I do not own ADJL. But all the characters in this prologue are mine! :) Jake and other canon characters will come onto the scene soon.
Chapter 1: Aqua
The huntsmen lay in wait.
"Do you have the sphinx hair net ready?" one asked the other nervously.
"Yeah. Here it is."
They each took one end and strained to hear the fleeing dragon. The first sound they could hear was blasts from the other Huntsclan. The second was flapping wings. When they could hear the labored breathing, the first Huntsman peered around the dumpster and hissed, "Ready-"
"Now!" he shouted, and they threw the net in the dragon's path. It couldn't brake fast enough and tumbled into the net. "Ha! We have you now, Aqua!" the second Huntsman cried triumphantly. Her aquamarine scales for which she was named reverted to skin as she was wrapped in the net. The pursuing Huntsmaster, along with his apprentice, surveyed their work. "Nicely done. Let's get her tied up before Malicai shows up. The others are keeping him busy." He turned to his apprentice. "You will finally complete your rite, Huntsboy."
As he was talking the other two Huntsman bound and gagged Aqua and unceremoniously carried her to a post they had erected for the occasion. They tied her tightly to it, and one pulled out a pocket knife to cut the sphinx hair-
"You idiot!" The Huntsmaster yelled, "Don't cut that net! It's expensive!" The knife-wielding Huntsman cringed.
"But doesn't she have to be in dragon form when she's killed?" he whined.
"Get out of the way." He roughly shoved him aside and began carefully loosening the rope and sliding the net out from under it. "Huntsboy, pay attention. This is the proper way to tie up a dragon without ruining a sphinx hair net." The Huntsboy watched his master's dexterous hands, his eyes shining with excitement. The Huntsmaster freed the rest of the net and tossed it to the other Huntsman.
"Pack that up!" he barked. The Huntsman scurried away. "Now, Huntsboy." He caught hold of Aqua's newly formed snout and bound it up so she couldn't scream. "Your first dragon."
He held out his blue staff to the Huntsboy who leveled it at Aqua. Her eyes widened as the wicked lobster-claw-like end began to glow bright green.
Malicai raced toward where he could smell Aqua. He had finally broken free of the other three Huntsmen. He flapped furiously, muscles straining. And turned around a building into the alley where Aqua had been caught. As he swooped down to divert Huntsboy's blast, he appeared like nothing but a dark green blur to the Huntsmaster- he was so close-
But even as he grabbed the staff, the Huntsboy fired. The blast wasn't knocked off course enough. It hit Aqua in the side, incinerating her ropes at the same time.
The Huntsboy felt the staff snatched and fell sideways, but with satisfaction saw Aqua slump to the ground. To Malicai, she fell with painful slowness. He dropped the staff and rushed to her. "Aqua?" he said in a stricken voice. She raised her head a fraction. "Aqua!" She was shaking her head weakly and making unintelligible sounds through the ropes around her snout. He reached out to take them off, but she gave a muffled growl and pushed him over with her failing strength. A green blast crumbled the wall where he had just been standing. Aqua fell flat from the momentum of her thrust and continued to breathe raggedly.
Malicai, dazed for a moment by her prone body, felt the next blast hit his flank. Or rather, he didn't feel it; he was only aware of it. "You're too late, Malicai!" the Huntsboy said smugly. This snapped Malicai out of his disbelief. He spun around and drew himself to his full height, his shadow enveloping the Huntsboy, his eyes burning with rage, his teeth bared. The Huntsboy was running even before he roared. The other Huntsmen froze. They had never heard a dragon roar like that. Malicai covered the distance between himself and the first Huntsman with impossible speed- he seized his staff and rammed the butt end into his chest. The Huntsman fell not with an expression of pain, but of surprise. The second Huntsman fired a blast at Malicai, but he dodged it by jumping and beginning an aerial climb. He dodged another blast and swooped down on the Huntsman, grabbing his staff and lifting him into the air. He flapped hard, bringing him up several stories. The Huntsman was powerless to do anything- Maybe he could drop onto the fire escape-
But too late. Malicai sunk his teeth into his shoulder, and he yelled and let go of the staff. Malicai broke his staff in half as he turned and didn't even hear the thud of his body hitting the ground. He was looking for the boy- he spotted him running towards another three Huntsmen, the ones who had been "keeping him busy." Malicai flew after them-
"Oh, no you don't!" Malicai heard the Huntsman yell. A blast hit him in the back. He snarled and turned around. The Huntsmaster had retrieved his staff the Huntsboy had dropped. Malicai dove at him, grabbing for the staff, but as soon as he caught hold of it the Huntsmaster spun it around and hit him on the side of the head. Surprised, Malicai landed off balance and fell to all fours. A net fell on him from behind. This is a powerful dragon. It only took two blasts to incapacitate the other. He would have kept fighting as soon as he got his breath back. the Huntsmaster thought as the other Huntsclan threw the sphinx hair net over him. A shame his hide is such a common color.
"This is why you need to save sphinx-" he began to the Huntsboy, but he stopped short, looking down at Malicai. He was still breathing shallowly, but he had not changed back to his human form. "What-" more than one of them began as Malicai spun and threw his tail heavily into the Huntsmaster's chest. He slammed into the alley wall with an instant concussion. Malicai was still on all fours but now facing the four Huntsclan that had thrown the apparently useless net on him. He made a hair-raising sound between a chuckle and a growl. The four ran.
Malicai ripped open the net with his claws and ran after them on all fours. He stretched out his neck as he ran- he bit into the Huntsboy's right leg and dragged him down. The Huntsboy screamed. The three turned, but only to see Malicai clamp his jaws around the Huntsboy's neck. Two of them vanished with one staff, and the last one ran the rest of the way to retrieve his. He looked back at the gruesome sight. He never forgave himself for leaving his staff on the ground.
The boy had died quickly. Malicai glared after the vanishing Huntsmen, wishing he could go after them, too. He slowly turned around and went back to Aqua, dragging his hind leg whose flank had been hit. Aqua's eyes were clouding over, and her breathing becoming more faint. He undid the rope around her muzzle with trembling claws. "David," she rasped, using his human name, "you killed them- the Huntsboy- how could you- I don't-" He touched her lightly on the nose, silencing her. "Why, Aqua? Why didn't you join the Dark Dragon? It would have saved your life tonight." Her face froze in shock and disbelief as the life ebbed out of her.
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