A DRAGON'S JEWEL: the Ancient Mage and the dark arts

Chapter 24: The blue-eyed boy's sacrifice

Alythia groaned at how heavy her body felt.

'There's that song again' she thought as she struggled to open her eyes.

After a few moments she sat up... everything around her was white.

She leaned back and felt that she was against something solid so she glanced up.

Right behind her sat the figure of a Dragon with a tender gaze emanating from its black eyes.

"Do not fear child, you are safe" it said with a soothing voice.

Alythia suddenly remembered where she had been just moments before.

"DAMIEN!!!!!!!!! WHERE'S DAMIEN!!!???????" she desperately cried while clinging to the Dragon's body.

He glanced down at her.

"He used Absorb. It's a Unicorn's special ability and allows the Familiar to take on the damage of any attack directed at one of its companions. It also has a reflective quality to it – so it redirects that same attack back to the attacker. However, the ability is quite fatal. The Unicorn acts as a shield for someone else but if the attack is too severe, though the one who is shielded will survive, the shield itself is likely to shatter"

Alythia's eyes filled with fear.

"NO!! THEN DAMIEN... IS DAMIEN---"

"Peace child" the Dragon interrupted her. "You need not worry about him – fretting leads only to evil. He is also my treasure and I care for what is mine far more than any mortal mind could ever fathom"

With that the girl let out a sigh of relief.

Her grip eased and the upright posture she had held up till now deflated.

"But Izana..." she eyed him dubiously "how could Damien possibly survive? That lightning bolt wat gigantic"

"Alythia, that is between Damien and I – it is his story to tell should he wish to tell it"

The Dragon then bent its neck down until its large forehead was gently pressed against the girl's chest. She wrapped her arms around its head and leaned over it, resting her cheek on its soft scales.

"But... won't something bad happen to him since his father meddled in the dark arts?" she asked, a little fearful of the Dragon's response.

"My girl, am I so unjust as to punish the one for the other's faults? Far be it from me. Each will give an account for themselves – about how they have used the magic I had entrusted to them. But only regarding themselves, nothing more and most certainly nothing less"

Alythia lifted her head up and gently started petting the beautiful white scales in front of her. "Alright, I will believe Izana's words" she said resolutely. 

"But" she continued, "Might I then ask something that has also been bothering me for quite some time?"