Firedragon Rising by Mary Fan Read Free Book Online

it was a slight disturbance in the air, or a faint scent
wafting toward her—she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what had
called her attention. But she’d find out soon enough.
    She jumped off the motorbike and threw off
her knapsack, listening for any telltale rustling. With a single,
fluid motion, she pulled her swords out of the sheaths on her belt
and held them up, ready to fight, though she didn’t know who her
enemy would be. The uncertainty made her breaths quicken with
nervousness, especially since she was alone in the dark. At the
same time, fierce determination rushed through her blood. Whatever
was out there, she wouldn’t let it stop her.
    Something crunched the ground to her left
and she whipped her head in that direction, but saw only blackness.
That didn’t mean someone—or something—wasn’t lurking, though. Was
it a beast? Or had the Triumvirate caught up to her?
    Suddenly a flash of yellow light flooded her
vision, its brilliance so shocking that it nearly blinded her.
Through its glare, she could just make out a human silhouette. An
Enchanter, goldlighting onto the road before her. And a man,
judging by his broad shoulders and barrel chest.
    It had to be one of the Sentinels; no one
else would appear in the middle of the wilderness like that. She
didn’t know how they’d found her, but she didn’t have time to think
about it. Knowing she had to attack first, she sprinted toward the
shadowy figure just as the light of his magic faded. Her plan was
to strike his chest with a running sidekick and send him to the
ground, then knock him out with the hilt of her sword. If she could
break his wand before he came to, then he wouldn’t be able to use
his magic—either against her or to call for backup.
    But she’d barely made it halfway before a
low, resonant incantation rang through the night and a pool of blue
light surrounded her. Her limbs froze mid-run, one toe striking the
ground before her, the other foot still in the air. She commanded
them to keep going, but no matter what she did, they remained
motionless. Her arms were similarly frozen, with her swords stuck
in her useless, paralyzed fists. Breath still moved in and out of
her lungs, but, with her ribcage unable to expand, even that became
shallow. Labored.
    She was caught in a freezer spell, unable to
even blink, and a kind of fear she’d never known before raced
through her as she realized that for the first time she could
remember, she was truly helpless.
    Through the spell’s pale glow, she could see
the man who’d cast it approaching. He was tall; he had a good ten
inches over her five-and-a-half feet. Piercing black eyes gleamed
against a powerful, ebony-skinned face. With his knitted black
eyebrows and strong jaw, he looked more intimidating than anyone
she’d ever seen before.
    She hated him instantly for robbing her of
her abilities and refusing to face her. Only a coward would hide
behind magic like that, instead of engaging in combat like a real
fighter. Then again, she shouldn’t have expected anything better
from a Triumvirate dirtbag like him. Monsters never fought
fair.
    “ Firedragon.” Though his
voice was quiet, it still shook her core.
    How does he know who I
am? she wondered, her heart
pounding.
    “ Aurelia.” His tone
softened, as if he thought using her actual name would relax
her.
    It didn’t. Her muscles struggled against
their cages of frozen skin and paralyzed bone, but try as she
might, she couldn’t move. Terror churned in her mind. What would he
do to her? Would he leave her like this, to be prey to the
supernaturals?
    “ Listen to me,” the man
continued, taking a step toward her. “I know you mean to join the
Rising, but I cannot allow that to happen.”
    Typical Triumvirate
crap , she thought angrily. He would
probably subject her to a horrible lecture about how awesome the
Triumvirate was and how evil those who challenged it had proven to
be through their acts of rebellion. She’d rather