Drakkon

Chapter Fifteen

When I arrived at the hall that Meilin and the spy were at, I wasn't surprised to find the room full of soldiers. I pushed past a few soldiers until I was standing inside the ring of men around the spy. Meilin was standing in front of the room, his eyes radiating with anger and his hands twitching as he no doubt had a desire to rip the spy in shreds. Commander Bohai was standing a few feet behind him and he wore a neutral expression, and General Fang stood next to him. Fang's arm was held up by a sling and he was a sickly pale color, his guarded eyes focused on the man in the center of the room.

The spy was a middle aged soldier with graying hair, soft brown eyes, and a sneer across his face. He was staring at Meilin with contempt and he was visibly shaking. Although he had no bindings around his feet and hands, he was kneeling on the floor, not making any move to run away. It was impossible to run, of course, and he must've known how futile and pathetic it would look if he attempted to do so.

"You realize what this means, right?" Meilin said to the man, his voice hard and his eyes two dark chips of obsidian. He had his arms folded across his chest and he was looking down at the man with a dark expression. He didn't even need to reach for his weapons to look deadly. "Caught spying and relaying information; you're very unlucky that I'm here."

The man's lips curled back. "You'll be dead one day anyway, and then this empire will be back to its rightful heir!"

Meilin didn't look impressed. "Rightful heir? Who exactly do you mean? Besides, old man, everyone is going to die one day, so yes, I will be dead one day and this empire will go to someone. As for now, though, who is this 'rightful' heir you're talking about?"

"He is far greater than you and he will make an even better emperor—"

Meilin took one domineering step forward and looked down at the man as if he was an ant crawling about. "I asked you—" He raised his leg and kicked the man in the torso, a crack resounding in the silent room. "—who the hell is this 'heir'?"

I gasped and brought a hand to my mouth as I watched the man cough and spit blood, red leaking down the corners of his lips and staining his teeth.

When he didn't speak, Meilin knelt down and grabbed the back of his hair, twisting until the man yelped in pain and scratched at Meilin's arm. "Who is the rightful heir?" he hissed one more time.

Still, he didn't answer.

Meilin shoved the man to the ground and rose to his feet. "You won't tell me who your damn heir is? What, you don't want me to go and kill him? Do you fear me that much?"

The man glared at Meilin. "As if he would fear you! You stupid young boy, you're nothing more than a child king flaunting your authority! He is the great General Keung!"

Meilin's eyes widened. "Keung? That old fool?" He let out a roar of laughter and grinned widely at the spy in front of him, his dark eyes glittering with amusement. "How many years has it been since I've seen that old face of his? Twenty?" Meilin's tone sent a shudder down everyone's spines. "I still remember that old man when I was a child. He retired a while ago and now he thinks he can come and take my empire? I would love to see him try."

"He'll do it! You can count on it, you whore's son!"

Meilin's smile grew wider, cruelty and malice dancing within his ebony colored eyes. "I don't know why you're still yapping away. I should kill you before you speak more."

"You—"

Meilin kicked him on the shoulder and with a sickening snap, the man's shoulder dislocated and broke cleanly. All the color rushed out of my face and I suddenly became unbalanced as I covered my mouth with my hands, my eyes wide and my whole body trembling at the nauseating scene. The man was screaming and writhing, his howls of pain shrill and sounding much too scary. Meilin, meanwhile, didn't look fazed at all. He looked bored, in fact.

Bohai and Fang both held neutral expressions as well, but Fang's lips were pressed down in a thin line.

"You're the reason Fang is injured," Meilin said as he watched the man uninterestedly. "Because of you, I lost soldiers and my men are injured."

The man glowered at Meilin through pain. "Keung will kill you! He'll kill you!"

"I doubt that." Placing his foot on the man's chest, he pushed him backwards, sending the man sprawling on the ground. He let out another scream as he landed on his shoulder, his face red and the whites of his eyes showing. He was about to pass out.

"He'll . . . kill—"

"Whoa, hold up," Meilin said as he stepped near the man. He knelt down besides the man. "You can't lost consciousness on me now. You have to be awake for this."

Slapping the man's face, he watched with satisfaction as the spy coughed and sputtered, his eyes flickering open.

"Now, tell me, old man, how should I kill you?" Meilin rose to his feet once more and circled around the spy with a victory smile, one that sent shivers down my entire body. The man seemed to lose his fighting spirit because he laid on the ground, unmoving and following Meilin's movements with his hooded gaze. "Should I burn you? Torture you? Find out about your family and kill each and every one of them before killing you? Mental torture is usually the worst type of torture, right?"

The man twitched. "You'll die a painful death—"

"I'm sure I will," the Dragon drawled. "What exactly is your point? Do you think I'm scared of death? Listen, you old food, I'm tired of your dawdle. Now, why don't you tell me something that'll make this a bit more . . . fun?"

The spy shuddered and exhaled shakily. "Your whore of a wife will die too; we've already made plans to kill and torture everyone you hold dear. We'll make sure she's so dirty, used, and pathetic that she'll kill herself and you'll—"

"You're really boring me with your talk," he said with a deep sigh. "For one of Keung's men, you're awfully talkative. From what I remember of that old man, he was cunning and silent most of the time. He let actions speak louder than words. So, old fool, why are you so loud?"

Meilin's indifference towards the entire situation seemed to enrage the man because he shook once more, but this time his face was contorted with fury.

"You—"

"Right, you have nothing more to say. I've lost interest in you," he said with another sigh. "Any last words, old man?"

"Your strength is nothing compared to that of General Keung! He is more experienced than you and he is stronger than you! He'll crush you like an insignificant—"

"That's where you're wrong, old food," Meilin said with a chuckle. "I have the blood of a dragon running through my veins and I'll crush all of the little bugs crawling in my path. I am stronger than all of you."

He reached forward and grabbed the older man's head. It didn't take much effort for him to squeeze and snap his neck. The man's body lay limp in Melin's hand and he pushed the body away from him before rising and dusting off his pants. I didn't realize I made a choking noise until Meilin's eyes were on me and I felt the whole room turn to me.

As I stared into Meilin's dark eyes—now clouded with surprise—I couldn't help but wonder if there truly was any light in his dark path.