Rescue

Men lay bloody on the ground wounded from the elements the Golden Dragon wielded. No breath escaped them for their cries went unheard. The long thin sword Alec wielded, stained in the blood of his enemies proved its worth in the victory. Sheathing it, he moved forward toward their final destination, his men following closely behind. It was not long before a large plume of smoke rose over the horizon. Alarmed, Alec commanded his men to move faster. It remained a race against time. After reaching the crest of a hill the group of men gazed upon a large structure set ablaze. A thick haze of black smoke hung in the air, smothering the forest.

"My lord! I fear they are still in there!" one man shouted.

Alec commanded his men at once. "Breach the building at once! I need Nimer and his companions out alive!"

With a strong wave of his hand, Alec used the snow on the ground to create a vast wave of water crashing it down on the burning building. Steam rose from the sizzling wood as the flames diminished. Over the time of his efforts, he has dowsed a majority of the flame. The structure appeared collapsed for the fire had weakened it causing it to cave in. Alec stood strong walking behind his men vigilant for any signs of other cult members.

One of his men glanced back at him. "My Lord, do you sense anything else?"

Alec remained silent, his eyes sliding closed as he listened to his surroundings. The faint sound of footsteps brought him on edge and he wielded his sword once more. There was afoot. Sporadic tangles of violet lightning threaded through the air smothering his sword. Far more controlled than Nimer, Alec conducted the attack with his blade, throwing it aside and dispelling it in seconds. That's when his eyes opened and he gazed into the purple eyes of his attacker, Zinlar, and two of his men.

"Why am I not surprised scum like you still breathes," Alec commented cooly.

"I should be asking you the same thing, golden git," Zinlar grinned. Dark magic played in the palm of his hand, his fingers twitching with anticipation. "How marvelous that a god such as yourself graces us with his presence. Something on your mind, oh great lord?"

Alec remained poised. "I don't have time for your mind games, Zinlar."

"Oh there is time, time for everything," the elf grinned. "I forgot to mention. I know you care for your son, but I find his life withered away on the wooden floors of the cabin. You are wasting your time here. The other two are bound to have burned to ash by now."

Alec pondered if the statement proved true behind a placid expression. "You think that you have won, Zinlar but I find that highly unlikely." Faster than any human, Alec took flight gliding across the ground. With a brilliant swing of his sword, he cut right through the man only to have what he thought to be Zinlar grin and snicker as he vanished like an illusion. The lowly laughter rang through his mind and Alec whirled around to find his companion who had stayed behind fallen in the snow, a large festering wound in his chest. Zinlar stood over him, his long tongue licking the edge of his blade.

"It is hard to tell what is real and what is not, don't you think, oh great one?" the bandit snickered. "Seize him!" he ordered his own men.

The two cult members rushed at the golden dragon, one with magic in hand and the other a dagger. Alec fought off their approach easily swinging his sword and slicing the neck of one cult member and snaking his blade around the other's arm and forcibly pulling and detaching his hand at the wrist. Blood spewed from his wound while falling to his knees and letting out a bloody cry. Alec raised his foot kicking the man square in the head and he fell over out cold in the snow. Alec looked up to find Zinlar gone by the time he had finished with his men.

Sheathing his sword, Alec rushed to the side of his fallen compatriot and knelt down by his side. The man's face and eyes had glazed and appeared like stone. Alec calmly shut the man's eyes and stood walking down the hill toward the building to assist his men. He did not pursue Zinlar but would search at a later time. For now, he had to tend to the wounded.

Alec entered the building through a gaping hole in the wall caused by the fallen foundation. The heavy scent of burnt wood stung his nose and eyes and ash still hung in the air. Walking down the hallway, Alec stopped in the doorway at the sound of a girl sobbing.

Being comforted by two of his men, Ray sobbed between coughing into Jex's chest. The side of her leg appeared burned from the fire and was in need of medical attention. She screamed at the men when any of them put their hands on her, her fingers curling into the fabric of the farm boy's shirt tighter. Alec watched a moment before entering the room approaching the bed and staring down at her with icy eyes before kneeling down and getting level with Ray. His tone remained even and cool.

"You must be Ray. Nimer told me about you in the letter he sent…" he began. "You must be terrified. Where I do not blame you I would like to inform you we are here to help you."

Ray's sobbing decreased as she slowly lifted her head staring at the man with puffy eyes and a face coated in black smears from the smoke. "For all I know…" her voice cracked. "He could be dead." She choked before tears sprang to her eyes again and she sobbed harder.

Alec didn't respond and glanced at Jex's face and the swollen scaring from the shard. "He is not dead but sleeping. He will be alright...I ask that you trust us, Ray. If I was here to hurt you, I find that you would not be alive."

Ray searched for Alec's eyes. "Who...who are you?"

Alec slowly stood, "I am Alec Caine. I am the Golden Dragon, the god of balance and unity."

Ray's sobbing subsided and she gazed at the face of the god. "A god…" she gasped and slowly sat up. "You...you must know Nimer then...he sent for you...to save us." She reached up rubbing her eyes with her bound hands.

Alec nodded. "I know Nimer quite well...I have a feeling he was bringing you to Gurdon. Do you know where he is?"

Ray shook her head. "Last I saw of him he was taken to another room. They were trying to get information out of him."

"Understood. Allow my men to unbind you. We will be taking you to Gurdon for healing. Also," he said reaching into a small pouch on his belt and retrieving a vile. "I suggest you drink this. It will relieve you of pain."

Ray was unbound and she took the vile in her hands and removed the small cork at the top with a small pop. The liquid smelled bitter yet Earthy. She hesitated before drinking the whole thing. Spite the smell, it tasted sweet.

Moments later, the sound of footsteps rushed to the doorway. "My Lord," one of Alec's men stood in the door frame, a frantic, worried expression on his face. "It's Nimer…"

Alec glanced down at Ray and commanded his men, "Take them to the horses. We are leaving momentarily," then left the room. It took much effort to get to the front room of the building with the various debris. When there, the god was in shock.

Nimer lay in a puddle of blood, his skin pale as snow and covered in lacerations and burns. Blood leaked from his parted lips and his eyes were glassy. Each shallow breath wheezed from his mouth getting quieter and quieter. Two men were already assessing him, applying pressure to his wound and helping potions go down to tend to the pain.

Alec walked over with haste and knelt down next to him. "Nimer, did Zinlar get what he wanted?" Alec took Nimer's hand. It felt like ice under his touch.

Nimer's eyes slowly slid shut and opened partway while he nodded before coughing up a mouth full of blood.

Alec appeared stern. "And here I thought I trained you better."

"Y-you...should let...me...die…then..." Nimer whispered hoarsely, choking shortly afterward.

"Pathetic. You and I both know I cannot do that," Alec stated and forcefully let go of his hand and stood. "No son of mine acts so worthlessly. Heal him faster and get him out to the horses," Alec commanded and walked away shaking his head.

Nimer watched him leave wishing in that single moment of agony he could perish.