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Chapter 48

We are awoken by screams. I sit upright in bed thinking at first, I imagined it, that it was all a figment of my imagination. But the blood curdling sounds coming from outside could not be mistaken for anything else but pure horror and carnage. Silas and Matitus take off in a blur. I go to chase after them, to find out what the hell is going on when Dragus’s arms wrap around me, tossing me back on the bed.

“Wait here!” he screams, rushing out after them. Running for the door, I quickly throw on the first thing I laid my hands on, jeans and one of their shirts. Running for the door, only to open and find Marian rushing towards me and shoving me backwards into the room.

“They took him, they took Aldrin,” Marian says, frantically locking the door.

My heart is hammering in my chest so hard I feel like it is going to explode. Suddenly, pain rips through me, bringing me to my knees. It is Dragus. Dragus’s pain smashes into me and takes my breath away, as a red-hot feeling tears through my back.

I stagger trying to get my footing as I rush for the door, Marian grabbing my wrist.

“You can’t go out there, there are more than we first thought,” she says, her hands visibly shaking as she tugs on me.

“We have to help them, we can’t just sit here Marian pull yourself together, where is Abbie?”

“She is, she was…”

“She was what, Marian?”

“She was trying to get to Claire,” Marian breathes, and I throw the door open, rushing down the stairs, Marian hot on my heels as she chases after me, trying to keep up. My sword slips between my fingers as I race toward the front of the castle, that can’t be a good thing, it means danger is close. I look down at the sword now in my hand, smooth and cold to touch as it glows subtly like a beacon in the night, illuminating everything in front of me in the darkened castle. The floors are cold under my feet as I see the doors.

Orange lights flicker in the dining room, the sort of light that left shadows as it burnt its way through everything, fire. I gasp, the castle is on fire! Black smoke billows out the archway toward us, slowly consuming everything in its path. Marian throws her hands forward in the air, silver light, so bright I had to squint to stop it hurting my eyes bursts from her fingertips, my feet feel wet and I realize she put out the flames, now white and black smoke as the fire dies.

I look back at Marian who has her hands braced on her knees, trying to catch her breath. I rush over to her, grab her arm, and pull her against me as we continue for the doors.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning to her. She is panting, her hair turning white in patches.

“I’m old dear, magic is hard for me to use now, that’s why I don’t use it,” she says between coughing. I take her to the library and sit her down on the chair.

“Stay here,” I tell her, running toward the doors leading outside when I hear her staggering after me. “Marian stay,” I tell her, but she ignores me, following me anyway.

“Marian!” I snap at her.

“I am not letting you go out there by yourself,” she gasps. Stubborn old woman. But I know there is no stopping her. I shove open the doors. And to my utter surprise, I see the entire city on fire, sounds of panicked screams echoing through the night, making my heart rate spike. Werewolves and Vampires are fighting everywhere, tearing each other apart. It is chaotic.

“Oh no,” Marian gasps as we both stare around in panic.

Werewolves are attacking our men, alongside the half beasts. Buildings caught alight everywhere when I see a green Dragon thrown into the side of the castle beside us, narrowly missing us as its body hit the stone walls. Pluto rushes over and shoves us toward the doors. His newly-healed body is now covered in burns. “Get inside my Queen,” he says.

The green Dragon gets up, shaking off, scales gleaming though. I notice that most of its scales are missing like they are falling off revealing meaty flesh underneath. He roars breathing fire directly at us, and I raise my sword.

My sword cuts straight through the flames, diverting them away from us as my magic ignites. Then, the thing charges at us, Pluto rips me out of the way, but Marian is slow as its tail whips through the air, smacking her in the chest and sending her flying.

I scream as I watch her body hit the ground with a sickening thud as the Dragon advances on her. I raise my sword and cut through its tail, making it pivot, snapping its bare teeth at Pluto and me. Behind me, I hear another menacing roar. But I don’t look, my eyes fixed, focus on the Dragon in front of me. I nod at Pluto to go and deal with whatever threat is behind us.

My instincts kick in, and I move just in time as its teeth snaps toward my face, my sword biting into its neck as it comes down. I am thrown back as Pluto flies into me. I brace myself for impact when I see his hand reach out ripping me toward him as he pivots taking the brunt of the impact as we smash against the ground. I hear the air leave his lungs, and his eyes snap open panic coursing through him as his eyes dart behind me and he rolls with me on top of him, just in time to see a foot come down where we had just been. I jump off him, scrambling to my feet, when pain tears through my shoulder. The green monster sinks its teeth into my shoulder, and I see my sword flicker, the light dying out for a second as my blood oozes down my arm. I try to move but its teeth are embedded in my flesh. It flings me into the water fountain in the middle of the courtyard, my head smacking the ground so hard black dots dance start to steal my vision.

My head feels like it is exploding, thumping to its own beat. I reach around for my sword but it’s gone, no longer clutched in my hand as my magic fizzles. I look up to see the green beast stalking towards me when it suddenly drops, writhing and shrinking as it starts changing back to its human form. I don’t have time to watch when I feel claws biting into my flesh making me cry out. Out of the corner of my eye, I see what appears to be a black wolf tackling me as I try and hold its head away from my face as it snaps its jaw dangerously close. I use my legs, trying to throw it off when its weight suddenly disappears all together. Dragus is there, ripping it away, and I see his skin is littered in burns, onyx eyes burning back at me, as he tosses the Werewolf into the fountain.

It jumps up, attacking and biting anything it can as Dragus holds it. I watch its claws slash across his stomach, the pain dropping me like a sack of potatoes.

I try to breathe through it as my eyes find Marian’s limp body still laying on the frozen ground. I hear growling and the sound of ice cracking. I look up to see Dragus in the fountain as he holds the Werewolf under the water, it thrashes as he drowns it until it stops, hanging motionless.

I rush toward Marian, shaking her shoulders when Pluto suddenly throws himself over the top of me, dropping me to the ground. I land heavily on my hip, just as flames rush above me and a mighty roar cuts through the night. The gold glint of its scales from the moonlight reflect on the ground as it flies above us. Flames are decimating the earth around us, the sound of howling screams making me look up to see the huge Dragon flying above, we were completely surrounded by wolves before they were burnt alive by Silas, his maw unleashing fire burning everything it touches. The smell of burned hair and charred flesh fills the air making it difficult to breathe.

“Pluto, get her out of here!” Dragus bellows.

I feel myself being ripped to my feet, his huge hand clutching mine as I try to pull away, desperate to reach Marian’s crumpled form on the floor.