The Dragon Girl | Book 1 |

Chapter 11

I bowed my head respectfully.

"Stand up, show your face to the ancestors." The first dragon said slowly.

Shakily, I stood up, ignoring my burning limbs and looking to the ancestors. So many old friends stood among they're ranks. My eyes watered slightly when I saw Isidore, an old friend that died from his wounds in a small battle after the war. He bowed his head to me in acknowledgement, and I returned it.

"Why do you come to us?" The dragon asked, propping himself on his hind legs.

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"I am in dire need of your wisdom, oh great ones. My friend's world is dying underneath his feet, it's snowing blood snow, and I fear a greater trouble is heading for us." I explained, my mind pleading that they'd help.

The dragon nodded, but gave me a worried stare.

"We know of the troubles in the physical world, but we cannot predict what lies ahead." He said gravely.

"But why? You've always been able to see threats far before they reach us." I pleaded.

The dragon crouched down and brought his enormous snout close to me.

"We may have been able to in the past, but we are not all powerful beings. We have tried to see what comes, but have failed. All we know is a dark threat is coming. Much stronger then we have ever faced." His claws dug into the dirt in frustration.

"All I know is this:
Red rains from one's soul
and drips acid on the broken ground
Leaving a single seed of truth."

My mind reeled as I tried to wrap my head around the words he spoke. I sighed heavily, and bowed respectfully. The ground rumbled slightly below my feet. The dragon looked around.

"Something's wrong." He stated ominously.

The rumbling turned to thundering tremors, knocking me off balance. I fell back on my butt, and looked behind me. The ground collapsed, falling into an abyss.

"You must make haste." He said before melting out of site.

The rest of the dragons followed quickly, leaving me panicked and alone. I clambered to my feet, wobbling with the shaking. I took off, racing through the plains trying to escape the falling world behind me. Trees fell, the creaking cracking my eardrums. A tree nearby became uproot, leaning away from me, it's roots being ripped from the ground. I watched it in awe, only to have my attention ripped away as I tripped over a root. A yelp sounded from my throats as my body tumbled forward into the bloody tide. I flung my head up, coughing as more blood hit my tongue. Looking back, the edge of the world was coming every closer. Trees disappeared over the edge and the ground broke off in pieces. I gasped and wadded through the water, trying to get away. Paddling through the thick red liquid, my limbs burned with exhaustion. My body started to sink. Looking around I realized the blood I was floating in was plummeting into the void that now hung below me. Suddenly, I started to fall. I plunged downwards my sense flickering between dead and alive. After minutes of falling, I found myself sitting on my knees. My hand aching with cold. Opening my eyes, the Échase Pétra started to glow, and in a sudden burst of energy I was blown back to the wall with a wail of pain and surprise. I stood up to see Sam standing near it. I gasped, running up to him and punching him in the back of the head. He cried out in pain and turned towards me.

"What was that for?" He whined.

"What the hell are you doing in here! I said not to come in!" I screamed.

Sam stepped back looking down.

"I got worried...." he said quietly. A rock hit the ground along with some dust.

Looking up, it quickly came to my attention that the mountain was caving in right on top of us. I grabbed Sam's wrist hard. He gasped and tried to pull away.

"Let go!" He yelled.

"We have to go. Right now." My voice was ominous.

Sam looked at me, then the ceiling.

"Uh yeah. That might me a good idea." He agreed.

I nodded and ran to the exit, my fingers curled around his wrist as I dragged him through the tunnel. Pebbles hit my head as they dropped from the ceiling and I bumped into wall after wall. Crashing sounded from behind us. I looked around Sam and saw the ceiling tumbling down just a few steps away from us.

"Run! Run!" I screamed, pushing my legs in harder and moving faster.

In the panic of trying to get out, Sam spotted the exit before I did. He alerted me and I sprinted for it. My lungs and throat burned and my legs ached but I kept going. We burst out of the entrance, slipping off the edge and tumbling down the steep hill below. Rocks dug deep into my skin each time I landed, drawing blood every time. We slowly came to a rolling stop and the bottom of the hill, exhausted and aching. I tried to lift my head, only to let it drop as unconsciousness took hold of me. My vision blurred before slamming into darkness, leaving me in a cold void. My vision flickered. Images appeared under my eyelids for a second, then disappeared. I could see claws digging into scales. The agonized looks of dragons. Adonis homing a pair of pure black eyes.