The Dragon's Consortium 2

51 - Unsettling Crime

Soterios Dragvern - POV;

"Why would the Eastern Dragons be forbidding the people from leaving?" I pondered.

"The Eastern Dragons are known for their tendency to feed on the souls of the living around them over the course of the persons' lives. They do this in unnoticeable amounts but this does accumulate and shave off as much as 20 years off an individual's lifespan. They could be trying to keep as many people in to maximise their food. They probably want to avoid the outside world from recieving news on their buffet like system on the land too. This is all speculation based on rumour however," Durnehviir put his ideas forward.

"That's worth keeping in the back of my mind however so I am grateful," I thanked him.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!" the piercing scream of a female erupted from the nearby alleyways. We rushed in the direction of the scream. Her outburst had attracted many curious ears and a large crowd had gathered at the point of interest creating a huge commotion.

"Excuse me. I'd like to come through please," I repeated these words for what seemed like centuries as I worked my way through the maze of persons.

When I finally cut through to the other side, I saw a horrible sight. The Qaezian Knights were interviewing a young girl with teary and frightened eyes. Behind them lay a man propped against a wall. His mouth lay open and his tongue hung out loosely. Froth bubbled out of the orfice in large volumes. His eyes were rolled back so far that only the white could be seen through his open eyelids. The veins on his entire body were bulging grotesquely and his face had changed to a gross shade of purple. His limbs occasionally twitched adding to the nightmare factor.

"What happened here?!" I burst out running forward. Two of the knights apprehended me.

"We are still conducting investigations sir. We realise your concern but we cannot allow you to enter," they informed me.

"Soterios. Retreat," Durnehviir instructed aside to me.

I heeded his words and walked away from the scene.

"Soterios, this is obviously the work of a dragon," Durnehviir informed me.

"A dragon?!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. That man was left in that state because his soul was sucked dry from his living body," Durnehviir continued.

"Oh crap! Don't tell me......" I shouted before rushing down the street. I ran at full speed towards the familiar stair way and jumped over it entirely.

Kicking in the door I bellowed, "Alduin!!"

Csilla came to see what what happening. "Soterios? Why are you slamming the door like that?" she inquired as she approached.

I pushed her out of the way roughly and ran into the living room. "Alduin!!! Where the hell are you?!" I yelled.

"Huh? Soterios?" Alduin seemed confused.

"Where were you all day?!" I growled.

"Wh- what are you talking abou-" he began.

"Where the hell were you all of today?!!" I roared.

"I uh- I just-" he stuttered.

"WHERE THE F**K WERE YOU?!"

I marched towards him with a clenched fist. The baby dragon walked back into the corner in fear.

"Stop this you fool!" Csilla cried out as she stepped between us both with her arms outstretched to protect the dragon. Alduin crept up to her and hid behind her legs.

"I don't know what has brought out this behaviour but don't you dare lay a hand on him you hear me?!" she demanded. "He was with me the entire day, all right. Does that satisfy your questions?"

"Then why couldn't he just say so?" I interrogated her.

"That's because he was out to get something for you, you ignorant, retarded idiot! He wanted to have a surprise for you to celebrate the two months that all of us have been together since we left Uradora!" Csilla rattled out. As I listened to her words I felt only ashamed. After the time we spent, I should have been the first one to trust him and yet I was the first to believe the worst.

I fell back into a chair and buried my face in the palms of my hands. "Alduin, I'm sorry. I know its unfair to but I still plead, please forgive me," I apologised.

"Of course I do," he said to me without hesitation.

"But what was that even about," Csilla inquired as she stood and stared at me.

"I saw a murder scene on my way back," I began, "but it wasn't any normal killing. Durnehviir confirmed the cause of death to be the forceful absorption of his soul power by a dragon."

"And since there are no Eastern Dragons living in this part of Qaezia, you assumed that it may be Alduin?" Csilla deduced.

"Yeah. There are a number of dragons living in the capital of Qaezia but thats too far away. In some of the Castle Towns there are also a few but thats also distant. There are really no other suspects in this area. It's also not like a dragon of that size can go unnoticed in town," I added.

"Is it possible that there is some way for a dragon to disguise themself as a human? Maybe an illusion?" Csilla proposed.

"Now that you mention it, there is some truth to that idea. There have been draconic beasts whom have been able to take a human form. You are both already aware of two of them, being Elbahvaat and Kreingehkaan. Not any beast can do this however for it is a somewhat rare genetic ability. Even among those who have the ability there are variations. Most can transform but retain various draconic features like horns or tails or even wings. How many feature are retained depends on how powerful their ability is. There are very few whom can undergo a full transformation where all draconic features are hidden. So in summary it is possible but unlikely and implausible that the dragon responsible used a human disguise," Durnehviir explained.

"So what we know is that someone with the ability to leech off of people's souls was able to enter the town without being seen as unusual and has gone about daily life here," I summarised.

Csilla seemed to think for a moment before pointing out, "Soterios...... that sounds alot like you."

"That's exactly what I was building up to," I said to her.

"Wait, are you implying...." Durnehviir began before pausing.

"Yes Durnehviir. I believe there may be another here just like me. I think that we may be facing another dragvern-born."