Chapter Twelve

CONTENT ADVISORY / TRIGGER WARNING

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DEPICTIONS/STRONG IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING:

~ BLOOD

The ebony dragon glared at her, his mouth moving as he spoke but his words went unheard to her. She didn't break her chant, even as the voice of the gods became louder and their strength flooded into her. Her knees almost buckled as the stone beneath her feet shook with tremendous force.

Eskil reared his head back as he spat out curses at her, and fire sparked in his mouth as he prepared to shower her in a blaze of flames. Even with her surprise, she forced herself to continue speaking while locking her gaze onto the ivory dragon next to her. Vegeir slammed his tail town across Eskil's head, the force caused the ebony dragon to clamp its teeth together as his head slammed back down into the snow.

Eskil shook his head, trying to rid himself of the pain ripping through his mind. He attempted to raise his head again, this time in the direction of Vegeir. Fire burst from his mouth, but the flames died out quickly when Vegeir slammed his tail back down onto Eskil's horned skull.

Vegeir turned around to face the black devil with blood dripping from the fresh wounds around his scaly neck. "Move back, Libelle," he said, stepping in between the five mortals and his immortal brother.

He opened his jaws, and fire exploded from his mouth, the blaze lasting as long as the old dragon could exhale. He inhaled again, followed by even more fire bursting from his mouth. Vegeir continued this for as long as he could, each breath causing Eskil pain and forcing him back down onto the bare stone slab as the snow turned to water, which then turned to steam with the intense heat.

The priests continued their chant, reading the inscription off the scroll while Libelle continued her prayers. She felt Thor's strong hand on her shoulder, Loki's words in her ear sending shivers down her back.

Vegeir continued with his assault of fiery breath, and Eskil roared several times as he struggled to break the gold chains that bound him to the earth. He was clearly in pain from the combined force of all of their powers, but he still held his gaze with Libelle's, his eyes burning with mixed emotions.

Libelle raised her hands in front of her body with her index fingers and thumbs touching together. The thundering voices of the old men slowly began to fade along with the loud and echoing chant. Their part in this potentially futile plan was over. Libelle held her breath for a moment, moving her hands so her fingers were no longer touching. In between her palms formed a bright, static light, and flecks of gold and silver began to spark off the translucent orb. The magical ball was steady between her grasp, and it spun ever so slightly as it seemed to build up power.

Libelle's blue eyes found Eskil's again, and her eyes began to spark just like the orb. Bright colors of gold and silver, even reds and oranges. Power was building up both within her own body and within the orb she had created.

She inhaled again before she spoke, and she spoke slowly. "Eskil, I bind thee."

The simple phrase seemed to spark energy within her and the orb, and the once bright colors darkened as the orb became solid. It was now as black as night, and as black as his soul. The sparks bouncing from its surface and from her eyes were just as dark and just as ominous.

She dropped her hands as the orb launched itself forward, away from her and in his direction. Eskil thought it might impale him, but instead, it rushed to find a spot above him where it paused momentarily and hovered over his body. He glanced up at it before looking back at her, a growl ripping from his throat as he gave her a wicked smile. He would make her pay dearly for all this trouble she was causing him.

The black orb suddenly exploded, causing a large cloud of black fog to cover Eskil. His entire body disappeared into the dense smoke; he could not see out of it, and no one else could see in. Vegeir pushed his wounded body up towards the sky and quickly found a safe perch on one of the stone ledges, his gaze never leaving the event unfolding in front of him. The priests all retreated to what they assumed would be a safe distance, and Davyn grabbed hold of Libelle's arm, dragging her along with them.

Despite not being able to see what was occurring in the black fog, they could still hear every pain-filled roar that erupted from Eskil's fanged mouth. Something was happening to the dragon, but no one could say what it was.

Davyn spoke up first when Eskil made what seemed like his last roar of defiance. "What is happening? Did the gods warn about any of this?"

Libelle shook her head. "No, none of this."

"Is it killing him?" Davyn asked.

"I don't know. I don't even know what is happening." Libelle was truly worried; if their plan had failed, this could be the end for all of them. If this works, Eskil would no longer be able to harm any mortals, but if this does not work, he could burst from that cloud of smoke at any moment and kill them all. All they could do was wait until the dense haze faded and see what course of action Eskil was going take.