TAKEN BY THE DRAGON KING

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE

Gulliver

“Again.” She ordered as the stick clatters on the dusty ground, my hands are bruised and malformed from years of intense casting, she stands towering above me, her glinting with a cold spark resonating down her cold dark abysmal heart.

“I said again!” She roared her stick tapping the ground with a force of magic that sent an unrefreshing shockwave through me, struggling with my shaky legs, I crawl through the wave of pain wracking my entire system as I manage to stand.

“Pathetic!” She scoffs her eyes refusing to look at me. “Clearly your father’s genes, it’s a pity she married him, a pity that is you, the world will eat you up boy, it is cruel to our kind, halfling or not, it is my duty to train you, trust me I despise this much as you do, now Again!”

Electricity much akin to a dose of lightning arced from the tip of her fingers and I barely had enough time to cast my shoddy defense magic and I was hurled back my back hitting the wall with a resounding thud. I gasped blood filling my mouth

“Each time worse than the last!” She snarled. “Just a shield, what is so hard about that-!”

She raged on and I’m seething an anger in me, it fueled a strange kind of burning within me, a different kind of fire in me an anger a need to prove myself and then summoning one hell of courage and the last of my magic, I sent the same attack spell at her catching her off guard, the power flowed through me with a yell and exploded in a bright blinding light.

When the dust settled I could see pieces of granny’s fragmented shield laying all about, granny had moved back quite a few paces her arms smoked, clearing to reveal a rather nasty looking burn on her forearm.

“Oh look.” She said with the faintest hint of a smile. “Some talent.”

With that I could finally collapse with a smile on my face, I did not believe Granny to be mean in any sense, see just how cruel the world was without the need of our powers, it had gone from reverence to straight up killings, I would be strong, would be tough, would be worthy of the Salazar name.

All in all I would be deserving of her.

****

I gazed stupefied as her hands lit up with the same light it had all those years ago, only this time, it was on the wrong side of everything, so many questions ran through my head, the key predominantly being why? I did not want to fathom her betrayal, it hadn’t even occured to me that she could- that she could-

“Gulliver!” Elena roars my name just in time for me to deflect the bolt if electricity she shot at us.

“Finish them!” The queen howls with a maddened tenacity.

Our magic clashed in a flash of light an animalistic growl escaping my throat as I try although in vain to match her magical prowess, it’s no use, she’s a powerhouse and while my shield might have been holding, her magic was stronger, pushing us back and cornering us into a wall of human soldiers, the spell continued to drain me and just as my shield wavered, I felt a wave of magic wash over, not the raging anger fueled magic that ran through me but a more leveled calm one.

It took me a fraction of a second to see that Elena was letting me channel her, at ger detriment as tiny droplets of blood had began to drop from her nose.

“What are you waiting for?” She says almost yelling, “I do not know how much longer I can hold it!”

Dracul gives me a grim look, before turning off to face the soldiers and I wonder what that was about, there’s no time to be wasted thinking on it, A spell escapes my mouth opening the floodgates and I hurl them one after the other, tossing each and every attack and defense spell in my arsenal, I couldn’t beat her locked on even ground but I could if I kept her busy with the spells, Elena’s strength held and more of my magic replenished behind me, I could hear the cries of soldiers as they were aggressively butchered by Dracul, we could escape, we could-

An ominous chill filled the air, it was suffocating, kind of like an infirmary scent mixed with sulphur and a hint of something familiar, it wasn’t until she looked up when it hit me, her eyes glowed an intense blue, something sharp and almost electric, it was a blue I’d always known and not one I’d thought I’d ever see again.

“Miranda.” Her name escapes my lips as a whisper before we are blown back by an insurmountable power.

****

The days has gotten tougher Granny was stricter and just not to me but her as well, I didn’t really know where she came from but I was grateful for her company, one minute it had been the two of us and the next it had been her.

She was a pure blood with an affinity for Elemental magic, a true sorcereress and Granny’s pride and joy, she had been my friend, a tutor and my first love, I didn’t dare tell her, she’d kick my arse but made sure to never leave her side, showering her with as much affection as I could without getting caught in the moment and despite all the hardships and hiding it had been the best years of my life.

I didn’t really know what went on, didn’t know what had truly conspired between both women, Granny never spoke about it , despite all the times I spent with her playing Inquisitor and Miranda, Miranda was not herself, secretive and paranoid with nightmares plaguing her nights, I tried, heaven knows that I honestly did to get her to open up to me but she wouldn’t, she turned from someone I loved to a shadow.

She’d left on a starry night, not a word, no goodbye’s, Granny had been pained but as usual she hid it all behind her stricter persona, I on the other hand had hurt like hell, the ghost of her had plagued my boy hood and I always wondered if she did ever make it.

There was no more need of wondering, she stood towering high and mighty above me, a victorious smile on her face.

“Good to see you too Gulliver.” She says drily. “Still clinging on to friends, and shielding yourself with them I see, well too bad you never bothered to grow up, always serving.”

“Miranda.” I whispered her name quite afraid that reality might happen and it’d really be her.

“Oh for fucks sake!” She sighs. “I want to kill you so fucking bad but a deal is a deal, isn’t that right Denise?”

Granny looked down her eyes to the floor as barely met anyone else’s, couldn’t she see that I wanted none of this, no matter the reason she might have had couldn’t she do something, Miranda stepped over me despite my rather weak attempt to grab her feet.

“First I’d drain her and then maybe you.” She said gleefully in a manner much akin to a child’s behavior, humming a slow song as she slow walked her way towards a fallen Elena.

“Granny.” I call to her weakly. “Granny do something.”

“It’s for your own good.” She tells me. “It’s always been for your own good, trust me Gulliver just this once.”

My ears bleed as Elena screams in pain, the rotting smell of sulphur, the cold dead feeling of her magic, the clues hit me in the face, she’s been stealing it, leaving magicians high and dry there were wisps of rumors of a magic thief that had caused quited a stir across the Southern border once, I’d never taken her seriously, not until now.

“Diabolos.” I say weakly. “Rotten magic.”

“A girl has to survive.” She says with a gleeful charm as she sucks Elena dry slowly.

I wonder how Granny can stand the sight of this but then again she was iron willed, I wanted to move, willed my body to even, my body grumbled and groaned then remained still like a an old tree blown by the wind. Elena’s scream continued to grow louder.

“Do something.” I yell with the last bit of my strength. “I’m begging you Granny do something!”

I was met with no reply whatsoever and a few laughs from the remaining soldiers, the screams were worse Dracul had been bound by a shitload of magic forced to watch this torture, Elena’s scream reached a burning crescendo and then suddenly stopped.

The hairs on my skin stood as every fibre in the air became supercharged with magic so thick, I could taste the slack copper in it, the air supercharged with immense power and everything went white.