Black Blood - 23. Chapter 23

23

Through the smoke in the forest he heard a maniacal laughter. Charisma hadn’t been burned in Eleni’s flames. She had either climbed or jumped high up on a large tree branch, Viko didn’t know. Fear gripped at his heart as he caught a glimpse of the translucent spear in her hand. Her braid had come undone, and her skirt had ripped on a lower branch, allowing her freer movements. She looked like some amazon warrior.

Red scales gleaming in the light of the burning trees, Eleni breathed more fire at her with an angry roar. But Charisma was too quick. She jumped somehow powerfully and gracefully all at once, and landed on Eleni’s back. She drove her magical weapon through his heart with a scream. The scream turned to laughter as the red dragon growled in atrocious pain and collapsed on the ground. Charisma rolled over and stood in front of Viko with a smile on her blood red lips. There was a wall of flames separating them, but Charisma wasn’t afraid. For a moment Viko was frozen in panicked shock. He kept seeing Fraya in his mind, replaying the scene where he had found her on the shore of a northern lake, lying in a pool of her own blood. The dragon his father had trained had joined her in death now, too, and it was his fault.

The spear shimmered and disappeared from Eleni’s body, before reappearing in Charisma’s extended hand. Her black braid slid down her shoulder and rested against her corset. Her smile was that of a psychopath.

“Did you take me for a fool, dragon lover? Your friend paid the price.”

He snapped out of his shocked state, grabbed the flaming torch he had previously dropped, and ran to her, jumping over the flames as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He wasn’t thinking anymore. He just wanted to attack her, burn her, wipe that smile off her face.

But he never even reached her, and not because she had moved swiftly this time. Someone else seemingly came out of nowhere and knocked him over on the ground, pinning him there so he couldn’t move. He recognized Xievon, holding him in an iron grasp, light eyes glowering amidst a dark, severe face. He wore black leather embedded with metal, his sleeves ending in fingerless gloves. Roughly, he shoved Viko’s face down into the ground, pinning his wrists behind his back. No matter how much he wrestled and struggled, it was no use. Xievon was too strong.

“You really think I would’ve let her go alone with you? You should know I’m never very far.”

Viko felt a single tear slipping from his eyelashes. Among the crackling of the flames, and the howls of wolves in the distance, he could hear the pained moan of the dying dragon. Eleni had acted too rashly. He should have waited for the others. Now they came; Lord, and two more flanking his sides. Those two smaller ones had dark green scales and couldn’t breathe fire. But they could still attack. Viko craned his neck to see what was happening.

Lord breathed fire at Charisma with an enraged growl that would have anyone running away in fear. Even Xievon flinched as he kept a tight hold on Viko. But Charisma wasn’t just anyone. The fire missed her; she was too fast. Viko couldn’t even see where she had vanished to.

Xievon hadn’t come alone. The other minions were here, too. Viko recognized their voices. He just called them the minions because he couldn’t be bothered with remembering their names. Frustrated that he couldn’t hurt Charisma, Lord lashed at them instead. The boys stepped away in time, screaming in fear at the sight of the fire, but it caught the girl.

“Sammy, no!” yelled the basketball player.

“Josh!” she shouted back, but it was too late for her. Dragon flames were destructive and wild. It was as if someone had previously splashed her with gasoline. Soon her colorful dress and blonde hair had disappeared along with her body.

The two others were holding each other in fear, practically crying. They backed away from the fierce dragon.

“I really loved her,” said Josh.

“I know! She was so sweet. She always loved my paintings.”

Before Lord could breathe fire at them, Charisma lured him elsewhere.

“Hey, big guy, over here.” Again, she had wound up on a high branch. Lord roared with lust for revenge as he launched at her.

But the boys weren’t saved; the two other dragons were after them now. Even though they couldn’t breathe fire, they had long, sharp claws, just like the one hanging from Viko’s necklace. And they had sharp ended scaly tails that could be as fatal as a mace.

Already the painter guy had been flung against a tree after being hit by a tail across the chest. Blood welled from the rips in his shirt.

“Josh,” shouted Xievon, so loud it hurt Viko’s ears, “your sword!”

The basketball player seemed to snap out of it. He indeed had a sword at his side, strapped to his massive leather belt. He unsheathed the heavy metallic blade and held the hilt with ease. His stance was that of someone who had been trained. No doubt Xievon had taught him. As the other green dragon swung her tail, Josh slashed the air with his sword. The dragon yelped and backed off as her tail had been scraped. Everything was happening so fast. Viko darted his eyes, craning his neck as he looked up at Lord. He was breathing fire and missing every time. Charisma had flung her spear at him but that had missed, too.

Josh shouted victoriously as he stabbed the dragon’s leg with his sword. Thick blood spilled as the dragon shrieked. Up in the air, Charisma had summoned her spear back to her hand and she tried again. This time it came very close to the big dragon.

“Go!” Viko yelled as loud as he could, struggling in Xievon’s hold. His throat burned from breathing in too much smoke. “Leave! Now!”

He just couldn’t take it anymore. It hadn’t worked. Charisma was too strong. He had underestimated her.

With a flap of wings the dragons were flying away. But then Charisma summoned a bow and arrow instead of the spear. She drew it elegantly and aimed at Lord.

“No!” Viko shouted to warn him but he choked in a coughing fit.

The arrow was released and it flew rapidly before striking Lord. Viko couldn’t see where it had hit him. The dragon growled and Viko sensed his anger. Keep flying, don’t come back. Lord didn’t disobey him.

If the dragons were at least able to fly away, he dared hope that they weren’t hurt too badly.

Charisma had climbed off the tree. The minions were backing away from the forest, fearing the fire. Xievon hauled Viko up on his feet. He tried to struggle, fight back, anything, but it was pointless. Xievon had such a solid grip on his wrists with only one hand that it was embarrassing. He could feel his hot breath against his neck.

“Don’t try anything,” he hissed.

He then pushed him forward, grabbing his lanky brown hair and yanking his head back like he was offering a drink to Charisma.

She eyed him up and down with distaste, her lips thinning.

“You would make a great vampire, Viko, if you weren’t so stuck up. That’s why I chose to change Liham rather than you.”

“You made him go mad!” Viko shouted, enraged. “That’s all you people ever do!”

Her lips twitched into a smile. “And I’ll make you go even madder.” Her voice was infuriatingly quiet. She stepped closer. “But I won’t turn you. You don’t deserve it. Anyway, let’s go, everyone. Back to the castle.”

Viko wrestled too much in Xievon’s hold, trying to escape fervently. Charisma had gone to walk with her two other vampires. Xievon stood with his face close to Viko’s, staring threateningly.

“Won’t you be cooperative?”

“What do you think?” Viko spat. From the corner of his eye, he could see Eleni’s body burning along with the trees. He felt so angry and frustrated that for a moment he really believed he had enough strength to defeat Xievon.

With a cry he freed his painful wrists and struck him in the throat. It would’ve knocked the air right out of any normal human, but Xievon merely flinched with the slightest tinge of surprise in his glowing eyes. He grabbed Viko’s arm and twisted it behind his back, making him scream. Then he hit his head, and it was over.