The Master of Dragons

Chapter 25

 A/N: I do want to warn you before you read this chapter that this came across darker than I first thought it would. I try to keep chapters like these to a minimum so that everyone can read, but I did want to write a little warning before you can continue

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      Daniella took a deep breath, calming herself and sinking a little bit more into the chair that she was sitting in. Ozir had been kind enough to bring a chair that was long enough so that she could stretch out her legs. She glanced at the pump next to her and shivered. This was not going to be easy, nor was it risk free. But Daniella needed this demon out of her mind, and she needed it done quickly so that she could get back to training.

      Daniella turned and nodded at Ozir who brought over the mask. Ozir had been against the idea, bringing up the risks again as well as bringing up other negative outcomes if this went wrong. Daniella knew the risks and had tried to console Ozir. In the end, Ozir agreed but she made her opinion known as she had been against the idea. Daniella leaned up and allowed Ozir to place the mask on her face before laying her head back down. She drew another deep breath and closed her eyes.

      Ozir asked if she was ready. Daniella took a second before nodding again in reply. Ozir drew a breath of her own and started up the pump. Daniella could feel the mask pull at her face as it began to draw the demon from her lungs. Daniella kept her eyes closed as she tried to stay calm. She could hear the demon screaming in her Spirit World and could feel it's claws trying to find purchase, trying to stay in the Spirit World.

      But there was another voice that she could hear, only faintly. It sounded too far away to be from her Spirit World, and she could only pick up on a couple of words, but they were there. It sounded as if the new voice was sending out an order. To kill. But who it was meant for, Daniella wasn't sure. She strained her ears to try and figure out who the target was, but it was getting harder and harder to focus as she lost more and more oxygen. Her lungs burned and her eyes watered as the machine did its job. The voice grew fainter, and Daniella knew that she would not be able to locate the voice.

      After what felt like forever, Ozir turned the pump off. As soon as Daniela heard the machine turn off, she grasped at the mask on her face, trying to pull it off. Ozir was by her side in an instant and helped her take the mask off. Daniella took several gasps of air as she sat up. Ozir rubbed Daniella's back as Daniella calmed herself and came down from the adrenaline and fear. Daniella reached out and grabbed Ozir's wrist and looked into her eyes.

"Please.....tell me....that worked," she said, still gasping a little bit.

       Ozir nodded and slithered aside to show the jar full of smoke. A pair of fists could be seen every few seconds as the demon tried to get out of it's new prison. Daniella let out a breathy laugh as she looked at the jar. She was free. Daniella laid back down and rested her arm on her forehead as she enjoyed her new freedom, knowing that this was only a small victory to celebrate. Ozir took the jar from the machine and made sure that the lid and wards held before placing the jar on the rolling table. She grabbed a mug from the table and brought it over to Daniella.

"What is this?" Daniella asked, raising her arm to look at the mug in the Serpentine's hand.

"Green tea. I find it calming and thought it would be a good thing to celebrate as well as ease the burning in your throat," Ozir replied, handing her the mug.

"Thank you," Daniella said, blowing on the tea and taking a sip. She could taste the honey mixed in with the tea. She smiled softly, taking another sip.

"You brew a very good tea. My uncle would love this," she complemented. Ozir looked at the floor with a smile on her face. Daniella didn't need to see to know that the Serpentine was blushing.

"You are too kind," Ozir replied, turning and taking the rolling table out of the training room.

      Daniella stared at the wall across from her as she continued to sip her tea. The voice sounded old, someone who had power. She looked from the wall to the inside of her mug. Someone was loud enough for her to hear her, and Daniella had a feeling that whoever the voice belonged to was not someone who fought on the side of good. She made a mental note of how the voice sounded and filed it away for research later.