Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
TYNAN
On the horizon, the outlines of the city burned into my eyes.
A herd of undead dragons roamed the sky, their wings stirring up clouds of dust and smoke from the burning buildings below.
The castle’s outer wall exploded in a burst of flame, and the sound of the bell pierced the air, echoing through the chaos.
People in the village scurried about in a frantic panic while the monsters plucked them up from above, tearing them into pieces, lifting them up and throwing them to the ground before devouring their flesh.
“Stay here,” I said, knowing very well she would never listen.
“I need to be with the people.” Alina raised her head and the determination I saw in her eyes broke something in my chest.
Now, more than ever, I had something worth fighting for, but I knew I could not protect her from the horrors this life had become. I clenched my jaw and in a matter of moments, I shifted to my dragon form. Alina followed, transitioning quicker than I had ever seen before.
“Where to?” she asked.
“We need to get the divine water and make sure people know what to do.”
With these words I soared up into the sky.
Below, I could see the panic and destruction, but I did not stop, because that water was the only thing that could stop all of this.
There were dozens of undead dragons roaming the area.
I watched a man try to escape the monstrous jaws by shapeshifting, but he lost the battle in the air, proving once again that the strength and agility of the beasts surpassed everything we were ever prepared for.
“How can they be active during the day?” Alina spoke directly into my mind.
“Promise me you will take refuge. Promise me you’ll stay away.”
“Yes. I just want to help the others in the castle,” she responded.
No matter how hard I tried, I could not silence the voice that started whispering in my ear; that everything that happened in my vision would happen again, and there was no way to escape what we were destined for.
I gritted my teeth, watching a mother running through the field carrying an infant, her toddler was in her other arm. A massive, decaying shape followed her, tracing every move she made. Its shadow, black as ink, grew larger on the ground below, almost reaching the woman.
“Stay here.” I looked at Alina, before dropping altitude and closing in on the dragon.
“Tynan!” Alina shouted, but I was already too far.
As soon as I was close enough, I shifted and dropped straight onto the dragon’s back.
Instead of pursuing its victim, the dragon struggled to shake me off.
Its peeling neck twisted, revealing a milky white eye and black slime dripping from its sharp teeth.
My dagger was ready when the monster rotated in the air, determined to throw me off.
My feet slid and I grabbed the callused scales on the dragon's neck to keep my balance.
Before the beast could do anything else, I plunged my knife into its body.
The foul rotten smell filled my lungs and I could almost taste the rotten flesh in my mouth.
I reached up with my second hand and unsheathed another knife.
The only way to kill it was to pierce its brain but to get there I needed to get closer.
With all the strength I had, I lifted myself up, grabbing the top of its head.
The monster roared, but my knife was already slicing through its skull.
We were falling and I could not get my knife out.
I had to detach from the body and shapeshift before we hit the ground.
With all the energy I could muster, I shifted back, but I was already rolling on the ground.
The shock of the impact brought a piercing, buzzing sound to my ears and paralyzed me for a long moment.
The light suddenly became unbearably bright, and I rolled on the ground clenching my head, realizing that the blow made me shift back into my human form.
My vision turned blurry when I saw the copper scales of a dragon landing beside me.
“Tynan? Tynan?” Alina shouted, transforming.
“I’m good. I’m good.” I managed to say. “What about the woman and children?”
“They’re safe, I took them to one of the cellars,” she responded, while her hands roamed my chest and touched my head.
“We need to go.” I growled, getting up to my feet.
Alina nodded, her eyes burning into mine.
When we soared up into the sky, I looked toward the castle, but because of all the dust and smoke that was currently in the air, I could not distinguish where the monsters were.
“They’re by the entrance!” Alina shouted.
When I looked down, two dragons on the ground were ramming the door and the next moment, it failed. Screams filled the air.
“No!” Alina’s voice boomed in my head.
I advanced above the rooftops, avoiding a monster who had been perched on the roof by just mere inches. Alina shouted behind me.
The undead dragon launched itself in the air and nearly clipped my scales.
It was too close and Alina was right behind me.
I briefly landed on the stone roof and immediately took off to the side, hoping to get right behind the crawler dragon.
But the monster proved smarter than I had expected.
Instead of following the predictable path, it shifted its focus to Alina, who seemed like the easier target. I growled and followed both of them.
“Don’t worry. I’m right behind you.” I kept repeating as the monster was closing in on her.
Again, I transformed and landed on its back between its wings.
The dragon screeched and halted, almost tipping both of us over.
With one motion, I unsheathed my knife and sunk it in its spine, but nothing happened, and I had to reach down to get a second blade off my belt.
The haze of smoke and fire blinded me for a moment as I reached up, avoiding the powerful jaws.
This was not ideal. I could not see much, and between me and the beast, I was the most vulnerable.
Suddenly, I saw a flash of copper and gold and my heart stopped in my chest. Alina landed on top of the dragon’s neck and lowered herself to its head.
“No!” I shouted.
Her skin rippled and turned translucent when she turned to her human form.
The undead dragon took this opportunity to fly into the wall of the castle and all of us slid down to the hard stone surface of the unfinished roof.
I sprang up to my feet, but Alina remained on the ground, wisps of hair, freed from her long braid swayed in the air.
It was like a vision I had seen before, and I felt an absolute loss of control, as if I was watching another dream.
“Alina? Alina?” I crouched beside her, lifting up her torso.
“Wh-What ha-happened?” she stuttered.
“You got hit. We need to take shelter. Can you climb on my back?” I pressed my head into the side of her neck.
“Yes,” she mumbled.
Without further delay, I shifted back then stilled, feeling Alina’s hands clenching my neck, the weight of her body. My eyes peered into the smoke, not finding the monster that I was sure was still near.
I flew across the roof, and landed on one of the balconies.
Swiftly changing back, I watched the sky as Alina opened the balcony door.
As soon as we stepped through the threshold, a loud sound came from behind us, and I shoved Alina further into the room.
The monster dragon crashed into me, sending me flying into the wall.
Its decaying skin hung off the greyish flesh of its bloated belly.
The stench of rot filled the space and the monster screeched.
“Run!” I shouted, but Alina only took out her dagger.
“Go. Please!” I pleaded but the dragon already inhaled, preparing for the strike.
In a matter of moments, I was beside her, shielding her with my body.
The scorching hot flames thundered in the room, burning my back, my neck and exposed parts of my hands. I growled in pain.
“Behind you!” Alina screamed.
I unsheathed my knife, knowing full well that from this distance, I had no chance of getting to its brain. I had to get closer.
“I love you.” I said and detached myself from her, meeting the moon-like, empty eyes of the beast.
“No! Tynan, no!”
I gritted my teeth and faked a move forward, then darted to the side, forcing the dragon to lunge toward Alina.
Then, possibly forgetting about me, it moved past me, and I was already on its back.
The beast let out a piercing screech, overwhelming my senses and sending waves of dizziness and pain through my mind.
I plunged my knife to the side of its head and then a second time, right above the first. The monster kept moving beneath me and I continued striking until it stilled.
Then it dropped on the ground, taking me with it.
“Tynan, Tynan!” Alina was beside me in that instance.
Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet. The entire side of my body and my back were scorched and raw. I growled, the leather of my clothes had melted into my skin.
“You’re hurt.”
“We have to go.” I sheathed my knife but before taking a step, I pulled Alina closer.
“Promise me, you will stay safe. Promise me, that whatever happens to me, you will live to the fullest. Promise me, if I’m gone, you will marry someone who’s worthy of you and have a family.”
“No!”
“Promise me!”
“Don’t you dare leave me. Don’t you dare!”
“Promise!”
“No.”
“Please.”
“I can’t.”
My lips found hers and I could taste the ash and tears on her skin, her arms wrapped around my neck and I hissed from the pain.
“I want to hear it. Please.”
She shook her head, tears slid down her cheeks. She was as stubborn as I remembered.
“Let's go.” I pressed my lips against her forehead.
Carefully avoiding the debris on the floor and stepping over the broken furniture, we made it to the door.
The halls remained empty, only the unmistakable, acrid stench in the air forewarned of what was happening on the lower floors.
For a moment, my childhood memories flooded back.
I remembered staring out those windows, cursing my life and fate for making me suffer, for making me afraid.
But now, the walls trembled with the growls of the beasts, threatened by something far darker than my sadistic mother.
I had spent countless hours fantasizing about this castle's destruction, imagining it burning to the ground. But now, with that distant dream no longer a fantasy, I found myself wanting to save it.
I took out my knife, and prepared the second one, before we made it to the corner. I pushed the armory door open, finding a group of men getting ready for the battle.
“Ty!” Victor called.
“Aly.” Frid approached us, she had a large canvas bag draped across her body.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We want to use the water. There’s only one thing . . . we don’t know how to do it better.” Hanoch examined the display of random objects on the table.
“Just spray it!” One of the men shouted.
“We have to save it.” Hanoch turned toward him.
“How about pouring it into a bottle and throwing it?” Sol strapped his axe to his belt.
“They might not break on contact,” I said, walking toward the table and looking through the random items.
Even with all of the preparations, we still were not ready. We never had a chance to come up with a decent plan because so many things had to be solved before that.
“How about something like this?” I picked an exquisitely made porcelain creamer that was sitting on Hanoch’s table.
“That’s part of my wedding set.” Hanoch sighed. “Sure, let's do it. Sol, Victor get to the kitchen and bring anything that could work.”
“On my way.” The latter responded.
“I’m going with you.” Frid went to follow him.
“Frid, can you make sure the women and children are safely guarded in the cellar?” Hanoch grabbed her elbow.
“I’ll do it,” Alina said. “We developed this plan together. I know where everything is.” She walked to the stand and picked up a sword.
I clenched my jaw, it was physically impossible to let her out of my sight, but the sooner we killed all the monsters, the sooner it would be over.
“Alright.” Hanoch nodded.
“I’ll be just one level below.” Alina gently touched my cheek, as if sensing what was on my mind.
“I can’t lose you.”
“You have to trust me.” She rose on her toes and kissed me softly.
“If anything happens to you, I’m not going to survive it,” I whispered. She traced the line of my jaw. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Too many promises.” She smiled.
“Promise.”
“I'll be careful.” She kissed my lips, before crossing the room.
I stood in a stupor, watching the door closed behind her.
Victor and Frid followed closely behind her. The last thing I saw was Victor's eyes following Frid with so many unexpressed emotions. He never had a chance to set things right, and I only hoped that all of us still had time.