than Alexstrasza. One of the initial attackers, she fell upon a smaller undead, once a proto-dragon just out of its juvenile years. However, although the prey looked easy and Malygos had been among those offering warning about the dangers of their enemy, she left herself open to the undeadâs âbreath.â
The dark, noxious cloud draped over the femaleâs head and wings. She shrugged it off, then opened her mouth to unleash her own blast.
But suddenly, the brilliant color of her scales faded wherever the cloud had touched. The flesh withered, and skin flaked away. Instead of exhaling a mighty blast at the fiend, the female let out a rasping cry as her eyes glazed over.
And as Malygosâand Kalecâwatched, briefly mesmerized, the scale and flesh fell away in the blink of an eye. The exposed skullâthe jaws still openâcracked off and dropped out of sight.
The torso, the ruined wings feebly flapping, followed.
Above, Talonixa roared in anger at the proto-dragonâs fatal error. Leading another of her family, she dropped upon the small undead and ripped it apart through the back. For good measure, the imposing female bit off the head and spat it toward one of the other flying corpses.
â Kill like that! No more fools!â
Her advice, based in great part on information Malygos and Neltharion had relayed prior to this assault, served the rest well. Acting in teams of as many as five, the proto-dragons tore into the remaining not-living. One corpse was torn apart in short order; another burned to a crisp.
There were still fatalities despite Talonixaâs insistence, fatalities that Malygos had expected and believed could have been avoided. Emaciated they might be, but the undead nonetheless had surprising physical strength and an unnatural tenacity. Moreover, they did not have to inhale prior to unleashing their horrific clouds of decay. That dire fact was discovered by two proto-dragons who assumed that they were safe after avoiding the initial blasts. Their still-twitching, decomposing bodies spiraled to the distant ground below.
Yet another attacker might have suffered the same ghastly fate, if not for Neltharion dropping down on the undead just as it was about to unleash a blast. The future Deathwing seized the corpseâs head with both hind paws and ripped it clean off. A small gush of the deadly gas poured forth from the open neck but touched no one. The charcoal-gray proto-dragon roared with laughter as he tossed away the head and began to rip into the torso, which continued to fly in a haphazard circle.
Malygos shook his head at his friendâs enthusiasm. For Kalecâs host, the sooner this ended, the better. He had no love for what they were doing. Like Alexstrasza and Ysera, Malygos still saw the living in the faces of these abominations. These were victims, too. They had to be destroyed, but there was little reason to take joy in the effort.
Talonixa struck the last blow, exhaling hard at a lone undead. The bolt of lightning she unleashed set the dry flesh ablaze. The animated corpse managed to stay aloft, but a second bolt shattered the already crumbling body, sending ashes scattering everywhere.
With the destruction of her foe, the huge golden female roared triumphantly. Her cry was taken up by many of the others, causing Malygos to wince as he thought of how loud they were. It had been in part their cries that were used in the first place to help lure these not-living to them. Malygos marveled that Talonixa and her supporters did not think this through, but he knew better than to try to speak the truth. Talonixa did not abide those who did not agree with her and had already scarred a copper male in the face for questioning her. She also had several zealous followers willing to do worse to any other naysayers.
For now, the sisters, Neltharion, and Kalecâs host were going along with Talonixaâs decisions while they argued over what better choice to