Prince of Fire | Dragonfire Book One

Capítulo Cinco

Revenge consumed the vestiges of Dracula's shattered soul, corrupting his purpose and morals for the rest of eternity.

~ Draconic Book of Songs

Chapter Five

Elena watched as the blue beast fell into the trap, which had been originally set for Dracula.

It had been the screeching that had caught their attention to the fighting dragons. The arriving teams immediately sprang into action, following the General Marcus's plans. Elena's heart had pumped ferociously as they laid the nets and springs in position beneath the two oblivious and pugnacious dragons. Adrenaline raced through her body every time she remembered that their prey was Dracula.

The aforementioned creature lit an infernal hell around himself, retaliating against Squad C. But because they were the front lines, they wore more fire-protective clothing and gear, mitigating the damages from the intense heat. The blue dragon tried to fight back too, but from under a steel net. It hissed every time a bullet hit its scales. Both dragons roared, attempting to fight off the teams of hunters.

Elena desperately wanted to partake in some of the combat, but she and the rest of Squad C had to finish setting the rest of the traps so that they could subdue Dracula as well.

But before she could do anything, Dracula whipped his wings, sending a gale that threw everyone back. The sharp wind nipped at Elena's face and she raised her arms to defend against the flying debris. The hunters closest to the belligerent dragon were flung back into ground. Even the steel net on the blue dragon shifted, sliding off its slick scales.

Dracula let out a piercing whistling screech before making a deep guttural call. Elena winced at the strident noise, covering her ear with her gloved hand. It almost seemed like he was communicating in an inscrutable and animalistic, yet majestic, language. The blue dragon tensed, its muscles taut and rigid.

Suddenly, jitters crawled over Elena's skin as a distant rustling sound slowly penetrated her ear. She began to look around for the source of the sound, eventually spotting something pale in the distance. Suddenly, the pale dot flashed forward at a frightening speed. Elena's eyes widened as the figure appeared more and more humanoid as it grew closer.

"Another dragon?" Elena whispered to herself, assuming that the figure was a dragon in human form. She had always struggled with the concept of transforming dragons. She always needed to remind herself that they were still monsters, even in a familiar form.

Then, she heard two screams. It took a split second before she realized that the pale dot had flashed by and taken down two of the hunters. She quickly snapped her head in the direction of the second scream and was greeted by a horrible sight. A chalky pale creature loomed over a body on the group. The only color that seemed to stain its naked, shriveled skin was a deep red from the blood of one of the hunters, which was dripping down its face and fanged mouth. Its glowing red eyes luridly gleamed at the dead unfamiliar hunter.

Elena's eyes widened and her heart pounded as she took a step back. What in the world was that demon? If anything came to mind, it would be vampires. But did those monstrosities exist as well?

After the initial state of shock, the hunters snapped their attention toward the abomination and opened fire. The creature hissed and screeched, dodging most of the bullets but not enough of them to remain unscathed. Unfortunately, the wretched thing persisted against the gunfire, as if unaffected by the damage on its body.

As Squad C pelted it with bullets, Elena quickly glanced around to see if there were any more pale creatures. Instead of seeing any additional figures, Elena noticed that the blue dragon had shrugged off the steel net. It slowly limped away, taking advantage of the temporary distraction. She advanced in its direction, concerned with the preoccupied attention of the hunters, but she realized that if they forgot about the blue dragon...