Heaven's Light (Book 1)

Chapter 11 - Ashura

"Terra, you have to trust me!"

"You think that I would just leave a member of my guild behind? I don't care if you're the new member; you're part of the family and I won't leave a family member behind!"

"You told me to leave you behind and I trusted you then! Why can't you trust me now and return the favor?"

I held a wounded Terra in my lap. Her stomach was bleeding out, not blood, but ink. I assumed her magic was to blame for that. She was hurt severely and needed immediate medical attention, but boy, she was stubborn.

"You have enough ink from your wound to be able to get out of here without expelling any magical energy! Just go!" I cried.

She grasped the arm I held her with, a single stream of ink pooling from her mouth and streaming down the side of her paling face. "It's a dragon, Ashura! A dragon! Do you realize that nobody has ever defeated one? This one is out for blood, I can sense it."

"If you don't leave now, you'll be handing him your blood," I pressed.

Suddenly, a massive, ear-ringing roar sounded from the north, causing both of us to clutch the sides of our heads, grimacing in pain. The roar didn't last long, but it was definitely intimidating. My eardrums were rattling, everything now decibels lower than before. This intruder was not one to mess around with.

Terra loosened the grip she held on her ears, her voice more muffled than before. "You have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't die on me!" she pleaded. "Promise!"

I clapped my hand against hers and nodded. "I promise."

Terra then allowed her body to sink into her pool of blood on the ground to safety. As the dark liquid encompassed her face, she mouthed the words, "You promised," as a reminder. Then, she was gone, leaving a large, swirling ink pool on the cobblestones as the only trace of her ever being there.

I thought she'd never leave.

"Alright." I began speaking words of encouragement to myself. "This overgrown lizard is about to get a taste of my windy fist. With the others gone and something not human to defeat, I think Aerion wouldn't mind me using my air magic."

I bowed my head for my father. "Aid my skills as long as I live, father."

The dragon was getting so close now, I could see it over the roofs of the buildings that surrounded me. It appeared to be a bright crimson color, like fire.

I encircled my mouth with my two hands and summoned a particular breeze to aid me in delivering an air message to the dragon flying high above the town. To me, the one breeze I isolated glowed with a soft white light, like usual. I knew that nobody else could see it whenever I did this, making it the perfect way to sneak in my air magic whenever necessary. I whispered between my palms and into the strand of wind, "Meet me in the downtown square of the city you're flying over." With a flick of the wrist, I launched the small stream of air directly for the beast to hear and awaited a response of some kind. Air messages came in handy.

A huge roar escaped its lips, my ears growing all the more deaf. I felt the downdrafts of its flapping wings as it lowered its massive body to the ground. I was almost blown away with each blast of wind, the downdrafts whipping my cloak about my struggling frame. I was lucky I latched the cloth closed so it wouldn't expose my body; this would be an even more terrifying situation if I hadn't. As it encroached upon the town, its massive claws crushed the surrounding buildings closest to the north. The rest of its body crushed row upon row of civilian residences. The roar and the collapsing buildings were so much for me, that I called upon the winds to shield my ears with a swirling wind barrier, blocking all noises. The silence was so relieving, I almost swooned. My breezes were my friends, and they helped me with no hesitation.