A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 101: Komodo Dragon Rescue

The lights snap on in the dark empty house.

"What's going on?" one of the vatborn asks, raising his blaster to waist level.

"They know we're here," Phiri Dun-Ra notes as if she expected this, letting John slump back to the floor while maintaining a tight hold on the noose. "Eyes sharp. Fire at anything that moves, except our target."

I feel the tendril at my spine shift and I grit my teeth at the further ache it causes. Then a cold hand grasps my shoulder. I turn my head to see what's there and there is nothing.

Nothing but empty space.

Still, my heart falls.

My heart falls because Phiri Dun-Ra is gone. The trueborn mog that plans to kill us all is nowhere to be seen. And that is not all. John is gone too. Where is he? Where could he have gone?

"John?" I wheeze. "John, where- where are you?"

I don't get a response. Though it hits me when I feel the tentacles writhe inside me, and my heartbeat quickens. I am still connected to her; still connected to the son-of-a-bitch that's causing my pain.

We're invisible. John, Phiri, and I.

Phiri Dun-Ra has triggered John's invisibility.

"Hello?" says a voice I can barely recognize through the blood loss. "Is anyone there?"

Sam. Oh no.

If Sam is here, he'll be killed. He doesn't know what he's up against. He can't even see us. He will walk right into a trap! Didn't Agatha warn him? He was supposed to get out of here. They were all supposed to get someplace safe.

"Sam..." John's voice sounds weakly before mine can. "You- you can't be he-"

And as he comes around the corner of the hallway wall, the vatborn open fire.

"Shit!" Sam yells, bounding backwards. "Lights off! Lights off!" he adds in a panic and the lights of the house blink off.

It's then I notice how cold it is in here.

A temperature that must match at least 60°F; cold enough to catch a cold at the very least and hypothermia at worst.

Where is it coming from? A breeze from an open window that was forgotten to be shut?

No. This is more than that. It's far colder than it was outside, even in the dark. It must be a legacy. A recently discovered one if so. I can only hope. That everyone is safe.

Then there is a roar.

Mistaken at first for a Piken and my heart drops. Though soon to realize that it is not. I've heard it before. A similar roar sounded during training. That is close to animal but does not match any like that of Earth.

A Chimæra.

And not just any Chimæra. Mine.

"Pixie...?" I say softly, my voice almost mute. And as I say her name, something zips past me.

A creature on four legs. Fast and agile. That nearly clips me as it leaps past. Pixie. In her Komodo dragon form.

She launches herself straight into the Piken Mog, who is caught off guard and loses his footing. On the floor, clashing and gnawing at the others' hide, the vatborn take aim.

I suck in a breath.

"Pixie! Run!"

The lizard's large head turns in the direction of my voice, finding nothing. Just as the vatborn open fire on her, she shapeshifts into a smaller form; a mosquito I see, zigzagging left and right to avoid the blasts of their cannons.

Several of the Mogadorians get taken out in the crossfire.

"Stop firing you idiots, unless you have a clear shot!" Phiri's voice barks through the chaos of it all.

I vaguely register my body turn visible again; the invisibility controlled by Phiri Dun-Ra faltering. Though she quickly regains control.

Soon there are none of the vatborn left standing.

With the Piken Mog taken down and Phiri's squadron of mogs she showed up with out of the picture, there is no one in the way to stop her. No one but us. The Garde, Cêpan, Chimærae.

But how can any of them stop what they can't see? As long as Phiri Dun-Ra holds us, she can steal our abilities and use them against everyone. We need to find a way to disconnect from her.

As the ash settles and the dark room becomes clearer, Pixie returns to her Komodo dragon form. Standing firm on all fours and staring directly at us. She must sense the presence of Phiri Dun-Ra; growling at the empty space beside me.

At that point, my hands turn visible, and they stay like so. I suppose Phiri Dun-Ra noticed the same as I did because she steps forward.

"Well," she begins, eyeing my Chimæra pleasingly. "It is an honor to kill one of the Loric pets in battle. A whole class of tattoos designed for their kills. I wondered when I'd receive another."

Pixie makes a hostile hissing sound, attempting to scare off her predator I assume.

"You won't- be killing her any time soon," I spit. "She is- stronger than you think she is."

Phiri only laughs before igniting her palm with a white-hot fireball. Though just as she chucks it at the large lizard-like beast, she freezes, the fire fizzling out and the tendrils of ooze spasming inside me.

And as she falls to her knees, I manage to catch sight of what appears to be a piece of jagged metal submerged in the side of her abdomen.

As much as it hurts to do so, I turn in the direction that the thing likely came from. To see Ella standing in the way of the only other exit apart from the way we came. She holds a rock with a crimson glow in her hands, standing her ground.

A moment later, Crayton joins her, carrying a double-barrel shotgun. He pumps it once.