Slaying the Blood King

♤•Chapter 12•♤

The ground shakes beneath our feet as we make our way down the glowing vines of the willow. Through the chaos, all of the Fey remain calm. Even the children seem to be handling the situation well as they cling to their parent's hands.

"Where are we going?" I ask Antonious as he leads me down the vine.

"We are going beneath the tree. The guards will be rustling as many people as they can," he says breathlessly.

"Isn't the dragon a shapeshifter? Why can't we just stop and talk?" I ask incredulously. Part of me wanted to stop and take a breather but part of me knew that was no use, and by the way Antonious looks at me, I must have asked a stupid question.

"Yes, they are shapeshifters, but dragons had never gotten along with a Fey. Ever since we had taken them with us on a hunt and their people had been killed in a skirmish almost fifty years ago, they had held that against us ever since. We had been at least civil, but now they are attacking," Antonious explains. I nod, letting him lead me. There has got to be a way to stop this, I think inwardly

We trudge on forward. Outside of the tree, I hear screams, and as we go by a window in the willow, I see why. The village is on fire; the smell of burnt flesh wafts through the window along with the smoke of the burning trees. "No!" I whisper harshly, covering my mouth with my hand to stifle the cry that escapes. Antonious yanks on my arm, but my eyes refuse to be removed from the c*****e.

"Come on, Lunar! We have to go!" Antonious shouts. Anger boils in my chest, and before he can react, I punch him in the face. My fist collides with his jaw and it sends him to the floor. Many people give awed glances before scurrying down the vine. Glaring up at me, he wipes the blood that trickles down his chiseled chin.

"I am not a coward. I can't let them die out there!" I said angrily.

"What are you going to do, Lunar? They are Dragons! It took twenty of our Fey soldiers to bring down the last one, and you think you can do it?" he shouts at me, rising from his seated position.

"Trying and dying is better than not having tried at all!" I shout back. "Your people are dying and you are running like a coward! I will not. I refuse to feel guilty when I can stop this!"

"Listen to yourself! If I could fight the dragon with my bare hands, I would Lunar, but I know there are battles you can't fight. How can you save more people if you are dead?" he asks. In my mind, I know he is right. This is too big a battle, but something in my gut is urging me to try. Something is telling me that I may be able to stop it.

"Antonious, take care of them."

I rush down the vine past him. He shouts my name but I don't stop for a second. People flood in left and right, and it takes forever for me to reach the entrance of the tree. I watch as people flood in, descending further into the darkness of the roots. I hope that I live long enough to explore that level. Tearing myself away from the thought, I bolt outside into the c*****e.

Fire is everywhere. The huts in the trees are set ablaze by the lick of flames that descend from the tops. Bodies, both scorched and bloodied, of Fey folk and guards, lie lifelessly on the ground. A swooping motion sends my body into action as I run and duck under the protective stone archway just as a dragon spews fire down to the earth below. My heart begins to race ferociously. Am I going to be able to pull this off?

"Lunar!" a voice shouts in the throng of the chaos. Turning to it's direction, I find Albesk running towards me. His red hair bounces behind him as he strides over, but there isn't fear in his eyes. Instead, an intensity like no other takes over as his movements are fueled with adrenaline and rage. He reaches me quickly.

"What the hell are you doing out here? Get inside!" he shouts.

"I am supposed to be an assassin! This is my fight too. Let me help!" I shout at him over the destruction around us. He stares at me incredulously before rolling his eyes.

"Fine, have it your way. We need to get to the armory. It is untouched by flames but that could change, so we need to be quick!" he says. I nod, before we both rush out through the woods toward the armory hut.

We reach the armory at last; it's large stone structure still untouched by the dragon. It wooshes overhead, so close that I can see the blue to green gradient in it's scales.

"Come on!" Albesk says as we heave open the door. I've been in the armory quite a few times since I started training the past three weeks. It has everything, from bows, to spears, and even swords so sharp that it can cut through anything. As we enter, the sunlight streaming through the windows lets me see the once clean place turn to shambles. The guards made sure to not waste anytime grabbing what they needed. Bending down, I grab a recurve bow, before slinging a quiver full of arrows across my shoulder. I have found in the past few weeks that shooting bow is my strong suit.

Albesk grabs another bow, along with a sword. He stashes the sword on his black belt before turning to me.

"You ready?" he asks.

I take a deep breath. Was I? Never in my life did I believe I could amount to anything, and now I am about to take on a dragon, one that may surely kill me.

But what if I could change the outcome for all of us?

I glance into Albesk's eyes, and I know right away that I would do anything to protect us all.

"I'm ready."