Wherever one of the geckos landed on Fia with their sticky, padded feet, she felt her scales chilled to the point where it affected the skin underneath. Ah! It's cold, but it burns! she cried to Viliant in greater panic than before.

Of course it does, he barked back. That's blackfire.

Normally, fire would not phase through the heat-resistant scales, yet these inexplicable, darkened flames behaved like an element all its own. Whereas normal fire burned in colors of red, yellow, and orange, the lizards produced a conflagration of black, dark gray, and light gray. The blackfire did not create light, but it rather seemed to consume the light around it. A haze accumulated around the tips of the flames, much like the appearance of shadow magic. Thanks to the way that the blackfire sapped energy from its surroundings, the intricate pattern of the gecko's eyes glowed with a white light.

The leader of the blackfire geckos crawled up Fia's nose and planted itself firmly on her forehead. As its tail dangled down her snout, flicking between her nostrils, it lifted its hind legs to stick them into the dragon's eyeballs. "Achoo!" The dragoness sneezed from the tickling tail and shut her eyes just in time. The thin scales over her eyelids would not protect her for long though.

The dragoness reared and thrashed out her wings against the additional lizards which tried to jump on her. On two legs, she lifted her good foreleg and slashed at the gecko on her forehead. Her talon slipped into the slit in its back, puncturing through its narrow belly where she felt the organs rip and give way. Hardly a flick of her claw was needed to slice down the entirety of its abdomen. Just like that, she had killed the first lizard, but that did not put out the fire which had already started within its belly.

At this rate, the cold would blind her eyes and freeze her brain. Fia wrapped a couple of claws around the blazing corpse and tried to pull it off. The adhesive feet remained stuck to her scales, and Fia lost her balance as more lizards were jumping on her, burning all over.

"Ah!" she landed on her good side, but her wing was folded awkwardly beneath her. Help, Viliant! Get it off! With her eyes closed, Fia could not see how her friend was preoccupied at the moment.

They're trying to get me too! he snapped back.

It's on my face! she insisted. If Viliant had the capacity to help right now, she knew that he would, but Fia could not rely on that. The dead gecko must be removed from her head this instant.

Fia hefted herself back to her feet and leveled her neck, lining up the columns in her spine. If her memory served correctly, the elevated rock which the lizards had come from was located in the direction that she now turned. Fia ran headlong for the boulder. A proper charge involved leading with the horns, but in this case, she took the impact on the crown of her skull. The top of her head bashed into the side of the rock.

Bones crunched as the gecko's body was flattened. When Fia pulled away, she rubbed her head across the rock to make sure that she scraped the lizard off. Finally, she could open her eyes and view her handiwork.

The leader of the lizard ambush had its guts plastered to its home rock momentarily before it slid down. There was not much to the creature's innards. I got it, Fia mentioned to Viliant.

Good. This is your fault, you know! The black dragon had lowered himself to the ground, doing his best to shield his vulnerable limbs and belly. With his hackles raised, the extended spines on his back made him look like an angry urchin but with a dragon head and wings. Viliant roared at the tiny lizards to back away, and whenever they tried to jump on him, he lashed out with claw and fang to kill them in midair.

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He was focused on defending himself. Any effort to help her would result in him getting swarmed by the geckos and ending up in the same dire straits as her.

Luckily, Fia now knew how to handle the situation on her own. This pile of rocks from which the geckos came seemed like the perfect place to spurn them. The dragoness slammed her side against the boulder. Leaning into it the whole time, she walked forward as if she were trying to scratch her scales. The crunched bones distended from the fragile geckos' bodies did just that, itching between her scales gently. Fia lifted her head in relief as the freezing burns abated, and she sighed. The rest of her body still needed attention, so she turned around to tend to her other, injured side.

However, not all the lizards had immediately jumped onto Fia and Viliant. One such straggler perched atop the rock. Its glowing, demonic eyes cut through the cloak of shadow flames which engulfed the lizard. This gecko leaped onto the free spot of her bandaged shoulder.

There, no scales remained to protect the raw, cauterized flesh underneath. At first, she felt nothing through the bandage, but the dark embers quickly burned through the cloth and scattered ashes over her wound. The deadened nerves on the surface did not respond to the attached gecko, but deeper in, a severe pain elicited a high-pitched scream from Fia. She thrashed around wildly, but more of the lizards could jump on her faster than she could throw them off.

My shoulder… she gasped and begged again. Help!

This time, her call for help sent Viliant into action at once. He released his legs from the defensive crouch, and the army of lizards immediately rushed him. A few grabbed onto his legs and belly, but they could not land on his back due to his formidable spines. One such daring lizard had skewered its hollow body on him, helplessly swinging around as Viliant thrashed from pain.

The blackfire was an enigma. Fia did not understand how a magic spell which seemed so close to each of their elements could hurt them both. All she knew was that she wanted it off, especially her shoulder.

Viliant, please!

I'm trying! he said, but the shadow dragon's magic suffered in the broad daylight of this empty wasteland. There was not even a tree to offer them shade. However, the murky inferno surrounding every single lizard was enough for him to work with. The dragon immersed his body in the shadow realm, causing the geckos to fall off him and land on the ground. The darkness shredded off of Viliant's body much like their flame, and his impressive stature loomed over the tiny lizards.

Their big, glowing eyes blinked up to the dragon in shadow form. The geckos fell still and did not try to pursue him, even as Viliant dashed through their ranks, returned to his physical body, and snatched the lizard from Fia's shoulder between his teeth. His jaw pressed together, snapping its back. Viliant threw away the gecko with a toss of his head rather than simply swallowing it, as its body burned his mouth. You okay? he asked.

Yeah, I guess so. Her body was trembling from wing tip to tail tip. The ache of the cold burns persisted, but Fia realized that the remaining lizards had gotten off her body by their own volition. Are they retreating?

Not exactly, Viliant said. Just don't make any sudden movements….

When she looked around, Fia realized that the dragons were surrounded. The lizards had ceased their flames, reverting them to the cute geckos which had initially tricked her. They edged closer to dragons' talons, encouraging them to stand closer together.

Is this the end for us? she asked with a whimper.

Nonsense. The older dragon started to give orders. On my signal, climb on that rock and jump as high as you can to fly away. I can take care of 'em just it will be easier with you out of the way.

From all sides, the intense eyes of the geckos bore into them. The detailed web around their pupils emitted a white light as their black flames restarted.

Now! Viliant said as he crouched down, preparing for all the lizards to lunge at him.