Murphy's Law

Chapter 63

In the end, Sirius was glad May had shoved those potions at him. The Keepers were nothing to sniff at, with their nigh-impenetrable dragon bone armor. And they hit hard. He'd switched between melee and magic, but neither offered him any advantage, weakened as he was. So he'd simply had to grit his teeth and bear it, until the Keeper was destroyed. And he'd had to do it three times. Balthazar stood on guard nearby as he took a few minutes to try to catch his breath and recover from his various bumps and bruises.

"Are you feeling alright?" the vampire asked, worried.

"Fine," Sirius grumbled in response. "I never want to have to do that again."

"Well I think that was the last one, so I doubt you will." Balthazar offered him a weak smile when Sirius glanced up at him. "Think you can stand up, yet?"

"I think so," Sirius huffed, and pushed himself back to his feet. "Let's head back now."

"You managed to destroy all three Keepers," Valerica greeted them with as they approached. "Very impressive."

"Are you able to give us the Scroll now?" Balthazar asked as they stepped into the courtyard.

"Yes. Please, follow me. And keep watch for Durnehviir. With the prison's barrier down, he's almost certain to investigate."

"Durnehviir?"

"A dragon, that is as trapped here as I am. The Ideal Masters charged him with overseeing the Keepers."

"You could have mentioned there was a dragon here a little sooner!" Sirius yelped.

"Please, keep your voice down, and hurry. I may be able to get you in and out before he arrives."

They had barely made entry into the prison proper before Balthazar stopped in his tracks, tilting his head toward the sky. "Wait... I hear something!"

"It's Durnehviir," Valerica gasped. "He's here! Defend yourselves!"

"So much for in and out," Sirius sighed, readying a spell. "Oh, come on!" he growled as the dragon landed on the far wall, summoning a number of undead soldiers with a Shout. "That's cheating!" Valerica looked unimpressed with his outburst, but it got a chuckle from Balthazar.

The skeletal soldiers were as easy to destroy as the bonemen outside the prison, but also just as numerous. Just as they got one group taken out, Durnehviir would summon another. "He's trying to wear us down, until we can fight no longer," Valerica warned.

"We need to find a way to get him to face us himself, then," Sirius surmised. "Durnehviir! Are you truly such a coward you need to call upon the dead to fight for you?"

That seemed to do the trick, as the dragon landed in the middle of the boneyard, well within reach. "Go for the wings!" he instructed. Durnehviir snarled and breathed a blast of fire at him. Sirius barely had time to get a ward up, and was only just able to keep it up until the attack ended. Valerica stared at him in something close to awe.

Balthazar took advantage of the dragon's distraction, attacking one of his wings as Sirius had said. Durnehviir whipped around to snap at him, only for the vampire to dance out of reach. Sirius drew his sword and shredded the other, grounding him. The dragon roared in pain and fury, thumping his tail against the ground hard enough to knock them off their feet. As he fell, Sirius summoned a Thunderbolt spell, striking the dragon with it hard enough to stun him for a moment. It was all the opening Balthazar needed, and threw an icy spear into the dragon's chest. With a guttural snarl Durnehviir fell, body burning away in a strange purple fire. Balthazar walked over to where Sirius still lay on the ground and offered a hand to help him up. "Ugh. Thanks." He took the vampire's hand, letting himself be pulled back to his feet.

"How did you know to do that? With the ward?"

"Trick I learned from the Knight," Sirius panted. "Good thing too, or that would have been the end of me."

"Forgive my astonishment, but I never thought I'd witness the death of that dragon," Valerica murmured, clearly in awe.

"What makes you say that?"

"Volumes written on Durnehviir allege that he can't be slain by normal means. It appears they were mistaken. Unless..."

"Yes?"

"The soul of a dragon is as resilient as its owner's scaly hide. It's possible that your killing blow has merely displaced Durnehviir's physical form while he reconstitutes himself."

"How long will that take?"

"Minutes? Hours? Years? I couldn't even begin to guess. I suggest we don't wait around to find out. Now, let's get you the Elder Scroll and you can be on your way."

"Good, I've had about enough of this place..." They followed Valerica to where she had placed the Scroll for safekeeping. She unlocked the case and stepped back, allowing Sirius to take it. He reverently lifted it out of the case, and carefully slung it across his back.

"Now that you've retrieved the Elder Scroll, you should be on your way."

Sirius nodded to her. "We may never return."

"After what I've put Balthazar through, I would understand if he never wished to see me again." She met the elf's gaze. "Remember that Harkon isn't to be trusted. No matter what he promises, he'll deceive you in order to get what he wants."

"Nothing to worry about there, I am well acquainted with his type." He turned a questioning look onto Balthazar, who nodded to him and started back toward the gate. The pair didn't look back as they made their way toward the exit. They crossed the desolation with haste, having no desire to be stopped by Durnehviir a second time.

"So now that Mayhem isn't here to stop me, I have a question for you," Balthazar said as they approached the stairs leading back to the portal.

"I don't like how you phrased that," Sirius replied, giving him a wary stare. "But you've got me curious. What's your question?"

"Are you and the Knight married?"

"Wh-" Sirius floundered for a moment. "Whatever gave you that idea?! I've known him for maybe a month!"

Balthazar grinned. "Oh, just that when I met you, the two of you were bickering rather like an old married couple."

"We were not-"

"You absolutely were," the vampire teased.

"No. You put that thought out of your head right this instant. I would hardly even call him a friend, he's been a thorn in my side for the past five years!"

Balthazar chuckled as he started up the stairs. "If you insist."

"I do insist."

Mayhem gave the pair an odd look as they reemerged, taking in Sirius' indignant outrage and Balthazar's smug satisfaction, and shook her head, deciding she'd rather not know. They had the Elder Scroll they'd gone in there for, and that was all that really mattered.