11 Chapter 11

When Rykirus woke, the first thing he saw was the visage of the human male looming over him. He yelped and scrambled to his feet, magic rising at his command. The human raised his hands in the air and stepped back.

"Whoa, whoa there, calm down NightBlade," he said, freezing at the venomous look he got, "I'm a friend, see?" his eyes turned dark red and black mist swirled at his feet, the sign of possession.

Rykirus deflated, collapsing to the floor, groaning, "Who is he? The one your possessing?" he shut his eyes, he was too tired right now. He had a pounding headache and his muscles were sore like he just ran a marathon.

The humanoid grinned, "You picked a good one NightBlade, this one's a noble, a high noble at that. As long as I don't get discovered, infiltrating the human capital will be a piece of cake." He cleared his throat, "Greetings peasant, I am Lord Crivus Kornel and I have honored you with my presence. You're welcome," he stated pompously, sweeping his cloak back and drawing his sword dramatically.

"Well... You're a good... actor... I'm sure you'll be fine," Rykirus stated carefully, eyeing Crivus like he would explode. Crivus beamed and gave a cocky smile before turning on his heels and striding confidently to his stabled battle horse, "Hopefully," Rykirus muttered under his breath when the shade was out of hearing range.

"Hey..." Rykirus let out a startled shriek, that was purposely loud and high-pitched to warn others of danger obviously, at the sudden voice. "No one told me what I was supposed to do at the human capital, so..." Crivus laughed sheepishly.

Rykirus whirled and stared incredulously at the figure in front of him. He took a deep breath and face-clawed, (It's totally a thing okay!) "So... you were on your mighty battle horse, ready to infiltrate the dangerous human capital, where you could possibly die, and you had no idea what you had to do?" he asked, deadpanning.

"Well," Crivus said awkwardly, "It never occurred to me?"

"It never-... You know what, never mind," Rykirus said directing his glare to the sky, "I'll just tell you because we have ALL the time in the world," he snarled, glare deepening. He whirled around to the human (Gonna call it a human cause it's a human body) and spoke, "Your overall goal is to bring the sword of the demon king to me. I don't care what you do to acquire it, just get it done!"

"Yessir," he said, giving a sloppy salute, before bolting to the waiting horse, swinging himself on with practiced ease and nudging it into a gallop.

When the idiot, *cough, when the shade with a slightly below average IQ left, Rykirus was left to survey his surroundings. They were in a big, grassy clearing, with a invisibility barrier cast around them, shielding them from view. He was laying in a spot of sun, eyes closed, scales soaking up the warmth, making his mind tired and hazy. All the tents were spread out, none very close to him, whether that was because they feared him or respected him, he didn't know.

His ear twitched at the sound of footfalls, head raising, and he blinked bleary eyes at the visitor. The first thing that registered in his sleep-addled brain, was that the man wasn't a shade. He had sky blue hair that spiked upward, with tan skin and hazel-brown eyes. On the top of his head, he had what looked like wolf ears, that twitched at even the slightest sound, and a slightly bushy tail that swayed in the wind.

He wasn't a shade. He wasn't a shade. He wasn't a- Holy crap! Rykirus jolted up, claws scrabbling for a foothold, hazy mind moving sluggishly. In the end, Rykirus managed to sit up, shoulders hunched and tail curled neatly around his paws, scowl covering up his embarrassment. "Who're you," he growled moodily.

The stranger gave a choked laugh- err, cough, teeth biting down hard on his lip, "I'm, I'm Nyko," he gasped, shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. His eyes shone in amusement at the sight of the sulking drake in front of him, usually clean scales that shone in the sun, now covered in dirt and dry blood.

Rykirus scowled grumpily at the guy who was trying so hard not to laugh at him. "An what do you want, Nyko?" he asked annoyed.

Nyko's expression dropped, face becoming serious, "We found something, something you might want to see."

Rykirus's cocked his head, brows pinching together, "Oh?" he asked, curiosity shining in his orange eyes.

Nyko nodded, "Come," he turned and walked toward the treeline, pace calm and relaxed, belying the worry and concern etched into his features. Rykirus frowned, but followed the wolf-man, stumbling to catch up on half-numb legs.

Rykirus saw Nyko stop, face grave, at their destination. His curiosity grew and he bounded toward the area, claws ripping up dirt and grass along the way. But that wasn't his concern right now, not when- he skidded to a halt, face changing to match the horror he felt inside, because this, this.

The figure lying dead in front of them didn't even resemble a dragon anymore. His scales were ripped violently off his raw, now decaying skin, claws and teeth pulled out, leaving only stubs, and, bile rose in his throat, and he felt faint, the dragon's eyes were gouged out, blood pouring out of his empty sockets and maw open in an eternal scream of agony, anguish.