Dragon Aster Trilogy

22: TANGLED



Kenshe fought furiously against the vines that had wrapped him up and Gwa, but the more he struggled, the more tangled he got.

“Kenshe—dammit use your teeth or something!” Gwa shouted at him as he struggled against the net of vines that held him. “He’s going to kill her!”

Kenshe tried to chew his way out, but for every vine that was snapped, another replaced it. He looked around for the Ancient responsible, and found the green dragon nearby, overlooking their ensnarement with its orange eyes. “You took my mother away from me! I won’t let you take Sybl!” He focused his estus energy to expand and stretch the vines to the point he could no longer breathe, but it didn’t stop him. The vines snapped all at once, and the dragon Ancient lost control of him. Kenshe charged straight for it.

The dragon was materialized enough for him to strike back. Kenshe was met with a swipe of claws and a snap of its teeth, but he pushed through the dragon’s attacks and went straight for its throat. He expanded as large as he could, and used his sheer weight to drag the dragon down and into a spin of claws and teeth. When the dragon was suffocated, it ceased its struggle and disintegrated.

Kenshe listened for Sybl as he panted, and then dashed off for where she cried out for help. He found her kneeling before Lintrance. The dragon somnus lay next to his sword, dead. His Ancient was now destroyed, and with its fall into death, it had taken Lintrance’s soul with it. “Sybl.”

She only shivered and cried where she had collapsed to her knees, and looked at Kenshe and the immense size he had become. “I didn’t touch him.”

“Don’t look at this,” Kenshe said, and carefully picked her up between his teeth as if she were a pup. She struggled free of him, and he quickly caught her between his paws like a mouse, with the fear that she might sprout wings and fly off next. He unsomned and caught her then with his hands, feeling her mind collapsing on the edge of shock. “Sybl! Sybl stop it!”

She did, but only when her eyes stopped on him with a different fear holding her still.

Kenshe didn’t understand what she looked at, as he glanced to his sides before touching his face. Then he looked at his hand that had blood on it. He figured the dragon must have struck him a few times before he killed it. On looking down, he realized that he was covered in blood. Only he couldn’t feel any of the injuries that he bled from.

Sybl stopped shaking long enough to pull him next to her, channeling her aeri to heal him with her embrace.

Gwa came running, only to stop in his tracks at the sight of Kenshe.

Sybl let go of him, having only a little of her own strength left to keep herself from fainting.

“That dragoon must have been infected with the Aeger.” Gwa looked as several Custos sent out a howl and ran for them through the trees. “And now we are so dead.”

Kenshe somned and shrunk to his smallest possible size, and Sybl quickly scooped him up into her protective arms, just as Jru reached them.

The Armsman grabbed Gwa the moment he unsomned and dragged him off like a prisoner, as the two other Custos looked to debate by psi between them on how to get Kenshe without using force.

One of the Custos circled behind her to draw her attention. The somnus before her tried to snatch the phelan, but was met with a vicious snap of Kenshe’s teeth. They finally pushed their limits too far, and Kenshe sprung from her arms and expanded. He crushed one against the ground just as it somned and leapt at the other one, sending them both into a roll.

Sybl cried for him to stop, and Kenshe pulled his teeth back before they could connect with the Custos’ neck. More of the Sanctus’ guardians arrived and forced him down, before dragging him away as if he were the enemy.