by Eric Vall
“No shit,” I huffed before I jerked my massive head at the crater we’d created. “Think he’s alive?”
“Only one way to be sure,” he said.
“Yup,” I agreed, “but we can’t go stumbling over there like drunkards. I’m not letting him pull a fast one. Just give me a moment.”
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and sent out a call into my spiritual sea.
You summoned me, my Lord? Miraya’s voice echoed in my mind.
“I’m a little tapped out at the moment,” I explained to the Spirit Sword. “Would you mind lending me your power so I can heal myself and Nike?”
Of course, the spirit purred, I only live to serve you. As my wielder, you may have all that I am.
“Thank you,” I replied, and then I opened my eyes as I felt a warm rush flow through me. Within moments, I felt completely rejuvenated.
I glanced to my side, and Nike was enveloped by a film of silver glitter. He looked up to me as it faded, and an easy smile split his face.
“Tell Miraya she has mine and Aine’s gratitude,” he said, and I dipped my head in response.
Anything to help by dear sister Aine, Miraya said.
“She says you’re welcome,” I relayed before I turned back to the blackened crater twenty yards away. “Now, I think we have some unfinished business to attend to.”
Nike nodded silently, and then the pair of us stalked across the sands toward our prey.
As we approached the crater, I sent out a tendril of my healing power to see if Aleksey was even still alive. Surprisingly, I found a heartbeat, but the rest of his vitals didn’t look too great.
We reached the edge of the blackened hole, and Aleksey glared up balefully at us from its center.
I smirked at the pitiful sight, and then I stomped one of my massive forelegs into the ground.
A pillar of stone shot up directly beneath Aleksey, and it propelled him into the sky like a rocket. He shot up for about a hundred feet before gravity grabbed a hold of him again, and then he crashed into the sand several yards away.
Damn, it felt good to be an overpowered dragon with a magic sword of ass kicking.
Nike strolled toward his traitorous comrade at a leisurely pace. I made to follow him, but then a flash of movement caught my eye.
“Watch ou--” I tried to warn, but Nike was several moves ahead of me.
His power rushed out of him in another wave of pure white light, and Aleksey stumbled and nearly dropped the dagger in his hands. Before the mangled noble could recuperate, Nike was on him in a flash. Aleksey managed to clumsily parry one of Nike’s attacks before he stumbled backward underneath the weight of Nike’s power. The he sent out another fizz of power, barely more than sparkles of electricity, toward us.
“None of that,” I snarled.
Then I jumped into the air, swooped down, and slammed Aleksey into the sand as I pinned him between my front talons. I felt his collarbone and much of his upper back snap under my weight, but I pumped a tendril of healing power into him so he wouldn’t die.
My instincts were screaming at me to tear out his throat and rip his body to shreds, all I had to do was just dig my talons into his body. His soft flesh would give way to crimson blood, and the desert sands would be stained by it. With barely a twitch of my claws, all of his sins would bleed out of him.
But I wouldn’t be able to get my revenge on him, he would die quickly rather than live on in pain and torment. I pried myself off him so I wouldn’t do anything rash and pressed down on Aleksey with my power instead.
“Aleksey, really?” Nike sounded almost disappointed as light seeped from him and swirled around Aleksey.
I only snorted as I allowed my power to encase Aleksey and push him down further into the sand. It was like pressing down on a pillow, there was absolutely no resistance, and I was certain that if I just added a little more power, Aleksey’s neck would snap.
“I did nothing wrong!” Aleksey cried out and gasped under the pressure of our power. He coughed, and blood dripped from his lips. “The divine metal deserves to be in worthier hands.”
“Oh really?” I hissed as I used my power to press him down further into the sand. “If I’m not wrong, you not only stole from a dragon, but you just committed treason against Rahma. Both are very stupid mistakes. Am I right, Nike?”
“I am a lord, a noble!” Aleksey tried to stand up, but he only shuddered more underneath my power. “You can’t harm me without a trial. If you hurt me, everyone will call you a tyrant or worse!”
“Be quiet,” Nike growled at Aleksey. “You explicitly ignored King Rodion’s command, and you’ve stolen from our future prince. You’re lucky to have kept your head. By all rights, we should kill you right here and now for all your crimes.”
“The only reason we won’t,” I added coldly, “is because there’s answers you can provide us. So, remember that the only reason you’re still alive is because you’re useful to us.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself.” Nike walked toward the trembling Aleksey and frowned at him.
The Sword in Nike’s hand shined brightly, as if it were a star come down from the heavens, and it pulsed angrily with every step he took.
“My lord,” Aleksey began as his body continued to shake from the overdose of power, “this is a mistake.”
“You’re right,” Nike nodded before he slammed the hilt of his Sword into Aleksey’s temple, “bringing you here was the first mistake.”
Aleksey slumped to the ground, and I knew he was knocked unconscious. There was a minute trace of power interwoven with that hit, and as I studied it, I realized its intent was to keep Aleksey asleep.
“A rather nice show, if I do say so myself.” I took another step forward and nudged him with one talon. “How long will he stay asleep like that?”
“For as long as we need him to,” Nike replied as he turned to face me. “For days or hours.”
“Perfect,” I growled lowly, and then I picked Aleksey up none too gently with one of my clawed limbs. “It would be annoying if he woke up and started screaming mid-flight.”
“More than a little annoying, I’d say,” Nike agreed as he climbed onto my back. “Though, he’d probably faint if he woke up to find himself in your claws.”
“I wonder why,” I chuckled darkly before I stretched out my wings.
I rose into the air with Nike on my back and Aleksey clutched tightly in my claws. I was careful enough not to crush him to death, but other than that? It wasn’t a tragedy if he ended up with bruises and cuts all over his body. I’d heal him before he died just so the process could start all over again.
The sands of the desert rushed underneath us as the river and aqueducts slowly came into view. I scanned its banks in search of my fiancee and lover, but they were nowhere to be seen. I hoped they had made their way back to the city by now.
As we grew closer to the walls and columns of aqueducts, I saw the remains of the battle sprawled out on the riverbank. Scorched and shattered bones littered the shore, and there was no trace of any fallen warriors from the Blue Tree Guild. It was evident they had won the battle, just as I knew they would.
So, I angled my body in the air, and we continued on toward my city. The river was a blur of blue, and all I could focus on was the bluestone walls of Hatra. My claws minutely tightened around Aleksey’s body, and I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
He had put my people and my city in danger, there was no way I could imagine myself ever forgiving him. Once I got all the information I wanted out of him, well, Nike did say the punishment was imprisonment or death.
And I was definitely going to chose the latter.
I crested over the top of Hatra’s defensive walls and turned in the direction of the Blue Tree Guild airship. Dropping Aleksey off in the brig was the first thing I was going to do, or rather, dropping him onto the ground period. He should be fine if he fell thirty or so feet. It’s not like it would kill him, but it would make hi
s stay in the brig that much more uncomfortable.
As we neared where the airship was docked, I could see a group of warriors waiting stoically for us. Anton was at the forefront, and his arms were crossed over his chest tightly.
I dove down until there were only thirty or so feet between the ground and me. Then I let go of Aleksey’s limp body, and he fell to the ground in front of the Blue Tree Guild airship. It was satisfying to see him crumble in front of all the warriors who wanted nothing more than to sink their claws into his flesh.
“Take him to the brig,” I commanded as I pointed at the traitor with one of my talons. “We’re going to pry all of his secrets out of him, and then I am going to kill him.”
Chapter 17
I stood in front of the Blue Tree Guild airship, surrounded by their warriors, and in front of me was the crumpled form of the traitor who had put my beloved city of Hatra at risk. My anger toward him had cooled down considerably, and I tilted my head to the side as I thought about what needed to be done now.
Interrogating Aleksey was the first order of business, but I wasn’t going to be the only witness. It was a given that Nike was going to accompany me, but I wasn’t sure who else from the Council should be there, all things considered. All of the leaders couldn’t be out of the public eye, especially since we’d just been attacked. We needed to maintain our people’s morale.
“Get whoever can be spared from the Council,” I rumbled as I lowered my head to the ground, “and bring my father from the infirmary. If you find Princess Alyona and Laika, bring them here, too.”
Nike jumped down from my back and walked toward the unconscious Aleksey. He nudged him with his foot and seemed satisfied when Aleksey didn’t react.
“And Lady Julia, shall we bring her here as well?” Anton asked as he stepped forward and picked up the limp Aleksey with one hand. “I don’t think she’s awoken yet, but Lord Moskal should be able to wake her up.”
I couldn’t help my wide smile at the sight of Anton carting Aleksey around. The traitor dragged along the ground as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. He really didn’t deserve any better treatment than that, no, he deserved the absolute worst treatment possible, and I was sure the Blue Tree Guild would be more than happy to oblige.
“No, let her rest.” I took a step forward as I changed from my massive dragon body into my smaller, human body. “She can come visit him when she’s fully rested. I’m sure she’ll have a long list of grievances, and it would be better if she was at her best.”
“Of course, my lord,” Anton agreed with me before he nodded his head at two nearby warriors. “You heard him, go find the Council members.”
The two Blue Tree Guild warriors, two young wolf Demi-Humans, nodded before they took off at a sprint in the direction of the infirmary. Their gray tails wagged behind them as they ran, and they quickly disappeared from view.
“Anton, wait a moment.” I frowned at Aleksey’s prone body and pulled forth stone to shackle his wrists together. “That’s better. Nothing wrong with taking another set of precautions, even if he won’t wake up any time soon.”
“Even if we accidentally bash his head against a doorframe?” Anton glanced at Aleksey with a dark grin on his face.
“He won’t wake up,” I reassured him as I could already see the countless doorways Anton would bash Aleksey’s head against. “Just try not to kill him before we interrogate him, that would be a waste of time and energy for everyone involved.”
“Of course not,” Anton called out as he glanced at me over his shoulder. “He has far too much to pay for before he’s allowed to die. This asshole hurt all of us, and he’s not getting away with it.”
I lifted an eyebrow at the bloodthirstiness displayed by the usually relaxed Anton. It was like he was feeling all the rage and hatred I had felt earlier. Still, when I thought about it, his visceral reaction made sense since he was a wolf. A wolf could be just as vicious as a dragon was, and this wolf was loyal to a dragon. Wouldn’t a bit of the master rub off on the servant after some time?
“Evan, bringing Alyona into the interrogation isn’t a good idea.” Nike stopped me just as I was about to walk forward. “We can’t let her join in.”
“Why not?” I frowned as I glanced over at him. “It’s not like she’ll be frightened by it. She’s fought in battles already, and she traveled half of Rahma by herself.”
“He’s a traitor, and we don’t know what he’ll do.” Nike’s silver eyes darkened again, and now they were nearly pitch black. “Just because he hasn’t done anything to her in the time we’ve been here doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know yet if he was truly after the orichalcum or if all of this was an intricate plot.”
“You’re right, I didn’t think about that possibility.” I drew in a sharp breath as my eyes narrowed. “Even if he’s chained and imprisoned, we don’t know what he’s capable of. But I don’t think he would orchestrate all of this just to get caught like that in the desert. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Neither does betraying humanity for the demons,” Nike pointed out coldly. “We have to operate on the assumption that he’s had a plan for every eventuality, especially since he used demonic magic to fight against Hatra el Shamash. Demons have always been crafty and used convoluted plans to fight against humanity. Even when you think you have the upper hand, you could have been lured into the perfect ambush point by the demons.”
“You have a valid point there,” I conceded to his knowledge of how demons operated, since Nike had spent his entire life fighting them and knew them better than I did. “Let’s just get inside and get this interrogation started. Anton has already dragged Aleksey into the airship.”
“We aren’t going to wait for the Council to start?” Nike tilted his head to the side as he glanced at me.
“Oh we are, we’re just going to get him a bit loosened up for the main event.” I nodded for him to follow me up into the airship and smirked darkly as we caught up to Anton. “Also, is there a separate room we can use? I don’t really want to do this in the brig in front of the other prisoners, even if they’re still unconscious.”
“Of course, we have separate rooms alongside the brig which would work perfectly,” Anton replied. “We can drop this sack of shit in there and break him down for however long it’ll take, and no one in the brig will be disturbed by his screams.”
“Absolutely perfect,” I breathed as I wondered just what secrets Anton was keeping from us. “Lead the way.”
“My pleasure.” Anton smiled darkly as he turned around quickly and smashed Aleksey’s head against the wooden hull of the airship.
Quite the violent one, isn’t he? Miraya laughed into my mind. I wonder if he was that violent before he met you or if this is your influence on him.
I only shook my head as I followed Anton into the airship and through the maze-like corridors of the floating base the Blue Tree Guild called home. The brig was in the deepest part of the airship, far away from the living quarters and entrance. This was, maybe, the third time I was heading to the brig, and even though the hallways of the airship were well maintained and nearly identical, I was sure I would be able to find my way to it alone.
Once we arrived in the corridor leading to the brig, Anton came to a stop in front of an inconspicuous door I hadn’t seen before. It nearly blended in perfectly with the wall, and there were no door seams or even a handle. One moment there was just a wall, and then the next moment, a door slid open to reveal a darkened room.
“Well, isn’t this inviting?” I followed Anton into the room and sat down at the wooden table shoved up against one of the walls. “Quite cozy, perfect for our noble guest here.”
“The Blue Tree Guild only provides the best for our patrons.” Anton smirked back as he let Aleksey’s body fall limp onto the ground. “And this is our number one room for our most honored guest.”
“I can see,” I laughed as I leaned back in my chair. “Shall we begin?”
Just the
n, there was a knock on the door, and we all turned to face it. None of us had expected for the Council members to arrived so quickly, but it only meant everyone would be involved in the breaking of the traitor we’d caught.
Everyone except Alyona.
“I’ll get it,” Anton moved toward the door, “I guess no one wanted to miss even a second of this. They must have rushed here, or Milady made a portal for everyone to pass through.”
“No, I’ll fill them in.” I stopped him as I stood and walked toward the entrance. “The two of you get started. Wake Aleksey up and start making him as comfortable as possible.”
“We will.” Nike’s voice was dark as he stepped toward Aleksey’s prone body.
I nodded as I opened the door to see my father, Pyotr, and my two lovers standing in the hallway. Ruslan looked better than he did back the infirmary, there was still a tiredness in his stance that would take time to go away, but fiery determination filled his gaze.
“I hear we’ve got a friend back in Hatra.” Ruslan grinned darkly, and his fangs gleamed. “We couldn’t stay away and just had to be a part of his ‘welcome back’ party.”
“Glad to see you’re feeling better.” I couldn’t help the smirk that slid across my face at his words. “Nike is waking him up, you got here just in time.”
“Perfect,” Ruslan practically purred as he stepped past me and into the room, “I don’t want to miss a single moment. Besides, I have to make sure he pays for what he did to not only Hatra, but to Julia as well.”
“You did an amazing job capturing him so quickly.” Pyotr patted me on the shoulder and nodded his approval. “A dragon’s nose is truly incomparable when it comes to hunting someone down.”
“Aleksey didn’t do himself any favors, either,” I snorted. “That siphoning power trick of his is neat, but it seems he bit off more than he could chew. Nike and I gave him a little power overdose, and it was all over.”
Suddenly, a strangled scream echoed from inside the room, and Pyotr chuckled as he walked past me. The door slammed shut behind him, and I was left alone with Laika and Alyona.
