Marked by the Dragon

Chapter 9

6

So, Klodian had brought Mina. Caden assumed he might have, especially if the whispers of a dragon attack were true. Judging by the destruction, there was more truth to those whispers than Caden liked. After all, he hadn’t signed up as a soldier to fight dragons.

had“Thais and Caden, you two take the northeast side of the city. Shout if you find anything.”

Caden barely heard Captain Eduard’s command. He was staring at Mina. Her blonde hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and she was rubbing her leg. Did she sense the dragons nearby? Fighting a man was one thing, but a dragon … he swallowed hard and tried to summon his courage.

“Come on,” Thais said, pulling his arm.

They backtracked to the main street and turned left, following it east. Caden surveyed the damage as they walked. Almost all of the buildings had been decimated. The dead littered the streets, and the smell of smoke was suffocating. The heat was always rough, but with the fires still burning, it was much worse. Every so often, a slight breeze would stir, giving him the opportunity to take a fresh breath.

“I know dragons are powerful, but is this really the work of a dragon?” Thais asked. “I mean, there’s nothing left.”

“Lord Klodian thinks it was more than one, and I have to agree. How else would an entire city be destroyed in such a short time frame? It had to be multiple dragons.”

“I suppose you’re right. I just hope those beasts aren’t still around.”

Caden hoped so too, but he didn’t say it. They reached a fork in the road. The main thoroughfare continued ahead, and a side street angled north.

“We should split up,” Thais said. “We’ll cover more ground that way. Besides, I don’t like the feeling I get from this place.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Captain Eduard assigned us in groups for a reason. What if something happens to you?”

Thais smirked at him. “Your concern is touching, really, but I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Caden scoffed.

“Sure you didn’t. I’ll take the side street. You continue ahead. If the roads don’t converge at some point, we meet back here.”

Caden looked back the way they’d came, unsure. “Fine,” he muttered.

“See you shortly.”

Thais left, and Caden watched her go. He tried not to stare, but he found it difficult. She was beautiful, he couldn’t deny that, but there was something about Mina that captured more than his eyes. He barely knew the girl, true, but his attraction was more than physical. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Focus,” he berated himself.

He continued along the main street, listening for anything other than the occasional whistle of wind through the rubble. There had to be survivors, even if there were only a few. Caden paused here and there to dig through the rubble, but all he found was death. Bodies, both burned and mutilated, were buried everywhere. The stench stung his nostrils and he vomited. He’d been in fights before and had even killed, but this was something different entirely.

Caden spat several times to clean his mouth out, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand. His throat burned, but he’d left his canteen on the saddle of his horse. It wasn’t the first time he’d needed water and gone without, and it wouldn’t be the last. He continued walking and tried not to breathe through his nose.

The street ended, branching off to the left and right. Stone and wood from a collapsed building blocked the way to the right, so he went left. Judging by the direction, Caden assumed he’d meet up with Thais again on this route. A scrabbling noise caught his attention, and he climbed over some rubble on the left side of the street.

He lifted a large wooden beam and shifted it aside, clearing the way into a building. He stuck his head in and looked around, but there didn’t appear to be anyone inside. The sound continued, and he eventually spotted a rat. It was pinned by debris, its claws scratching as it tried to get free. Caden was about to go through the effort of saving the little thing, but then he saw the injuries it had sustained.

“Poor guy,” Caden murmured.

The rat would succumb to its wounds soon, so he did the only thing he knew to do. He put the rat out of its misery by pushing down on the debris. It squealed once and was dead. Caden wiped the sweat from his brow and climbed to the top of the rubble, looking for Thais. He could see some of the other Runesmen in the distance, but there was no sign of his volatile partner.

A tingling sensation began in his neck, quickly spreading along his shoulders and down his spine. Caden looked to the sky, fearing it had something to do with a dragon. He didn’t see anything other than the blinding sun. He suddenly felt weak, and his knees gave out. He slumped down face-first among the wreckage.

“Gods, what’s happening to me?”

His muscles felt like jelly and refused to budge. After a few moments of panic, the realization that Lord Klodian had enacted the rune magic struck him. Was this what it would feel like all the time? He hoped not. It rendered him useless. How could he do his duty and protect the Dominion and his lord if the moment his strength was borrowed, he fell like a sack of potatoes?

As he lay there unable to move, his gaze roamed among the hill of debris under him. Through the stones and wood, he spotted something glowing. It was small, but it blazed red as if it had been superheated. Caden kept his eyes on it, afraid that if it cooled, he’d lose sight of it. His weakness only lasted a few minutes, and then his strength came flooding back.

He hurriedly began moving the debris out of the way in an attempt to reach the glowing item. It was buried under two feet of rubble, but he managed to clear enough of it away so that he could stick his arm down through the rest to reach it. His fingers hovered around it, and despite its glow, he didn’t feel any heat coming off of it.

Gritting his teeth, Caden grabbed onto it. He expected to get burned, but it was cool to the touch. He pulled his arm free and inspected the curious trinket. It had some weight to it, and he guessed it was metal. The glow faded, revealing a unique pattern of thin lines engraved on its surface.

Caden had no idea what it was, but it looked interesting. He palmed it and headed back down the mountain of ruined buildings to the street. There was still no sign of Thais, and he wondered if she’d turned back. He decided to give her a few more minutes, then he’d go searching.

While he waited, he continued to check for survivors. He didn’t find any, but he did find a charred corpse and had accidentally put his hand through it when lifting a large stone. He felt his throat constrict and he gagged, but there was nothing to vomit up. He was sweaty and hot, and his patience was long gone.

“Thais!” he yelled. “Where are you?”

There was no reply. Caden growled in frustration and stormed along the street, cursing under his breath. If she had turned around …

A scream stopped him in his tracks. His best guess told him it had come from the west, and it was the scream of a woman. He sprinted toward the sound.