Time to Run

Although she was still wondering she had to run as fast as she could. With a very big physical structure of Red Blood, it could reach her by walking slowly one step while she had to run all-out of her strength. There was no way back because the giant body of Red Blood was blocked the way, so she ran into a new way, hoping to find the way which connected to the big hall and go back.

It had been a while until she could run to the new hall in the cave, the light of the torch in her hand was flickering because she ran too fast, only Red Blood's fire helped her to see the way in front of her, but when she saw the new hall, she realized that it was the dead end.

The hall of the cave she just arrived was as same as the hall she left, there was a shallow pool in the middle and same connections way.

Perhaps, this was the last day as a Fire Feet.

Fourth time in the past as a Fire Feet, it was not because of luck but her ability to remember everything she had seen, every path and every stone on the way, even the torch in her hand was blew out, she could remember them all. Laurent was sure this hall is the same hall she just left; this was the magic labyrinths!

"Damn!" Laurent crabby cussed out, clenched the torch in her hand, she remembered when she was a third life Fire Feet, she almost lost her life because she was stuck in the magic labyrinth, but for this situation was totally different, Red Blood was not the normal dragon like others she used to deal with, even she could run as fast as she could, she couldn't keep distance with it. One step of Red Blood, it could swoop down at her instantly while she has to run very fast, she was still alive because it was just playing with the prey.

Even Ticaca could escape from it, as a fourth life Fire Feet, she must be survived even though she didn't know how. More than one hundred times she listened to Ticaca's story, he never mentioned how he escaped from Red Blood nor the magic labyrinth.

Again and again to the new hall of the cave, they were all the same. The more she drained of energy, the more she was in the depth of despair. Red Blood was not playing anymore, it blew the fire out of its throat, so she jumped into the shallow pool in the middle of the hall of the cave, to wet herself could help her from fire but she didn't think that the shallow pool would become the very deep pool, she drowned unexpectedly deep down.

As a sky pirate, she was familiar with water as same as the sky, this pool should be shallow but deep, this could be an illusion from the magic!

Red Blood was at the edge of the pool so she couldn't turn back. In the cold water made her calm down and determined to find the connecting way , she dived deep down with the light of Red Blood's fire and found that there was no way out.

"Do you think you can escape me by jumping in the water?" Red Blood said disdainfully, put its head into water and blew the fire. Laurent could feel the water getting warmer while her breath almost run out. Red Blood was still blowing fire again and again, normally if a dragon blew the fire as much as this dragon, they could give the Salcica, but this dragon didn't look like it would choke the phlegm out any soon.

The water was getting warmer, Laurent closed her eyes, let herself sinking down in the water hopelessly and thinking about how painful she would die in boiling water. When she was giving up, she felt something hit her face. Laurent opened her eyes in the dark, with flashing light from Red Blood's fire she saw the stones were soaring in water like there was no gravity here. Laurent looked at them doubtfully, she dived down to those stones and picked one of them to take a look, just a normal stone but when she released, it soaring back like something pull them there against the gravity.

For a little while without Red Blood's fire, Laurent could see the light at the bottom of the pool and it look like a sunlight. If she was right, that could be the real sunlight, but if she was wrong, that could be an illusion or the light from gem stone.

Four lives Fire Feet was enough as a first woman Fire feet in Galaeadon, this was only one and last hope to survive, all she could do is dive deep down to the bottom and wish that would be the way out.

Laurent dived down past the stones and she felt something was so strange, she started to feel like swimming up to the surface. Without Redblood's fire, she thought she saw the light like the sunlight above water at the bottom of the pool.

In the nick of time, before she couldn't hold her breath anymore, she suddenly reached the sunlight and the air. She took a deep breath and swam to the bank. When she was crawling out, Red Blood flew out of the pool making water splatter around.

She was right, this was an illusion from the magic, the pool in the cave was connected to the swamp in the wood nearby the cave which she saw before the ship dropped her down in the wood.

No time to take a rest, Laurent ran with all energy she had left. Wet clothes made her run slowly but she couldn't stop. To live or die depended on Red Blood, if it still enjoys playing with the prey.

Even though many sky pirates hunt many dragons in the past, it had been two hundred years since no one saw the ancient dragon again. Everyone on Vienna flying ship got scared when they saw Red Blood was chasing Laurent so close like that. Everyone was frightened when they saw the light in the Red Blood's throat glowing after Laurent.

"Stay at your position! Everyone ready!" Uhezga shouted the order while he was using a spyglass, seeing Laurent was chased by the very big dragon which he had never seen before. He kept his spyglass in the old leather pocket at his waist and shouted at the sky pirates again to make his sky pirates concentrate on the mission. "Keep calm! We are sky pirates, nothing to fear! Remain at your position!"

"Full speed ahead!" Among the chaos on the ship. Captain Uhezga ordered loudly when he saw Laurent grab the robe. Vienga flying ship darted forward while Red Blood was blowing the fire out of the throat, pulling Laurent out of the death in time. Even Laurent was frightened by that, Red Blood's fire burnt her hair and then it stuck in the silver net which had just shot from the ship. Because her hairs were wet, so the fire was not spread to all of her hair, so her ponytail was burnt to the ashes and turned to bob hairs.

Laurent was relief and sighted out deeply for her fear to death. She got up to the deck. She just past the death one more time.

It was a terrifying moment for Laurent, she felt numbness until she was pulled up on the ship, not sure she is alive or dead until Andrean came to shake her shoulders.

"Congrats! Five life Fire Feet", said Andrean delightfully as same as every time she survived the dragon but Laurent did not look like she is glad and proud as every time. Her eyes obviously showed that she was panicked.

"Hey! Laurent. Are you alright?" Asked Andrean.

Laurent shook her head slowly "Andrean, do you hear that?" She got up to the deck and look down at Red Blood which wriggling in the silver net down there on the ground and shouting the curse.

"Yes, why not. It deserved; it almost kills you." Said Andrean with anger, he didn't understand what she said, he heard only the screaming from Red Blood.

Laurent still shook her head; this was not what she meant. "No, I mean do you hear the dragon speaking?

"Laurent, the dragons cannot speak." Said Andrean articulately to remind Laurent but she was absent-minded with Red Blood's voice

"You gonna die, all of you will die!"

"That's it..it's speaking now. can you hear that? It cursing us to the death" Laurent tried to tell Andrean again but he did not believe.

Down there on the ground, all sky pirates of Vienga ship were pulling up Red Blood in the silver net to hang under the ship. Laurent slowly get up and look down at that creature, it was wriggling in the net down there and shouting the curse; 'You're going to die, all of you going to die!' Red Blood was still screaming out very loud but no one could hear.

"Yes, I know the dragons cannot speak but Red Blood is speaking. I know you don't believe me but I really can hear it speak, just right now. It cursing us to death." Andrean never saw Laurent lost her control like this so he ran out of the word for a while.

"Perhaps that is hallucinations," said Andrean

"No! Not hallucinations. I really hear it speak. She insisted. Now she couldn't calm down. Obviously, she was burnt by the dragon's fire. She might sick of it. Sometimes dragon's fire fever happened to people who touched the dragon's fire and it could make strange conditions such as hallucinations. But she heard it speak before she was fired.

"No Andrei. I heard it before it burnt me! I really heard it! This dragon is cursing us." She disputed. More than hearing the dragon speaking, she felt the heat like she was in the fire. She saw everything was burning and fell down to the floor.