Chapter 25. "Despair"

Tremor, Candice and Ivory were staying in the place, which used to be Venganza's hideout. That was big and well enlightened room with stone walls. Whole room was a terrible mess, as Candice would say. Everywhere were parts of broken shelves and lockers, where were empty bottles and equipment's package, most of them in pieces. There were three wooden makeshift beds, crushed as well. On the ground were lying forty bodies of dead wyverns. But this all didn't matter. Only thing that was important was lying in the center of the room.
"Impossible..." Candice whispered, not believing her eyes.
"No." Ivory said, aghast. She shook her head, unable to believe her eyes. She tried to close her eyes, but she couldn't get rid of that vision from her mind. "No. No! No!" She screamed with despair, understanding that her senses weren't laying her. It was a dragon. A red dragon. He was lying at his side, at his neck, there was hanging a golden medallion and at his finger, there was red and white ring. "Flush!" Ivory screamed and ran to him. Tremor and Candice were so aghast, they didn't even twitch. The ice guardian felt that her eyes were wet. Ivory fell on the ground next to her mate. She meant to only crouch, but she couldn't control her body. Whole Flush's body was covered in wounds. She opened his eyes. They were so cold, so dead. She touched his forehead. It was as cold, as his eyes. "No..." She faltered. "Flush! You...you can't die! You can't!" She touched his throat, but she couldn't feelhis pulse. "I need you!" She screamed, crying. Ivory noticed that the fire breather's sides weren't moving, but she didn't find any mortal wound. That was, when she noticed that at his forehead was a small spot of gore. The sign after a needle, which went across his head. The detective couldn't have survived that. "He...He's… dead." Ivory whispered. It was obvious, but the burden of truth was so great, she couldn't take it. Flush gone? It was so... unbelievable. He... He was always there, standing at Ivory's side for better or worse. How could he be gone just like that? One day he was and the other... Through the waterfall of tears falling on the ground, Ivory noticed that at Flush's paw was written something with his own blood. It was one word. "Ambush." She whispered that slowly. Then, some of wyverns, who seemed to be dead, stood up quickly and jumped to Ivory in intend to kill her. The white dragoness's eyes immediately glowed with an azure energy. All her sorrow turned into hatred. Wave of the magic that she released, threw all wyverns at walls of the room. All three dragons jumped away from there and landed several meters from the gate. All ten wyverns quickly stood up and left room also. They all were ready to attack. Guardians made offensive poses, when Ivory stood in front of them.
"Tremor, Candice, I know that you can handle them, but stand back." She whispered with ordering voice. "I'll kill them all." Her voice was filled with hatred. It didn't sound like Ivory spoke it, but as if she was possessed by some dark power.
"Ivory..." Candice wanted to stop the medic.
"Don't you dare stopping me!" Ivory turned to guardians with mad sight of eyes glowing with azure energy, which started flowing from her.
"But..." The ice dragoness tried to oppose, but she interrupted her again.
"Don't you dare." The wizard repeated slowly. Something in her voice told Candice that Ivory let hatred overwhelm her completely. Even guardians could feel whole energy that she had already released around herself. They also noticed azure bloodthirsty fire, burning in her eyes. Ivory was mad like never before. Completely unpredictable, uncontrollable. Candice wanted to stop her from bottom of her heart, but she knew that in that situation, she couldn't do it without hurting, maybe even killing her. Or herself.
"Which one of you is a boss?" Ivory's voice, unnaturally doubled with her magic, scared most of her enemies. Around her appeared circles of the blue energy, which were leaving burnt marks at the stone. Whole her body was covered in dense azure aura. The air around the white dragoness became much hotter and thicker. At circumstances like those, she loved her magic, which power was basing on her emotions. She already knew that she was going to make blood freezing carnage.
"I am the leader." The wyvern staying at the end said confidently.
"Good.I'll slaughter you at the very end." The white dragoness was ready to release her real power. Last time, she used it in battle, she had to be careful to don't waste too much of it, but not this time. She opened her jaws and let her power, multiplied by hatred, surrounded her. The wave of energy reached two first wyverns at her left and killed them instantly, not only crushing their bodies, but also covering them in burns. Ivory shot again, this time on the ground beneath her feet. The strength of that blow threw her right before one of enemies. The wyvern tried to shield, but Ivory slashed his chest to, grinning with bestial pleasure, turn his heart, lungs and ribs into bloody shreds. Two wyverns attacked her from both sides. She straightened paw at one of them crushing him at the wall with magic with such a power that several small stones fell down the ceiling. The white dragoness easily dodged another enemy's hit and bit his throat, killing him instantly. The wyvern fell on the ground, all over covered in burns.
"Ivory, stop!" Candice shouted. Then, wizard jerked her head at her and watched deeply into her eyes. Ivory chuckled ominously at first and then laughed aloud savagely.
"Why should I?!" She asked rhetorically, raising her arms widely and standing on hinder legs."Their death is all I want!" The wizard sounded as if she was twisted minded, her doubled with magic voice and aura of evilness, which she had never seen before. All wyverns stopped, watching her fearfully. Candice watched her with disbelief. This hatred, unstoppable will to slaughter... If she tried to stop her, Ivory would just kill her. She could see it too clearly in her eyes.
Ivory, realizing that guardians wouldn't try to stop her, jerked her head to see three other wyverns running to her. Why they were running, not escaping? Maybe they really believed that attacking all at once would change anything? They attacked at this same moment. She howled angrily crushing their bodies with the magic and throwing two of them right in front of their boss. The third one didn't stop, but jumped to her. Then, the wizard caught his neck and started choking the enemy. She raised him slowly. Then, she grasped him strongly, crushing his throat. Then, she dropped the corpse of wyvern. Her sight stopped at the last living wyvern. The wizard licked lips covered in blood, as she watched him carefully. Killing all those wyverns took her less than ten seconds and though she used great amount of energy already, she seemed to don't be tired even at the slightest. She only enjoyed the show.
"Do you think that I'll run away because of something like that?" The last wyvern asked. He curled his lips in disgust, as the stench of a burnt flesh reached his nostrils.
"I hope you won't. Chasing you would ruin whole pleasure of killing you." Ivory was about to attack, when the wyvern took needle from ground and threw it at Ivory. The bullet was stopped at magical shield, which turned into the shockwave. The wyvern jumped above it at the last moment. He was fast. He was experienced. He was good fighter. But he couldn't win. He attacked with both paws, but Ivory easily blocked both blows and shot his chest with the pure energy, throwing him at the wall. The wyvern felt air rush from his lungs, as all his ribs got broken. He tried to shield from another her blows, but he felt that he couldn't move. He was paralyzed moment earlier, as Ivory pressed two her talons to his torso.
"It's over." The white dragoness whispered with hissing voice. She hit his head with a paw and sent him in the air using magic. She jumped to follow him. "Don't worry." She said silently. "You will suffer." Ivory gave her best to keep her promise. At first, she pierced both his paws with talons. Next she stuck her paws between two bones of his arm and released a magic pulling them apart. Later, she stabbed his shoulders, and started slashing his legs with the tailblade. She left him ten deep wounds, before she decided, it was enough. She was torturing him slowly, enjoying every of his groans of the pain with some sick, savage pleasure. The dragoness crushed his kneecaps with a magic, making him scream painfully. Next, she did this same to his tibias. Ivory stabbed his lungs, and then underbelly. At the end, she pierced his heart and sent down to the ground with a powerful blow of the magic, crushing his body. In the moment, the wyvern reached the ground, he was already dead. Ivory slowly descendedon the ground, turned with her back to the guardians. The circles of magic still were surrounding her, glowing even more intensively. Whole wyvern's blood covering her evaporated and gore was burnt, leaving no sign at her purely white scales. Ivory was watching her mate's body with despair. Then Candice walked to her and stood right before first circle of the heat.
"Flush." Ivory whispered with shaking voice, still doubled by magic. She squeaked pitifully.
"Ivory." Candice called her, worried about the medic.
"Leave me alone!" The white dragoness screamed and the shockwave pushed Candice away for several meters. From Ivory's eyes started dripping tears intensively, blue from magic filling them.
"Ivory, please." Candice said silently.
"No!" Ivory screamed again. "Just get lost!" The ice guardian made step into the circle of energy, ignoring the heat, which luckily wasn't as intensive, as at the first. She placed her paw at Ivory's shoulder, barely making it through the aura surrounding her. It wasn't only heat, but also magical pressure.
"He's gone already." Candice said sadly. Though magical aura became less intensive, there appeared first burns at guardian's scales.
"There must be a way." The white dragoness whispered. "There must be..."
"Ivory, please, give up." The ice guardian begged her. "He's gone. There's nothing, you can do."
"You're lying!"Ivory screamed. "I'll..."
"No. Just let it go. Flush would wish you to do it." Candice whispered. The circles of magic instantly disappeared. The ice guardian sighed with a relief. Ivory fell on the ground and started crying like a hatchling. Candice hugged her and poked her back, trying to cheer her up. Ivory hadn't cried like that since ever. That was second time, she lost beloved for her dragon. Somebody,who she cared about at the most. Somebody, for whom, she would sacrifice herself without any hesitations. Tremor watched two dragonesses with his head hung sadly. That all was his fault. He should have stopped the detective from meeting Mar and Fuerzo. He was supposed to do it, not Flush. He was thinking like that when in Tremor's head appeared scaring thought.
"Hey, if Mar and Fuerzo were meeting Flush and they also gave Diego that information about cave, this all was..."
"Diversion." Ivory finished sentence with an anger in her voice. She couldn't believe that reason of Flush's death was so trivial. "They killed my mate just for a diversion. To avoid fight, which was written to them."
"Sierra and Tundra are in danger!" Tremor was about to fly away, when Candice stopped him.
"What about Flush's body?" The ice guardian asked.
"You go, I'll stay here." Ivory declared. Candice watched her unsure, if that was good idea. She didn't want to leave her friend in such a state. "Go Candice, save your kids. I... I'll be fine." Ivory assured her. Candice nodded, there was no time for that. She and her mate flew away. As they disappeared from her sight, Ivory turned to the place, where was laying Flush. She swallowed hardly and walked slowly to her mate's body. Watching him, she felt her heart being consumed by the despair. She laid next to him and covered him with her wing. She cuddled up to his side and kissed his cheek. Then, Ivory started crying in silent despair.

Tremor and Candice flew to the Flush's house and stopped in the dining room. Everything around them was a mess, as if it had been a battlefield. On the ground, there were laying parts of table, windows were broken and several places in building were burning. In front of them, there was staying Brute. At his left paw was Sierra. Her nose was bleeding and she was unconscious. Next to him, on the ground was laying unconscious Diego. He had several serious wounds at torso and limbs, one of his wings was broken. In arms, he was holding a little white dragoness, Tundra, who was crying, but she hadn't even a scratch. The fire breather had protected her with his own body.
"You." Tremor hissed angrily. He wanted to kill the wyvern instantly, but Candice stopped him.
"Long time no see, Tremor." The wyvern smiled insolently. Both guardians were ready to attack. "You shouldn't have looked for us, fools. When you separate, it's easier to kill you. Atroz and Viento will finish your friends in Leafen, rest of Venganza will kill those guardians, who are still in the eastern city. It's your end." Brute foretold.
"Did you kill him?" Candice asked. "Did you kill Flush?" Sinister laugh left Brute's jaws.
"Yes, He didn't want to cooperate, so I killed him." The ice guardian felt that her blood was boiling. She thanked in mind Ivory that she didn't come with them. The white dragoness would surely lose control on herself and attack Brute, most likely hurting youngsters. The earth guardian interrupted silence.
"Why do you seek for Sierra so much?" Tremor was watching the wyvern carefully, searching for any openings in his guard.
"She doesn't deserve the fate, which you want to give her. She doesn't deserve to live with dragons whole her life. She's too beautiful and clever. I want to raise her as a wyvern. I want to show her another path."
"You're sick!" Tremor watched Brute with disgust. "How can you even believe that she wants it?! That she'll ever forgive you?!" He fell on tempting idea of murdering that wyvern.
"She's too young to understand that. But she'll be happy that I did it. Someday." Brute smiled with hope. He really believed so.
"Enough of this madness." Candice hissed, interrupting their conversation. "Brute, the show is over." For everyone in that room it was obvious that he couldn't win against them both all alone.
"You're blind, dragons." The wyvern was very self-assure. "Octava!" Tremor wanted to attack, when in front of his face, a stream of water slashed through both walls of house. Then, the black dragon jumped to the building crushing a window with paw. Tremor stood before him and blocked him. To house entered also a blue dragon, Octava, who attacked Candice.
"Traitors." The ice guardian hissed angrily at her enemy. The blue dragon, Mar, just smiled, as he was forcing with her.
"Do you believe that we're dragons? We are transformed wyverns. Vengantimos." Then, Tremor pushed away Decimo and attacked Brute. The earth guardian was about to reach him, but wyvern dodged him and flew to the entrance. Candice caught Brute's tail and scratched his side, putting her paw into his bag, but then Decimo hither throwing her to the wall. On the ground fell and exploded bomb, creating a dark cloud. This same, as the last time. All dragons started coughing intensively, but wyverns were resistant to that poison. Three Vengantimos stood at the door. Brute took one of his bombs.
"Burn, fire of the oblivion." He whispered. A big fire exploded at Diego's legs. The stench of burnt meat reached all dragons. The wyverns flew away. Tremor went to his mate.
"Did you take it?" Tremor shown her a bottle with gold liquid, which he had just stolen from Brute. Candice nodded and showed him her one. "Good, drink it with Diego, I'll give mine Tundra." The earth guardian extinguished burning leg of the unconscious fire breather and after one minute, all dragons were out. There was already gathered a crowd of dragons. Candice just jumped in the air and followed Brute. Tremor wanted to put Tundra on the ground and follow enemy also, when from nowhere, before him appeared the black dragon. He tried to slash youngster, who the earth guardian had just put on the ground. Tremor jumped away, caught his daughter's paw taking her away from enemy's range and dodged Mar's blow, who attacked as well. Tremor jumped in the air, avoiding them both. It was bad. He couldn't help Candice, he had his own battle. But he couldn't fight, when Tundra was so close, against two members of Venganza. And he had to fly away from city to avoid wounding any of citizens.

Brute landed in one of caves at the south from the city, their actual hideout. They were alone now. He and little Sierra. Brute put unconscious dragoness on the ground gently. Sexto smiled. He has never seen her sleeping, but she was so cute, even as for dragoness. Transformation into wyvern would give her even more charm. When they would kill guardians, he'd give her elixirs of transformation and oblivion. Thanks for thealchemy, he'd get back his own body. And they'd become family. Father and daughter.
"You!" He heard angry hiss. Vengantimo turned his head to see ice guardian.
"So you followed me." He noticed with surprise.
"Isn't that obvious that I would? I'm not going to let you do anything to Sierra." If she could, Candice would kill him with just a sight.
"And Icey said me that ice users should be cold like their own element." Brute said, rather to himself than to her. "That's even better. Today, whole her family will die. No one will look for her." He finished. He ice guardian hissed angrily.
"Give her back." Candice said slowly with ordering voice. Brute just smiled.
"Make me." The wyvern didn't have to repeat himself. The ice guardian attacked howling madly. She jumped to enemy and released volley of ice spikes. Brute dodged attack and tried to block her slash of talons, but Candice caught his arm and threw him at the wall. She wanted to take Sierra and fly away, when the wyvern caught her tail and sent her on the ground next to unconscious earth dragoness. Candice stood up, jumped back from Brute, while shooting several spreads of ice. Vengantimo avoided all three of them, when he suddenly stopped. Three of his paws were frozen to ground.
"Damn it." Brute cursed quickly took a bomb from bag and detonated it, releasing his feet. He quickly jumped at the side avoiding another volley of ice spikes just for centimeters. The ice dragoness seemed to be quite surprised with his speed, but rather disappointed.
"Don't be so surprised. I'm Brute, Sexto Vengantimo." He showed his six carbuncles placed at the metal gauntlet, ten centimeters from his elbow. "You can't kill me with trick like that."
"It doesn't change fact that I'll kill you." She replied. Brute put three needles into gauntlet.
"You will try." The wyvern shot three needles. Candice blocked them creating ice spreads, when wyvern attacked her side with his tailblade, Candice blocked it by one of paws and opened her mouth, about to pierce enemy with ice. Brute tried to slash her face by talons, but she jumped upon him and slashed his back with talons barely missing spine. Sexto groaned with pain. When Candice landed, she noticed that beneath her, there was a bomb with almost completely burnt fuse. She kicked it away in Brute's exploded right between them sending them at opposite walls of cave. Both fighters were stunned for a while. Candice slowly stood up from the ground and glanced worried at Sierra, but youngster seemed to be unharmed. Brute also stood up, still cursing in his mind. That bomb had to finish her, but Candice was too fast and both of them took strong blows on themselves. He couldn't believe that she wasn't dead already.
"With such a trick, you'll never kill me." Candice replied, as if she could read his mind. The wyvern still was unable to fight. Candice shot his knee with ice, breaking it. When she was about to make killing blow, Brute burnt fuse of incendiary bomb and threw it to the guardian. Candice shielded herself with wall of ice. After explosion, she was surrounded by mist from melted ice.
"Not again!" She screamed in her mind. Brute smiled devilishly. He jumped in mist ready to manage the killing blow, but he crushed at the wall of ice. Sexto, in reflex action, shielded his face with gauntlet. Just in time, because less than a second later, He felt Candice's powerful stab pointed in his arm. The wyvern collapsed, thrown away, and rolled. He stood up and saw that part of gauntlet covering his paw was in parts. He gave the ice dragoness mad sight and cursed himself for being so reckless. He wasn't able to shoot needles anymore. His left knee was broken and right paw was numbed because of pain after that strong blow. In his bag, there were almost no bombs. He couldn't afford more mistakes from that point.
"If I would plan everything like Viento or even Atroz, this fight would be much easier." He said that to himself. They both jumped in the air. Brute threw bomb at Candice, but she protected herself with the ice. Then, the wyvern cursed with surprise, as he started falling down. His wings were frozen. Guardian shot at his head ice spike. There was no time for bombs, so Vengantimo shielded himself with wing. It hurt terribly, but he was at least alive. Brute landed hardly on the ground and melted ice at wings using small bomb. He put one of paws to bag for next bomb, when his eyes grew wide.
"Fuck!" He shouted with scared face and Candice quickly understood, what happened. He was out of bombs. That was her chance. She dove to enemy, when Brute smiled devilishly. In front of dragoness's face appeared small black bomb. When it exploded, she crushed on the ground and groaned painfully. Sexto appeared next to her and slashed her with talons. At her side, from hips to shoulders, appeared three long and deep wounds. The ice guardian tried to attack enemy, but she collapsed and couldn't move any her limb. She was paralyzed. Brute turned around and watched her.
"You've chosen bad enemy, Candice. You see, that bomb was poisoned. And now, you'll die." The wyvern stood in front of her and raised his paw, ready to make a final blow. Then, he heard silent, scared squeak. He turned around to see Sierra lying on the ground and watching her mother fearfully. Brute sighed deeply.
"No, I can't kill you now. Sierra shouldn't watch such a bloodshed." He reluctantly stepped away from the ice dragoness and gently caught Sierra, paralyzed from fear.
"Do you know, what is the funniest thing? That, if I would fight Tremor and you would take care about my companions, you and your mate would win. And now, Tremor will die." Brute smiled with satisfaction. "Still, I underestimated you, dragons. Especially Flush. That son of a... He realized that even if he tried to warn you at the very last moment it would change nothing. Ambush was planned too perfectly, too many wyverns meant to attack all at once. He knew that his death would change nothing and he had to agree. And he surprised us... He simply killed thirty wyverns. Just like that." Brute waved his paw, still not believing than any dragon was able to do that. "He almost killed Decimo and me. He was fighting with a fury I've seen never before. As if unknown power gave him strength to fight, as if he didn't care about himself at all, but only wanted to slaughter as many wyverns as he could. He wasn't fighting for his life, but for his beloved Ivory. He saved you." The wyvern turned around and was about to leave. "Farewell Candice. Next time we meet, I'll kill you." Brute took gently Sierra and flew away with her. While watching her little daughter, Candice felt overwhelming despair. She was helpless. She couldn't do anything more than watching. She failed her own daughter. But she didn't lose hope. She knew that Tremor, despite Brute's words, would win his fight. And then, she and her mate would get Sierra back. And kill Brute.