Magic in the Air

Chapter Thirty-Three: Chains and Hearts

The abandoned castle towers above me, it's shadow surrounding me in darkness. "Balthazahr's castle," Mia says in awe.
I grip the glowing sword tightly in my right hand and wipe the sweat off my left on my fifthly leggings. I take a shaky step forward and push the wooden doors open. My heart's racing and a million "what-ifs" are running through my head. What if I die? What if my friends die? What if Chrystal dies? I can't live without her.
I know my way around a castle, I run to where I somehow knew the dungeon would be and try to yank open the trap door. It takes all six of us to lift the door with the rusty hinges.
Six. There were only supposed to be five people on this quest. Will anyone notice? Is a seer or prophet watching over, making sure we don't mess with fate?
        The dungeon is cold and the air feels wet.

After walking down several flights of stairs and through a maze of tunnels and cells with skeletons bound to the wall with chains, a door flings open, inviting me inside and telling me to run at the same time. Though this dungeon looks similar to the one I was just in, it some how feels darker, colder, emptier.
There's a low growl and the clank of metal on metal. I turn around to see my family with their ankles and wrists bound to the wall. "This is bullshit," Chrissy mutters and pulls at the chains. The blade in my hand starts to buzz and loses weight, making it easier for me to hold. I move it in a figure eight to get used to the new feeling and grip it tightly again.
The disgusting beast from my nightmare comes into view. Its skin is somehow darker than black and its claws are sharper than knives. Its leathery wings fan out threateningly and fill most of the room. Its teeth are uneven and yellow, and could easily tear through human flesh. Its glowing red cat-like eyes stand out against the dark scales surrounding them. This beast is a fucking dragon.
The rest of the world silences and killing this monster is the only thing that matters. Killing this monster and defeating my father. It charges at me and jump out of the way, cutting its side with my blade. As it passes, the tail of Balthazar's beast knocks the sword from my hand and I wince as my only hope of surviving clatters to the hard stone floor.
        Just like in my dream, my back's to the wall. The terrifying beast roars, its breath is hot and burns my flesh and boils my blood. Its large claw swings, but instead of waking up, a stinging, burning pain comes to my right arm.
It roars again and suddenly, I'm soaked in burning hot water. I roll out of the way to see Chrissy spraying water at the dragon and Sean burning it. Mia's working on breaking the bonds by growing vines to stretch the chains. Jen and Ryan work on healing my wounds.
I grab the sword and hold it in my left hand. The weight feels awkward in my opposite hand, but since my right arm has three large gashes on it, I don't have much of a choice. I see the gash on the beast's side that I caused and feel guilty for a moment before pushing it down. There's no time for guilt.
This time it's me who charges. I drive the blade into the already torn wound and a blood curdling screech fills the dungeon. The intimidating wings fold back in, the red eyes start to dull. The claws and teeth somehow look less threatening, and the scales somehow seem ever so slightly lighter.
The beast of Balthazar is dead.
Something starts glowing inside it. A dark, ominous glow that throbs rhythmically. I reach inside the blood-covered monster and grab the source of the light. It's a human heart. I know from the moment I touch it that it belongs to my father, but the most disturbing thing isn't that I'm holding something that belongs inside my dad.
It's the fact that his heart and mine beat as one.