The Sorcerous Prince - 26. Chapter 26: The Dragon Formation

Chapter 26: The Dragon Formation

Mihai, Konstantin, Pavel, and Captain Masters teleported to a hill two miles east of Karako. As Mihai instructed, he together with Konstantin and Pavel, formed a triangle and lifted their hands in the air. As they took each others' hands, they closed their eyes. Jeradu's Bracelet of Wisdom, the Ring of Sanuda, and the Pendant of Andarak all began to glow. Above them, the glowing outline of a dragon's body began to emerge, growing rapidly. The entity did not grow to the size of a normal dragon, but it was still larger than the Vampire Lords. Once it reached that point, the three of them were lifted into the dragon made of light. Once they entered, the dragon developed its flesh, starting with the head. Captain Masters was truly amazed at what he was witnessing.

Mihai was the only one who was conscious inside the dragon, meaning that he was the one in control of the dragon’s body. Konstantin and Pavel, on the other hand, were in a state of deep sleep, as Mihai was drawing upon their energy as well as the soul of Andarak to control the dragon's body. Fluttering his wings, the dragon took to the sky in an instant, soaring toward Karako. As Mihai had feared, the Vampiro Primero had merged all the others with him. The dragon grew in size upon approach and took out a large sword made of dragon teeth. “Those cowards sent a dragon?” The Vampiro Primero scoffed. “I will have to destroy you now.”

The Vampire Primero lifted his hand, and a yellow ball of energy began to form on it. The energy grew to mammoth proportions in an instant, and the Vampiro Primero launched it. The dragon extended its sword, bracing for impact. The energy ball impacted with the sword, pushing the dragon back. The sword then began to absorb it. The massive teeth of the sword glowed as brightly as a star. Once the energy was absorbed completely, the dragon launched himself at the enemy, swinging at the Vampire General. The first swing was blocked by the Vampiro Primero's left arm, and the second swing was stopped by his right. The dragon kept swinging, but it seemed that the Vampiro Primero's arms were stronger than diamonds.

The dragon opened his mouth, exhaling a massive plume of fire, prompting the Vampiro Primero to quickly teleport. Anticipating an attack from behind, he darted upward at blinding speed. He used his focused vision to find the enemy and scattered the sword’s teeth. The sharp objects surrounded the Vampiro Primero, forming a barrier that continually shrank and then cutting the strong opponent’s body dozens of times.

The Vampiro Primero was not dead. His body began to glow with the same energy he had used before. This time, the energy surrounded his body and blasted right through the barrier that the dragon teeth had created. The teeth did not shatter, but quickly returned to the sword. His wounds had seemingly disappeared. The dragon opened his mouth and exhaled once again, causing a massive ball of electricity to form. The dragon fired it of at his enemy. This attack was one that not even the Vampiro Primero could dodge, and the dragon watched as his enemy's flesh burned. The dragon was amazed that the Vampiro Primero was still alive.

'How is this possible?' Mihai thought. 'I knew he would be strong, but this is ridiculous. I see that there is one chance left. Surely, this will destroy him!' Just as he remembered from the dream, Mihai made the dragon exhale once again, creating a shroud of dragon's breath. The cloud increased the dragon's energy, and Mihai was amazed at the surge of power. The dragon began to spin wildly. The Vampiro Primero watched in horror as a giant “bullet” approached him with speed so fast that he could not move in time. The impact tore the adversary’s body apart completely, and the remains burst into flames, sending ashes to the ground below.

Not wanting the town to remain devastated, Mihai contemplated a way to fix it and soon figured out a way to do it. The entire area was engulfed by the healing mist that shot out of every part of the dragon’s body. Buildings that were in a state of disaster were quickly repaired, and all those who were severely injured or worse came back to life and were fully healed of all their injuries. When the mist cleared, the dragon was nowhere to be found.

Mihai, Konstantin, and Pavel reappeared where they had left Captain Masters, but he was already gone. “Did he go back to the village?” Pavel asked.

“That's the safest bet,” Mihai replied. “Grab on to me.” Pavel and Konstantin latched onto Mihai, and the three of them teleported back to the area where the military forces had been, and luckily, some of them, including Captain Masters, were there. “It looks like we finally caught up to you, Captain.”

“Yes, and it looks like you missed all the fun.” Captain Masters chuckled with a broad wink. “The enemy was eliminated by a dragon. The dragon restored the village and its people too.”

“I missed it?” Mihai grumbled. “Well... at least I'm healed now. Captain, I want your unit to remain in Karako for the time being. I am not sure what else the enemy may have in store. I'll have a chat with Colonel Peterson to let him know of my decision.”

“That leaves you with only half of your forces, Your Highness,” Captain Masters pointed out.

“I'm aware of the situation,” Mihai retorted. “This is how it must be for now. My parents will be back tomorrow. I will discuss further plans with them and His Grace, Adelric Bayer. You will hear from one of them tomorrow. For now, my decision stands. I don't want to take any chances.”

“Very well then,” Captain Masters replied.

As Mihai was weakened by the dragon transformation, he decided not to teleport with his own ability. He happened to be low on magical energy and was afraid that anymore strain could cause him to fall into a coma or worse. Instead he grabbed a teleportation ring out of his pocket and gently threw it to his right. The three of them entered the vortex and reappeared at Hollindor Palace. “I don't know about the two of you, but I am really tired. I must go to bed immediately. That transformation took a lot out of me.”

“Even though we were sleeping through the battle, we're just as tired,” Konstantin confirmed. “We were actually dreaming of the battle as it was happening.”

“The two of you were not in a true state of sleep,” Mihai stated. “You were using your subconscious minds to promote stability and to prevent the dragon's soul from devouring me. It wasn't trying to do so deliberately, but a dragon's soul is too powerful for me to control on my own. I could not have lasted much longer in that state. I'm surprised that I was even able to teleport back to our original location even with the teleportation ring.”

“You have good stamina,” Konstantin quipped.

“Unfortunately, I'm at my limit for the day,” Mihai laughed. “I think it's time for bed. Don't you?”

“I'm not going to argue against that,” Konstantin replied.

The next morning, Mihai and Konstantin awakened to someone knocking on the door. “Yes?” Mihai grumbled.

“It's me,” Fabian replied. “The Empress is here, and she would like to speak to you. She will be in the private dining room.”

“Alright,” Mihai said. “I'll be down there soon.”

“Bring Konstantin with you,” Fabian added.

Konstantin grumbled at Fabian's last statement. “I just want to go back to sleep, and if I can't, I want to make love.”

“Neither of those are an option,” Mihai snickered. “We might as well go and see what she wants.” Mihai and Konstantin dressed quickly and made a trip to the bathroom before venturing down the stairs and into the private dining room, which was meant for up to six people. It just so happened that Mihai's parents as well as Selena were already there. For breakfast, they were having crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.

“We will have our talk soon,” the Empress said. “However, we need to discuss what happened yesterday evening. I have been informed that a horde of vampires invaded Karako, including nine Vampire Lords and a Vampiro Primero.”

“That is correct,” Mihai replied. “The enemy has been eliminated. In addition, I have stationed half of my personal guard in Karako for the time being until more concrete plans can be made.”

“This is most disturbing,” King Frederico gasped. “There must have been a lot of deaths.”

“They wiped out most of the village,” Mihai confirmed. “However, a dragon arrived in the town and defeated the Vampiro Primero, who had absorbed many of the vampires, including the Vampire Lords into his body. From what I heard, the dragon used dragon's breath to revive all of the dead and to restore the damage. Unfortunately, I was injured before the dragon arrived, so I did not...”

“There's no need to leave anything out,” the Empress said with a smirk on her face. “You may have tried to hide it, but I know that the dragon was the three of you. My theory is that Captain Masters took you to safety, and that you found a secure location for the transformation. I base this on the fact that the dragon was able to change its own size and the fact that the three of you have a divided soul within the magical items given to you by Jeradu. Captain Masters left everything out, but I confronted him. I had already suspected that there was a hidden power. I just didn't know it was quite that amazing.”

“We didn't want anyone to know,” Konstantin said, shaking his head. “It would put a target on our heads if too many knew, especially our enemies.”

“You're quite right,” the Empress agreed. “However, it will inevitably get out eventually, and you will need to plan for it.”

“You still need to hide it as long as possible,” Chancellor Selena added.

“I was getting to that,” Empress Guadalupe said, glaring at her sister. “That's not our only worry though. It is very unusual for the Bat Lord to send out his Vampire Lords or one of the Primeros. I believe that the real intention is to weaken the forces in Candavorum. He surely thought all of them would perish. If I'm not mistaken, it's part of a power play by the Lizard Lord and that he is allied with the Bat Lord. The Lizard King is next in line, and the Bat Lord would be second. It seems that the Lady Black Widow was demoted one level due to the fact that one of her generals went rogue several months ago.”

“I remember that,” Mihai grumbled. “One of the black widow demons damn near killed me.”

“The House of the Spider is scary,” the Empress replied. “However, the scariest houses are the House of the Snake and the House of the Bat. They are quite formidable, especially when they're in power. Worst of all, the House of the Bat has perfected their cloning techniques. It will not take very long to create replacements.”

“What do you think they're planning?” Mihai asked.

“I think their objective will still be the same,” Queen Viviana said. “They want to kidnap you and Pavel. I wouldn't be surprised if they want Konstantin as well.”

“But we will die if we become evil,” Mihai countered. “How would we be of any use to them now?”

“They'd find a way,” Queen Viviana said fervently. “Don't underestimate the enemy. They will stop at nothing to get what they want, and what they want is destruction. If they found a way around it and lured you to their way of thinking, they would use you as pawns for they know that the three of you can destroy the world even without the dragon form. It will take time for any of you to reach that level, but it is possible.”

“I already can,” Mihai replied. “I can always feel all the iron on this planet, and I know I can use it in heated form to destroy entire continents. Eventually the planet would be completely ripped apart.”

Konstantin was shocked. “How can this be?”

“Father and I both have control over magnetic metals and electricity,” Mihai said. “I am capable of summoning all the iron, cobalt, and nickel on the planet, and the amount available is astonishing. A great deal of the Earth's core is made of iron, which means that I could start a chain reaction that would obliterate the planet.”

“That's scary,” Konstantin stammered. “But how can I destroy it?”

“You haven't reached that level yet,” Mihai replied. “However, Pavel has told me that you will one day be able to burn even the water in the oceans, especially with dragon's fire. Pavel will be able to use a super form of telekinesis that rips everything apart, though it would take him longer than it would me. I could wipe out everything in a matter of minutes. However, the act would kill me regardless of whether or not I was a safe distance away from the planet. The amount of magical energy necessary would be well more than I could wield and remain among the living.”

“That is something I didn't know,” Empress Guadalupe said, cringing. “There's something else I want to mention. The Demon King already has a group of beings that could destroy planets. They are called Grolochs. However, the rest of the houses do not trust him to use the creatures, because they're afraid that he will use them to destroy all of them as well. The other houses must approve of their use, and they have a way to destroy them. That does not mean that he will not use them. The rumor is that there are five of them.”

“How awful,” Mihai stammered. “If they are that powerful, how is anyone supposed to destroy them?”

“I have no idea,” the Empress admitted. “I fear that he may use them to dispatch the three of you if he cannot acquire you. That is why I'm telling you this now. My other theory for the vampire attack is that they were hoping you would be there, thus using the vampires as a test of your powers.”

“I'll ask Jeradu what he thinks,” Mihai said. “I figure I might as well ask him about Grolochs as well.”

“That would be wise,” the Empress replied. “He seems to often have information that I don't. I think that covers everything for now. Are you ready to leave, Selena?”

Selena nodded and looked her brother straight in the eye. “I will see you all soon. If there are any more issues, my response will be severe.”

“There won't be,” Frederico said with conviction. “We've had some time to think about what happened.”

“Very well then.” The Empress gave her brother a warm smile. “I will leave the military issue to you.” Guadalupe and Selena exited the room hastily, likely because they both had business to attend to.

“Well, we need to get going,” Mihai grumbled, glancing at Konstantin. “I'm so ready for graduation...”

“We’re sorry about everything,” Queen Viviana said with a genuine frown. “Do you think you can drop by the other palace after school? We already know that Charles and Mark are out of town, so we figure it's a good time to talk.”

“That sounds fine,” Mihai replied coldly. “I still don't trust you though, and I intend to live here.”

“Alright,” Queen Viviana replied. “We have no objections to you living here.”

“Good,” Mihai crooned. “Are you ready, Konstantin?”

“As ready as I'll ever be,” Konstantin murmured. It seemed that ever since winter break, both Konstantin and Mihai were looking forward to graduation more and more.

Mihai and Konstantin teleported to an area about twenty feet in front of the school. Mihai was happy to see his favorite teacher, Mr. Perkis, as soon as he arrived. “Good morning, Mr. Rousseau. How are you today?”

“I'm fine, Mr. Perkis,” Mihai replied warmly. “Do you have some time to talk privately this morning before class?”

“I sure do,” Mr. Perkis said cordially. “I always have time for my favorite student.” Mihai followed Mr. Perkis to the classroom, where Mr. Perkis unlocked the door with a wave of his wand. Once they entered the room, Mihai closed the door. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to know if your power can help me at all,” Mihai said in a worried tone.

“You're worried about dragon transformation?” Mr. Perkis asked.

“Yes,” Mihai sighed. “Are there potential problems?”

“It's definitely not something to use daily,” Mr. Perkis said firmly. “I have foreseen a possible situation in which one of you is in a coma. I believe Pavel was the one. It lasted for weeks from what I could gather in my vision. Never use it for more than an hour. The result can be coma or death for any of you. I would not even suggest more than thirty minutes just to be safe. Also remember that it is a last resort. I will also add that the way you used it last night was appropriate. That was the best way to handle a Vampiro Primero.”

“After how drained I felt afterward, I figured there had to be a nasty side effect from long-term use,” Mihai replied. “I really appreciate you informing me.”

“It's no problem at all,” Mr. Perkis assured. “Do you have any other questions?”

“Is it possible for me to use the bullet technique without the transformation?” Mihai inquired.

“Of course you can!” Mr. Perkis exclaimed. “I'm not sure how effective it would have been against the Vampiro Primero though. As a dragon you are much larger, which gives you more strength and power. In your original state, the bullet technique will work well against multiple human-sized opponents at once. It won't be as effective against foes who are taller than a house.”

“That's good to know,” Mihai replied. “I should find a way to repay you for all you've done for me.”

“I... uh...” Mr. Perkis was blushing as he thought about how Mihai could repay him.

“I think I know what you're thinking,” Mihai said coquettishly.

“I would love to, but...”

“When I'm out of school, nobody will be able to stop us,” Mihai said provocatively. “I look forward to it. I've known for a while now that you want me. Oh, and don't worry about Konstantin. He'll join too if you want.” Mihai giggled as he noticed that there was an even deeper red tint on his teacher's face.

“You're making me horny,” Mr. Perkis said with feigned irritation.

“Your dick gets hard every time you see me,” Mihai teased. “There's been so many times that I've wanted to lift your wizarding robe and...”

“Oh god,” Mr. Perkis yelped. “I'm already horny enough as it is. You're making it worse!”

Mihai laughed. “I'll make up for that one of these days. I just hope that Colby won't get jealous.”

“We have an open relationship,” Mr. Perkis admitted. “As soon as you graduate, your ass is mine, Mr. Rousseau.”

“I'm looking forward to it,” Mihai said seductively. “I want every...” The door opened, signaling Mihai to drop the subject. For the rest of the school day, he was horny. It was bad enough that he decided to go stop at Hollindor so that Fabian could quench his desires.

Mihai finally made it to the Palace of the Southeast. It was most unusual, but his mother was the one to answer the door. “You're late,” she observed.

“I'm sorry,” Mihai said in a guilt-ridden voice. “I had to stop at home for a little bit. I had something to take care of.”

“I bet you did,” Queen Viviana teased.

“How...” Mihai gasped.

“You're my son,” she said simply. “It's not difficult to figure out what you were up to. I'm not worried about it. We just wanted to talk about everything that happened. We were thinking we might as well eat lunch first though.” Lunch was fairly simply. It consisted of barbeque beef sandwiches and fries as well as some baked beans. This meal happened to be one of King Frederico's favorites.

After lunch, it was time for a discussion. Mihai had been expecting it even before his parents returned to Candavorum. His father was the first to speak. “What we did was inexcusable. We intend to spend every day making up for it. We've even decided to limit our extramarital sex to our own familiars from now on.”

“I don't expect you to do that,” Mihai insisted. “I know the two of you enjoy sexual freedom. It's part of who you are.”

“But we do,” the King insisted. “We're both over four-hundred years old. It's time for us to act like it. And just so you know, we don't expect you to place similar limitations upon yourself. I would appreciate if you didn't make your way into the bedrooms of our former lovers however.”

“I'm afraid it's too late in one case,” Mihai snickered. “To increase Fabian's chance of survival, I made sure that he formed bonds with Charles and Mark. Of course, I was there too, and I fooled around with both of them. Konstantin and I also had a foursome with both of them before they left for Playa del Carmen.”

“I see,” the King said, trying to hide his emotion. “I would prefer if you didn't. Is it revenge?”

“No,” Mihai replied. “I genuinely enjoy them both. They're exquisite lovers. I have no intention of giving them up.”

“That's your prerogative,” the King said bitterly. “That doesn't mean I have to like it.”

“I think we should talk about something else,” Queen Viviana suggested. “Let's talk about Africa.”

“Very well,” the King replied. “When we arrived, we ended up fighting some snake demons in a village called Ratiki.”

“Isn't that close to Mombasa?” Mihai asked.

“As a matter of fact it is,” the King replied. “It's about thirty miles away. What's amazing is that mortals there live in peace with the good witches and wizards of the town. As far as Earth is concerned, you only find that in certain parts of Africa and nowhere else. Unfortunately, people from the big cities believe that the people from these villages are full of shit.”

Mihai sighed. “That's not surprising at all. I wish it were different. We protect the mortals from certain doom, and yet, so many choose the path where they cannot even see us.”

“They tend to be very superstitious,” Queen Viviana pointed out. “And governments want to keep the masses in the dark and go to great lengths to hide the truth about magic. Now let's get back to what happened. It occurred at night. There were reports of screams throughout the village. Once Queen Constance and Chancellor Selena found out about it, they were quick to awaken us. The four of us joined the military force and went to Rafiki without delay.”

The Queen's voice was filled with sadness. “Those blasted demons had burned down just about every hut in town. It was horrible. Luckily, most of the villagers survived. That led to another problem. They had nowhere to live. Queen Constance made a difficult decision, one that was truly amazing. She allowed all of the villagers, of which there were about 500, to move into the palace. That's never been done before. We spent most of our time with the children. They loved seeing us perform magic, and some of them especially loved my potions. Queen Constance even said that they are allowed to drink the Longevity Potion. For future reference, that is technically unlawful. Please don't share that information with Empress Guadalupe. She would be very upset. Fortunately, she actually does not go to the Magical Palace of Kenya very often. Selena prefers to meet her at a neutral location.”

“I won't tell her!” Mihai declared. “I completely agree with what Queen Constance decided to do. One day, it will be necessary for there to be relations between the mortals and ourselves, especially with the demons specifically targeting mortal populations more and more. We can only cover it up so many times. Eventually people will know of the dangers that the governments of the world have hidden from them. There will be riots.”

“Have you had some kind of vision?” King Frederico asked.

“Yes, I have,” Mihai insisted. “Jeradu shared this vision with me through the bracelet.”

“Did you see the event that caused it?” King Frederico inquired.

“Only parts of it,” Mihai said flatly. “Not even Jeradu can see everything. He only saw visions of various demons gathering and the aftermath of their deeds. Buildings were burned to the ground, and city streets were full of rioters demanding that government officials take action. Jeradu said it would be my job to restore order to the world.”

“I know in my heart that you will do just that,” the King said proudly. “We are quite fortunate that we haven't had to take over the mortal world yet. It's not something we want to do, but we know it will one day be necessary. Mortal governments are not equipped to handle demons. We're the only ones who can arm the mortals against them.”

“I have no qualms at all,” Mihai insisted. “Whatever it takes, we will destroy the demons and bring peace to the world. I am willing to die for the cause.”

“As are we,” the Queen said adamantly. “I will fight for those mortal children. They are our future. One day, their descendants will be magical people. We must allow them to flourish.”

“Right you are, dear,” the King agreed. “We must stand by our magical brethren as well.” And so it was that the royal family had reaffirmed solidarity. Never again would King Frederico or Queen Viviana do anything to break their son's trust. There were many battles to come, and they all stood ready to die for the people.