The NDA Dragon

Chapter 3: The Gruesome Death

I walked out the front door, and my motorcycle was in the driveway, ready for me to ride. As I started to hop on my bike, Jack came out and kissed me on the cheek. I’m not an affectionate person. I kind of shook it off as nothing until I noticed it made Jack sad when I acted like it was nothing. “Hey Jack, I’m not an overly affectionate person, but I can try to be. Anyways I’m going to be late if I don’t head out. So goodbye, Jack. I’ll see you after work.” 

I race off to the base and to work. I looked down at my arm, and the bandage was drenched in glowing purple blood. Chizbit is going to kill me. I can’t worry about it now. I need to head up to the squad room. I went up to the squad room. I walked over to my desk and sat down, trying to hide my bandaged arm from sight.

“Hey, Shinatin, how was last night? I bet you had fun. What’s wrong with your arm,” Thomas asked genuinely? I try to hide it more. I’m in pain, but I’m still here working no matter what. Thomas grabbed my arm, and my bioluminescent blood got on Thomas’s hands. “Seriously, what happened here, and is this blood? You shouldn’t be at work if you’re this injured that you bleed through three layers of bandages. No, you should be at the hospital.”

Jim walked over and looked at both of us. “Shinatin, you can stay but go down and see if Harry can patch you up and then meet us in the parking garage. We got a case at Twin Lakes state park.” I go down to the morgue to see if Harry can stitch up my arm. He could, and he sent me on my way. I showed up at the garage, and Jim threw the keys at me. “You drive Shinatin.” I get in the driver's seat and start up the car. My knees were uncomfortable under the steering wheel, but I still drove to the state park. I got out of the vehicle cumbersomely because I just didn’t fit in the car. “Sorry, Shina, that must have been uncomfortable to you. I forgot how tall you are, and there was no way you would have been able to fit in the car comfortably. How’s your arm? It looks like it stopped bleeding.”

I looked down, and it has. I sniff the air. I could feel my spine fins raise like a cat. There was a scent that I could smell that smelt dangerous to the team’s safety, and it was fresh, like a few minutes but not a few hours ago. “I have to be calm and relax. They can’t know,” I mutter under my breath. We walked deeper into the woods to an opening with a lake.

The stench was even more pungent here. I slowly put my hand on the hilt of my katana, Hellreaver. I was on high alert, and I wasn’t the only one. Amber’s tail fur was standing straight up. “You smell it too,” I whispered to Amber. I could see her nod. “He’s still here, and I can smell him.” We looked at each other, and I got ready to pull out my sword until we got called over to Jim. The clearing was blood everywhere, but the first thing I noticed was a substantial burnt pentagram under what I assumed was our sailor. When I saw it, I knew it was a powerful demon, one of the princes of hell but not one of the big seven princes. 

“Vuzguth,” I said quietly, and Amber’s ears laid flat. Jim looked at us, and I don’t think he could read our body language too well because he didn’t say anything. I don’t know if he was oblivious, or he just honestly didn’t know what our body language was saying. I walked up to the body slowly with an alert stance. Vuzguth is still in the area, and he’s watching the team, especially me and Amber me. I only met Vuzguth once after I died the second time. I knew that death unlocked something demonic in me, but I refused to use it unless it was the last result. “Jim, this sailor wasn’t killed by a human, and the killer is watching us.”

“Shina, why would you say that a human didn’t kill him, and what gives you the idea of the killer still in the area? I’ve never seen this much blood splatter in years. There must have been multiple bodies here. One human indeed doesn’t produce that much blood, right also where's the head,” Jim asked? 

I pointed to the lake. I sensed a dagger coming out of the wood aimed at Jim’s head. I grabbed the flying blade with my tail and threw it back at an even faster speed that no one seemed to notice except Amber running in the opposite direction. We all heard a demonic yell of pain, and I knew I hit Vuzguth somewhere on his body. That wound isn’t going to heal as quickly as it would have if it were made out of human metals. Also, it probably had some type of curse on it. His stench disappeared after he got hit, and I could tell Amber seemed to calm down, and I lowered my guard slightly. 

“What was that noise,” Thomas and Jim asked at the same time, unknowing how much danger they were in? “Also You Have A Tail,” again together, shocked. Humans are so oblivious to everything. Like Jim just could have been killed a few moments ago, and he’s so focused on me having a tail like it’s a big realization. Having a tail is nothing compared to what I could look like, but they aren’t ready for that form, and I f****d up last night letting Jack see it. 

I looked closer to the body, and it was the exact pattern of other killings Vuzguth has done throughout history. “Jim, that noise was the demon prince of pain Vazguth when I threw back the dagger he threw to kill you. It hit the target right on the mark. Also, this murder is his dirty work. You can tell that the large pentagram around the victim and the more miniature pentagrams are carved on the body. Plus, Vazguth ripped off the arms and legs in the same fashion as his other victims throughout history. Also, our sailor was still alive when his head was ripped off and thrown into the lake. Our sailor would have suffered for a good couple of hours while Vazguth fed off of his pain and agony. You can tell by the blood splatter that Vazguth ripped off the limbs at such a strength that humans would be incapable of. So it would have to be a demon or a monster with supernatural force, and Vazguth would be the creature that would have that. If you paid attention to your surroundings, you would have also noticed that demon tracks were leading into the forest where he hid to kill whoever would investigate the crime scene. He was after human pain so that he wouldn’t have attacked Amber or me but you or Thomas.” 

Jim’s smile slowly disappeared as the reality of the situation began to set in. I realized if Jim had sent me home when he realized that my arm was injured, he would have died a painful death and that the team would be useless to do anything about it. Yes, I let my guard down by allowing them to see my tail in all its glory, but they are still alive due to my quick reflexes and my intuition that there was danger around. “I guess I should let you see what I truly look like.” I showed them my Neutarian form. Beautiful golden scales cover my whole body, my snout grew long, and my horns grew out of my skull. My wings and spin fins appeared and were visible. You could tell that my horns, wings, fins, and tail fins were hand-painted with blue enamel. “Jim, this who I am behind the elfin form. I stay as an elf when I’m around humans because it’s easier to blend into crowds better, but my tail is always wrapped around my waist. Sorry for hiding this for so long.” I lower my head in shame.

Jim walked over and hugged me. Jim was never one for physical contact more than a firm handshake. So the hug was a tad out of characteristic for Jim. This man used to lead armies, but here he is, hugging me. “Jim, what are you doing,” my hands are outstretched in an awkward position as I asked. I didn’t know whether or not to hug him back. “Jim, is everything ok? This hug isn’t like you. For the past fifteen years we’ve known each other, you’ve never hugged me or anybody. Something is wrong, and I can feel it.” I hugged him back hesitantly, waiting for his reaction or saying something to me, but he didn’t react or say anything to me. 

I finally broke off the hug because it started to feel awkward, and I was uncomfortable with it. When I backed out of that hug, Jim’s face was wet with tears. Jim was crying, and I don’t understand why. This man rarely cried, and this is the only time I have seen him cry. “Shina, Thank you,” Jim finally spoke. “I figured the reason why you hid this was because evil people want to hurt you and people around you, so you hid among us humans. You must have trusted us a lot to show us this. I would like to get the head before Harry gets here to take the body. Who wants to fetch the head?” Amber and Thomas shook their heads, and I was already jumping into the lake. I swim down and grab the head that the fish were eating. I jump out of the water with the head in my hands. 

I came out of the water dry. My scales are hydrophobic. I walk towards the team, and I transform back to my elvish form before Harry shows up to take the body away. “Here’s the head Jim.” I could see Thomas and Amber gag at both the smell and the appearance of the head. Yeah, this head smells rancid. It was awful. It smells like rotten eggs, a baby’s poopy diaper, and meat that’s been rotting for six months. It was a god-awful scent, but that’s what happens when the decomposing is speeded up. This head hardly has any soft flesh left. His eyes and nose were probably eaten first by fish because those parts are delicate and usually exposed at death. Within a couple of hours, this head was in the water, the fish and nature would start the decomposition process. While the body is still as fresh as when he died, the head wasn’t. But it hasn’t bothered me much since I’ve seen much worse from Vazguth than this. This murder is one of Vazguth’s tame murders compared to the others he’s committed or influenced. I’ve concluded that the h*******t in World War Two was one of Vazguth elaborate plans to cause as much pain as possible to the human race. 

Harry finally showed up after a good hour of us being there. I handed the head over to Harry. I went into the woods to see hopefully where Vazguth was. I was almost where he was when Jim called me back so we could leave to go back to base. “Shina, you should probably be more comfortable in the truck with Harry than in this small car. I’ll see you back at base.” 

I got into the truck with Harry. I had a little more room but not much. I would instead be flying, but it's broad daylight and would be dangerous right now to be flying instead of blending in with humans. So on the ground, I must stay. So as we were heading out, Harry started talking about history, but it wasn’t how I remembered it. I could count 16 historical misinformation on my six hands. Humans write history based on who won the war and left out information on purpose, such as the importance of the magical creatures who sacrificed everything for their countries, only to be forgotten and treated like the lowest of the lowest. We were treated like criminals and forced to live in slums and abandoned buildings.

The government always promised to provide for us to make matters worse, but they refused to and sent hunters after us just because we aren’t human species. If you look like a human, you have a better chance of living a fruitful life. If you have a human disguise, you’ll get far in this human shithole called earth. That’s why most magical creature-safe havens often look abandoned and falling to pieces, so humans would stay away from them to continue to be safe havens. Though occasionally, a human will stumble upon those places, we can tell when a human means us harm. I don’t think anyone at NDA wants to harm us. 

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I say we were back at base. I must have zoned out for close to three hours. I hopped out of the medical examiner van and walked up to the squad room. The team was already there waiting. “Shina, what do we know so far? I know you think it’s a demon, but I still think it could be another creature like you. But I wanna hear your point,” Jim said. 

I stood up, and I felt lightheaded, and my chest felt tight. “Jim, it’s impossible to be another creature like me. There have only been three that showed up in the past thousand years. And the other two have been killed because of me. Also, Nuetarians are ravages. More cuts look like claw marks and bite marks, especially around the face and neck area where the venom is unique to the Nuetarian. Also, Nuetarians aren’t likely to use any type of bladed weapon. The scent around the body wasn’t like the Nuetarians I have encountered during my life. So I doubt it was one of my species. However, the smell was very demonic-like, and I think Amber can agree on this matter.” I sat down quickly as the room spun; something wasn't right. I look at my arm, and the stitches are still intact.

“Shina. Shina.” I looked up, and the team was standing over me with concern. “It’s time for you to go home. Something is going on with you, and you look paler than you should. Your eyes are very dull and almost lifeless. Shina, go home. That’s an order,” Jim said with such authority. I got up and left. I went to Jack’s house, though. But in hindsight, it would have been better if I went home with Chizbit. Chizbit would have been better. 

I got to Jack’s house, and his car was in the driveway. The hood was still warm when I touched it. I must have been stumbling because Jack came rushing out and started to help me inside. When I was inside, I called Chizbit. He began to yell at me how I should have come straight home last night and not stay with some human I just met. He was so loud Jack could hear him. “Chizbit, I don’t feel good. And I’m an adult; I can choose my destiny. Anyways show up at this address. Because I feel like I’m going to pass out any moment now, and my chest feels heavy. I think it’s because I was near demonic energy today at the crime scene. Plus, Jim made me drive a car that was way too small for me to fit in comfortably. My knees were to my chest, and I was cramped in there like a sardine. So there might be damage from there too. So please hurry, Chizbit. 

Chizbit showed up about five minutes later and started yelling at me again and at Jack for how dare a human caring about the future Queen of Nuetaria and that he’s probably only waiting for the right moment to try to kill me. Jack tried to defend himself. As Chizbit was yelling at Jack, I could feel myself getting weaker. Their voices seemed distant as I could feel myself lose conscientiousness. 

I could feel my head hit the hardwood floor as I fell off the couch into the floor. I knew probably Chizbit, and Jack stopped what they were arguing about and rushed to my side and only proceeded to argue what they should do. They were worthless. I’m guessing they were arguing about whether or not to take me to the hospital. I don’t know what they decided. All I know is I wasn’t doing good, and my system was shutting down. 

Why do I trust these guys to take care of me? They couldn't even put aside their differences for twenty minutes while I have a medical emergency. At least check on me first, then argue about what to do or don’t argue and help the unconscientious person on the floor, aka me. Like, seriously, I’m over here unconscientious, and you are too busy hating each other to care I’m out cold. I will put those asses in a room when I wake up for them to settle their differences while my life isn’t hanging in the f*****g balance. It is hilarious watching them fight about who cares more about me. The human or the droid who wanted me to marry the very same monsters who r***d and sexually assaulted me for no other reason than I am the high princess of a race I don’t even care for. Because they are all monsters, who try to say they are civilized when in reality they are just feral monsters with intelligence and a government system. I never respected Chizbit much after I got r***d by my species, and he told me I should have married those monsters. Jack, however, I respect it because he even apologized for asking me to stay over when he was drunk out of his mind and covered up when I asked him to. Jack has been nothing but respectful and kind to me since we met. So I don’t mind our interactions as much. But I have avoided interactions with Chizbit like the black death, the swine flu, and the covid crisis. That’s how bad I can’t stand Chizbit and his condescending attitude towards everyone and everything in this world.