TAKEN BY THE DRAGON KING

CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

ElenaText property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I barely had enough consciousness as we dropped from the endless abyss, with just enough strength to crawl my way to the gates, with a final burst of magic, I let the gates rumble slightly.

“Help,” I groaned against my aching and tired muscles, “We need help.”

I felt the intense warmth of hands clasp tightly around me just as the firm grip of unconsciousness took a hold of me, finally at least we were safe.

_____

A splash of cold washed over me accompanied by a wave of nausea and I opened my eyes to the darkness, I could tell it was a dream, I’d known that I’d brought us home, where and how the power had come, I had no clue, but simply telling myself it was a dream did not do much to calm my palpitating heart or my frenzied nerves.

Something slunk by me, brushing me hard and sending me spiraling into the darkness, making it avidly clear that I wasn’t alone, it continued touching and pushing me according to it’s whims, each touch bringing along with it the cold wake of fear and sapping a fraction of my strength,

“Who’s there?” I call out. “Show yourself!”

Manic laughter filled the air, the sound like metal scraping against metal carried on to a new decibel that brought intense pain to my ear.

“Weak,” a cold voice called finally accompanying the touches. “I’m right in front of you child, Marvel and Gaze at your future, A future of Chaos!”

Frustrated as the creature whatever it was laughed on at it’s own words, I turn around firing off a volley of spells in every possible directions, I stop panting, drained and exhausted by all the drain of power, my breath itself seems to cease as two giant orbs of red pulsating lights appear in front of me and it takes me a minute to realize that they are actually eyes.

“I told you child,” says the entity. “It is futile to resist, you’re weak, your wake of power was astounding but a fluke, in anyways I’m going to enjoy destroying you.”

Chains sang along in the darkness, trapping my struggling form and penetrating underneath my skin, from the red illumination of this accursed domain, I could see black veins spreading along my skin, sucking my energy draining my life force

“Chaos you were, Chaos you are to become!” The voice howled with glee. “Do not resist me child!”

Whatever foul magic this was, it crumbled all my defenses and resisted whatever healing spell seemed to come to mind, I could hear it whisper, hear it sing in my head to give in, to let the darkness take over and consume me and I found myself wanting to listen, my flailing stopped and the chains bound tighter around me sucking and draining me with even more gusto and glee.

The lights seemed to go out one after the other until one last one remained, it had taken them all, it only seemed fair to let him have this one, I would give in totally, I would become chaos, become.

A heartbeat called to me from the unwavering darkness and it wasn’t mine although it seemed to be coming from deep within me, I didn’t understand it yet but it gave me a strange, fierce will to fight, all I knew was that I wouldn’t be dying here no matter what.

A burst of bright light burst from within me, warming me up to grom the cold, the chains receded and the entity howled in anger and pain.

“Creature of order!” It howled it’s voice fast fading underneath my light. “This is not over, I will get you, it’s not over, it’s not-”

I woke up gasping and coughing, a warm hand grasped my back, helping me ease back into normalcy, but not before I surveyed my hands for the markings, in their place were red welts crisscrossing around my skin, the only real proof of my experience.

I look up to the male doctor with warm eyes about to offer a silent word of thanks, before requesting a bottle of water which was brought quickly at my behest.

“Where are the others?” I ask the man whose name tag read Doctor Egmont. “Dracul, Gulliver and Granny?”

The mention of her had brought back a bitter taste that I wasn’t sure I was ready to deal with.

“Sorry ma’am,” he says evidently confused. “There were only three of you when we got to to you, are you positive that this granny character was with you? I’ll have the guards search and comb the area.”

“No no,” I said waving my hands. “I… don’t worry about it, give me a status report on the others or better still can I go and see them?”

“No my lady,” he says. “Walking would not be best, we needn’t put too much strain on you and the baby.”

“Huh?”

“My lady you are with a child,” he tells me. “Let me be one of the first to congratulate-”

His next words pass by me like a blur, the word baby ringing in my ears constantly, I was pregnant, it all made sense now the second heartbeat but still it was a bit hard to believe, I mean we’d practically gone at it like rabbits all over granny’s place but still, pregnant was a big shock, a mix of emotions hit me as I clutched my belly hard, I was pregnant, with Dracul’s child, I was pregnant with Dracul’s child, I was pregnant with-

“M’lady,” the doctor calls, interrupting my self obsessive mantra. “You zoned out for quite a bit, you asked for a status report?”

I was made to know that Dracul was expected to make a speedy recovery with most of his injuries already healing due to his shifter nature, Gulliver himself seemed to be in a state of shock, he’d been brought back, but so far he’d failed to respond to any form of external stimuli only seeming to take the barest amount of nourishment for sustenance, the entire experience must have drained him mentally, I really didn’t blame him and I made a mental note to see him once I was deemed well enough to move again.

But that’d be days before I was let out of my white prison, my body itched and craved the movement but at every notion to end this compulsory bed rest I was constantly reminded that I was now thinking for two, a thought that still seemed foreign yet incredibly elating to me.

Bed rest came to an end when an incredibly loud crashing awoke me from my afternoon napping which was apparently a thing I did constantly now despite the impending war, a nurse came bursting through fear and alarm drawn clearly across her face.

“He’s going to kill him,” she cried. “Come quick, he’s going to kill him please!”

“Who?” I ask leaping from the bed. “Who’s killing whom?”

“It’s the Dragon lord,” he cried. “He’s going to kill Gulliver!”

My heart seemed to drop through to the floor, and cold fear much akin to the one I’d felt in that dimensionless void as I came out just in time to witness Gulliver land hard against the wall his figure as limp as a ragdoll, Dracul came out, his body shone with a sweaty sheen and our eyes seemed to meet for the briefest of seconds, and through the fiery gold flecks, I could see a very void blooming in them, one thing was certain, this wasn’t the man I knew.

“He should have protected you!” He growled seeming to justify himself, he turned to Gulliver. “You should have protected her!”

Dragonfire danced on his fingertips and I just had enough time to cast a hasty shield as he lunged a barrel of attacks at a fallen Gulliver.

“Dracul!” I yell hoping through the madness he could somehow hear me, but not once did he turn, something had to be done, my body was still weakened I couldn’t keep the shield up for long, taking a slow deep breath, I marched up to him placing myself as a wedge between both men.

“Dracul,” I begged. “Please stop, stop this madness.”

“Leave Elena!” He growled. “His kind must be punished!”

It seemed to go cold when he mentioned that and a sort of cold fury enveloped me, this was a man I’d seen hell for, a man I’d loved for how cool and calm he was, could that have been a lie or was it, was it something else?

“I’m his kind too,” I tell him, tears brimming from the corner of my eyes. “Are you going to punish me too, tell me Dracul, are you going to punish me and your unborn child?”

His eyes seemed to flick back into normalcy, into the man I knew for the slightest second but only for a moment before he reverted back into the monster, this time with a strange after effect, blackened drool dripped from the corners of his mouth, his eyes rolled on in his head and with a howl not human emanated from his throat just as he lunged a fireball at me.