Dawn of Dragons

Chapter 5: Power

Aria was helpless. Six guards surrounded her, blocked any path of escape. To make matter worse, she couldn't even escape, even if she tried. The Knight was draining her power, making her feel like her life was ending.

The Knight reached toward her, holding a length of rope.

Aria flinched away. She wanted to scream God dammit why is this happening to me?! The Knight reached toward her again, and this time, he grabbed her hand. He tied one rope on it.

And that's when all chaos broke loose.

One of the knights whipped out his sword and rammed the flat end on the helmet of another knight. He crumpled.

All the remaining knights immediately surrounded him and drew their swords. "Traitor," one of them hissed.

"I'm no traitor," he replied smoothly, and Aria gasped. She recognized that voice. "I was never on your side to begin with!" He lunged forward at the nearest knight, and they started to battle.

The traitor knight fought in an intricate pattern, weaving through the knight's clumsy legs. His fighting style was certainty strange, looking almost foreign. The Knight that was holding him snapped orders at his soldiers when they were fighting ("Behind you! Block! Watch out! Good! Under! Argh, why do I always get a horrible squad of soldiers?!") Within moments, the traitor knight had defeated one and only three were left.

All of the remaining knights charged as one, and the traitor knight had difficulty fending them all off at once. His helmet was knocked off, revealing disheveled brown hair, and dark brown skin. His dark brown eyes glinted furiously at the remaining knights, as he rammed the hilt of the sword on another and twisted, hard. The sword clanged to the ground, and the man used the flat side of the sword and swung it am him. He flew away and into a tree, before crumpling in a heap on the ground.

"Brunner!" Aria cried out. She tried to run to him. The rope tied to her wrist jerked her back.

"Come here!" The Knight snapped at his comrades. "He's not someone you can fight." He shoved her toward them, screaming and kicking, and they grabbed her. Hauling her away, she desperately looked at Brunner.

Brunner's eyes turned dark, and he started running toward her. The Knight blocked his path. "Your opponent is me," he said. He pulled out his sword and swung it at him. Brunner received the blow, standing his ground. The earth shook. They started to duel.

The two other knights struggled with her, dragging her away from the fight. "No!" Aria screamed. "Brunner!" One of them, tired or her yelling, slapped her across the cheek. Aria's face burned, and then, she was filled with uncontrollable rage.

"You," she hissed. "You tried to hurt Brunner!" She jerked her arms back, ripping the rope apart. They stumbled back, then looked at her eyes.

"Monster!" One of them screamed, and then they tried to run. Aria laughed. She felt stronger, unstoppable. More, a voice in her head hissed in pleasure, drinking in their fear. More!

Aria reached out toward their fleeing figures, and darkness exploded from them.

Tendrils of darkness, linked to her fingers, snaked outwards, and wrapped themselves around their victims. Their eyes turned wild, and with every scream, Aria felt stronger. The soothing voice inside of her encouraged her to keep going, and show no mercy.

This act was literally sucking the life out of them.

After Aria realized that they were collapsed on the ground and twitching like dying bugs, she screamed. She clenched her hand into a fist, and the darkness receded, along with the voice inside of her.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Aria ran to their side, completely forgetting that they were her enemies. One of them was already gone, but the other still clung to life. His outstretched reached toward the light, and he was murmuring words. Aria took his hand and clenched it.

"It's ok, it's ok," Aria soothed him. "Everything's going to be all right." Inside, Aria was freaking out. She was holding a dying man's hand that was only in this condition because she had made it that way.

"Please," he whispered. "My-family." His words became choppier. "Don't-hurt-them-please."

"I won't," she promised. Darkness started leaking out from his eyes.

"I can't see!" he cried out. "I can't..." His voice died, and he slumped backward.

Aria crouched over him, a sob building in her throat. What was that? Who had given her the power to destroy? If I could choose, Aria thought, I would choose to have the power to heal rather than destroy. Her hand reached forward and closed the dead man's eyes. How much family did these men have? How many people cared for them? And now, how many people are going to suffer because of her?

As she thought about this, a soft glow of light appeared underneath her hands. The faint golden light shone brightly, and as she watched with astonished eyes, it chased the darkness away. The black tendrils leaked out and dissipated into the air, and the man woke up with a startled cry.

Aria jumped away, scared. (Diana likes pie. A lot.(lol my friend Diana wrote this ignore it)) The man groaned, then looked up at her. "Did you...? What did you do?" 

Aria only stared back at him, then looked back down at her hands. They steadily glowed back at her. She swallowed the fear that was rising in her throat. "I don't know." She looked back at him, and he scooted backward in fear. "But I do know that I have the potential to kill, and to heal." She walked over to the other corpse and placed her hands on his chest. The body underneath her glowed.

As the darkness evaporated into the air, the other man woke up with a gasp. "What happened?" When she saw Aria leaning over her, he leaped backward in and screamed, "Monster!" Aria drew back, shocked and hurt. She had willingly healed this ungrateful bastar, and he replied by calling her a monster. She crossed her arms and looked him straight in the eye. 

"Yes, I'm a monster," she hissed at him, a thrill of excitement coursing through her. "And you better run, or else I'm gonna have a full belly tonight." For emphasis, she patted her stomach and licked her lips. 

He ran like a two-year old. The knight she first healed hesitated, before slightly inclining his head toward her. "Thank you," he murmured. Then, he turned around and followed his comrade into the thick forest. 

Aria listened to his footsteps until they faded away. Then, she collapsed on the ground. She turned her hands around and inspected them. They didn't do anything. 

Suddenly, realization hit her. 

Brunner! She almost shrieked out loud. She ran back the direction she came from, ignoring the stab of pain every time her foot hit the ground. 

When she found them again... 

Enjoying the story so far? Thanks for reading Chapter 5 of Dawn of Dragons. Stay turned for what's coming next!

~AX