The Hostage

Teacher Li and Grandmaster Qin descended from the sky as the situation was handled by the two dragons. It seems they were not needed...

Teacher Li rushed to one of the fallen elders that lay on the dented ground. "Elder Rong!" he called out, dropping to one knee.

He pressed two fingers against his neck to feel for a pulse and was relieved when he felt one, but it was very faint.

Grandmaster Qin beckoned for some disciples to come, and two of them came and took the elder to the infirmary.

Grandmaster Qin stared up at the sky at the two mighty beasts, his mouth slightly agape. "Those dragons, who are they?" he asked.

Teacher Li shook his head. "I don't know, Grandmaster," he admitted. But something told him he already knew the answer to that question.

"Grandmaster! Teacher!" a voice shouted from behind them.

They turned to see the eldest senior disciples and their three fellow brothers running towards them. They bowed in respect when they arrived, and Teacher Li noticed their disheveled clothing and the bloody injuries. One of them held his arm tightly to his chest and he immediately knew it was broken.

"Go get your wounds treated," Teacher Li said. "There's not much we can do here now."

The three boys nodded and left gratefully, leaving their senior sister and brother still remaining.

Grandmaster Qin nodded in approval. "You fought well up there," he acknowledged. "Not bad at all."

The two bowed.

"Thank you for the praise, Grandmaster," replied Gena Wu. "We did what we could." Her long strands of hair were askew and she did her best to pat them down, meanwhile brushing off the soot on her pale face.

Wilson Huang rolled his left shoulder forward and loud, sickening crack was heard amongst them.

They all blinked at him while he sighed, massaging his shoulder. "Now that feels better," he grinned.

He looked just as messed up from the fight; his sleeves were torn at places, blood ran down a cut on his forehead, his robes were thick with blood, sweat, and dust...yet he didn't seem to mind at all.

He looked up and pointed at the sky. "Who's that?" he asked the same question Grandmaster Qin asked earlier.

"We don't know...but it seems they're coming down," the grandmaster noted. "It's best we go to meet them."

_______________

Milan ran after Alec back to the main courtyard where everyone was gathered.

On the way, they had seen the destruction caused by the enemy when they rained attacks down on them. The damage was really significant, and they could tell they would have to do much work later to fix everything.

The moment they arrived, they bumped into Gena and Wilson, surprised to see their tattered clothes and many injuries.

"Senior Brother! Senior Sister! Are you alright?" Milan fretted, glancing at all the blood.

The pair turned around, suddenly aware of their presence. They smiled, completely unconcerned.

Wilson flashed a grin. "We're fine!" he reassured, pumping up his fist. "They'll heal in no time!"

Milan pursed her lips but nodded. Of course, she couldn't just look down on them like that...they really do seem fine.

"Really, don't mind us," Gena said with a wave of her hand. "Look, here they come...the first dragons in centuries!"

The black dragon came down first, shaking its thick, black mane. Its face was only a couple feet away from them, and one human barely stood as high as the size of its eyeball. It seemed to grin down on them like it had its own mind and consciousness. It opened its great mouth and the little group shrunk back, expecting to be blown away by a terrifying roar, but instead, it shocked them by speaking a few human words.

"Hehe...hello, there. Hehe, such tiny humans," it rumbled, taking everyone by surprise. His words were almost barely audible under the low growls of its voice.

"It can talk?!" a disciple exclaimed, speaking the minds of everyone else that was present.

The dragon seemed visibly annoyed, baring its fangs. "How dare you, human...of course I can talk! I'm the mighty Drachnai!" it complained almost childishly.

"Drachnai?" Milan heard Wilson murmur. "What's that? Is that its name or something?"

"Ptooey! Of course, that's my name!" the black dragon thundered.

Wilson paled. "Ah, the spirit heard me," he said sheepishly.

Gena stifled a giggle.

The black dragon wriggled its nose and suddenly thundered, "Hey, kid! If you're not coming down, do you mind scratching behind my ear for a bit? It's kinda itchy..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The black dragon suddenly seemed to notice how everyone was staring at him in confusion. "Oh, I'm not talking to you," it clarified.

Then it glanced down, staring at the elders and the grandmaster that stood in front. "Oi!" it said. "You smell familiar!"

An awkward silence fell through the disciples.

"You! I'm talking to you!" the dragon repeated. "You with the gray robes!"

Elder Sima stepped forward. "Me...Me?"

"Yeah, you! You smell like that old man!"

"...Which old man?"

"The old man that made those crystals."

"You mean...Grandmaster Feng?" Elder Sima asked uncertainly. "We are from the same sect, perhaps that's why you say...that...I smell...familiar..." His words trailed off awkwardly at the end.

"Oh...that's why!" the dragon hummed.

"I'm coming down now," a voice interrupted from above.

The black dragon nodded and tilted its head to the side, and a figure slid down its mane and landed on the ground with a tap.

Milan held her breath as a murmur passed through the group. Wasn't that the boy they saw at the training grounds? The dragon is his spirit animal...so he was really this strong!

Elias scratched his head and perked up when he saw the grandmaster. He bowed slightly with his hands clasped in front. "Greetings, Grandmaster," he said politely.

Grandmaster Qin was alerted and he stepped forward, still looking up at the dragon. "Er, kid...no need, no need!" he chuckled awkwardly.

Elias smiled and turned towards his dragon, reaching out to touch the dragon's scales.

The dragon closed its eyes before its form disappeared, leaving Elias to stand alone in the empty space.

"Woah...," Gena marveled, nudging her senior brother.

"I know, right," Wilson said to her. "So young and so powerful...then who's on the white dragon?"

Elias glanced up as the white dragon came twirling gracefully down in circles, its energy completely different from the black dragon before.

"Here we are, dear," it sang. This dragon's voice was distinct from the other; instead of a low, rumbly voice, it was more light and clear, and it sounded as if multiple voices were speaking at once.

Unlike the other, this one wasted no time on talk and lowered its head to the ground, letting a girl jump off and land before them.

They were all stunned as she flashed them a look before turning around swiftly without a word, her stance authoritative.

"Get down!" she suddenly ordered, her voice sharp.

They were all confused as another figure slid down clumsily off the dragon's back, his face pale and green as he dropped to his knees in front of everyone.

"Hmph," said the white dragon. Then it disappeared in a flash, without Eryn having to touch it.

Eryn whirled on the elders, her eyes cold.

"What's the meaning of this?" Elder Sima asked curiously.

Eryn smirked and towered over the man who knelt on the ground, still catching his breath. "This?" she repeated. "Here is the hostage, the only one left. Feel free to interrogate him all you like."

Then she straightened up and raised an eyebrow. "But you only have twenty-four hours," she reminded. "After that..."

She drew a line across her neck, and everyone understood what she meant without her having to say it out loud.

Milan noticed Alec's sly grin that spread across his face and his hands that ran excitedly together. She could understand why he was so happy, though.

With today's events, plus a hostage, they can finally work their way to counter their enemy and fight back.