A Tale of Dragons 2

Chapter 2

Then the dance ended.

Rachel made a dismissive wave and the flaming ribbons disappeared like a breeze blowing out a candle, then said casually: "Well, I guess those ribbon dancing lessons my father forced me to take ended up being useful after all."

She looked at everyone else, and they were all staring open-mouthed at her.

"What?"

Ethan clapped. Alana joined him, then Sophia; even Ted nodded appreciatively. Rachel looked slightly embarrassed as she did a little curtsey.

"Magic." Ted said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah." Sophia breathed.

"So will you help?" Rachel asked the paramedics. Everyone else seemed too stunned to say much, including Ethan himself. He felt like he was seeing her for the first time and with new eyes.

He noticed Alana give him a funny look, and he realized she had probably felt something over their bond.

*I'll tell you later.* He thought to her and she nodded. He shook his head, bringing his mind back to the situation at hand.

"Will you help?" He asked the two stunned paramedics.

Sophia looked willing, but Ted still looked a little uncertain. He looked at the Argo's crew blocking their exits. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Ethan hesitated, then extended the pistol and magazine toward Ted grip first. "We need your help."

Ted took them, looked at Ethan, then Alana, then Rachel, and then stared at Beth's body for several seconds before nodding. He holstered the pistol without loading it, pocketed the mag, and looked at Ethan. "Okay, we'll help."

* * *

Kendra didn't really like climbing trees, but sometimes it was necessary to get an angle on a target. She had picked a large one at the edge of the forest, less than one hundred yards from the slaver compound and less than two hundred from the earthen ramp up to the airship dock, where the dragon's airship was still berthed.

She had found a nice wide branch with a "V" where she could sit fairly comfortably and watch the goings on in both places. She was high enough to see over the wall around the slaver's compound.

There was nothing to do now but keep waiting, and she'd been waiting all day. The sun had set, but with her enchanted spyglass that didn't make a huge difference. It wasn't as good as having wood elf eyes, but certainly better than her human ones.

She was yawning as she leaned her head against the tree, when something caught her eye.

There was movement in the compound.

She pulled out her spyglass and gave it a look. The three men who the Argo's crew had freed were each carrying a bundle of what looked like firewood. They were carrying it toward the cave where the dragon, redheaded mage, and wood elf were, or at least where she assumed they were because they hadn't come out yet.

The former slaves added this firewood to an already large pile of firewood just outside of the cave's entrance and began to light a fire. Oddly, one of them was holding a large blanket up. It wasn't to block the wind as there wasn't even a breeze this night.

Hmm.

Then she realized where the man holding the blanket in relation to her quarry. He was holding the blanket to hide what they were doing from the dragon's airship. Whatever they were doing, they didn't want the crew to see.

That didn't make sense though.

Given the amount of firewood they'd collected, it would be a roaring bonfire in no time and impossible to conceal.

She pulled the spyglass out to zoom in further. It looked like the former slaves had collected some swords, shields, and armor from their former masters. They looked like they were geared up for a fight. But the only people nearby who they could possibly be planning fighting were...

She looked at the Dragon's airship.

It would be worth a lot of money.

If they managed to kill the crew, they could sell it and live like kings. Well, maybe more like a regional governor. She looked at them again and saw that they had set the blanket up on a wooden frame right next to the bonfire. It would eventually catch fire and burn up, revealing the fire which was small now, but would surely grow quickly.

If the crew of the Argo saw it -- and they could hardly miss it -- they would definitely want to investigate because their comrades were in the cave. That would leave the airship with precious few defenders...

Sure enough, the three former slaves were now sneaking toward the airship

Kendra hesitated.

She hadn't planned to get involved at all. She was only planning to watch and had no desire to do anything to help. None. She had been ready to fight and kill these people to kill the dragon only a couple days ago.

Still, she hated to see someone ambushed.

She put away her spyglass as she tried to decide what to do.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked.

"I can't get through the damn skin." Ted said as he tried for the dozenth time to insert the needle for the transfusion into Beth's arm.

Ethan heard a low growl escape his throat at Ted's assessment of Beth's skin. Sophia and Ted both jumped and looked around wide-eyed in alarm.

"Ethan, it's okay; Ted didn't mean any harm." Alana said soothingly as she touched his arm.

"That was you?" Ted asked, suddenly looking conflicted again.

"Yes, that was me; sorry." Ethan sighed, then thought to Alana: *I swear if I ever get my hands on the dragon inside of me I'm going to wring its neck.* His other side was once again making a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Ted opened his mouth, closed, opened it again, and then shook his head. "Okay. I'm not sure I want to know."

"We still can't get the IV in though." Sophia pointed out. "And if she's stiff like this everywhere, then the blood probably won't flow into her veins at all."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Ethan replied.

He looked around.

Rachel was standing several yards away looking either disgusted or nauseous; it was hard to tell. She had glanced at what they were doing several times, but seemed unable to watch.

"Rachel, could you only lift the spell on part of her body?" He asked.

"Just..." The redhead shuddered. "Give me a minute."

"What's wrong with her?" Sophia asked.

"She thinks transfusions are barbaric and gets a little nauseous when she thinks about them." Ethan explained.

The two paramedics looked at him incredulously.

He shrugged.

"Okay." Rachel said after taking a deep breath. "Yes I can lift it on only part of her body, but not for long. Spells like this are interconnected and as soon as you break down one part, the rest follows. I can give you maybe a minute before it lifts everywhere."

"Okay, I assumed we'll need to keep the spell on the head while taking it off the rest of the body?" Ethan asked Ted and Sophia.

"You asking us about magic?" Sophia replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Medicine." He corrected. "We need to keep her head in stasis for as long as possible to prevent brain damage, right?"

"I mean, I would assume so." Ted replied. "But we have only a minute to replace the blood?" He frowned. "I've never tried squeezing the blood out of a bag, but I suppose there's a first time for everything."

"Alright Beth, are you ready?" Ethan asked out loud, shortly before realizing that probably wasn't a good idea.

Tap, tap.

They were very exciting taps too.

"Is this Beth?" Sophia indicated her body.

Ethan resisted facepalming himself as he nodded, glad that she'd apparently assumed he wasn't actually communicating with her.

Ted sighed. "In for a penny, in for a pound. Okay, if the witch--" he looked at Rachel "No offense intended."

She shrugged. "None taken."

He continued. "If she can lift the spell thing that makes it impossible to insert the needle, we'll get the blood in as quickly as possible."

Rachel came over and kneeled next to Beth's body. "Ready when you are."

"Let's get the defibrillator attached first, since we have time." Sophia suggested.

Ted nodded and pulled out the portable defibrillator. "I'll need to cut the top of her dress of to attach the electrodes." He reached for a knife.

Ethan growled.

He bristled at the mere thought of another man seeing his wife topless. It wasn't a mildly annoyed growl either. It wasn't even a warning growl like before. It was the kind of growl a dog our wolf would make before ripping its prey to pieces.

It was a sound no human could ever make.

"What the f**k are you man?" Ted said as he backed away, shielding Sophia protectively.

*ETHAN!* Alana shouted into his head to get his attention.

He shook his head trying to get control. He took deep breaths, each exhale coming out as another low, menacing growl. Ted started reaching for his pistol before he caught sight of Rachel watching him. Then he apparently thought better of it.

"I'm okay." He finally said after a moment. "I'm sorry, but you will not be cutting her dress off."

"Okay, okay." Ted said instantly, then added. "I didn't mean I needed to cut it off, I just meant partially away. What the hell are you?"

"He's a--" Alana started to say.

"--werewolf." Ethan cut her off. He didn't think explaining about the dragon was the best way to go, and they would at least have an idea about werewolves; a frame of reference so it wasn't so shocking. "I'm a werewolf and she's my wife; my mate"

Ted and Sophia worked their mouths soundlessly for a moment.

"Are, are you were wolves too?" Sophia finally asked Rachel and Alana.

"No, I'm as human as you." Rachel replied.

"I'm a wood elf." Alana replied, pulling her hair back so they could see her long, pointy ears.

"Oh my God." Ted said rubbing his head. "That doesn't compute."

Alana walked up to them. There was something soft and gentle about her body language. Something welcoming and warm. The two paramedics seemed to relax slightly, not the least because she was between them and Ethan.

"I know Ethan can sometimes be scary, but that's only because he's protective." She explained. "He won't hurt you, especially if you help Beth."

Ted looked leery.

"He's very protective of his wife, and I'm sure you can see that." Alana said, then glanced at Sophia. "You probably understand that too."

Ted seemed to understand that, and the way he had consistently shielded Sophia made Ethan think he understood very well.

"I'm sorry for reacting that way." Ethan said. "I don't always have control of the beast within. Can you attach the electrodes another way?"

"I can slip them down the armhole of her dress." Sophia suggested.

Ethan nodded.

"Please." Alana said. "I know he gave you a terrible fright, but could you please still help his wife; my friend."

Ted hesitated, then nodded and looked at Ethan. "I get being protective man, but..." He grimaced.

"I know." Ethan replied thinking about how Beth had died. "Believe me I know; I'm working on it."

"Okay." Ted said. "Just, just give us some space to work." He eyed Ethan's mouth, and that's when Ethan realized the downside of saying he was a werewolf; they might be afraid of being turned.

"Will do." He took a few steps back.

Sophia attached on electrode to Beth's chest and slipped the other through the armhole on her sleeveless dress, then announced. "We're ready."

Ted eyed Ethan before getting setup to insert the needle again. "Here goes nothing."

Rachel knelt down, stretching her hands over Beth's arm where Ted was ready to work and getting a look of fierce concentration. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then Rachel's face started looking red. She started panting as if she was trying to move several hundred pounds. Perspiration started collecting on her face.

"Dear Illuminar in heaven that's a powerful spell." She breathed.

A single bead of sweat started trickling down her forehead.

Ethan could feel something happening. He could feel the charge in the air change. It suddenly seemed alive with energy as Rachel seemed to increase the already incredible amount of effort she was putting into breaking the spell.

"Holy shit." Rachel breathed as she panted with exertion. He realized that might've been the first time he'd heard her swear. She groaned like a champion weightlifter trying to beat their personal best.

The air itself seemed to crackle slightly.

A breeze arouse out of nowhere as the air around Beth's body seemed to be fleeing the titanic amount of force being applied. Ethan's scales stood up slightly as he felt the powerful force the redhead was applying.

Rachel's hands were shaking slightly. "Almost there."

She groaned, looking like she was in the struggle of her life. She leaned up, seeming like she was putting her entire body into the effort.

"There!" Rachel said, and then fell back onto her hands and knees. She looked drained, like she had just run a marathon. She was panting and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

"Got it!" Ted said as the needle slipped into Beth's arm.

Sophia started gently squeezing the blood bag and he saw the blood flow through the clear tubing into Beth's arm.

Ethan could see the stasis spell starting to lift. It flowed from her arm where Rachel had started and moved outward like a slow motion wave. He could see the skin relax and the frozen blood that had soaked much of her upper body began to flow again. The skin relaxed, and somehow looked more alive, though she was still deathly pale.

Beth's hair started to relax and no longer stood straight. It fell onto the ground, flexible as hair should be. Her lips relaxed and the expression of shock which had been frozen on her face relaxed. Finally, the hair on the top of her head relaxed as the wave hit the top of her head.

Beth was no longer in stasis.

"God I hope that's enough blood." Ted said then shouted. "CLEAR!"

Sophia set the now empty blood bag on top of Beth's body and stepped back.

Ted hit the button on the defibrillator.

There was a high-pitched electrical charging sound and then Beth's body jerked slightly.

Nothing.

Ted hit the button again. Another electrical charging sound, another slight jerk of Beth's body.

Nothing.

"s**t, starting compressions." Ted said.

Ethan pushed him roughly out of the way and started pushing forcefully on Beth's chest, desperate to restart her heart. Sophia produced one of those medical air pumps and attached it around Beth's mouth. She started pumping it in proper rhythm with Ethan's compressions. Ted hooked up another blood bag as Ethan continued compressions.

Nothing.

"Come on Beth, come on." He whispered as he pushed as hard as he dared. He remembered his CPR instructor saying broken ribs happen, and are better than death.

Still he pushed.

Still nothing.

She was still pale. Despite all the blood they'd given her, he was starting to worry it wouldn't be enough.

He pushed harder.

He felt one of her ribs break and reminded himself that broken ribs sometime happen in CPR, and that Rachel could heal it.

Still he pushed.

Still nothing.

A horrible thought occurred to him as they often do at the worst possible time. A terrible, horrible, no-good thought that chilled him to the bone.

What if they couldn't bring her back?

* * *

Taloni finished replenishing her mana with a sigh. For some reason, she could draw mana much faster since bonding with Ethan. She had now completely refilled her mana twice in one day; quite a feat in her opinion. Granted, she'd spent most of the day meditating to do so, but it was still impressive.

She stood, feeling brimful of mana. It was a good feeling.

"There, Mana replenished." She announced to the high elf. "Can you start teaching me to fly the Argo?"

"Well done." Anthiel beamed at her. "Now, what have you learned about piloting an airship?"

"Nothing. I don't understand." The Fey teen admitted.

"Hmm. Perhaps a clue." The high elf mused. She walked a few steps so she was standing around the back of the ship's wheel and pointed to a sword that was hanging there, right next to a rollable leather shield. "What do you see?"

"It's a sword and shield."

"Yes, but why is it there?" The high elf asked.

"Um, just in case?"

"Yes, in case of what?" Anthield pressed.

"In case something happens and...." Taloni trailed off. Earlier, Anthiel had mentioned being ready in case Ethan needed them to open the portal again.

"So, it's about being prepared?" She asked.

"Close; it's about thinking ahead." Anthiel explained. "Even a small airship like the Argo is very large. It can't move very quickly and it's hard to change the direction once it is moving. There's very little room for error once you've committed to an action, so...?" She trailed off as if expecting the Fey teen to finish the sentence.

"So you need to think ahead." Taloni said as it clicked in her head.

"Exactly." Anthiel beamed. "That's the most important part of piloting an airship; thinking ahead. Being prepared is very close behind."

"That makes sense." She nodded.

"Good, then I'll start teaching you the actual mechanics of piloting tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Her wings fluttered as she gave Anthiel a huge hug, which the taller elf returned.

"You're welcome." Anthiel replied. "Now run along and we'll start in the morning."

Taloni nodded then walked to the railing of the quarterdeck facing the camp and leaned on it. Not long after, she c****d her head to one side as she felt Ethan's emotions change. He was worried about something and feeling desperate. She was just about to pray for him when something caught her eye.

It was a fire.

"Anthiel!" She shouted.

The high elf was at her side in a flash. "Oh no." The high elf looked at the large fire, which looked to be coming from the cave where the woodenportal was.

"SERIF, RAKLAN!" She shouted with impressive volume. Serif was on the quarterdeck ten seconds later, and Raklan five after that.

"Go see what you can do about that fire." She ordered, then at Raklan's confused expression added. "The portal is made of wood."

The two men took off running towards the fire. Raklan was moving significantly slower until Serif shouted a word of warning at him, then he picked up his pace.

"Should I tell Ethan?" Taloni asked.

"There's nothing he can do." Anthiel replied. "If you can sense that he's not busy from his emotions, then yes. Otherwise, best not to bother him in case he's in the middle of something important." She glanced at the hold where Beth's body has been for a few days. "You can always tell him when he feel calmer."

"Okay." The Fey Teen nodded.

Serif and Raklan had reached the gate to the compound moving at top speed. She hoped they would get there in time so the portal wouldn't be harmed. If it was damaged...

She didn't even want to think about it.

Anthiel went back to the ship's wheel, seemingly out of habit. A quick glance saw some worry lines on her face that hadn't been there moments ago.

The Fey teen looked back toward the fire and tried to see what was going on. She could see Serif and Raklan running through the middle of the slaver compound towards the fire. She was switching back and forth between them and so focused that it took her several seconds to notice other movement.

She glanced down and thought she saw someone else moving.

The earthen ramp to the Argo blocked much of her view, but she could've sworn she'd seen at least one person -- maybe two or three -- running towards the ramp. But it wasn't Serif or Raklan, so who...

He mind went to the slaves they'd freed and how shifty they had been.

"Anthiel." She said uncertainty. "I think I saw those slaves Ethan freed running towards the Argo.

Anthiel seemed confused for a second, then she turned and bolted for the gangplank which connected the Argo to the earthen ramp. Catching on, Taloni took a flying leap using her wings to keep her aloft and landed not far behind the high elf.

They had almost reached the gangplank when the three men came charging over up the earthen ramp wearing armor and holding spears.

They were a mere thirty feet away and closing fast.

Realizing there was no way they could pull the gangplank before the men charged onto the ship, Taloni skidded to a halt and reversed direction, using her wings to help her. She still couldn't fly with them yet, but they were a great help when moving anyways.

"Run!" Anthiel shouted as she also skidded to a stop and turned. She made a beeline for the ship's wheel, where the Fey teen had just seen that she kept a sword and shield for just such an occasion. Taloni leapt away from the gangplank, avoiding a spear thrust as she did so.

The three men skidded to a halt once they were on the ship. One of them took up a defensive position with his back to the gangplank. The other two men pulled the gangplank onto the ship while he stood guard.

The other two men drew their swords and with a few chops, cut the mooring lines that held the Argo close to the earthen ramp. Then they flipped their spears around, set the butt ends against the dock, and pushed hard.

The Argo moved.

They were pushing the ship away from the dock!

She knew there was an enchantment that prevented the wind from blowing the ship sideways, but apparently it only worked against the wind. The two men gave a final huge push as they reached the end of their spears.

The Argo moved, its 80 foot anchor rope providing plenty of leeway for the ship to move far from the dock. It had already been about five feet away, and now was approaching fifteen feet.

It was too far to jump.

Well, maybe she could jump it with the help of her wings, but Anthiel couldn't. Serif and Raklan certainly couldn't, which meant there was no help coming. Her husband -- a dragon who would've laughed at the pathetic jump and ripped those men to shreds -- was worlds away.

No one was coming.

She felt panic starting to rise and she fought to keep her calm. It was just like a cave-in at the mine; losing your head made everything worse. She could still feel the anxiety forming as she stood frozen, unable to think of anyone or anything that could help.

She felt paralyzed. She couldn't breathe properly. She couldn't move. Nothing in her eighteen summers had ever prepared her for this. She considered calling out to Ethan, but he couldn't help.

No one could help.

Now that the Argo was away from the dock, the men turned towards the quarterdeck, completely ignoring Taloni. She didn't blame them and shame rushed through her; she was completely helpless in a fight and probably looked it.

The men rushed toward the quarterdeck, but Anthiel -- now armed with a cutlass and shield -- blocked their path on the stairway. One of them stayed to engage her, but the other two head for the other stairway to flank her.

It was useless.

Anthiel was only armed with a cutlass and shield, while the three men were wearing armor that no cutlass could penetrate. Anthiel seemed good with a blade, but only a master swordsman could take three armored opponents at a time whilst unarmored.

Without help, they were doomed.

* * *

Beth watched the scene unfolding before her with shock and horror. Gabriella had promised she would live again, so why wasn't she waking up? Why was her body still laying there lifeless?

Why wouldn't she wake up?

Ethan was still furiously pushing on her chest trying to save her... but nothing had changed. She was still stuck on the Astral Plane and its damned purple hues.

Why?

Alana was standing nearby and she looked crestfallen. Beth could see tears starting to form at the corners of the lovely wood elf's eyes. Her lips was quivering and she looked like her heart was about to be ripped out.

Rachel was still on the ground and looked exhausted after the effort of breaking the stasis spell, but she too looked deflated; sad.

Ethan was still pushing.

Why?

Why wasn't it working?