The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Ten

"What do we do?!" I whispered, glancing between all of our attackers. My breath quickened as the thought of being overpowered came upon me. I was becoming overwhelmed, knowing there wasn't any logical way we could get out of this. 

No reply from Darius.

I swallowed, instinctively reaching towards my bag. My mind was racing with ideas. Did I even have anything to fight with? The two books I had packed weighed heavy at the bottom of the bag, but compared to the swords and knives these men carried I doubted they would be any use. "We don't have anything of value! I promise!" I glanced back at Darius. He didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight either. He was in an eye-lock with one of the attackers. "Darius?! What are you doing?" I was able to lightly hit his arm. Again, to my surprise, there wasn't any pain. I decided to think more on that later. Now wasn't the best time. My focus was needed elsewhere. 

Still, no reply. 

The attackers were closing in. They were grumbling to themselves as they approached us. I took notice of how disgusting they were. While harsh, the words were true. Some had hair that was tied up on top of their head, the matts recognizable even from where I stood. I couldn't tell if it was snow or something living that was moving within their hair. One man was bald, a large gash upon the side of his head. I could partially see the wound through the blood-stained bandages, bits of green oozing out between them. The men that smiled all had matching teeth; yellow and brown in color. Some didn't even had teeth. What kind of life had these men lived that left them so rough looking?

I caught the sun's reflection off of one of the blades the man in front of me held. It had lingered on the edges, causing shivers to run through me again. Their blades were sharp. I briefly wondered how many lives had been lost at the hands of these men. 

"Odelle." I hardly recognized the voice that came out of Darius. "Get down. Right now." It was deep and completely monotoned. 

"Get down? Wh-What do you mean?!" I pushed harder into his back, desperate to just stay away from the people around us. How sad was it that I had come this far, only to meet my end by a group of ambushers?

"Kneel down and cover your head! Don't look up until I tell you to!" The tone of his voice was beginning to change. I could sense the emotion back in it, but there was something new added to the mixture. "Now!" He looked over his shoulder at me. I caught his eyes. A blue ring surrounded his dark eyes. 

I tried to not hesitate. I dropped to the ground, my face hovering over the inches of snow. I placed my hands over my head like he had asked me and I waited. I couldn't hear anything out of the unusual, only the snow crunching beneath everyone's feet. It sounded like nothing had changed. Maybe Darius had just wanted my death to be quick and easy. He didn't want me to see it coming. 

Just when I thought my time was up, Darius began to growl. It had been a low rumble. It started gentle. The snow sounded as though it was being shifted around and the ground trembled beneath me. The growl became louder and the air was filled with a ginormous roar. I could hear the men stumble back, some gasping louder than others. 

My curiosity got the better of me. Darius had told me to not look, but how could I not? What if the situation hadn't gone as he had planned? I needed to make sure he was still okay.

I slowly lifted my head up from the snow, removing my hands from my neck. Without even processing what I was seeing, my mouth fell open and my eyes widened as far as they could. 

Darius was nowhere to be seen. In his place now, however, was a dragon. It was covered in dark blue scales on top, the underneath all silver. Areas around the face were highlighted with a lighter shade of blue, as some parts on the tail. The dragon stomped, causing the ground to shake again. It took a deep breath, then leaned forward and blew fire out of its mouth at the ambushers. 

I shuffled further into the snow, feeling my hands and knees start to shake. I hadn't seen a creature like this before in real life, only in my dreams. I hadn't been entirely sure of their existence either. No one had confirmed or denied it. My eyes were locked on the creature, watching in amazement as it thrashed around. It raised its claws and brought them down without mercy upon the men. With a single swing of its tail, men were knocked off their feet. Singlehandedly, this dragon was defeating the ambushers. 

I searched for Darius out of the corners of my eyes but I couldn't find him. At first, I had thought he had summoned the creature or had gotten tied up in the fight and I wasn't seeing him. It wasn't until the dragon looked over at me did I realize how wrong I was. Even from where I sat, shaking, I could see the familiar brown eyes. Darius was the dragon.

The realization processed not nearly as well as I had hoped. All the signs began to come back. I had seen the necklace with the dragon he had worn when we first met. I hadn't thought a single thing about it until now. Dove had been in the middle of telling me about Darius when he had interrupted. She, Finn, and Genevieve had told me Darius was in search of a crystal that was powerful enough to control the will of all dragons. How had it not been obvious?! 

The fear faded away. 

Darius was protecting us. I didn't need to be afraid. He was fighting back. I made a mental reminder to thank him once this was over with. If he hadn't followed me, I would have had to face those men on my own. I shuddered, knowing the outcome wouldn't have been as pleasant. I stood as Darius frightened off the last of the attackers. He had told me to not look and had caught me in the act of looking. Wondering if he'd be upset, I maintained my distance. I watched in awe as he turned towards me. He bowed his head. His form began to change. He was consumed in a blue light, his features transforming back into the Darius I knew. When he was human again, he stumbled into a nearby tree. He was panting, but still had the energy to look up at me. "I thought I told you to not look."

I offered a sheepish smile. "I got nervous. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I... I didn't know you could do that."

"I suppose I have some explaining to do?" He returned my smile. He leaned against the tree, keeping his hands on his knees. "Give me a moment to catch my breath. My apologies. I don't do that often. I haven't transformed in quite some time."

Not even twenty minutes before, I had wanted Darius gone from my sight. I hadn't wanted him to stay nor follow me. I found myself leaning into his mystery. The cards had completely changed and I wanted to know more. 

The memory of the pain flashed across my mind. If I thought about it hard enough, I could still feel the tingle and fire. I tried to not let it get to me. I couldn't let him stay for too long. Just long enough to find out the secrets he kept would be enough.

For now.