Chapter 60: 59.Revenge: Blood and Flames

**Daniel**

My legs stepped out of the house, pulling the runic shield with my feet. Now we would be able to shift to our gigantic frames. Without wasting time, I placed the runes in a small bag I could keep safe between Aelred’s claws.

My bones cracked and elongated as heavy wings formed on my back and my skin became dry with thick scales: I was in Aelred form.

Picking the scythe with his claws, he released a piercing roar, he was ready to do whatever it took to bring justice to our mate. After moving the runic shield aside with his paw, he flew headfirst into the Red Dragons.

Taking a better look at the Red Dragon in front of me, I could recognize him, he was Viktor, Orit's infamous right hand. An executor called the Death Blink. Aelred breathed a little tornado of fire. Today, Viktor wouldn’t kill, but be killed and his reign of terror would finally come to an end.

Another large Dragon came towards us. I didn’t know him, but I was sure he wasn’t the General we were looking for. Orit didn’t even come up to protect his own house, only sending his dragon-minions instead.

Aelred looked behind his shoulders, Alev and Adrian had already reduced the guards to ashes. The house’s entrance smelt like fire, blood and death. Soon, everything would come to an end.

My Dragon bit Viktor Dragon’s scaly ear, distracting him in order to use the scythe, he maneuvered it between his claws and sent a strike of pure fire into Viktor’s forehead, making him lose his balance. Unluckily, before I could attack him once more, the other Red Dragon aimed a gust of fire into Aelred’s crooked wing, making his large body fall flat onto the ground. A wince of pain broke through his lungs, but he brushed the pain away and focused on the battle, moving his tail fast like a hook around the unknown Red Dragon’s neck, bringing him down to the grass as well. Now the three of us were on the same level.

Alev’s mini dragon approached us as soon as the third Red Dragon in human form was dealt with. To our surprise, four more Red Dragons flew in our direction, breaking through the furniture and what was left of the house’s porch with their large wings, immediately bringing their fire against us.

“I thought you said there were only eight of them,” I mind-linked Alev.

“The General surely asked for reinforcements and clearly we aren’t the only ones who have teleportation runes,” Alev reasoned.

“We have to defeat them and reach Orit before even more Dragons come!” I mind-linked them both.

If more Red Dragons came, we would surely be either killed or brought into their dungeons and ominous labs. And I wouldn’t have that, I had to go back to Mallory and I knew that my clan-mates had a lot to lose and someone to get back to as well.

Alev’s dragon grew to its regular size as he flew towards our newly-arrived enemies. Soon, Adrian’s dragon flew over me and joined Alev against the four bloody beats, the spikes of his tail lashing at Viktor’s head as he glided past him.

The same bloody Dragon that attacked Aelred’s wing before, blew another gust of fire on the exact same place. Aelred continued to push through the pain and focused our fire on the scythe, moving it skillfully, using its blazing blade to cut his attacker’s snout. Viktor took advantage of my moment of distraction, spitting fire on Aelred’s face and trying to steal the scythe with his claw.

Aelred rolled the scythe in his claws as if it were a giant fan and wheel of leaking fire that shot flamed into both my opponents.

“Aelred, we have to kill them both and now! If we lose time, we will be doomed!” I told my Dragon and he replied with a deep roar of agreement.

He put his pain aside, flapping his wings fast and blowing fire at the two dragons from above, thick puffs of blinding smoke leaving his nostrils, giving us the upper hand. As Victor and the other Dragon’s coughed harshly, Aelred used the scythe to strike a torch of fire directly into the vulnerable place between Viktor’s horns and cut into the other Red Dragon’s scaly neck with the sharp spikes of his large tail simultaneously.

One last blow of bright fire ended Viktor’s miserable life as Aelred rolled the scythe once again, the whirling fire blaze cut the Red Dragon’s head off. They both started to change to their human form, as it happens to every dead Dragon. Now I finally noticed that the unknown Red Dragon was Orit’s oldest son.

He sent his teenage child to fight instead of fighting himself, this only fed my anger and my urge to end his life.

Flipping his wings as fast as he could, Aelred approached the now three Red Dragons fighting Alev and Adrian.

The three of us exchanged a knowing look. We knew what to do, something we had done many times while fighting together. We surrounded our three enemies, and exhaled a huge amount of smoke, enough to wrap them in a curtain of dark smoke. Taking advantage of their confusion, we act in sync, letting our fire flow through our nostrils and mouths, forming three giant torches. Our combined flames caused an explosion of golden fire to combust the Red Dragons, reducing them to ashes and golden sparkles.

Adrian and I changed back to our human form, while Alev shrunk to his diminutive dragon’s form before we entered the house. Following the heartbeat of the four individuals inside the mansion, we went up the stairs and reached a long and unlit hall. An eerie silence and odd feeling sent a shiver down my spine, as I narrowed my eyes and looked around, for any sign of incoming Red Dragons, any sparkle of fire. But my attentive eyes couldn’t catch anything.

“Daniel, they are way too quiet. It must be a trap,” Adrian murmured, looking around the deserted hall.

Something was definitely off, and this Bloody Monster was surely playing dirty. I couldn’t let my friends, my family walk towards their death, they must go back now. But I couldn’t, I couldn’t give up. I had to vanquish and wipe out Mallory’s demons, they were my demons too and she needed the peace of mind to know that they were forever gone. We both needed that.

My voice was laced with determination and fury, “You and Alev should return home. I will be forever thankful for your help, but I can’t go back yet. I have to take this chance, I can’t step back now, not while Orit still breathes.”

“Grumpy, you are insane if you think we will let you face danger on your own! We won’t leave this place without you and I am well aware that you won’t leave before killing Orit! So, let’s get done with it. I promised Niki that I would be back before midnight,” Alev mind-linked Adrian and me.

“I think you are already late. But I am sure we can come back home before dawn, at least I hope so. I don’t want to get into trouble with my lady, ” Adrian added.

I looked at them both and nodded. I would rather not have them taking risks, but I knew that the same way they couldn’t convince me to leave, I couldn’t convince them. After taking a few steps further, Alev made us stop.

“I can smell some foul, dark magic. There is something there, if we go through it, we will be reduced to pieces,” he warned us. I couldn’t smell anything and neither could Adrian, our senses in human form were, by far, not as good as our dragons’.

I showed them one of the many runes I had in my bag, the Algiz. It was a strong protection rune and if used correctly, it could neutralize Dark Magic.

Placing it on the ground, I kicked it closer to the place Alev mentioned the dark magic trap was. Alev blew fire directly on the rune, causing a ray of light to rise from it, illuminating the underline of a dark barrier, a portal made of eerie shadows.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. If Alev weren’t here to recognize the dark magic device, I would have passed through it and died from its poison.

“It isn’t enough, we need a lot more fire to disarm it,” Adrian murmured, his face contorted with frustration. My eyes ran between him and my scythe. It was the only way, only the scythe could channel and direct the fire to the rune, activating Algiz’s full potential.

“It will surely destroy the scythe, Daniel,” he told me. I already knew that my scythe would be destroyed and I didn’t care.

“I know.”

“It’s your most prized weapon, you love this scythe in such a way that Alev used to call it your girlfriend,” Adrian added, shaking his head at the small dragon as Alev chuckled in my mind.

“It’s for my mate, Adrian. I would sacrifice anything for her,” I said without hesitation.

“Even your ex-girlfriend, Scy!” Alev’s chuckle only grew louder.

“It’s not time to be funny, Alev! Let’s do it!” I grumbled out loud.

“Fine, Mr. Grumpy!” Alev added.

Adrian and I placed our hands on the scythe at the same time, allowing it to chain and direct our fire to the rune, while Alev’s fire left his mouth in a straight and precise stream of flame, aiming at Algiz.

A beam of light expanded across the whole hall, and we had to cover our eyes from its piercing brightness. Rubbing my eyes open, I looked around and could still see a faint dark smoke.

“It couldn’t destroy the Dark Magic device completely, but it’s enough for us to go through. It will make us a bit weaker, but it shouldn’t bring any more damage than that,” Alev said as his Dragon’s nostrils flared, sniffing around.

I was the first one to walk through the buzzing cloud of darkness, a dizzy sensation overtook me, but I pushed through it, walking forward. From where I stood, I could hear four beating hearts even in my form. They were close.

As soon as Alev and Adrian were by my side, I broke through the door. The first thing we saw was a Red Dragon in his human form, another soldier. He was carrying a huge gun and started firing at us. Adrian and I jumped onto the floor to dodge the shots, while Alev blasted a torch of flame on his face, making him fall on the floor half-dead.

Dragons using guns? What in the underworld? That was a first!

General Orit finally appeared as Alev dove down to finish the armed man and Adrian and I were getting up on our feet once again. I looked at Alev from the corner of my eyes, a bullet had grazed on his left shoulder, and the wound seemed nasty. Besides that, he was slow just like me. The toxic dark magic was poisoning my lungs as well, making it harder to breathe as my body felt heavy and my head felt light.

**A gasp of shock escaped me as the flames retracted and I could have a better look at the Bloody General.**