were stretched back from the gums in an obscene rictus of

concentration as she channeled forth the energy to fuel her spell.

She stretched her arms out to the side and threw back her head,

her long hair streaming in the howling wind. She opened her mouth

and a piercing, inhuman shriek escaped her lips, louder than the

whistle of a locomotive. She began to change. Her face started to

elongate. Her robes tore as her arms sprouted into giant leathery

wings. She rose up into the air, floating on the howling wind

currents, taking the form of a pterodactyl, circling above the

groaning mountain. And suddenly something came streaking up at

her through the clouds.

Before she could realize what it was, it clipped her and she felt a

searing pain as powerful jaws snapped and tore flesh from her body.

She shrieked and fell, spiraling back down to the mountaintop. The

spell broke as she lost her concentration and writhed in agony upon

the ground, where she resumed her natural form. A large chunk of

meat had been torn from her side and her blood fountained out

upon the ground. The dragon came swooping down upon her,

roaring in defiance.

‘’Kanno!‘’

She grimaced as she tried to block out the pain and channeled all

her energy into the spell to throw at the attacking dragon. She did

not know why Kanno had suddenly turned on her, unless it was

because he had been planning to betray her all along, to wait until

the time was right, till she had cast the spell that would release the

massive flow of life energy that would renew her and imbue her

with tremendous power. Yes, of course! She cursed herself for not

anticipating it. Just as he had betrayed the mage who taught him,

Kanno had intended to betray her all along, to strike when she was

vulnerable and seize for himself the power that she would release.

The fool! He deserved to suffer endless agony and torment for his

duplicity and arrogance, but she could not spare the time to mete

out the punishment that he deserved. And time was of the essence.

She was badly hurt and she would have to kill him quickly before

the bearers of the runestones could respond to the emanations of

the potent spell she had unleashed.

She gathered all her strength and focused it into a tight beam of