Abruptly, the most delicate cough in the world startled him out of his worst fears. Amelia Battlehard had sidled up to him, an expectant look etched across her face. Turning slowly to look at her, he was lost at sea, adrift without any sort of answer. It was the captain that spoke first.
"Whatever you choose Sire... is fine with us. We trust in you, and always will do. If you believe the key to everything is the White Dragon, then we're with you all the way."
Barely able to believe his heart could break any more, currently it was as close to buckling as was dragonly possible.
"I appreciate your candidness Amelia... I really do. But I struggle to see any other way out. And I fear for all of your lives. That being over there... going by the name of EARTH, isn't somebody to be trusted, quite the opposite in fact. I fear once she has us all outgunned and outnumbered, that she will kill each and every one of you, including Peter and the White Dragon, saving a very long and slow death for me, no doubt at the hands of the charming Troydenn."
"Majesty... we trust in you and have faith that you will make the right decision. If surrendering now means buying you a little more time in the hope that right now the dragon domain is fighting back and rallying to your aid, then perhaps it is the right thing to do. Time might well be the key. As you've already told us all... never give up. Keep on fighting with your last breath. As long as you live... there's always a chance."
Of course, she was right. And there really did seem no other way out. It looked as though the choice had already been made for them.
Gazing into the depths of the abyss, his captor's nails drawing blood from the back of his neck, the heavy metal manacles behind his back restricting his magic, causing wave after wave of pain to creep up from his wrists and into his shoulders, Peter caught a quick glance of Tim next to him, in very much the same position. Looking out in front of him without lifting his head for fear of agonising retribution, he could just make out his friend, the king, chatting to a stunning looking dragon standing next to him. Right at this very moment, all he wished for was to be the other side of that barrier, and reunited with the dragon that meant so much to him. But a burning rage stoked the fire within him. He knew what they wanted... Manson and Earth... They wanted the king! Wanted to torture and kill him, no doubt. And the very last thing he wanted was for that to happen. If his and Tim's deaths saved the king, he would gladly sacrifice himself here and now. Currently, though, that was not an option, not with the firm grip that evil woman had on his neck and his inability to fight back because of the power sapping binders. And as the time ticked down, he hoped with all his might that the stunning dragon standing next to the king was actually talking him into fighting and staying behind the shield, rather than surrendering any advantage he might have.
'Dreamlike' is how he'd describe it, although right at this moment it had morphed itself into some kind of outlandish nightmare. As the bile kicked around the bottom of his throat, threatening to make a mad dash and escape his magically derived body, mainly, he assumed, because of the death defying drop he was currently being forced to look down at by the mad woman... (no, not woman... DRAGON!) forced to look at by the mad dragon, whose fingernails were currently piercing either side of his neck, forcing blood to run freely. It could still all be a dream... at least that's what part of him hoped. That at any moment he'd wake up and be back in his house on the surface, off to play hockey and hook up with the beautiful... RICHIE! Despite his desperate situation, his thoughts turned to her. Immediately he knew it wasn't a dream, and that he really was stuck here, in something of a life or death situation. But he couldn't help wondering what had happened to her. Was she still on the surface blissfully unaware of her past, moving on with her life, still the lacrosse superstar? Or had her world been turned upside down by whatever was going on down here? If it hadn't been, then he had no doubt that at some point in the near future it most certainly would be. Silently he wished her luck, wishing as well to see her one more time.
The muscles in her arms tensed, showing precisely how much force she was using to dig her fingernails into her two captives' necks. Just the sight of their blood satisfied something deep within her, but not as much as knowing that she had the king in an almost impossibly tight spot, one that, as she saw it, he had no option but to surrender to... a word she hardly knew the meaning of. In some ways it was a shame that she wouldn't be able to inflict the world of pain coming his way, but there was no way in hell that Troydenn would let anyone else have even a part of that particular pleasure. So she'd have to settle for breaking him, forcing him to give up and surrender. There was at least some satisfaction in that... knowing that she'd brought the king to his knees, and essentially changed the fate of the planet forever. To be at Manson's side as joint ruler of the new world that would emerge from the week gone past, sent a thrill through her like almost nothing else. And that pivotal moment was only seconds away, of that she was sure.
Turning three hundred and sixty degrees, taking in all the dragons that had sworn to protect him, his false human body trembling ever so slightly, he still wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. Part of him wished he could evacuate the brave dragons here defending him out through the secret entrance, giving them at least some semblance of a chance in the wider world, but unfortunately the magic that held it in place only allowed one being through it at any one time... useful as an escape route to the outside for just him on occasion, but utterly useless in a situation like this. As of now though, he could come up with nothing else. Parched, and distraught beyond belief, he just about managed to croak,
"I'm sorry," before he closed his eyes and commanded the ring to take down the shield and rebuild the bridge that would allow the enemy's forces to storm their position. Silently he offered up a prayer, but to whom, he really didn't know.
Out of nowhere, it happened with only a hiss and a flicker. The transparent, crackling, blue hemisphere of energy disappeared into nothing, as Peter's heart dropped like a stone into the abyss he overlooked. That was it. They were all doomed, and not just the king or Tim and himself. The whole planet, that's what Manson wanted. This was the turning point and would give him ultimate control of everything, not just the underground domain of the dragons, but everything human on the surface as well. Tears trickled from his eyes, very much mirroring the blood running down his neck.
At the sight of the magical shield shimmering out of existence, Tim let out a tiny gasp. It was impossible, and yet was happening right before his very eyes. Unsure whether to be pleased or not about this new situation, all he knew was that their fates were probably going to be resolved very soon.
Regardless of the sneer currently residing between the purple magical scars that crisscrossed her face, deep inside she leapt with joy. She'd done it... forced him to surrender. That was it. That was all they were waiting for. Now the planet was theirs, to do with as they pleased. And the king was about to discover a very new meaning of the word pain, something she absolutely revelled in as she watched the hearts of the dragons surrounding him sink. Satisfaction at a job well done threatened to overwhelm her. Perhaps it would be her turn to win the invading army's 'evil deeds of the week award'.
27
Holey Moley