“Our laws are obsolete, Auirn! You know this. Those laws are what lost us the first war. We were bound by honorable thought and action. As such, traitors and weaklings infiltrated our ranks. I will not have a repeat of that! If word of what she can do gets out, the humans will have a symbol to rally around. We can’t allow that to happen. Like it or not, they still outnumber us! We had the advantage before in that their world was still divided by culture and territorial borders. By the time they attempted to rally, we’d already pushed them back. They can still rally together…”
Amzer’ial lowered her head, “No… no we can’t have that… We have all but broken their spirits. Their forces are fragmented and only loosely organized. They just fight to survive another day. A symbol to rally behind would change all that.”
“I am curious…” Auirn said in a low voice. “Why did you let her live? You knew what kind of a threat such a creature posed, yet she was allowed to survive your encounter. Perhaps you aren’t as willing as you let on to kill someone that carries your blood?”
Eutherys roared as he turned to his brother. The massive dragon clamped its jaw shut, narrowly missing Auirn wing. The snapping sound of its teeth echoed against the mountainside.
Auirn backed away slightly. Challenging Eutherys was not a good idea. He was no match for his elder brother and he clearly knew it.
“I will not be questioned or challenged, not even by my own brother.” Eutherys hissed. “I have kept our people alive, but more than that, I have fought with them. I know our enemy and how to fight them. If it wasn’t for me, we’d all be extinct by now! You will know your place if you plan to remain with us!”
Auirn lowered his eyes, “Forgive me brother. As a lord, I am tasked with the safety and security of my brethren.”
“And you have held that position with honor.” Eutherys replied. “I would not have gotten this far without you. Don’t ruin such a prestigious reputation now when we are so close to claiming this world for ourselves.”
Auirn looked up at his brother, noticing the dried blood from Raiya’s attack, “Brother, you’re wounded!”
“Just a scratch.”
“Did she do this?”
Eutherys growled softly, “I admit I didn’t anticipate her being impervious to my attack. I underestimated her and she seized the opportunity. I will not make that mistake twice.”
“That is disconcerting.” The green dragon hissed.
“Perhaps Kazrai’em,” Eutherys replied, “but I assure you that I am still as fit as I ever was. She got lucky, nothing more.”
Auirn moved closer and looked at the wound, “That is more than a scratch, brother.”
“There is no need for concern. This will heal quickly and that… daughter of mine will pay for what she did.”
Eutherys turned his attention back to the group, “However, as my brother stated… under our laws, I can’t kill a family member… even if it is a disgusting abomination, not without the approval of the council. I take it we’re all in agreeance as to what needs to be done?”
The four dragon lords looked at one another. Muttered growls and groans echoed around the small tower. Eutherys nodded, “Then let us put it to a vote. I vote in favor.”
“In favor.”
“In favor.”
“In favor.”
Eutherys looked at his brother, “The final vote falls to you, brother.”
Auirn hesitated for a moment, as though in deep thought. How much of a threat was this girl?
Eutherys’s eyes narrowed, “Brother?”
“In favor.”
Chapter 16
“What do you mean she’s going to die?”
Andy looked like a deer in headlights. He adjusted his glasses and took a step back as he spoke, “I’m really sorry, Raiya… For some reason Miranda must not have been inoculated when she was born.”
“But isn’t there a cure? Please, you have to help her!”
Jagger stood quietly off to the side. The rage in her eyes told him that this was one time where he did not want to get involved.
Andy’s arms fell to his sides, “I’m sorry… I could have tried some advanced treatment had we gotten to her sooner, but even that might have been risky. At this point… I’m afraid that not even one of Dr. Castillo’s radical procedures could help her. There is no way to neutralize all of the dragon cells without killing her.”
Raiya looked away angrily, “It’s not fair… she’s a little girl… she’s already been through so much. I know what dragon’s bane does. There really isn’t anything we can do?”
The look on Andy’s face was pained. It looked like he was fighting a battle in his own mind as he spoke, “Euthanasia…”
Jagger’s eyes widened, “What? Andy, you can’t be serious!”
“Unfortunately, I am…”
Raiya’s eyes narrowed, “What does euthanasia mean?”
“It’s another word for mercy killing.” Jagger replied. Here it comes…
The yellow in Raiya’s eyes flared up as she grabbed the collar of Andy’s white jacket, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Andy stuttered as he spoke, “L… look… um… I’m sorry. I wish I knew how to make this all better. I wish I could say something that would take away the pain, but all I can do is treat injuries and relieve pain with what I have available. I don’t like it any more than you do… but if you know what Dragon’s Bane does, then you know how painful it can be. Euthanasia may be the more merciful than letting the disease run its course.”
“This is my fault…” Raiya said in barely a whisper.
At that moment, Jagger came to life, “For the last time, you can’t blame yourself. You had no idea that the dragon was going to attack. Even if you had, they didn’t want you there, remember? That wasn’t a peaceful town meeting at the gates. That was a lynch mob! They condemned themselves.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.” Andy cut in. “This case is advanced. There is no way she’s only been infected for a few days.”
“What?” Raiya asked.
“Miranda’s symptoms are too advanced. She would have to have been infected months ago. Unfortunately, there is nothing more I can do for her. Even attempts to ease her symptoms wouldn’t work.”
“How long…?” Raiya was about to finish her question when she noticed a small hand clinging to the doorway behind Andy.
Jagger followed her gaze and saw the little girl standing behind the door, “Oh shit…”
Miranda looked like her spirit had been crushed. She took off running as fast as she could. Raiya blew past Andy and gave chase, “Miranda… please wait!”
Jagger quickly followed behind Raiya as she to catch the little girl, “She’s heading outside, quickly!”
Miranda blew through the entrance and ran past the old jeep. The sun was just coming up, spreading an orange hue over the clouds. It would have been beautiful had the circumstances been different.
Raiya picked up speed and pulled away from Jagger. As they reached the top of a small grassy hill, Raiya caught up with Miranda and scooped her off her feet, “I got you…”
Miranda put up a fight, kicking and pounding on Raiya’s chest with her small fists. Raiya dropped to her knees as she carefully struggled against the injured child. She flinched against the girl’s relentless attacks. From the look on her face, these seemed to hurt her more than any dragon attack ever could have.
Raiya quickly threw her arms around the little girl, trapping her fists. Before Miranda could squiggle free, she pressed the little girl’s head against her own, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… this shouldn’t be happening to you. I wish I’d never come to your town. I’m so sorry…”
The fists and elbows were losing strength with each impact. Miranda slowly began to calm down. Raiya’s words seemed to be taking the fight out of her. Unable to do anything to break free, Miranda buried her face in Raiya’s right shoulder.
Jagger knelt down next to Raiya and touched her arm, “Yo
u okay?”
Raiya looked up with tears in her eyes. She shook her head and didn’t say anything. Her jaw quivered as more tears escaped her eyes. Jagger nodded that he understood. She’s still blaming herself. This isn’t right…
Raiya opened her mouth as though she was about to say something when a dark shadow passed overhead. Jagger looked up and immediately jumped to his feet, “Drakes, shit! We’re under attack!”
Ten drakes with twice as many wyverns came plummeting out of the sky towards them. “Shit, where’d they come from?”
Raiya jumped to her feet and grabbed Miranda’s hand, “Come on, we’ve got to get you inside. Quickly!”
Raiya led Miranda to safety inside the compound while Jagger ran back to his truck. He called to the guards as he moved, “We’re under attack, get whatever weapons you can!”
Jagger grabbed the bolt gun out of his jeep as Eric appeared next to him. The young nomad grabbed the assault rifle and immediately opened fire, “Watch it!”
A wyvern fell from the sky just in front of the jeep. Eric dashed to the other side, stepped on its neck, and put two rounds into its skull through the eye, “Die!”
Jagger nodded, “Thanks!”
“You’re welcome!”
WREEEEEEE!
“Two more coming at you!” Jagger said as he whirled around.
He aimed the bolt gun and discharged two rounds into the nearest drake. The beast fell to the ground, as the shock dulled its senses. The drake let out a low moan as it struggled to get back to its feet.
Eric took the opportunity, threw the rifle on his back and drew his daggers. Before the drake could react, Eric plunged the blades into its temples. The dragon let out a high-pitched whine before falling lifelessly to the side.
Raiya appeared followed by Mason and twenty more nomads. She grabbed the bolt pistol out of Jagger’s holster and started shooting at anything that came near her. One wyvern landed in front of her. She clenched her teeth as she reached behind her back. The beast lunged at her, intent on claiming a death blow.
Raiya’s dagger appeared in her hand. In a quick flash of orange light that reflected off the blade, the dragon was immediately decapitated.
………………….
A second drake flew close and smacked her with its claw, sending her flying backwards. She hit the ground hard. Pain shot through her cheek and neck. Her entire body hurt, but she quickly struggled to get back to her feet.
Her cheek was bleeding as she aimed the pistol at the wyvern that attacked her and fired three rounds into its belly. The small lizard fell from the sky and landed on its back. It let out a shrill screech as it hit the ground.
Raiya jumped on it, pinning its wings to the ground with her feet, “Die you fuck!”
She plunged her dagger into its chest, using an incredible amount of force, killing it.
Jagger’s eyes widened, “Whoa…”
Raiya quickly withdrew her blade and turned to see Andy appear on the scene. He immediately ran to a nomad that had been badly scratched across his stomach.
The man cried out in pain as Andy worked to patch his injuries with some steri-strips he’d taken from the clinic, “Take it easy, you’ll be okay. It’s just a flesh wound.”
The nomads came out equipped with everything from spears, rifles, pistols, daggers, and anything else that they could get their hands on.
Raiya caught sight of them dodging flame and claw attacks with ease. One of the nomads back-flipped out of the way of a claw that certainly would have cut him in half.
Another nomad ran towards a drake and launched himself into the air by pushing off his knees mid-stride. He landed on the dragon’s back and began stabbing it mercilessly in the head. They put up a good fight, but they were slowly getting cut down.
Raiya cut down another wyvern as a larger shadow appeared over her head, “Watch it, alpha!”
The dragon landed a short distance away from the battle and breathed fire on the large compound. Within seconds, the entire building was engulfed in flames. It was as though a massive incendiary device had been detonated inside.
The fire was so hot that anyone standing within fifty feet of the flames were badly burned. The flames lit up the land around them, roaring as it burned.
Eric looked up in a panic, “No!”
A berserk look came over him as he charged at the dragon. The alpha turned towards him and curled its body around behind it. The beast was clearly gearing up for a fight.
Eric drew his blood-covered daggers as the dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a blast of flame. He quickly darted out of the way, bent his legs, and launched himself sideways at the dragon’s neck. His arms reached out with the daggers as his body went airborne. The daggers impacted on the dragon, but its scales were too hard for the blades to penetrate.
The impact of Eric’s body against the dragon wasn’t enough to knock it off its feet, but he was able to grab hold. The alpha shook its head as hard as it could, trying to free itself from Eric’s grip.
………………….
Eric was not about to give up. He closed his eyes and kept his arms and legs wrapped tightly around the large beast. His head began to spin as he was tossed back and forth. Between thrusts, he quick moved up the dragon’s neck. He inched up slowly as the dragon recoiled and then held on tight for the impact of inertia. What felt like an eternity had passed before Eric felt the back of the dragon’s head.
The moment he was close enough to the head, he squeezed his legs tightly and let go of the alpha’s neck with his arms. Eric was so fast that his arms blurred at he went to work. He brought his daggers around and jabbed them into the beast’s eyes, “Murderous son of a bitch! You die now!”
Blind, the alpha dragon screamed and threw itself against the wall. Debris fell as the side of the building shook from the strike. Eric impacted against the wall, having the wind knocked out of him. The dragon pulled away and wound up for another blow.
Eric only had seconds. He knew that if got struck a second time, he’d likely pass out. There was no time and he only had a little strength left. He used what little strength he had and plunged the daggers deeper into the beast’s eye sockets. The dragon roared one last time and lowered its head as it stopped moving.
The mournful death cry of the alpha caused the drakes and wyverns to immediately cease their attacks. Their ranks had become disorganized and panicky. Leaderless, the dragon horde quickly devolved into chaos. As the wyverns scattered, one of the drakes let out a thunderous roar and turned away from the battle. Immediately, all the other dragons turned and headed back the way they came.
Eric wiped the blood off his face. He was shaking and breathing heavily. The moment he realized what was happening, he pulled the assault rifle off his back and aimed it at the retreated cloud of dragons, “No, come back here and fight!”
He squeezed the trigger until it was pressed against the grip. Two more wyverns fell from the sky as Eric spent his entire magazines. The moment it was empty, Eric threw the rifle to the ground and grabbed a pistol from one of the fallen nomads.
He aimed the gun at the group of fleeing dragons and screamed as he unloaded another magazine, “Cowards!”
Click… Click… Click…
………………….
Raiya watched from a distance. Tears filled his eyes. He brought the hand that was holding the gun back, wound up, and threw it in the direction where the dragons had gone. It wasn’t going to hit, Raiya was certain that he knew that. Likely it was more of a symbolic gesture.
She could see the intense level of hate in his eyes. She could have understood him being mad about his home being destroyed, but this kind of thing happened all the time. In this case, casualties were fairly low. No, something else was going on there. What she saw in him was blind rage and hatred. What could have caused that?
Eric dropped to his knees and pounded the ground with his fist. His breathing was irregular and his face was turning red. His eyes were wet and c
ompletely bloodshot.
Jagger ran up next to him, “Hey buddy… you okay?”
“Fucking dragons… kill them all if I could… someday…”
Jagger nodded, “I know how you feel.”
“I doubt it.”
Raiya turned back and looked at the building while Jagger spoke to Eric. A cold pain entered her chest as though someone had just stabbed her with a thick icicle, “Miranda…?”
Jagger looked up towards Raiya and quickly got to his feet. He gave chase, but was unable to catch up to her, “Raiya, stop! You can’t go in there!”
Raiya was too far ahead and too fast. Her legs moved so quickly that they could barely be seen, “Miranda, no!”
She reached the doorway to the compound and looked in. A wall of flame blocked her path. She was about to charge through it when someone grabbed her and knocked her to the side, “No, the whole place could come down at any moment!”
Raiya turned over and tried to fight Jagger off, “She’s still in there! We’ve got to get her out!”
“If she’s still in there, then she’s already dead!”
“No, shut your mouth! She can’t be gone! She can’t be!”
Raiya put up a fight, straining every muscle she could to try to get out of Jagger’s grip, “Let me go!”
The sound of rubble being disturbed nearby made them both stop struggling. Miranda appeared out from behind a piece of debris. A look of relief appeared on Raiya’s face. The expression was almost one of joy, “Miranda, you’re alive.”
Jagger let go of her and sat back, “She must have just gotten out before the dragon attacked.”
Raiya knelt in front of Miranda, “Are you okay?”
Miranda nodded and pointed off to the side. Another doorway stood open that hadn’t been consumed by flame. A wide smile appeared on Raiya’s face, “Smart…”
As Raiya dealt with Miranda, she glanced at the scene around her. Of the twenty nomads that had come out to fight, only three remained standing. Five more had been wounded. The screams of pain pierced her ears.
Jagger’s eyes darted around the field, “Where’s Mason.”
Drakin: The Story of Raiya Page 20