the horn to his lips, and blew. The hybrids rallied and shot their arrows into the hoard of flying dracons.
Arachne stared, then shook with rage, as, another, another, war-horn sounded. She looked up, rage in her black eyes, then shock, then, terror, as white wings could be seen flying in from the South. "White wings." She murmured. She ran through her mind, remembering seeing a pair of those white wings only once in her existence, seeing them, and, fearing, them. "The Selene Dracons." She murmured. Terror was alive in Arachne, terror as such she'd never felt. If the Selene Dracons were still alive, still in mass after thousands of years, since the first great war against the dragons, then how many others? How many of the other species of dracons were still alive? Were all twelve still alive? Were there even twelve races anymore? She watched the Selene Dracons swoop in, line upon line upon line upon line of silver-white wings, of gray wings, of near black wings. "Moon, Night, Snow, Molten." She counted four races. Four, out of the twelve she remembered, or, was it twelve, twelve for the twelve plains of the indigo world. Two to watch over the different plains of the indigo world. Or, was it eight? She couldn't remember, couldn't remember if it were twelve species or eight. As ice cold winds blew through the hoard of hybrids, the Snow Goddess swung another chain of ice, slicing through another great clash of hybrid Ragni Di Morte.
The Uccisore Della Morte struggled to her sister by choice. Diana still fought, her valiant effort making a small dent in the Ragni hybrid hoard. She slashed with her spear as it glowed, stabbing into chest after chest, gut after gut, neck, after, neck. Diana threw her spear, then switched to her bow and arrows and took out enemy after enemy. Even at such close contact, she remained, firing arrows at the hybrids, as the Uccisore Della Morte struggled to her side. The Uccisore slayed a hybrid, and, at last, stood, back to back with Diana, their combined strength slaying Ragni Hybrids left and right. Where one sister stumbled, the other fluidly stepped in. Where one sister's blind spot was open, the other came in to defend. Yet, the Slayer Of Death knew, knew, with that otherworldly part of her. Knew, and even so, deep down in her, hidden away, the human in her screamed her agony, as a Ragni hybrid came in, and slashed for Diana's throat with an arrow tip, only to stab her right behind her breastplate. Diana screamed, screamed, not in pain, but rage, and, victory, as she let herself be stabbed, let herself be a target, to stab her own arrow home, up into the ribs of the Ragni human hybrid, and through it's skull.
Kitana was thrown back, her humanity breaking through the cage she put on it. She stared down, not at her sister's falling corpse, falling, dying body, but at Audrey's falling body. Stared down at the girl who threw herself in the way of the dart that would've taken Huntor's life. She stared at the rage that roiled over Huntor's face, at the purity of the dracon, as he shifted into his half-blood body for the first time. Stared, as he roared and ripped into the Keepers. She felt it then, felt the Uccisore Della Morte roil, felt, and, let, it shove her humanity away. Let it slam her back, and take control. Let the Uccisore Della Morte blow a breath through her mask, and a wave of death sweep over the Ragni Hybrids. The Uccisore Della Morte stood over Diana's dying body, and roared her rage. The Uccisore Della Morte looked up, looked, at the clouds that burned a bright red, at the clouds, that cleared, cleared, to reveal, the indigo army roared their excited furor. Roared, as the Sun Dragons flew in, their bodies alive with power, and behind them, "Sun Dragons." Said Kneecora in awe.