Dragon Emperor

by Eric Vall

  Condition: Energy drained. Minor healing burns.

  Priority: Immediate rest recommended in order to recover.

  Status: Fatigued due to overuse of power.

  “Shh, little darling, you’re safe now.” Alyona knelt in front of the girl and gently placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “What’s your name?”

  “Ilyushina she is named, star lady.” Tears trailed down the girl’s soot covered face as she threw herself into Alyona’s arms. “Ilyushina has lost her people. Ilyushina has failed.”

  “What happened here?” I looked around at the burned down village, and then I noticed three other shellshocked survivors. A little boy, a woman, and a man.

  The boy was a little older than Ilyushina, and he walked to where we stood. His hair was the same silver tinged blue as hers, and he had ivory horns as well. In his hands he dragged a sword that was too big for him and collapsed next to Ilyushina and Alyona.

  “Are you alright?” I asked as I stooped over him.

  Before he could respond, another status update flashed before my eyes.

  Classification: Asura

  Condition: Mild concussion and minor healing burns.

  Priority: Proceed with caution.

  Status: No attention needed in regards to concussion.

  “Winged monsters filled the sky.” The boy’s voice was hoarse as he spoke. “They were just there, no one saw them come. We couldn’t stop them.”

  “Demons?” I knelt in front of the boy and looked him over for any open wounds on his head. There was no need, though, I quickly found. I could sense that his wounds were already healing, and the speed of his healing was on par or even faster than Laika’s.

  “No, they couldn’t have been. No demons would have been able to pass the protective boundary.” A woman who sat in front of the remains of what was once a smithy spoke with a voice just as hoarse as the boy’s. “They were summoned creatures the likes of which we had never before seen. We fought to protect our people and survive, but it was not enough.”

  I frowned and looked over the woman. She had shoulder length pale blue hair and a pair of ivory horns on her head. Her eyes were a dark gold, and ash covered the features of her heart-shaped face, from her full lips to her small nose.

  Classification: Asura

  Condition: Concussion, healing bruises, and broken ribs.

  Priority: Proceed with caution.

  Status: No attention needed in regards to concussion.

  Laika walked over to the woman and offered her a drink of water from a leather pouch. The woman accepted the water gratefully and broke down into sobs while Laika rubbed circles on her back.

  Laika and I made eye contact, and I could see the burning rage inside of the wolf’s eyes.

  I glanced around but didn’t see any bodies within the village, and I wondered how many people there had been to begin with. Then I saw the dirty hands of the woman by the smithy and the man who stood off to the side by a burned oak tree. I realized they must have already buried everyone, and my stomach twisted at the thought.

  “We are the only ones who survived,” the man spoke softly as he placed his hand on the trunk of a burned tree. “Our Lord and Lady fell protecting the trees. The village burned. The trees burned. Everything and everyone burned.”

  I glanced at the man to see if he needed to be healed.

  Classification: Asura

  Condition: Concussion, healing bruises and minor burns.

  Priority: Proceed with caution.

  Status: No attention needed in regards to concussion.

  Laika stood from where she had comforted the woman, walked over to the man, and pulled out another leather pouch from her storage space. “Here, drink. It’ll calm you.”

  The man stared at Laika and the leather pouch helplessly. “What’s the point? All the dragonsblood is gone. Our lives are gone. Our people are gone.”

  “No, not all of them,” Ilyushina chimed in, and her voice was desperate as she spoke. “Ilyushina protected the saplings. Ilyushina held the barrier as much as she could.” The little girl trembled, and tears began to spill out of her large golden eyes.

  Alyona pressed her forehead to Ilyushina and spoke softly. “You did as much as you could. Do not blame yourself, any of you. You are not to blame for the cruelties of others.”

  “Mother and Father told me I was to protect and lead the village when I grew up,” the boy sniffled, and the sound tore at both my heart and my instincts. “But there’s no village left to protect.”

  I had to comfort him.

  I slipped one arm under the boy’s knees and placed the other one on his back. In one smooth motion, I stood with him in my arms, and his head dropped in exhaustion against my shoulder.

  “You can’t stay here, come back to Hatra with us,” I offered, and anger curled in my chest at all the destruction I saw, but I kept it out of my voice for the children’s sake. “There’s safety in numbers.”

  “This was our home.” The boy looked up at me with a desperate plea in his golden eyes.

  “And I promise you that it will be rebuilt,” I replied softly. “But first you need to rebuild yourselves, and you can’t do it with just the four of you. There’s more than enough room in Hatra for you all, and I know that Hatra is in ruins too, but there’s food and shelter. That’s what matters right now. Making sure that the four of you survive.”

  The two adult Asuras glanced at the small boy in my arms and then at the little girl in Alyona’s arms. Their gold eyes hardened with determination.

  “We will follow you to Hatra,” the woman spoke softly as she stared at me. “Our little prince and princess need to be safe.”

  “And they will be,” I promised the Asura as I knew I wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

  Chapter 7

  I carried the young Asura to a tree stump and set him on it. His physical wounds were healing, but his mind was still scarred, and he was also covered with soot. I pulled off my outer shirt and used one of the leather pouches full of water Laika had handed out to all of us to wash the soot from his face.

  “What’s your name, kiddo?” I asked as I brushed the twigs and rocks out of his silvery blue hair.

  Grooming the young Asura was partly because of my soft spot for kids that had only grown while working as an EMT, but it also came from my dragon instincts. I still hadn’t learned or understood them all yet since more and more were waking up in me every day, but right now what I wanted to do was clean and feed the two kids. It was a nagging sensation in my stomach and felt like a dull ache in my head. I had to take care of them and make sure they were safe. To a lesser extent, I felt the same for the other two Asuras, but the majority of it was focused on the kids.

  I kept thinking of them as hatchlings, and I could feel a protectiveness course through my veins.

  “Ilya,” the boy mumbled as he looked up at me. “Ilyushina is my sister.”

  “You know, there are a lot of places for the two of you to run around back in Hatra.” I ruffled his hair and winked. “I’m pretty sure there are some kids around your age, too.”

  I hadn’t seen any children so far during my time at Hatra, but I remembered that Ruslan had mentioned them once to Laika. Maybe I’d see them soon.

  “But Hatra was destroyed,” the boy muttered, and his mournful golden eyes tore at my heart. “We’ll be no safer there.”

  I could feel my heart ache at what Ilya and the other Asuras had been put through. Everything and everyone they had ever known and loved had been destroyed by a monster they hadn’t been able to defeat. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the devastation and despair that the four survivors must be feeling. I had lost my mother when I was small, but I hadn’t lost my whole world as the Asuras had.

  At that moment, I made a promise to myself that Ilya and his sister would never have that expression in their eyes again. They were just children, and they deserved to live a carefree life.

  I didn’t care what it took,
but I would make sure they were safe and happy.

  “That’s not true,” I replied firmly. “There’s a lot of strong people in Hatra right now.”

  “Like who?” Ilya looked around his devastated village. “I do not think anyone could have stopped those things.”

  “Well, there’s the party from the Blue Tree Guild for one,” I answered, “and I’ve heard that they’re super famous and have never failed any of their contracts.” I thought about the five brave adventurers who hadn’t backed down in the face of certain death, and I felt proud to have fought alongside them. “They even took down three stone giants by themselves.”

  “Really?” His eyes widened at my words, and he glanced at the sword he had dropped earlier.

  “Yeah, you see the wolf over there, Laika?” I pointed to where the Demi-Human walked around the perimeter of the burnt village. “She’s their leader.”

  “I’ve never met a real adventurer before,” Ilya said in a hushed tone, and by how wide his eyes were, I could tell he was suitably awed as he looked at the wolf-girl.

  “Now you have,” I laughed as I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Who else is there to protect Hatra?” Ilya looked back up at me with curiosity in his eyes.

  It was easy to tell what he was thinking. He wanted to become stronger and thought that if he had been stronger then maybe the village would still be safe. The thought of teaching him jiu-jitsu crossed my mind, and that made me wonder about how many of the villagers back in Hatra actually knew how to fight and defend themselves. They’d managed to subdue each other whenever the miasma had attacked, but I didn’t know if they had ever fought for their lives. I’d have to bring it up with the Elders and Laika at some point.

  Then a shudder went through me as I remembered the way Alyona had been attacked by the corrupted villager. She would have no choice but to take those self-defense classes if she didn’t know any fighting style. I couldn’t risk her getting hurt like that again.

  “Well, there’s a pretty powerful priestess,” I let a large smile cross my face as I nodded toward Alyona, “and then there’s me, the big bad dragon.”

  “I’ve never seen a real dragon this close before,” Ilya admitted in a small voice as he tugged on my sleeve. “Are you really a dragon? You look like a human.”

  “I’m a dragon in human form.” I tugged back my sleeve to show him the black scales under my clothes, and I tapped at the scales with my claws.

  “Wooooow!” Ilya looked up at me in awe.

  “Yeah,” I couldn’t help but laugh, “so, what do you think about dragons?”

  “Ilyushina does not think you are bad,” the youngest Asura called out from Alyona’s lap as her face was washed and dried by the priestess. “You washed Ilya’s face.”

  Even the two older Asuras cracked a smile at Ilyushina’s comment. It was like a breath of fresh air in the destroyed village, and it filled me with hope.

  Everything in this new world had moved at a nonstop pace, and it felt like I was never going to be able to catch my breath. But the pure and innocent trust of a child after having watched her entire village be destroyed had been what I needed.

  “Evan,” Laika said as she walked up to me with a steely glint in her eyes, “I am going to stay here while you and my Lady take them back.”

  “You think those things are gonna come back?” I glanced up at the sky automatically in search for any of the winged creatures that had attacked the village.

  “I’d rather be here just in case instead of risking any clues being destroyed.” Laika’s ears twitched as she paid attention to each and every sound made in our surroundings. “There’s also the matter of the dragonsblood saplings.”

  “Makes sense. Still, I don’t like you being left alone here.” I frowned and calculated how long it would take us to get to Hatra on foot and come back. “It’ll probably be an hour before we can come back with help.”

  “Why don’t we send Anton and the others a message and have them wait for us?” Alyona tilted her head and furrowed her brow as Ilyushina curled further into her lap.

  “My gorget can send messages, but not anything complicated,” Laika said as she frowned.

  “It can send messages?” I stared in awe at the gorget Laika wore. “That’s fuc--ah, awesome.”

  I cut back my curse in time and glanced at the two kids. Good, they didn’t notice my slip up, but Laika narrowed her eyes at me.

  Alyona glanced down at the Asura curled in her lap. “I’m going to do something, but they aren’t summoned spirits, so please don’t be afraid.”

  “Star lady?” The girl glanced up at Alyona and placed her small hands on the priestess’s cheeks. “I trust you.”

  “Thank you, little darling.” The priestess placed a gentle kiss on the little girl’s forehead. “Could you sit next to me for a little while? Only while I do this.”

  Ilyushina nodded and clambered off Alyona’s lap to sit next to her with wide eyes.

  Then Alyona leaned forward carefully and placed one of her fingers in the dirt before her. She drew in a breath, and her gemstone eyes shimmered in the daylight.

  The world somehow grew smaller, and all I could focus on was a growing and glowing surge of power that was concentrated on the tip of Alyona’s finger. It was like she had a tiny star that dangled from her finger, and I felt my skin prickle with every passing moment.

  This wasn’t like the barriers she’d risen before or even when she’d enchanted the jewelry in the library. This felt like something was being born in front of my eyes.

  Alyona dragged her finger in the dirt and made the outline of a small fox. Then she shook the dirt from her hand and placed her finger where the heart of the fox should have been. Ever so slowly, she lifted her finger from the dirt, and the form of a fox rose up out of the dust.

  The fox yawned and stretched before it sat down on its hind legs in front of her.

  I could feel that the fox was alive, and I could even hear a heartbeat inside of its chest as the dirt faded into fur and claws.

  “What is that?” I stared in complete awe at the fox that Alyona had brought to life.

  “She created a spirit whose sole purpose is to serve and protect her,” Laika responded and seemed unbothered by what Alyona had done.

  I wondered if bringing spirits to life like that was something commonplace in Inati. I had to admit it was wicked cool and would probably be a lot of help in almost any situation.

  “Hello, little fox, I have a favor to ask of you.” The priestess leaned down and pressed a kiss on the fox’s head. “May you grant this wish of mine? Would you seek my friend Ruslan in Hatra el Shamash and tell them to be prepared for our arrival? Four Asuras will join the people of Hatra el Shamash, and they need rest and food. Those of the Blue Tree Guild will be needed here as well to recover precious saplings of dragonsblood. Will you do this for me?”

  The once earthen fox walked forward and nuzzled its head against her knee before it took off in the direction of Hatra. It moved quicker than any normal fox should have, and I knew that it would reach the city in minutes instead of the half hour of pure running it had taken us.

  “Will Ilyushina be able to do that one day, star lady?” Ilyushina stared in awe at Alyona.

  “Of course, you’ll be a great priestess when you’re older.” Alyona patted the younger girl’s head. “I will be staying with Laika as well. It would do no good to stay here without a priestess in case a barrier is needed.”

  “My Lady, you should return to Hatra,” Laika protested immediately, and her ears laid flat on her head. “I will be fine here alone, and you needn’t push yourself into danger. You’ve only just recovered.”

  Needless to say that those words fell on deaf ears and that the priestess steadfastly ignored the wolf’s concerns.

  I knew that together both women would be able to handle almost anything that was thrown at them, but my dragon instincts didn’t like the idea of leaving the two women alone, and I h
ad to convince myself they would be fine. They were both shield and sword when combined, and I almost wanted to see anyone who would be stupid enough to attack them. I snickered to myself as I pictured the one-sided battle. That would have been an entertaining sight.

  The Asuras shifted where they stood and glanced at me.

  “Do we start walking now, Master Dragon?” Ilya looked up at me, and there was a hint of anxiousness in his eyes.

  I rolled my shoulders and cracked the kinks out of my neck. “This’ll be faster instead of walking.”

  Seamlessly, I shifted into my dragon form, and I could feel my muscles stretching out all the tension they held. A human form felt comfortable, but being in my dragon form somehow felt the most natural to me. It was like I had just taken off a shirt that was only the tiniest bit tight across the shoulders, and I suddenly had my full range of motion.

  When I was finished, I settled myself on the ground and lowered my head.

  The four Asuras stared at me in awe.

  “You aren’t going to climb on him if you just keep staring at him.” Alyona poked Ilyushina in her side and laughed lightly.

  “Ilyushina did not think that the dragon would be so big.” Ilyushina looked up at me and seemed dismayed that she looked even smaller next to me.

  I snorted. “Did you think I was a lizard?”

  The girl immediately shook her head and did her best to clamber up on my back. Ilya followed soon after, but the two older Asuras hesitated.

  “You’ve done so much for us already, and now you’re going to carry us. How can we ever repay you?” the man asked as he stepped forward.

  “You can start by telling me your names,” I wryly replied.

  The woman laughed and slapped the man’s back. “He is Maksim, and I am Natalya.”

  “A pleasure to meet you, and I only wish it could have been under different circumstances,” I responded as I lifted my head to be at her eye level.

  Tear tracks lined their sooty faces, but they cast me soft, sad smiles

  “If only the fates were so kind,” Natalya replied as she climbed onto my back behind the children before Maksim followed after her.