Chapter 588: Dragon

  “So, help me understand this, please,” said Nalindor with a glare. “You encountered the Blue Rose, not once, but twice, and you said nothing!?”

  Sev looked at the tent canopy’s walls, rather than meet the captain’s glare. “Well, technically I’m here telling you now after encountering her for a second time, so I think that invalidates your ‘twice’ argument.”

  Nalindor scoffed. “Is that right? Then tell me, would you have said anything if Drale hadn’t caught you?”

  “Caught me? You act as if I was in the middle of some crime.”

  “Consorting with the enemy is a crime! Punishable by death, you know this.”

  “I wasn’t consorting with anyone. The first time we met I was about to get mauled by a bear. She killed the bear, then she left. Why? I don’t know.”

  “And the second time?”

  “I sensed her magic in the river and I spoke with her to understand what her intentions were. If she was going to kill us or was she seeking someone else. Either way, I’d have information to work off from.”

  “Then why have Drale leave?”

  “Are you serious?” Sev laughed incredulously. “So he wouldn’t immediately attack a renowned dangerous archmage and her Gale swordmaster, who could both easily kill Drale and I. Which, might I remind you, is exactly what Drale did the moment he saw them. We could have both ended up dead and antagonized the Blue Rose.”

  “Antagonize?” Nalindor frowned. “Do you hear yourself? The Blue Rose is our enemy.”

  “One that hadn’t killed us yet. Think of what might have happened had she changed her mind. She would have attacked this entire encampment. We’d all be dead.”

  “She could still attack our group. Don’t you get that? She’s dangerous.”

  “Which is why I was trying to assess the situation carefully and not run in shooting a damn arrow at her.”

  Nalindor exhaled in frustration. “I’ll head back to Evenfall when things have calmed down and alert them to the Blue Rose’s presence in the forest. Until then, I want you to stay in the encampment. And if for some reason you encounter her again, I want you to run away. The last thing we need is for her to kill our one mage and healer.”

  “I doubt she’d try to kill me if I don’t give her a reason to.”

  “She’s killed plenty of us before. This is war.”

  “I know, but for whatever reason she saved my life. I want to know.”

  “The ‘why’ doesn’t matter! How many of us do you think she’s killed? Lunis is gone! Thousands dead, the rest captured or worse! Don’t you fucking understand!? We lost everyone! Our families might all be dead…” Nalindor’s screams died down by the end of his words. He seemed broken, the pain and worry in his eyes a haunting sight.

  Sev reached out and touched his friend’s shoulder. “I know,” he said softly.

  Nalindor slapped his hand away. “Do you? Every moment I’m awake I worry if my daughter is even alive, if she’s safe. And here you are justifying talking with the woman who destroyed our home.”

  “You know it’s not like that, Nal.”

  “Then what’s it like? Hm? Maybe it’s easier for you to deal with that fucking monster because you didn’t have a family to worry about to begin with. The rest of us can’t be so forgiving.”

  Sev’s expression grew cold. “I am well aware I’m an orphan; you don’t have to remind me of what I’ve lost. I haven’t forgiven the Blue Rose for anything, either. And for what it’s worth, I thought you were my family.”

  “Sev… I didn’t—”

  “Don’t bother. If there’s nothing else, Captain, I’ll take my leave.”

  Nalindor sighed. “…You’re dismissed.”

  Sev turned to leave, but he stopped as he pulled the tent flap back. “…Amira is a smart kid. She’s resourceful. If anyone made it out of Lunis, it’s her.”

  His lips curled in a tired smile. “Thank you, Sevryn.”

  “DRAGON!” a goblin shouted from outside, right before a thunderous roar drowned out the goblin’s cry.

  Nalindor and Sevryn dashed out from the tent at once. A black dragon flew low over the camp in wide circles, breathing down chromatic flames that consumed all in its wake. The soldiers were already scrambling to grab whatever bows they had. The archers fired at the dragon, but the arrows skidded off her scales harmlessly.

  “Aim for the wings!” Nalindor shouted as he grabbed his own bow and began firing.

  But the archers didn’t hear him over the dragon’s roars. They shot their arrows in a panic, with no regard for where they might hit the massive draconic body. The dragon did another pass and rained down fire where several of the archers were standing. Their screams were cut short as the flames consumed them.

  “Captain!” Lenore shouted and ran up to him, the best she could. She stumbled as the dragon flew right above and past her, its wingbeats blowing the old woman off her feet.

  Nalindor reached her side and helped her up. “Lenore, are you alright?”

  She nodded with a groan. “These old bones can still walk.”

  “I need you to run into the forest, the tree canopy will hide you.”

  “What about you, Captain?” she asked.

  “I’ll buy you some time.”

  “No,” said Sev. “Nal, get everyone you can out of here. I’ll buy you all time.”

  Nalindor shook his head, “You’re our healer, I can’t risk you—”

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  “I’m the only mage in our camp. And I wasn’t asking.” Sev channeled White and an orb of light formed above each of his palms. Without warning he thrust his arms forward and the orbs shot out in beams of light crashing into the dragon’s wings.

  The dragon roared in annoyance. She turned her wings and headed towards him.

  Sev glanced back once at his friends. “Go!” Then he ran in the opposite direction, firing off beams of light at the dragon's face. She shook her head and closed her eyes shut as the light blinded her.

  Nalindor didn’t wait for another chance. He ran through the camp, shouting orders, and rallying his people into the trees.

  The dragon used one of her wings to block the light beams and her pupils narrowed to slits as her vision grew accustomed. Her serpentine neck twisted away and she spotted the goblins fleeing. She roared angrily and flew towards them.

  “No!” Sev shouted. Red mana exploded within him like never before. His hands moved in a blur. Crimson wards flared to life all around the dragon and formed a cage, trapping her in the sky. She slammed into the wall, but it held.

  The dragon raked its claws across the cage and the wards shook. Sev screamed in exertion and fell to his knees, arms held up as he continued to channel the spell. Suddenly the dragon exploded in a burst of orange sparks and reappeared in front of Sev. The explosion of wind from her Flicker blasted him back and he crashed into a half-collapsed tent. The red ward cage fell apart into particles of light and faded away.

  The dragon stomped towards, her every step shaking the ground beneath them. She narrowed her eyes and stared down at him. “Do you have any idea how much mana it takes to Flicker my body when it’s this size? I’ve wasted practically all my orange mana and for what? A goblin vermin.”

  Sev grimaced as he sat up. His arms felt like noodles and his lungs burned with every breath. Before he could say a word, he found himself staring at the dragon’s visage, her glistening fangs mere centimeters from his face.

  “I can sense your aura,” the dragon hissed. “You are no archmage, and yet your spell was just as powerful. How did a mere goblin like you surpass your own mortal limits?”

  “I, uh, I don’t…”

  She pulled her neck back up and then dropped her paw over his chest, slamming him to the ground. “Answer my question, mortal.”

  “I— don’t— know,” he gasped between strained breaths.

  “Why did your spell behave differently? Are you some sort of prodigy? Or is it some other secret you hide?”

  “I— don’t know.”

  She snarled. “You seem to know very little, vermin. No matter, I’ll find the answers myself.” Purple light flared between her scales and ran down her arm and into the tip of her claw. “Once I have bonded you to my will, you’ll have no secrets left to hide from me.”

  Sev struggled and tried to escape, but her giant paw felt like a boulder sitting atop his chest. “Please, stop!”

“Vermin do not speak unless asked to.”

  The ground abruptly sank underneath him and he fell into the earth before the dirt swallowed him up entirely. The dragon frowned in confusion for a moment before she sensed the Green spellcaster crouched atop a branch in a nearby tree. The dragon roared at the vampire and breathed out fire. Gwyn leaped aside and narrowly evaded the flames.

  A sudden blur caught the corner of the dragon’s eye and she turned in time to feel a chain of lighting arc through her body, slamming her across the encampment.

  “Hold her down!” Stryga yelled, electricity still crackling at her fingertips.

  Gwyn threw her hands into the soft earth. Giant vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the dragon, holding her in place. The vines began to tear almost immediately as the dragon thrashed around.

  Several colors surged through Stryga. She cast spell after spell without pause. Storm, Bright, and Flame magic arced through the air in a swirling storm of magic. The dragon threw a Radiant Shield over her body, but the spell cracked and shattered under the magical onslaught.

  Blue mana flowed into the dragon and she used Clarity magic to try and tear apart the weaves of Stryga’s spells, but the magic held strong without being disrupted.

  As her scales cracked against the magical barrage, the dragon channeled Brown and her body fell into a berserker state. She ripped through the vines entangling her and stood tall, even as the spells cut through her.

  Ignoring the pain, she poured mana into her throat and ignited it, and breathed chromatic fire at Stryga. The flames exploded in a plume of flames twice as large as before. Before Stryga even had a chance to react, Gwyn was there, a stone shield in hand. She stepped between Stryga and the fire, and planted the shield in front of herself.

  The fires roared over them, the colors shifting through the spectrum of light in a beautiful deadly display. Gwyn screamed with clenched eyes as she held the shield together even as the flames threatened to break it apart. Stryga channeled her own Green and threw her hands on the shield as well. The roar of the flames drowned out their screams of exertion, and all they knew was heat and pain.

  Suddenly the fires died out. Gwyn’s shield crumbled to ash amidst the smoke. A giant draconic paw swept up from the smoke and slammed Gwyn away in a broken bloody mess.

  “No!” Stryga screamed.

  The dragon laughed maniacally, a deep guttural roar. Then her head snapped forward like a snake and bit down on Stryga. She tried to dodge, but the fangs clamped down over her left arm and shoulder.

  Stryga cried out in pain as the fangs sank into her flesh. Her mind darkened with agony. Pain was all she knew. Her other hand suddenly found Krikolm in its grip and as her own blood splashed onto the blood, memories of her ancestors flowed into her. A promise she had once made to those who came before her and to the ones who would come after.

  I am the Sword of our Blood.

  Muscle memory suddenly took over as life force energy swept through Stryga. She clenched her teeth hard and pulled away from the dragon’s fangs, her left arm tearing away in the process. Stryga spun around and stabbed Krikolm into the serpentine neck.

  The dragon flinched backwards and screeched. She scrabbled at the blade in her neck but couldn’t pull Krikolm out. She thrashed on the ground, coughing up blood, and wheezing. Her eyes were full of panic and she suddenly took off to the sky. The flight was unsteady and she crashed into several trees before she disappeared altogether.

  Stryga stood alone, breath short, her purple eyes hard. The adrenaline slowly faded away and she collapsed in a pool of the dragon’s blood and her own.

  “My lady…” Gwyn called out weakly and dragged herself towards Stryga. Channeling what little mana she had left, she pulled Sev out from the earth.

  He coughed up dirt and sat up with a grimace. Sev looked around, uncertain of what had happened, but he quickly spotted Stryga’s body and Gwyn. He froze.

  “Save her,” Gwyn whispered, even as her own consciousness faded. “Save… her… please.”

  Sev scrambled to his feet and ran over. At that moment it didn’t matter if she was the Blue Rose or just another vampire or drow. She was dying in a pool of her own blood. Esme’s broken body flashed in his mind’s eye, the sight of her dead in her own blood haunted his waking and sleeping moments.

  Not again. This time, he’d save her.

  White mana flowed into his hands. Sev knelt down next to Stryga and focused on closing the bloody stump where her left arm had once been.

~~~

  “Boss…? Stryg, are you alright—? Gah!?”

  Stryg opened his eyes. It took him a moment to orient himself. He was lying in his bed. His left arm was clenched over Rhian’s leg. He let go in an instant and jumped up in bed, landing crouched on all fours. “Rhian? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

  Rhian winced and nursed her leg. “Gods dammit, I think you broke it.”

  “I’m sorry.” Stryg rushed over to her and quickly began to cast a healing spell.

  “What were you doing? You didn’t exactly look asleep or awake.”

  “I was…” He glanced at the book of memories lying on the bed. “Busy.”

  “Meditating?”

  “Something like that. I’ll tell you more about it later. I’m a little disoriented right now.”

  Rhian stared at her leg. “Yeah, I caught that,” she said flatly.

  “I really am sorry, I’ll make it up to you later, I promise.”

  “Good,” she nodded with a satisfied smile. “Hey, so, um. I came here to tell you that the council sent an envoy to the manor, they want to hold a meeting today.”

  Stryg stopped and looked up at her. “About what?”

  “The execution date for Marek.”

  “How soon do they want to have it?”

  “Soon. Like really soon. The council wants to boost the city’s morale or something. Honestly, I’m not sure. Truth be told, Gale should be the one talking to you about this stuff, but she told me that she was off to talk to her patron, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Anyways, Gian is with the envoy right now.”

  “I see. Let me finish healing you up here and I’ll get ready.”