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Chapter 87

"Bailey." Emma said with suprise. The male simply smirked as he heard his name, eyes set on the girl he tried to kill.

"Emma. It's nice to finally see you after abandoning me in the northern academy, how's lover boy?" Bailey chuckled, quickly being cut off with a squeeze of Joel's claws. "I wasn't aware you had a fire dragon up your sleeves. You did well in hiding your bonded." 

Emma's eyes widened. This guy thinks Joel is my bonded? He must really be under some sort of drugs. Emma carefully stared at Bailey's eyes, watching as some of his veins pulsated with a black substance. Emma quickly stumbled away, nearly landing on her butt from her surprise.

"Shit! Joel he's in the transformation process!" Emma screeched, standing beside the dragons leg still firmly planted on the ground. It was Bailey's turn to be suprised, as he quickly shook his head.

"That's impossible! I only took a small injection of fire magic, nothing I haven't done before! I can't possibly become one of those things!" He began panicking, squrming in Joel's claws in desperation. A rumbling on the ground nearly knocked Joel off his claws, but he held firm as a long wyrm came burrowing out of the dragon.

"Elmira!" Emma shouted. The blind dragon spun it's head towards the girl, lowering it's body that was still partially buried in the dirt. When the earth dragons rough skin skimmed Emma's outstreched hand, it immediately leaned into the girls touch, purring as it let Emma's warmth deep into her scales.

'E..mma.' The creature mumbled into the butnettes head, sending a picture of the girls dirty face in her head. Emma smiled as she heard the dragons voice, the wyrm extatic to finally say something not resembling a picture. Bailey gritted his teeth whilst still in Joel's clutch, his body flaming with anger.

The earth mage closed his eyes, listening to the voice that whispered faintly in his head.

I'll give you the power you seek. But you'll have to earn my respect before I give you anything. Show my you're loyal to me, and me alone.

Kill your dragon.

Bailey's eyes shot open, and the burning fire inside his throat was enough to block his senses and cloud his mind. The male let out a blast of fire that extended from his throat and straight to Emma and his dragon, a wicked gleam in his eyes. Elmira was quick to act, moving out of Emma's gentle grasp and towards the flame, curling her body to block the fire from the human girl.

The sensitive scales from the dragon deflected the flames off her body, hot fire spewing on the ground in front of the dragon, separating Bailey and Emma. Joel released Bailey from his grasp as he immetialy moved towards the flames, his wings flapping in the air to quickly extinguish the hot element. Elmira kept a careful eye on Bailey, the males face contorted with a wicked grin stitched to his pale face.

Emma was also watching Bailey from behind the two dragons defensive postures, her sight trained onto Bailey's eyes, his once chocolate brown orbs now contorted into a black void, absorbing the light around it.

"Kill the blessed beast..." Words tumbled out of Bailey's lips in a haste display, the male shooting flaming balls of rock from the ground and towards his targets. Elmira struggled to use her body as a constant sheild, her scales quickly growing painful at each and every rock tossed at her. Joel acted quick while he could, scooping Emma up with his jaw and gently placing her on his back, red wings opening and catching the air.

One wing beat after another, and Joel was in the warm air, scales glittering with the light of the fire. Emma cast her eyes downwards towards the earth dragon and her bonded, shock coursing through the air as Elmira opened her jaws wide, charging straight for her rider. It took one snap to end Bailey's life, his now lifeless head tumbling clean off his body. The earth dragon quickly let go of the corpse, body trembling slightly with the dear that came next.

Emma could feel the pain enter the dragons skull, a whispering voice that chanted the darkest thought that could be conjured only by the devil himself. Elmira struggled to hold onto her sanity as the darkness consumed her mind, the dragons eyes flickering up into the sky to glance at Emma's once more.

'You free me. Thank you.' The dragon trudged towards the fire wall that burned on magic, the heat seering the earth dragons scales and skin. Emma nearly shrieked like a banshee as she watched the kind creature step into the flames, following a painful screech that seemed to overpower Emma's. The dragon cry seemed to silence the whole world, the spirit of the dragon finally being released from a cursed bond. Tears spilled from Emma's eyes, the girl wishing that if she could shed enough, they would slowly extinguish the fire, and they would see Elmira standing there smiling.

Now she was gone.

Joel moved on his own accord, leaving Emma on her own as she wished to grieve alone. Joel felt a pang of saddeness in his own heart, Emma's feelings tumbling into his mind; so the dragon continued to fly in the air with moist eyes, tears falling to the ground as he flew back to the academy.

°°°

Matt watched as the last of the wall was being created, the plans Emma made much more sturdy than the previous wall. People were finally tumbling out of homes with fear, amazement plastered on their faces when they saw the completed wall. His silver dragon gracefully walked behind him with a watchful eye, both dragon and rider vulnerable to prying eyes.

The red head fixed his shirt further down; his best and only attempt to cover up the hardening pitch black skin on his back.  The male gritted his teeth, the voice returning to his mind once more.

"Follow Emma and get the book boy, and your dragon shall live."