Touch of Flame

Ares stood at the window with his firearm ready.

"What is she planning to do?" Noah wondered.

"We shall see," Ares breathed through the pain.

More dragons were already surrounding them, but Ares assumed that they had only just emerged due to the commission and were unsure of what was going on.

Spotting a shadow above, he quickly aimed with his pistol but paused as he felt that it was Nazneen.

"Don't shoot." He told the others.

Nazneen flew around, and he wondered what she was doing when a sudden, loud roar caused the town to shake. She flew around, growling, making a sound so primal as if calling to a bloody battle, and when she awoke everyone, she returned to the courtyard, shifting back and landing in the pile of injured, paralyzed, and dead dragons that lay there.

People quickly began to gather, hearing her call, and Ares could see the horrified looks on some of their faces.

Nazneen didn't wait until everyone was gathered to speak. "You wonder what happened?" She asked, in a surprisingly calm tone. "These dragons came to kill me, and now... they are dead. Most of them." She shrugged slightly.

Her people looked at the pile of unmoving bodies.

"Some of them are paralyzed, and others are slowly dying from poison." She continued as if she were telling them an interesting story. "If you wonder how they could be paralyzed; it is the humans' invention."

She grabbed a paralyzed dragon from the pile, holding him up with an arm around his neck and not caring that she was suffocating him.

"The humans can now paralyze you and while you can do nothing to help yourselves," she tightened her hold around the dragon's neck, "they can do to you whatever they want."

Since they didn't believe her words, she was now showing them the consequences.

Tossing the paralyzed dragon aside, "Do you still want to fight me?" She asked, her voice now getting higher and more assertive. "Do you still believe there is no threat out there? Do you still think you can fight the humans? Do you still wish to put your homes and children at risk because you refuse to change?! Tell me!" She demanded as more people gathered.

Ares watched curiously, almost surprised. Once again.

"You can either fight with me or fight against me, and if you choose to fight against me, I promise you will lose. It will only be a matter of time. If not against me, then you will lose against the humans, because while they are rising to defend their people, you are only risking yours." She continued.

Ares took notice of one dragon rising from the pile after regaining consciousness. He let him rise a bit so others could see before aiming to fire. The people reacted as if to warn Nazneen before they gasped as Ares shot him down.

Nazneen, who was probably already aware, remained unfazed. "I will find out who is involved in this, and they will face a terrible end." She promised, and then, taking one last look at her people, she turned around and walked back inside.

Ares stood at the window and watched the scene unfold below. He could see the dread and doubt in her people's eyes as they listened to her words, and he knew her message had touched a nerve.

Her people traded uneasy looks and murmured amongst themselves as Nazneen returned inside. Her display of power and the harsh reality of the new danger they were facing clearly shook them. The once-proud and strong dragons were now confronted with the prospect of their own weakness.

Ares felt strangely proud of how Nazneen chose to handle this. She knew her people more than he did.

He kept watch for a while until most of them retreated and he sensed no danger. Then, with a painful breath and an aching body from the fight, he let go of his weapon. He allowed himself to sit on the floor, unable to do anything else now that the adrenalin had left his body.

Something in his chest was heavy and hurt whenever he breathed. The kick he received had done some damage to his ribs, but all the punches to his head caused him dizziness and a throbbing pain that refused to go away. There was also a strange persistent hollow sound in his ear and a stabbing pain, as if a sharp object had been shoved into his ear and through his head.

Noah, who could tell he was enduring pain in silence, just reached down for him and nodded for Eric to help him. They pulled him, and as they walked him, he managed to catch a glimpse of Nazneen before it all became confusing and he could see nothing but blurred and fading images. The voices also became distant.

Ares didn't know how much time had passed when a sharp pain in his shoulder suddenly stabbed him awake. He gasped while lifting his head up from the pillow, and his eyes met Nazneen's as she loomed over him.

"Your shoulder was dislocated," she explained. "It is back in place now."

He allowed his head to fall back onto the pillow with a sigh.

"I need you to sit up if you can," she told him.

Pushing through the pain, he sat up. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and realized that he was shirtless with a bandage wrapped around one arm. There was a bowl with stained water from cleaning his wounds.

Nazneen held another bandage in her hand, looking hesitant. "What... how should I... You have a few broken ribs. Will they heal? They should..."

He could see the distress on her face. "They probably will," he assured.

She was thoughtful for a moment and then took a deep breath. "Anyway, let's stop the bleeding at least."

She was about to lean down, but he stood up to make it easier for her. She came to stand in front of him and began to wrap the bandage where he was bleeding, right on the upper left side of his waist. Ares thought she was oddly quiet as she wrapped him up and he looked around the unfamiliar room. It was smaller and dark with the only light coming from the burning fire in the hearth.

"Where are the others?" He asked, unable to hear anything from afar as his senses were numbed from the injury to his head.

"They are helping care for each other and the house. This side isn't ruined, so we should stay here until we rebuild the other side." She explained as she finished bandaging him. "There is still time left until the morning. Sleep here."

She began to pack her belongings and leave.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To get some sleep," she replied.

"Where?"

She took a deep breath. "Anywhere."

"You are not going anywhere. You will sleep here."

She tilted her head and looked at him in silence for a moment. "You are in no condition to protect me. As soon as you heal, pack your things and go back home."

Ares wasn't sure he heard it right at first, so he gazed back at her, trying to digest what she said. Did she tell him to go home?

"What... did you say?" He took a step forward.

She pressed her lips together tightly before she spoke again. "I said go home. You have done what you promised. Now you are just standing in my way. I can't have humans around who get easily hurt, so you can leave. I will do my part of the bargain alone."

Forgetting about the pain, he was now overtaken by a wave of anger that he couldn't understand. Wasn't this what he wanted? She was willingly letting him go even if he knew it was out of fear, but he should take the chance and run away.

Instead, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her closer. "Say that again!" He demanded.