Välikirja: The Wyvern's Pact

Chapter Eight - Pain

Chapter Eight - Pain

          As the gigantic dragon shifted into a man and clung to the window bars, I jumped away from my bed and got to my fighting stance. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

          "I told you," he said, "I mean you no harm. Let me in, and we'll settle a deal."

          Deal? What deal? "I need nothing from you. Please, before I hurt you," I begged, confident of my strength, "leave."

          He shot me a gallant smile and said, "You don't, but Safia does."

          I dropped the cloth and the needle I had been holding. How did he know about Safia? Was he another one who wanted to hurt my best friend? But...But why? As far as I knew, she had never been outside for a very long time. People might not even know that she existed, so how did a dragon-turning man know about her?

          "I'll come back when the time is right, when the clouds make way for an event that will decide which side will be held victorious," he declared, his hands gripping on the window bars with ease. "Consider this...a gift from me."

          I should've been aware that he didn't mean what he had told me; I should've been aware that he wasn't as I thought he was. Everything had a price; you couldn't take something out of nothing. But, at that time, all I cared about was Safia's safety, because, for once, I had someone to care about other than myself. I had lived a lonely life; I had stayed away from humans even before I found Aethelgard, the castle-like school that taught special people like me, how to control our powers and use it to help our kind. And, if I'd be given another chance to change my decisions, I would still choose to help Safia.

          "Over there!"

          I pointed to the castle framed by clouds, which were growling with all their might. I ran my the back of my arm over my hair and my forehead  as I sat on Aiden's back while he flew, to squeeze the water out of my hair and off my forehead. It was raining hard, and I did my best to ignore the aggravating sound of raindrops. On top of that, the sky was getting hazy, and, sooner or later, I wouldn't be able to see the castle anymore, even though Aiden was flying towards it.

          "Don't worry," Aiden growled, flapping his giant wings, the extreme force making my hair fly in the air. If I hadn't been holding onto his scales for dear life, I would have been sent flying away from here and down the cold ground. His wings flapped so hard. "We're almost there. I can see her now." Then he dived downwards and headed for the castle, flying twice as fast as he did before.

          The antediluvian castle came to view, its pointed roofs scratching the delicate lumps of water vapor in the gray sky. These lumps moved away from each other, revealing the castle's repugnant state, as if making way for something that should not be missed. Rocks crumbled and fell from the top of the castle down to the dark pits of mud on the ground. As we came closer to the castle, the screams became louder, and it didn't take me long to realize that the screams came from Aethelgard's students. The castle was on fire; I could hear the crackling sounds of it from up here, yet it appeared the fire wasn't the cause of this turmoil.

          Sumner's golden hair called my attention, its short strands dancing to the strong wind's direction. I had always been amazed by his hair; its golden color was eccentric, making my heart skip a beat.

          My heart skipped another when I saw Safia jump from the top of the castle.

          "Safia!" I screamed.