The Dragon Witch

by Drako

  “Wait, Ares! If you kill the warlock, you unleash the monster’s full power,” Victoria warned.

  “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t care at the moment.” Ares was facing the monster, but held his hand off to the side, firing off another blast of energy at the warlock that easily vaporized the poor defenseless warlock.

  Victoria sighed. “Seriously, leave me something to do.”

  “I suppose I should thank you, Ares.” The monster straightened up. “Being tied to that weakling has been grating on my nerves for years. Now that he’s dead, I’m finally at full strength again. And the best part of this is that while you’ve been wasting time here, Cronus and my father have struck an agreement. The monster that even Zeus himself fears is now free to roam and destroy everything in his path again.”

  Ares smirked. “You’re a fool. Did you forget my father imprisoned him? He fears nothing. But frankly, he’s not your problem. I’ll cover this desert with your ashes.”

  “Silly war god, do you honestly believe I’d still be here if I couldn’t defeat you?” the monster of a man laughed. “Have you ever bested a child of Typhon and Echidna?”

  “I outdate your brothers and sisters, and even that walking pile of excrement you call a father. I’ve been slaughtering your siblings for millennia. Every time you pop up like cockroaches, I stamp you out. Typhon must think you’re special if he managed to hide you away from me.” Ares studied him. “I’ve never seen or heard of you. And frankly, I don’t much care. You’ll reunite with your father again in Tartarus.”

  The two rushed each other. Ares, however, was faster. In the blink of an eye, he stood under the monster and shot a right handed uppercut to his jaw that left him reeling. Leaving the beast no room to recover, Ares clocked him with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying again. The monster flipped and landed on his feet, still sliding back, only to get caught with a dropkick to the face from Ares.

  From where she was standing, Victoria could feel the ground begin to shake. This seemed to always be the result of the clashes between gods, and like it or not, both of these men were gods. Typhon was the son of Gaea and Echidna was the daughter of the ancient god Tartarus, whose body now formed the immortal prison. Therefore, their descendants were technically gods as well. And as she stood, a piece of the ceiling fell. She stepped to the side to avoid the chunk of stone and watched as large cracks formed in the wall. She knew better than to stay around and therefore left the room. As she stepped into the hall, she kicked a rogue wolf in the head, then found Andreas and Kazarian.

  “Now would be a good time to get the hell out of here,” she told them. “I’d rather not be in here when the whole building collapses on their heads.”

  A burst of flames sprang up beside her just before Demun appeared. “Most of the rogues are retreating from here anyway. Their leader is dead and the strongest being they’ve ever encountered is currently getting his ass handed to him by Ares. We need to pursue them.”

  Kazarian placed a hand on Andreas’ shoulder. “Ares’ orders are to do exactly that. We let no one leave here alive to report back to Lucifer.”

  Demun placed a hand on Victoria’s shoulder and flames surrounded them just before they vanished. Andreas and Kazarian soon followed as the roof began to cave in.

  Nineteen

  Jarel looked up as darkness came over his throne room for a few seconds before his grandson appeared, along with Anaya and Theo. The Black Dragon God couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful young woman, who seemed quite nervous to be in his presence.

  “Relax, Anaya, no harm will come to you here,” he assured her. “While I’m sure you’ve been regaled with tales of my temper, I can assure you I’m not exactly the monster I’m made out to be.”

  Anaya gave a nod of acknowledgement but remained silent. Brandon took Theo in his arms and walked to his grandfather’s throne. Theo pressed his face into his father’s neck while peeking over at Jarel.

  “Well, you certainly are full of surprises.” Jarel smiled at Brandon.

  “Come on, Gramps, you knew when it happened,” Brandon replied. “And I know you love kids, so it’s time for you to meet him.”

  Jarel held out his arms and after a brief hesitation, Theo went to him.

  Brandon watched with some pleasure. “I need to leave them here until this is all done, Gramps.”

  Jarel looked his grandson in the eyes. “Yes, I suppose they do need to remain here safely. But you need not rejoin Ares. He has things well under control. You need to go check on Adonis. There’s someone coming for him.”

  Brandon raised a questioning eyebrow. “Why are these wolves after Adonis? It can’t be solely because of me.”

  “It’s not because of you at all really, although your presence perhaps made things more obvious about him. Adonis is a very special young man, so you must protect him.”

  “You’re being cryptic again.”

  Jarel smiled. “As we gods always are. Go now. Phil can’t protect him alone.”

  Brandon went back to Anaya. “Don’t be so nervous. My grandfather would never harm you. Use the time to get to know him a bit. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Darkness came over the room again briefly and Brandon vanished.

  “Come closer, little lady,” Jarel ordered softly.

  Anaya did as she was told, coming to stand just in front of his throne.

  “You fear me for some reason. At least you’re smart.” Jarel studied her. “However, I’m not an unjust god. I don’t slaughter for amusement. And you are in no danger from me.”

  “You are nicer than I was lead to believe,” Anaya ventured.

  Jarel smirked. “Not really. I’m every bit the bastard you’ve heard and then some. I simply have a method to my madness. Your goddess and I disagree on this, which is why I haven’t seen her in longer than I care to remember. It does sadden me that she allows her creations to think so horribly of me.”

  “In truth, the goddess has not communicated with any of us in ages. What I know of you are merely tales passed down from elders.”

  “You should have learned by now not to believe the old tales you hear, even amongst your own kind. They often hold lies.” Jarel looked down at Theo, who had fallen asleep. “Knowing me the way you do, I wonder how you came to make this child with my grandson. After all, he’s descended from two beings you’re taught to hate, myself and the demon goddess Desdemona.”

  “We’re not taught to hate,” Anaya countered. “Hate does nothing but cloud the judgment.”

  “Then you fear us?” Jarel questioned. “Fear blinds as easily as hate. I’ve always thought your race was rather wise, but all races have their faults, even the ones I’ve created.”

  “All races are made of individuals. Our thoughts or feelings are rarely collective. As for Brandon and I, it was an attraction that we couldn’t avoid.”

  “Attraction, you say? Not love?”

  Anaya thought before she spoke. She knew better than to lie to a god. That was a sure way to land in Tartarus.

  “We’re not in love, not the way two people would have to be to make a life together. What we had was simply lust. But it did give us Theo, and I’ll always love him for that.” Anaya lightly touched her sleeping son’s face. “We’re better off as friends, but we’ll raise Theo together.”

  Jarel stood. “Come, let’s put Theo in a bed for sleep. Then you and I will get to know each other a bit better. I feel I should dispel the rumors about me, since you’re the mother of my great grandchild.”

  Adonis couldn’t breathe. There was a hand around his throat cutting off his circulation. His house had been trashed and he could only hope his parents weren’t home. Phil had fought valiantly but he was outnumbered. Vaguely, Adonis could hear him trying to fight his way to him, but he wasn’t having much luck. Adonis found himself unable to move in the grasp of the large man holding him. When the area went dark, he was sure he had blacked out, but in a few seconds he found himself falling to t
he floor. He coughed as air finally filled his lungs and looked up to find Brandon in the midst of the wolves. He’d freed Phil and the two now fought back to back, and they were winning.

  “Damn wolf, can’t you do anything right?” Brandon growled.

  “Fuck you, demon boy,” Phil responded.

  “In your dreams.” Brandon shot forward, throwing up his hands and throwing out a massive wave of power that sent most of the wolves flying out of the window or in some case through the wall. He whirled around and went for the man that had held Adonis by the throat, who he recognized from the images he’d gotten from the mind of the wolf he’d saved Adonis from first.

  “Well, I’ve been waiting for you.” Brandon threw up his hand and his power pinned the man to the wall. “So, you’re the guy hunting my friend here? If I have it right, your name is Matildas. So now you’re going to tell me why you’re after him.”

  “In your dreams, kid.” Exerting his own power, Matildas broke free. He charged forward, and so did Brandon.

  Being smaller and faster, Brandon ducked under him and used his own momentum against him, flipping the man over him with ease. Not wasting time, Brandon turned and caught him on the rise with a spinning back kick to the side of the head that knocked him back to the floor again. He moved in again only for Matildas to brace himself on his arms and plant both feet into his stomach. Brandon was knocked back several steps, but charged Matildas as he got up and tackled him through the hole where the window used to be to the ground outside. Even as he hit the ground, Matildas tossed Brandon off him. Brandon flipped and landed on his feet as Matildas sprang to his. Both threw their arms up, throwing a wave of power that sent them both flying in opposite directions. Brandon hit a tree spine first while Matildas hit the wall of the house spine first. They landed on their feet and Brandon conjured and hurled his chakram. Matildas jumped over it and threw a dagger at him while still in the air. Brandon stepped slightly to the side and reached up, snatching the dagger out of the air by the handle with one hand. As Matildas landed, Brandon hurled the dagger and it embedded right in Matildas’ thigh. Getting a running start, Brandon sent the larger man flying with a dropkick to the head. Brandon held out his hand and the chakram flew back to it, which he let fly as Matildas flipped onto his feet again. He tried to dodge but the chakram slashed into his side, further hampering his movement. The chakram flew back to Brandon’s hand and he strapped it to his side while lashing out with his power again to flatten the big man. The wolves he’d thrown out before, now in wolf form, surrounded him.

  “Your forefather would be ashamed of you. But since he’s not here, it’s time for me to send you all to Tartarus in his place.” A strange golden light surrounded Brandon and the ground began to quake.

  Adonis and Phil watched from the window in amazement.

  “Is he causing this earthquake?” Adonis asked.

  “I think we should probably duck,” Phil responded.

  Brandon threw up his arms and the ground split underneath him as bright golden beams of pure hot energy shot out in every direction, piercing all the wolves surrounding him. Matildas spoke a few strange words and a barrier formed between him the energy flying in every direction, shielding him, though his allies fell with deep soul shattering howls of pain. When the ground stopped shaking and the light faded, the wolves were lying on the ground with smoke rising off their bodies and Matildas was down on one knee, bleeding from both his leg and his side.

  Brandon drew his sword from its sheath and walked towards Matildas. Matildas, however fearful he was, was no less crafty. Muttering a few words, he struck the ground with his hand and a cloud of dirt surrounded him. When it cleared, he was gone. Brandon sheathed his sword and turned to the house.

  This is going to suck, Id commented in his mind.

  There’s death in this house. Of course it’s going to suck, Brandon replied.

  He made his way into the house through the front door, projecting his thoughts upward to Phil.

  Whatever you do, keep Adonis up there. He cannot see what I know is waiting down here, he told him.

  There’s no stopping Adonis from doing what he wants, but I’ll try, Phil responded.

  Brandon made his way through the wreckage in the main level of the house. The entire house had been trashed completely. He could see claw marks, and most importantly, he saw blood.

  He’s grieving now, Id told him. He already knows it. He’s hoping against hope, but deep down he knows his parents are gone.

  All the more reason for him not to see this, Brandon responded.

  He followed the trail of blood to the first of the two bodies. The wolves had basically ripped it apart. Clearly the other body couldn’t possibly look any better. Still, he had to check. Neither was recognizable.

  Gramps! Brandon called silently.

  Yes, I’m aware of the situation, Jarel responded quickly. Bring both of them here, and don’t let Adonis see anything.

  Brandon dashed up the stairs to the bedroom just in time to stop Adonis, who had shoved past Phil.

  “Move,” Adonis ordered.

  A muscle in Brandon’s jaw ticked but he stood his ground. “No, we’re going to Solaris.”

  “Not until I see for myself.”

  Brandon swore under his breath. “No. Damn it, Adonis, you will not fight me on this.”

  Adonis shoved him in an effort to get past him. Brandon caught hold of his arm and held him in place. He signaled to Phil, who walked forward and Brandon placed a hand on his shoulder. The room went dark and the three vanished.

  Twenty

  Back in the desert, the tremors hadn’t ceased even though the facility had caved in. There was no rest for Victoria, however, as she and her brother had a job to do. The rogue wolves were attempting to flee and they were honor bound to stop and eliminate as many as possible.

  “There’s only one way to catch them all,” Andreas commented.

  “Well, Father did say we were free to take our true form,” Victoria replied.

  Kazarian wisely moved a good distance away. Black flames surrounded and engulfed brother and sister as they grew larger, transitioning into their black dragon form. When the flames cleared, they stood towering over everything, and Andreas let out a roar that made the ground quake harder. The two dragons opened their mouths and black fire shot out. They formed a circle of flames, preventing all the rogues from escaping. With no other choice, the wolves transformed and attacked alongside the rogue vampires.

  “You know, we could just let them handle this,” Kazarian told Demun.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Demun asked.

  Kazarian smirked. “That would be dull. Let’s go.”

  Demun conjured his spear and Kazarian two swords as they charged in to meet the rogues head on. Demun led the charge, being a bit more eager to fight, twirling the spear before stabbing it through the heart of a wolf. Yanking it free, he turned and cracked another across the skull. Swinging in the opposite direction, he split open the side of another wolf and grinned at the pained howl it gained him. Holding up his hand he shot out a stream of fire that engulfed the wolf. Spotting more coming, he hurled the spear at them. Flames surrounded the spear as it flew through the ranks of the wolves coming at him. The godly spear impaled every wolf in its path and kept flying, leaving each wolf engulfed in the mystical flames surrounding it.

  Kazarian, meanwhile, had charged into the thick of the rogue vampires. With his two swords, he slashed his way through them one by one. When faced with a particularly large vampire, he charged forward with unnatural speed, diving forward to sink both swords into the large man’s chest. Simultaneously, he wrapped his legs around the head of a vampire coming in behind him. The large men still stood while the smaller struggled in Kazarian’s grip. Kazarian snapped the smaller man’s neck with his legs and pulled him forward to sit on his shoulders. Meanwhile, he kept his grip on the sword handles and easily flung the large man free of his blades, toppling several others. Keeping h
is legs wrapped around the smaller man’s neck he flung himself backwards, impaling the swords in the ground and tossing the smaller man several yards into others before landing on his feet. Whirling around, he shot a white beam of energy that engulfed the pile up entirely.

  Andreas and Victoria were a sight to behold in dragon form. They were massive in form, but deceptively fast. They flapped their wings and rose over the scene, and shot forward faster than the average eye could see. The numbers were massive, and they were mixed in with Ares’ army, but Andreas and Victoria cut through the enemy forces without once damaging one of their own. From the skies they rained down balls of black fire and used their claws, wings, and tails to severely cut down the numbers of the enemy.

  From the wreckage of the pyramid, a bright light flashed, and then an explosion followed, causing rubble to fly everywhere. The monster came flying out, though not of his own free will, and Ares shot up after him. The monster stopped himself, only to catch Ares’ fist to his stomach. Spittle actually flew out of his mouth as he hunched over in pain, making it easier for Ares to bring both fists down on his spine to knock him to the ground below. As soon as he hit the ground, Ares landed on top of him, his feet coming down on the monster’s stomach. Clearly the monster wanted to cry out in pain, but Ares had knocked all the air from his lungs. And as he looked up, a sword appeared in Ares’ hand.

  “This victory goes to me.” Ares swung the sword and took his head off. The ground gave one last violent tremor as blood poured from his neck and onto the ground. Ares shot a blast of flames to engulf the body and the blood as well.

  The god of war turned and surveyed the landscape. Flames were still burning and the enemy now lay in pieces, some burned beyond recognition. He looked up as Andreas and Victoria hovered above, surveying the landscape to make sure that they’d truly laid waste to the enemy. Finally, Victoria landed in front of Ares. She remained in dragon form and her violet eyes gazed down at the war god.