“Don’t get cozy,” he whispered. “The Seven Hands failed, but that is of no consequence.” Despite his confident words, I saw no conviction in that odd face.
“Likewise,” I said defiantly, and either I had an unmatched measure of timing or the gods that the assassin had spoken of earlier to me, also favored us. The door or a wall burst out in flames, dispersing darkness lingering at the edges of the spacious chamber.
Perses took a human form, perhaps only to show his smile.
Saaron hissed, bringing forth two white swords akin to the one used to cut a driller. Even hesitating, Perses didn’t stop. He turned into a flying bird made of fire. They had a word for this: phoenix.
It morphed into something, if anything, as there wasn’t much of a form past a sword and a shield made of fire. Saaron and Perses clashed. The white swords commanded strength that made my hair stand on end. A chill ran through me as I realized that one slash with that weapon could mean the end of Perses.
“What the hell is this? A fucking Titan.”
“He was imprisoned in Saaron’s office. I let it free.”
Lotian’s eyebrows arched as high as they could. “Why?”
“Because he’s a friend.” Even as I spoke the word friend, its sourness tainted my tongue. It pulled memories of Simona and Rust. It took the Academy six months to turn her against me. Now, I knew why. Vesalius Black’s father, betted against dragons. They hoped we’d destroy ourselves. I shoved my friends and the two fairies out of my head. I needed a clear mind.
“Is there a way to escape these cubes?” I asked, invoking an incredulous face from Lotian.
“Escape it? Hell no.”
I backed out of the subject, sensing a dead end.
“Was he always this strong?” I meant Saaron. The swords in his hands were flashes, leaving blur and afterimages. Still, Perses held his ground. Some of his power already restored, but not nearly enough to… a genius thought struck my head.
Perses? Can you hear me? If he could, he didn’t answer or show it. Only a hard way remained.
“Perses, you have to use your full strength. Don’t hold back!” This was a gambit based on assumption that the alert demi-dragons would be sensitive to flares of power like this one. The two swords wielded by Saaron were already radiating so much energy it had to be sensed in the whole city. I hoped Dramer, Nix and Bastiel would arrive here first. Atrax and Mirenne were going to feel it, too. Hopefully, their high station would delay their response. I was served on a golden platter for them.
Lotian crossed his prison and crouched by the wall closest to me. “They will sense it, Flare. Atrax and Mirenne. They will come here.”
“But so will Bastiel, Dramer and Nix.”
Lotian nodded, not convinced though. I pressed, “what’s the matter?”
“This is no my brother,” Lotian murmured. “His mind is gone. What if we cannot bring him back?”
Carefully, I turned away, hiding a tear that shouldn’t be there. My eyes should be dry as sand. It wasn’t only the meaning of Lotian’s words that stirred my emotions, but also the fact that he cared about his brother after everything he had gone through. Presumably, it hasn’t been Saaron’s mind that guided his hand in this mess. Maybe it was a mess because Saaron tried to resist. I wished so. Though my mind blanked at the notion of reconciliation of Dramer and Saaron, it filled right after with images of our heated moments. How much of Saaron was in him then? Was it him who thrust his cock and desired me or something that controlled him?
Saaron and Perses broke off. The former’s chest breathing heavily. Through the translucent walls, I saw the invisible threads that connected Saaron’s hands and the swords. They used his energy to amplify the power they provided. In other words, they were killing him in order to kill the Titan.
It was awkward that suddenly, after Lotian’s words my heart warmed for Saaron.
“What is the Titan going to do with us if he defeats Saaron?”
“Free us?”
“After that.”
I’ve believed it would let us go. It was the kind of naivety that brought me here, that landed me in trouble. I had that stubborn belief that those who looked good were good and those who looked bad were bad. That was not the case in this city. Maybe it wasn’t a case anywhere.
Perses managed to knock one of the swords out of Saaron’s hands, burning the hand in the process. Saaron roared, but the flavor that swirled around him didn’t belong to the dragon’s magic. The Titan used his newly-found advantage and pressed ahead, driving Saaron into the corner.
“Don’t kill him, please.” My words sounded hollow, unconvinced.
“Flare,” Lotian watched the fight mesmerized as he spoke to me. “It may be the only way to free us. Saaron is using something akin to fairy magic. But I’d never encountered it. We may not have the luxury of sparing his life.”
“But you said…” My voice broke, crushed under the overwhelming weight of realization. I steeled myself, bringing my face to stare at the upcoming demise of Saaron. It hurt more than any physical pain. Perses’s shield embraced the sword that hit it. The heat of fire snagging at the fray of the material covering my pale skin. I didn’t know it was possible.
Saaron roared once more, letting go of the second sword. It clattered on the concrete floor with a loud clank. My words must have penetrated Perses’s mind, for he turned back into a human. He showed no signs of exhaustion. He simply stood, watching Saaron hold his burned hand.
“Open the cages!” Perses commanded him.
“Never,” Saaron hissed. “She is mine. Promised to me by him.” Ardor, madness, insanity. I wanted to howl to the moon at the depths of my despair.
“Steel yourself, Flare.” For what is about to happen.
I knew.
Shadows fled as Perses once more assumed his fiery avatar. A sword of fire in his hand, long, tip scorching the concrete. And so the only way to live was to step through the death of others. I wished my all-knowing voice would say something smart. Something that could save the moment.
Perses swung his blade to end Saaron.
Even if I had the voice in my head, it would be for naught. My constricted throat wouldn’t allow me the slightest sound.
The blade fell and blackness darker than black still, unpeeled from the floor and intercepted the hit. We gasped at seeing the unexpected savior. The hiss and agony exploded in the air.
It was the liquid substance from the fairies’ armor. Saaron laughed suddenly aware of his situation. The liquid didn’t wait, it traveled up the demi-dragon’s legs, waist, shoulders and head. Apart from his size, he looked no different from the pure fairies. Saaron was larger than them.
There was a clear astonishment, betrayed by his body language. He looked at his hands as the liquid armor rippled and shifted.
Perses gained distance on Saaron, and only then he transformed into a human. Perhaps, to communicate with me. I imagined him being frustrated by not being able to speak to me in my head.
“Princess, that is six of the seven living armors of agony. I—”
He didn’t have a chance to finish as the roof broke and the largest creature I’ve ever seen, fell through. Its enormous paw pinned Perses to the ground. I expected the Titan to slip out of the dragon’s grip, but he couldn’t. For ten heartbeats I froze, not knowing what to make of this. And then they appeared.
Dramer steaming and angry, Nix composed but limping a little. The last descended Bastiel in the cloud of black smoke.
Saaron’s faceless head turned to me and there had to be some sort of decision going on inside his skull, his body frozen as mine.
“Flare!” Dramer yelled and bolted toward my cage. Saaron’s made his decision right then.
Wearing the strange liquid armor, his speed dazzled my poor brain. He bumped with a hazel-haired demi-dragon, sending him sprawling a
gainst one of the walls that weren’t covered by darkness anymore.
“Dramer!” A shout came out of me.
“Use the swords!” Nix commanded.
“Wait!” Lotian shouted. “It’s Saaron inside this black armor. His mind is overtaken by something.”
Nix hesitated, Bastiel stepped forth and brought one of the white swords near the Titan’s flesh. The enormous dragon’s body started shifting and transforming.
I swore when Atrax appeared in the spot where the true dragon had been. Terror gripped my heart when I realized how strong this man was. A long black blade materialized in his hand and its tip touched Perses, tautening the skin of his chest. I punched the wall of my cage. “Leave him alone!”
“Do you conspire with an enemy, girl?”
“He tried to save us! Get that blade off him or…”
“Or what?” The proximity of Saaron in the black armor didn’t seem to bother the pure dragon.
“Or I will kill you. I swear by the prophecy I am about to fulfill. Your body will be left on this planet to rot!” So much hatred filled my mind, leaking into my words. In that single moment, fleeting like wind, I wished to burn everything to ashes. And then I shook it off, feeling heavy stares on me. What am I doing? What am I saying? That isn’t me. It could be a single thought that craved total destruction, but a week ago there had been nothing like this amongst the shelves of my mind.
The shock that rippled throughout the air didn’t last long. Saaron couldn’t be bothered by what I was saying. To him, I was not much more than a slave. Perhaps, he didn’t wish it but his attack saved Perses’s life. Atrax whirled, too fast for my eyes to follow the motion, his blade cut Saaron.
The howls of agony brought me to my knees and tears. All my demi-dragons stood and watched mesmerized by their father’s display of might. Unconsciously, I gathered my hair from my face.
Saaron staggered back, the cut hissed fiercely on his thigh. Atrax didn’t mean to kill his son.
“Stay down, Saaron,” he commanded.
But Saaron had different plans. His armor suddenly started boiling…
“Hide!” Bastiel shouted. Instinctively, Lotian and I both stepped back. Perses was gone or hid somewhere, using the moment of Saaron’s attack to get away from Atrax. The pure dragon paid him no more heed. His gaze on Saaron.
It exploded then, thousands of black pea-sized tears, which flew in every direction. A hiss of dissolving substances was overwhelming as it filled the room. Panic settled at the bottom of my stomach. I heard screaming Dramer and grunting Nix, even Bastiel groaned. I couldn’t see them though. The air was filled with a black haze.
The dark streaks ran down on the wall of my cage. The golden light withdrawing where the black substance invaded. Was it only a figment of my imagination or was the wall weakening?
“Lotian! Can you smash the wall?” I asked, seeing similar streaks on his cage. His attention snapped out of a stupor, not wasting time, Lotian’s fist connected with the wall. Nothing happened.
Meanwhile, outside of our cubes, the battle raged. The strange eruption must have given Saaron an upper hand or we so thought. The haze rushed in a violent swing, going upward as if carried by a hurricane. In the eye of it stood Atrax with his sword. Bastiel, Nix and Dramer withdrew into the back of the huge room. Saaron’s armor shifted, though still clinging to him like a second skin.
Three white swords were in demi-dragons’ hands, but now Saaron recovered his two swords as well. He spun, surging toward Dramer. Nix, no longer limping, joined his brothers and the fight erupted. Atrax used the moment to approach my cage. Lotian’s punches created a single crack a few inches long. He was still hitting it when his father stopped before my cage.
“I should leave you here,” he murmured.
Lotian’s bloodied hand froze on its way to the wall.
“What?”
Atrax dismissed his son’s question. Behind Atrax, Bastiel joined the fight. For a second, all I could see was my demi-dragons, fighting. Then my attention snapped back to the massive frame of Atrax’s body.
“For all I know, you may be the enemy’s spy.”
“Why … would I … what are you talking about?”
Atrax wore a red and black scaled armor. He extended his hand, hidden by a jagged gauntlet. The black sword pulsed with streaks of red light.
“She’s no one’s spy!” Lotian snapped at his father. Atrax offered him a silent look, then returned to me.
“Instead of talking crap, free us or help your sons defeat Saaron.”
The pure dragon turned to the four battling figures. For a moment, I feared he would raze them down, killing them. Then, I reminded myself about the bond. And a cold smile quirked on my face.
“Help them! Saaron’s mind is controlled.”
If Lotian’s words had any effect on his father, Atrax didn’t show it. The sound of clashing ceramic edges was the only thing that shattered the silence. It was a strange sound though. Something you couldn’t recognize until you see it.
Atrax was not going to help—forgetting about Perses—he watched the fight. Though the liquid armor gave Saaron a tremendous power boost, he did everything to avoid the white swords. Something about them made me uneasy. Such weapons shouldn’t be created.
And at last, it happened. Bastiel’s shadow particles have attacked Saaron from behind, distracting and pestering him, while the three demi-dragons launched a coordinated assault from three sides. Suddenly, Saaron’s monstrous speed was not enough. Cuts added, multiplying the damage to the armor that hissed louder and louder. I could almost see the owners of the voices.
I didn’t know when the fight ended. Was it when Saaron lost the second sword? Or his left thigh was pierced? Or maybe he had a chance until the liquid armor peeled off him and stained the ground around.
Three swords pinned it there, evoking more agony, and smoke that started to gray now. Saaron staggered back, his chromatic eyes searched for something.
“Where are you?! I need you now! Strike them down! Kill! K—”
Dramer’s fist hushed his brother, sending him flying.
Chapter 20
Even with Saaron knocked out, golden light of the cages didn’t waver. The source of magic that kept them going was coming from elsewhere. It took Atrax three strikes to chip the wall enough to make a hole that I could pass through. With Lotian, it was a little more complicated. The smallest amongst the demi-dragon, he was larger than any regular man.
Atrax’s fifth hit came down with a growl. The magic that was used to build it was more powerful than we’d believed. That meant the enemy was strong, way stronger than we had liked.
Safe in Dramer’s arms I closed my eyes, feeling salty tears escaping my eyes. I wished to get lost in that powerful embrace. Dramer’s heartbeat echoed in his massive chest. The steam that always accompanied him now enveloped me.
Atrax used a spell to bind Saaron’s power. We watched the pure dragon murmur something, then he found me and approached. No matter how weakened Lotian was, he crossed his path.
“Flare is ours.”
“Pathetic idiots!” Atrax snarled though he stopped. “The girl is a weapon! And as such, she should be treated.”
I shuddered more because the echo of Nix’s words filled my brain. I was going to destroy this world. A weapon. Was it how they all saw me? A tool to meet their ends?
In the golden light, Atrax’s face looked like a statue made of bronze. A distant whisper entered my quiet mind then. Was I even aware of what was here at stake? Could I comprehend the scope of a decision that would extend far in the future? Perhaps I could, perhaps it was the echo of the voice in my head that whispered to me.
“If you think that you can force me … to be your weapon. I have to sorely disappoint you, Atrax. I won’t destroy the angels for you.”
He k
new that I knew. Faster than Lotian could react, Atrax sped past him and halted an inch from my face. A heavy smell of whiskey, coal and perfumes invaded my nostrils. I looked into his crimson eyes, they were so inhuman.
“What are you talking about?” He hissed as Lotian turned around, eyes wide.
“I know why you hate them but it won’t make me your tool, dragon,” I added arrogantly.
“Bastiel,” Atrax growled. “Why did you tell her!”
“Flare deserves to know who the true enemies are.”
“She’s a weapon!” Atrax roared. Too close, too loud. Dramer chose the moment to turn around, saving me from a deafening sound. A dangerous thing, turning his back to his father. He didn’t care. And my body desired him for that.
Though Atrax’s eyes had none of the chromatic infection, he seemed to respond poorly to reason.
“Flare is a person!” Four demi-dragons said at once.
The silence came down, closing on us with its clinging claws. For more than a second, I feared that he would strike Dramer down. And then it was gone. Tension melting visibly.
“Take her away from here. Soon this place will swarm with eyes that should not find her here.”
No longer spellbound, the demi-dragons and I, teleported out of the place. In all the haste, I failed to ask about Saaron
Chapter 21
Atrax
Those brats had no comprehension who was after the girl. They might think they know. They might call the enemy by its name. But for them, angels were only an abstract. Even Bastiel couldn’t understand. No one could! One look at Saaron was enough. He stank of angelic magic. The secret was out, though it bothered me not that angels hadn’t made an open move but they had the brass to use my own son against me. Did they really think I would not notice? No, that wasn’t it.
Black Dragons were the first on the scene. They had been delayed to let the girl out of here. Though these were my finest soldiers, I couldn’t be sure that one of them wouldn’t meet Saaron’s fate. If the angels had magic potent enough to take over a demi-dragon’s mind, then the Black Dragons were not an issue.
The Flesh of Titans Page 15
