by Dreagen
Both boys nodded and sat down with their backs against the cave wall. DiNiya breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the wall as well as thoughts of her father, VayRonx, and all the others started racing through her head. She knew it was only a matter of time before the sounds of battle called Rex and EeNox to a point where they would no longer be able to resist and would leave her to go fight, for it was the same pull she felt with the sound of every roar, cry, and explosion. She was so very tired of having to feel sorry for herself.
KyVina ran at full speed through the ruined streets of KaNar, leading the others. They had all been deeply moved by the sacrifice VayRonx and the others had been willing to give in order to get them back in town so they could save it. KyVina knew her mate would have wanted to be with her, side by side in battle, but he had already given too much of himself. She had left four healers back with him and the others who were now clinging to life, so they could hopefully be brought back on their feet as quickly as possible. It was up to her to lead the people of KaNar in defending their home and achieving victory. Still, despite her deep-seated sense of determination, her heart dropped as she took in the full extent of the devastation and carnage. All around was the wreckage of homes and bodies of the fallen. Her sadness quickly turned to rage, and she felt her flame began to burn hotter within her. With an angry roar, she exploded into green burning fury and tore through the burning ruins, with her fellow warriors joining suit behind.
High above, KySer and BaRone had been engaged in aerial combat with several more DraGons, one of which was screaming vengeance for the one they had killed earlier. They had managed to lose them momentarily in a thick black plume of smoke, when they noticed shortly thereafter KyVina and the others who had been trapped outside making their way to the epicenter of the fight.
“Look,” BaRone said, pointing down. “They did it! VayRonx and VoRenna managed to get the gates open!”
“And not a moment too soon,” KySer added just before catching a flash of lavender out of the corner of his eye. He veered sharply to the right just in time to avoid one of the DraGons charging at them.
“Well, now, that was a bit close,” BaRone said as they both watched the DraGon swoop up and make another charge.
“That’s the same one who was going on about making us pay for killing that one in the canopy. Something tells me he’s taking it personally.”
“If that’s the case, he’s not going to let up, so let’s give him something in common with his precious lost love.” KySer banked downward, and with a powerful pulse, shot forward like a rocket straight for the oncoming DraGon, who showed no sign of stopping.
BaRone watched as their enemy drew closer, and he began to feel the pang of fear as KySer showed no hint of getting out of the way. “Uhh, KySer…you do have a plan here, right?”
“Just hang on tight and trust me!”
“You’re making both a little hard to do!” BaRone said as he felt the inertia starting to pull him back, forcing him to practically dig his claws into the CyTorian’s neck.
Faster and faster they flew until they and the DraGon were now completely consumed in their flames. Mere meters away, BaRone braced himself for what he felt was the inevitable impact, when KySer suddenly turned his entire body sideways and cut right through the DraGon, doing a large backwards loop in midair, bringing them about face in time to see the two burning halves plummeting to the ground below.
“Nice work,” complimented BaRone as he watched the two halves hit the ground with a plume of burning embers. “But do you think next time you could clue me in on your plan?”
“What plan? I just thought of that at the last second.”
BaRone suddenly felt nauseated. “Come on,” he said, shaking off the feeling. “Let go join up with KyVina.”
Rex was feeling more restless than ever. It seemed like every other second he heard something outside that made him want to leap to his feet and charge out. At last, he decided he could hold back no longer and attempted to rise, when a pain shot through his chest that made him freeze immediately. Fortunately, he had not moved enough to grab the attention of the others, but what was this feeling? He tried moving again, this time much more subtly, and once more the pain ripped through him. He adjusted his weight from his sitting position, and to his great horror, he felt fragmentary pieces of bone move separately within his upper body. The pain, which at first was only noticeable when he moved, was now constant. Damn it, this isn’t good, he thought, for he knew his entire chest cavity was like a sack of broken glass. He tried to reposition himself slightly, only to feel something poke against his lung, followed by a feeling like he was going to throw up. Quickly putting his hand over his mouth, he immediately felt blood running from between his fingers. He forced himself to swallow back down the torrent of blood that he felt rushing up, where it stayed down to his relief. Rex went to move his hand down to his side before the others noticed, but heard a gasp come from off to his right.
“Rex,” DiNiya said with a fearful expression.
“Oh, no,” EeNox said, echoing his sister’s concern.
Rex held up a hand before, spitting some of the blood still in his mouth on the ground next to him then wiping it from his chin with his arm.
“Rex, this is no time to act tough,” DiNiya said, squatting down next to him. “You’re seriously hurt and need help!”
Rex wanted to insist it looked much worse than it was, but he started to fear the worst. His vision was beginning to blur and darken around the edges. In addition, he was also having more frequent bouts of dizziness. Besides, he knew better than to try to fool DiNiya when she was on to him. “Regardless of how bad it may be, I’ll at least live long enough to have AnaSaya get back and patch me up,” he said, trying to reassure her and, deep down, himself.
DiNiya looked at him skeptically then turned back to her brother, who also looked uncertain. “We need to get AnaSaya back here right now.”
“We need to run those monsters out of town if we want to do anything,” EeNox replied.
“EeNox, we’ve already established that there’s really nothing we can do in terms of the fighting out there, but right now Rex is…” she hesitated to say the words. “Rex is dying and we may be the only ones in a position to stop that from happening!”
EeNox dropped his arms to his sides and sighed loudly. “I know…you’re right, but how are we supposed to get her back here in time?”
“The old-fashioned way,” she said, standing up with a look of fierce determination. “By going out there and bringing her back ourselves.”
“Out of the question.”
“EeNox,” she protested.
“Forget it! You’ll be killed!”
“DiNiya, he’s right,” ShinGaru said. “You’ll do nothing short of get slaughtered if you go out there now. How do you think that will make Rex feel?” DiNiya stopped and looked at him, defeated. “I’m sorry, but you know that you can’t use your flame. I’m not trying to crush your desire to help, but neither I, your brother, or Rex is willing to sacrifice you like that.”
“So what…we just sit here while Rex slowly dies?”
“Enough,” Rex spoke up painfully, causing them all to look at him. “DiNiya, they’re right. I’m not worth going on some fucking suicide run.”
“Yes you are, damn it,” she fired back with tears welling up in her eyes. “And besides, who says you’re going to die?”
“No one,” answered EeNox. “I’ll see to that.”
“What do you mean? You’re not actually thinking of going alone, are you?” ShinGaru asked in surprise.
“I’m not thinking, I’m doing it,” he said, tightening the strap around his waist.
“This is so stupid!” DiNiya shouted. “I am not going to just stand here and lose two of the most important people in my life!”
Rex felt a strange sensation arise within him upon hearing DiNiya describe him as such. It felt good to be important to someone else, a strange thing to b
e feeling at a time like this, he knew, but something he could not ignore.
“Well, then it seems you leave me no choice,” ShinGaru declared. “I’m going with you.”
“Thank you,” EeNox replied gratefully.
“If something happens to either of you…” DiNiya began.
EeNox walked over to his sister and cupped her hands in his. “Listen to me carefully,” he said in a gentle voice with the smile that had always made it so hard for her to stay angry with him. “You’re not going to lose anyone; do you hear me?” DiNiya forced her tears back and nodded. “You stay here and look after Rex. We’ll find AnaSaya and LyCora and bring them both back. The two of them together will no doubt be able to put Rex back together again.”
DiNiya looked up and met her brother’s deep-green gaze. “Please, EeNox. Come back to us, both of you…and be careful?”
“Aren’t I always?” he said, flashing a reassuring smile before looking past her to Rex. “Hey, man, don’t go dying on me while I’m gone or she’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
“Hearing that makes me kind of want to keel over just to make you squirm,” Rex said with a smirk while forcing his eyes open half way.
“Cold blooded.”
“One of us has to be,” he said with a toothy grin before the pain forced him to wince and place a hand on his chest.
“Watch over him,” EeNox told his sister.
“I will,” she replied. With that, DiNiya watched her brother and friend turn their backs to her and disappear into the chaos.
Rex watched as the two young men he had come to call his friends vanished into obscurity from his failing vision—two brave flames who were putting their lives at risk for his. “Why?” he said in a now notably weaker voice.
“Why what?” DiNiya replied, slowly crouching down next to him.
“Why are they risking their lives to save mine?”
“Because you’re family, Rex,” she said, smiling as she brushed a low-hanging strand of fur out of his eye.
“Family,” he repeated as if trying to uncover the true meaning of the word. And then he heard a distant voice. It was a man, but it was somehow so very familiar. Rex reached out with his mind and tried to pull back the veil that was shrouding the lone silhouette, which concealed the identity of the voice. No sooner did he try then the all-too-familiar pain swelled up in the back of his head. Rex cried, startling DiNiya, who remembered seeing this before.
“Rex,” she cried. “Is it your head again?”
“Y…yes,” he stammered as he tried to get a handle on the pain.
DiNiya reached out with her arms and pulled him in close to her. “I’m here with you, Rex. I’m here.”
“You should head down into the springs with the others,” he said, battling the searing pain in his skull.
“No, Rex. I’ll never leave your side. So get used to that.” She looked down at him, and their eyes met.
EeNox and ShinGaru ran past TemBol, who called out after him. “Where the hell do you two think you’re going?”
“To get AnaSaya and LyCora,” EeNox yelled back without so much as slowing down. “Protect DiNiya and Rex for us.” They pushed their bodies harder than they ever had before, for they knew all too well that Rex was counting on them coming back with the girls, and they were not about to let him down. It’s strange, EeNox thought. Rex has become such a part of my family that I can’t picture it without him anymore. Indeed, the mysterious young man from another world had some unseen power, and not that of the red flame, but rather a mystique that drew people to him. EeNox had always fancied himself a loner, but since Rex arrived, he found himself staying near more and more and not wanting to leave his side. As a result, he felt he had grown a little closer to his father and sister. Despite being aloof and unpredictably aggressive all the time, Rex had managed to brighten their lives and, oddly enough, the world around them. I won’t let you die, Rex. Hang on! He unleashed a powerful pulse and tore across the ground three times as fast, with ShinGaru doing the same to keep up.
TolNy, LyCora, and AnaSaya were drawing near the epicenter of the battle and could now clearly hear all the anguished and furious cries that rose up in the air like the dark clouds of smoke.
“We need to find my mother and VayRonx,” LyCora called down to TolNy.
“First I’ll get you two to safety,” he explained. “Then I will regroup with the others.”
“But you need us! You would have been killed back there if it wasn’t for our help!”
“Right you may be, but that does not change the fact that you went there on your own accord, and to save your lives I needed your help. Now I can finally get you two girls somewhere safe, and risk only my own life.”
“Uh, excuse me,” AnaSaya cut in. “I don’t mean to be rude, but where exactly is ‘safe’ around here, given what is happening?”
“Well, assuming the hot springs haven’t been compromised,” explained TolNy, “that should provide enough cover to keep you out of harm’s way.”
“You assume,” LyCora said.
“I imagine that’s where they sent the other children, so there should be someone guarding it.”
“I don’t suppose you’re giving us a choice in the matter.”
“None whatsoever.”
EeNox looked up and saw KySer and his father locked in combat with three DraGons high above KaNar, one of which was more persistent than the other two. EeNox desperately wanted to help them but knew he could not. Besides, there was someone else who was counting on him right now, and he knew he had to stay focused on the mission at hand. Keep fighting, Father.
He had just reached the clearing where they had first been attacked when he felt an incredibly sharp pain around his waist, and his feet left the ground. He cried out and looked down to see his entire midsection trapped in the jaws of a smaller DraGon no bigger than VoRenna. The DraGon’s teeth had sunk into his back and stomach effortlessly, and he feared that he would be bitten in two. Gritting his teeth, he tried to fire a blast at the DraGon’s head but stopped immediately when he saw the DraGon’s eyes look at him and the pressure around his abdomen intensify. Shit, he really is going to bite me in half! He turned to his left and saw that ShinGaru had also been taken, although his captor was kind enough to merely hold him with one of his feet.
Higher and higher they climbed until they were above the smoke, and the tall craggy mountain peaks became visible. EeNox shifted painfully within the DraGon’s teeth, which showed no sign of loosening their grip. Peering down, he saw he was several hundred meters above the ground and decided that, for the time being, it was better that he did not struggle.
“EeNox,” ShinGaru called over to him. “Are you all right?”
“I’ve been better,” EeNox replied with a look of dread.
“Silence,” commanded the DraGon, carrying ShinGaru.
Deciding that it was best for the time being not to anger their captors, they continued ascending in silence, with the blood-soaked battle raging below, reminding them of its presence with only distant noises that sounded like they were a world away. They knew different, and that if they did not manage to get back down to it and find at the very least LyCora, that Rex was as good as dead. At last, with great pain, EeNox managed to speak up. “Where are you taking us?”
The DraGon just glanced down at him without so much as a growl, continuing on. EeNox, realizing he was not going to get any answer, struggled to turn his neck, and to his surprise and horror, saw what he knew must be their destination.
There, backlit by the large ringed moon, was a dark rocky peak, and atop it was perched one of the largest DraGons EeNox had yet seen. The huge beast was only slightly longer than VayRonx, with dark grey skin and black talons. It was the two long recoiled horns, however, that pushed backwards from its skull, the left of which was freshly broken halfway down, and two burning blue eyes that made the beast most distinctive. As they drew closer, EeNox could see wounds long-since healed over covering i
ts body. He realized that this one had seen its fair share of battle. Where had it been hiding all this time? he wondered.
The DraGon clutching him circled once above the larger one before landing gently in front of it. With what seemed like almost surprising care, he lowered his head and opened his mouth, while the other did the same with his talons, releasing ShinGaru. At first EeNox feared he was stuck, impaled on his captor’s teeth, but soon he felt his body sliding off of them, causing his eyes to go wide and his teeth to gnash together in pain. However, it was the wet sickening sound of the serrated daggers sliding off his flesh that he found truly unbearable. Finally, he fell free of the DraGon’s mouth and hit the ground with a groan. Coughing up blood, he slowly pushed himself up off the ground. Shakily, he turned himself around, where he fell on his rear and looked up at the towering titan who regarded him with a cold and unwavering stare. Both of them looked back and saw the other DraGons doing the same before turning their gaze back to the largest of the three. The towering beast gave a subtle nod, and the other DraGons bowed before pushing off and disappearing into the smoky gloom below.
“Well, I don’t see this turning out anything other than horribly for us,” EeNox whispered over to ShinGaru, who simply nodded. Painfully he rose to his feet as the DraGon cocked its head slightly. “Who…are you?” he asked, knowing full well that his voice was betraying the fear that dwelled within. “Why are you attacking our home?” The DraGon remained silent. Taking this personally, he felt anger overtake fear, and spoke in a more commanding tone. “Answer me, damn it! Who the hell are you?”
The DraGon slammed its tail hard against the ground, causing the entire peak to shake and both boys to fall. “Such an illusion of courage,” the DraGon spoke in a deep, female voice, filled with condescension and even a hint of amusement.
