Chapter 27 #2
They parted ways, and Erich jogged down the hallway as he opened his dragon sight and saw the paths revealed to him.
It was a tangled thread of interconnecting lines, but amidst it all, he spotted one golden thread.
It was the same thread that he felt tugging him toward Liane whenever she was near.
This was the path he had to take to get to her.
The dungeon was suspiciously empty, and he felt that same prickle of warning crawling up the back of his neck seconds before alarms started blaring. Erich brandished his weapon, waiting for an attack, but no one came in his direction. It wasn’t Erich who’d set off the alarm but Fritz.
He felt his connection with Liane pull taut.
He could use this distraction to reach her and remove her from the temple, but at the same time, he’d doom Fritz to death.
Rather than push forward, he looped back and rushed down the stairs toward the dungeons, where the oracle was meant to be held.
He saw the guards on the stairs, and with their backs to him and their attention focused on breaking down the door, Erich had made his way through half of them before they turned on him.
As their blood splattered on his face, Erich felt the dragon stir beneath his skin, felt it overcome him.
He could reject it, or he could embrace it, and this time, Erich knew there was no point in turning away from the dragon within him.
He unleashed the power and felt it ripple over his body, transforming his skin into something scaled and hard.
He rushed toward the guards, knocking them down when they slashed at his body.
Their attempts did not break the skin, and he tore through them like a creature through paper.
They were no match for him. And as his dragon eyes opened onto the world around him, he saw in brighter colors than he ever had before.
He pushed down the door and discovered Fritz and an old woman huddled together. There was blood on Fritz’s face, and he was shaking.
“I got her out, but as soon as I did, the alarm...” He trembled.
“Don’t worry. You did what we set out to do. Get her out of here, and I’ll go get Liane.”
“But the alarms...”
“Don’t worry about me. Use your portal, or whatever you need.”
Fritz looked stricken, but the oracle placed a hand on his shoulder. “It is what I have seen. We’ll meet again at the vein.” The old woman’s eyes were glazed over and milky white. But even so, Erich felt as if she were seeing past him into a thousand branching futures.
The oracle’s prediction seemed to embolden Fritz, and he nodded.
He slashed at the air in front of him, creating a portal.
He grasped hold of the oracle and stepped through, pulling her along.
Erich remembered the last time he’d done that with Fritz and how much it had taken out of him.
There would be no coming back for Erich. He was on his own.
More guards were rushing in from the tunnel, weapons drawn and murder in their gazes.
And like he had done when he’d slipped into a darker part of himself when he had the bodies piled on him, Erich seemed to slip into the dragon’s skin.
Using teeth and claws to tear apart those who’d stand in his way, he rushed up the stairs, following that golden thread.
All that mattered was reaching Liane. He’d lost his sense of self in that moment.
He was nothing more than a creature of impulse.
Passing through the guards at the top of the stairs leading out of the dungeon and into the inner sanctum, Erich cut down anyone who stood to oppose him. Until he saw a familiar face standing in front of him, drawing a weapon but not attempting to strike.
“What have you done?” Ludwig said.
Erich came back from the red mist that’d fallen over him and looked at his gore-covered body.
“What needed to be done,” he growled.
Ludwig looked appalled but made no further comment. “She’s this way. Hurry, they’re calling for reinforcement.”
Erich followed Ludwig through the temple grounds and up the same winding staircase as when he’d come to visit Liane during her isolation. The guards were dead, likely Ludwig’s doing. Liane was waiting in the tower room. She turned to him, her expression one of relief.
“Erich?” she said, her voice trembling. “You came back.”
He held up his hands and saw the scales and the blood, and he recoiled in horror at it. This was exactly what he’d feared would happen. He’d killed too many people to count, lost control, all in his desire to protect her.
He moved as if to get away from her, but she grasped hold of him and wouldn’t let him go.
They held one another for a moment, suspended in time. He smelled fear on her, and it made his blood boil.
“Get Liane out of here. I’ll hold them off,” Ludwig said.
“Ludwig, you can’t,” Liane started to protest.
But Erich saw the resolve in his gaze. And knew what he meant to do.
There were no guarantees they could fight their way out and keep Liane safe.
The fastest way was out of the window. He scooped Liane up in his arms. He felt his body re-form as wings burst from his back, in a mix of agony and relief.
His wingspan was large enough that he could carry his own weight and Liane’s easily.
She beat against his chest, trying to stop him, as the guards banged on the door, forcing their way in.
“He’ll die. You can’t let this happen. Please.”
But Ludwig was right; the most important thing was keeping her alive.
Erich knew she’d be angry, but he had to do it, so he took the leap out the window.