No, it wasn't the Fortress moving, but sothing inside the ruins certainly was. It was large, a small mountain in its own right, and as it stretched one of its mighty wings, Noble feared that it might block out the sun even from this great distance.
The reptilian form drew itself out of the rubble. Its scales, which Noble imagined must have at one point been lustrous and ruby red, were so compacted with soil and dried clay that it gave the illusion that the fortress itself had co alive.
There was a reason why this king of beasts had chosen to cover itself thusly. Many of its once regal scales were cracked, and so were missing entirely. He had coated himself to protect the sensitive skin underneath from the sun.
His head faced toward the sky, and Noble was almost blinded by the shining crown of horns on his head. They curved back like ancient roots, intertwining and in a tallic tangle.
The eye facing them glowed faintly with a molten, golden hue. The embers in it smoldered, ready to ignite at the slightest provocation.
His nostrils lifted to the sky. Smoke wafted from them, and his mouth opened wide, releasing a mighty roar in answer to the Pink Ones.
The last of the beasts of burden was silenced by his command.
He wasn't just any dragon. His presence demanded their attention and adoration. He would not be ignored.
Noble was filled with awe, wonder, and fear. She had seen Saint Kai in his dragon form on a couple of occasions, but the majestic and lodious Saint could not be compared to the ancient being.
"That's a Remnant?"
It was no wonder that Syrce was wary of them.
The Saint nodded.
"Indeed. The Prince up there fought in the war beside his master."
By the curl of Syrce's lips and the anger in her heart, Noble knew that the Remnant had belonged to one of the gods. That was unfortunate. An ally would have been most helpful.
Alas, it was not ant to be.
While it was hard to judge the creature's full size while hidden among the ruins, there was no doubt that the Dragon Prince was a formidable beast.
Child of Promise wondered at how many of Syrce's people had fallen by his claws.
"Did he destroy the dam at Northgate?" Noble recalled the talon left behind there. Was this its owner?
If so, the entire drowned city was his doing. He was living above his kills. Syrce furrowed her brow and shook her head slowly.
"That was done by one of his kin. Another Noble Creature committing ignoble acts." The Saint sighed. "The Prince is much smaller than that one."
'Much smaller?!' Flint's exclamation filtered into Noble's head. He cleared his throat. "My Lady. His kin wouldn't be nearby, would they?"
Syrce shook her head. "No, Titus. They are either in the Shadow Realm or have abandoned our world for their own nests. Only the Prince could not return with his kind."
Before Noble could ask why, the roar of the dragon ended, and he turned to reveal his other side. Unlike the clear, golden eye on his right, the left was milky and completely blind. A scar ran deep across the socket.
That was not all. His right wing, the one that had not stretched, was heavily damaged. The tip was gone entirely, and the skin webbed between the bones was torn along the bottom edge.
Could he fly at all? Did he need to fly to travel between Realms? Or was it his broken state that had deed him unworthy to return to his ho?
Noble felt a bit of sadness for the lonely creature. But her sadness evaporated when the Dragon Prince blew a column of fire into the rubble. Even from the other side of the lake, the humans could feel the air current from the heated gas.
"He isn't going to fly down here and try to roast us, is he?" Roan's fingers twitched.
"His wing is broken. He won't cross the lake. Not that it matters. We will have to face him sooner or later." Syrce shrugged.
"LATER!" The three Masters cried in unison.
Noble was at a loss. Of all the things to not ntion. A Remnant?!
Becoming a dragon slayer had not been on her to-do list today or any day.
Syrce's bottom lip jutted out in a slight pout. "Fine, later it is."
The disturbed dragon flad again, this ti toward his feet. Child of Promised watched his restless state.
How did she always manage to find beings that could shoot fire? Her first Nightmare had been filled with fire-breathing toads. Her second Nightmare had a fiery queen. And now, in her third Nightmare, they had stumbled upon a dragon.
Was she destined to go out in a blaze of glory?
'I hope not!'
A third fla sent a chill down Noble's spine. This was a very strong reaction to being woken up by so trumpeting elephants. How much worse would it be when he actually felt threatened?
"Is he usually this active?" Roan tilted his chin.
"How should I know? Do I look like a dragon stalker to you?" Syrce's grey eyes leveled on him sharply.
The man in the blue scarf held up his hands in surrender.
"I didn't an to suggest—"
An amused smile broke the Saint's serious facade. "Relax, Roan. The reports we have received from our scouts said he is usually sleeping. Sothing has made the Prince restless."
'Sothing?' Noble watched the dragon stamp on the ground in a fury.
Powerful creatures usually knew when they were being watched, yet the mighty Prince had never bothered to look their way with his good eye.
That was strange.
Every muscle in the dragon's form rippled with intensity. The creature's nose was to the ground now. It was on the scent of sothing.
The way it was moving through the ruins looked like Helios when he was on the hunt. The dragon must have found so food to be so intent on its quest.
'Hopefully, it's a Nightmare Creature that will challenge the dragon. Anything to weaken it would be helpful to our cause…'
Curious, Noble extended her second sight to see what was up there.
The ruins of Bastion were vast, but thankfully, Child of Promise didn't have to search through all of them. She simply started where the dragon was and looked for anything in the vicinity that was alive. It took a mont to find anything; the prey had evaded the dragon thus far for a reason. Just now, it was hiding.
When Noble finally found what had made the Prince so upset, her eyes went wide.
She called forth her Zenith and motioned for Roan and Flint to follow.
"Change of plans. We need to get up there. Now."
The two n didn't question her. Sothing in her resolute tone brooked no argunt.
Even Syrce didn't question her command.
With weapons at the ready, the four warriors raced toward the edge of the lake.
For the creature being stalked by the Dragon Prince was not a beast at all.
It was a human.
And ti was running out.
User Comments
0 comments from readers