Act 5.
"Look at them run and hide." he thought to himself.
They were afraid of him as he flew over the village looking for the mage. They were right to be scared but this time he was not there to cause the havoc that usual came with his feedings. No. They should be more afraid of what he will become.
Finally he would no longer be cold.
He was always cold.
The sun could be shining down on the longest day of the year, and the people could be crying out that the world was on fire and that they would surely all die, and still he would be as cold as ever.
He hated this existence of near nothingness. Of being made of shadow, and spirit. Of fog and dew. Of all things fleeting.
He could be so much more if it were not for that.
But now, that will all change.
She was here and she could give him what he lacked. The fact that she would probably die was none of his concern.
He sniffed around looking for her scent.
The Queen had tried to distract him with talk, but it was a futile attempt. It bought the mage a little time but not enough. He was very close now and he would not give up that easily.
He found it soon enough.
"She is heading into the mountains." he thought.
"Probably trying to hide in the maze of caves there."
He snorted.
"As if that will stop me."
He flew off in the direction of the mountains.
Soon he would be free.
Linda and the others were now walking in the open brush between the forest and the mountain range.
Linda kept one eye on the sky for any sign of their pursuer. Margaret followed in the rear while Mikako walked in between them, still reading her tomes.
"Found anything useful?" asked Linda.
"No yet, champion." replied Mikako. "A few spells for defence but nothing really that can turn him back or destroy him."
"Well, keep looking."
"Yes, champion."
They walked in silence for a bit. Linda was glad that it was still cool out this time of year, since walking on the plains in summer could be uncomfortable. Her armour was well made but still a little stifling when it was hot out, and she was going to be plenty hot later if she ended up fighting this thing.
She looked at Margaret in her Black armour and marvelled that she never truly saw her sweat in the damn thing, even though it absorbed all the light hitting it.
She made a note to ask Margaret if her brother had spelled it with some sort of air conditioning spell or some such.
Margaret piped up.
"If the Dragon has to sleep and he has woken up earlier than usual, can we just avoid him long enough until he has to sleep again?"
"That is a possibility." said Mikako. "But, we don’t know how long he can last without feeding. And he seems very determined to get me in particular, so he may become more violent and dangerous if he feels he is running out of time."
"Great." said Linda. "Well we can worry about that after we get to the caves."
Mikako stopped suddenly and looked up from her book.
"That may not be possible." she said. "He’s here."
Linda looked up to the sky.
In the distance she could see the small silhouette of the dragon coming towards them.
"How did you know that?" asked Margaret suspiciously.
"Because he called out to me." She said turning toward Toukon as he came closer.
He flew onward searching with all his senses.
As he came closer to his goal he could pick out others as well.
She was with two others.
Not mages.
Even though they had the smell of magic on them, it was not part of them. Probably some fighters who thought they could hold up against one of his kind. They would soon learn the foolishness of such ideas.
Then he found her.
She was everything he thought she would be.
He could feel the power that would give him the solidity and warmth he craved.
She had it and he wanted it.
He reached out to her.
"How to turn a castle into a toadstool? how utterly useless..."
He could hear her.
He smiled thinking this to be very amusing.
But if he could hear her, then...
"Hello little one." he ventured to say.
He felt her stop.
"How?"
"I don’t know. Though I can make a good guess." he answered. "But I am here, and now I will take what I came for."
"Here he comes." said Linda. "Mikako, you keep going and we will see if we can’t hold him off a little longer. We’ll catch up to you in the caves."
She and Margaret stood shoulder to shoulder watching the Dragon get closer. They readied their swords.
As he began to swoop down to them, his skin darkened going from the light, almost pale, green tint it had before to a deep black. The red stripe down it’s back became a more crimson colour from the pale imitation it was before.
Linda glanced back and saw that Mikako had not moved but was standing there gesticulating.
"Mikako!" she said. "Get moving."
"Not just yet Champion." said Mikako.
She finished her movement with her wrists touching each other and the palms of her hands facing their oncoming foe.
"Just wait and trust me." said Mikako.
"All right." said Linda turning back towards the Dragon.
Margaret looked sceptical but staid next to Linda.
He had picked up speed and was now swooping straight down at them. If Mikako’s idea didn’t work this was going to hurt a lot.
The two warriors stood their ground, and just as it looked as if they were going to be hit, Mikako cried out.
"Shouheki!"
The air around them shimmered and Toukon slammed into nothing, and bounced off, tumbling through the air and landed, with a ground shaking thump, away in the distance.
"Come on!" said Mikako. "He won’t be down for long, but at least now we have a little more time."
They ran to the mountains and entered the first cave they came too.
"We can’t just stay here." said Linda through her panting. "But I am reluctant to enter any further. All these caves connect but you can easily get lost."
"We may not have any choice." said Mikako. "It will take a lot of his energy for Toukon to find us, and that can be to our advantage. Getting lost is the least of our worries."
"I have to agree." said Margaret.
Mikako looked surprised.
"Very well." said Linda. "let’s keep going."
And the three of them ventured further into the cave.
He woke up and shook his head, trying to stop the ringing.
"Idiot." he chided himself. "Did you think she wouldn’t be ready for you."
Then he had to laugh.
No one had ever been able to do something like that to him before. She was proving herself all he thought her to be.
Which made him want her more.
He straightened himself and took off toward the mountains.
He was going to enjoy killing her.