The Fifth Academy - Fantasy Direction / #Wattys2018

Chapter nineteen. Girl's tricks.

By Diana

The fight was terrible, Drago and Jason tortured and savagely beat each other for about half an hour. All the time I was hiding under Rosaline's invisibility cloak. Thank goodness, she let me keep it. Anyway, how else was I going to help Jason?

Eventually, Drago grabbed Jason's chest with both hands, then started to heat and squeeze it, like with a red-hot grip. The orc easily lifted the boy above the ground, his legs were twitching in the air. Both were covered with blood, dust and sweat, both were equally hurt and tired, both understood the madness and inanity of this fight. So why were they continuing?

Oh, how I wanted to interfere! I had almost dropped my Dragonwood's cloak and opened my mouth to shout something rude and loud, but then stopped in time.

"It will not change anything!" I thought in despair, looking out of the corner of eye at the huge ancient temple, there were many orc's solders between its thick columns. "Why aren't they interrupting? May be because the son of their chieftain is obviously winning at this moment? Aren't they afraid of the war? Well, of course, they aren't! They simply have no choice! Drago better will die than return the Princess Gabrielle to Luxard! The war between magirs and orcs has already started, and I must protect my friends! I must stop this no matter what! But how?"

Jason moaned with pain, his face had already been deadly pail. He was roasting alive inside his armor; it was shining brightly in the morning sun. Suddenly I got a very bold idea. Sunrise! Sunlight! Sun spot! I quickly put out the Rosaline's crooked knife out of my cloak and rushed to the Drago. No, I didn't want to stub him in the back. I wasn't such sneaky, but the blade in my hands caught a bright sunlight and produced a perfect light spot right into the Drago's blazing blue eyes. It was enough to surprise him, the oaf weakened his grip a little.

That moment I couldn't help, but shouted "The knife! Use my blade!"

Jason's eyes opened wide. He had heard me! But, unfortunately, Drago caught my words too and, might be, even saw me.

"That's treason!" uttered Drago, barely moving the lips with shock and pain; his tiger's eyes were opened wide and fixed on me in utter disbelief. Sunlight spot from the crooked blade run across his glowing grayish cheek and then jumped on the dry lips and fangs. "Treachery! Traitors!"

He tried to shout again, but it was too late. The familiar handle of the blade, which I had given to Jace about half of an hour ago, was protruding from Drago's shaking chest. The sizzling fountain of the green hot blood rushed outside, like a mad geyser, splashing everything around, like a caustic acid. I barely managed to escape from it. Just in time! Because at the next moment two fighters collapsed on the stones with tremendous crash. It seemed that the ground itself had shaken, as if they were titans or a pair of numerous armies, or, better to say, two mighty races – magirs and orcs...

"Son! Drago!" roared the loudest and the most heartbroken voice, I had ever heard. It was so distorted with grief and despair, that I had barely recognize it. The chieftain Dortrall, panting heavily, was running across the square. The pain of loss had transformed him from the mighty worrier into the miserable father. Not noticing anything around, he got down on his knees right in the greenish puddles of blood and leaned over his murdered son.

"No! No! Drago!" he shook his shoulders, like he was sleeping and it was time to wake up. It wasn't hard to guess, that Dortrall had just flied on the dragon straight to home from the party. Perhaps, somebody had told him about the fight. Had the chieftain actually known everything, what happened that night?

My heart sunk deep, and fresh tears stained the eyes. I tried to turn my gaze away, but could not. There was my fault too. I must have stopped Jason! I must have prevented this horrible tragedy!