The Dragon Hunter

24

Luna's head swam as she sat beside Nyx. Alistar was busy getting them up to speed but, she couldn't find the strength to listen. Her entire body ached, her nerves screaming as though they were on fire. She rested her head in her hands and almost immediately felt an arm fall across her shoulders.

"You ok?" Nyx whispered. Luna shook her head. Everything hurt. Everything hurt more that when she'd woken up from the fire after talking to Meden, which until now she'd thought impossible. He rubbed her back, but the usually comforting gesture sent pins jabbing into her spine. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out.

"-He took on Pasirima before, back at the beginning of his career. And then when Meden retaliated, he took him down too. It's where he got his title. If he did it, it can be done again. That's why we need to hear what Hatchet has to say," Alistar finished.

Jags crossed his arms, the light from the sputtering fire making his eyes shine. "He's dead."

"Were you even listening, you dull creature?" Alistar snarled. His hackles raised and for a horrifying moment Luna though he was going to attack Jags. Instead, he just dug his claws into the ground and let out a low, frustrated growl. "Not directly. Through his journals. He must have written something down, surely?"

Luna's head shot up. "Journals?"

"Hatchet used to keep journals when he went on missions, though I don't see how that would help us. They were mission journals, not some stupid diary where he confessed his deepest, most intimate secrets. Besides, his journals were destroyed when Grey-castle burned," Axel said before he and Minx went back to coaxing the fire with a few twigs. "We'd be lucky to find even a few cinders."

"If we were going to Grey-castle I'd have taken us there in the first place," spat Alistar. "Think!"

Luna hung her head again and room a long, shaky breath. She felt dizzy and disoriented, and the ground seemed to tilt crazily beneath her. Even the soft whistling of the wind through the trees all around them seemed to stab into her ears.

"Enough!" Nyx finally said. Luna felt him move from beside her, standing up. Her chest tightened "Can't you guys see Luna's sick? And the rest of us aren't in a better way either! We need to rest and regroup before we start making stupid and reckless plans." Jags tried to cut him off but Nyx turned on him. "No Jags. Enough is enough. Whatever plan any of you is concocting is going to be stupid and reckless because that's the level we've stooped down to."

The following silence seemed to stretch into forever, even the rustling of leaves stopped as Nyx stared them down.

"What about the Autumn estate?" Quin said. Luna opened her eyes. He stood on the other side of the fire, staring into the glow with a thoughtful frown. "Charlie told me once that the basement was almost untouched, but they couldn't get in. The door was locked and they couldn't break it down."

Nyx shook his head. "Do you know how many of those...of those things stand between us and that house? Besides, we're acting on the illusion that he stored not only some of his journals, but a specific journal down there. It's not worth the risk."

"Maybe we don't have to go through town," Luna started slowly. With each word the pain in her head increased, but she tried to push it away. Tried to focus. "I think the river's nearby. If we could follow it down to Oki's bridge-"

"Then we'd only have to walk from the river to the house!" Axel finished. He leapt to his feet, and Luna copied him. Almost immediately adrenalin flooded through her, drowning out the pain. Alistar grinned. In the space of under a minute the tension lingering in the air had been replaced with the intoxicating fumes of giddy hope. All except Nyx, who stood off to one side with a neutral expression.

Jags fluffed up his fur, leaping onto Quin's shoulder and saluting to the dark sky. "Let's do this. If there's anything in that  basement then we have a duty to check it out, for everyone who didn't make it. For," His voice broke and he swallowed, saying the last word again. "For Charlie."

Quin put one hand out and Jags placed his paw atop it. "For James and Rai."

Minx arched her back, her broken wing lifting slightly. She winced. "For Jashalock and all of the other guardians." She took Jags' paw and closed her eyes. "This is utterly insane."

Alistar stepped right through the fire, the flames bowing away and parting as he walked. His eyes glinted with determination. "We have a goal now, no matter how small it is, even if there might no be anything there. As Vienna's guard I have sworn to protect her, and if this will get her back then I will follow you." He rose onto his hind legs and placed a paw, so big it covered all of the other hands, on top.

"Mendax is gone. The society has fallen, and we are all that stand between Pasirima and His twisted vision," Axel placed his hand atop Alistar's. "I failed back in Grey-castle. I'm not going to fail again. If there's nothing there, we'll work out something else."

"You're really all doing this, aren't you?" Nyx walked towards them. His eyes were downcast. "I have this feeling, in my gut, that something's about to happen. I-I guess if something goes wrong, I should be there to help. Now we just need someone to lead." He placed his hand on the pile too, then turned expectantly to Luna.

She took a step backwards, shocked. "What?"

"You should lead us. You know this place better than anyone," said Nyx. She shook her head.

"N-no. Axel is-"

"In no shape to lead right now. I only have a small amount of wolf's bane left. If I run out before the end of the night..." Axel let that comment hang.

Luna gulped and, hesitantly, nodded. "Ok," She took a deep breath and, feigning confidence, placed her hand at the very top. "Let's do this. Let's...let's take down a God."

~

Pasirima smirked, bones clicking as he paraded through the field of poppies. He'd drawn his brother away from the sky, taking the dawn with him.

"Your little group will tear itself apart brother, give in. Your power fades without your creations fueling you," He teased. Where his feet fell the poppies wilted and died, red petals turning to ash and leaving barren ground in their wake. He kicked through the dust, white becoming grey as he waded forwards. Step after step. Flower after flower, he started to tear his brother's paradise apart.

"You know I cannot face you brother. Free me, then let us have a fair fight," A voice snarled from behind him. Pasirima smiled and turned to face him.

Six tired eyes started back at him, muscles strained and huge wings dragging through the sea of crimson. It was the left head speaking, but its voice was frail and forced. "Seven remain. An odd number, yes, and this tips the balance in your favour. Yet one of my creations has more than one in their number. Did you grow fond of the ones you used in your little stunt?" Meden smirked.

Pasirima growled in warning. "They wither as we speak. My army increases. And I have a way to deal with your creations. I'm sure I can spare one of my own, if I can take down one of yours with it. Or, I could just take down two of yours, since I am more powerful now. Would that suit you better?"

Meden stiffened. The right head narrowed its eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

Pasirima laughed, swinging his great skeletal tail back and forth. "I'll let them hope for a little longer. Without your beloved 'dragon Hunter' among them, they will fail. I have seen to that. As the mortals say, all of my pieces have been played. They surround the king." With each swing of his tail more and more flowers crumbled, becoming nothing but dust that swirled around them. He turned and began to walk away. "I will awaken, brother. My mind is already feeling, sensing, breathing. My body's dreams become lighter. I will turn those light dreams into a living nightmare."

The middle head lifted its chin. "They will find my prison, the place where I sleep. They will awaken me and then I," he puffed out his chest a little and grinned wickedly. "I will deal with you, brother."

Pasirima chuckled. He was in two places at once now; in the field of flowers and buried somewhere deep, deep beneath the ground. "I look forward to it. Until then, I await your next move."