Fan Fiction ❯ Spirit of the Dragon ❯ Eye of the Storm ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Nine

Kaiden's horse plodded up the hill. Her coat was caked in mud and sweat. She quaked from exhaustion. Her eyes bulged.

Acanthus urged her to the top while the rain came down.

Lightning illuminated the sky to reveal his greatest fear.

"Curses! They've beaten us!"

Even in the storm, smoke billowed up from Veridea's walls.

Too late…Dear God…

If the spirit had not overtaken him, he would have drawn back. But now it became very angry. It boiled and seethed beneath his skin.

"Destroy all Gardrothians!"

Can you not see, spirit? They have come and gone.

"Not all, dear Prince!"

A flash of movement below. There was a straggler leaving the gates with his arms full of loot.

"You know what to do."

He urged Chastity foreword. The poor beast wheezed and faltered.

"Leave her."

Acanthus dismounted, letting her suffer in solitude. He was aware of her glazed eyes watching him, as if that grave white face was passing judgement.

The thief saw him coming down the hill and ran. Prince Acanthus caught up to him in no time, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him into the mud. All he had plundered was scattered around him.

"Copper pots?!" The prince snarled. "You killed those people for copper pots?!" He kicked him in the side. "Worthless scum! Swine of the earth!"

"Clementia…" He pleaded. "…clementia!"

"Mercy?! You want mercy?!" Another kick to his side. "I should gut you like a fish. It is the least you deserve!"

"What is stopping you?"

Silence, spirit!

"Clementia, clementia…" The boy kept whispering.

Something flashed in Acanthus' eyes. The ember quivered.

"I will spare you…if you tell me how long ago the Gardrothians came." At first there was no answer. "How long?!"

"Th-they came…it…they came…" His Ythi was poor. "I…I see them, when I leave. I see them…"

"They just left?"

He nodded weakly.

"What are you waiting for?! Follow them!"

"Take your copper pots." Acanthus said coldly, heading for the gate.

The portcullis had been propped open with a spear. There was nothing left of the gate itself but charred remains.

Inside the city smelled like death. It was nauseating.

"What are you doing?! They're getting away!"

I am looking for survivors…

The whole thing seemed like such a lost cause. The Gardrothians had done their job well.

He could feel his mind slipping further away with every step. Soon he wouldn't be able to even fight the spirit anymore.

"Will you listen to me now, Acanthus?"

Acanthus slumped against the stone wall, watching the last of the dying flames. The storm had prohibited them from living too long.

This is horrible…it was nothing but a slaughter. He caught a glimpse of one of the cadavers and retched.

"Look at you. Look at what they've done to you."

I want to go home.

"You know you can't do that."

I give up, spirit. You were right about the Gardrothians. They are nothing but cowards. He staggered back to the gateway, wiping his mouth on a sleeve.

"We will pay them back."

Prince Acanthus had never felt this ill in his entire life. He wanted to curl into a ball and die. But the spirit made him walk. He trudged out into the road and stumbled blindly down a slope. Something was gnawing away at the pit of his stomach. And he realized that it was hatred. Hatred for the men that had done this. Hatred for the war. The ember was a tiny flame now. It was growing every day.

"We will pay them back." Came the spirit's refrain.

There was no going back now.

He spotted deep grooves in the mud that must have been left by wagon wheels. If they were traveling with goods, it would definitely slow them down.

Prince Acanthus picked up the pace.

All of a sudden he heard them. They were just up ahead in the clearing. Laughing. Laughing!

I cannot believe this! Those demons! He could feel every bit of his restraints shattering.

The flames came from nowhere. Lines of liquid fire shot down the road in a beautiful pattern. Like woven lace…

They merged and detonated.

Somewhere from far away, Acanthus heard screaming. A cold-blooded smile bridged his lips.

"I told you we would get them."

The last thing he saw was the forest all around him. It was on fire.

He crumpled and fell.