by Ross Turner
Silence hung all around like death.
Her immediate and instinctive response was to run to the aid of those still clinging to life, but she was not given the chance. The great black dragon still circled above, and those animals already infected by the plague, black wolves and bears, unaffected by the miasma, for it was already a part of them, stalked towards her through the littered carcasses.
Vivian took a faltering step back.
There wasn’t time to help the others.
The Greystones were closing in on their prize.
But before she had chance to make a decision, a deep, rumbling voice echoed all around, shattering the silence.
“Kill her!” The dragon’s dreadful voice resounded, booming over the battlefield.
And with that command, the dozen or so enormous black bears and wolves that were carefully fanning out around Vivian, stalking her, leapt into action, surging forwards, churning dead bodies behind them in their wake.
Teeth and claws lashed out at her, and it was all Vivian could do to evade them and avoid being ripped to pieces. She knocked some aside at the last moment, sending the maddened creatures flying with invisible blows, and others she simply had to dive out of the way of.
She was drastically outnumbered however, and it was only a matter of time before her defences began to slip.
First came the claws across her lower back, scraping four long, horizontal tears that cut easily through her loose clothes and paper thin skin, knocking harshly against her spine as they crossed it.
Next came the blow to her head, as Vivian spun and reeled away from the bear that had sliced her back, the same creature lunged forwards with unimaginable speed for such a bulky brute, and delivered a crushing blow down upon Vivian’s unprotected forehead. The strike sent her lurching backwards and she immediately lost her footing, sprawling out onto the ground unceremoniously.
That was their cue.
Immediately they were upon her. Like hungry vultures, the attacking hordes swarmed in upon the vulnerable Featherstone, and her long overdue mauling at last began.
The first to her was one of the black wolves. It clamped its jaws down upon Vivian’s leg in a vice grip, ripping and tearing at muscle and grinding and grating at bone with all its might. The next beast reached her and bore down upon Vivian’s flailing arm, doing its best to reduce it to shreds in seconds. And finally, before Vivian finally managed to gather her senses, a bear locked its enormous jaws around her shoulder and collarbone, immobilising her completely.
She screamed desperately and writhed this way and that, but she could not break free, no matter how hard she struggled. The pain soon became too much to bear and it overwhelmed her senses.
With one final fight, with all the strength she could summon, Vivian snatched at her will and struck out at the dozens of creatures swarming down upon her, as she lay on the cold ground.
Her power was still such that she sent them all reeling and flying backwards, knocking them from their feet and dazing them, just long enough to make her escape.
Though her body was aflame with fresh agony, and her limbs and chest oozed and coursed with thick, red blood, Vivian launched to her feet and took off as fast as she could, barely able to support her weight on her leg, even with the help of her powers to mask the pain and keep the limb together.
Once again she headed for the comparable safety of the Keep, though she doubted it would protect her for long.
Within seconds, though barely quickly enough, she made it inside, almost throwing herself through the doorway and silently ordering it forced shut behind her. The heavy doors obeyed her command immediately and swung heavily on their hinges, slamming closed with a resounding bang that echoed past Vivian and off down the many corridors beyond her.
Breathing fast and gasping for relief, Vivian crumpled to the ground, unable to take her own weight on her ruined leg any longer.
Gritting her teeth, sweat pouring from her, Vivian pulled her focus in as best she could, and attempted to sew together her injuries, for if left untreated, they would very soon turn grave. Though she doubted her luck would hold out long enough for her to die of her injuries.
She knew she had very little time, for the doors would not hold up forever, and even through her narrowed focus, directed intently upon the task of healing, she heard the black dragon’s terrible, bellowing shriek, and the final, dreadful assault upon Featherstone Keep began.
21
Though it took Vivian barely even two minutes to roughly patch back together her leg and arm and shoulder, that was all it took for the plague ridden army chasing her to reduce the heavy wooden barricade to splinters, and all too soon they poured into the Keep.
Vivian however, was ready for them, and had already gathered her strength to strike.
The great, black, hulking forms of the wolves and bears were framed against the lighted backdrop of the morning sky as they entered the Keep, and it was in that narrow funnel that Vivian focused her attack.
Great searing flames and heavy, invisible blows rained down upon her attackers, and those that were not taken victim by her vicious strike, soon retreated back to safety. Vivian screeched angrily as she directed more and more of her will into the assault, and her victims screamed in pain equally.
Finally, her strength severely sapped, Vivian relented, and saw with satisfaction that the doorway was clear once again, save the charred carcasses that remained smouldering and unmoving.
Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, collapsing to the floor again, drained of her strength, Vivian smiled briefly at her small success.
Victory was short lived however, for within moments the light that illuminated the doorway darkened, blocked out by something, and Vivian felt a familiar and daunting rush of air surge through the entrance and down the hallway towards her.
Without warning then, without so much as a sound, the powerful black dragon ripped through the archway and launched itself towards Vivian, tearing up the stone floor with its massive claws and crushing the doorway with its huge shoulders.
It snapped and lurched at her hungrily, desperately, all the while its dead, black eyes locked on hers. Mercifully for Vivian though, the age old stonework held firm, and though the walls cracked and split, they did not crumble.
“You won’t escape!” The dragon’s dreadful voice sounded, echoing deeply all around the young Featherstone. “Not this time!!”
The monster shrieked deafeningly then and took in a deep breath.
But Vivian knew exactly what that meant, and without a second thought turned and fled for all she was worth, praying that the stones would hold firm and that the dragon’s plague ridden miasma would not catch her.
Though it made no sound, she knew it was pursuing her, and though the dragon’s echoing cries faded slightly behind her, she knew also that the beast would not relent.
The beast bellowed and screeched in frustration as Vivian disappeared down the winding corridors, and withdrew its serpent-like head from the doorway. Taking to the skies, it proceeded to circle the Keep, training its eyes for any sign of its prey.
Pausing for a moment, pressed firmly into the darkest corner she could find, Vivian allowed herself a few terrified and shaky breaths, though she did not dare move.
She could hear the dragon’s powerful wing beats, even from beyond the thick walls of the Keep, and could sense that the monster was encircling her, waiting for her to reappear. Knowing she couldn’t stay here for long, for others would surely soon be sent in to flush her out, Vivian rose unsteadily to her feet and kept moving.
Her body was in tatters: she limped heavily on her ruined leg and clutched at her shredded arm, though it no longer bled so profusely.
She had no choice but to go on.
Regardless of the fact that it probably made very little difference, Vivian crouched low and kept her back to the wall as she moved. Where she was heading she didn’t really know, for as soon as the dragon saw her, no matter where she was, she knew
it would be upon her in a heartbeat.
She came to a corridor then that skirted around the kitchens on the ground floor, and such, because it ran round the whole of the kitchens, it was lined with windows that looked out over the Keep’s ground.
Vivian’s heart was in her mouth.
The beginnings of an idea began to form in her mind, and she realised that even subconsciously she was making her way towards the Keep’s main dining hall. This corridor, however, stood between her and her destination.
Taking a deep breath and dropping to her hands and knees, gritting her teeth against the pain, Vivian began to crawl forward, trying desperately to keep out of the light that streamed in through the dirtied windows. Every few seconds a shadow darted past and blocked the light that shone in, even if just for a moment, for the great dragon still circled the Keep endlessly.
A terrible bellow echoed out then, reaching Vivian’s ears and shaking the panes of glass above her in their frames. Waiting for the shadow to pass by again, she stole a quick peek out through the filthy glass, barely able to see anyway. It was enough however, and with a mixture of grim satisfaction and resolute need, Vivian noted that her previous summons had certainly not been ignored.
Hundreds of creatures poured from the forests all around now, charging towards the Keep and the black beasts guarding it, fighting to defend their homes. They were, in essence, the life and blood of the great Redwood Forest, and without them, it would have been nothing but an empty shell.
Vivian smiled to herself, pride surging through her body, renewing her.
She lingered a moment too long however, savouring that feeling, and, as is usually the way with human emotion, it was a costly mistake.
Spying her immediately as it made its pass, patience winning out over emotion, as again is usually always the way, the monstrous black dragon shrieked in terrible exultation and tucked its wings in close to the sides of its hulking body. It adopted an unstoppable dive and plummeted down towards its prey without the slightest hint of yielding.
Vivian screamed a foul curse and took to her feet sprinting, her concealment blown by her own stupidity. Her feet skidded on the cold stone floor as she launched herself forward, flashing past the windows, time seeming to slow to a crawl as the hulking black dragon loomed closer with every fleeting glance.
Eventually, just before she cleared the corridor, she ran out of time, and the beast careered into the side of the Keep, smashing straight through the glass and stone and wooden timbers effortlessly.
Shards and splinters of rock and wood and glass exploded out in every direction and the monster shrieked as it ploughed through the lot of them, snapping and clawing at its prey with all its might.
Vivian was thrown forwards by the impact of the collision, and screamed in fresh pain as chips of stone and timber and shards of glass embedded themselves into her back, running up and down the full length of her spine. Clattering to the floor, her head knocking viciously against the stone, Vivian rolled onto her side and looked back at the beast that was so desperately pursuing her, trying to focus on it with dazed vision.
The dragon struggled and writhed and yearned out towards her, and she just lay there watching it, only infuriating the beast further. But the corridors were too narrow, the walls too well built, and the stones too set in time to be knocked aside so easily.
Infuriated, the dragon withdrew, fixing Vivian still with the same steely gaze, and took once more to its circling watch.
The fabled Featherstone simply lay there for a few moments longer, her head spinning and her thoughts vague.
Finally, as the throbbing in her head began to subside, and as her mind began to clear, Vivian dragged herself reluctantly to her feet. Every bone and muscle and joint in her body ached and throbbed, and she doubted they would be able to withstand too much more punishment.
Nonetheless, she pressed on, driven solely by the fact that the longer it took her to face the plague ridden beast, the more innocent creatures would die. That thought might have done little to lessen her pain, but it definitely spurred her on, and she lurched forward awkwardly, sharp shots and streaks of pain dancing up and down her back and legs and arms as she moved.
Eventually, staggering down several more dimly lit corridors and round a final bend, Vivian threw herself against the heavy wooden door that she knew led to the Keep’s main dining hall. And sure enough, as she forced the door open on its squealing hinges, it was beneath the high ceiling of the dining hall that she stumbled, dropping to her knees on the hard, unforgiving floor.
The room was enormous, lined with long, dusty tables, each with a hundred and more chairs placed around it. The walls, where they were not magnificent stained glass, were hung with embroidered tapestries that depicted scenes from folklore, one of which, quite ironically, even portrayed a dragon encircling the Keep.
The haunting and now familiar black shadow swept across the stained light cast in through the windows, and Vivian knew she had but seconds before the beast knew she was in here. She hoped, in her desperation, that if the beast tried to enter here, she could funnel what remained of her strength to kill it. It was, after all, the only room in the entire Keep big enough to hold, and hopefully trap the great dragon.
It was a plan likely flawed beyond belief, but it was her only plan, and thus Vivian had little choice.
Sure enough, as if on cue, the looming shadow swept closer, blocking out almost all the light that filtered in to the great hall.
The ceiling itself was a mixture of stone and wooden timbers and slate, and Vivian knew it wouldn’t take very much time at all for the dragon to break through and reach her.
Within seconds then, rumbling and shaking beneath the beast’s weight, the ceiling began to split and splinter and cave in as the dragon came to perch atop the roof. Ripping down with its massive claws, the beast tunnelled its way easily through, directly above Vivian.
Sprinting again now, heading for the opposite side of the hall so that the monster did not come down directly on top of her, it was all Vivian could do to avoid the falling debris: timbers, stone blocks and heavy clumps of falling slate. More than a few times she was even forced to cast heavier chunks aside using her waning power to save herself being crushed and killed.
The beast made short work of the stone and timbers protecting the fabled Featherstone, and even as they still rained down upon her, the serpent-like creature dropped into the dining hall with an earth shattering crack, like a thunderous drumbeat, shaking the very foundations of Vivian’s old home.
Its massive bulk buckled and crushed and destroyed the long rows of tables and chairs, shattering them without a thought and churning the room to ruin even as it entered.
Turning to face the monster, looming over her hungrily and with an all too obvious delight, Vivian thought that its features were almost even demonic as it grinned at her evilly. She examined the black, plague infected dragon properly for the first time, now so close she could feel the beast’s hot, steaming breath, ridden with the reek of the plague: with the stench of death, as Red would have said.
Its scales glimmered black and bloodied in the sunlight that streamed in through the crevasse it had opened in the roof above, and its black eyes flashed hungrily and longingly.
Finally, seemingly unable to wait any longer, the dragon reared its monstrous head and let out an ear splitting shriek, deafening Vivian and reducing her to her knees, head bent down, overpowered completely.
“YOU’RE MINE!”
22
The dragon closed in on the unprotected Vivian, helpless now in the looming shadow of the hulking monster. She had thought she’d be able to fight it, but she was too tired and too weak. It was as if the beast’s very aura robbed her of her strength, and she even felt the plague seeping out from it, contaminating the very air she breathed.
Eyes flashing and head rearing triumphantly, the dragon savoured its victory, grinning as it towered over its feeble prey.
But then its ey
es flashed no more, and the shimmering of its steely black scales ceased, as the light streaming in from the shattered windows and the gaping hole in the roof above was blocked. An eerie darkness fell over the vast dining hall, and they seemed frozen in that instant.
Hesitating for a moment, an unsettled and concerned look crossed the triumphant dragon’s scaly face. The beast’s eyes still bore into Vivian’s, though their harshness faltered slightly, tainted by doubt, and even fear. Vivian held the dragon’s gaze however, resolute as always, though she clutched her many wounds tenderly, as the colour continued to drain from her face.
For a second there was nothing but silence, and a strange apprehension hung in the air between predator and prey, as if something greater than either of them was taking place, that neither of them had any idea about.
The pool of blood forming about Vivian was growing visibly, almost by the second, and she could feel the steady drain on her power and her strength increasing gradually in turn.
Suddenly then, after a few more seconds of eerie quiet, the silence was shattered by yet another ear splitting shriek; it was a roar so loud and so powerful that it shook the very ground and foundations beneath Vivian’s feet.
Even though the terrific bellow felt as if it rattled Vivian from the inside out, the sound was much deeper, and for some reason sounded as though it was much more ancient, with many more years of experience behind it, than that of the black dragon looming over her.
Then, without warning, a colossal set of talons extending from legs wrapped in enormous red scales reached down through the crevasse the black dragon had created. The claws immediately found their mark, and wrapped firmly around the beast cornering young Vivian.
The black dragon shrieked and writhed in panic, but it stood not even the slightest of chances. One clawed foot wrapped around its torso, puncturing its ribs and spraying out thick, hot blood in every direction, drenching Vivian in the process. And the other, at the same time, wrapped around the beast’s great serpent-like neck, threatening to crush the life from it in an instant.
