Minglings - Book 3 chapter 23: Silvery sheen

Mason shot out of the mountain together with dozens of fire dragons, and the first thing he saw was the cloud of bats. They covered the sky. For a moment, he froze, then he realized they weren't actually heading toward him but hovering far away, like smog.

"Those disgusting scavengers," Clankrin roared. "If they are here, there's blood in the air!"

If it's not them, then what's going on? Mason thought. He didn't see anything besides the bats, but the gong was still being beaten.

"To the city," Clankrin shouted.

Mason frowned as the dragons flew up the frozen mountain with the sound of dozens of sails flapping in the wind.

Mason remained down, looking around. His gaze passed across the distant mountain cliffs. Seeing nothing besides rock, he was about to leave when he saw a tiny motion along a faraway ridge.

The movement of his body made it hard to see clearly, so he swung back and clutched onto the side of the cave entrance. It took him a few moments to find the motion again, but as soon as he did, he cursed. They weren't goats or snakes or anything he'd seen.

A line of Kobolds, bits of armor, and weaponry gleaming in the light were moving along the mountainside like ants.

Are you kidding me? How did they find us?

Gritting his teeth, he watched them move, trying to gauge their speed before looking at the path they would have to take.

They have to be a day away, he thought, causing his worry to lessen. Then he gazed at the cloud of bats.

After a few more moments, he released his hold and flew up the hill toward the caves.

It cost him far less effort to navigate the caves this time, having been there twice in a short time, and as he rushed out into the massive city-filled cave, he stopped mid-air. Hundreds of dragons: greens, browns, and grays, all with black stripes and highlights, with reds mixed in, were flying above the ruins like a flock of geese. For a moment, he feared they were fighting, but then he realized they were simply flying.

The enormous shape of Midnight sat on one of the buildings, Sandra's smaller shape beside it. Mason saw Clankrin hover in the ear near her.

They better not get into an argument now, he thought as he shot forward as fast as he could.

As he rushed across the ground, he saw that more dragons appeared from inside buildings.

It took him only a few moments to cross the distance, and as he neared them, he saw Sandra raise her clawed hand, beckoning him.

Mason landed beside them, and as he did, Clankrin dropped to the ground nearby.

"What the hell is going on?" he shouted, his voice barely audible above the thunderous flapping of the dragons that filled the sky.

"The sorcerers found us," Sandra shouted back, her eyes burning with anger. "We've been able to remain hidden here for years! What did you do to piss them off?"

Mason took a deep breath, holding back an annoyed response. What had he done? Nothing, dammit! He'd just made his way here and tried to stay alive.

"I saw them, but why are the bells ringing? It will take them a day to reach us," he roared back.

"We can't let them reach us! If they get anywhere near the mountain, The Hound might-"

Some of the dragons moved too close, and the sound of their wings drowned out Sandra's voice.

Leaning forward with a frown, Mason tried to hear what she said when his ears plopped. Then a dull roar was followed by a voice so loud it made Mason's ears ring.

"Sit down and wait till we leave!" Midnight boomed.

Dozens of startled yelps and shouts came, and within moments dragons began dropping down, either landing on the buildings or the ground. It took barely half a minute before only a few stragglers remained airborne.

"Thanks, Midnight," Sandra said.

"No problem," he said.

Mason was staring at the massive black Dragon, wondering if they shouldn't just let him go there and take care of the Kobolds, sorcerers, or no sorcerers.

"Alright, as I was saying," Sandra continued. "If they come and The Hound reacts, we don't know what the consequences might be. He seems in a state of craze, or perhaps he is dead but doesn't yet know it, I don't know- but what I do know is that if they come here and he snaps out of it, we… are…"

Mason blinked, feeling a soft tremor through his claws. Sandra's eyes widened, and he saw her jaw clench tight.

A stronger tremor ran through the mountain below them, and distant crumbling and crashing sounds began. Then another tremor caused Mason to stumble even on four limbs.

"Queen Sandra!" a high scream came from the distant tunnel exit, and Mason looked up to Salvo rush their way. His wings were beating so fast that they looked like a blur.

I guess that's why he's a scout, Mason thought, trying to keep his slowly building fear down.

Salvo reached them, landing a dozen feet away and sliding across the ground, coming to a screeching stop.

"The Hound… he is attacking the Kobolds!" he shouted, just as another rumble caused all of them to sway.

Mason's first response was joy, then he saw Salvo's panicky look.

"What's happening," Sandra asked, her voice suddenly deadly calm.

“He is… eating them…” Salvo whispered.

There was a hushed silence before Sandra nodded.

"And the sorcerers?"

"They are blasting at him, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good."

Mason took a deep sigh, then jumped forward, his wings propelling him forward as fast as he could.

“- Hell… - you.. -ing?" he heard in between the deafening crack.

"See what's going on," Mason roared back without looking.

He was barely ten seconds in the air when he heard others follow him. He didn't look back, instead shooting towards the exit.

As he reached the tunnels, a blur appeared next to him, and Salvo hung upside down to the side.

"Follow me!"

Mason nodded, turning after Salvo, who was taking another route than he'd done so far.

"Do you think The Hound is going to come after us after this?" Salvo shouted, barely looking where he was flying.

"I don't know, but if he is, we need to spread out and flee," Mason snapped back. He suddenly thought about Baudron and cursed. If he had to flee…

Later! See what's going on first!

Salvo bobbed and weaved as he led him through the caverns, and in record time, they reached a cavern with a smaller exit. Mason didn't hear anything following them, and he guessed the others were going through the normal route.

Staring at the hole, he knew he'd never be able to fly through, but he might be able to squeeze through if he had to. Instead of flying out, Salvo slammed into the rock near it and stuck his long neck out.

Mason copied him, relieved to see enough edges in the rock to hold on to, as he looked outside.

As he did, he realized the location they were in wasn't enough to see the spot he'd seen the Kobolds, but it didn't matter. An enormous, pale white shape hung to the side, its mouth gaping wide while green and purplish tendrils rippled from its mouth like the arms of an octopus. Tiny screaming forms could be seen in some of their clutches just as they were tossed into the waiting maw.

"I can't see shit," Mason muttered as he crawled up, reaching for handholds outside and pulling himself out.

"Where are you going?" Salvo hissed, the panic in his voice apparent.

Mason didn't bother to reply, but as he climbed out, he looked around the top of the flat hill. There was a ledge not too far, and he ran towards it, finally able to see where The Hound's tendrils were stretching out towards. Hundreds of tiny shapes were running around like scattering ants while a smaller group stood back. A bright red orb hung between them, and if he had to guess, they were powering up some type of attack.

Why aren't they just fleeing? Mason thought as he watched the scattering shapes rushing towards The Hound. Were these guys suicidal?

His thoughts barely finished when the light burst up, speeding up so fast that by the end, all he saw was a beam that battered into The Hound. A tremor ran through the mountainside as The Hound's head was slammed into the side of the mountain, stone and rubble flying around. The long tendrils shook, and two vanished. The Hound pushed himself away, and with a dull roar, new tendrils burst forth, stretching out across the insane distance to snatch up some of the tiny kobolds and jerk them back.

That looked… conscious, Mason thought as he swallowed.

A half dozen tendrils deposited flailing specs into the maw, and The Hound stilled, then shuddered. The previously dull white eyes pulsed with a silvery sheen.

~ Commmmeeeee ~

Mason shuddered as a voice seemed to speak directly to his draconic side. It was as if a part of him that had been fully integrated rebelled, wanting to fly toward the source of the voice.

Toward The Hound.

No, no, no, Mason thought as he forced himself to remain standing, something that cost immense effort.

Sensing the rebelling part of him, feral and seeming to work fully on instinct, Mason gripped it between mental hands, holding it tight. As he did, he knew it was only a tiny part of him, some remaining bit of the entity that he merged with. Perhaps it's consciousness? He didn't know, but acting on instinct, he squeezed, feeling it struggle, trying to slip away. Imaging more hands, Mason clamped the piece down, squeezing and squeezing until he finally sensed a tiny pop.

The bit of consciousness, or whatever it had been, shattered with a final rebelling cry.

As it did, a burning heat erupted from his stomach. It surged through his body, the pain growing so fast that within moments he saw no more than sparks and flashes. Then it faded as quickly as it had come.

What the blazes is going on? Mason thought as his vision returned.

He quickly returned his focus to The Hound, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw dozens of dragons shoot toward it. Two were already entangled in the tendrils, and as they disappeared into the Hound's maw, something akin to a sigh sounded out.

A soft growling made Mason look to the side, and he saw Salvo standing there. His body was shivering, all muscles taut, and his claws dug into the stone, causing bits to fly around.

“No… No…”

The tight voice seemed to be squeezed out of Salvo, and Mason jumped forward. Without thinking about it, he barrelled into the smaller Dragon before shoving it on the ground.

"Find the tiny bit, the rebelling bit, and squeeze it! Hands, claws, jaw- it doesn't matter," he hissed. "Shatter it!"

Salvo continued to shudder and growl, and Mason kept telling him what to do.

Finally, after what seemed like minutes, Salvo shuddered, blinked, then huddled in upon himself. A look of pain crossed his face as he began shuddering. It lasted for only a few moments, then he looked around.

"Wh… what was that?"

Mason slowly stepped away, but as soon as he saw Salvo act normal, he ran forward.

"Follow me and bring me to the other entrance!" he shouted as he jumped off the hillside.

As he flung down, he looked up, but there was no sight of Salvo. A hundred feet down, he feared the other wouldn't come, then a blur shot across the ledge. Salvo moved faster than he had the previous time and, with a look of resolve, passed Mason.

Mason rushed after him, and he quickly saw where they had to go. Six dragons lay sprawled on the ground while Midnight stood near an opening, battering dragons that were trying to exit from the tunnel. His massive tail slammed them back, and Mason swallowed as he heard bones shatter.

"Midnight, tell them how to shatter the tiny bit of resistance," he roared as he shot forward.

The massive Dragon looked up, and Mason saw the eyes widen before turning back to the entrance to slap a dragon back that was trying to pass him. He looked around for Sandra but didn't see her anywhere.

Then he landed a good distance behind Midnight, beside one of the downed dragons. A small, agile looking brown and yellow one, it was blinking around while snarling. Mason sat down on it, crushing it to the ground and slapping it on the side of the head.

He quickly began repeating what he'd told Salvo, praying the other would hear it. A dull shouting from the side with similar words made him look up to see Salvo do the same thing.

Precious seconds ticked by, but the Dragon didn't seem to react in the slightest, while Mason felt his anger and worry growing rapidly.

"Wake the hell up," he roared, unable to keep the anger from his voice. As he saw the Dragon blink stupidly, he felt a bit of hope. Taking a deep breath, he pulled energy from the odd muscle, trying to channel it into his throat and chest. As he felt it moved, he held it for a few moments, then roared again.

Time seemed to hiccup as everything around him, including the other sounds, seemed to freeze for a moment. Then a booming roar, accompanied by slivers of fire and burning sparks, struck the Dragon below him.

"Wake up!"

Mason blinked as he saw blood begin to ooze from the smaller Dragon's ears while his eyes turned still, then the body below him slumped to the ground, unmoving.

Damnit, I didn't… didn't mean to, Mason thought as he stumbled away, looking at the motionless Dragon.

Looking around, he saw that the nearby dragons were scrambling up, looking around stupidly, while Midnight was watching him with awe. The dragons that had tried to get out of the cavern were no longer doing so.

"I didn't…" Mason said as he turned to the Dragon before him.

Blood was seeping from its mouth, and he knew what had happened from the way its eyes had turned dull and its chest had stopped moving.

Ah, shit.

Shivering, Mason looked around. The dragons were staring up, and he quickly followed their gaze.

Two massive white eyes, flickering between dull, dead white, and shimmering silver, stared back at him. Each time they turned silvery, he saw incredible hate and malice in them.

~Spawn… of… Scorchador…~

The words rang in Mason's head, and after taking another look, he turned to the others.

"Get the hell back into the cave," he roared.

The dragons jumped, and within moments, they ran past Midnight.

Mason took one more look at the dead Dragon, feeling some guilt and pain, but far less than he would have had he still been human. Far less than when he'd killed David.

As he moved towards Midnight, the towering black Dragon gazed at him before looking at The Hound.

"He is awakening…"

No shit Sherlock, Mason thought, but all he did was nod.

"Each time he ate one of us, his eyes…"

"I saw. Let's get back inside," Mason snapped before realizing the other was far larger than him. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled it as he stepped inside the entrance. The other Dragons were all gone.

"Sandra?" he asked.

Midnight laughed.

"She didn't even head outside but stayed back. Muttered something about only idiots attacking with lesser numbers from a fortified position."

"Yeah…" Mason said as he jumped up and flew back through the tunnels.

Idiots.

–

Jake felt an intense sense of achievement bubble below his icy calm as he looked at the swirling balls of ice around his hand. They were all the size of a thumb, glittering in the light, and with barely any effort on his part, he had them speed up and slow down, moving in intricate patterns.

"Good, good! You increased your skill again," Calips muttered.

He was nodding rapidly, his notebook in his hand as he scribbled in his unreadable handwriting.

Jake grinned, then flung the ice balls into the pond nearby.

"Good. Now let's see if you can beat your previous record," Calips said. "Now, don't frown! As good as you are with ice, you are below the water, and you really need to learn how to work with it!"

Jake sighed as he walked to the pond and dipped inside.

Seven days had passed since he'd started practicing with Calips, and although he still hadn't learned any of the insane-sounding spells the other kept talking about, his control over ice had increased at a surprising rate.

Comparatively, Calips had explained to him that his control over the water was barely as good as that of a four-year-old.

Well, I guess if I keep improving at this right, I'll be able to be as good as a ten-year-old in a year, Jake thought as he released his icy calm.

As soon as he did, the joy at his success and annoyance at his failures came back with a vengeance. It took him a few minutes to calm down, the soothing sensation of the water barely helping. Then he pulled the water around him, using as little mana-lits as he could.

It took him only a few seconds, and as he walked out, Calips began counting while he walked around him, still writing.

What is he even writing down? Jake thought as he glimpsed at the scribbled notebook. Although he could read some stuff now, he wondered if anyone but Calips could ever read those chicken-scratches.

Minutes passed by, and as he sat there, Jake's thoughts drifted off.

Emma should be back early today, he thought as his gaze drifted to the school building.

She'd made him promise that he would take half a day off and go with her to look around the sea surrounding the city. She wasn't really allowed out, but with Jake there, her teachers had given their permission.

"Yes, yes! Keep your focus," Calips said, causing Jake to tighten his control over the water that had slowly begun to slip.

I wonder if Lady Talia is going to show up again, he thought. The leader of the city had come and checked up on him a few times now, and it had been two days since the last time.

"Jake! Pay attention!"

Jake grunted as he pulled his focus back in, wishing he could just use his ice. That would allow him to focus so much easier. The trouble, however, was that he'd begun noticing that when he wasn't in ice mode, he was getting much more distracted. He wasn't sure if it was because the stress had finally stopped, and he had time to work through things slowly.

Trying hard not to think about going back out into the wide sea, or when he'd go out to find the ice, or if he'd find another new restaurant to eat at, the time ticked by incredibly slowly.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was no more than one, Calips began nodding vigorously.

"Good, good! You can hold it for as long as you want! Finally!"

"So, can I drop it now?" Jake asked.

"What? Drop… yes, you can release it now! Now, it's about time we begin with the first real spell!"

Jake was about to say he had to leave when he heard Calips's words. He instantly looked up with a wide smile, ignoring the puddle of water he was standing in.

"Which one?" he asked excitedly.

"Water pellets should be a good start," Calips muttered as he looked away.

That sounds… pathetic, Jake thought, his excitement dying down again.

Calips raised his hand, and water from the nearby pond shot towards it, hovering above his hand. Then it turned into a perfectly round sphere smaller than the ice balls he had before. It reminded him of a marble.

"So, the benefit of water is that if you can keep it together, it's pretty hard," Calips said as he looked at the nearby building. The sphere of water shot forward, striking the side of the building.

Jake fully expected it to splash apart and wetten the building, but instead, it sounded like a hammer struck the building. A tiny dent with cracks around it appeared, and only then did the pellet turn into a tiny stream of water.

"What….? How?" Jake snapped, turning to the Kobold.

Calips blinked, then cocked his head. "What? It's not that impressive? Just keep it tight, and don't allow the force to deform it."

"Couldn't you just use that to rip through an enemy?" Jake muttered, wondering how someone was supposed to defend against a bullet-like ball of water.

"Rip… what? How would that work? It's… more like a hammer? Bludgeoning?" Calips said, staring back in confusion. "It wouldn't even bruise a Hydra… or well, or you for that matter."

Jake looked back at the deep dent in the building, then walked forward, tapping the building. It was a solid, some sort of stone, and as he pressed on it, it didn't give at all.

"You do realize most people can't use that much force or range?" Calips asked.

Jake nodded dumbly, realizing he hadn't thought of that. Calips had said that most Kobolds that could do magic of any useful form were much weaker than he or Calpis was.

Still, I wonder if I could use this with ice. Stop it from shattering, Jake thought.

"Jake! Jaaaaake! I'm here! Let's gooooo!"

Jake looked up to see Emma shout as she flew from the school, making spirals as she looked down at him.

"Right. I've gotta go," he said, deciding he'd see what he could do with his ice later that evening.