Chapter 30

Retrieving the sword

Sammy started to decrease her speed, following the other dragons as they descend. I hold on tight with my one arm around Lucian's chest and buried my face between his two shoulder blades, with eyes shut.
            We landed with a thud but Sammy did try to make it as graceful as possible. We slide off her wing before she transformed back into a human.
            The dragons got dressed quickly while the rest of us were coming up with a plan of action. This mission was starting to get too much to handle but know that going home was around the corner so have to pull through. Blake and the others joined while we were busy thinking hard about what it is we are going to do.
            "Elena, what side is he coming from and when" Blake starts asking important questions.
            "It showed nightfall, we are in the exact right spot" I answer as I look around. The path in front of me was the one he took when he went towards the volcano.
            "Are you sure" Arianna asks.
            "Yeah, positive" I reply. "If I am not mistaken the volcano is just ahead about two miles." I pointed into the direction and Brian sprint down the path I just shown. He was the only dragon that could get close to volcanoes.
            "Okay, we have to corner him here. We can't let him get past P.O.R" Blake says.
            "What is P.O.R?" I ask Lucian
            "Point of no return" he replies fast.
            "Where is the sword Elena."
            "He was carrying it close to him. It was covered with some sort of  fabric and bind up with strings."
            "So we have to find a way to snatch it from him" he gave us our first goal. "I doubt that he will be compelled."
            "You're wrong." I interrupt and  Blake’s face change.
            "You sure" his voice breaks and clear his throat with a cough.
            "Walking in the volcano, melting away to accomplish the task. I would say he is compelled" I told them what I saw.
            "He melted away" Becky mouthed and I nod my head. "Gross."
            "What is it Blake?" Lucian asks.
            "It's not good" he replies as he starts to pace around with his hands clutching some of his hair. "If Goran still controls him, he will see everything. Including us" there was alert in his tone. A frown creased his forehead which made him look even more sexier and I felt guilty of drooling over him because of Lucian. I could tell he was thinking really hard of plan B.
            "Is that bad?" I ask.
            "It is very bad you crazy lunatic" Tabitha exclaims in a bitchy tone.
            "Tabitha, back off" Becky jumps in and Sammy was uttering something that sounded like a swear word.
            I didn't like her tone one bit but to be honest it is a miracle that she was still here. Usually when the going gets tough Snow dragons are the first to disappear.
            "Tabitha’s got a point but we made a choice" Blake stopped the back biting looking down at her. "We can't turn Lucian. We have to fight in our human form and we have to fight Goran."
            We all fell silent. Fighting Goran wasn't on the menu and running seems like the only option.
            "Blake I will change" Sammy sounds terrified.
            "Sammy if Goran controls him he will see through this Dragonians eyes. Once he knows that we are dragons, he will use magic. We will all die. We have to stay hidden, let him think that we are all humans."
            "I can't control it yet" she yells.
            "You can't change."
             Tears were already storming down her cheeks. "I really suck in Transformations. I always turn when it gets too scary."
            "Try" he pleads with his sister and she nods her head. Becky was giving her a big hug.
            "I can't fight Goran, Blake" Arianna has tears in her eyes too.
             "Don't think of it like that. You are the best with chants and spells, we need you Arianna" Blake's tone was soft and sweet. He was taking complete control of this situation and the worst part was that Lucian let him.
            "He is right Arianna, don't do anything stupid because if Goran knows that you can do counter and reversal spells already he will take you out first" Lucian finally says. That part made her panic and Blake cup her face in his hands making her mouth pout like a fish. I thought for a second that he is going to kiss her.
            "You have to stay calm" he orders with clear syllabus as if he can compel someone too. She nods her head sounding exactly the way we all feel. S**t scared.
            "We will have to hide, wait for him until he is surrounded. We can trap him and if we need to fight, so be it."
            "Blake, which one will get the sword" George asks.
            "Elena proved herself ready for something like this. Lucian said that you have crazy reflexes" and I nod my head. "We will need someone fast and you know exactly where the sword is Elena. It might be the only chance to get it back." I took a deep breath. It should not be that difficult, then why does it feel as if I am going to fail miserable. "Once Elena got the sword, Sammy you morph and get Elena the hell away from here. The rest will take care of the Dragonian."
            "Okay" Sammy's reply was a faint whisper.
            "Just try not to blow your cover please." He was still looking at her.
            "I said I will try" she sounds annoyed.
            "It might work" Lucian says after a long time of silence.
            "Off course it will" Blake replies self assured. The conversation went over to whom is teaming up with whom after Sammy and I fled with the sword.
            "What if his Sun-blast comes after us Blake" I said in a trance not giving a crap if I was interrupting him. We need to cover all kinds of scenarios.
            He kept quiet.
            "Don't worry about that, Brian got it covered" Brian was talking about himself in the third person sounding very proud that he was a Sun-blast.
            "Brian he might be fully grown" Blake answers.
            "Brain don't care. He is going to struggle to get past Brian Blake" he assures him and the two high five each other while breaking out in laughter. We all laughed a little.
            "Idiot" Becky sings while looking at Brian.
            "Good Elena" Lucian whispers.
            "What?"
            "You are starting to think like a Dragonian in battle" he smiles. I smile back but still felt a little unsure about covering all the steps. There is so many ways things can go wrong.
              "Don't worry Elena, I am really fast. I will get us to safety if it is the last thing I do" Sammy assume the unsure expression on my face and gives me her word. 
            "I know Sammy." I felt like crying out of fear, even running away but I know they was just as scared as I was. For some reason I was starting to pray for one of the Council members or even Master Longwei to find us. Becky said that they are champions against all evil and I know he will fight with us. This is really not a task for teenage - wannabe - Dragonians.
            We waited patiently for the traitor to land with his dragon. Blake was guarding the entrance.
            I kept staring at him the whole time, thinking that he don't own a scared bone in  that body of his.
            He is really brave and I was glad that Lucian told him about the mission. I did feel saver with him here. What would I have done if it was only me?
            "You know that he can see just as far as his dragon can" Lucian speaks softly into my ear.
            "You mean now, while he is still in his human form?" and he nods his head.
            "His night vision is crazy good. When we were children we use to play hide and seek at night. It was his favorite game, and love it when he was it. It didn't take him too long to spot us in our hiding places."
            There was a satisfying grin on his face as Lucian speak about memories of their friendship. I know that he really miss him.
            I look back at Blake where he stands watching and waiting for the Dragonian and his dragon to come into sight.
            He give us the sign and we know that it was it. The Dragonian was on his way and we had to hide. There is no turning back.
            Becky was with Sammy trying to keep her calm. I prayed that she doesn't transform and give our surprise attack away.
            Blake dives behind the bush right opposite of me and Lucian, it was his hiding spot and I put my hand in front of my mouth trying to silence my breath as the Dragonian and his dragon landed.
            He slides off his Sun-blast's wing and I could see that he was still in a trance. He was Goran's puppet and was walking towards the volcano.
            He yells sounding dull over his shoulder for his dragon to leave and hear how his wings flap hard and disappearing into the distance. That is what I was afraid off.
            Sammy moved and it sound so loud. It made him stopped in his tracks and looks around. I was glad that he wasn't a dragon but then again, it was Goran watching through his eyes. He didn't trust the noise and started to run really fast.
            When he was right in the middle of the trap we acted fast and jumped out of our hiding place. His back was towards me as he was looking at the others that was distracting him from the front. I didn't waste any time and was going for the sword already.  I knew where he was hiding it and could see it my mind's eye how I am going to push away his jacket with my one hand, grabbing the sword with my other before rolling into Sammy's past that was waiting for me, so she can shift. It was in my grasp when the strangest thing happened.
            It was so fast.  He turned around a second too soon, saw me, and I froze.
            I didn't mean to, and then I realized that it wasn't coming from me at all. It was him forcing me not to come any closer. The hooty of my blazer fell over my head from the instant stop.  I heard a screech, it was a horrible noise and at first I thought it was Sammy that shifted out of fear but the sound didn't come from her hiding spot. His Sun-blast came out of nowhere and he tosses the sword up to him.

            Brian that was the closest to the path that leads to the volcano, didn't think twice. He screwed the plan and morph but wasn't fast enough to stop him. I could only see Brian chasing him. Arianna was next she used a spell but again he was too fast and she went down.
            It was as if this Dragonian saw everything that was going to happened, like he owned his own magical millpond or crystal ball.
            Blake attempt almost succeeds as he really got close but as his arms reach for a deadly grip the Dragonian blasts him back, ten paces.
            I couldn't even turn my head to check if he is okay.  It is so unreal and I don't know how this could be happening.
             Becky and George got the same doze as me and Lucian and they froze too. Sammy turned out of fear. Vines and tree roots sprout out of the ground, forming hands and grabbed her. They pulled her so tight that I was scared that she is going to burst in half. She's really trying hard to break free, but the more she tried the thicker the roots became. I could hear a soft hum emerging from the Dragonian until I realize he was casting spells really fast.   
            She finally gave up and came crashing down towards the ground. Tabitha was gone. She finally flee like the coward she was. Blake was up on his feet again, trying with everything he had but stick to the plan. He didn't morph. He got smack down on to the floor inches away from me and Lucian. I could see the fear in his blue eyes.
            I know that this was it. We are going to fail. The Dragonian starts to laugh.
            "You really think that you would've been able to stop me boy" he crouches down next to Blake and took a deep breath like the dragon did inside the cave. Blake couldn't move, he was pinned down hard.
            He could only grunt out of frustration and I hope that the Dragonian wasn't hurting him in some way.  It was hard to believe how strong magic is and to be honest, it scared the living crap out of me.
            "I will kill you one day, if that is the last thing I do" Blake groans and the Dragonian laughs. His eyes caught a part of his tattoo that was sticking out from underneath his sleeve. He lifts it up gently.
            "My, my, my, how exiting" he chants in flat tone but the laugh was real. My skin crawls. "The Rubicon tried to save the day. It doesn't suit you Blake Leaf"
            Blake growls and I can just imagine how defeated he must feel right now. There was nothing else he could have done but grunt.  "So angry, I like that and I know deep down inside you like it too" he said that last part softly but not soft enough for me to hear. "You won't kill me boy. You want to know why? Because when you turn you will be mine."
            He laughed again as if this was his favorite game. "Just think what we can do together. No one will ever come in our way."
            "I will kill myself before that happens" he roars this time, like a lion being captured.  Somewhere deep inside I know that Blake was fighting against that, while the Rubicon rejoice.
            "Wanna bet" he mocks him and stand up from his crouching position. "However, you will hate me now because I am going to kill all your friends one by one. I can't have brave young teenagers trying to run riots when I finally break free from that disgusting hell hole you love so much" Goran speaks through the Dragonian.
             I felt sorry for whoever this man was, doing his dirty work for him from behind the creepers. He betrayed his best friend and murdered him, burning his wife alive. I don't know why I thought about it right now. It was not helping the situation at all.
             It just made it worse. If he could expose of them, he could kill us easily. "Which one should I kill first" he asks Blake.
            "Go f**k yourself."
            "Blake" Lucian scold but hear that it was hard for him too.
            "Eeney Meaney Money Mo" he count us down one by one. It was an easy rhyme people used to make up one's mind. It didn't come to a surprise that they knew it too.
             My heart thumbs loudly as he stops in front of me and Lucian really went crazy.
            "You leave her alone you freak" he didn't care anymore what he says. The Dragonian ignores Lucian and walks straight over to me. He didn't take his gaze away. I swallowed hard imagining that it's how a gazelle must feel right before it's predator sweeps in. The only difference is that I lost my ability to run.
            My heart beats faster as he slither nearer. He stops in front of me and took another deep breath. "Not a dragon" he sings and slide off my hooty.
            He had no emotion on his face as he stare me down in silence. He didn't make one peep but our eyes were locked. I could see the evil coiling from behind it. It felt as if I am starting to drown in them. I don't know how long we stood there staring at each other. It was terrifying that he had so much mockery for Blake but for me he had none.
            I was probably not worthy enough. Lucian was still ranting like a crazy beast. He was beside himself and didn't care about the code of knighthood or how he should act. To him I was a damsel in distress and one he couldn't save. 
            Then everything changed.
            Darkness transformed his face and his eyes became more sinister. I didn't dream in a million years that he was going to do it. But when I felt it, I know that I am not going to live to tell this tale.

            He thrust a blade inside of me. I grunt feeling the blade tearing my insides. It happened more than once and he was holding me while enjoying every single thrust.
            "No!" Lucian voice cries out the loudest, it didn't even sound like his. Everything was on fire. The last stab he kept the blade in and whispered something into my ear. It was something about a woman that I have to give my condolences too if I meet her on the other side. His tone tells me that he hated her but didn't pay much attention to the words.

            My eyes were locked on the mountain that is home to a blazing hot volcano. I could feel how my sight was slowly starting to disappear but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the mountain. I was staring at the one thing that will possible give me my last hope. Not for me but for my friends. I was watching a Sun-blast flying with the speed of light swooping in for the kill, without making a single sound.