Part 13

Part 13

Aly and Griffin made their way through the darkened streets as fast as his more limited endurance would allow. As they walked, both noticed the rubble left by the flames, the charred remains of buildings, the blacked and still steaming cars, but neither commented on it. They walked in silence, both knowing the gravity of the situation, and the difficulty of the task set before them.

Griffin didn't know how Aly felt, but he was afraid. More afraid than he'd ever been in his life. He was afraid for himself, but mostly he was afraid for Aly, because he knew that she'd be doing the majority of the work in this battle. It almost made him feel useless, but he brushed that thought aside. She wouldn't have asked him to come if she didn't need him in one way or another. That thought helped him a bit, but Griffin still couldn't think of much he could do to help Aly bring down Drakosa.

Griffin, as an assassin for Circle Midnight, was used to being able to separate his thoughts from his emotions. Unfortunately, since he'd met Aly, it had been harder and harder to keep emotion from his thoughts. The two seemed to be intertwined now beyond all hope of separation. Every time he thought of Aly, he thought of how much he loved her, of how well she complimented him, of how he never, ever wanted to see her hurt.

The debris littering the ground reminded him of himself…or rather his old self. Which was a part of his new self…oh, it was so confusing! The soulmate link had changed a lot for him, changed the way he thought about some things, changed the way he saw the world and himself. All he really knew anymore beyond a shadow of a doubt was that he loved Aly…and that he'd never let a dragon or anything else hurt her. Backing that promise up was a bit of a problem though….

*I need you to be strong for me Griffin.* said Aly's voice in his head. He was shocked at the amount of power she now possessed, for usually only vampires had the ability to communicate mind to mind.

*I'm trying. I'm scared.*

*I know. I am too. I wish I could give you a part of this Power in me…it's so strong I feel like I could do anything…even rid this city of it's dragon problem.* Her mental voice carried a small smile with it, a mild amusement at her own joke. *When we find him, I want you to stay behind me, okay? I need you to channel Power for me. Spirit says that it should be possible for you to…refine and amplify my energy through the bond we share. You'll hold the sapphire and focus the Power so I can just use it to counter whatever Drakosa throws at me.*

*Okay. Stones have never been my specialty though.*

*That doesn't matter. You'll know how to do it instinctively. That's what Spirit says at least. Just hold the stone and think of pure Power, then of sending that Power to me, like completing a circuit.*

It wasn't hard to track Drakosa; all one had to do was follow the trail of destruction and death he'd left behind in his wake, follow the wailing of orphaned children and the weeping of widowed wives and husbands, and of course, the blackened earth and scorched sky. It was truly amazing, in a horrifying way, how much devastation the dragon had caused in his short time awake. Griffin shuddered. Even…back then…he hadn't wanted anything like this to ever happen. At least, he hoped with all his being that he had never, even subconsciously, wanted it. Just seeing the ruined streets and homes was enough now to make him want to retch…and he could have sworn he had a stronger stomach back when he was with Gabrielle. But then, such a lack of compassion…was that what he truly wanted?

No, he decided. There was no going back, ever. It was no longer a matter of feeling sorry for vermin, it was compassion and grief for the family and homes they'd lost. No going back, no turning back, even if it meant his death. He'd die protecting his soulmate and all the people Drakosa could hurt, at least. If he had to die, he would go out a hero, not a villain.

***

Drakosa sniffed the air. It smelled like witch, two of them. What a delicious treat! Could it be that they thought to stop him? He almost laughed at the prospect, for he knew that the knowledge of how to defeat his kind had been lost to the ages. These two foolish morsels couldn't do a thing to stop him. Anticipating his victory, Drakosa let loose the energies that would transform his human body into its true form.

The air around him rippled, like the hot air rising from an inferno, and his form blurred, then finally split right down the middle. The four horned dragon within the human body stepped out from its sheath and roared its challenge to the nearby witches. Come if you dare, it said, without saying anything at all. Come meet your death.

"Drakosa, in the name of Hecate my mother, and in the name of the Sleeping Spirit, I challenge you! Face me, coward!" cried a female voice, but one that carried the weight of centuries. It spoke of Power long since lost to the world, Power that might stand a chance of defeating him. However, Drakosa never could deny a challenge.

*I accept your challenge, meat.* said Drakosa telepathically, for the true form of a dragon lacked the ability to reproduce human speech. *Would you care to come out and show yourself, or are you afraid of me?* he taunted.

The girl who stepped out from behind a pile of rubble was dark haired, blue eyed, and glowed with a blazing blue aura of pure Power. For the first time since being awakened, he was afraid, not that he'd let anyone know. But he had the ace. It was he who commanded the powerful dark energy, it was he who could destroy the world with fire. He had Power to, and he was not afraid to use it. Realizing that, Drakosa focused the dark energy and released it, right toward his challenger. The force of it knocked her back several feet, and Drakosa smiled a toothy smile.

*Having trouble, meat? Where is all your Power now?*

The witch said nothing in return, just picked herself up and glared at him. Why wasn't she attacking? He had nearly inexhaustible reserves of Power stored in his four horns, so she couldn't possibly be trying to wear him out. Besides, frail mortal bodies cannot handle the kind of Power Drakosa could unleash. Despite all the Power he sensed in her, her body was still human, and still so easy to damage.

He unleashed another blast of his dark Power and watched in delight as she was flung against a large pile of rubble. The sound her body made as it hit the concrete and brick was music to his ears.

***

Aly held onto consciousness for dear life, knowing that if she passed out, she was as good as dead. She had no idea what the Spirit was planning, but she did as she was asked, just letting Drakosa hit her with wave after endless wave of dark energy. Each time she was knocked back a little further, as if her defenses were wearing thin or the dragon was becoming more powerful with each blast. All the additional Power the Spirit had filled her with was gone by now, and Aly was holding on by the force of her will alone.

*What now?* she asked of the Spirit.

*Just wait a little longer. It's all going as it should. I need to know the limits of his Power. If he's throwing everything he's got at you right now, that's a good indication that we can beat him. Don't worry, Griffin's still got the sapphire to channel his Power to you through the soulmate bond. You have reserves that you're forgetting about.*

*Fine. Guess I'll just let him keep kicking the shit out of me then.* she responded angrily. Not that she could do anything about it. She just didn't have the power or the artillery to take out a dragon single-handed. The only other time it had been accomplished was a few years ago when Iliana Harman had used her Blue Fire against the five-horned dragon Azhdeha. As far as she could remember, there hadn't even been ash to prove that the dragon had ever lived. Aly wished she had some of that kind of power with her right about now.

Aly could smell the dark Power building now, and knew that the dragon was making his final attack to finish her off. She needed a shield, but lacked the energy now to create one. She had nothing to protect her anymore. She felt the energy being unleashed, felt it move toward her in slow motion. It was almost upon her now. She'd thought that her life would flash before her eyes or something dramatic like that when she was about to die, but all she could think of was that she'd let everyone down. Her mom, the Sleeping Spirit, and Griffin. They would all die now, because she wasn't strong enough to stop the dragon. Aly braced herself for the impact.

"Aly!" she heard a voice scream, and saw Griffin appear from behind the rubble and run toward her. He was moving quickly, but the dark Power moved faster. He caught her just as it hit, and knocked them both against the side of a demolished building. The last sound she heard before she blacked out was laughter.