Tales of a Dragon

Chapter Ten

Avril and Rastiv went straight to some place Avril didn't know about. Rastiv looked so worried, and Avril was surprised that this man had so much possessive feelings towards her brother. He had even called Axis 'my boy'. They must've gone through a lot, but Avril felt shame about it because all of it was behind her back.

It was the village, Avril finally realized. The man turned to her and looked deep into her eyes. "Avery, right?"

She snorted, annoyed. "Avril. Get it right, old man."

Rastiv's face still looked blank. "I think I have a good idea at where Axis is."

"And?"

"I think my brother has him."

===

One of the houses belonged to the Captain of the Guard, Gordan Morales. It was just a coincidence that Avril had seen him right before seeing Rastiv. It had to be, she told herself.

Rastiv had told her to knock. Rastiv was hiding by the house. Coward. He wouldn't even save his own.... whatever Axis was to him. He disgusted Avril.

The door opened after she'd knocked and there stood Mrs. Caroline Morales, the dear wife of the Captain. She had a pleasantly shocked expression on her face as she took in Avril.

"Oh, Miss Bentell, how nice to see you here." Caroline put on a genuine smile, but Avril returned it with a plastic one. Avril never had genuinely good feelings for this woman. She never knew why, though.

"Yes, nice to see you, too. Could I talk to the Captain, please?"

Caroline's eyes widened. "Gordan? He's not home right now."

Avril cocked her head to one side. "Oh? Then why is his armor still hanging?" Avril noticed the Captain's armor hanging by a hook on a wall. That had to mean he was still here.

Caroline gave Avril a poisonous smile. "Oh. He must've forgotten. I don't think you want to go in the house." Caroline grinned again. "It could get quite... messy."

Avril chuckled, taking Caroline's challenge. "I don't mind getting messy."

Avril was shocked when Caroline shot a surge of fire straight into her chest. She stumbled backwards, and her eyesight got fuzzy. She could see Rastiv's figure run to her, and then, there was a loud gust of wind.

"Get off me, old man!" Caroline screamed. Her body slammed against a wall, and the armor clattered and fell beside her.

Avril stood slowly. She could smell the smoke.

Caroline was unconscious, but Gordan was coming down the stairs, fire at the ready. "Rastiv. What did you do to my wife?"

Rastiv snarled, surprising Avril. "What did you do to Axis?"

"Huh," he said, amused. "Nothing. I don't have him."

Rastiv shook his head. "You lie, brother."

Wait... These two were siblings? It couldn't be, the Captain of the Guard and the Mages Sir. Two completely different roles and two completely different people.

"I don't," Gordan replied. Gordan shot his fireball at Rastiv, shooting him backwards. Rastiv grunted and extended a fist, and vines grew from the floor, wrapping around his legs.

"Agh!" Gordan groaned in frustration. He tried to burn the vines, but they kept biting at his legs, and Rastiv shot another flame at Gordan's chest.

Gordan screamed as more flames licked at his face and arms, the burn unbearable. "No!" He screamed. "Stop!"

Avril slowly walked up to him. "Show me where my brother is," she insisted.

Gordan sneered as the flames died, and ash covered his body. "I don't have him. But I know who does."

Rastiv suddenly gasped and ran out of the door. "Avril! Follow!"

Avril turned to Gordan. "Who?"

He smiled again, evilly. "The Crossbones."

***

"Good job, Clarisse." The master patted her shoulder and examined Axis, who was now tied and up and awake.

His eyes were always on Clara and they burned with betrayal and hate. Clara felt a pang of guilt, but she told herself she had to do it. It was for the best.

"Axis," the master said. "Hello."

He didn't say anything. He just kept looking at Clara with those feelings, and she looked away.

"I know you are shocked. But, we must train you. The old man cannot be trusted with you."

"Rastiv? I can trust him more than I can trust you!" Axis spit out his anger.

"You will trust us. I will make sure of that." The master stood. They were in the dorms and everyone was standing behind the master, watching what was happening.

Kecia stood with Clara. She whispered to her, "It's not your fault, you know. I don't like the way he's looking at you."

Clara kept quiet as the master ordered Jackson, one of the majors of the Crossbones, to get Axis into the training room. The master was the leader of the Crossbones and everyone followed his rule.

Clara tried to find the reason why she became a Crossbone. She couldn't remember all of those horrible memories, but some were graspable.

Her mother had been killed and her father had escaped from their home with the child.

Much later, her father had abandoned her at an early teen age, and she had raised herself.

She found the Crossbones.

And that was that.

***

Axis was so confused on why they wanted him here. The master had told him that he was a role model to Ceraleum and that they would need him to change the government for the better.

What about Avril? Her sister was left out in all of it and he was kind of jealous. He didn't want any part of the royal politics. He could care less, honestly.

Jackson Stark was apparently a major in the Crossbones, one that has been for quite a long time. Jackson Stark had shaggy brown hair and thick stubble along his sharp jaw. He looked very... foreign and tough. He looked about 35-ish.

"Well... you're an Eden boy, so tell me which element be your strongest," Jackson said.

"Umm... I just know that I need work with earth," Axis hesitantly replied.

"Alright, then."

They worked on some simple enchantments and spells. Axis soon got used to the element and he could feel his confidence rising.

"Try to defeat this dummy here," Jackson said after two hours of training.

Axis nodded, his eyes flickering.

He whispered the incantations and vines exploded from the ground, wrapping around the dummy's plastic legs. Axis summoned a cage of wooden spears around the dummy and charged at it. He unsheathed his plastic training sword. He was so focused on this one task, and his legs pumped furiously and he jumped upwards, summoning the cage to go back down into the ground. The sword slammed into the dummy's neck and the plastic snapped and the dummy's head came off and rolled to Jackson's feet.

"Fierce," he said, grinning. "Got a feelin' this is gonna be good."

Axis didn't want to know what that meant, but he followed Stark back to the dorms for some water and rest.