A Dragon's Bond (12 page)

The three dragons snarled and hissed at the approaching threat. Davin and Chloe lined up in front of Derrick. Chloe began to conjure a large sphere of electrical energy and Davin's hands both began to spark as they were engulfed in red hot flames. He immediately began firing electrical balls of fire at the creature that was barreling towards them. It was about ten feet away when it was finally clear what it was. It was one of the minotaur soldiers. Davin hit him with a flurry of small blasts and his pace slowed. The beast leaned back and let out a God awful yell. Just then Chloe released the immense ball of energy and it flew towards the beast. It hit it square in the chest and it let out another roar. Halo let out a huge stream of fire and the minotaur burst into flames. It dropped to it's knees and then fell to it's face. They all stood on guard, breathing heavily from the adrenaline pumping through their veins. It didn't move. It was dead. They all rushed towards the end of the cave and out of it's mouth. They could feel the cool ocean air blowing against their faces and the waves crashed against the rocks to the left side of the cave entrance. Off to the right was a long beach. They had come out of the mine a good mile away from the Keep. They looked up to the cliffs in the direction of the Keep. They could see flames rising from the town and even parts of the Keep were on fire.

"
What do we do now?" Davin asked staring up towards the Keep.

Derrick stepped forward. "Let's go to my Father's. It will take at least two days to walk though."

"
Two Days!" Chloe shouted.

"
We have no choice Chloe." Davin replied. "And we definitely can't stay here. We need to keep moving and get some more distance between us and the Keep."

They stood silently for a moment. Then one at a time began to turn and walk away from the Keep led by Derrick. Derrick may have been returning home, but the Keep was all Davin and Chloe knew. They were leaving their homes and family behind. They didn't know what would happen to the ones who had been left back at the Keep. Fearing they had no other options they continued down the beach following Derrick.

The dragons ran about and played amongst each other as they walked. Jumping and playing in the sand and the waves that fell up onto the beach. This was the first time the dragons had been outside. They appeared as though they had energy that had been pent up from being confined to the Keep.

It was turning to night and the red sky had slowly fallen to black. The stars began to poke out of the night sky and the moon shot up from behind the tree line along the shore. They had a long journey ahead of them in order to reach presumed safety.

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE FALL OF THE KEEP

The Keep had been overrun by Lugos and his minions. All of the minotaurs had been turned by him, they were all under his control and obeyed his every command. In the dark dungeons beneath the Keep he had in secret, built a small army. The minotaurs had been turned into blood thirsty vile creatures. For years nobody had seen the truth in Lugos. Nobody knew that he had once been turned himself and was fighting the constant hunger that grew inside of him. Nobody had known that he was the monster behind the brutal murder of his own dragon.

Those that were still alive, were given the option of joining Lugos and his forces or being thrown in the dungeon to die. Most could not bare the thought of becoming one of his blood thirsty puppets. Although, there were a few of the weak ones that chose what they thought to be the easiest way out. They agreed to join Lugos and his evil army. A single bite was all it took to be filled with the venom that lived within him. They immediately fell weak and immediately looked ill as the venom spread through their bodies. They were carried off to another part of the keep where they would become ravenous and wild until their first feeding.

The dungeon was deep under the Keep and it was a complete substructure beneath the pits. There were three levels to the dungeon itself. It's walls were line with cells cut out of the rock and were sealed with large, metal bar doors. The only light was that of the oil lamps that hung sporadically from the walls. It was dark, cold and a dreadful place to be. The cells were full and crammed with people. There were at least four or five to a cell, cells that were meant to hold one or two at the most.

Myrdinn was being kept on the very bottom floor of the dungeon. He was kept in a cell that was simply a deep well like pit. The hole was topped with very thick, thinly spaced bars. On the floor of the dungeon against the far wall, there was a large wooden wheel that had handles all the way around. When it was turned, it operated a spiral staircase that retracted into the walls of the cell. Once the staircase was retracted, there was no way out of the pit. It's walls were completely smooth, so that you could not climb out.

Myrdinn sat at the bottom of the pit. He lay weak and helpless. It was cold and dark, all he could do was lay and wait for death to find him, stashed away in a hole deep within the earth.

Keep Town had be mostly been burnt to the ground. Those that didn't flee were killed or turned. It now resembled a war camp just outside the newly taken fortress. Chloe's father had been taken captive. Lugos decided he would use him as a sort of political liaison. He was ready to wage war on the rest of the world. He had so far built a small army and now had the Keep as his stronghold.

"
You know what you must do!" Lugos growled. He looked at the imp with a scowling face and glowing blood red eyes. "Find them and bring them to me."

"
Yes Master. I will not fail you." The imp turned and motioned to the twelve minotaurs he had assigned to the task.

"
I must have the opal dragon alive. It does not matter who else lives." A reptile like tongue flicked from his mouth as he hissed.

The imp turned and followed the minotaurs from the room. The twelve minotaurs and the imp left the keep to track down Davin and Halo. They rushed out the front gate and down towards the shoreline where the mine shaft entrance was. They soon found where the kids and their dragons had escaped the Keep.

It was the third morning since the kids escaped the Keep when they finally arrived to Derrick's home. It was a large house tucked away in a small valley between the rolling hills. They came over the hill and headed down towards the large home. They were greeted by a pair of large wolf hounds. The two dogs knocked Derrick to the ground and began to lick his face. A tall thin elvish man stepped out on to the front courtyard and walked slowly to the gate.

"
Welcome home!" The man shouted as the three kids walked up to meet him. The man's cheerful expression quickly turned sour when he saw the face his son wore. "What's wrong? Somethings wrong. Why have you left the Keep?"

"
I'll explain when we get inside." Derrick said.

"
Did you walk here? All the way from the Keep?" The man asked.

"
Yes and I am really tired. Please, can we go inside? By the way. This is Davin and Chloe. They are friends of mine from the Keep. Chloe, Davin, this is my father Demetrius Greenwood."

"
Very nice to meet you sir." Chloe said gracefully.

"The p
leasure is all mine." He replied. "Any friend of Derrick is welcome in our home."

Derrick led them into the house. It was an amazing home. There was a large entry way with a large double staircase leading to the second floor. He led them to the right, through an archway leading into a large study in the front of the house. There was a large fireplace on the outer wall with two large picture windows on either side of it, looking out to the small hills topped with trees. On the inner wall was a large built in bookcase. It spanned the entire length of the wall, end to end. There was a rolling ladder attached, allowing access to the higher shelves.

The three sat on the couch in front of the fireplace while Demetrius sat in one of the armchairs to the left of them.

"
The Keep has been taken Father. The town has been burnt down. I didn't think we were going to make it out alive." Derrick began.

"
What do you mean, taken?"

"
We're not sure. Goban the minotaur the head of security was murdered. Just before he died he told us to get out. Somebody had kidnapped Davin and his dragon and nearly killed them both. Myrdinn was about to tell everyone when this all happened."

Demetrius turned to Davin. "So, tell me Davin. Why is that they're after you and your dragon? Could it have something to do with it's bloodline?"

Davin looked back at him with a shocked face.

"
Don't think that I hadn't taken notice of your eyes. Clearly you and your dragon are tied to the Ancient one."

"
What do you know about the Ancient one? And why would someone want it's blood to drink?"

Demetrius raised an eyebrow at Davin's questions.

"
Does it really turn man into a dragon?" Chloe asked.

"
Yes. But that is not what it's use was intended for. It is actually the cure to the bite from a Flesh Demon. The turning to dragon is really just a side effect. This is of course all superstition though, as nobody has seen the ancient one for many, many years. Well, almost nobody. There was one man who wrote about his search for the Ancient One. His tale was quite well known when I was a child. He had actually been a friend of my father. But that is not all he wrote about. He also told of a story of a bonder that had been turned by a Flesh Demon. It was said that once they took their new form, they were immortal and would live forever. He wrote that the secret to destroying them was kept by the Ancient One."

"
So you are saying, if someone manages to drink from the blood of the Ancient One after being turned by a Flesh Demon, they become immortal." Chloe's face grew pale.

"
That is what he claimed anyway. They can be killed but only the Ancient One knows how."

"
I wish we still had that book of Myrdinn's right now." Davin said.

Demetrius looked at him as he cocked his head to one side. "What book?"

"
Myrdinn had a book that talked about the Ancient One and this ritual." Chloe explained the story of how Davin and her had come about it.

"
Well, I think I can help you there." Demetrius stood from the chair and walked over to the large bookcase ladder. He rolled it over towards the center of the shelves and climbed up, almost to the top. He scanned the shelf quickly and then reached for a book. "Aha, here we go." He said as he started to climb down the latter.

"
Myrdinn knew of my research and my interest in the obscure. He was nice enough to lend me the book you speak of many years ago, so that I could make a copy for myself." He set the book down on the table in front of the kids. Chloe picked it up and briefly flipped through the pages. "This one though, has been fully translated." He said.

Davin stood up. "It seems we are going to have to search out this Ancient One so that we can destroy whatever evil is taking over our home."

"
Yes, but nobody knows how to find it." Demetrius said with a grim look on his face.

"
I guess we will have to try our luck with the friend of your father. You said he wrote a book about how he had found him."

"
Her actually. The Ancient One is a female." He said as he cleared his throat. "The book is being held by his son. He lives in Seaport. It's a large city about a day north of here by train. You can leave tomorrow morning from the train station in town. I will send a letter with you, asking him to lend you the book. Surely he will see to the request of an old friend."

"
Thank you. We are grateful for your help." Davin reached out to shake Demetrius' hand.

"
You all look horribly tired. Are you hungry?"

At the sound of eating, Davin's stomach began to growl. They hadn't eaten anything in the past couple of days except for some apples they found in an orchard that they had passed through on their way.

Demetrius walked to the wall and pulled a small rope which caused a bell to ring off in the distance. Not even a minute had passed and a young lady entered the room.

"
Please prepare some food for Derrick and his guests. And see that a room for each of them is also prepared. I am sure they will want to rest when they are finished."

Demetrius gave Derrick a hug before sending them off into the kitchen to eat something.

After eating the three went up to their rooms. Derrick stayed in his room, Davin and Chloe were put up in two of the spare rooms down the hall from his. The rooms were large and followed the grand scheme of the rest of the house. The three kids slept through the remainder of the day, exhausted from their long walk. They didn't get up until dinner was ready later that evening.

Davin, Chloe and Derrick filed into the Kitchen. They sat down at the large table where dinner had been placed. Demetrius was already sitting at the table when they arrived.

"
Good evening. I hope that you all got some rest. I took the liberty of feeding your dragons. They appeared as hungry as all of you did when you got here."