Looking back he scanned the floor and considered the doors he had passed. He could see blood on the ground, probably the wizard’s. It appeared he was losing a fair amount of blood. The blood stopped a good twenty feet from the entrance to the stairs.
Squinting he examined the floor there, hoping to find some clue, and as he stared at the area a second spot of blood appeared, as if by magic. He glanced upward, suspecting they had somehow climbed the walls, yet he saw nothing above. Dorian took another step, getting closer to the mysterious area. He could hear someone breathing heavily… perhaps several some ones.
Suddenly the light changed and standing before him appeared the entire group. Ruth appeared to be helping to keep the wizard on his feet. Said wizard chose then to speak, “Why the hell won’t you just give up!?” Another strange word and lightning enveloped Dorian again, sending pain shooting throughout his body. This time the surge of electricity didn’t end immediately, it continued for what seemed an eternity as the wizard focused his fear and desperation on him. “You should be dead already!” cried the man, almost sobbing with emotion.
Yet Dorian did not fall, though smoke rose from his armor and his body had begun to shake uncontrollably. More and more the electricity seemed to be affecting him, though the armor blunted the majority of its deadly effect. Eventually it was too much, and losing his balance he collapsed onto the stone floor. His body grew still, as if after the constant spasms his muscles seemed content to rest at last. Dorian struggled to maintain consciousness.
He could hear the woman drawing the exhausted wizard away, toward the stairs. The man seemed to have lost control of himself and was crying uncontrollably now. “Shut up you damned coward!” Ruth yelled at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’ve never killed anyone before,” the wizard answered in a voice that sounded devoid of hope.
“Nothing’s changed then imbecile!” she shouted back at him. “He’s still breathing.”
Their voices grew more distant as they descended the stairs and Dorian struggled to move. Though his body felt like it was made of jelly he was desperate inside. Move damnitt! Move!! he yelled inwardly at his stubborn muscles and slowly but surely his limbs began to obey him again. Several minutes passed and finally he began to drag himself forward, working his way to the stairs.
Within five minutes he was walking, trying to navigate the steep staircase leading downward. More than once his legs gave out on him, sending him tumbling down five or ten feet before coming to a halt again, yet he refused to rest. He wanted to know why I won’t give up, he thought, recalling the wizard’s panicked question… because you have my friends.
By the time he reached the bottom his legs had become significantly more reliable. He noted that there were still spots of blood scattered along the way, which made his task much easier. “You should get that looked at,” he said quietly to himself, thinking grimly of the wizard he had wounded. “Man could bleed to death like that.”
He followed the path out into the castle yard; there the blood and heavy footprints of the men carrying Penny and Miriam were even easier to follow. No one along the way seemed to have seen them. “Rouse yourselves! Enemies in the keep! Close the gates!” Dorian shouted. “They’ve taken the Countess!”
Men began running as he yelled. Guards came alive on the walls, manning the battlements and scanning the surrounding area. Others approached Dorian as he walked steadily across the yard, following the trail of blood. Questions were asked but he had no time for them. “Close the damn gates, they might still be inside!” he shouted.
As he drew closer he could see that the trail had not yet reached the gate. They were moving slowly, invisibly, and trying to avoid detection. Yet his eyes spotted the end of the trail, and more fresh blood as they moved again. They were almost through the gate now. A large collection of guardsmen had gathered beside him now. “They’re right there, in front of the gate!” he yelled. “Fan out and search the area till you lay hands on them. They’re invisible,” he ordered and men moved to obey.
Men looked at him oddly, as if he had gone mad. “It’s a wizard or some servant of the dark gods, with the power to render himself invisible to sight… and they’re right there!” he shouted, pointing at the area they had to be in. As he spoke a boot print appeared on the hard packed earth, the tread of a man carrying a heavy load. Having just pointed in that direction a few of the guards saw it appear and gasps of astonishment could be heard among them.
Dorian didn’t pause, sheathing his sword to avoid the possibility of hitting Penny or Miriam he charged toward the place where his enemies had to be standing. That was when all hell broke loose.
A shadow fell across the earth and looking up he saw a beast straight out of myth and legend. The creature that was descending was sixty feet in length if it was an inch. Dark green scales shimmered in the afternoon sun and its wings seemed to block out the light.
Dorian stared at it in shock. “A dragon?” he muttered disbelievingly. Cries of fear and dismay rang out as the men of Lancaster keep took shelter. Such a thing had never been seen before but they ran instinctively nonetheless. Within seconds the courtyard had cleared and Dorian was left to stand alone.
The scaled monstrosity landed with an almost inhuman grace and delicacy, barely stirring the ground as it came to rest. Its forelegs were nearly as thick as Dorian’s chest, yet it made hardly a sound, until its mouth opened to issue a challenging roar.
Dorian gritted his teeth as he fought against his instincts. His legs had started to shake, yet he refused to look away and somehow his sword had gotten into his hand. His mind had gone blank, but deep within he could feel the stirrings of anger and despite his fear Dorian began to walk forward. The first step was slow and hesitant, but each one that followed was firmer and surer, and in a moment he was striding boldly toward the massive beast, head up and unbowed. “I will be thrice damned before I let something like you get in my way!”
Then the dragon drew itself up on all fours and took a deep breath, staring squarely at Dorian’s approach. He flinched and then stopped as it opened its mouth and exhaled, sending a wave of searing flames out to engulf him.
Dorian crouched, keeping his head down and shielding his visor with his arms until the blast of fire had passed. He felt no heat from it and realized that once again his armor seemed to shield him from more than just physical blows. In fact it had worked much better against the flame than it had against the lightning. Standing again he charged forward and threw himself against the great beast, seeking to pierce its breast with his sword.
It was a complete shock to him when he passed through the thing without the faintest resistance, as though the dragon had been conjured from nothing but smoke. Light and shadow swirled around him until he emerged from the other side. A glance backward revealed the dragon still rampaging behind him but if he had any doubts about its solidity they were dispelled as its tail swept through his chest while he watched.
Ignoring the phantom monster behind him Dorian faced the main gate. No longer distracted by the dragon he spotted the now visible abductors passing through the open castle entrance. The portcullis was part way down but had stopped before reaching the ground, held up by some invisible force. The wizard stood next to it, red-faced and sweating. It was obvious that the strain of maintaining both the illusion and keeping the portcullis from closing had pushed him to his limit.
Wasting no more time Dorian ran after them, toward the wizard first, he understood now the man was too dangerous to ignore. The older man watched him come, sweat running down his cheeks, as he tried to do too many things at once. He was almost under the heavy steel portcullis by the time Dorian reached him and he had already given up trying to maintain the illusion of the dragon.
At the end, seeing he could not escape, the stranger released the barrier that was holding the portcullis and threw himself down, trying to roll under before it struck the ground. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t quite make it, and one of the massive steel spikes ripped through his right thigh, pinning him under the heavy metal.
It also barred Dorian from pursuing the men carrying Penny and Miriam steadily away. He could see someone riding hard from the tree-line, followed by a string of horses. The abductors had obviously planned carefully, within moments they would have their targets on horseback and any chance of catching them would be much smaller.
In a fit of rage Dorian struck at the metal bars that kept him from following. Although his sword was enchanted and razor sharp the metal was far too thick to cut through, his blade kept sticking a half an inch or so into the heavy two inch iron bar. The wizard on the ground beneath him groaned audibly. “Raise the portcullis!” Dorian screamed, but he knew it was futile. The sight of the dragon had unmanned the guards. It was doubtful anyone was within earshot to obey him anyway.
Sheathing his sword, he eyed the iron portcullis carefully. He knew from experience that it weighed many
