Dragon Feared

by Kit Bladegrave

  After a few more seconds of looking, it wasn’t hard to realize which ones were the Black diamonds. Their scales were shaped vastly different, black and grey scales with red following the curves of their wings as well as the ridges of their backs.

  Slade had been right about that danger. They were going to keep coming for me, and now I just put all their lives in danger by being here.

  “Everest! Move!”

  I shook my head just in time to see the fighting mass of dragons rolling across the floor right for us. He threw me out of the way, and I hit the floor hard, watching as Slade took a hit to his side.

  The dragon threw him against the far wall, and he disappeared from my sight. The largest dragon there, who I was assuming was Tank, slammed into the side of the attacking dragon, and then took a second to nod his head at me before he went after him again.

  Someone was going to hear this fighting and come looking, but none of them seemed worried about keeping a low profile.

  I considered drawing the Black Diamonds away. If I could get them near the school somehow, then people there would finally believe me.

  Slade would be pissed, but I hadn’t seen him get up yet and I wasn’t going to watch him and his friends get killed.

  Just as I opened my mouth to make some noise and drag the other dragons out of there, a hot breath shot against my back.

  I flinched and spun around to see a third Black Diamond glaring down at me with those weird red and black eyes.

  I gulped and slowly backed up as he stalked closer, his jaws yawning open wide.

  “Descendant,” he growled, and I saw his claws reaching for me, ready to snatch me up, but another roar exploded and a white dragon, nearly twice the size of Tank, threw himself at the Black Diamond, and they crashed out through the far wall, straight into the next warehouse.

  Tank and Davis were too busy with the other dragons, so I sprinted through the opening to find Slade and the grey-scaled dragon locked together in a vicious fight. They snarled and swatted at each other.

  Slade bit down hard on the other one’s wing, tearing it right down the middle.

  The great beast bellowed in pain, thrashing around and around, but didn’t back down. It seemed to only infuriate him more, and he threw himself hard at Slade.

  He drove his claws up under Slade’s ribs.

  Slade’s mouth dropped in pain as his eyes widened, but he couldn’t get out of the grip.

  The grey dragon bit down on his shoulder, and I ran towards them.

  “Let him go!” I bellowed, summoning my magic to my hands. I rolled it around and around, building it up into the power ball we’d been learning in Advanced Spellcasting.

  I threw it at the dragon’s head, hitting him right in the eye.

  He released Slade, and he sank to the floor, shifting as he fell. The Black Diamond shook out his head, but didn’t back off.

  He came at me instead, his left eye scrunched shut. I started to form another ball, willing Slade to get back up, but he wasn’t moving, barely even breathing and blood covered his clothes.

  I couldn’t take this dragon on, but for Slade, I would try until he took me down.

  “You,” the dragon snarled. “Witch, you will not escape me again.”

  If I hadn’t been so terrified of possibly dying in a warehouse, I would’ve been fascinated to see him talk without even moving his lips.

  I took another step back, and the power in my hands flickered in and out as my breathing grew ragged. All I heard was my pulse pounding in my ears. This was it, the end, right here before I even truly got to know what was going on. And no one else would understand that they weren’t safe from the Black Diamonds. Not even close.

  A blur of white shot past my right shoulder and Tank—or Davis—slammed into the dragon, bellowing at me to get Slade out of there.

  They were wrestling and snarling, and there was nothing left to do, but do as he asked.

  I sprinted to Slade, hoisting him up with an arm around my shoulders.

  “Slade!” I yelled, but he didn’t say anything, and his head lolled to the side.

  Cursing under my breath, I hurried as fast as I could to the door, leaving Tank and Davis to fight off the dragons.

  I didn’t know where to go, no idea if they had any backup in the city. So, I turned right outside, and made for campus.

  It was a risk, a huge risk, but I had to get us somewhere safe.

  “Hospital,” I whispered. “You’re going to bleed out.”

  “No,” he growled so fiercely I jumped. “No… hospital… please…”

  “Fine, fine be a pain in the ass,” I grunted and pushed on toward campus.

  I expected him to protest, but he was too out of it to do much, aside from letting me drag him along. There was no way I could get him through the front gates of campus, but I’d found a back gate a few days ago.

  It was locked which was the only reason I hadn’t used it that first night when I climbed over the wall. Now, I just hoped it wasn’t being guarded as I maneuvered us towards it.

  When we reached it, the rusted iron covered in more vines and flowers, I pressed my hand to the lock and watched purple mist seep from my fingers and into the lock.

  I had no idea exactly what I was doing, but I let instinct take over, and with a loud clank, the lock broke. I carefully pulled the door open, peering inside, but there was no one there.

  We barely slipped inside and closed the door again, when the alarm bells rang out.

  “Really? Can this get any worse?”

  Slade didn’t lift his head or say anything, and there was more blood seeping from his wounds.

  His skin was much paler, and I hurried as fast as I could to the greenhouse.

  Gargoyles sat perched atop it, and I froze when one swung its stone head towards us. But, instead of attacking, it merely huffed and turned back to its watchful gaze as I heard shouting and more bells ringing out.

  Funny how the gargoyles were meant to protect the campus from evil and clearly did not see a Shadowguard as evil, but everyone else did.

  Inside the greenhouse, I tucked Slade out of sight and checked his pulse at his neck. It was weak, really weak, and when I tapped his cheeks, he didn’t try to open his eyes, or swat me away. Nothing. Fear filled me, and all I could think of was leaving him to die alone here.

  “You are going to be alive when I get back,” I whispered sternly to him as tears burned in my eyes suddenly. “You are not going to die. Not yet, you’re not allowed.” I squeezed his hand hard, and I felt the strangest connection to him, as if us finding each other was more than just him protecting me.

  There was much more going on here, but it would have to wait until he wasn’t dying.

  I crept out of the greenhouse, and keeping as out of sight as I could, rushed to the only person I thought would help me without question, or at least too many questions.

  Professor Fredwin’s post during any sort of emergency or lockdown was at the dorms. I was risking letting anyone else see me, but he was the only one I felt wouldn’t completely lose his mind when I dragged him back to the greenhouse. I hid behind a tree, watching as he spoke with two other professors before he was finally left alone.

  Holding my breath, I rushed over to him, grabbing his arm.

  “Everest? Why aren’t you—why are you covered in blood?” He grabbed my shoulders, muttering about getting me to the infirmary, but I yanked myself out of his hands.

  “It’s not mine, but I need you to trust me,” I begged.

  “What? What’s going on? You need to get inside, there are Shadowguards here.”

  “They’re not the ones you need to worry about,” I argued. “Please, just trust me?”

  He looked like he wanted to keep arguing, but I was already running back to the greenhouse. “Everest, really you should be inside! This is too dangerous! And whose blood is on you?”

  I didn’t say a word and opened the door, stepped inside, and hurried back to Slade. “Come on
, open your eyes already, Slade,” I whispered, but still nothing.

  There were steps behind me that suddenly stopped, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Professor Fredwin glaring down at Slade. “That’s… that’s a Shadowguard. What are you doing with him? Are you insane?”

  “I told you, Shadowguards weren’t the ones attacking the other night, and they weren’t attacking today. They’re Black Diamonds, and this… this is Slade. He’s saved my life from them three times now.” I stood and stared Professor Fredwin down. “I am not going to watch him die. Are you going to help me or not? I swear I will tell you everything I know.”

  His eyes darkened, and I waited for him to start calling for help, but then he pushed past me, and started checking Slade over. “We need to get him out of sight, back to my rooms.”

  “So, you’ll help, right? You’re not going to call in the Hunters?”

  “No, not yet at least,” he said.

  When I opened my mouth to yell at him, Slade let out a grunt of pain and shivered.

  “His wounds are extensive, we need to stop this bleeding.”

  “I don’t know how to do any healing yet,” I said, trying not to panic as I sank down beside him. “Professor Fredwin?”

  He lifted Slade’s shirt, and we both gasped at the wound beneath his ribs. As he shoved aside the shirt at his shoulder, we saw the deep puncture wounds from teeth. Dragon teeth. He looked around and found a stack of clean rags to shove against the wounds.

  “Amelie. You need to bring her to my quarters.”

  “No one else?”

  “Anyone else will call the Hunters without taking time to hear you out,” he growled. “She’s one of the best witches when it comes to healing, and she’s your friend, right? Find her and bring her to my quarters. I’ll get him there without anyone seeing.”

  I worried at my bottom lip, not sure I wanted to leave Slade alone, but Professor Fredwin grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him.

  “Everest, if we don’t do something for him now, he could die.”

  My chest tightened, thinking of not seeing those intense blue eyes again, and I was on my feet and out the door in a shot.

  Thirteen

  Everest

  It wasn’t as easy to get back inside the dorm under lockdown, but I managed and sprinted to the top floor, not willing to wait for the elevator. I burst into mine and Amelie’s dorm to find her pacing back and forth in the living room.

  “Everest!” She sprinted to me and hugged me tightly before she stepped back, eyes widening in panic. “Oh my god! What happened? Were you attacked again?”

  I glanced down at myself, almost sick at the sight of so much of Slade’s blood. All his blood.

  I swallowed back my fear, and told myself firmly he was not going to die. “I need your help, right now, but you can’t tell anyone. Please, not even Jared.”

  “You’re freaking me out,” she said, taking hold of my hands. “What happened?”

  “I need you to come with me to Professor Fredwin’s. There’s a dragon at his house that was attacked, and he’s… he’s dying.”

  “Then take him to the infirmary. Everest, what’s really going on?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, making sure our door was still closed. “He’s not exactly welcome here, but I need you to trust me. He saved my life, Amelie, and now… now I need to save his.” I pleaded with my eyes, begging her to just listen to me and not think I was crazy like she had about me being attacked by Black Diamonds.

  She screwed her lips to the side in thought, but finally gave in. “Alright, but you better give me some answers if I do this.”

  “I’ll tell you everything I can. I owe Professor Fredwin an explanation, too.”

  “You better. How was he hurt? What are his wounds?” she asked as she rushed up to her room.

  I followed and described the injuries the best I could, choking up a few times remembering how serious they were.

  I wiped angrily at my eyes and watched anxiously as she got her supplies together in a cloth tote she slung across her body.

  “That everything you need?” I asked, wringing my hands.

  “We need to stop by the Mystic Arts building, snag a few more things.”

  “Can we get in there during lockdown?”

  She shrugged. “We’re going to have to, if he’s hurt as bad as you say, I don’t have all the right supplies.”

  “Right, then let’s go.”

  “Everest? You might want to change really quick,” she said gently. “You’re going to draw a lot of attention covered in blood like that.”

  I picked at my now-crusty shirt, and nodded. I rushed to change into a fresh pair of jeans and flannel shirt then joined her in the living room.

  We rushed out of the dorm, sneaking out a side door and quietly made our way to the Mystic building.

  Getting in was easier than I expected, and Amelie gathered what she needed from the supply closet. On our way out, we turned a corner, rushing to get to Professor Fredwin’s, and ran smack into Jared.

  “What are you two doing out of your dorm?” he asked, helping us both back up.

  “Uh, we had to take care of something,” I lied. “It’s not a big deal, really.”

  “Yes, it is, especially for you,” he said, looking around worriedly. “Everest, they’re probably after you again! We’re getting you back to your dorm, right now.”

  I tried to pull my hand from his, but his grip was too strong. “No! Just hang on a second.”

  He didn’t stop, and Amelie looked at me looking slightly panicked. She had no idea she was about to go help a Shadowguard dragon, and if Jared found out… I didn’t want to think about what he would do, but I had to get to Slade before it was too late.

  “Professor Fredwin’s expecting us, we’re heading to his quarters.”

  Jared stopped and stared at me confused. “During a lockdown? What the hell for? They said the dragons were fully shifted. They’re not trying to hide, and they’re coming here. Professor Fredwin should know the safest place for you—”

  “Is with him,” Amelie cut him off, nodding eagerly. “Yeah, he said for me to get her and take her to him, so he could keep a closer eye on her.”

  “Fine,” he said, giving in faster than I thought he would. “But I’m taking you there.”

  Inward I groaned, but we had no time. “Fine, whatever, we just have to go, now.”

  Knowing this was going to be a disaster, we moved forward. Jared followed us across campus to where the professors lived. We walked right on in, since they were more concerned with guarding the students than their rooms, and headed down the right corridor to Professor Fredwin’s apartment.

  At the door, I turned to Jared.

  “Right, thanks, we’re here. You can go now.”

  But Jared crossed his arms and grew even more suspicious. “Not until I talk to Professor Fredwin.”

  Amelie glanced at me worriedly, but we were running out of time. I would just have to think of a way to restrain Jared if he spotted Slade before we could get rid of him. I knocked on the door and heard Professor Fredwin call out to see who it was.

  When I replied me and Amelie, he yelled for us to come inside, quick. We rushed through the door and all worry about Jared seeing anything disappeared.

  “He’s out cold,” Professor Fredwin said, his face sad, not looking up as he knelt by the couch where Slade rested. “He won’t wake up. His wounds are festering already, and he’s lost too much blood.”

  “Amelie, please,” I whispered worriedly, and stared at Slade’s pale face. I reached for his hand and found it clammy and cold to the touch.

  She nodded nervously and threw everything down on Professor Fredwin’s coffee table and then bolted into his kitchen. “Um… Everest, can you bring me the ingredients?” she called, and I snatched up everything.

  Jared was still standing in the doorway looking terribly confused, but didn’t say anything when I reached around him and shut the door
so no one else would see.

  I was not very satisfied with what I saw in the kitchen.

  She had found a crockpot and had it plugged in. “Are you serious?”

  “He doesn’t have a cauldron, all right,” she snapped and then poured a bit of water into the crockpot.

  She began mixing the potions together, words slipping from between her lips filled with magic that weighed heavy in the air.

  The hair on my arms raised, and little traces of magic escaped from her fingertips, not as vibrant as mine, but still fascinating to watch.

  It took her longer than I would have liked, but eventually, she grabbed a glass from the cabinet to scoop some of the glowing blue goop from the crockpot.

  “I’ve never done this before,” she confessed. “It’s an advanced concoction, Everest. It’s difficult enough with a proper cauldron.”

  We hurried back to the living room where Professor Fredwin had pulled Jared to the side, his face pinched, but it was clear he hadn’t been told who this bleeding guy on the couch was yet.

  Amelie held up the concoction. “We need to make him drink this, and then there is an incantation I need to do.”

  “Everest, help me,” Professor Fredwin said, and the two of us slowly sat Slade up.

  He groaned, but at least that meant he was still with us.

  Amelie forced the thick potion down his throat, and he grimaced, but his eyes remained firmly closed. Amelie laid her hands over the wound at his ribs and whispered the chant as power pooled around her hands, and then covered the wound.

  Slade flinched, then thrashed, and we struggled to keep him still.

  Jared rushed to help, surprising me, but then he didn’t know yet what Slade was.

  The three of us held him steady, me whispering into his ear that he’d be alright, I was going to make sure he lived.

  Jared shot me a curious look, and I swore I saw a hint of jealousy in there, but he would have to deal with it. The only thing in this room I cared about at this moment was Slade.