by Alexia Black
I couldn’t take them all back, no matter how much I wanted to. I stuffed my pockets with the last scroll they had been studying. I would have to leave all of the big books behind.
He came back out in less than ten minutes, I handed him the torn clothes to dry himself.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll explain later. Help me first,” I stuffed as many scrolls I could into his jeans pocket too.
Ten minutes later our pockets were bulging like we had hidden small hamsters.
“Now, let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 27
“There shouldn’t be a lot of guards here.” Too many people in this part of the forest would’ve probably alerted someone, but I expected at least nine guards to be here. It seemed standard for an operation like this; two each to guard us and the mages, two at the entrance, two to protect Caroline and one chief of operations. I killed three, so technically there should be at least half a dozen left. “It won’t be safe for us to use the corridor.”
“The demon is the problem. Others I can handle.”
Yeah, even if he wouldn’t kill them he could drain their power long enough for us to escape.
“Can you shift? If you become a dragon we can easily break through the back walls and fly off.”
He ran his hands through the messy hair that had come undone. “I have never fully shifted before,” he confessed. “Reason doesn’t exist in that state. If I use my powers, I will lose control and descend into insanity. I will not be able to promise your safety if that happens. We need to escape out of here without using my powers.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, “You are asking for something impossible.” I hadn’t expected him to never have shifted before. Eighteen years is a long time to keep your dragon dormant. But, for an Aether dragon, it made sense. They had the highest mortality rate. Most didn’t survive their first shift.
“Let’s go through the corridor in that case,” I said. “Though, you will need to use your powers to some extent to keep them immobile. We would have no chance otherwise.”
He hesitated but then nodded in acceptance. He wasn’t blind to the situation, but knew if he shifted, he would be as big a threat to civilization as the demon.
The empty corridor stretched beyond us.
I cautiously tip toed forward as the door swung shut behind us. We were walking towards the front entrance when Aiden suddenly stopped me and pointed to the room on the opposite side.
“There is a lot of concentrated magic in that room,” he said.
There was no sound from inside. But, that could be because the room was soundproof.
“Do you think it’s their weapons room?” Fingers crossed it was. I felt bare without my daggers.
Aiden frowned, “I am not sure. I’ll check. You stay back. If anything happens, run.”
“You know, if you die, I’ll die,” I reminded.
“If you die, I’ll die,” he repeated my words back to me.
Yeah, fair point, his healing powers gave him a much better chance of survival. My best course of action was, run like crazy. If only the runes, while draining his power had converted his dragon soul to human. This stupid soul bond would have already broken. But, alas, neither the rune, nor the temporary power the amulet had granted could change the essence of our souls.
“Stand back,” Aiden said. I quietly stood behind him and expectantly peered over his shoulder on my tip toes.
I blinked. This wasn’t what I had expected to hear when Aiden had warily pushed open the door by a sliver. Moans and sounds of skin slapping against skin filled the air. Guard uniforms littered on the floor. Is that why no one came running during the fight I had with Dave? Granted the fight only lasted a few minutes, and I had finished them off before they could howl, but were they that sure of their victory that would start celebrating this early. The answer was right in front of my eyes.
Aiden carefully closed the door back without the sound and walked away not meeting my eyes.
“How many were there?” I whispered.
He stared at me for a second. “You wanted me to stay there and count?”
“Duh. Wait here.” I went back and pushed open the door slightly. Caroline’s high pitched moans echoed around the room. It was hard to figure whose limb belonged to whom, but in the end, I counted four guards there with Caroline. That accounts for seven guards along with the dead ones. So, at the least, three were left. I internally heaved a sigh of relief and went back beside Aiden. Thank the fates for Caroline’s libido. I was glad they were all in their human forms or their heightened senses would’ve definitely noticed our presence. However, considering how enthusiastically they were celebrating I doubted that too.
I tiptoed away from the room. “There were four guards in there. So, three could be left at the front.” There could always be more than that. But, we had no option but to walk in blind.
“That’s why you went back? To count the guards?”
“Why else would I go?”
“Nothing.”
“We will use your powers to keep them down,” and then I will find a way to kill them before Caroline and the others noticed.
“Oh shit,” I said. The guards near the entrance had noticed the disturbance and were shifting as I spoke. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw us standing unharmed and unchained.
Aiden pushed me behind him, “If I don’t take them out one at a time, I will have to shift. Hide.”
There were three of them. There was no point in running. The power should be affecting only an Aether like that right? But, what if I used it?
I yanked the amulet away from him. If he couldn’t use his powers, then I was going to. I didn’t want to die.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Aiden growled but his voice sounded far away to me.
Power coursed through me, like electricity through my veins. It was like being born anew. My arms shifted, silvery scales and sharp spikes erupting where skin used to be. I ran forward, claws out. Where the guards had stood, a seven foot tall bear and two vampires stood now.
“Kiara, don’t use the powers,” Aiden shouted in warning. I ignored him.
I launched myself at a vampire first, clawed hand reaching towards their neck. But, I had underestimated him, the vampire caught me mid- air and threw me out like a sack of potatoes. I flew out, hitting a tree with a hard thump. My spine rattled in my body. My vision doubled. Unimaginable pain clouded my senses.
The guards circled me knowing I was the bigger threat. They didn’t know if the ritual was fully successful or not. They wouldn’t kill me because of that but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t break every single bone in my body. The bear advanced, ready to crush me. The amulet was healing me but slowly, I wouldn’t be able to get up before he caught hold of me.
Suddenly a sharp stone came flying and hit the shifter right behind his head. The shifter whimpered and turned away from me in anger, looking for the one who had thrown the stone.
Aiden.
He was trying to distract the shifter, trying to save me. But, I had taken his power that meant he had no way of defending himself.
The Aether powers required emotions, didn’t it? Well, I was going to feed it a full course meal.
I reached deep inside and unlocked the part of me I kept hidden. All those years of anger, jealousy and desperation. I fed every bit into the amulet. Years of helplessness, years of being tortured, years of never being acknowledged as my parent’s daughter. I fed and fed the amulet till the power burst out of it like a tidal wave.
Claws burst out of my feet, ripping through my shoes. I could feel hard scales pushing out of my skin and covering my face and chest. The Aether’s power rose up within, filling every nook and cranny. My head swam from the heady feeling of magic rushing into me.
I got up. The shifter bellowed and charged towards me, ignoring Aiden. The vampires charged towards me as a single unit. I let loose the power within me. The Aether magic flew out, latching
onto their powers. The guards writhed in pain as my power drained every last drop of theirs, their body turning human as he whimpered and begged.
It didn’t feel so good to be the one being hurt, did it?
I flexed my claws watching the fear build in their eyes. The last thing they saw before their deaths was my smiling face. I breathed in the smell of blood of my enemies, reveled in their defeat. Everything was mine to conquer.
My ears picked up running footsteps. The other guards had been alerted after all. Oh, looked like the fun was about to start. I licked my lips.
“Kiara, give me back the amulet,” Aiden grabbed my arm.
I growled at him. Never. He didn’t deserve it. I did. It was mine.
“Kiara, listen to me. You will die if you keep drawing on the power. Give it back to me. It’s controlling you.”
Lies. The power was giving my clarity. It was as if all my life I had been watching the world go by in a blur but now I could see every little detail vividly. My soul, whatever was left of it sang in joy as it gorged on the power. This was what I was meant to be. Aiden just wanted to take it away from me. Wanted to hoard it all for himself.
I pushed him behind me, “Hide behind me mortal. The soldiers are coming. I am going to paint this battle ground with their blood.”
The sound that came out of me was mine but not really mine. It felt like someone had taken bass amplifier to my vocal chords. But, I couldn’t focus on that fact, the power sang inside me warmly. Tempting me, cajoling me, to do what? I don’t know but I would do anything it asked of me. Anything to have it be called mine.
“Kiara.” There was steel in Aiden’s voice, “Give it back.”
“You do not deserve to own it mortal. I wasn’t meant to be leashed and caged. I am meant for the glory of war.”
“Kiara, please. Ignore its whispers. You have to stop now before it’s too late.”
“Found them,” someone shouted.
I grinned, battle rage painting my vision red.
“How did you escape? It’s impossible to escape. No, no.” Caroline’s voice trembled. And how sweet the sound of it was!
“I thought she was a human?” one of the guards said, eyes flashing red. Ooh another vampire. One moment I was grinning at the vampire, the next his head lay, dripping blood, in my hand. What just happened?
Why does it matter? Breathe in their fear, the power whispered.
Fear flashed in the eyes of the remaining guards. And it called to me like a siren song. Under the moonlit sky, I ripped, slashed and yanked out their hearts and heads. At the end all of them lay dead, some in their human form, some mid shift. Their powers burrowed within mine, absorbed and entwined with the dragon soul I held near.
“That was over too fast. How boring!” I said, my voice coming out with an eerie echo.
“You took the amulet, didn’t you?” Caroline asked, coming out into the open, a scroll in her hand, words written in yellowing parchment paper of the old, and sealed with the wax seal shaped like a rune, similar to the one that had housed the demon earlier. So, that was why Dave hadn’t called for his demon. Caroline was the one who kept it.
“It belongs to me,” I growled, excitement shooting through my veins like lightning. The demon would be a good partner to spar with, to satisfy the battle lust that the dead guards hadn’t satisfied.
Caroline’s voice oozed in spite, “You naive child. You just had one purpose and you failed that too. My lord won’t be pleased with what you have done.”
“I do not care what your master wants.” I knew what I wanted and it was to rip the demon’s heart out.
Caroline laughed, that low tinkling laugh that made you think of cookies and curling up under the blanket on a winter day. Cruel eyes scanned my face. She cocked her head to the side.
“Your life belongs to my lord. He owns it. He has owned it for a long time. You were just too blind to realize it.”
“Stop babbling, you pathetic sucker.” Caroline eyes gleamed red at the slur. “Unleash the demon.”
Aiden’s hand had slipped into mine when I was distracted by Caroline. He was trying to yank away the amulet. I caught hold of his wrist with my free hand. “Do not touch me mortal,” I warned.
“Don’t do this Kiara. Trust me. You do not want this,” he said, not letting go off the amulet or my hand despite my claws gouging into his wrist. My scales ripped away the skin from his hand. He still didn’t let go.
“You are wrong. This is exactly what I want. This is the only thing I’ve wanted my entire life.” I pushed him away. He flew back, and landed far away, rolling over the roots and stones. If my life wasn’t tied to his, that mortal would’ve joined the dead.
With Aiden out of the way I turned back towards Caroline. Her mouth hung open at the sight of what I’d done.
“Are you going to give me what I want or do I have to make you?” I taunted.
“I am going to enjoy watching you die,” Caroline pressed her thumb against the seal and said one word.
“Vaa.”
Black scales glinted under the moonlight. Runes carved into her curved horns glowed blue. Black eyes stared into my soul.
The demon was back.
I called upon the powers within me and let it coalesce under my skin, to transform me into a dragon. Even if I couldn’t drain her powers she would never win against me in my dragon form right? If my half human form was this powerful I couldn’t wait to taste how powerful my dragon form would be.
But, something was wrong.
I was still in half shifted form but nothing else changed. The power ran frantic inside my body searching for my soul to call upon. But I only had decaying fragments of it left to offer.
The demon took a step forward and I unconsciously stepped back. My powers echoed inside me in frustration.
Wrong vessel. Decayed soul. Find new vessel.
The whispers built up in crescendo till I screamed, an earsplitting shriek that resounded through the forest. Caroline jumped back and held onto the wall, shoulders hunched in fear.
The demon blinked uncaring and raised her hand, palm open towards the sky, and fire build up above the scaly insides of her palms, flames dancing in a violent roar.
The demon looked at me, a smirk on her face and I saw my death reflected in her eyes.
The power inside me rejected me just as the ball of fire came hurtling towards me.
Chapter 28
Someone pulled me back. I lost my balance and fell on top of them, my forehead hitting their chin. The fireball flew above my head, hitting the tree behind me.
Aiden?
My claws had accidentally lacerated his chest when he pulled me back. Before I could recover from the surprise of seeing him, he twisted my hand behind me.
I ripped away from his hold and punched him. He avoided my fist and landed an upper cut on me. Mad with anger, I continued swinging my fist haphazardly. I wasn’t fighting like myself. I was fighting like a reckless fool. My scales withdrew, the sharp bony points disappearing. My reflexes were no longer of a supernatural. The power no longer aided my body but my mind was still enchanted under the whispers of madness.
Reason no longer existed.
We fought, me no longer remembering anything of Kiara’s training, my only aim to hurt the mortal who chose to defy me. Aiden’s moves were sharp, calculated. His speed not hindered by his bleeding body.
Fireballs flew towards me as we kept fighting but the mortal kept pulling me away from its path. I didn’t care if he was trying to protect me. All I wanted to see was destruction, mine or his. I didn’t care whose.
“Stop,” Aiden landed a sharp karate chop on my neck where barely any scales could protect me. I slumped against him, half unconscious. The amulet slipped from my fingers. The whispers vanished from my mind. If he wasn’t holding me upright, I would’ve fallen like a marionette whose strings had been cut. He picked me up in that position and stepped back just as another fireball flew towards us. Behind us the forest wa
s completely ablaze.
He gently placed me on the ground and left. The fog was slowly disappearing from my mind. Even in that half-conscious state, I knew he had hit me where some of the scales had remained so as to hurt me less. He was protecting me even when I was trying to destroy him.
Aiden picked up the amulet and looked at the demon. She hadn’t budged an inch from her position. Rooted to the spot she observed our fight. The demon was looking at us like we were insects to be crushed. Well, she was looking at him like an insect to be crushed. It was like I didn’t exist anymore to her now that I was powerless. Her hand was still raised, open towards the sky, as another fireball formed in her palm.
The heat and smoke from the fire was starting to choke me. I coughed and turned on my side. I had to get up and move before the forest fire took me. I held onto the rock near me and hauled myself up into a sitting position.
I turned towards Aiden. He was holding on to the amulet so hard, the spiky ends had dug deep into his palm. Caught between the devil and the deep sea, he gazed at me as if saying his goodbyes. I could say nothing. The madness had slowly inched into my heart despite the power not finding me compatible. What would it do to a perfect vessel like him?
The demon finished making the fireball and hurled it at him. He avoided it easily. It joined the blazing inferno behind us. I coughed. At this rate, there would be nothing left, neither the forest nor us.
We didn’t have a choice. There was only one true choice. Between the devil and the deep sea, we had to choose the devil.
With a growl, Aiden crushed the amulet in his hands and blinding white light exploding out of it. His eyes turned completely white as the dragon soul reared to life, filled back to the brim with its lost power.
Aiden roared the inhumane roar of an Aether dragon. His veins lit up white from the inside, bright streams of power against his tan skin.
Limbs broke and reformed, it was like the air around him was sucked into a warp hole. It twisted and shimmered around him and thunder struck. My chest jumped into my throat as I raised my head towards the sky. Lightning lit the sky and it sky opened up.
