'I am Eona,' I roared. 'I am the Mirror Dragoneye.'
And then it happened: a tearing release of old needs, stunted power, and narrow pathways built from fear and skewed belief! The gold nugget of power within me exploded into radiant strength.
The red dragon shrieked, a piercing celebration that resonated in every part of my mind and body But within the joy was the soft, keening presence of other voices. A bereft chorus that wove its way into our union. Was it the other dragons? The faint song of mourning was suddenly cut short.
My mind-sight split. I was the Mirror Dragon, my huge head whipping around to face the fury of the blue dragon on my back. His huge jaws closed around the arch of my neck. His opal claws sliced down my flanks, opening up bright, searing wounds of golden light.
But I was also in the alley, fighting Ido as he slammed my hands back into the wall and locked my wrists against the cold stone with his forearm. He forced his leg between mine, his other hand tearing silk and linen. Above, the Mirror Dragon rolled, and I was a desperate twist of red and orange muscle that sent a rumbling shock of power through the air. Paving and dirt flew up as my effort ploughed a seam of devastation along the alley I heard Lady Dela scream and watched from above as the guards ran for cover, leaving the tiny figure of Ryko crouched under the rain of stones.
Give her to me. Ido's hunger was like a fist punching through my mind.
'No,' I screamed.
The red dragon shrieked my defiance, meeting the blue dragon in a thunderous clash of heavy chests and raking claws that boomed across the sky. The world burst into pure energy as the dragon and I fused into one shimmering being. In front of us, the flesh and blood of Ido melted into a streaming network of Hua. The silvery pathways were dulled by a coating of Sun drug, but his life force pumped frantically through the swirling catchments of his points of power. His hold on us faltered, the blue dragon rearing back in confusion.
We watched Ido's fear flick and jump in the flow through his transparent body, collecting in the bright red point at the base of his spine. Above it, on the central meridian that held the seven points, the orange sacral and the yellow delta flared with his power — his charisma and the burn of his desire. Then we saw the dull green point nestled in his chest. The heart-point: the centre of compassion and unity. Grey and shrivelled, the flow through it choked into a thin, stuttering thread. A sickness. Easy to heal. We channelled our power into it, watching the greyness drain from the green point and slowly build into a huge rise of dark emotion. It crashed over us: a thick roiling mass of thwarted desire, wounded innocence, harsh rejection.
So much hopelessness and anger. The blue dragon howled. Our hand touched Ido's chest and the connection of Hua shivered between us. Gold and silver power blending, building into a burst of compassion that snapped his green point wide open, releasing the mass of leaden pain.
Ido screamed and staggered back, ripping my other hand off the pearl. The brutal rending from my dragon twisted me out of the energy world and back into the alley.
She was gone.
It felt as if my spirit was being wrenched from my body. I slumped back against the wall, groping for some sense of our union. It was there — a warm, gold echo of her presence that cushioned the shock of our separation.
Ido dropped to his knees, his energy body moulding back into the solid planes of flesh and heavy muscle. Waves of shivering spasmed through his bowed form. He lifted his head, his eyes muddy with shock.
'What have you done to me?' he gasped. 'I have never seen such power.'
With trembling hands, 1 pulled the edges of my shredded tunics across my exposed body. I was not sure what I'd done. What we had done.
'"Your heart-point is open,' I said.
He took a deep, sobbing breath. 'You have made me feel it all,' he said. All at once.
Everything I've ever done.' He rocked forwards, doubling over with inner pain, his arms wrapped across his chest.
The clink of stone hitting stone made me look up. Something was moving. It took a moment for the dusty, ragged mound to make sense: Ryko, dragging himself through the razed alley towards us, his mutilated hand held to his chest. Panting, he crawled past the sprawled body of one of the guards, his eyes fixed on Ido.
'Kill him,' he said hoarsely. 'Kill him. While you've got the chance.'
Lady Dela emerged from behind a pile of tumbled bales and struggled upright, one of my swords in a wavering grip. Her face was caked with dirt and streaks of blood. She lifted the weapon, the effort making her sway 'I'll do it.'
'No!' The words burst out from somewhere deep in me. Somewhere newly forged. 'We can't.'
'Why not?' Ryko demanded.
I bit my lip, knowing my reasons would mean nothing to a man who had just been tortured. I hardly understood them myself. Part of me still felt the touch of Ido's hands on me and wanted him to suffer and die, but a bigger part — a golden part — wanted to stop his pain. In forcing compassion onto Ido, I had somehow opened my own heart to him.
The Dragoneye slowly pushed himself back onto his heels. The arrogant tilt to his head was gone. 'Because if you kill me, you kill Dillon,' he said quietly.
Ryko looked across at me. 'Is that true?'
'1 don't know,' I said. 'Perhaps. He has bound Dillon's Hua to his _»
A sudden fear clipped my words short. Had I somehow bound Ido's Hua to mine?
The sound of sliding pebbles pulled my attention past Ryko. The older guard was stumbling out of the alley, his limping haste sending a clear message.
'He's going to got help.' I stepped away from the wall. 'We have to go.'
'There's unfinished business here,' Ryko said. He pushed himself to his knees, hooking the dead guard's sword towards him in a drag of dust.
'No!' I met the vengeful hardness in the islander's eyes. 'I have her power, Ryko. I called the Mirror Dragon.' The wonder of it softened my voice; I had united with my dragon. I forced myself away from dwelling in the joy 'We can still help the Pearl Emperor and the Resistance.
But not if we get taken by Sethon. We go. Now!'
'You have her power?' His fierceness turned on me. 'Is that the truth?' He looked at Lady Dela, searching for confirmation. 'Did you find the name?'
She nodded, a smile forming through the dirt and blood.
Ryko's face brightened for a moment then settled back into grim pain. 'You're right. We go.'
Wearily, he dug the sword tip into a crevice and used it as a balance to stand.
Ido was doubled over again, enduring another wave of shaking. Seeing his powerful body in the grip of such weakness shocked me. But deep below my pity stirred a dark exhilaration.
My power had brought Lord Ido to his knees.
Clutching together the remnants of the tunics, I started towards the grate. Even as I took the first step, I knew something fundamental had changed: my bad hip was flexing into a new stretch of muscle and sinew. No pain. No awkward
gait. I stopped, disoriented, then stepped forwards again; a longer stride that should have buckled into a limp. But it was straight and true. I yanked back the edge of the tunic and touched the pale skin over my hip, It was smooth. No scar. I was whole again. A laugh broke out of me. My dragon had healed me too.
'What is it?' Lady Dela asked. Are you injured?'
'No,' I said. 'My hip is healed!' 1 ran my hand down the smooth line of my thigh again.
'Healed? By your dragon power?'
I nodded, meeting her wonder. I was free. No longer a cripple. No longer untouchable. I was strong and powerful. 1 ran a few steps then lunged, finding my balance with a quick confidence that made my heart sing.
Distant shouts cut through my elation. The guard had raised the alarm. There was no time to revel in my new body. Not yet. I squatted in front of the grate, smiling at the easy movement, and quickly dug away the dirt and broken stones that had piled up against the metal cover. As I wrapped my fingers around the bars, it occurred to me that I was also feeling invigorated.