I dedicate this fanfiction to my girlfriend and all my readers, reviewers and the beta reader wallaceb.
CHAPTER 37 – Face to face
Jonathan panted, struggled to breathe the air made cold by the shadow flames.
"Jonny... go away..." Dracula said in a voice broken by the pain of the black fire which was spreading down his arm.
"I don't go away without my Mavis!" Jonathan said him bluntly.
The sharp teeth of Camazotz widened slowly, but the human didn't make a frown, armed only with love and courage he choked his fear and stood watching the demon that would kill him, indeed, that would destroy his soul itself in a moment. A moment that for Jonathan became an eternity, sufficient to relive all the moments spent with his zing.
A moment in which Jonathan's eyes met those of the demon.
A moment in which Jonathan saw in front of himself the purity of the Mavis' pale skin, the innocence of her aquamarine eyes, the shine of her black hair, and the vivacity her smile.
He raised an arm in front of himself, as if to reach her.
But she was no longer there.
And maybe she would not be there anymore.
The black skin scrawny of the one who has an insatiable hunger, the murderous madness in those yellow eyes, the darkness of the fur mixed with the shadow flames, and the wickedness of his grin... what was actually in front of the boy was not Mavis.
And in that moment the hope seemed to be less... but without his zing, what life he could live? So why give up? Why withdrawal? What did he have to lose? The life? The soul?
Nothing was important if he had not been able to share it with her.
He had already fallen before, but Drac had made a promise, and vampires always keep their promises, even in spite of the words of that unsympathetic dragoon.
The human closed his eyes and smiled as if to mock the death.
Death that did not come.
Just a strong shot that rattled the earth under boy's feet and that caught his attention.
Jonathan could not believe what his eyes were seeing, the black dragon had assaulted Camazotz from behind and caught him with an arm around its neck, while the other pressed its head down preventing it from opening its mouth to blow.
"Drac, how are..." He tried to ask turning to the vampire, but stopped when he realized that the flame had reached the elbow, leaving the hand which was not burned, but it was black, in an advanced state of necrosis, "Shit..." He sighed helplessly approaching a hand to his injured arm.
"Don't touch it!" The vampire shouted pushing the boy away with the other hand "It could kill you too." He concluded.
"B-but what is it?"
"Shadow Flame it's called. A fire that destroys all kinds of energy, soul, magic, heat, electricity ... Urgh! " The unbearable pain made him kneel on the ground, but steeled himself and continued, "Whatever burns in that fire remains only lifeless matter." Then the vampire sighed deeply and looked at the guy in the eye, "Cut off my arm."
"W-what?" Jonathan winced at the request of Dracula, "Are you crazy? I can't!"
"This thing is taking away all my strength, I can't do it by myself... Argh! Please, that dragon will not stand still long enough and me neither! Use my estoc!" The Count ordered, handing him the sword.
Jonathan took it, it was much lighter than he imagined, and for a moment he felt a thrill of energy through his body.
Then he ran his hand along the blade.
"Drac... but this is a estoc, has a sharp point, but it hasn't a sharp blade..."
"Pirce my arm and stop babbling!" The vampire yelled, angry about the hesitancy of the boy.
Taken by fright, the boy squeezed the weapon, closed his eyes and pierced the arm of Dracula with strength.
The wound around the estoc began to shine and from it a myriad of light beams began to flow along his veins and capillaries, until that light beams emerged from the arm ripping off the skin and fabric of the jacket. The shadow fire was extinguished , but his arm was completely ravaged.
Jonathan dropped the sword and began to open his mouth as if to say something, but he could not speak.
"You were brave, Jonny." Dracula said to the boy in a soothing voice, "Don't worry about me..." He concluded with a paternal smile.
"B-but... your..." The boy tried to answer, but he was still too rough.
"I am one of the most powerful vampires in the world, it will take a while, but my arm will heal."
Then the attention of the two was attracted by the struggle's noise of the two great black creatures. The dragon was strong and the dragoon had hit the demon again with one of his quick attacks from the air, but the dark creature did not seem to be affected.
"I'm tired of playing with you..." The demon roared, grabbing the dragon by the neck, it took away him from itself with strength and standing up on two legs lifted him from the ground.
The dragoon was unseated and fell to the ground, but got up quickly and began to run vertically along the dragon's body up to his head and threw himself against the demon.
The dragon tried in vain to break free from the grip of Camazotz which began to burn its free hand by shadow flames, the warrior had almost reached its goal, but the demon shot him an amused glance and then launch a clawed in the dragon's chest, from which came out, in addition to the blood, also that cursed black flame.
"Damn..."
"No..." They commented Jonathan and Dracula, powerless in face of that harrowing scene.
Only a moment later the demonic creature was hit squarely in the chest by the spear of the dragoon that made it fall backwards freeing the dragon who fell too.
Camazotz braked its fall with its tail and unleashed a new clawed that the knight was able to avoid, but which struck the spear breaking it.
The dragoon crashed the earth with a bang when the tip of the broken spear stuck between him and the dragon's face. Unlike the previous fall, he did nothing to land on his feet, as if he had surrendered.
"Your spear..." Said the black dragon with suffering voice, seemed more concerned about the weapon than about himself.
"Why did you want to help them? You knew how it would end..." The dragoon sighed , "Now I've lost everything .. My spear... my dragon, the only friend, the only person in this world who trust me..." He paused a moment, "But tell me, do you prefer that I die at the hands of a demon or at the hands of dragons who finally now have a valid excuse to condemn me to death?" He concluded in a voice full of bitterness.
"Poor paladins, the fate that you have chosen has been challenging... You knew what you were going to encounter, and yet you have not stopped. It was worth it?" The demon interjected, its voice satisfied and sadistic, almost amused.
"Yes..." Said the dragon without delay.
"I do not know what you have in mind, but you're the only one I trust, and so I continued to do it until the end." The warrior exclaimed, rising to his feet, "Yes, it was worth it. "He concluded full of pride.
"Yes, it's worth it..." Jonathan murmured, strutting, he also full of pride, "I want to get closer to her."
"Jonny, it's a suicide and you know it! " Dracula replied, surprised by the boy's courage.
"I don't care..." He cut him off.
"Do what you feel to doing, boy. But don't look in the Camazotz's eyes; the eyes are the mirror of the soul and see the spirit of a demon could kill you."
Jonathan began to run towards Camazotz without much hesitation.
Dracula, raised his hand to the boy, but seeing him determined as he had never seen, he stopped.
Meanwhile, the demon went on all fours crushing the dragon in one hand and the dragoon in the other.
"There is no honor in death, there's only stupidity!" It yelled to both, "You said it, or am I wrong?" It continued turning to the warrior who did not answer, but Jonathan did:
"No death is in vain if you fight for what you love!"
Camazotz looked up at the incoming human.
"So this is what you want?" It asked.
The boy rushed.
The demon's mouth loaded by shadow flame, this time it would not have been stopped.
The boy was standing just a few steps from the mouth of Camazotz.
The two eyes met each other.
They stared each other.
The reflection of Camazotz's eyes made yellow even the Jonathan's, but even if his eyes looked like the ones of a demon, the feelings that they communicated were completely different.
No fear.
No courage.
No sadness.
No happiness.
No grudge.
But just love,
Pure and absolute.
Until the yellow reflection on Jonathan's eyes disappeared, until he disappeared, swallowed up with everyone else in those cold shadows, blackest than the death.
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