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Chapter Eighteen: Like the Wind, all things Fade

Lykouleon didn't need to look over his shoulder at Nick to feel the girl's fright. She had been trembling in the throne room and she was close to passing out now. Her fear was not hard to sense.

"Do not move," Ruwalk whispered from his position beside her. They were both hidden in shadow behind the Dragon Lord but it was obvious now they were where Nadil indicated. "Do not speak. Show no fear, Nick. You mustn't let him control you."

The girl couldn't even nod. Her bleeding cheek had subdued into a scared face and her hair was almost completely black. The roots were turning a deep navy. Ruwalk also noticed the girls dull eyes. What she was changing into and what had triggered the transformation was still a mystery.

Lidan stood silently to her side. The dragon kept his eyes low and took the trouble of not touching his master in any way. He hadn't spoken since they had left the throne room. His wings were low and he either didn't react to seeing Nadil or he hadn't even noticed him.

"You see, oh mighty Lord of the oh so mighty Dragons, you really have no clue about anything." Nadil threw back his cape and rested his hand on his sword. "If you did, you would have destroyed her when you had the chance."

Lykouleon kept his eyes on the hand of his enemy. "Bluffs won't let you escape."

"Yes, yes," the Demon Lord agreed, motioning to shoo away the figurative pests. "Bluffs do not solve the problem at hand. I suggest you stop then. Before your knight," he motioned to Rath, "gets even more hurt. Or dead."

"Release Rath and call away your armies." Lykouleon stated again. "And I won't kill this monster that carries your blood. Your life inside her."

Nick clutched Ruwalk's arm, cutting him slightly with her fierce grip. "Do not let him take me," she whispered, barely audible. "Lykouleon, do not let him take me!"

Ruwalk stroked the girl's hair, calming her as best he could. The whole situation was confusing beyond comprehension but he trusted his Lord.

"Kill her!" Nadil encouraged. "Kill her! See what happens. You're only saving me the trouble."

Ruwalk noticed a tear streaking down Nick's face. "He's…He's going to…" She couldn't finish. Ruwalk couldn't stand the girl's horror-ridden eyes. He pressed her against his chest. "Ruwalk, he going to kill Rath," she said into his breast.

"No he won't," Ruwalk cooed, now confused as to who the girl was crying for. " And he won't kill you either."

"Of course he'll kill me! I'm the only one who…" she wiped her face on his shirt. "It's really making sense now. He didn't mean to…" She turned still clinging to the officer. Her eyes stared at Rath, who was slowly rising. He had been able to dislodge a few of the demons and was ripping the rest from his neck in cold vengeance. She didn't want him to die.

"He's lying!" She screamed, stepping out of the shadows. "He's bluffing!"

'Child…' Lidan warned. 'Child, do not…'

She ignored him. "He's lying! He can not kill me!"

"You little b," Nadil snarled, his smile finally wiped from his face. "You filthy scum. I would kill you in a heartbeat."

"Too bad you don't have a heart," Rath said behind him, still weak but standing.

"Nick…" Lykouleon said, angry with her for revealing herself.

She turned slightly. "Master Lykouleon, I-"

"YOU NAMED HER!" Nadil yelled in shock. He laughed in astonished horror. "What did she tell you she was, an abomination from my flesh that I cast out? Or perhaps a powerful demon that I simply lost track off? Maybe you thought she'd actually help you out! Be on your side! You have no idea what she is, Lykouleon."

"She is you," Lykouleon said suddenly. "She is your flesh, your blood, and, perhaps the most frightening of all, your power! You are her master and in turn she is yours."

Nadil laughed again, this time pulling out his sword completely mad with rage and amusement. "It is so nice that you got this out in the open! It is so deeply WRONG!" He struck out against the Dragon Lord. Their swords clashed.

"He is wrong, but only partially," Nick said walking up next to them without stumble. She glared into Nadil's violet eyes, filled with fear (she could identify it without a doubt), and smiled. "I know what I am now, " she said with a new, calm and powerful voice. She put her hands to the Demon Lord's chest and pushed, sending the evil creature against the far wall.

"I know who I am now!" She wiped the tears from her face. She could scarcely believe what she was saying but she said it anyway. The matter was resolving its self and the answers she was left with now, no matter how unbearable they were, were still answers. She approached the Demon Lord. He lay on the ground with a broken back, unable to summon any power to help himself. He would never have the power to do anything again. The truth was destroying him, literally.

"I am you, aren't I?" she asked as she leaned down next to her former master. "I am your innocence. I am your Dragon Knight. The one you killed when you swallowed the Wind Dragon."

The room stood dead silent. No one dared move. Rath looked as though he had been sucker punched and finally fell backwards without the strength to stand any longer. The white bloodsuckers lay withering from lack of blood and power from the Demon Lord to fuel them. Lykouleon let his sword tip drop to the floor suddenly too exhausted to hold it up.

The Wind Dragon?

The gaze in the room slowly shifted from Nick to Lidan who stood a few feet behind her. The little thing pulled back slightly, a sense of complete confusion surrounding him.

"The Wind Dragon?" Rath asked, pulling stray pieces of cloth of his outfit. His shirt had been torn to shreds by those stupid little devils… "The same 'Wind Dragon'that was to supposedly bring people back to life? What, it brought itself back to life?" He looked at Nick. "How can you be a dragon? I mean, like Fire or whatever?"

"She isn't," Nadil hissed now powerless. His source of great power had come from the consumption of his dragon (yes, THAT "wind dragon") and now that she was supposedly looking him in the eye, he had it no longer. "Not really. I cast you out, when you became annoying. My little conscience. Brought back by the power of the Wind Dragon who took you as its Knight."

Lykouleon now stood next to Nick, sword still in hand, and looked down at his enemy. His eyes were angry, for every Hell the evil snake had put him and his company through. And he stood next to an accomplice, more or less. He could easily blame Nick for everything Nadil had done, if that is what he wished. "If I kill him," he said in a very low tone to the girl next to him, "will you die as well?"

Nick did not look at him. "I don't know," she whispered. "I think, though, that I am finally free of him. If you wish to kill us both, you must do so separately."

"Good."

To Be Concluded...

Next Chapter will have a better explanation. Speaking of, this one includes an explanation for the short chapter 17! Free of charge! See, This chapter's kinda lengthy and I wanted to split it so I did in the only spot that the story would allow it (it has powers, y'know, likw grilling cheese and whatnot). I din't know it was THAT short or i wouldn't have bothered. My apologizes.

Thank you for reviewing! There's one chapter left!