Free Tempest Reborn by Nicole Peeler

didn’t think anyone would be paying attention.]
    ‘How’d they get here so fast?’ I wondered aloud.
    [Just because they can’t apparate doesn’t mean they can’t move quickly.]
    I filed that away. Even if our plan did work, it might not give us as much of a head start on the book as I’d hoped.
    The kind old monk cracked an eye open from where he sat, chanting, in front of us.
    ‘We have reached our limit,’ he said dreamily. ‘You must act quickly, before what we’ve called forth fades.’
    I nodded, and he closed his eyes again. Turning to Ryu, I called the labrys. His eyes widened as it appeared in my hands, then squinted shut as it blazed forth light.
    It knew its enemies were near.
    I dialed back its power, until we could all see again.
    ‘Sorry, it has a mind of its own.’
    Ryu only nodded, still looking rather befuddled. I guess it’s not every day that someone you used to have to babysit reappears in your life, wielding ancient and powerful forces.
    He was dealing with it quite well, really.
    ‘Are you ready?’ I asked him. He nodded again, his gaze focusing with his purpose.
    ‘Get them on the ground,’ he said, repeating our plan. ‘Let the creature get rid of one of them, and take on the other. Somehow.’
    ‘It’s a plan,’ I said. Not necessarily a good plan, but a plan.
    And with that, Ryu and I pushed our way out of the double doors separating us from the helipad.
    The first thing I noticed was that the monks’ channeled power was stronger out here. They obviously could focus the magic where they wanted it, and I was shocked at their control.
    I was even more shocked when another dragon appeared in the air above us. Only this one seemed to be made of golden fireworks, sparkling in the sky.
    I got ready to panic as it stretched silent wings, its head rearing back as it emitted a silent roar. But then I realized what it was: an illusion, fueled by the monks’ power.
    You are good
, I thought, thanking my lucky stars we’d wound up with such powerful allies.
    Needless to say, I wasn’t the only one to notice the golden dragon. The Red and the White, upon making another lazy circle around the building, paused in their knocking off bits of the surrounding skyscrapers. I’d never known what a surprised dragon looked like, but now I did. I reckon it’s a bit like a gecko seconds before it’s run over by a car.
    With a roar that shook the foundations of the building we stood upon, the Red and the White closed in on the golden dragon. It darted upward, trailing light just like sparklers did in the hands of running children on the Fourth of July. The dragons gave chase, and our dragon, the monks’ dragon, flew straight up, taking the Red and the White high into the sky before it made a sudden U-turn, plummeting downward.
    Right toward us.
    The golden dragon disappeared in a shimmer of power as it hit the asphalt of the helipad, the Red and the White crashing into the tarmac with far less graceful thumps that shook the whole building. It was the Red that recovered first, clambering to its relatively tiny little feet and galloping toward where Ryu and I waited.
    Exactly what I didn’t want to happen. But beggars can’t be choosers, and neither can people who are about to be eaten by a dragon. So with a muttered curse word, I raised my labrys and invoked the power of the creature.
    [Gotcha,] the creature said, almost gleefully. And just as the Red got close enough for me to see the hungry gleam in her emerald-green eyes and smell the sulfur on her breath, the Red disappeared with an audible pop.
    The White roared in confusion, rushing toward where its mate had just been, but like a ghost in front of it, there arose the glittering golden form of the monks’ manifested power. This time it was in the shape of a phoenix, and it glided toward the White on silent wings, an act that seemed to confuse the White even more.
    The ivory, pearlescent dragon skidded to a stop, snapping its jaws at the