Ashoola

Aurora crept forward with as much silence as she could. Scalbord lumbered sofly behind her. She came to a stop. Through a thicket of trees she could see Meaven and Michael bound to the trunk of a very thick tree. She pulled out her bow and notched four arrows on the string. She pulled the bow taunt and aimed. 1

She let the arrows fly. Scalbord inhaled and set the arrows alight in mid flight. They struck the two Lorbeeans right in their heat sensors and they shrivled up into puddles of water. 2

Aurora silently stroked Scalbord's icey blue scales and eye ridges. He surrendered to it for a minute and then pulled out a silver goblet filled with a thick, red liquid. He handed it to Aurora.3

"What is this?" she asked, puffing stray amber hairs out of her face and looking into Scalbord's black eyes.4

"Just trust me, you'll now how to use it when the time comes, drink it now. And no water afterwards!" he warned. "It will wash away the magic!"5

She guzzled the red subsance as fast as she could. It was salty and acidy tasting. She did not enjoy it and she grimmanced. 6

She wiped the remainder off her lips and ran towards her friends. She ripped off her dragon eye necklace and cut through the ropes that bound them with it. with a whisper, it rebound itself and connected to her neck. 7

Michael rubbed his wrists, red and sore from the ropes. Meaven was in no better shape. "Thanks for that," Michael said. He whisteled for Yanaba. 8

Yanaba soared above them and landed with a heavy thud. She stretched the thin membrane of her wings and folded them tightly against her. She huffed a little and flame dribbled out of her mouth, lightly outlining her fangs and whiskers beneath her chin. 9

"Run!" she urgently whispered and ushered Michael, Maeven, and Aurora into the woods, back to Scalbord. She pricked her ears to the right and swivled her head to look. Thousands of dwarves and Lorbeeans streamed over the hill. 10

Yanaba and Scalbord jumped out and charged at their attackers. "What are you doing?!" Maeven yelled at them.11

"Lorbeeans can see heat, there will be no good in hiding, they can see us," Yanaba growled. She launched herself onto the nearest wave of Lorbeeans, clawing and biting them as much as she could. Scalbord lashed fire out at them as he raked his claws through a batch. Yanaba opened her maw and spit fire at her attackers, sustaning the flame for a full five minutes before having to breathe. 12

"Not bad," Scalbord commented, "for a begginer," he teased. Yananba risked an angry glare and bellowed forth flame again. She flicked her tail at Maeven, Michael, and Aurora when they tried to charge into battle. 13

"Not yet!" Yanaba hissed. "We have fire, let us deal with the Lorbeeans, then you can help with the dwarves."14

However, Yanaba had dropped her concentration from the battle and was over whelmed by Lorbeeans. Scalbord turned his head and burst a jet of flame at her assalaints. He felt a sharp prick underneath his brest plate and when he looked down, a Lorbeean's tentical arm was lodged in his chest, it's sharp hooks attached to the arm ripping his skin as it pulled it's arm free. A gaping hole appeared in Scalbord's chest. 15

He bellowed flame at the Lorbeean, but his head swam and his heartbeat was too fast. His muzzle plowed into the earth, sending dust everywhere. He clawed at moving shapes in his sight, but they were all distorted and dark. He stopped moving for fear he'd hit his beloved rider. He closed his maw on the sharp arms of a Lorbeean and ripped his head up, ripping his wound more open and causing it to gush blood. He stood up and swiped his tail at legs of moving shadows that were swarming a large one, one he assumed was Yanaba.16

Yanaba looked over at her savior, however, when she looked, she was horrified. His ice blue scales were a rusty red of blood, his black eyes were glazed over. His head was low and his legs weak. She could see his massive heart beating in his chest, fast at first, then slowing down, more and more. She ripped herself from the Lorbeeans and charged over to Scalbord. But by the time she had freed herself, Scalbord had launched hiself into the air, blasted forth a last jet of flame on the opposing army, and crashed to the earth, dead. 17

Yanaba, turned back, horrified at the sight, and saw that she had left the three unprotected, and they were now fighting for their life. She glanced one more time at Scalbord, but, his body was gone. Yanaba looked around quickly, then, frantically, dived to help the others.18

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Michael dug his blade into the chest of a dwarf. Merciffin wasn't lying, many races were on his side. He side stepped a giant flame that errupted from Yanaba onto a bunch of Lorbeeans. Her mouth closed onto the heads of dwarves, her claws slashed apart bodies like they were rag dolls. Her eyes were wild with fire, and her fighting was totally uncontrolled and violent. She used her wings to beat her enemy, tail to maul them. She impaled them with her spikes on her tail. Everything and anything that moved was destroyed. Michael grabbed Maeven and Aurora and drove them away from the fight, away from the blood thirsty dragon. 20

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Aurora broke free of Michael's grasp, she was going to fight, even if Yanaba was crazed after Scalbord's death. He had fought valliantly, with every remening energy he had, he had defied his attackers until his very last breath. She launched herself into a fray of Lorbeeans, hacking at them with everything she had, until her shoulder's hurt and her body felt like it was on fire. She felt herself be drove back, but she fought on. 22

When she was pinned against a tree, Merciffin appeared. He pushed her hard against the tree. Aurora fought against him, digging her blade into his back. He drew back and smacked her. 23

"How DARE you do such a vile thing," he said.24

Aurora looked at him, hate in her eyes. "I'd do anything I damn well please to get away from you. You used me, you took away my innocence. I was sixteen when you did! SIXTEEN! I hate you, I want you dead, you are nothing. An evil thing that malipulates things until he gets what he wants or needs!" 25

Merciffin stepped back and Aurora was swarmed with Lorbeeans. They wraped their arms around her throat, cutting ino her skin with their spikes. One pulled back her head, revealing her slender throat and poised to cut it. 26

"Any last words?" it asked.27

'How pathetic,' she thought. "Yes," she said. With that, she kicked her captor in the face and crouched down. She extended her right leg and opened her mouth, breathing fire into the faces of the Lorbeeans. 28

The flame formed into a dragon. It molded legs, wings, a tail and a head. The flames died out and there was Scalbord's icey blue body standing above her. He gave as much of a grin as a dragon can at Aurora and charged in with Yanaba. 29

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Yanaba looked over, Scalbord was fighting his way towards her. She let go of the pent up rage that had clouded her senses, she was in control of this fight now. And that's when she got barreled over by a very large form. 31

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Aurora stepped back against the tree again. She was dead, and she knew it, Scalbord had not seen Merciffin, but he was in front of her now. He drew his body near hers. Then she remembered.33

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Ashoola wound her way through the brush. She was going to have to be fast in order to get this outcome. That is IF her dreams had ben right. Her mane flowed out behind her and her padded hooves flew silently across the dead leaves. Foam was lathered around her muzzle and her beard and body was drenched in sweat. But she dared not stop. She ran harder. She burst through the thicket. In front of her, the vision she had dreamed was there. All her heavy breathing and panting would have to wait.35

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Yanaba squirrmed under the weight of Magnerfa. She bit at her face and stabbed her with her cloven tail. Magnerfa burst fire on Yanaba, the heat licking her face, and ran claws down her unprotected flank. Yanaba latched hold of Magnerfa's mouth and clamped down, holding her snout firmly shut between her sarrated teeth. She shook her head back and forth, ripping the scales on Magnerfa's snout. 37

Magnerfa stabbed Yanaba in the shoulder with her tail and Yanaba roared in prtest, freeing Magnerfa's snout. She burst more flame at her and rolled away from Yanaba. Yanaba bashed her with her tail across the snout. Magnerfa's vision swam. Yanaba took the opportunity to latch her teeth onto Magnerfa's wing. She tugged on it as hard as she could and she heard a satisfying rip. Blood flowed into her mouth and Yanaba welcomed the taste. Magnerfa screamed in pain and raked her claws across Yanaba's snout, clawing from behind her ear, across her eye, down to her nose. Yanaba was lucky she shut her eye in time.38

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Scalbord reached the fighting females, but how Yanaba fought, he knew there was no room for him. He turned and sank his claws into the advancing Lorbeeans and dwarves, fending them off, giving Yanaba and Magnerfa plenty of room to fight. Swiviling his head to and fro, biting and flaming anything that got to close. 40

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Yanaba sank to the ground. Her head plowing into a tree. She rolled over on her back, clawing, what she hoped, looked feebly. Magnerfa drew in. She clawed over Yanaba's stomach, and Yanaba winced in pain. When Magnerfa came over her, Yanaba shot up her head and latched onto the base of her head where it connected to the neck. She squeezed as hard as she could, and shook her head to tear the flesh. Magnerfa roared and batted at Yanaba with her wings, but Yanaba had a death grip on her throat, and wasn't going to let go, and Magnerfa knew it. 42

Blood poured out of her protesting maw and her eyes leaked blood too. She could feel her skull filling up with it, making her head heavy. Her eyelids began to droop and and head to sink. She breathed in one more time, but instead, got a lung full of blood. Her vision blackened and her heart stopped beating. Yanaba let go and plunged in with Scalbord.43

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Aurora leaned into him. "You don't honestly want to kill me do you?" she toyed.45

Merciffin stiffened. "Of course I do," he retorted.46

"That's a lie. You know who I am. i am the one who outsmarted you. I am the one with the two blades that had been pressed against your neck. I am the one with unearthly blue eyes, not because I can see, but because I am blind. I can sense your thoughts, that's what somes with being blind, you're so much more observent. I am the one you loved."47

"That's a lie!" he spat.48

"How could I know all of this?" she asked. "I was there. I was dead. I killed myself, but I'm back now, and I think I can do what I was supposed to now. You defied your dragon, you cheated by placing snakes in my library. I fell for that, because I was now seeing like I do now. No, then I was stupid, in this life, I know what I am."49

Merciffin drew back as if struck. "How can you- this isn't-"50

"Oh, it's very possible. I told you Warlock, I told you I'd see you again in another lifetime. And here I am. I don't forget thing easily Warlock, and I certainly don't lie."51

Merciffin looked horrified. "Well then, there is no way that I can lie in my own mind. You are right, I don't want to.... But that doesn't mean I'm not going to."52

"Yes it does. You've done something to me, I don't know what, that part f your mind is too shady, but I know you did something, you're not going to let me die. It's too risky for you."53

Merciffin sliced down her side with his sword. "Then I'll just have to cut you up so bad that you won't remember anything." 54

"I think not, Warlock," she said, and in final deparation, she planted her lips directly on his. Her entire body conversed into shivers, her mind screamed at her to back off. But it was this, or Merciffin got away. 55

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Ashoola saw it, the exact position that was in her dream. Aurora knew what she had to do. The look of disgust was plain on her face, but Merciffin's eye's were closed, so he didn't see it. She lowered her horn at his chest and whispered he three killing words.57

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Aurora saw the light and watched as Merciffin's eyes flashed open. His eyes clouded over as he grasped her as tight as he could. The unicorn had been right on time. 59

"How could you do-" he started.60

Ashoola stepped out. "Warlock, I have Magik. Only your own Magik can kill you. And I have it. And I shot it."61

Merciffin's face drew into a sneer. "You won't get rid of me that easily," he said. He let go of his death hold on Aurora and dropped to the ground dead.62

Aurora looked at Ashoola. "No," she said sadly, "and I bet I have something to do with it." Ashoola dipped her head. 63