Dragons vs. Slayers

DEVOREX

Everybody gathers back inside my hotel room.

Even Lochness.

His arms are around Maddie and Hael.

Wait, something is different.

~His eyes. ~

They’ve returned to their emerald color, but I can still detect the strength of Lochness inside him.

I smirk.

~He’s finally learned to control it.~

Dane, Aneurin, Summer, Silver, Storm, Harry, Onyx, Zayda, Hazel.

We’ve got one hell of a team.

“Alright,” Loch says, his eyes flashing crimson. “Lead the way, Rex.”

“No,” I smirk, setting a hand on his shoulder. “WE will lead the attack.”

Lochness smiles and nods.

We distribute weapons from the ancient trunk to the humans, and the dragons take their dragon form.

We set off for the abandoned school.

For Nautica, and for Thor.

Req City is beautiful this morning. It’s close to 4 a.m. The starry sky and dim moonlight reflect off the glass windows of skyscrapers.

It’s almost too picturesque to be the scene before a battle.

And damn, does it feel good to fly?

I’ve spent too much of my life locked inside a cage. I want to live free, with my mate.

And soon we’ll be able to without question. Without fear of our safety.

“~WATCH OUT!~” someone mind-links

A blue fireball launches toward Storm and Silver, and they peel away just in time. Harry falls off Onyx, his limbs flailing as he screams and hurtles toward the ground.

~Shit. ~

That’s when I see it.

An army of slayers, armed to the teeth, standing on the school’s roof, launching cursed magical attacks.

In the middle of the group, I see Nautica, a light blue surrounding his body, and a dragon’s bane sword in hand.

I roar.

Silver swoops down and catches Harry just in time.

~Thank god. ~

That’s the only time they’ll get the slip on us.

More giant blue fireballs fill the air. The dragons dodge and twirl and dance away from them while their human riders clutch onto their necks.

“Lochness, take the right side of the school!” I mind-link. “Pierce their defenses from the back. I’ll handle Nautica.”

Hazel grips me tightly, and Lochness nods his large, matte-black dragon head. He, Dane, and Aneurin break off, spreading a conflagration of crimson, emerald, and bright-red dragon fire on a horde of screaming slayers.

I see the group land, swiping their wings and knocking back attacking slayers.

“~Be safe,~” I mind-link to Lochness.

“~We will,~” he says, “~We have you watching our backs.~”

Invigorated, I release another roar, spiral out of the way of a blue fireball, and land in front of Nautica.

I blast black fire his way.

~Too easy. ~

The smoke settles.

~What’s this? ~

He and his lieutenants are surrounded by the floating skeletons of dragons.

~They’re using cursed blood necromancy to create dragon bone armor. ~

“Fool!” Nautica shouts, his voice lower, and approaching demonic. “You thought that was the only blood I had from Zayda?”

Zayda and Hazel jump off my back. They clash swords with Nautica’s lieutenants.

The bones from the dragons protect Nautica and his warriors.

He waves a hand and a light blue energy comes up from the ground.

“This was a burial ground, thousands of years ago!” he shouts.

Bones form defensive casings around all of his soldiers, making them invulnerable to attacks from Loch and Hael.

Zayda parries a blow from a lieutenant and fires a pink lightning bolt out of her palm. He blasts off the roof and falls to his demise.

“Where is Thor?” she exclaims.

Nautica belly laughs, and the jaw of the dragon skeleton floating above him opens wide and follows suit, mimicking his movements.

“Thor is safe…for now. But in two minutes, his blood will be extracted and put into the earth. Soon, all the dead dragons in Requiem City will rise to send you all to your graves!”

“Oh, shut the fuck up already,” Onyx scoffs, flying directly into Nautica and sending him flying.

Onyx reroutes, dodges a dragon’s bane sword swing from a lieutenant, and lands on the ground, singeing a group of slayers.

The boney wings surrounding Nautica crack and flap him back to the roof. Zayda holds off warriors surrounding us with her magic, and I stomp on a warrior trying to kill her.

Hazel’s sword glows a prominent blue, one much stronger than the aura enveloping Nautica.

“It’s time to end this,” she declares, rushing Nautica.

I fly beside her, head-butting and slashing all who try to take her down.

We move like a dance, her feet carrying her at lightning speed. She chops down a dozen slayers by the time Nautica returns before us.

~This is the power of the Sword Dancer.~

She clashes her sword against Nautica’s dragon bone armor, but the sword is repelled.

~Oh shit. If she can’t penetrate it, then nobody can.~

“Don’t worry yet,” Lochness says, flying right beside us.

Maddie begins to sing from his back, and Nautica’s eyes flutter.

~She’s putting him to sleep!~

The sword drops from his hand, and his lieutenants and every single slayer fall to their knees.

~Now is our chance! ~

Hazel strikes her blue blade through Nautica’s chest, and we waste no time cutting down the rest of his army.

Nobody is spared.

~Still, we need Thor!~

I will make right by Freesia and my brothers’ actions!

I mist into my human form and jump through a hole in the roof. I’m in some sort of makeshift lab.

In the middle of the room is a device where Thor is held floating inside some sort of test tube like he’s in a science experiment.

A timer on the machine indicates I have five seconds. Needles and knives enter the tube, ready to poke and prod young Thor.

~Not on my watch. ~

I sprint to the machine and punch it with all my strength. Sparks fly and the machines beep, angrily. Red lights flash.

The lab goes dark.

I only hope that I’m not too late, and that Thor wasn’t killed before I could get to him…