CyberDeletion: Yay! Second Chapter!
Rath: *reads off a piece of paper* CD would like to thank her ONLY reviewer, Angel Cesia!
CD: *gets teary-eyed* ARIGATO!!!!!!!!!!!
Thatz: She's a bit grateful…
Rune: *clears throat* CD would like to dedicate this chapter to Angel Cesia, for bothering to read and review this fic.
Thatz: Who'd have thought that this thing would actually get a GOOD review…
CD & Rune: THATZ!!!!! *both of them attack Thatz*
Rath: *watching from the sidelines* Well, someone still has to say the disclaimer… here it is: CD doesn't own Dragon Knights. *leaves to go look for a demon*
~*~
I step across the threshold of the Manor and my apprehension is put on hold. I am amazed at the size of the room that I'm in. It looks like it was once a grand ballroom, with space for at least a hundred people to dance together and still have room. Two staircases with golden banisters lead up to a balcony adorned with many jewels, all of them a shade of blue. Under that, there is a small stage just big enough for an orchestra. I can just imagine a ball being held here, with people dressed in their finest. The host might be talking with some of his (or her, I don't know who had lived here) guests. There might have been a place for refreshments off to the side. A few guests would be talking up on the balcony and watching the people below them dance to the classical music of the band…
"Hello-o-o, anybody in there?" Rath was waving a hand in front of my face as he said that. "Stop daydreaming! You're gonna get left behind." He turns around and walks after Thatz, who had started looking for more treasure to steal, there already being some silver candlesticks missing from the spots they had been at. I sighed. Thatz has no appreciation for the finer things in life.
"I don't think I'd be heartbroken if I did get left behind," I mutter before going to catch up with the other Dragon Knights, my bad feeling beginning to resurface.
Half an hour later, we still haven't found much treasure and there are no demons in sight.
"Man! The guy back in town said that there were demons guarding the treasure in this place! There hasn't been a single one so far!" complains Rath. Thatz isn't in a better mood, grumbling about how there's nothing around here except stuff he can't carry.
Something small and black unexpectedly darts from one room to another. That is, it tried to. Rath had seen it and caught it. It is a demon, but it's very small. The little thing squeaks and squirms around in Rath's grasp.
"Is this supposed to be one of the demons guarding the treasure? It's not very tough…" says Rath. He sounds really disappointed. "This is pathetic. I'm not going to fight this little guy." He sets it down and the demon runs as fast as it can own the hall, still squeaking.
There's silence as we continued on, but I have the suspicious feeling that we're being watched in addition to my general apprehension about this place. Thatz is scrutinizing a different room when I decide to say something.
"Does anybody else have the feeling that we're not the only ones here?" I ask. Rath shrugs and Thatz shakes his head as he tries to determine whether it's worth it to try to lug an alabaster statue around the Manor.
"Why do you ask?" asks Thatz while preparing to see exactly how heavy the statue was. He'll never be able to carry it.
"No reason," I mutter. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I watch Thatz for a moment and say, "You know that that thing is very heavy, right?"
Apparently Thatz doesn't, because he tries lifting it. He was struggling with it and was about to put it back down when a loud noise and a tremor shake the Manor. Thatz loses his balance and falls over, dropping the statue in the process. The statue is going to slam into me if I don't move. I tried to get away… and accidentally run into Rath. His sword gets knocked out of his grasp and spins across the floor until something in the doorway stops it. I mutter a "sorry" to Rath and look at what the sword ran into. My mouth falls open and Rath cheers.
There is a large, angry-looking demon standing in the doorway. It has to be at least six feet tall. This particular demon looks like someone took a boulder and a person and mixed them together to create a gray-skinned monster whose left hand alone is bigger than its head. That one hand looks powerful enough to crush somebody else's head, namely one of ours. If the demon curled up and remained still, it would probably be mistaken for a boulder quite often. It has a small head perched on massive shoulders. Fortunately, it doesn't look particularly bright. It had picked up Rath's sword and sniffed it before throwing it on the ground. Rath promptly retrieves his sword and tries to attack the demon with it. The sword hits and nearly breaks. It only succeeded in making the demon even angrier. I glance at Rath. He looks like he's about to summon his dragon, Fire.
"Hey Rath! Stop! Don't summon Fire! Don't try to use any of your own fire, either!" I yell. He probably won't listen to me, but I've got to try anyway.
At least he stops and looked at me. "Why not?"
"Fire's not going to fit in here and even if he did he'd burn the whole place down, just like you'll do if you use yours!" I say. The dragons, even though they can change their size, are almost always huge when they're summoned and Rath always uses more fire than needed.
The demon, not being attacked but still angry, grunts and stomps into the room. It swings a giant hand around in an attempt to hit somebody or something. Rath tries to use some fire on the demon in spite of what I said, but it had no effect.
"See, Rath? Fire doesn't even work on it anyway! There's not much you can do here!" I say, ducking to avoid a swipe from the demon.
"Then what do you suggest we do?!" Rath yells back, looking frustrated with both the demon and me. I'm not making people very happy today, but that's not on the top of my list of priorities right now.
"Run!" I say. At least Thatz didn't need to be told twice; he just grabs the treasure he already has and runs. Rath hesitates and glares at the demon. I know he's not going to move unless someone makes him. I grab him by the arm and practically drag him behind me as I run to the door, which somehow slams behind us on its own. I'm too busy to worry about some stupid door. We hear the demon roar from inside the room and all three of us take off.
I'm looking for a good place for all of us to try to hide, in the lack of any better ideas. One door in particular catches my eye. I run up to it and reached for the knob so I can open it. Before I even touch it, we hear the lock click as if it has somehow unlocked itself. The door swings wide open on it's own. Rath tries to turn back so he can go and continue trying to fight the demon. I've still got a firm grip on his arm, though, and push him inside. The door slams behind us, once again by itself. It is dark inside the room until Thatz lights a match.
"Sure, you'll let Thatz use some fire, but I can't use my own?" hisses Rath. I can tell he's glaring at me in the dim light.
"Thatz isn't going to burn down the Manor with a match, unlike what you would have done with your fire," I say. The room becomes uncomfortably quiet except for the pounding of rain against the side of the house. I can glimpse a very large window that stretches from close to the floor to nearly touching the ceiling. I notice that Thatz is staring past us as if in awe. I peer into the darkness as well but I can't see much because Thatz has started walking away as if in a trance. This has to be some truly amazing treasure if Thatz thinks it is. "What is it, Thatz? Can you see anything?"
"Yes," he says, "Wonderful things."
~*~
CD: Wow, look at my attempt at somewhat of a cliffhanger! What does Thatz see that's so amazing?
Rath: I know! It's--
Rune: *slaps his hand over Rath's mouth* RATH! Don't give it away!
Thatz: The readers aren't supposed to know YET, pyro! … Um, what DO I see?
CD: *sweatdrop* You'll have to wait 'til the next chapter. Just like the readers. R&R, please!