The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

108

Later That Night

We were sitting around the fire, the five men sitting side by side, and Jonah sitting next to me directly across from them with his eyes locked on them. The sky had turned from day to night, and once again, had become filled with stars as the clouds cleared up and presented the brilliantly lit night sky. The dragons had gone off to sleep for the night, and I had decided to leave Doron be with Magar, instead of disturbing him.

"Man... I haven't seen the night sky that clear in years. Usually I would be stuck in my quarters, or if I was lucky, be put on night watch. Though the stars would be mostly masked by the light of the torches lining the perimeter. The first night we set out looking for you, I didn't sleep much that night, or any other night. The sky was to beautiful to not spend my time admiring." John said.

Theodore gave him a funny look.

"What about all the men we lost on our way out here? Did their deaths not keep you up?" He said.

I turned to look back at John.

"What does he mean by that?" I asked him.

John sighed.

"We set out with thirty men originally, but only the five of us made it. Most were picked off by wolves and bears, until we only had ten of us left. Then, the night before you found us, one of ours went rouge and attack us. He kept going on about how the king is a god and how any who oppose him must die. He killed four of our own, before I plunged my sword through his throat and cut his jugular out." John said.

A silence fell over the group for a moment.

"Thirty men? And only five of you survived?" Amy exclaimed.

"Yes. But it will be worth those losses when we have the kings heart mounted on a stick." He replied.

Jonah grunted in displeasure as he looked over at John.

"Well, just keep in mind that if any of you try something like that, i'll tear your throat out and choke your families with your tongues." He said while whipping down his blade with a grin on his face.

"Come on. Let's get some sleep." I said as I took Jonah by the arm.

He followed me under willow tree that stuck out from the otherwise empty space surrounding it. I laid down in the thick, cool, long grass beside Jonah. I turned to look at him, but he had already fallen asleep. I turned back over and looked up at the stars through the thin, wavy branches of the willow tree as they swayed in the distant breeze. I shut my eyes slowly, until I had fallen asleep. 

Later that night, I suddenly woke up, startled by something. It took me a moment, but I soon realized that I could hear something slowly approaching me from off to my right. At first I thought it was a predator that was just passing through, and would soon be gone. I figured surely the mere sight of just one dragon, let alone ten, would be enough to frighten any bear or wolf. But I quickly realized that what ever it was, it was heading right towards me. I slowly reached out for my dagger, which I had set down to my left. I kept my eyes closed as I inched my hand towards the dagger, hoping that I would feel its rough wooden handle before the mysterious entity got to me. Just as I felt what ever it was hovering over me, I felt the distinct, bumpy handle of the dagger brush my finger tips. I grabbed the handle, snapped my eyes open and jumped up, tackling the mystery attack to the ground. I felt something hit my stomach, before I was flipped over and hit the ground hard. When I regained my bearings, I looked up to see Gerald standing before me, with my dagger lodge in his chest, his eyes wide and red, his jaw dropped open.

"You're mine now." He said.