A Dragon's Tale Ch. 54

*He let me go on the road.* She replied, confusion all over her tone.

Ethan raised his blade and pointed it at Lord Delmar. "Alana, get into the captain's cabin or below decks."

Lord Delmar didn't even spare a glance for her. He kept his eyes focused on Ethan and Ethan stared right back, each looking into the other's eyes. For the briefest moment, Ethan understood. The lord's eyes weren't like Kyrupto's which were laden with haughty disregard for everything except dragons, or like Havorleth's which were greedy and arrogant, nor even like Drousin's which were mostly bored and intelligent.

These eyes were resolute.

Lord Delmar's eyes contained a force of will that even Kyrupto couldn't hope to match. More than anything else, the black dragon was immovable and implacable. Looking into his eyes was like trying to stare down a mountain; there was no chance of winning. Ethan was reminded of the description of the title character in the movie 'John Wick' who was described as: "a man of focus, commitment; sheer will."

That was Lord Delmar.

That was one of the two lords who were determined to kill him.

He gulped and then Lord Delmar attacked again, moving faster than before. Ethan swung his sword so the point was on line, hoping to land a thrust because it would have a higher chance of penetrating the lord's scales. The black dragon modified his advance, coming from lower and more to the side as Ethan thrust out. Lord Delmar used his scale-covered arm to bat at the flat of the blade. Ethan responded by rotating his war sword so the edge made contact and attempted a draw cut.

His dragon steel blade bit slightly.

Not enough, but slightly.

Lord Delmar finished closing the gap.

Ethan tried to draw his sword back for defense or a counterattack but didn't have time. Lord Delmar shot his claws out, thrusting them towards the gaps in Ethan's plate armor.

The world slowed even more as Ethan felt the lord's claws hit a gap between the plates of his armor a fraction of a second in the future.

Ethan reacted to his dragon sense's warning, twisting his torso to make sure Lord Delmar hit his armor instead.

It only partially worked.

Lord Delmar could adjust his aim as fast as or faster than Ethan could adjust his body. Ethan winced as two of Lord Delmar's claws punched through Ethan's scales and dug deep into his torso. He dropped his war sword and called his dagger to his hand. Lord Delmar grabbed that hand as he also jerked his claws from Ethan's wounded side and wrapped them around Ethan's neck.

Ethan tried to claw at the other dragon with his feet, but Lord Delmar's scales were too hard and his claws couldn't gain purchase.

Lord Delmar began to squeeze.

Ethan was pretty sure the lord wouldn't snap his neck, but he could feel the blood flow being cut off and figured he only had 6-8 seconds before he passed out...

...and nothing he was doing was helping.

* * *

Selene made it to the top of the stairs, the fabric shield in one hand and the Glock 26 in the other. She stopped at the doorway from the lower decks, planning to use the frame as a brace to make sure that her rounds landed. A lot of people had misconceptions about pistols being easy to shoot. They weren't, especially under stress. Something to brace against would help a lot.

She looked at the situation and was glad she hadn't taken any longer stumbling around in the dark. Lord Delmar had Ethan by the throat.

Literally.

He was holding Ethan off the ground while he fought, but it didn't seem to be having much effect. The lord's back was to her and Alana had run to the front of the ship, possibly to retrieve an arrow?

Lord Delmar's head flinched slightly, then Beth thought to everyone. *His second eyelid is down; I can't get his eye.*

Selene pulled the pistol up in a firm two-handed grip and braced her arms against the doorframe, took a whole second to aim, and then squeezed off a round aimed at Lord Delmar's center of mass.

BANG!

Lord Delmar let out a strangled growl. He turned and rushed towards her before she could get a second round off. She wanted to try to shoot him as he was approaching, but she might've hit Alana or Ethan if she missed and she wasn't willing to risk that. Instead, she activated the shield and raised it to protect herself from the charging dragon.

Then Lord Delmar arrived.

She just barely saw a clawed hand slashing down towards her face and raised the shield trying to defend herself with her strength-enhancing vambraces active. She was dimly aware of a sharp pain in her cheek before she was knocked backwards into the solid wood of the entryway and the world turned almost instantly to blackness.

* * *

Alana said a silent prayer of thanks to Illuminar for Selene. The Brazilian woman had given her a chance. Not a large chance, but a chance.

One of Lord Delmar's scales was missing.

Alana couldn't tell if it had been broken off, knocked off, or something else and she didn't really care at the moment. The important thing was that right now, Lord Delmar had a chink in his impenetrable armor. It wasn't much, but it might be enough if she could get a proper angle to shoot.

Lord Delmar had swiped his clawed hand at Selene and then body-slammed her into the doorway. Now he was holding the gun, looking at it like a man might look at a cockroach. He inhaled deeply, then tossed it into the air and let out an extremely concentrated stream of dragon's fire. It impacted the pistol and there was a tiny flash like one of the grenades going off butfar smaller.

Thwang!

The noise drew Alana's attention. It was Kendra. She was on the Midnight Sun and had apparently fired a boarding ballista at Lord Delmar with Falkaan's help. Sadly, the heavy and relatively slow-moving projectile proved easy for the black dragon to dodge.

Again, the lord inhaled deeply.

Kendra and Falkaan hit the deck as he let out another extremely concentrated stream of dragon's fire and struck the ballista, which burst into flames. However, nothing else caught fire since Lord Delmar's aim had been so precise. The lord turned to look at Selene once more, and that was when the perfect shot presented itself.

Alana wished that she had enough practice with her travel bow to use it at full strength with the new arrows and be assured of a hit on a target that small. She didn't dare chance it though, even with the new arrows. She just wasn't confident enough to hit the tiny chink in Lord Delmar's scale-covered hide. She instead fished one of the older arrows that she'd gotten in Timarou's capital out of her pocket since she had alot more practice with those.

She drew her bow back, took careful aim, and released.

The arrow found its mark.

The missing scale was right in the middle of Lord Delmar's back. Her arrow had hit that spot but didn't go very deep. This arrow had a slightly broader, flatter, triangular head and one of the two points facing rearward made it under the scales, but no further. It wasn't a mortal wound, but it would be damn painful.

Lord Delmar roared in pain.

* * *

Selene was jolted back to the waking world by the most dreadful sound she'd ever heard. Right near her, the black dragon was roaring, seemingly in pain. The sound very nearly froze her very soul in her chest. This wasn't like Ethan's roars, which were terrifying enough. This one was worse. Far worse. This was on a whole other level. Comparing Ethan's roar with Lord Delmar's was like comparing a puddle to lake, or perhaps a crack in a rock to a canyon.

The sound finally ended and she let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

The Brazilian woman was vaguely aware of a coppery taste in her mouth and that her mouth was full of liquid. She inhaled and coughed, spitting out rather a lot of blood. She felt cold air in her mouth and a pain in her cheek, so she reached to touch it with her tongue...

And her cheek suddenly flared in pain as she put her tonguethrough her cheek.

It felt like someone had stabbed her cheek with a branding iron. The black dragon had apparently cut her cheek deeply enough that her tongue could go through the slit the cut had created. She touched her cheek with her hand and thankfully it seemed like the cut was the only damage, deep and painful though it was.

She spat out the blood again and started healing the wound. She staggered to her feet, all too aware of the dragon mere feet from her. Behind the black dragon, a steel-gray dragon was rising from the deck and calling his war sword back to his hand.

Selene clutched her side which seemed to have taken the impact; she started healing that too.

Lord Delmar tried to reach behind himself to grab the arrow but he couldn't. By luck, skill, or divine providence, the arrow had landed in that one spot on the back that a person simply couldn't reach no matter how much he stretched. Sadly it didn't look like the arrow had punctured the wing. It had struck between them and just to one side of the spine, but the black dragon wouldn't be removing that arrow anytime soon.

Not by himself anyway.

Selene continued healing her cheek as Lord Delmar tried to remove the arrow without success. By this time, Alana had another arrow nocked and Ethan was starting to approach. The old saying about sharks smelling blood in the water seemed to apply to dragons as well.

Well, maybe.

Given the beating that Ethan had taken, she was pretty sure that Lord Delmar could still kill everyone on the Argo easily, even with an arrow sticking out of his back.

Worse, they'd shot their only shot.

Her pistol was nowhere to be found and she doubted she'd ever see it again. Without it, she didn't think there was a way to pierce his scales.

*Selene, are you okay?* Ethan thought to everyone.

*I'm good.* She groaned as kept healing herself.

Ethan advanced on Lord Delmar, sword outstretched.

After only a few seconds, the black dragon abandoned his attempt to remove the arrow and then faced Ethan, moving so that his back was no longer to Selene.

"Leave." Ethan said, still clutching his side with one hand. There was blood coming from his side and he was limping in addition to looking a little light-headed, but there was no denying that he was still ready for a fight. Well, he was readyto fight; he wasn't in good shapefor a fight.

"Those arrows are barbed." Kendra called loudly from the other airship. "The more you move, the deeper they'll work themselves in."

That seemed to give the lord pause.

He looked around at everyone slowly and methodically, then his eyes flicked to the side of the Argo over which he had deposited Rachel on the ground below. He made a thoughtful sound that seemed to indicate displeasure, but it definitely didn't sound fearful. Finally, after several more seconds, he spread his wings, looking like he was being careful not to move the area around the arrow. He leapt over the side of the Argo and began to fly away, keeping his torso relatively stiff.

*Are they really barbed to work their way deeper?* Selene thought to everyone.

*No, but he doesn't know that.* Kendra replied. *And with as stiffly as he's flying, he won't discover it for a couple of hours at least.*

There were a tense few seconds while Ethan stared after him. Selene's human eyes couldn't see the black dragon at night anymore, but apparently Ethan's dragon eyes could.

*Is he gone?* Taloni asked several more seconds after that.

*Yes.* Beth replied as Ethan staggered in place slightly.

The door to the captain's cabin was instantly thrown open and the Fey teen flew out, took only a moment to look around, and then flew to Ethan's side with her feet never touching the ground.

"I've got you Master." She put her hands on him and presumably started healing his still-bleeding wounds.

"Thanks Tee." He groaned as he sank to the deck.

"Are you hurt?" Anthiel asked Selene as the high elf exited the captain's cabin.

The Brazilian woman assumed that she must have blood on her cheek since she'd already healed her cheek completely. "Yeah, but it's just a cut on the cheek and I've already healed it."

Anthiel nodded and then turned to Ethan. "Captain, I suggest we collect our crew and depart as soon as possible. It would not be wise to be in the same location in case he returns."

Ethan nodded. "I'll pick up Rachel and Kendra when Tee's done healing me, then let's get the hell out of here."

Selene couldn't have agreed more, though in the back of her mind she was wondering who Lord Delmar could possibly get to remove that arrow.

* * *

Fiona was woken from a deep sleep in the middle of the night by Conner crying loudly. No, he was wailing loudly. She sighed; he had been doing so well sleeping through the night lately so she was wondering what had woken him.

Then she heard the knocking.

"Fiona!" Marge was calling. "Fiona, wake up! It's urgent."

"I'm up, I'm up." She replied as she tried to clear the sleep from her eyes and cobwebs from her brain. What in Illuminar's name could Marge be wanting at this time of night? Fiona rolled out of bed, straightened her nightgown, and then went to let Marge in.

"Lord Delmar needs you in his office, as quick as you can." Marge said instantly the moment the door was shut.

Fiona stared at her, sure she'd misunderstood. "What?"

"Lord Delmar sent one of his office guards to wake me." The head cook replied. "I went to his office and he told me to come down here and tell you that he needs you in his office as soon as you can be there, and that he wanted me to watch Conner for you so you could go without leaving your son alone."

The copper-haired woman blinked, then shook her head slowly and kept staring. "I must be hearing you wrong. It's the middle of the night; what could the Lord Delmar possibly be wanting with me at this hour?"

"I don't know and he told me to never tell anyone about this, but he did say it might be a matter of life and death." Marge replied as she picked up the still-wailing Conner from his crib and started rocking him. The boy quieted down rather quickly.

"Go, I'll be here with Conner." Marge repeated.

"Why me?" Fiona asked. "And why at this hour?"

The head cook shrugged, then started gently rocking Conner as his wails continued to decrease.

"I'll be needing to get dressed." Fiona pointed out.

The head cook turned her back. "Get dressed and then get going. Lord Delmar doesn't use phrases like 'it's a matter of life and death' lightly."

"Okay." Fiona finally replied. "I'm not understanding at all, but okay."

* * *

Fiona's trip to Lord Delmar's office was eerie. Surreal. She didn't encounter a single guard on her way.

Not one.

It was weird.

Not that there were usually guards all over the castle, but she couldn't remember the last time she hadn't even seen one. She frowned as she walked, trying to figure out what was going on.

It was even more strange when she arrived.

For as long as Fiona had been at the castle, there were always two guards outside of Lord Delmar's office, even when he wasn't in it. She assumed it was because he didn't want people prying when he wasn't there, but there weren't any guards there now. Not one. For the first time ever, his office was unguarded. Even more strange, he had hung some kind of a curtain over the glass window to his office and no one could see inside. That had never happened before either.

It was very strange.

She hesitated for several long seconds outside the door. A part of her thought that continuing was a bad idea, but it was the Lord Delmar. He had done so much for her that she was willing to trust him even when things were strange.

She knocked.

"Enter." He replied instantly, but something about his tone was off.

She opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her.

The fireplace in the room was lit and there was a decent-sized fire in the hearth which was casting a warm, flickering, and pleasant light about the room. As usual, the room was tidy if a bit full. The lord himself was standing by his desk with one hand resting on it. Oddly, he appeared to be leaning on that hand and using it to partially support his weight. He was also facing directly at her so she could barely see his sides, much less his back.

"Can I be helping you milord?" She asked when he didn't speak.

He adjusted the way he was standing and then winced slightly. Fiona had never seen him do that before.

When he spoke, his voice was stiff. "One week ago, I tested your integrity and you refused to divulge some trivial information about Sarah even when threatened."

"Aye, I'm remembering that." Fiona replied. It would've been hard to forget.

"You are here because Lady Ekthros is presently away from the castle and I need the assistance of someone with discretion." He winced slightly, then continued. "You may refuse without consequence, but should you agree to help me, you should know that revealing what I would show you to anyone will merit the death penalty."

Her eyes widened. "Oh?"

He nodded, then winced. "Again, you may refuse without consequence, but if you agree to assist, then you must take this secret to your grave, speaking of it to no one. Ever."

"Marge was saying that it might be a matter of life and death?"

Lord Delmar nodded.

"Well, then I'm promising to not tell a soul." She hesitated. "Well, not without your permission that is."

He nodded. "I have been shot." He turned and Fiona saw--

She gasped.

He had an arrow sticking out of his back. An arrow! She covered her mouth with her hand, scarcely believing it. How could anyone...? To a great and beloved lord like Lord Delmar?

"I need you to remove it." He said.

Fiona suddenly gained a whole new appreciation for how tough Lord Delmar was. For him to be discussing things so calmly with an arrow in him?

Wow.

"I can be doing that." She said after the shock had worn off enough that she realized just how much he needed help.

"There are strength-enhancing armbands on the desk." He said.

Fiona shook herself out of her reverie and quickly moved to the desk to grab them. Thankfully, activatable enchantments all worked the same and anyone who knew how to move their mana could use them. She put them on, activated them, and then felt a slight rush of power in her whole body. The lord turned and knelt down, leaning up against one of the many bookcases in the room. It was good that he did since he was so tall; she wouldn't have a good angle to remove the arrow unless he was kneeling.

"Go ahead." He said.

Fiona stepped up behind him and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll be pulling. Try not to be kicking me."

"I won't." He replied as if it was a statement of absolute fact, like the sky being blue or grass being green.

Fiona carefully grabbed the arrow shaft with both hands after positioning her feet to pull properly. Once she was ready, she spoke again. "Ready?"

He nodded.

"One... Two..." She pulled.

Lord Delmar let out an almost inhuman growl of pain. It was a slightly disturbing sound if Fiona was being honest, and she wasn't sure how a man could be making such a sound. It sounded more like an animal growling than any sound she had ever heard a man make.

The arrow didn't come.

"It's stuck." Fiona said, though she wasn't sure on what. It felt like it was stuck on something hard, but she couldn't imagine what that could be.

"One moment." Lord Delmar stood, wincing slightly as he did, and once again she was struck by their height difference. He was a whole foot taller than she was and probably weighed twice as much, but she highly doubted any of the difference was fat.

"Turn around; I will remove my shirt and perhaps that will help."

"How can you be taking it off with the arrow?" Fiona asked.