A Dragon's Tale Ch. 27

Rachel turned Lady Ekthros' tactic back at her, shooting an air-ram at the arch mage and then a split second later doing the same at two of the men attacking Kendra. They went flying until Lady Ekthros blocked the attack aimed at her and halted the other men's movement whilst simultaneously firing another air-ram at Rachel. She blocked it easily and stood ready for another. Meanwhile, Kendra had managed to turn her disadvantage and wound one of the attackers. Not badly, but there was a small line of blood coming from his torso.

Rachel took a moment to consider the situation, and that's when she saw something on the horizon.

Black wings.

They were in the distance, just barely visible in the darkening twilight sky. Only it wasn't just black wings; it was black wings attached to a black dragon; a black dragon that was flying towards them.

Oh shit.

The black dragon was flying low, just above the treetops. This was the black dragon. The one her father had been working with for some time. The powerful black dragon that was probably closer to Kyrupto's power than Havorleth.

That's when she remembered.

After the fight with Kyrupto, when she'd had those two dreams, Gabriella had said that on the day where she say her father and black wings on the same day, she would know the time for her choice had come. Her heart fluttered slightly, then she felt a glimmer of trepidation that had nothing to do with the powerful creature that was now bearing down on them.

They are arrayed against four elite soldiers, an arch mage, and a Drago-level dragon.

They were screwed.

Ethan extended his hammer and bolt of lighting shot out, stunning one of the men momentarily, but that's all Ethan needed. He threw his spear, which buried itself in the other man's heart before lurching backwards into his waiting hand.

Three down, three to go.

Kendra managed to fend off two of them, while Rachel aimed a powerful air-ram at the third one's leg, knocking it out from under him. Barely had he hit the deck before one of Kendra's throwing daggers buried itself in his side.

Four down, two to go...

...but a Drago incoming.

Ethan and Kendra glanced at each other and grinned, then -- apparently ignorant of the approaching danger -- attacked as one. The other two men were instantly on the defensive as Ethan's longer spear and Kendra great skill drove them back. Lady Ekthros seemed mildly amused, and not at all concerned that two-thirds of her men were dead.

The arch mage started moving her hands in front of herself as if she was caressing a small orb. Moments later, a sickly green light began to form where the center of the orb would be. Rachel prepared to blast either of her friends out of the way of the kill spell, but Lady Ekthros looked pointedly at the unconscious Taloni, then released the spell towards the unconscious Fey teen.

Ethan noticed.

He must've figured out where the spell was headed because he hesitated for a moment, then a resigned but resolute look appeared on his face as he spread his wing to block the slow-moving spell from hitting his unconscious wife.

Thekill spell.

Rachel reacted without thinking.

She summoned all her willpower and focused on blasting one of the two remaining enemy soldeirs into the orb's path. She felt Lady Ekthros create a counter-ram, but focused all her willpower on making hers prevail. Rachel didn't have near the mana, but she had the willpower. Her own air-ram overpowered Lady Ekthros' and the man was flung sideways towards the slow-moving kill spell's path.

It wasalmost enough.

The kill spell barely grazed the man before it impacted Ethan's wing. The man staggered and looked woozy, but remained standing.

Ethan fell like a ton of bricks as the spell hit him.

* * *

Alana had been pacing the deck furiously for the last few minutes as the battle raged far away. She wanted to be there; to help. She knew her bow could make a huge difference, but Ethan had been right. Even running, it would take too long to get there.

Then she felt it.

She and Beth looked at each other, identical looks of dread on their faces as they felt the same thing over their bond.

"No." Beth breathed, her eyes filling with tears.

"Ethan." Alana covered her mouth as all the emotions from her husbandalmost disappeared. They suddenly went from vibrant and powerful to almost non-existent. Her husband wasn't dead, but he was near to death.

Alana sank to her knees, putting her hand protectively over her womb, their child. Then she prayed. She prayed to Illuminar like she'd never prayed before.

* * *

Rachel watched in disbelief as Ethan fell.

It couldn't be.

Not Ethan.

Kendra had taken advantage of the one man's staggering and thrown her last throwing knife into him, and then engaged the final man. However, Rachel was only peripherally aware of that. Her eyes were focused on Ethan.

A ripper spell.

He'd been hit with a ripper spell. They were the ultimate deadly spell because they could instantly rip all the deep mana from a person's body, killing them instantly. She rushed up to him and put her hands on him to feel his mana, hoping against hope that he was still alive. It took several seconds but she did located a tiny bit of deep mana in him. The spell must've weaken slightly when it grazed the soldier, allowing him to survive and he was still barely alive...

For now.

With so little deep mana, he wasn't going to last very long. Minutes perhaps.

He needed deep mana.

Now.

Taloni would assuredly offer hers, but she was unconscious. Rachel didn't know if she would wake up in time. Ethan was so weak because he had so little deep mana. He needed someright now if he was going to survive the hour. Taloni couldn't, Kendra probably wouldn't even if she wasn't fighting for her life, and Alana and Beth were too far away. That left only one option:

Her.

She checked her own deep mana to discover that there was still a sliver of Ethan's deep mana left inside of her. It was a tiny amount, barely a drop. In fact, even with what she'd done to preserve it, it would probably be gone by the morning. Yet she needed to give Ethan deep mana now.

Like, right now.

If she did this, they would bond; she would become another one of his wives. If she didn't do it, he would die. She had a choice. She could choose not to bond with him... but she really didn't have a choice because she couldn't let him die; she just couldn't. Gabriella's words came back to her. The angel had said that she would have a choice, but really wouldn't have a choice. Rachel almost smiled as she realized she'd gotten exactly what she asked for.

She had a choice, but she really didn't have a choice.

She let a smile creep onto her face as she put her hands on Ethan to give her some of her deep mana. It somehow seemed fitting. Ethan had given her his deep mana to save her from the ripper spell in her father's will-breaker ring. She would give him some of hers to save him from a woman working under her father's orders. It had a kind of poetry to it; symmetry.

Plus, she would've been lying to herself if she'd said that she didn't want to bond with him. As odd as it was, she was incredibly grateful for what she was about to do.

Rachel smiled as -- at long last -- she started pushing her deep mana into Ethan.

* * *

Kendra took a step back and chanced a glance behind her. Ethan, Taloni, and Rachel were all down for the count; only she remained. She turned her attention to the swordsman in front of her and more importantly the arch mage behind him. The soldier was good -- great even -- but not quite at her level. The arch mage however...

Behind both of them, Kendra saw a black figure approaching through the air. There was no mistaking the silhouette: It was a dragon.

Ablack dragon.

It landed on the walkway behind Lady Ekthros and started walking towards them. Kendra shuddered as she recognized the telltale signs of an immensely powerful dragon. There was something in the walk, something in the swagger and posture that gave it away. She watching an apex predator sizing up potential prey as the black dragon strode closer. This was a powerful dragon; one who'd enchanted himself to be more than a match for any creature around, including herself.

Lady Ekthros seemed amused as the dragon approached and the soldier reengaged Kendra. Tiring of the fight and having more powerful opponents to deal with, Kendra gave a feint. The man blocked and their blades bit into each other's and they started winding in the bind. The soldier tried to defend, but was completely unprepared for her augmented strength and she struck true. He cried out in pain and then fell to the ground. Kendra lifted her blade in a defensive posture, but tried not to make it threatening.

One does not simply threaten a Drago or an arch mage; not if you could help it.

Damn.

Here she was sticking her neck out for Ethan when all she'd planned to do was apologize. Her plan had been to take off and never see any of them again. Well, except for Taloni. Now, she was the only one standing between them and their sworn enemies.

Life wasn't looking up.

The only bright side was she'd been contracted to bring them the dragon in, and the man had specified that she'd be paid extra if he was alive. It had seemed odd to Kendra at the time because previously Ethan had been wanted dead. However, maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it meant that they wouldn't just kill Ethan and those in his company.

"Drop your sword." Lady Ekthros commanded.

Kendra hesitated.

"Lose the sword or lose the arm holding it." The woman repeated as the dragon drew level with her.

Her sword clattered to the ground and she raised her hands. "Fine, just keep that thing away from me." she nodded at the black dragon.

Lady Ekthros cocked her head to one side. "Even after apologizing to one and aiding him in battle, you still detest dragons?"

"Until the day I die." Kendra said both honestly and vehemently.

The other woman raised her eyebrow as she glanced skeptically at Ethan's unconscious form.

"The enemy of my enemy..." The dragon huntress offered. "I won't kill him, but that doesn't mean I don't hate him for being a dragon."

"You seemed quite friendly with his Fey wife."

"Yeah, well; she isn't him."

"Then I have the perfect punishment in mind for you." Lady Ekthros smiled wickedly, then cocked her head to one side. "And now have a reason to let the Fey live."

Kendra was about to ask what the reason was, but the black dragon started forward. He was fast; easily as fast as Kyrupto. She had just enough time to see a black blur approaching her head before the word faded to black.

* * *

Alana forced her hands to her sides to keep from chewing her fingernails completely off. She paced the Argo's weather deck furiously, alternating between starting towards the gangplank to find Ethan and the quarterdeck to find the Argo's pilot.

"What do we do?" Beth said, looking every bit as frantic as the wood elf felt.

The chocolate-haired elf checked her bond with Ethan, pleased to see that he was still alive. He was weak -- very weak -- but alive and much better than he'd been a few minutes ago when he'd nearly...

She swallowed hard.

"I don't know." She admitted, then thought to everyone. *Taloni? Taloni can you hear me?*

No answer.

She obviously wasn't bonded to the Fey girl and so obviously couldn't tell anything about her. She couldn't sense emotions or even tell if she was conscious; much less if she was on her way back to the Argo.

"She must be coming, right?" Beth asked wringing her hands. "I mean, Ethan told her to come and she'd never disobey him, right?"

"I hope..." The wood elf faltered, not sure what she hoped.

Ethan had told her to take Beth and leave when Taloni reached the Argo. But what if she didn't reach the Argo? What if something had happened to her? The last thing Alana wanted to do was leave the others behind, but what if Lord Delmar's men were coming for her and -- more importantly -- the baby.

She put a protective hand over her womb.

But to leave Ethan and Taloni behind, not to mention Rachel...

"We can't leave yet." She finally said.

Beth looked both relieved and scared. "What do we do?"

"Wait and see if--" She took a deep breath as she corrected herself. "--I mean when Taloni comes back. This should be a wives' council decision."

Beth nodded, looking fearful. "I can't lose them; any of them." She whispered.

Alana walked up to the blonde and wrapped her in a hug, feeling the same not knowing what to say.

* * *

Selene woke up to the sound of distant singing. It took a moment for her to get her bearings and remember that she wasn't even on Earth anymore. She groaned as she put her hand over her eyes to block out the early morning light streaming in through the windows. The sun hadn't risen yet, but it was a cloudy day and a somber grey tone colored the sky.

She sat up, feeling a slight crick in her neck as she did so and her side ached slightly from the sword and its belt. She was loathe to take it off, even here where she felt fairly safe. She yawned, stretched, and then stood up. The monks had offered her breakfast the previous night and she was planning to take them up on it. However, she needed to decide what to do after that.

She couldn't stay there forever, and she needed to either find Ethan or find the portal if she was ever going to get home. The portal back to Smithbond's base seemed much easier to find, little though she liked it. If she could earn enough money, she could probably hire an airship to sweep the region. Regardless of what she did though, she'd need money.

She sighed.

It was time to see if she could get a job as a waitress.

She walked outside to stretch her legs, noting that there was a bird watching the entrance like a hawk. The moment she appeared, the bird seemed to lock its eyes onto her and stare.

Hmm.

* * *

Taloni felt like her head had been used as a drum at an all-night dance. She screwed her eyes tightly shut and tried to go back to sleep, but her brain wasn't cooperating. She could feel master nearby, but oddly she wasn't touching him. Maybe it was Beth's turn to snuggle...

Her eyes snapped open as she realized she wasn't laying on the Argo's comfortable bed. Instantly her eyes complained loudly and she closed them again. She examined her body magically and used some mana to heal the rather large bruise that had formed on her head.

She groaned as the memories came back.

Once her head was healed, she opened her eyes a little more slowly and looked around. She was in a small cage with iron bars. The cage was about ten feet square and situated in a corner of a larger room that was about twenty feet square and made entirely of wood. There was a single steel-clad door set into one side which was ajar, and opened into what looked like some kind of laboratory, but she wasn't sure. Master, Rachel, and Kendra were in the cage with her. The dragon huntress had a nasty looking bruise on her forehead with some crusted blood on it, but otherwise looked okay. Her husband and the redhead were unconscious, but she couldn't see any wounds.

She put a hand on Ethan and had to stifle a gasp; his deep mana was nearly half gone. She resisted the impulse to give him half of hers, and remembered what Anthiel had said about piloting airships: thinking ahead was key.

She took a deep breath.

He wasn't in any danger, though he probably wouldn't wake up until he'd replenished more of it. She put a hand on Kendra, checking her health. Besides the bruise she was fine, so the Fey girl took a minute to heal it. It didn't take much mana, so she thought it was the least she could do.

Then she checked on Rachel. The redhead didn't look hurt, but someone had put a leather collar on her that looked much like Taloni's old slave collar. She guessed it was to prevent the teen mage from using magic, and gently touched her to see how she was doing.

"What in Illuminar's name..." She gasped as she discovered that Rachel's deep mana was also nearly half gone. It didn't take long for her to put two-and-two together and a wide smile to spread across her face as she looked at them.

"She's going to be a wonderful wife." The Fey mused and she gently touched Rachel flame-colored hair.

She smiled and tried to decide how best to proceed. She could give Ethan half her deep mana, but then she'd likely be out cold too. However, she was full on regular mana, and while it took a lot of effort to convert regular mana into deep mana at a rate faster than the body naturally did it, it was doable.

She thought for a minute, then decided to only give Ethan a little deep mana, then convert some of her regular mana into deep mana before giving him more. Then she could meditate to recover her normal mana, convert it to deep mana, and repeat the process. It would take longer than just giving him half of her deep mana, but given their situation she thought it was the smarter option.

At least, she hoped it was.

* * *

Beth had barely slept a wink all night and neither had her fellow wife.

The blonde was laying in the captain's cabin bed with Alana next to her just as they'd lain all night. They'd held each other for comfort, but it was a cold sort of comfort not knowing what had become of their love, fellow wife, and Rachel. They'd both barely dozed the whole night, and spent the rest of it either worrying or drenching the pillows in tears. Beth felt like her brain was working at half speed because of anxiety and lack of sleep, and Alana didn't look much better as they talked about how to help.

Only one thing had occurred to them that morning, and they'd been discussing it since they woke, but neither was sure how to go about it.

"I'm not sure he would even help." Beth said, her voice cracking slightly as she tried not to think too much about what could be happening to Ethan right now.

"He sent Ethan to talk to Illuminar, so why wouldn't he help?" Alana replied. Her voice was trembling, but firm. Her normally bright smile and cheery disposition was now grim but determined.

"But how would we even get an audience?"

"We have to try." Alana replied. "Correction: you have to try; they won't let me into the palace, remember."

Beth took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself. She had rarely been given the opportunity to talk with leaders who visited her father, much less done so alone. Her trepidation must've showed on her face because the wood elf looked sympathetic.

"You can do this Beth; I believe in you and Ethan needs you." The she said kindly.

"I wish I was more like you." Beth whispered. "You're fearless and I'm just..."

"Just a sweet, wonderful girl who doesn't know her own worth." Alana pulled her into a hug. "You know, I once heard a wise husband say that courage isn't the absence of fear; it's being scared or nervous and doing it anyway."

Beth nodded, remembering him saying that to encourage Taloni before she tried docking the Argo for the first time. "I'll try."

"And besides, I'm really not holding it together well at all." Alana sniffled.

The blonde nodded. "I feel like my heart is being yanked out of my chest and roasted over an open flame."

"We'll get through this." The wood elf said firmly. "I don't know how, but somehow, we'll get through this."

"How can you be so calm?" The blonde asked.

"Because I had a dream, and in the dream I was nursing my baby after she was born. Gabriella was there, and she told me to remember this dream when life got hard and dark days came, because it would help."