The Chronicles of Sethros: Chapter 8
#8 of The Chronicles of Sethros
One night later...
Forgive me for a second; you will see that as I write this I refer to Alex as a female, though at the time of these events passing I still thought her to be a male. However for the ease of your thoughts, as her femininity was revealed to you in the previous chronicle I will give her, her correct sex from this point on. Her actual gender was not revealed to me until a future chapter, and that in itself is a revelation...
The day had been a hard one; the temperature had risen high enough to scorch the plains of grass that bordered the lush green forest. For most of the day I moved from tree to tree with Zephira and Alex, trying to conserve our energy until we decided it would be better to camp for the night due to the heat. I was curious about last night, the two having magically reappeared in the morning. They had told me about the Lycan, and I thanked the gods that Alex had been there to protect Zephira.
'Got to give her credit though, that fire spell looked nasty,' I'd thought to myself as I had walked by, the scorch marks ran a good five meters past the fried beast. I noticed how Alex looked at the dead Lycan; her eyes were solemn, sad, almost like she regarded the kill as a waste. I would have to agree, though it was self-defence and there was no other choice.
Though they told me what had happened I still had a nagging voice in the back of my mind. I had this feeling like they were leaving a few details out... like there was something they didn't want me to know. For now I simply pushed it to the back of my mind. If I was to prod them for the information it might not go over well, besides I'd rather not be seen as paranoid.
We couldn't really set up camp in the tight thicket of trees we had stopped in, and the day had been so dry that a fire would risk setting the whole forest alight. We simply ate a bit of the bread and cheese we had brought with us before lying down against the trunks. I curled up with Zephira in my arms, and having kissed each other good night I let my mind drift off, the world fading as I cuddled the loving tigress.
I awoke with a start, my piercing gaze scanning the trees as I heard rustling in the forest. I glanced over at Alex who was just getting up, grabbing her own daggers. By the time Zephira started to stir I had my own runic blades at the ready, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. I glanced over to see Alex sniff the air, trying to identify whatever was making the noise, for all I knew it could be nothing but a deer...or a party of bandits. She never had a chance to tell me what she had caught the scent of, before she was off her feet and pinned to the ground by a large, snarling, blood thirsty Lycan. She wouldn't have even had time to blink after the beast broke cover. Alex yelped in terror as I ran at the beast, spinning my daggers before bringing them across the back of the Lycan's neck, before shoving the creature off of her, watching it howl in pain as its muscles twitched and spasmed, bleeding out within seconds. My ears perked up as I heard a warning cry.
"SETHROS!!!"
My eyes widened as I whipped around. More Lycan's were emerging from the woods around us. I could see the concentration in Zephira's eyes as she started drawing on her energy for a fire spell. I sprinted toward her, just barely dodging one of the Lycan's as he tried to pounce on me. I quickly knocked the tigress's arms apart before spinning around, driving my daggers into the belly of a charging Lycan. I had to stab at the beast time and time again until it gave up and died, slumping on my blades. I quickly turned back to Zephira.
"Whatever you do, don't use any fire spells. This whole place will go up in flames..." I warned her before handing her one of my daggers. "Take one of these and call me if you're in trouble."
She nodded in understanding, taking up a basic knife fighter's stance. Alex was on the other side of the clearing, ducking under a Lycan's claws before bringing her daggers around, slashing them across the beast's throat in the blink of an eye. She kept moving, not wasting another strike on the dying beast, vaulting over one corpse to avoid a charge, lashing out with her blades over and over, her movements precise and powerful with a subtle, lethal grace.
-10 minutes later.
Soon the dust had settled, the remaining pack beasts dead or dying. Alex quietly walked through the corpses, giving mercy to those wounded. The sadness was once again visible in her eyes, she didn't enjoy a task like this but it was needed. I slumped against the side of a tree, panting lightly as I cleaned my dagger. Returning my dagger to its sheath, I noted its twin was still missing. As my gaze wandered around the clearing I found one other thing missing, chills arcing up my spine as my body started to tense, I took a deep breath, barely able to pick out her scent among the stench of the dead and the blood that dyed the grass red. My ears twitched as I hunted for the sound of branches being moved or broken, footsteps, anything that might give me a clue to where Zephira was. I looked to the ground and looked for markings. I doubted I was as good a tracker as Alex, but I could still follow the few I found.
"Alex! Have you seen Zephira?"
"No, have you? I thought she would be muzzled up or sleeping.
We looked at each other across the clearing, wondering what had happened to the tigress. The world seemed to slow down for a second as reality hit home, my eyes met Alex's as I felt the adrenaline start coursing through my veins, a strong mix of fear, worry and protective rage filling my body in that single endless second. Alex took off like a bolt of lightning, her tracking eye honed from years of living the forest, she moved low to the ground, almost like a feral, tracking like a hunting dog. I was impressed by her, still not knowing how the "male" could keep her eyes on the tracks nearing a full sprint. None the less I followed, growling softly as I tried to pick up the scents and tracks myself. As soon as we had left the clearing behind us, a thought seemed to hang in my head as we hunted. 'I should have kept better watch...If she's hurt it's my fault...she has to be alright.'
Ferox growled as he descended the staircase, walking through the lavishly adorned halls of his keep. The walls coated with trophies of conquest, spoils of war and timeless relics from times long past. Not one of the servants even dared to let themselves be spotted by the massive, black and red dragon. His eyes narrowed in rage. From his sheath, his new blade called for blood, feeding off of Ferox's hate. The blade was a present from the Necromancer's high council. A token to prove their allegiance to the dragon king, yet the king was annoyed with its whispers, growling even louder as he neared the courtyard.
'Calm down and be quiet you damned blade, your thirst will be quenched soon enough...'
He conversed with the spirit of the blade in his mind as he threw the heavy double wooden doors open, ornamented with the coat of arms of his family. Two crossed blades under a dragons head. His eyes immediately caught the sight of a limping guard. Coated with claw marks while clutching his side, Ferox casually walked over but the aura of anger that surrounded the false king put a worried look on the guard and his two companions, helping him to the healer's quarters.
"What in the gods name happened? I thought you could keep that bitch under control..."
"I'm sorry sir, she...she just came at me like a demon, clawing at me...you said I wasn't supposed to harm her..."
"Well, that order just changed. Unfortunately I don't think there's room for you in this garrison anymore..."
"Sir...? I'm dismissed?"
The guard tilted his head curiously. He had never heard of someone being fired from the guard, usually just punishments and terrible duties. He didn't even have a time to scream as Ferox drew his sword, the black blade hissing from it sheath as he rammed it through the guard's throat. The brown scaled dragon writhed and tried to cry out in pain as his body spasmed like it was possessed by some unknown energy, only a sickly gargling coming out of his cut throat. The last thing the hapless guard saw was Ferox's bloody red eyes filled with rage and his companions watching in terror as his body slowly stopped spasming and twitching on the blade. With a feral roar, Ferox tore the gore covered blade from the guard's throat, severing his head from his body.
The dragon then turned to the companions, both of them quaking as they watched their fellow guardsman's corpse fall to the cold stone floor, a puddle of blood already leaking out from under the carcass. They backed away a bit as the dragon king returned the blade to its sheath after cleaning it of the blood. They knew one wrong step and they could share the brown dragon's fate.
Even Sethros's mighty honour guard would have shivered in fear as Ferox's spoke. His voice as casual as if he was simply out for a stroll, "Find a replacement and clean this mess up before I return or Ill gut you myself."
With that, Ferox turned and headed towards Sethros's rooms. The lavishly decorated, high celling bedroom was now used to hold Sethros's rather troublesome Fiancé. As much as he hated to admit it, Ferox needed her should he return, even though he would rather put her head on a spear over the wall. He thought to himself as he climbed the cold stone stairs wondering if he was walking into a trap, though most likely he knew he would find Aeadiena cowering in a corner, trying to hide from his wrath. He threw the heavily stained oak door open with a loud bang, gazing around the room for a minute.
Sethros's room was decorated with smooth white marble floors and high, ornate ceilings. The true family crest was carved into the massive rectangular rooms chandelier rose. The walls themselves were decorated with Sethros's trophies, gifts from ancient lands, ranging from blades to magical orbs contained in glass cases, pure forms of each of the four elements: Water, Earth, Fire and Ice. The walls were lined with cabinets of cloths, weapons and other finery as well as a large book case and desk on the wall to the entrances, right. On the left were a lavishly embroidered hearth rug and a large white marble fireplace; Sethros's shield hung high above the mantle with two swords crossed behind it. On the shield lay the former king's own coat of arms. A dark green background with a dark blue cross in the middle, the outer edge of the shield lined with fine water steel, a rare metal brought from across the seas. It was many times as strong as ordinary steel and blades made from the metal seemed to have a beautiful ripple across them, almost like the blade was made of water. Farthest from the door was Sethros's massive bed, covered with expensive white silk sheets and blankets, easily big enough for three to share, though Sethros slept only with his beautiful fiancé.
Ferox's eyes moved to the slender light blue form of that certain dragoness, watching her with a mix of curiosity and anger as he bared his teeth, a loud, almost feral growl filling the room. Ferox himself had a wee bit more honour than Zapharis, but even he could barely keep the desire to ravage the beautiful female. Aeadiena was tall, lean and curvy in build, flexible and quite athletic. Coated head to claws in beautiful bluish green scales that gleamed in the light, as soft as the finest silks one could even imagine. She had long, flowing brown hair that sparkled with her scales, draped down past her shoulder. Unlike most royalty, Aeadiena was quite unique in that she wore very little jewellery and even that wasn't nearly as extravagant as what was considered "normal" in the courts of a land. Wearing only a small golden necklace with a flawless sapphire amulet, along with a small wedding band studded with four perfect diamonds. She was a dragoness of simplistic beauty, wearing one of her favourite, striking aquamarine dress.
"You know Aeadiena, you're almost causing more trouble than your worth to me...though...you're still something I can use against Sethros...if he survived...Plus, your beauty is a welcome sight within these bleak walls...What a shame that Zapharis isn't around to have his fun with you..."
Ferox drew closer, one hand on the hilt of his sword as he slowly walked towards the dragoness who was slowly moving back towards the side of her bed, drawing up alongside her pillow. The two locked eyes, trying to stare holes in each other's heads as the male drummed his claws on the hilt, flashing a menacing, toothy grin. Aeadiena made sure to keep his eyes on her own bright blue eyes. Subtly she slipped her hand under the pillow, her claws wrapping around the grip of the water steel dagger one of Sethros's honour guards had brought her on the eve of his supposed execution. It was tipped in an exotic poison that would hopefully kill whoever it wounded, though the effects of the poison depended drastically on the strength of the person it was used upon. She quietly hoped it would be enough to even just slow him down. Aeadiena jumped lightly as she felt the false king's claw brush up her soft scaled, curvy sides. Stopping thankfully just below her perfect, soft, sensitive breasts. Ferox leaned a little closer, whispering lustfully into the dragoness's ears which promptly flattened.
"I bet you loved it when Zapharis screwed you, you little whore. You probably begged for it har..."
The sound of open palmed slap resonated through the quarters like a lightning strike; the sheer force of the sudden strike had caused the dragon king's scales to go red where her palm had made contact, leaving an imprint on his cheek. Aeadiena hadn't let her claws just pass by either, dragging them along the male's muzzle until blood started to trickle from the deep gashes. The false king's eyes glowed with rage, in that instant, Ferox decided he was going to make her life a living hell but he didn't even have time to brood over torture. The dragoness hadn't wasted a second. She followed her slap up with the dagger she had kept hidden among the pillows, the water steel point glinting in the light as it was brought around, straight into Ferox's throat. The male roared in pain as he felt the blade sink in, deep crimson blood gushing from the wound as he reached up and grabbed Aeadiena's wrist in a crushing grip, making her wince and yelp in pain. He twisted in one fluid motion, throwing the slender dragoness across the room with enough force to crush one of the fine wooden cabinets that adorned the walls.
Ferox grinned as he thought to himself, '_Silly girl...you may be quick but you're not built for combat.' _ He growled loudly, his eyes narrowed on her throat as Ferox drew his sword, hissing like a serpent as it left its sheath. Aeadiena had never seen anything like it. Just looking at the blade seemed to fill her with fear. His new toy was a massive long-sword with a wicked black serrated blade, engraved with bright red archaic runes. In the blade's hilt lay a jewel as black as night. As her gaze fell upon it the dragoness jumped, hearing faint screams of pain and anguish that seemed to emanate from the weapon. Ferox chuckled darkly, watching the dragon girl's eyes.
"I see you like my new sword...a present from the necromancers high council... You see, these runes cause extreme pain... I'm sure you're going to find out first hand when I cut each limb from your frigid body and skin your pathetic hide... Then when I finally do kill you, your soul will become part of the blade... From what I'm told, you'll be spending eternity living your greatest nightmares..."
Ferox gloated as he slowly advanced, thinking the dragoness was his to toy with. As he repositioned the blade he found his muscles clench tight, groaning in pain Ferox soon found he was paralyzed mid-stride. Aeadiena breathed a sigh of relief that the poison had worked. Not quite what she had hoped for, but it was enough. She quickly got up and drew alongside him, looking him in the eyes with a piercing stare, whispering quietly.
"I will return here with Sethros one day... I will make sure you suffer more pain than you could even dream of inflicting with that blade..."
Just from her tone, Ferox knew she meant every word though he doubted she would ever fulfil such a promise. A loud banging came from the door, Ferox would have grinned if he could, his face frozen in a hateful sneer. Aeadiena's ears perked up as she turned to glance at the door, quickly running around the room to grab a long dark grey cloak, a sack of coins and the sheath for her dagger, pulling the cowl over her head before pressing up against the wall beside the door.
"Your lordship, we heard the commotion...is everything alright?" One of the guards called before starting to slam at the door, putting his shoulders in it with his colleagues to break it down.
The heavy wooden door slammed against the wall with a solid boom, and quickly the two guards stormed in with swords drawn, moving past the girl without even noticing her form hidden away in the door's shadow. They looked around like idiots, not even noticing as the dragoness slipped out the door. Ferox growled loudly, his blade would certainly be getting its feast as soon as his muscles relaxed.
"Ughff...garts....giarl!"
He snarled angrily, but by the time the two had turned, she was gone. Aeadiena fled from her old room, slipping through the numerous side passages in hopes of avoiding the guard patrols as the alarm went up. She crouched down in the side passages shadow, watching the healers run by to tend to Ferox, followed by a group of six guards who quickly spread out to hunt for the dragoness. She did the best she could to silently make her way to the library but luck wasn't on her side. As the dragon girl quietly opened the heavy oak door there was a loud creaking from the old hinges. She felt a claw gently tap her shoulder. Aeadiena's claws dropped to her daggers sheath but a firm claw grabbed her arm.
"I'm a friend not a guard..."
The dragon girl glanced back to see a massive dragon clad in the shining, gold trimmed water steel armour of Sethros's honour guard. She glanced up to meet the dark brown eyes of Jax, Sethros's Captain and one of her fiancé's closest friends.
"Get going, you know where the passage is. I'll tell them you headed towards the back gate."
"Thank you Jax...take care of yourself, if they find out you helped m-"
"Then I'll die with my blade in my claws," he interrupted. "I made a promise to Sethros, and I intend to keep it. Now go!"
Jax ushered her through the door to the library, with not a soul in sight she made her way to the archives at the back of the room, finding a trap door hidden among the book cases. She quickly slipped down the passage and made her escape, immerging from a drain in the city streets a few blocks away from the castle. As she looked out of the alleyway she could see guard patrols already moving through the streets on the hunt for her.
I heard a loud growl as I broke through a thin wall of trees. Time slowed down as I saw a huge Lycan turn his head towards me. To my left I could see Zephira, pinned under a dead Lycan, the dagger I had given her sticking out of the corpse's neck. I watched as what must be the Alpha male open his jaws, ready to strike at my throat as the world hung in place. I threw myself to the side, his jaws narrowly missing my neck as I continued on, digging my claws in to skid to a halt, going from sprint to stand still in an instant. Alex landed beside me, having jumped from branch to branch, running through the treetops. I drew my dagger but I felt an arm move to across my chest to bar my advance.
"Wait...Sethros, don't kill him, defending ourselves if fine, killing an alpha when we can easily run is something the gods won't smile upon..."
"That thing just tried to kill me, are you insane!?!"
"Sethros...trust me... I lived in the forest for most of my life... Nothing good comes of killing off an entire pack. If the alpha survives then there's a chance of repopulating the pack... Look at its movements quickly."
"It could have killed Zephira and ripped my throat out..." I growled angrily, but as I watched, I noticed something about the feral's behaviour. It wasn't attacking, not yet at least, but it seemed to be pumping himself up, making himself look big and intimidating, flaunting that he now was in between Zephira and me.
"That's not a threat, it's a dominance display. He's challenging you over his status as alpha. All you have to do is pin the beast and we won't have any more trouble from him or his pack."
"You're sure about this right? I don't want to end up missing a piece of my neck..."
"If it tries to kill you I'll step in. I'll..."
"Will someone help get this off of me!?!" Zephira cried out, interrupting our argument.
Alex immediately moved to circle around the Lycan. With that I moved up, squaring off against the beast. My own growl matched his as we circled around each other. As we neared one full circle, the feral exploded dashing towards my right, almost feinting a lunge, before switching left. The snarling ball of rage and teeth went for a tackle, diving at my mid-section. I side stepped and wrapped my arms around the beasts torso, pulling it with me as I turned before slamming the beast into the ground. The Lycan wriggled out of my grasp with a whine of pain and pulled me off balance, nearly dragging me into a tree, as out of the corner of my eye I watched Alex start to lift the dead Lycan off of the tigress.
I groaned in pain, forcing myself to my feet as the Alpha tackled me, this time, catching me in the back. I found myself thrown about two feet away, the growling creature trying to pin me as I opened my wings with as much force as I could bring to bear, spooking the feral above me. I quickly took the opportunity to flip us over, pinning the Lycan to the ground with a loud, almost feral roar, holding the Alpha in place until it stopped struggling, whimpering softly as it bowed its head. I felt a paw on my shoulder, turning my head to see the ice blue eyes of Alex staring out at me from "her" hood, Zephira standing beside her.
"See...You're accepted as the Alpha now... Zephira's safe by the way, not a scratch on her..."
I slowly started moved off the Lycan, watching it get back onto its paws. Its head was lowered as it looked up at the two females and I as we turned to head back to camp, slowly making our way through the forest as the morning light broke through the trees.+-