The Heir Of The Last Dragon

2. Blood and Escape

"Ethan, do not stop! Keep running toward the forest!" Bryan shouted while pivoting his body, slamming his elbow into the jaw of a soldier who tried to close in.

The scene in front of the Eldravar family shack was unrecognizable. Flames licked the thatched roof greedily, creating a dancing orange light atop the black mud of Lumireth. Ethan held Rion tightly beneath his cloak. He could feel the dragon's tiny heart beating rapidly, as fast as his own heart which felt as though it wanted to leap out of his chest.

"Father!" Ethan looked back, seeing his father sprawled on the ground. Mr. Eldravar looked so small beneath the shadow of a giant-bodied soldier who had already raised a heavy iron mace.

"Go, Ethan! Do not look back!" His father screamed until a cough of blood choked his voice. "Protect him! That is all that matters!"

Before Ethan had a chance to take a step back to help his father, two mounted soldiers dashed forward, cutting off his path. The warhorses neighed loudly, kicking up dust and ash that suffocated Ethan's lungs. The commander of the troops, a man in jet-black armor with a scar running across his left eye, stared at Ethan with a gaze that made Ethan's blood feel frozen.

"Just a wood boy," the commander sneered, his voice cold piercing through the noise of the fire. "Hand over that dragon voluntarily, and I will let your father die quickly. If not, I will make sure he begs for death for days."

Ethan stood silent. His hands holding Rion trembled violently, not out of fear, but because a strange cold sensation began to creep from his palms toward his upper arms. Rion hissed sharply beneath the cloak. Suddenly, the world around Ethan seemed to slow down. He could hear the heartbeats of the horses, the friction of the soldiers' armor joints, even the direction of the wind carrying the sparks of fire.

"Rion, be calm," Ethan whispered, but his own voice sounded different in his ears --heavier and vibrating.

Rion responded instead by biting Ethan's index finger. Not deep, but the pain instantly exploded something inside Ethan's head. A foreign memory of a burning sky and giant wings flapping flashed for a moment in his mind.

One very loud heartbeat shook Ethan's chest cavity. As the commander spurred his horse to charge, Ethan no longer felt like a weak wood laborer. He moved forward.

With a very low and fast movement, Ethan slid beneath the belly of the running horse. He did not just evade, his hand snatched the reins with one powerful jerk. The horse lost its balance and tumbled, throwing the commander into the mud with a satisfying thud.

"Bryan! Take Father now!" Ethan roared.

Bryan Draven wasted no time. He was an efficient combat machine. With aggressive movements, he struck two nearby soldiers using the hilt of his sword, then grabbed Mr. Eldravar under the arms.

"Ethan, we are cornered! Their second line of troops is visible at the village gate!"

"Take him through the back trench! I will hold them here!" Ethan drew his rusted sword. As his fingers wrapped around the metal hilt, the blade suddenly emitted a pale blue vapor. A deadly chill began to envelop his grip.

"Destroy that brat!" The commander, who had just risen from the mud, roared in fury. "Take his bag, do not let the dragon be harmed!"

Four soldiers charged at Ethan from various directions. Ethan spun his body, swinging his sword in one precise horizontal slash. The rusted blade no longer felt blunt. Every time the metal clashed with an enemy's sword, a small explosion of ice energy appeared, making the opponent's weapon brittle and their fingers freeze instantly.

The swords of two soldiers shattered into pieces. Ethan did not stop, he delivered a spinning kick that struck the chest of one opponent until the metal armor caved inward.

"Run, Bryan! Now!"

Bryan nodded sharply, hoisting the now-unconscious Mr. Eldravar onto his shoulders. He ran as fast as possible toward the edge of the dark Valtherion forest. Ethan followed from behind, keeping his distance so that the archers could not aim at his uncle.

However, just as they nearly reached the first line of trees, an archer from atop the village watchtower released a flaming arrow.

The arrow grazed Ethan's left shoulder deeply before embedding itself in a tree.

"Argh!" Ethan fell, a searing burning heat spreading across his shoulder.

At the same moment, beneath Ethan's cloak, Rion let out a piercing, pitiful shriek. Ethan could feel a warm, wet sensation on his chest. As he glanced inside the cloak, he saw the small dragon's shoulder bleeding thick blue blood, at the exact same spot as the wound on Ethan's shoulder.

"Ethan! Hang on!" Bryan stopped, his face pale seeing Ethan fall.

"Do not stop, you fool! Keep running!" Ethan forced himself to stand. The pain was doubled; he felt the wound on his shoulder, and he felt Rion's suffering at the same time. "They are closing in! Get into the forest quickly!"

They pushed through the thorny bushes, going deeper into the heart of the forest feared by the residents of Lumireth. Beneath the canopy of ancient trees whose branches intertwined like giant fingers, the shouts of the soldiers began to fade, leaving behind a haunting silence.

Ethan dropped down, sitting against the roots of a giant oak tree. His breath came in gasps, cold sweat flooding his forehead. With trembling fingers, he unbuttoned his cloak. Rion huddled there, his small body shaking violently, and his golden eyes dimmed as he endured the pain.

"I am sorry, Rion ... this is my fault," Ethan whispered hoarsely. Tears nearly fell seeing such a small creature having to bear his wound.

Suddenly, Rion's long, flexible tail wrapped around Ethan's left wrist. A glow of blue light appeared from the tip of the tail. Ethan felt a refreshing cold sensation sweep over his burn. Slowly, the torn flesh on Ethan's shoulder knitted back together, closing without leaving even a single scar.

However, the price was high. Rion looked increasingly weak, his head drooping limply on the palm of Ethan's hand.

"He healed you with his own energy, Ethan," Bryan approached, sitting against the opposite tree while watching the darkness of the forest. "This is the soul bond the elders used to talk about. What you feel, he feels. And what he has, now belongs to you."

Bryan took a deep breath, trying to calm his still-racing heart.

"We cannot go back, Ethan. Lumireth is over for us. Axandra already knows you hold the key to toppling his throne. From this second on, every shadow that moves in this forest could be an enemy."

Ethan stared at his hand, which was now clean of blood. He turned his face toward the village of Lumireth, which was still emitting black smoke in the distance. The fear that had haunted him since childhood now began to evaporate, replaced by something harder and sharper, like newly forged steel.

"Let them chase," Ethan said, his voice now sounding cold and flat, without a trace of doubt. "They burned the only place I had. Now, I will make sure they will never have a place to hide again."

Ethan cradled the fast-asleep Rion. Beneath the darkness of the Valtherion forest, a wood laborer had died, and a hunter of destiny had just been born.