by Dreagen
“Damn them,” the other DraGon shouted as he prepared to swoop down.
“Wait,” VorTak said, halting him. “We can’t go down there.”
“But, sir, look what they did to VoRon!”
“You don’t think I can see for myself, you little shit?” VorTak snapped, causing the young DraGon to stop and give a look of apologetic silence. “If you’d bothered to take a closer look, you would have seen that one of the DyVorians down there is the TyRanx we’re after!”
The other knight looked down again and focused his gaze, then as if suddenly taken aback, reared his long neck. “By the Nova Queen herself!” he gasped. “You’re right! It is him! I could have ruined everything by killing him and…”
“Oh, shut up, you idiot!”
“Sir?”
“If you really think you can kill that monster down there, then go right ahead and try. The loss of one more mindless grunt should prove inconsequential to our plan.”
“Is he really that strong?”
VorTak slowly turned his head and looked at the shaken youth for a moment as if considering his answer. At last he smiled. “You were there ten thousand years ago, so you tell me.”
Rex knew that they would most likely need to abandon their plan of going it alone, for the DraGons had shown their true hand by divulging that this was all an effort to lure him to where they needed him. The only question was whether VayRonx would agree to take them the rest of the way or bring their quest to an end.
“Wow, he sounds angry,” EeNox commented as the bellowing roars of the alpha TarBoranx echoed throughout the city.
“I for one am glad to hear it,” LyCora said. “We need all the help we can get!”
“Well, then, shall we go say hello?” Rex suggested.
“Sure thing,” EeNox replied gingerly. “But uhh…well, after you, of course.”
Rex snorted and gave him a disapproving look, when suddenly there was a hard gust of wind followed by a ground-shaking impact. Turning quickly, he was surprised to see LemaRes kneeling over the almost lifeless form of VoRon.
“No…What have they done to you?” she whispered as tears streamed down her face.
The old DraGon laboriously tilted his head to look at her. “Do not waste your tears on an old flame like me, my dear. Save them for losses still to come.”
“Shhh,” she whispered while gently stroking the top of his head. “I will see to it that you are restored to your former glory. I’ll see that we all are. Come now.” She gently hoisted him over her shoulder, feeling the great girth of the immense elder DraGon.
“Wait,” called out Rex, “where the hell do you think you’re going?” LemaRes fixed him with a hateful glare.
“He’s right,” said VeroSy, stepping next to him. “You’re a fool if you think we’re going to just let you leave after what you’ve done here!”
“Listen to me very carefully, TyRanx,” LemaRes said in a vicious tone. “Before this day is over, you and your little band of savages will be dead, the war over, and this world ours, all because of you and that other filthy red flame.”
“DiNiya!” Rex roared. “What have you done to her?”
With a powerful push, LemaRes lifted off the ground, shouldering VoRon. “Come and find out, Doom Bringer!” she called back down tauntingly as she rose higher into the sky and flew off to the west.
“Damn it!” Rex exclaimed.
“Rex,” AnaSaya pleaded.
“I swear I’ll fucking kill her when I get to that damned tower, then bring the whole thing down!”
“Rex, please!” LyCora now insisted, managing to grab his attention. “I understand how you feel and you’re more than justified, but if we want to stand any chance of even making it there, let alone rescuing DiNiya, we need to find the others.”
Rex bared his teeth and stomped his feet, creating two deep impressions in the ground beneath him. He wanted to roar, smash, and crush. So visceral was this craving for destruction that he could feel a literal pull, as if not doing so was putting his body through terrible strain. At last he managed to forcefully push the violent urges back down deep from whence they came, and look the others in the eye. “Let’s go.” He turned and made his way to where they had heard VayRonx.
The others glanced at each other nervously before following. Getting back to the outskirts of town proved to be comparatively more difficult than it was going into its heart. Whereas before the inhabitants were fleeing the various kill zones, they had now managed to group and organize, thus creating a unified front that had now turned on the DraGons and were making their siege of the city increasingly difficult. All around, the sight of DyVorians and SaVarians battling DraGons could be seen and heard, a scene that was disturbingly familiar. They continued forward, jumping over fallen debris and dodging fireballs that rocketed through the air and exploded around them. They had just reached the outer edges of Bloodstone when LyCora cried out, “Over there!” The others looked up ahead and saw VoRenna and NyRo with BaRone, TarFor, and VyKia at their feet, fighting in the midst of a thick cloud of dust.
“Mother!” AnaSaya and LyCora called out.
Both VyKia and VoRenna turned around and went wide-eyed at the sight of the five of them running up to them out of the gloom.
“AnaSaya,” VyKia cried as her daughter ran up and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. “I feared I would never see you again!”
“I’m sorry to have made you worry, mother,” AnaSaya said. “But unfortunately now is not the time for joyful reunions.”
“She’s right,” VoRenna said, staring down at LyCora, who regarded her nervously. “We need to drive these DraGons off!”
“Well, it seems like the rest of Bloodstone has the same thought,” BaRone said, looking at all the residents who had joined them in the fight. “EeNox, are you all right, son?” BaRone pulled his son in close as the young TarBoranx lowered his head, allowing his father to hold it in his arms before pulling away, regarding him with a look of both pain and relief.
EeNox nodded. “I’m fine, Father. Really, I promise.” He looked around at all of them and noticed someone obvious was missing. “Hey, where’s VayRonx?”
There was a sudden flash of lightning from the dark storm clouds that had been brewing overhead, followed by a terrible shriek then crack. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound and watched as two large glowing green eyes emerged from the shadowy gloom, followed by the large, hulking form of VayRonx. EeNox was about to step forward to address the alpha but stopped when he saw something almost as big as the TarBoranx hanging limply from his jaws. Everyone gasped when he stepped through the haze holding a dead DraGon by the neck, its vertebrae completely crushed and protruding out. With a flex of his lower jaw, VayRonx severed the head and upper half of the neck from the body, which fell limply to the ground. Swinging his head back, VayRonx threw the head down his mouth, and with two quick chomps, it was gone. Then, peering down at them, he said, “You five have some serious explaining to do.”
All five teenagers swallowed loudly. However, before they could say anything, they heard a deafening shrill cry from far above. Everyone looked up just in time to see twenty or more enormous CyTorians swoop down through the storm clouds as they flashed with lightning. With wingspans that exceeded the length of even VayRonx, they began attacking the DraGons in mid-flight, slamming their bodies hard into them, then while having them stunned, spearing them with their thick, four-meter long beaks. One after another, DraGons dropped dead from the sky while the CyTorians continued their aerial assault.
“Incredible,” ShinGaru said as he marveled at winged warriors tearing through the sky as they radiated with a glow of golden fire. Everyone watched as the combination of ground and air assaults accelerated the attrition of the DraGons’ numbers. Something that seemed not to go unnoticed to them, either, for no sooner did the body of one of the larger brown DraGons drop only a few meters off to their right, did they hear LemaRes’s now all-too-familiar shrill
call ring out.
Turning their heads, they saw her high above the center of the city, still carrying VoRon, who now looked completely dead. AnaSaya wondered if he had at last succumbed to his wounds, and oddly enough, felt a strange sense of pity for him despite having been her enemy. She looked down for a moment, contemplating what such a feeling could mean, before her focus was redirected once again to the sky, where she saw all the DraGons leaving as fast as they seemed to be able to fly.
“Looks like that was the call to retreat,” VyKia said.
“Indeed,” TarFor replied as he watched a medium-sized brown DraGon fly over, slightly lower than the others. “Looks like they failed to claim what they were after, once again.”
“No,” said Rex in a low voice. “They got exactly what they were after.”
“What do you mean?” asked VyKia.
“This whole thing, the attack on KaNar and this one here, it was never about mindless death and destruction for the sake of it. They were after DiNiya and me.”
“How do you mean?” BaRone asked.
“They need us…for something. I don’t know what,” Rex tried to explain but felt himself only growing more frustrated and furious by the whole thing. “I think they were hoping to have caught us both back in KaNar but didn’t expect us all to put up so much of a fight.”
“Ha!” TarFor laughed. “Serves them right, I say! Attacking our home like that and expecting us to just roll over and die while they plunder our children! Those monsters got what they deserved!”
VyKia nodded. “And after what happened here today, I think they’re starting to realize there’s plenty more of it.”
“Right you are,” TarFor said, crossing his arms.
“That still does not answer the question of why they needed you, Rex,” VayRonx pointed out. “Or DiNiya.”
“It must be something to do with their red flames,” VoRenna said.
“How can you be certain?”
“It’s the only thing that sets them apart from anyone else in all of EeNara,” she explained, looking back down at Rex and noticing the diminished outline of his flame still faintly burning around him.
Just then one of the large CyTorians swooped down on burning golden wings and landed in front of them, sending up a gust of wind. When it died down, Rex looked up and saw the magnificent creature resting the full weight of her body on the two massive wings tucked firmly against her sides. Recognizing her to be some form of quetzalcoatlus, he noticed that rather than looking down at them, she was staring straight ahead to something behind them. Turning, Rex saw VayRonx was the subject of her intense focus as was his to her. Finally, the two stepped forward, closing the gap. Rex was shocked to see that the great winged creature was slightly taller than VayRonx, albeit considerably lighter in build and stature. Still, it was an impressive sight to behold.
“It has been some time, has it not, Alpha VayRonx?” came a deep and sensual voice from the CyTorian as she bowed her long, slender head and neck low to the ground.
“Indeed it has,” VayRonx replied, bowing in turn.
“I thought she was a he at first,” Rex whispered over to EeNox in surprise.
“You sound surprised, young one,” she suddenly said, turning her head in his direction. “If that’s a TyRanx male’s idea of flattery, then it’s no wonder your species went extinct.”
Unsure how to respond, Rex reared his neck back and cocked his head before VayRonx mercifully cut in. “Rex, EeNox, LyCora, ShinGaru, AnaSaya…Allow me to introduce Alpha NyEssa of Grand Heights.”
“You mean where they hold the alpha trials?” Rex asked, remembering what DiNiya had told him shortly after he had arrived.
“The very same,” NyEssa replied before turning back to VayRonx and regarding him with a serious look. “It broke my heart to hear of the tragedy that had befallen KaNar. I have already sent aid to assist in the rebuilding and defense.”
“Thank you, old friend,” VayRonx replied graciously. “Your kindness means more to my people than you know.”
“To be completely honest with you,” she said, surveying the city and the plumes of dark smoke rising throughout it. “I didn’t believe the reports that DraGons were responsible for what happened, nor that the TyRanx had also returned. Not until now, that is.”
“Can’t say as I blame you,” said Rex. “At least all of you knew they were real at some point. I only found out they existed at all less than a year ago.”
“Well, you’ve adjusted marvelously,” NyEssa said awkwardly, walking over to him on her short back legs and winged front limbs. Bringing her head down, she seemed to study every part of him.
Rex, on the other hand, found himself reeling in his mind by just how large she was when up close. Her head alone is almost as long as my whole body.
“So you’re supposed to be him, are you? The Doom Bringer?” she asked in a tone that suggested she was reserving the right to be impressed.
“I’m me, and no one else,” Rex replied, locking eyes with her and refusing to waver.
“Those eyes…how are you even alive in this time?”
“That does not matter,” VayRonx replied, prompting her to give him a questioning look. “What matters is that they have something planned that requires the use of both he and DiNiya, and we must stop them from succeeding at all cost.”
“Agreed,” she replied, looking back down at Rex.
“NyEssa, can you please return Rex and the other children back to KaNar?”
“You can’t be serious,” EeNox said.
“We’ve come so far,” AnaSaya added, “we can’t turn back now! Not when we’re so close!”
“This is not up for discussion, young lady,” VyKia fired back.
“You’re right,” Rex said, taking everyone by surprise. “It’s already been decided. We’re going with or without any of you, and we’re getting DiNiya back.”
“Oh, and how do you plan to accomplish that, young TyRanx?” NyEssa asked. “Chew your way to the top of the tower?”
“And every DraGon that gets between me and the top,” he replied daringly.
The large CyTorian laughed. “VayRonx, I like this one. Reminds of you a little when you were that age.”
VayRonx gave her a cross look while Rex contemplated the concept of someone as steadfast and authoritative being anything like Rex at any point in his life. Regardless, he did not have time to waste on what he deemed as trivial matters.
“Wanting to run off now and rescue DiNiya is admirable, Rex, but we still need to get there,” said ShinGaru, interrupting his thoughts.
“He’s right,” agreed LyCora. “The tower is still half a day’s journey away.”
“So what?” Rex demanded. “It’s not like the timeframe they gave us matters anymore. We know that was all a ruse to lure me out. They need the two of us for something important, so they’ll wait as long as we make them.”
“You’re assuming their patience will hold out,” said VoRenna. “What’s stopping them from just snatching you up and bringing you to the tower themselves?”
“Nothing at this point,” LyCora suddenly exclaimed. “Rex, you said they needed you good and angry for your power to awaken fully, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What happened back in KaNar when we were all attacked?”
“I turned into what I am now,” he replied nonchalantly.
“Your lack of enthusiasm over that staggers the mind,” she said with a blank look before shaking it off. “In any case, from then on your flame has grown stronger, but you couldn’t hold your current form indefinitely. Then you get attacked again, and once more shift, only this time you’re able to remain as a TyRanx. Now you’re thrown in the middle of a war-zone again and suddenly you’re fighting DraGons single handedly. Get it?”
“I do,” TarFor said. “His power grows every time he is put in a life or death situation and survives. Meaning this is what they have been hinging their entire plan on.”
; “So they want me to become more powerful?” Rex asked.
“More like ‘powerful enough,’” LyCora corrected.
“Yeah, but for what?” EeNox asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Rex replied, staring off as he watched the last of the DraGons shrink into the distance.
Rex walked quietly through the canyon with the sun now high in the sky and beating down on him. He could still smell the acrid stench of burnt stone coming from Bloodstone behind him, and could see dark smoke rising from back the way he had come. While sturdy and unwavering was his stride, his mind was a whirlwind of apprehension. What if I fail? What if after all the stoic talk, I’m not strong enough to save DiNiya? His thoughts drifted back to his father and how he had been seemingly powerless to save him. Could he really prevent the same thing from happening this time? Whatever the DraGons wanted with him and DiNiya, he doubted very much that it involved either one of them living through it.
He continued to walk through the narrow pass between two high walls and exited into a large opening. “Well, this looks like as good a place as any,” he told himself. Closing his eyes, he widened his stance while lowering his body slightly. Then he let out a low growl from the depths of his throat as his flame began to swirl to life, its long fiery wisps swaying up around him. Higher and higher his growl rose until it turned into a roar, which sent his flame soaring straight up like a beacon.
From twelve kilometers back, atop the canyon walls, the others watched the red flame shoot straight up like a beam of light before breaking in form and dancing wildly. “I sincerely hope this is a good idea,” VayRonx said, not taking his eyes off the flame.
“We all do, VayRonx,” VoRenna said, stepping next to him.
“Don’t worry,” LyCora said from behind. “This is the best way to get them to let their guard down. Once they have Rex, they’ll shift their focus on doing whatever it is they want to do with him, that way we can get to the tower faster by not having to worry about being attacked at any point along the way. Then, once there, we storm it!”