Dragon's Challenge - D. R. Rosier Page 0,1

used her magic more subtly, more a precision instrument than Muranth’s current sledgehammer approach. To be fair, he’d just started his mastery of all the elements, he had a lot to learn as far as applying that magic went. No weapon came near Nysa as she danced through them, cutting throats with her short daggers as she held their bodies still for a split second, and no weapons came near her as she nudged their arms to foul their aim.

She sent out a blast of water magic that lifted at least ten into the air and pushed them back as it then forcibly slammed them back against the ground. She’d done that before in battle, and without really thinking about it Muranth channeled and transmuted fire magic and bathed them all in a plume of flames that raked across the ground and their bodies.

Even as his sword whipped around to cut the throat of the goblin that he’d shield bashed.

Inky shadows shot from the shaman and he popped a quick dome of water magic over the three miners that had accompanied them back. The death spell the shaman had sent their way failed to find a way through Nysa’s or his two shields, but he could barely see through the inkiness for the duration of the spell as he waited for it to fail.

“Down!” he yelled, as the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

Arrows whistled over his and Nysa’s head, as well as two of the miners. The third screamed out, obviously not ducking fast enough. He hoped the man would live until the end of the battle so he could be healed, and then dismissed it from his mind as he rolled back to his feet.

The night lit on fire again, but this time it was for their side. He could see his succubus and the tree nymph glowing as the white-hot fire left Shar’s hand and then slammed into the goblin shaman’s flank. The nymph had taken them to his flank through the surrounding trees, normally that would take a split second for her, and he had to assume Shar had slowed her down somehow.

Regardless, it was still faster than it would’ve taken to run around to the flank in the outside world.

Tansya wasn’t idle, as he felt her nature magic as she attacked the shaman’s two personal guards, who were both on dire wolves. Tansya and Willow had been a hell of a surprise, they hated the touch of metal so they wouldn’t wield swords or knives, but with a staff and bow they were incredibly deadly. They might not have been natural warriors and were peaceful by nature when given the choice, but for him they fought with a ferocity that never failed to take his breath away.

It was in part, their nature magic, which enhanced their already fast, limber, and supple bodies with speed, strength, and awareness through enhanced senses. Really, he almost felt bad for the poor goblins as Tansya smacked them around so Shar could focus on the shaman.

Damn, they really turned him on when they went all fierce for him.

Even more so than Nysa, not because Nysa wasn’t hot putting down enemies, because she was, but Nysa had always been a hunter. Tansya and Willow were usually sweet, shy, and harmless, it was their nature unless under threat.

Tansya was in sorceress robes of light tan, while Nysa wore dark blue and his succubus was in red. Their lack of armor had bothered him in the past, because even he got hit once in a while as an enemy snuck through his guard. So, a few weeks ago he’d put all those dragon scales to good use, and under those robes they wore skintight dragon armor.

He and Nysa had thinned out the goblins a whole lot before he was even hit once. An arrow took him in his shoulder from behind, but fortunately his armor was able to deflect it. It just hurt like a bitch until he channeled some life magic even as he twisted and shot a ball of fire of his own at the culprit twenty yards away. The goblin archer went up in flames as he turned back to two charging goblins.

He hit the goblin on the right with a water magic lance, similar in nature to his shield, so it sent the goblin flying back onto his ass. The second goblin swung his sword, but he swept it away with his shield and cut off