Dragon's Blood

The Gate

Somehow, Iyla managed to fall into a kind of sleep. Half way between awake and asleep, she was aware of keeping her hand in contact with Bill, whose breathing was ragged and shallow, his heart rate fast yet weak. She was aware too, of the car speeding through well lit streets, out of town and into dark and winding lanes, she felt every bump and jerk as Sam's gear changes were urgent and his steering erratic. But she was disconnected from what was happening around her. Images of wolf like creatures, snarling fangs, dragons, flames and blood swirled in her mind, she had an other worldy sense of drifting in and out of consciousness. She wanted to sleep and to forget but her body wouldn't let her so she was content for the moment to exist in this limbo where she didn't have to face what they'd left behind or what might be ahead.

One particularly large pothole caused Bill to suddenly slip from her grasp and she could no longer hide, she sprung back to consciousness with a painful jolt and reality hit her like physical blow, a bullet tearing through her chest. She quickly slid to the footwell, Bill had rolled from the seat and was lying down there at an awkward angle. She grasped his hand once more, she couldn't see the wound on his leg due to the angle he was at and she didn't have the leverage or the strength to move him. She did notice however, that Bill no longer writhed and groaned in pain when he was free of her touch. She hoped that was a good sign but knew that it was not.

"You ok?" Sam called back, his eye still fixed ahead.

"Yes," Iyla answered, no ... "How long have we been driving?" she asked, it felt like a life time and somehow also no time at all.

Sam didn't answer, she saw his jaw clench and knew what he was thinking as he steered sharply to the right and her head bounced off the door, too long...

She took a deep breath and tried a technique that sometimes worked for her when she couldn't sleep. Iyla closed her eyes, tried to focus only on the here and now, what she could sense only in that moment. She started checking off a list in her head.

What can I hear? The strained roar of an old, small engine being pushed beyond it's limits, the wheeze of Bill's breath, barely perceptible, the crunch of gears and thud of tyres bouncing of the raised embankment at the side of a narrow country lane ... her own heart like the wings of a trapped bird beating furiously to be free ...

What can I feel? Bills hand, cold and clammy in hers, pulsating warmth in her fingertips ... warmth that only now she realised was flowing throughout her body so that she could almost follow the pattern of her veins and the flow of her blood as it carried the warmth through her and to her friend. Pain, everywhere and in varying levels ....

What can I smell? Smoke, sweat ... blood ...

She opened her eyes, this was not working, there was nothing calming about focusing on the moment when the moment was terrifying and confusing

Ahead of them, her dragon suddenly took another sharp right turn and flew out over some fields. Sam cursed and slammed on the brakes, there was no road or lane to follow and a fence barred their way. The dragon circled back and paused, her wings beating almost silently as she held her position. Iyla could make out her dark silhouette against an equally inky sky, noticing for a brief moment the scattering of stars reflected on the dragons scales so that she simply blended into the night. The cars headlights were on but weak, only serving to illuminate the ground directly in front of them.

A thought was forming in her mind, "We have to follow her," Iyla said, "This is the way to the gate." She looked to Sam again. "What does she mean by gate?"

"Our world exists alongside this one in very simple terms," Sam explained, "At times the two overlap slightly and the walls between them become weaker. With the right magic, a gate can be opened, they are temporary and very unstable, if this one is still open and both the dragon and the Amarok have already passed through it, it will be getting weaker." Sam got out of the car and looked down the lane, "I'm not sure this car will get through this fence, it looks pretty solid and we can't take a straight run at-"