But the King of the Abyss only laughed, a massive creature to dwarf even the largest of Requiem's dragons. He blasted out more fire—a black, foul, shrieking storm. The stream blazed with the heat of a shattering star, with the rage of a typhoon, and crashed against the dragons. Laira screamed and hid behind her shield, but the blast knocked her off Jeid; she tumbled down into shadows. Dorvin and Maev slammed against the floor, their scales cracking with the heat. Raem's lobster claw swung and tore into Jeid's wing, ripping through it, and the copper dragon bellowed and fell.

Issari struggled onto her feet, coughing, burnt, bleeding. Tanin struggled to rise beside her. The two dragons glanced at each other, then rose again, flew toward Raem, and blasted out twins jets of fire.

The flames cascaded harmlessly off Raem. The demonic dragon only cackled, opened his jaws wide, and spewed out a cloud of buzzing demons the size of human babes. The creatures flew forward, shaped as maggots, isopods, centipedes, and clattering crayfish, all with human faces and cruel white eyes. Issari and Tanin managed to roast some of the creatures with dragonfire, but hundreds swarmed around the jet to land upon their backs, their wings, their tails. The little demons bustled across them, ripping holes into wings, yanking scales free. Issari screamed, the pain driving through her. When she looked at Tanin, she saw the demons tearing through him, pulling down his wings, tugging his horns.

"Tanin, shift!" Issari shouted . . . and released her magic.

She tumbled down, a human, leaving the demons in the empty air. Tanin followed her lead. Before they could hit the cavern floor, they shifted back into dragons and blasted fire skyward, roasting the swooping creatures.

Issari rose higher, bleeding and panting, her flames running low. Only a dozen dragons seemed to have made it this far; they were assaulting Raem, but their dragonfire flowed uselessly across the demonic dragon, and their claws and fangs did Raem's black scales no harm. The unholy beast laughed as he fought, grabbing and crushing dragons with his tentacle, snapping them apart with his claw, and roasting them with fire.

Dorvin lay moaning on the floor, bleeding from many cuts. Maev swooped toward Raem, but the black dragon's tail slammed against her, tossing her against the wall. The green dragon slumped down and lost her magic; Maev lay unconscious, perhaps dead. Jeid knelt on the floor over Laira; she lay with eyes closed, covered in blood. Other dragons flew toward Raem, only to die and crash down as lacerated, burnt humans.

"He's too strong," Issari whispered to Tanin. "We can't beat him."

Tanin panted, blood leaking across his scales. He tried to blow more fire, but only sparks left his mouth.