The School of Dragon Riders [Dragon Riders #1]

Chapter 29 (edited)

The dwarves seemed to believe that I would lose, but I knew that they'd like to see him lose for once. I took another deep breath as I unsheathed my sword. The Darkness seemed to know that I needed it to wield it. I relaxed my mind, and I was a passenger again, but I knew that I could step in at any time.

The guardian pulled out his sword that was as long as I was tall. One strike would cut me in half, since my armour wasn't made for stopping giant swords.

We started circling each other and I was actually the one controlling the body. I wanted to use the dark side for the reflexes and the fighting itself, but I wanted to do the rest. Suddenly, the guardian lunged at me, and I managed to dodge his sword, thanks to my other side. While he was picking up the sword, I took the opportunity to summon shadow creatures. I didn't know how, so I let the other side do it for me. They attacked the guardian, but he laughed as he let a gust of air destroy them easily. He turned around with a big smile on his face. I was uneasy. He destroyed them too easily.

This time, I attacked. I pretended to go for his stomach, but I used the momentum to swing at his hand. I expected him to be slower because of his size, but he kicked me before my sword got close to his hand.

I flew back, breathless from the kick. He was laughing, approaching me slowly. I realized that I had my back to the wall of the arena, and I was still unable to get up. I stood up shakily to see that he was taking his time. He could have killed me right there, but he let me stand up. He wanted to play with me before killing me. I was his prey, and he knew that killing me was no problem.

Suddenly, I felt determined. The dark side made me stand up, making me stand stronger. I let it take control.

The guardian swung at me, but I dodged it by rolling with incredible speed, I was slicing at his exposed belly. However, he was too fast, and a wave of water threw me back. I landed in a crouch, and I charged again, this time enveloping myself in Darkness, making shadow creatures appear all around him. I made them take my shape, and since I was surrounded in darkness, we looked the same.

The smile on his face got smaller. He raised his eyebrows and spun his sword around, destroying all the shadows. I managed to jump back in time to dodge the blow that would have killed me. The dark side was doing well so far, but it was still not as good as the guardian was.

I stood up and took a step back. The guardian's smile was lost, and he seemed to be getting serious now. He threw a fireball at me, but I made shadows block it. I felt Areton give me his love, and I felt determined again. I charged, and this time, I was hit. I saw a rock spike rise from the ground, but too late. I managed to move and save my stomach, but my shoulder was hit. I stumbled back, falling down. The pain was strong enough for me to pass out, but I felt Areton urge me to stand up.
I realized that I was in control at the same time as the dark side was. Were we one finally? I opened my eyes to see him raise his sword to deal the final blow. I knew that no amount of shadows could stop it.

However, I got another idea. When the sword was about to slice me in half, I shape shifted. I turned into a raven and went straight for his neck. He had no armour, and I started ripping his skin off with my beak.

He yelped, letting go of the sword as he tried to get me off, but I dodged his hands every time he tried to pick me up.

Nevertheless, a raven couldn't kill him, so I did something risky. I changed into a wolf. I was a much bigger target, but that was my only chance to kill him. I knew that shape shifting sometimes made the shifter think that he is the animal he is taking shape of.

The dwarves were quiet, now seeing a black wolf gripping the guardian's throat as he tried pulling it off, only hurting himself more.

He yelled and shook himself, but I knew that the strength was leaving him. I, however, felt energy surge through me at the taste of his blood on my fangs. He was keeping me from freedom. My thoughts were those a wolf would have, but I didn't know that at the time. I ignored his hand squeezing and scratching my body, and I just held on, until I felt the bone break. His breathing stopped suddenly, and he stumbled back, falling down. I let go of him before he hit the ground and landed next to him.