Chapter Eleven: Green with Envy

Deeth made a run for it down the bustling street. Everything was erupting into chaos. The riders were chasing after him on their dragons, all while the white-clad warriors kept trying to get in their way. Bursts of ice magic plummeted from dragons' maws and crashed violently into the street. Deeth gasped as a hole was blown in the pavement a few feet ahead of him. He leaped over it, bits of icy shrapnel slicing through his trousers. He winced in pain, nearly losing his grip on Kuvilo.

"OW!" He winced as he kept running. "Damnit!"

A black car swerved wildly and crashed into a grocery store a few feet ahead of Deeth. He quickly dashed around the side of the car and kept running as the warriors inside called out to him.

"Wait! Come with us!"

"Bite me!" Deeth took off into a sprint.

Daddy, who are they? Kuvilo whimpered.

"Beats me!" Deeth ran to the end of the block, where his car was parked. He shifted Kuvilo to one hand and reached into his pocket with the other one. Once he got his keys, he unlocked the driver's seat and dashed inside. He plopped Kuvilo on the shotgun seat and immediately backed the car up.

Just as he swerved onto the road, a dragon came crashing down, landing with a crash right where the engine had been moments before. Deeth saw the crash in his mirror and screamed. "Holy crap!"

Deeth put the car into high gear and rocketed down the road. He swerved left and right to avoid cars as he ran several red lights. Deeth saw several black cars chasing after him on the ground, while dragons soared after him in the sky. Blasts if ice rained from the sky all around Deeth's car. It was an incredible struggle to avoid having his car blown to pieces. His heart heaved in his chest. His legs and arms twitched. "Where do I go?! What do I do?! I'm so incredibly BONED!!!"

Kuvilo squeaked in fear as he looked out the window. Daddy!

"NOT NOW, KUVILO!" Deeth screamed, swerving around a left turn.

One of the black cars came from the opposite street and drove alongside Deeth's car. He saw the car's shotgun window roll down, and one of the white-clad men started shouting at him.

"You've got to follow us! We can get you to safety!"

"Who the fuck ARE you people?!" Deeth exclaimed, swerving to avoid scattered asphalt.

A frost dragon unleashed a great ice-bolt at the two cars. They swerved out of the way, and the black car continued following Deeth's. The black car's sunroof opened up and another white-clad figured stepped up and out. The figured charged up some magic power, creating an aura of blue energy around himself. As the dragon unleashed another burst of ice at the car, the figure pointed his hands at the attack. It suddenly swerved in midair and went flying off into the atmosphere. The same thing happened when the dragon attacked several more times.

"Wow!" Deeth remarked, before refocusing himself.

"Head for the highway!" The shotgun-riding figure shouted.

"Why should I?!"

"Less traffic!"

Deeth scratched his chin, thinking. "Good point!"

Deeth sped off towards the nearest access road towards the highway. The black car followed closely alongside him, still deflecting away attacks from the dragon riders.

The highway was a great expanse of paved roads along the outer rim of the city limits of Majinchi. It was elevated high above the city streets on great steel pillars. Many oversized ramps connected the main roads to the highway on many sides around Majinchi. Protective walls were established to keep vehicles from flying off the sides. The highway was normally bustling with drivers trying to save time on cross-city adventures.

Deeth wasted no time driving up a ramp and onto the highway. When he turned onto a straight stretch of asphalt, he took off as fast as he could, dodging around slower traffic. The many tall buildings quickly sank beneath his gaze. Black cars hurried to follow after him, as did the dragon riders. The first black car did its best to stay right beside or behind Deeth's car.

"How can I be sure I can trust you?!" Deeth yelled at them.

"No time to explain!" The shotgun-side warrior replied. "Just get out of the city as fast as you can!"

Deeth swore in elfish. "Gee, THANKS!"

Kuvilo looked in a side mirror and squeaked loudly. Daddy! The big dragon is coming!

"Huh?!" Deeth check the rearview mirror and gasped. "Aw, CRAP!"

Thulun rode atop Calypso as the great frost dragon rose up from the city streets and rocked through the air. Calypso's roar filled the sky with a cackle of thunder. Calypso quickly sped ahead of the other dragons, swooping down towards the highway. Deeth's body shook as he pushed his car along.

"Don't worry about him!" The shotgun-riding warrior called over. "Leave the rider to us! Just keep driving!"

"Don't have to tell ME twice!" Deeth screamed.

The white-clad rider in the sunroof charged up more of his magical energy. He spread out a layer of blue energy across the entire car. The side windows opened up, and a figure leaned out of either side of the vehicle. They pointed their hands towards Calypso, ready to counter any attack thrown at them.

But Calypso didn't try attacking. Instead, the dragon charged forwards through the sky. Deeth watched as the dragon flew ahead of  the cars, continuing onwards several dozen yards.

"Why don't you attack him?!" Deeth shouted at the other car.

"We can't! We're opposed to violence!"

"WHAT?!" Deeth screamed. "THAT'S STUPID!"

Calypso spun around and came to a crashing land upon the highway. Deeth struggled to swerve his car away from the beast as its forelegs came crashing down at him. It struck the pavement, sending shockwaves in all directions. The car swerved wildly and crashed against the left-side barrier. The entire car shook violently, sparks being sent allover the place. The black car sped forwards and rear-ended Deeth, smashing the trunk. Deeth spun hard to the right, struggling to regain control.

The car spun to the right, spinning around and filling the air with a stinging SCREECH. The airbag deployed in Deeth's face as the car crashed to a painful stop against the right-side barrier. He pushed it away, grumbling.

"Damn..." Deeth looked around for the dragon. "Kuvilo? You okay?"

Down here, Daddy! Kuvilo squeaked, leaping out from under the shotgun seat. Deeth picked him up and scooted across to kick open the opposite car door. He planted both feet on the ground, shaking his head.

"I can't believe I got out of that in one piece..." Deeth turned around to look at his car. It was a total wreck; The trunk was smashed and the engine was steaming. Something was leaking out from underneath one of tires. Deeth's eye twitched, tears welling up in his eyes. "It's not fair."

Looking across the way, Deeth saw that the black car had come to a crashing stop beside Calypso. The white-clad warriors had emerged and started surrounding the dragon, shields dragon. Calypso roared at them, unleashing a great torrent of ice. But while Calypso was preoccupied with the warriors, Thulun had jumped down and was stomping towards Deeth, sword drawn.

"Oh crap!" Deeth clutched Kuvilo tightly and made a run for it down the highway. He didn't get far before the ground suddenly turned into slippery ice. Deeth lost his footing and face planted onto the pavement, dropping Kuvilo. Something on his face went CRACK. As Deeth stood up, felt something drip out of his nose. Bringing a finger to his face, he felt drops of blood spilling out. "Oh. Great."

Deeth turned around and struggled up to his feet. Kuvilo climbed up onto his shoulder, squeaking and clattering his fangs. Thulun came to a stop just close enough to point his sword at Deeth's chin.

"You're out of luck, Mr. Acciai." He said coldly.

"I don't think I had any luck to begin with!" Deeth spat blood out of his mouth. Kuvilo leaned over Deeth's shoulder to snarl at Thulun. I don't like him! He's mean!

The old rider smirked. "It looks like your little hatchling wants to face he head-on."

Deeth pushed the dragon's head back, spitting out a bit more blood. "Look, man, I give. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"I'm afraid that that ship has sailed, my friend." Thulun pulled the sword back and stepped closer.

"What do you mean?!" Deeth demanded.

"I can't have you walking away from this alive..." Before Deeth could think, Thulun lunged forwards and impaled him through the shoulder, going all the way through. Deeth screamed as pain filled his entire arm. He fell forwards, slamming down hard on his knees. Kuvilo fell down, squeaking in horror. Daddy!

Deeth coughed heavily as his lung collapsed. He chocked on hot blood that flooded up his throat. He wearily grabbed the tip of Thulun's sword, struggling to pull it free as the aged rider laughed at him. "It's over, Mr. Acciai. See you in the next life."

As Deeth looked up at Thulun, a spark of rage flowed through him. His entire body flushed with heat. His head felt lighter. He inhaled through gritted teeth, then exhaled. Deeth grunted as he felt something jump up and cling to his back. Deeth gasped internally as Kuvilo's mind brushed against his.

I'll help you, Daddy!

After that, Deeth stopped thinking, and acted on impulse.

Deeth glared at Thulun as he gripped down harder on the sword. He heard his flesh tear as he slowly pulled it out of his chest. An aura of green energy flowed around his hand, followed by his arm, then the rest of his body.

Thulun shook his head in surprise. "What is this...?"

Deeth lifted one leg and stomped down on the foot. He stood up tall, breathing even harder and faster. He pulled the sword out with a loud POP, splattering blood around. The green aura flowed over the wound, preventing any more blood from spilling. He swung his arm hard to the left, only to turn and chuck it hard to the right. Eight inches of the blade were torn from the end of the blade in a flash of green.

"What?!" The rider exclaimed.

Deeth tossed the broken tip around, catching it by the broken end. He pointed the sharpened end at Thulun's neck, holding it like a dagger. A green aura surrounded the broken blade, forcing it into the shape of a proper weapon as Deeth stepped forwards. Thulun looked at his broken sword in shock, only to shake it away. He tossed his shield away and charged an orb of ice magic into it, while still pointing the blade at Deeth.

As Thulun launched the ball of ice, Deeth felt time slow down. The sounds of the world around him died away as the ice briskly floated towards him. He sliced through the ice with the dagger, splitting it in half. Both halves were dissolved by the green aura. As the ice magic died away, the world returned to normal. Deeth had little time to act as Thulun swung his sword at him. Deeth quickly swung his dagger to parry the attack, using all his strength to keep from dropping his weapon. Thulun launched another ice ball at Deeth. This time, Deeth blocked the attack with his free arm, his skin protected by his green aura. Deeth roared in rage at Thulun and charged at him.

Deeth and Thulun came at one another with a series of slashes, jabs and parries. Deeth used the green aura to destroy every one of Thulun's ice blasts, and kept up with him perfectly to deflect and parry sword-blows. Partway through the battle, Deeth felt a layer of pressure building at the back of his head. But he pushed it out of his thoughts and kept fighting.

"I don't know how you have this power." Thulun spat, swinging his blade horizontally. "But you can't fight forever! My riders will be upon us soon enough!"

Deeth blocked the attack, pushing the sword backwards. He leaped back onto the hood of his car, only to leap higher into the air. He brought his dagger downwards at Thulun's head. The rider leaped out of the way moments before Deeth impaled the ground and sent out a tremor. Thulun got back several feet, panting. Deeth got up to his full height, also panting. The pressure at the back of his head was growing more prominent.

Off in the distance, Deeth could see the silhouettes of several dragons flying towards his stretch of highway. Meanwhile, Calypso had frozen several of the white-clad warriors to the ground, immobilizing them. Deeth panted harder, wiping blood from his face.

Thulun followed Deeth's gaze, and laughed. "You see, Mr. Acciai? It's over! You're as good as dead!" Deeth snarled again. He jumped back several feet and pulled back his dagger, filling it with as much of the green aura as he could.

"Oh, so that's how you want to go out, eh?" Thulun said, grinning. He matched this by grasping his sword in both hands and filling it with ice energy. Both blades shook violently as they charged up, the air around them distorting and bending light. "Goodbye, Mr. Acciai."

Deeth shot the dagger forwards, unleashed a torrent of green flames. Thulun unleashed a mighty beam of ice from his sword. The two blasts of energy collided at the center-point, pulsing back and forth wildly. The ground beneath Deeth's feet crumbled as he struggled to stay standing. The pressure at the back of Deeth's head grew ever stronger, his vision blurring. He could barely see ten feet in front of him as his green blast grew shorter and shorter. The roars of dragons got louder and closer. As Deeth's vision worsened, he could swear that one of the dragons was right next to him.

And it was.

A pair of white forepaws swooped out of the corner of Deeth's eye and snatched him up by the shoulders. Deeth dropped his dagger, letting the ice blast overcome and destroy it. Deeth watched in surprise as he was pulled up into the sky, swiftly leaving the world behind.

"Whose dragon is that?!" Thulun's voice screamed off in the distance.

Kuvilo squeaked as something plucked him from Deeth's back. All at once, Deeth felt his body become incredibly tired. All the pain that had left him came flooding back all at once. He choked and coughed on his collapsed lung.

What's happening...?

Before long, the sounds of the struggle were far away. The blurry figure of a white dragon lifted Deeth up and over its head. A pair of human hands heaved Deeth up and over, laying him down horizontally on the dragon's back. Kuvilo was held in the arms of another white-clad figure. Deeth squinted at a white mask; the same mask the drivers of the black cars wore.

"Who are you...?" Deeth asked, weakly.

The rider reached up and removed his mask. Underneath, Deeth saw wavy blond hair and a chubby face.

"A friend." Dardarax said.

"Dardarax?" Deeth's eyes went wide. "Wh... What...?" Before he could say anything else, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

And after that, everything was swallowed in black.