Authors: Jane Hunt
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Xavier’s gaze burned into her back. Fleur's head hurt with all the questions she needed answers to. If he saw the baby dragon, could she save them both? Choices: pretend she hadn't seen him or turn around and confront him. She must protect the young dragon as best she could. Fleur gave the dragon one last stroke and hoped it would hide. She needed all her acting skills now as she faced her nemesis. "We meet again, Xavier. I never appreciated I was such a magnet for handsome men.”
Xavier gaped at the feisty human woman standing across from him. A pity she must die. He almost regretted his decision. With her rediscovered spirit and the ingenious ways, she thwarted him. She would be an interesting companion for a while. Not his usual sort, true, but in such a long existence he needed variety. “You have escaped from me twice now, Fleur. I must finish what I started.”
“How do you know it won’t be three times?”
“I know,
bella,
because I will kill you. I had planned a more drawn-out, painful end for you, but in deference to your spirit, I will do it now.”
Behind her confident mask, Fleur swallowed the bile in her mouth as Xavier’s words hit home. She feared death. She would lose Lukas forever and Xavier's depravity would corrupt the tiny dragon, unless she could delay the demon. When Lukas and Zane got here, she would have a chance of survival and Lukas and Zane could protect the dragon from the demon. “I won't surrender my life, Xavier. I have evaded you before. I can do it again.”
The wolf and the dragon must be close since Fleur appeared unaffected by his threats. She believed Lukas would save her. He must act now. “You are brave for a human. I'm impressed. Your bravado won’t save you, though. You are too weak.” Xavier crossed the distance between them.
Fleur stepped forward. Her actions went against every instinct for self-preservation, but she must save the infant dragon from Xavier. She must sacrifice her life for his. Fleur prayed it would delay the demon long enough.
“I know what you hide, Fleur, something which isn't yours. I offer you your life for the infant dragon. Consider it. You can go free. You would see your lover the dragon lord again. Will you let one insignificant creature stand between you and your soul mate?”
Fleur walked towards Xavier while he taunted her. Her steps faltered. Xavier knew about the dragon. Desperately she appealed to Xavier’s sense of vanity. “Let it go, Xavier, please. A powerful demon like you doesn't need such a tiny insignificant creature." The demon studied her face throughout her impassioned plea, but it remained unmoved. Her next statement brought a show of incredulity to his face. “Why don’t you have my life instead if it's me you torture and kill, Lukas will suffer if he cares for me like you believe. I don't want life at the expense of an innocent.” Xavier stopped in his tracks and slowly clapped his hands in a mockery of applause.
“Brave, my dear, but I’m afraid you’re mistaken on both counts. The dragon feels far more for you than lust. I know; I’ve shared his emotions. Secondly, this infant dragon is infinitely more important to me than your life. If it recognises me as its guardian, my power will be infinite.”
Fleur stared at the demon. He made it sound as if Lukas loved her, and she knew he didn't. She didn't understand about the baby dragon's powers. “One more question, Xavier."
“As a final request of a dying soul.”
“If you like,” Fleur said. Xavier nodded his head. “What's the guardian's importance?”
“The infant dragon is the key to infinite powers. Until it reaches adulthood, these powers are under the guardian's control.”
Fleur stared into Xavier’s obsidian eyes. "So how do you become the guardian?”
“It is predetermined in an ancient prophecy. The guardian is the first individual the dragon looks upon with its golden eyes.”
Fleur hid her astonishment. She could be the guardian. Her hand jumped against her side, as if it had a will of its own. She saw the strange, painless burn mark across the back of it. She hid her hand from Xavier.
Come on, Lukas.
“You are a little late, Xavier. The dragon looked at me.” Xavier convulsed. The demon snake within him raised its head. It pushed against his skin.
“If you die, the infant dragon would turn to me. All its power would be mine.”
“Oh, so my life is of no value.” Fleur hid her vulnerability.
“Another human soul is always a pleasurable addition, but compared with the infant dragon, you are worthless.”
Fleur saw stars as the powerful punch hit her face. Her brain careered around her head like a bumper car. Xavier's second punch floored her. Blood poured from her nose and mouth. Bells rang in her ears as the punch connected. Fleur lay injured and powerless. She couldn't help the baby dragon. Her eyes were full of tears of pain and frustration. The baby dragon would die her sacrifice pointless, if Lukas and Zane didn't appear soon.
*
Lukas and Zane appeared as Xavier’s second punch knocked Fleur across the ground. Zane growled and launched himself at Xavier. The demon avoided the wolf's full impact. Lukas ran towards the unconscious Fleur and cradled her in his arms. He ignored the blood, which covered his hands and clothes. The pain in his chest where his heart lay bleeding and dying absorbed him. “My beautiful, brave woman. I told you Fleur would be special. I wish I could have protected you.” Xavier and Zane battled at his side. Zane hit the demon's jaw and pushed him against the jagged rock entrance. Xavier howled in pain. A piece of rock pierced the tender skin of his side, but he still taunted Zane.
“I hope you’re ready to meet your family, Zane.”
Zane growled. The demon would understand him. The sounds translated as they flowed into Xavier’s head.
“My family are dead, killed by evil, soul-destroying scum like you, demon.”
“Not like me, Zane. Exactly like me. I attacked your family. I still remember how fulfilled their anguished screams made me.”
Zane launched himself at Xavier and pinned him against the jagged rock. He threw his head back and plunged in for the kill. As his teeth sank into Xavier’s throat, Lukas cautioned him. “Don’t bite him, Zane, his flesh is poisonous.” Too late, Zane withdrew with a piece of Xavier’s neck flesh in his mouth. He spat it out in disgust, but the poison was already attacking his vital organs. He looked at Lukas, gaze filled with a poignant sadness. Zane fell onto the ground as he writhed in agony. Lukas jumped up. Fleur slumped across the ground without his support. He reached Zane's prone wolf body. Too late. The powerful, brief convulsions stopped. Zane lay dead. Lukas shook Zane's inert body. He couldn't rouse him.
The dragon within him roared. For once, Lukas didn’t fight it. He embraced the fire within. The dragon moved into him. He stepped away from Zane’s body as he transformed into the dragon. Xavier changed into the demon snake. Lukas looked for the dragon egg. Shards of broken eggshell told their own story. Lukas scanned the cave for the dragon. Perhaps Xavier had it. A turquoise blur passed in front of his face and landed on Fleur. The infant dragon looked at Lukas with golden eyes, so like his own, solemn, respectful, and full of tears. Xavier's injuries would have been fatal in a human. They reduced the speed of his transformation into the demon snake, still time for the dragon to avenge Zane's death.
Lukas lost consciousness for a few moments with the pain of his own transformation. He must stay alert for the little dragon's safety. He stroked the dragon and lifted it. The infant dragon blew small but white-hot flames at him. He wouldn't leave Fleur. The attachment was unexpected unless—of course. Fleur found the dragon. When it looked at her, she became its guardian. It would explain why she fought with Xavier, rather than escaping as she did before. Lukas touched her battered face. “You are a true warrior, sweetheart. Now you hold two dragons’ hearts forever.” An unmistakeable slither alerted Lukas. He touched the little dragon one more time before he stumbled deeper into the cave. He lost consciousness. The huge dragon appeared and the walls between the cave entrance and the cave itself disintegrated.
*
The fierce, powerful, turquoise-scaled dragon fought the obsidian two-headed demon snake to protect the infant dragon and humanity. The bloody, brutal battle raged for hours of human time. The little dragon witnessed it all as its healing tears flowed onto Fleur’s face and body. The demon snake rose like a gargantuan cobra, the black lethal spines erect, and its magnesium eye sockets full of demonic light. The dragon stood its ground. The demon snake's poison would disable him and might prove fatal. Incensed the snake struck. Its noxious venom fell short of its intended target. It swung back as it gathered its strength for a counterattack.
The dragon's powerful turquoise-scaled tail caught it midway between its two heads on its more vulnerable underside. The snake lay coiled and immobile. The dragon leapt forward and seared the snake with its white-hot flames. Large patches of burnt snake scales littered the cave's rocks. The strange exotic smell of burnt demon snakeskin lingered like a toxic chemical cloud. The demon snake launched a last desperate offensive. It attacked the dragon's legs and abdomen. The sharp teeth couldn't penetrate the hard turquoise scales, which covered the dragon's powerful body. The demon snake lay bloody and beaten across the cave's damp floor. The demon rose. Its survival instinct forced its escape from its damaged host. The speck of humanity left looked across at the infant dragon sitting on Fleur’s shoulder .Fleur’s inert body stirred. She sat up. Her inner beauty glowed when she saw the baby dragon. Her face and head were unmarked. Even her ribs had healed. She stroked the dragon, her face contented. The sliver of humanity within the demon snake recognized the powerful forces of good and fought against the demon that lost focus. The infant dragon would be a force for good forever.
The dragon struck its last terrible blow, severing the demon snake's carnivorous, venomous head from its body. The dragon's powerful legs and tail cut through the armor plating like scissors through paper. Fleur screamed and protected the little dragon with her body as the demon snake’s head and neck hit the ground and covered the cave and its inhabitants with demon snake remains and slime.
The dragon dragged the demon snake’s body further into the cave. He blasted through the head with a wall of flames. He pushed the body and burnt head into the cave's deep waters, before he returned for the demon's other head. The eye sockets still burned bright with evil, but the mouth gaped. The dragon dragged the head across the cave and kicked it into the deep water below. He protected the water’s purity. He blew a blanket of flames into the liquid until it bubbled white-hot. The wall of fire cauterized and cremated all the demon snake's poisonous remains.
The demon essence rose from the water as it searched for a new host. The dragon grabbed the walls of rock, which lined the cave and forced them together. They exploded into their purest elements, fell into the cave, and sealed it forever. Satisfied, the dragon stepped back, walked towards the wider cave entrance, and stopped.
*
Fleur leaned across Zane's dead wolf body. She hugged his neck and sobbed. The dragon’s descendent sat on her shoulder and cried too. As the infant dragon’s tears fell into the wolf’s fur and mouth, the creature revived. He convulsed for a brief moment before he jumped up and shook his fur-covered body. Fleur fell back when he convulsed. Now she stared at him. She offered her hand, and the silver wolf licked it with his long pink tongue. The older dragon blew out a short burst of flame in celebration. The tears from the little dragon possessed healing qualities, which proved him as a force for good. Fleur's significance as his guardian was undeniable when he healed her.
Fleur seemed unaware of Lukas' presence in the cave's shadows. She eyed the devastation all around her. Her gaze fell on Lukas’ body. She ran to where he lay. Fleur cradled his head in her lap and stroked his forehead and face. The dragon basked in her gentle touch as she caressed his human form. Fleur whispered, “I wish you could heal him too.” The little dragon viewed her with its head on one side. It flew into the shadows where the dragon waited. She followed the little dragon's progress until her awed gaze rested upon the spectacular turquoise-scaled dragon as he emerged from the shadows.
*
She should be frightened and run away. She didn't. Except for his size and the fact dragons did not exist in the twenty-first century, he did not scare her. Relief dominated her emotions. Lukas wasn’t dead, but transformed into his true form. The dragon walked as close as he dared. He bent his huge head, and Fleur laid her hand on it. His power filled her and took her breath away, but the dragon's love healed her heart. The exchange lasted a few seconds before the dragon vanished and Lukas regained consciousness. The four left the cave and its devastation behind.
*
A rather ragged bunch walked into the conservatory in Hallows House as dawn broke. Evidence from the previous night’s murder mystery event remained. An outline of a body chalked on the floor and the tables strewn with papers full of clues and guesses about the murder's identity. Xavier was someone's guess. Fleur shuddered at the parallel with reality. The normality grounded her. The horror she lived through seemed a little surreal. Had the passionate interlude before happened? Fleur's old worries returned, but she pushed them away. She survived torture and avoided certain death. Amazingly, she became a baby dragon's guardian. Life would never be the same again, whether Lukas shared it with her or not. Fleur greeted Grace and Jasmine as they rushed into the room, full of new positivity.