Chapter 46: The New Barrier of Earth

Alyssa

The green light shot through the sky, following an enormous thunder that echoed throughout the room.

“I’ve waited twenty years for this moment. You should pledge your loyalty to me now because the magical world will be at war with humanity before the sun sets!” Elijah smiled.

“Oh no, Rosetta!” I gasped. “Vincent?”

“Mom,” Vincent covered his mouth as tears fell from his closed eyes.

Before we could say another word, everyone’s attention went to the monitors in the room. A bright yellow light flowed through the sky not a few minutes after the green light had appeared. “What is this? No! No, no, NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!?” Elijah roared.

“What just happened?” I asked.

Vincent laughed as he looked at Elijah. “They did it! A new barrier is in place. You’ve lost!”

“NO! I don’t know how you did it, but I’ll be damned before I let you win!” Elijah pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger.

Just before he fired, I stepped in front of everyone and erected a shield that protected everyone. “It’s over, Elijah!” I said.

“We’ll see about that!” Elijah tossed a smoke bomb, and it exploded.

“We can’t let him escape!” I coughed.

We ran after Elijah. I stayed in front to conjure a shield whenever he fired his gun. “Where is he going?” Vincent growled.

“I’m not sure; we can’t lose him now,” I said. We all entered a large room. A cabinet filled with various drugs and chemicals was on every wall. A boy lay on a table in the middle of the room. An all too familiar boy, oh goddess, it’s Subject Zero!

“Who’s that?” Vincent asked me.

“Subject Zero, that’s the boy Elijah has been experimenting on. He’s a Behir, a Dragon Killer,” I explained.

“A what?!” Caitlin said.

“I’m hoping you don’t have to find out,” I said. I noticed all the tubes inserted into Zero’s body. They were filled with some of the gray liquid. It didn’t look like it was being inserted into his body through.

“I hoped to get more time to finish the preparations. But desperate times call for desperate measures,” Elijah lifted his hand to display a small remote. But before we could do anything, he pressed the button. All the machines in the room turned on, and we could see the gray liquid start making its way into the boy’s body.

“We need to stop him!” I yelled.

Elijah presses another button. A lightning shot from the ceiling right in the middle of Zero’s chest, and the force knocked us back into the wall.

“I may not have brought down the barrier, but I can still create the most powerful dragon that ever lived to take you all down! Behir’s may have been dragon killers, but they were still dragons!” Elijah said.

We lay on the ground as lightning shot throughout the room. We could hear our ears ringing by the sound. Vincent was lying on top of me, shielding me with his body. His eyes glowed white. We all stood up when the lighting strikes ended.

We then looked at Zero, who was still on the table. His skin had changed and was now a sickly gray color with what looked like scales all over his body. He still lay on the table, and for a moment, I thought that the experiment had killed him. But the grin on Elijah’s face told us to be wary of making assumptions too quickly.

“He looks dead,” Caitlin snickered.

Zero sat up and opened his eyes to make Caitlin eat her words. Zero’s eyes were pitch black, the kind of black that makes people’s skin crawl. As he stood, more changes were noticeable. His muscles had grown to the point that his shirt looked like it would tear apart with a slight movement. His fingers had grown large claws, and he appeared taller than before, and I’m thankful he didn’t have wings.

Then Subject Zero yelled out as two large wings sprouted from his back, tearing his shirt off. Damn it, I jinxed us.

“Oh shit,” Caitlin gasped.

“Step back!” I said. “Annabeth, Caitlin, get out of here. You won’t stand a chance against him,” Caitlin nodded and ran off with Annabeth.

“Why hasn’t he attacked yet?” Vincent said, raising his fists, his eyes glowing bright.

“Because Elijah hasn’t told him too,” I glare at Zero.

“You don’t have to wait long for that, Zero; kill them and devour their hearts. The heart of a white dragon will make you more powerful then ever,”

Zero turned into mist in a second, and we were knocked down before Vincent and I defended ourselves. “Big mistake!” Vincent smiled as he turned into black smoke as Zero did. Zero and Vincent clashed, but Vincent materialized as Zero threw him across the room, hitting a glass window.

“Vincent!” Before I could see that Vincent was okay, I ducked when Zero tried to attack me. Instead, Zero hit a wall, making a significant dent.

“He’s lucky I have no experience with shadow dragon magic,” Vincent got up.

“He’s faster than before,” I panted.

“What’s the plan? I already copied his magic, so I can counter him,” Vincent said.

“Stand back,” I said as Zero shot at me again, but I blocked his attack. Zero cashed into the shield I conjured, making him grunt, and I almost lost focus. Zero’s face was the only part of his body that materialized, and Vincent wasted no time in punching him in the face with his hand glowing with white light. Zero screeched in pain as Vincent’s magic burned him.

“Fuck you! That felt great,” Vincent laughed.

“Dahlia, you think we can shift like before?” I asked her.

“I don’t see why we can’t, but I can sense that he’s much stronger than before,” Dahlia said. “I also saw that Vincent’s magic burned him, we can work together to take this bastard down,”

“But Vincent can’t transform like we can, or as think he can’t. We have no chance to beating Zero in human form, at least we might stand a chance in the other form,” I said.

Subject Zero continued his assault on the barrier I conjured to protect Vincent and me, but with every hit, I could feel myself weakening. I don’t know how much longer I can last. I felt power rushing into me as Vincent held my hand, giving me his strength. “Kick his ass!” Vincent said.

I grew two large golden wings on my back; it willed the entire length of my shield. I was feeling rage that I had never felt before. I wanted Zero to see it in my eyes. My skin was covered with light golden scales and some around my neck for protection.

“Alyssa, you’re beautiful,” Vincent kissed my cheek. I felt butterflies at that simple gesture, but Zero snapped us back to reality when he hit the barrier again. “What’s the plan?”

“He was extremely hard to beat before Elijah changed him. You must stay away from him while he’s in shadow mode. You might have copied his ability, but you are no match for him,” I said.

“Are you suggesting I leave you to deal with him alone?” Vincent said.

“No, I can’t do this without you,” I said. I struggled to keep Subject Zero at bay; last time, Zero couldn’t stay in his shadow form for so long, but now he could stay in it for who knows how long. How the hell were we supposed to beat him this time? Then, a plan popped into my head.

“Vincent, while I distract Zero and make sure Elijah focuses his attention on me, I want you to take out Elijah from behind,” I said through our mind link.

Vincent nodded at me and smiled.

I took a deep breath as I brought the barrier down, and as soon I lowered it, we could hear Subject Zero shriek and charge at us. Vincent rolled as he dodged under it, and I shot golden energy at Zero. Somehow, Subject Zero wrapped around my magic and flung it back at me. I got up quickly as Zero went for me again. I shot energy ball after energy ball, but to no avail. Zero easily dodged my attacks as I tried my best to avoid his attacks.

“Ugh, why bother? You can’t defeat him, so just give up already?” Elijah scoffed.

“I may not be able to defeat him!” I said.

“But I can defeat you!” Vincent said as he kicked Elijah’s leg, catching him off guard. Elijah went for his gun, but Vincent knocked it out of his hand. “Too slow,” Vincent grinned. While Vincent was keeping Elijah busy, I had my hands full with Zero.

Try to let Zero get close; I have a plan,” Dahlia said.

Placing my trust in Dahlia, I dodged another attack and let Zero come closer to me. “NOW!” As Zero closed in, I focused on the energy in my chest. I felt it shoot outwards, shooting out in a bubble. With no space to avoid my attack, I hit Zero, but I didn’t expect him to recover swiftly.

“ALYSSA!” Vincent yelled out, but looking at me gave Elijah all the time he needed to punch Vincent in the face over and over again. I grabbed my side and felt blood flow through my fingers. I dodged a strike from Zero, but I felt his shadow brush against my arm. I watched as Zero came closer and aimed my hand at him. But just as I shot at him, a rock was thrown at the shadow. This took Zero off guard, and my magic hit him straight in the middle. At last, Zero’s body materialized.

“Looks like you need some help,” Jacob smiled as he was with Bao and Caitlin.

“I thought you were with Gloria?” I said.

“Annabeth is with her outside and they told us you were in trouble. Nice wing you got there by the way,” Jacob said. “Who ass are we kicking,”

Zero was getting up on his feet, and there was not a scratch on him. “He’s too strong,” I said.

“We’ll see about that!” Bao said. But before I could warn him, Bao charged at Zero. Bao threw a punch that connected with his face, but the scales he had on his skin proved to be more resilient. Bao’s fist broke with a nasty cracking sound, making him howl in pain.

“Bao, get away from him!” I shouted.

Zero gave Bao a dull look on his face. Before Bao could get out of his way, Zero shot his hand forward and cut across Bao’s chest with his sharp claws. Bao screamed inhumanly as I saw Zero tearing his chest open. “Let the feast begin!” Zero licked his lips.

Before Zero could finish the job, I charged at Zero. “Get him out of here!”

Jacob and Caitlin grabbed Bao and dragged him into the corner. There were deep claw marks from his left shoulder all the to his right hip. There were also signs that he would rip Bao open and devour his heart. Bao almost died. “He’s losing blood!” Caitlin freaked.

“Just keep pressure on the wound,” Jacob said.

“Jacob, stay away from Zero and let him handle him, go help Vincent!” I ordered.

Vincent lost the upper hand in the fight when he saw him get hurt. Now, he was mainly on the defensive. “I don’t see what my daughter sees in you, honestly. You may be a white dragon, but you aren’t even that skilled of a fighter,” Elijah scoffed at him. “You depend on your opponents using their magic on you so you can use it against them, well I won’t make that mistake,”

“You’re making the mistake of not realizing that he has backup,” Jacob punched Elijah back, throwing him forward. When Vincent saw the opportunity to counterattack, he knocked Elijah to the ground. Elijah was now on the floor, unconscious.

Vincent searched Elijah’s pockets for the small remote he had. “Get Bao and Caitlin out of here now! I’m about to do something stupid!”

I was covered in wounds as I fought Zero, and all the energy I was using made it impossible for me to heal myself. I yelled out as he kicked me in the chest, and I fell back. Zero loomed over me, his claws ready for the killing blow. I shot my legs out, tripping him, but he fell over me. As he tried to get up, I wrapped my arms around his body, holding him in place.

“Vincent, we’re in the right spot for what you need to do with that remote, DO IT NOW!”

“ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU’LL BE HIT TOO!” Vincent yelled

“This is our only chance. DO IT!” I screamed with full force.

Zero dug his claws into my ribs, trying to make me let go. “FUCKING PRESS IT!”

Vincent pressed the button to the max, and lightning shot down from the ceiling more powerfully than before. Being right under it, the lightning surrounded Zero and me. I felt every fiber burning up as I tried to focus on holding Zero still. He wriggled, digging his claws deeper into my ribs, and I screamed in pain. He also started to scream in agony. I began to smell burning flesh as the lightning ignited his body. There was no telling if I would survive this.

“Alyssa?!” Vincent said as he pushed the burnt carcass of Subject Zero off me. “Thank the goddess!” Vincent smiled. “You absorbed his energy!”

“At least I’m in a better position than him,” I said, coughing. Vincent gently pulled me up.

“Dragon wing in human form, scales on your skin, energy absorbsion. Are there any mor suprises you have for me?” Vincent smiled.

“Not for the moment,” I said. I then remembered my wounds. I took a deep breath and focused on the energy within me. I could feel my body heat up, and my injuries were swiftly closing.

“Never a boring moment with you, is there?” Vincent kissed my lips. “I see that you can fully heal yourself as when you first unlocked it, you could only heal others,”

“Wait, Bao! I need to heal Bao!” I started to rush outside the room where Annabeth, Caitlin, and Jacob were trying to keep Bao alive. They were trying to slow the bleeding.

“Oh my god!” Vicent gasped.

“What the hell was that noise in there?” Jacob asked.

“Just a bad guy burning up,” Vincent said.

“Stand back and let me heal Bao!” I yelled. The rest of my friends stood by as golden light shined out of my hands. “Nobody else dies today!” I could feel his life slipping away and knew I couldn’t do this gently. The light poured out of my hands, and Bao gasped. When I lifted my hands, all that remained were four red lines. “Bao, can you hear me?”

Bao sat up, looking at his chest. “I hope my mate likes scars,” Bao laughed.

“She better,” I said, helping him up from the floor.

“Alright, the bad guy is dead, and Bao is alive. Can we now talk about Alyssa’s wings?” Annabeth said.

“I think they’re awesome,” Vincent blushed.

“That’s the mate bond talking,” Annabeth laughed and scoffed.

“Sorry to be a bother,” Jeffery said. “But can you close my wound too?”

“Jeffery? Why is this bastard here?” I growled.

“It’s a long story,” Jacob groaned.

“Don’t take me helping you, for me liking you,”

When I finished healing Jeffery’s wounds, I gave Gloria a quick run-over and took the draconite off her neck. When everyone seemed healthy and alive, I shifted back.

“Damn girl, you do that better than me,” Annabeth said.

“I feel like I’m forgetting someone. Oh right, what happened to Elijah?” I asked.

“Jacob and I knocked him out, so he should still be inside this room,” Vincent said.

Everyone entered the room where we fought Elijah and Subject Zero, and it was silent as we observed the empty spot where Elijah had been and the secret pathway right next to it.

“He’s gone,” I said.

“Sorry, love. He must have snuck out when we activated the lightning,” Then a chain of dragon shrieks echoed above us. “The fight is over, and a new barrier is in place. We won,” Vincent cheered.

“But Elijah escaped. Did we really win?” I said.

“We’ll get the bastard; you have my word,” Vincent hugged me. “But right now, it’s over,”

Alexandria

Merlin started chanting in a strange language, and soon after, all the globes began glowing. He nodded to Rosetta, who put her hands on the large sphere, which lit up. Rosetta took one last look, and Audrey and I and she mouthed. “I love you,” and fell to the ground.

It took all the restraint Audrey and I had to avoid running to our mother, but we knew she was gone, and our faces were the last things she saw. As the old barrier fell, the globe lit up with a bright green light. “Everyone, hold on, and don’t let go!” Merlin yelled.

I could see everyone holding on to their globes, and Merlin chanted the spell. After a while, the giant sphere at the center shined yellow, and a beam of light shot up to the ceiling, lighting the Crystal Caves. When the light faded, everyone collapsed to the ground, exhausted. “We did it,” Merlin breathed out.

I went over to Audrey and Megan, ensuring they were alright. Then, my eyes moved to my mother. She was lying lifeless on the floor, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

“The new barrier is in place,” Merlin said.

“But not without a great price that had to be paid,” I said.

Merlin waved his hand over mom body, and it glowed. “What did you do?” I asked him.

“A preservation spell, it will last long enough for you to give her a proper burial in Varrfarrinn. Rosetta is with her ancestors now, as all white dragons are. May Queen Rosetta find peace in the Moon Goddess’s embrace,” Merlin said.