Davin and Chloe flew through the air beneath their dragons. Davin's face lit up with the thrill of the flight as he watched the earth below pass by. They traveled quicker than they had thought. What had taken them days to cross by foot and train, only took one. The time in the air gave Davin and Chloe both a chance to get to know their dragons in a different way. As they flew it was like they were able to direct the dragons. They were not quite sure how but the dragon's responses to them was almost instantaneous. They passed by Derrick's house and saw the wreckage it now was.
When they finally arrived, they made camp in the woods just before the hill that stood before the Keep. They were to expect Derrick and the lycons sometime in the next two days.They decided it would be best not to have a fire, as they didn't want any unwanted attention. They looked through the trees and saw the flicker of a small fire off in the distance, the very reason they didn't have one of their own.
"Look over there." Chloe tapped Davin's arm. "Who do you think it is?"
"I don't know. We should see if we can find out. You stay here with Halo and Tesla. I will sneak over and see if I can find out who they are."
Davin hurried through the trees in the direction of the fire off in the distance. As he got closer he could see the eyes of the bonders. The familiar glow of the green eyes of the other bonders was a relief. Davin approached the camp slowly and quietly. As he walked into the small camp, he caught the look of a somewhat strangely friendly face. It was Blake. The minotaur that had bullied him throughout his childhood.
"It's Davin." He called out. Blake ran up to Davin and stopped just in front of him. He slugged Davin in the shoulder. "You know what kind of a mess you and your dragon have caused. Lugos has done all of this just to get your dragon."
"So it's true. Lugos is the one that has been behind this all along. We have some friends on the way to help us. Who is left here?" Davin looked around the camp, to see who he might find.
"Aiden is in on it too. He and Lugos took Myrdinn and all of the others captive and stuck them in the dungeon."
Just then Professor Wilson stepped forward out of the group of people. "You say you have friends coming. How many are there? There are at least a hundred minotaur soldiers that have been turned. Many of them are bonders and their dragons still follow them."
Davin stared back at Professor Wilson. "Believe me sir. We know what we're up against. They have hunted us since we left. Our friends should be here in two days. That is when we will attack and take back our home."
"Well boy. I find your enthusiasm greatly appreciated. There are about twenty bonders here as well. They do not have their dragons, but still possess there abilities. This means the dragons are alive and being held someplace in the keep."
"Then we will free them as well."
"Davin, you do realize we are greatly out numbered."
"I told you Professor, I have some friends on the way. I think between them and the bonders we have here, we stand a pretty good chance."
"Tell me Davin, who are these friends of yours that you speak of?"
"Have you ever heard the story of the lycons that live in the Forgotten Forest?" Davin smiled as the professor's eyes lit up.
Davin went back to find Chloe and the two dragons.They rejoined the other camp and set up for the night. The red glow from the fires surrounding the Keep rose over the hill that separated them. Davin began walking towards the hillside and Professor Wilson followed.
"Going for a walk huh." The Professor smiled mischievously at Davin.
"I just need to see it. I need to see my home." Davin continued walking towards the hill.
The two walked steadily up until they were just before the top of the hill. They both took the last couple of steps reaching the top of the hill and the Keep came into view. It looked like a war zone. The town surrounding the Keep was run over with fire and the flames danced across the lake as they reflected off the water. There were tents set up throughout the town and they could see the minotaurs patrolling the grounds with their dragons close by.
"Doesn't look like you remember, does it." The Professor stood with a sour look on his face, looking out at the Keep below.
Davin patted him on the back. "I just hope there are still people alive in there." He turned and began walking back down the hill to the camp below. "I've seen enough for now."
The night was long and Davin slept very little. After tossing and turning he finally got up and went outside. The air was cold and sent a chill through his bones. It was morning but the sun had yet to rise in the sky. The remainder of the day was long. Davin and Chloe spent a lot of time catching up with Professor Wilson and catching up on much needed rest.
Derrick, Tristen and the lycons arrived sooner than they had expected. They got there around noon the following day. The bonders stood and watched in astonishment as the lycon clan approached. They ran in towards the camp shifting back to their human forms as they reached the camp.
"Told you we would be here." Tristen huffed over to Davin, out of breath from their long travel.
"I didn't doubt you. You are actually earlier than I thought though. We thought you guys wouldn't be here until tonight" Davin looked around. Between the bonders and the lycon clan there were at least a hundred of them ready to fight.
"Hey guys!" Derrick said rushing over. "You wouldn't believe how fast we were going."
"Actually we do." Chloe replied.
"We go tonight then, to reclaim your home." Tristen smiled.
Everyone in the camp was on edge and quite anxious. It had seemed like forever by the time the sun began to set. The moon was bright and would provide a good amount of light. They had wished it were a little darker to help aid in stealthiness. Davin and Tristen discussed the best way to go in and had decided on the mine shaft entrance. They figured it would be the least guarded. It had been settled and the route chosen was the shaft. They had all assembled and were ready to move on down to the beach.
The stream of bonders and lycons made their way towards the beach. They were getting close to the cave entrance the three kids had escaped from. A large scream let out from the sky. The group looked up and what they saw amazed them, just as Davin, Chloe and Tristen had experienced in the cave at Dragon Cove. The Ancient One flew over head and exploded through the wall of the keep. The wall crashed down, pieces crumbling everywhere.
The group saw their moment. The minotaurs were all now focused on the six headed dragon that had just crashed their party. They split in to two groups. Half of the bonders and lycons continued on to the cave with Davin and Chloe, while the others followed Tristen and Derrick through the front entrance. The bonders quickly directed their forces onto the minotaur soldiers. They had the element of surprise even more than they had hoped. The distraction from the ancient dragon gave them an easy first assault. They dropped the outer guards quite quickly.
Several bonded minotaur appeared on the inner wall and summoned their dragons to join them. The lycons took the walls. They scaled them with ease, using their massive hands and claws to cling on, as they went up. They began fighting the minotaur while the bonders focused on the dragons. Some threw spears of ice while others were throwing fire into the air. The attention of the guards was heading back towards the attack at the walls.
The group that had taken to the cave sped through the mine swiftly. As they had thought, the back door was left wide open. They had made their way through and into the Keep. The entire place was shaking. Every few moments, there was a large crash and then it felt as though the ceiling was going to come down at any moment. The commotion grew louder as they approached the main floors.
Davin and Chloe split from the group, heading down an unfamiliar hallway. "This way Chloe called. We have to get to the dungeon." Davin nodded and they headed down a flight of stairs. They had gone down further than either of them had ever been. It seemed as though the stairs were never going to end. Finally at the bottom, they stood before a door. They opened it slowly and entered a large room. It was a
cylinder shaped room that went down three floors. The walls were lined with cells that had been packed full.
"Father!" Chloe let out a girlish scream as she ran over to one of the nearby cells. "Father, are you OK?" Chloe held his hand as he stuck it between the bars.
"We are. But they have killed so many others." He began to sob as he spoke. "You have to get us out quickly before he returns."
"Before who returns?" Chloe said with a scowling look on her face.
"Your Brother." He said with disgust in his voice.
In the main hall Lugos sat. He had completely transformed into his new self. He had become a giant red dragon. He was not like the normal reds though. He was different. He looked more like Halo. He still retained a lot of his human features but he was clearly no longer human. His scales spanned across him like armor and he had great and powerful wings. His eyes were glowing red. He had become an abomination. Half man and half dragon. He now stood easily as big as a large sized dragon. Blood dripped from his mouth as he licked his lips with a forked tongue. He stood enraged when the commotion reached the hall. A great thrashing started against the doors. They blew apart into splinters as the ancient one slammed in.
Lugos stood with a hiss. His wings spread and he aggressively went right for her. She caught him in mid flight and threw him against the outer wall. He went crashing through and landed outside amongst the battle. Infuriated, he turned and swiped at some of the lycons that had been fighting. Their blood flew as he struck them and they fell to the ground broken. The power he possessed was equal to, if not greater than, the strongest of dragons, although clearly not up to par with the Ancient One. She followed out the hole and began to chase after him.
The two continued in their epic battle. As they fought, they moved through the ongoing battle, adding to the immense chaos and bloodshed.
The turned minotaur soldiers were now being hit from both sides as they slowing began to slide to the losing side of the battle. The group that came through the mines had reached the battle and assaulted an attack. The group of lycons and bonders that had come through the front, could now see their allies fighting at the other side of the battle.
Tristen stood tall in the middle of the battle and let out a melodic howl. "Press harder!" He roared. "We have the advantage." He howled again and took off in a full sprint towards his next victim.
"We found them! We found them!" Blake was waving his hands frantically from the main entrance to the Keep.
A series of loud and angry cries echoed off of the walls of the keep. The bonder's dragons had been released. They came swooping in at the minotaur soldiers and their dragons. They unleashed fire and ice blasts as they joined the side of their bonders.
Lugos had finally slipped away from the Ancient One when she was attacked by several of the minotaurs and their dragons. Lugos did not join in on the fight but instead scurried away like a rat. He looked back at the fierce fight taking place, hissed and flew off out over the ocean.
Chloe and Davin had been working their way around the circular Dungeon, blasting the locks from the cells. The prisoners appeared as though they had been thrown in there and forgotten about. Most were barely strong enough to stand and were obviously dehydrated. Their lips were dry and cracked from the lack of water.
They were at the bottom taking off the last lock and they had not seen Kimball yet.The last of the cells had been opened and the people were all running to break free. Halo turned towards the top of the room and began to let out a hiss. Her chest began to rumble in anger and Tesla soon joined in.
Suddenly the room was filled with fire. Pain had been hiding the whole time up in the far corner of the dungeon. Davin turned only to be greeted by Aiden who sent Davin spinning as he struck his jaw. Blood spewed from Davin's mouth. Aiden had clubbed him with the butt of his sword. He lunged forward towards Davin slashing the blade through the air.
Chloe, Tesla and Halo were in a battle of their own. Pain was clearly the more experienced fighter and was matching the three quite well.
Davin rolled out of the way of yet another thrust from Aiden when he finally got to his feet. His heart raged and his body began to feel as though it would overheat at any moment. Davin gave his hand a flick and it was engulfed in a flame that was pulsing with electrical current. It held shape and looked as though a blade of fire and sparks was fixed to Davin's hand. He lunged back towards Aiden and sliced the fiery blade through the air in his direction.
Aiden lifted an eyebrow before he went into a flurry of slices, then he began shadow walking. Randomly appearing before Davin, taking strikes at him as he did. Davin was barely able to keep up with the speed at which Aiden had been moving. He thought about the game he and Derrick would play. Davin began to shadow walk as well. Leaping out at Aiden, both of them now trying to cut through the other.
Aiden finally got in a good blow and knocked the wind from Davin. In the second Davin lost his concentration, Aiden had stepped in behind him and grabbed him around the throat. He held the back of his blade to Davin's throat, squeezing tight, not allowing Davin's brain to get the blood and oxygen it required. The flames left Davin's hands as he reached for the blade, trying to push it off of his throat. His body began to go limp and Aiden began to laugh.
"No!" Chloe screamed. "Aiden! You can't." Tears began to fill Chloe's eyes.
The dragons continued their fight in the air. Equally matched, the fight went back and forth.
Just as it seemed like the life had slipped from Davin, he began to shake violently. Aiden flexed his arms trying to contain him. Davin's body became engrossed in flames and a large burst of energy flew from his skin in all directions. The burst sent Aiden flying back and he smashed against the wall. Davin's body fell limp and he landed face down on the floor.
Chloe screamed again as she ran over to Davin who was laying on the floor completely unconscious. She gasped and her hands lifted towards her mouth. Her eyes were now fixed on her brother. He was pinned against the wall. The sword he had been holding had run through him and stuck into the rocks. He was breathing rapidly and began to cough up blood when Chloe rushed over to him.
"Aiden." She began to cry as she held his hand.
He didn't say anything. He simply looked in her eyes and held onto her hand tightly. When the life finally left him, she ran her hand down over his eyes leaving them closed. Pain instantly fell dead on the floor of the dungeon, finalizing the fate that had fallen on Aiden.
The fight above was slowly coming to an end. The last turned minotaur had been killed and silence swarmed through the Keep. The Ancient One had chased Lugos off out across the ocean. They had not been seen for some time. Clearly, she hadn't killed Lugos before the battle had ended. The ones he had turned continued fighting to the end. There was no telling what the outcome Lugos and the Ancient's fight had brought.
The sun was beginning to rise and the devastation that had been caused from the battle could now be seen. There was blood and bodies everywhere. So many had fallen during the battle, both good and bad. Chloe and Davin had emerged from the dungeon with Myrdinn and Kimble. They had both been in the cell in the floor at the bottom of the dungeon. The rest of the prisoners had made it to the outside and were already being tended to by the others.
The faces on the people of the town and the Keep were blank and lost.
Myrdinn stood before them. "The fight has ended for now. Now we need to rebuild our home."
"Where do we start?" A voice called from the crowd.
Myrdinn began to laugh as he looked around. "Pick a spot." He continued laughing as he stepped down and walked over and sat.
Davin walked over and sat down beside him. Myrdinn patted him on the back. "Special boy indeed."
"What about Lugos?"
"I don't think we should worry about that right now. He's not here now is he?"
Davin let out a small smile. "No. I guess not."
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A Dragon's Bond Page 14
