12 Soulless

A grubby dog, covered with dirt and mud, stood at the edge of the forest. His barks urged her to come, and anxiety overwhelmed her. Immediately, Hope got up and ran as fast as she could towards him."Maaaax!"

Despite all the happiness of reunion, the joy disappeared when she reached out and stroked his head. Sadness lingered in the dog's eyes, and its tail barely wagged. Hope hadn't seen Max in that shape since she discovered him barely walking and broken inside and out.

Something jumped out of the tree onto Hope's shoulder. Josephine, the squirrel, was very agitated and did not stand still at all. Max let out a loud bark and ran away, stopping in the distance and looking back as if he wanted her to follow him. Josephine jumped out of Hope's arms and ran through the trees.

It seemed as if something had gone horribly wrong, and Hope thought tragedy had struck. The bad feeling accentuated going up through her whole body and making her shiver in despair.

Drake approached Hope when she looked back towards him out of the corner of her eye. Her voice trembled into a shuddering whisper. "I have to go. Don't worry. I will be back soon. "

With two leaps, Hope disappeared through the trees and followed in the footsteps of Josephine and Max. Drake didn't understand what was happening, but her gaze was desperate, and her voice was shaking. He had done so many things to scare her, to make her run away, and yet he had never seen her like that.

"I will be damned if I have to wait for her here," he huffed rhetorically and then gave a resounding shout. "Adam, bring me Darkness, now!"

The caretaker Adam brought the black stallion, Darkness, the same massive black horse Hope had admired the other day. Drake mounted and urged him to go, and the horse galloped like thought. In a few seconds, the castle was no longer visible. The last thing Drake heard was the voice of caretaker Adam. "Master, should I tell the guards to follow you?"

-----

Drake traversed the land, climbing up and down the hills and passing through vast meadows. A long time had passed until he realized he had lost track of Hope. After clearing his mind and separating it from the racing heart and the inner voice urging him to hurry, he was able to calm down and think clearly.

Then he realized that the animals were likely leading her back home, and he knew from which village he had sent guards to bring her to the castle. He steered his horse in the right direction, and not long after, he saw streams of smoke rising into the sky from a distance. His heart skipped a beat, urging his horse to run even faster even though Darkness already was running with almost supernatural speed.

At the entrance to the village, he slowed down, not knowing where he would find Hope. In addition, he had to be very careful because the fire had spread to most of the houses, and they were in danger of collapsing. Desperate people ran in all directions with faces full of soot and buckets of water in their hands. He could hear screams and moans everywhere, and the beast inside him became very agitated.

A young child knocked in a closed window and could not break it, with the sounds of the surrounding chaos covering his desperate cries. Drake saw him and also the burning roof, which was about to collapse. He dismounted and ran to the house, kicked the door open, and stormed inside. The scorching smoke hit him in the face, but he didn't care.

The fire spread to the ceiling and walls, creating a prison of flames encompassing everything in its path. Drake covered his face with a handkerchief and inched forward without paying attention to the tongues of fire that caressed him. He felt the Fire Dragon being in his element, rejoicing the scorching heat. But beneath that bliss, there was fear, fear of not finding Hope.

"Why are you trying to save this child? Why aren't you tracking down Hope?"

The voice of the Old God was powerful inside Drake. But the man was accustomed to it second-guessing his every move. "I don't know. I can't explain it. Now let me be," Drake said, using his inner voice and trying to detach from the creature.

That was not the moment to get overwhelmed by the beast's power and will. He acted based on instinct, trying to live his life the way he wanted, the way Hope showed him. And now he was sure that this was his intent and not the dragon's. This was why it felt good and right.

Drake continued to advance until he reached the child. He didn't know if he had to say or do anything to stop him from crying, but he didn't know what to say anyway. He lifted the child in his arms and smashed the window with his elbow, but before he could jump out the window, the ceiling fell with tremendous force.

Drake lay on the ground with the child under him, trying to protect him with his own body. A deafening noise accompanied the breaking of the bars that held the flaming roof, and everything collapsed on Drake.

Later, some villagers started removing the charred debris because someone had seen a man entering this house. They were amazed when they found something under the rubble that looked like a colossal wing covered with red and black scales. Near it, there was a huge pillar that couldn't be removed by ten people uniting their power. The villagers murmured in astonishment and fear as the wing moved, pushing away that enormous pillar like a feather. Then, the wing turned into a human hand ending in long, sharp nails.

The dust from the debris itched Drake's nose, and some of the shards of broken glass were deep inside his leg. Nonetheless, he felt that leg move and knew nothing important was damaged. Apparently, only a hand had transformed into a wing to protect him from fire, the Fire Dragon's skin being impervious to flames.

"Next time, I won't help you!" Drake heard the voice of his inner beast.

"Why did you help me now? Do you need me?" Drake wanted to stir the dragon as much as he was annoying him.

"No," the Fire Dragon responded, sending waves of hate and anger through his cage. "I've helped you for her. I need Hope, and she will never forgive me if I would let you die. Now go and find her. If she dies, I will rip through your body, converge with my brethren, and scorch this world asunder."

Drake threw the last pieces of rubble aside and stood up, still holding the child, who was no longer crying, and looked at him with a smile. He had never been looked upon as a god who receives the supreme gratitude. He put the child down and turned his back on the boy.

"Sir, sir?" Drake heard a faint voice behind him. "Thank you! Can you please tell me your name so that I can pray for your soul every night?"

"I am no one, and I have no soul," Drake muttered and continued walking away.