<u>Chapter Nineteen</u>


    “What, big bad human can’t do it now that you’ve realized I’m not some mindless beast?”


    Lizella was kneeling at the altar, looking back at him with scorn-filled eyes. The altar itself was made of obsidian, carved in the shape of a dragon’s tooth. Shifting red glyphs had been emblazoned on it. Ambrose stood before her, head cocked.


    After she spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh. If Lizella had eyebrows, they would have furrowed. Instead, her eyes just shifted a bit.


    “I have killed people I love, priestess. People who, unlike yourself, won’t be coming back. I admit, I regret the necessity of your death, but it must happen if I am to get what I want. I was just thinking.”


    Her tongue flicked in and out of her mouth.


    “About what?”


    He crossed his arms,


    “Does it matter? I’m about to kill you, after all.”


    “Call it a last request.”


    He scratched his chin,


    “Hmm. Is it really a last request? Your death isn’t permanent.”


    She glared at him.


    He just stared.


    “How about a trade? You tell me what you were thinking about, and I’ll give you some interesting information on Akaroth.”


    Ambrose frowned, his eye glinting dangerously.


    “Why didn’t you tell me everything already? I thought you hated the dragon.”


    A reptilian smile split her lips.


    “You’re still going to kill me, human. This death will haunt me like all the others, am I not entitled to even a small form of comeuppance?”


    He blew out a breath, letting the hot flash of wrath go with it.


    “No, I guess I can’t. Fine, if you must know, I was thinking about my wife. I usually am, at any given moment.”If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    “Your ‘wife?’ is this a term for a human mate?”


    He flicked a hand,


    “Yes. Anyway, now you know. Tell me about the dragon.”


    Lizella stared at him for a second, and then her eyes widened slightly.


    “She is gone, isn’t she? Your wife.”


    Ambrose went cold, and Noelle let out a warning growl.


    “You should drop the subject, priestess.”


    She shrugged her shoulders,


    “Or what? You’ll kill me? What more can you do to me, human? I think I shall bring up whatever subject I wish.”


    He felt his knuckles pop. Noelle stood up, blue eyes sparking with lightning.


    “I could flay the skin from your body. I wonder how your scales would look as a coat, or maybe a cloak?”


    He saw her swallow, and then she looked away,


    “Every colored dragon embodies an element. They are immune to it and attack with it. Blue dragons embody lightning. Your companion there will not do any good against Akaroth.”


    Ambrose looked at Noelle, whose ear flicked and eyes filled with determination.


    He sighed,


    “Sorry, girl. You know I can’t risk you. Especially against something you cannot do anything against.”


    Noelle chuffed, ears swiveling. Her claws kneaded into the stone, the scraping sound echoing slightly around them. She wasn’t afraid. He knelt down and scratched her cheeks.


    “My brave girl. I know you want to do more, I know. But I won’t risk you, I won’t lose you.”


    Briefly, he put his forehead to hers. She chuffed, nuzzling him.


    He unmanifested her, and moments later, she settled over his shoulders, a cloak once again. Regarding Lizelle, he took a deep breath.


    “I will say this much, priestess, I respect you. I know a little something about leadership. You do your duty, no matter what it is. For that, I admire you. If it were different, I would have never taken this course of action. Sadly, I have a goal, and you’re a means to an end.”


    He didn’t give her a chance to respond; with a flare of hellish flame, he formed an axe of blazing fire, swept it outward, and cut the head from her shoulders.


    Her corpse fell to the ground, her neck a blackened, charred stump. Her head tumbled from the platform, disturbing the treasure below, its clinking cascading from stone to stone.


    The glyphs on the black dragon tooth altar shone with carmine light. A roar shook the cavern, and the treasure vibrated, moved, and parted. A huge form rose from it.


    A creature from myth and forgotten stories appeared before Ambrose. It was as if a god had taken the very storms, forming scales from them and weaving them into the creature''s body. It went from dark blue to blue-gray, to the precise shade of lightning on a black sky. Its wings were huge, and even as wide and large as they were, the cavern was still big enough for it to fly if it wished.


    The membranes of the dragon''s wings crackled with lightning, and its claws were as big as his. Somehow, the dragon managed to look feminine. It was the curve of her jaw, the glint in her storm-gray eyes, and the pride of her majesty that hung around her like a personal cloud.


    To look upon her was to see the fury of a hurricane, to behold the beautiful destruction nature was capable of. Here was a force of nature brought to life.


    A black collar, with green runes shining and rotating around it, was around her neck. A black-haired man in a dark robe, his dark eyes alight with excitement, was in a saddle on her back_.


    “You think I’m an easy bounty to claim, eh bounty hunter?! Think again! I am Zane Dalewind! I am this dragons master, and I am your death!”


    He laughed maniacally. Akaroth’s eyes burned with sudden hatred. She roared, blowing Ambrose’s hair away from his face. Air warped around the dragon, as electricity arched over her claws and wings.


    Strangely, he didn’t feel scared when looking at this creature. As always, his mind sharpened, focusing itself, and his heart started to slow. Training, ingrained in him long a go by a father who sacrificed everything, even the love of his only son, to give him the tools he needed to survive in this world, came to him.


    As always, the first step was assessing the threat.


    He tapped [Retributions Gaze] and used it on the dragon.


    [Akaroth, the Mother of Storms Level 195(Dominated by Zane Dalewind)]: Some say Akaroth was hatched from the very first blue dragon ever. Many believe blue dragons to be cruel, capricious, but Akaroth only cared about the freedom of flight. As a hatchling, she enjoyed watching the storms. She had one desire, to make storms of her own.]


    Dominated? Ambrose thought to himself. He filed that information away, it could be useful. Next, he turned his skill on Zane.


    [Zane Dalewind Artificer Rogue Level 185]: A murderer, rapist and selfish to his core, Zane has never once thought of anyone other than himself. He is wanted for killing a prince he claimed was his friend.]


    As he did all of this, the sound of thunder rumbled across the cavern, treasure shifting, as if it were a golden sea.


    “It’s mine! All of this treasure, this dragon, all mine!”


    Zane’s face was a contorted, twisted thing.


    He’s mad, utterly bonkers.


    Even as he thought it, clouds formed in the air above, painted a dark gray found in river stone, lightning struck in several places around the cavern. Akaroth’s wings flapped, sending powerful gusts outward as she rose into the air.


    She opened her impressive maw, lightning built within her throat.


    It was directed right at him.