I turned my head to the side to ensure she was safely in place.
“Let’s do this.” Her voice was steady. “Never thought that even in this world, I’d take to the skies.”
What did she mean by that? In her world, does she fly as well? There are no dragons in her world, as far as I know. What could she possibly mean? I need to remember to ask her later.
With a powerful beat of my wings, I vaulted into the sky. The city beneath us shrank rapidly as we ascended and the sounds below swiftly faded into the night. We flew under a cloak ofsilence broken only by the whoosh of my wings against the wind and the occasional rustle of Cat adjusting her hold.
With soft, soothing hands, she caressed my scales, sending ripples through me and making me bristle. “You know, you’re kinda sorta beautiful,” she muttered. “Ew!” she gasped. “Did I just quoteTwilight?”
I grunted, unsure what she was talking about.
“Anyway, you are.” She continued to caress my scales. “Although if you ask me to repeat it later, I’ll totally deny it.”
I snorted, and a trickle of smoke huffed through my nose.
As we soared towards the Underclaw Market, the city’s myriad lights spread out beneath us like a vast, twinkling map. The air grew chillier as we gained altitude, but the exhilaration of flight seemed to buoy us both against the cold.
The night air was crisp and quiet as we approached the Southern District, its labyrinthine streets winding toward the heart of the black market where the underground fighting ring operated. Hidden among the shadowy alleys and nondescript buildings, the location was a hub of illicit activities, guarded by its obscurity and the constant flow of unsavory characters it attracted.
Flying high above the city's dimly lit pathways, I scanned the area for the telltale signs of the ring's operations. From my aerial view, the market appeared as a cluster of tightly packed stalls and shanties woven together in a tapestry of tarps and flickering lights. It was quieter now, the usual hustle of the market subdued by the lateness of the hour and day of the week, making our mission less complicated.
As we descended toward a secluded rooftop strategically located near the market, Cat's grip tightened on the ridges of my back. Her keen eyes took in the scene below, calculating the best moment to strike. We landed softly, the sound muffled by thenight's embrace. Cat slid from my back with practiced ease, her feet hitting the ground silently.
She surveyed the area with a critical eye, then turned to me, her expression resolute. “It looks clear,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “No one's around. We can do this now.”
Nodding, I felt the familiar surge of power coursing through me as I prepared to shift back to my human form to communicate better before the final act. However, Cat's next words halted me.
“No, stay like this. You can do more damage,” she said decisively. Understanding her logic, I remained in my dragon form, focusing on the task at hand.
The moment Cat pointed toward the nondescript building wedged between two towering structures, I felt the familiar burn ignite within me—not just the fire in my core, but the fierce satisfaction that came with destruction. The building’s drab exterior was an insult to the chaos it housed within. Tonight, it would burn, and every shadowy secret it held would burn with it.
“There.” Cat’s voice was steady and sure, though I felt the undercurrent of adrenaline coursing through her. “That’s the place. Set it ablaze, Damien. Let’s end this.”
The night air wrapped around me as I stepped to the edge of the rooftop, which groaned under my considerable weight. My wings spread wide, their shadow eclipsing the moon’s light.
Cat stepped back and craned her neck to look up at me. “Okay, big guy,” she muttered, shielding her eyes from the sudden gust as I flexed my wings. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I rumbled low in my throat, the sound reverberating through the night like distant thunder. Heat built within my chest as the fire swirled, demanding release. I stepped closer to the building’s edge, my claws scraping against the stone rooftop, and inhaled deeply. The flames roared in my core and rose to the surface with a sense of decadent satisfaction.
Burn it to the ground,I thought, the words as much a command to myself as they were a promise. With one powerful exhale, I unleashed a torrent of fire, the blaze exploding from my maw in a bright, furious cascade of twining orange and gold.
The firestorm engulfed part of the building’s roof in an instant and raced downward as the structure groaned and splintered under the heat. The flames spread like a living thing, consuming everything in their path with a relentless hunger. Dark tendrils of smoke curled into the air, blotting out the stars, and the acrid scent of burning wood filled my nostrils.
“Dracarys, bitch!” Cat yelled into the chaos, punching the air triumphantly.
I turned my head slightly to look at her, my eyes narrowing.Dracarys?I tilted my head.What language is she speaking? I’ve never heard that word. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her head.
The fire danced across the building, consuming it in waves. Screams sounded in the far distance as residents of the Southern District began to notice the conflagration. As long as no one was inside, that was all that mattered.
I wanted the vampires to come out of the Citadel andsee. Let them feel the destruction they dealt to others. Justice had a funny way of evening the scales.
Cat stepped closer to me. The flames reflected in her eyes as her expression shifted from triumph to something ominous. “You’re not done yet, Damien,” she said, her voice resolute. “There’s more.”
I grunted and crouched low to the rooftop, my massive wings stretching wide. She climbed onto my back, muttering something about how my scales were surprisingly warm. I snorted in response, a puff of smoke escaping my nostrils.
“Okay, okay, I get it, no commentary about dragon anatomy.” She gripped one of the ridges along my back. “Let’s do this.”
With a powerful leap, I launched into the air, my wings slicing through the buffeting wind. The city spread out beneath us, a spectacle of shadows and faint glimmers of light. Cat clung tightly to my back as I soared higher, the wind whipping her hair and lashing her cheeks.
