AN: Sorry about the delay in updating most of my stories. I have been horribly ill for several days now. Sadly, this may be the only Blackthorne update until Monday. As for other stories Galataea should be updated this weekend. I Hate You Master might be updated Tuesday or Wednesday as I am trying to write that in whole chapters.

This is a short, but important update.

Chapter 37.1: The Dreams of a Dragon

Sinister laughter echoed through the hallways and rooms of the underground bunker run by Boss King. That was a common sound in that place of perpetual nightmare and vulgarity. However, in this instance the dark laughter was due to a moment of triumph.

The fairy king of Ort Calais had been captured at last. The woodland home of the fairy lord was one of the best places to mine for powerful materials and items worth a great deal of money. Boss King needed both things to increase the might of his army, and the fairies themselves to power some of his more obscene items. The problem was, that the fairy king was proud.

"We'll never agree to those terms!" snarled Amaraldis Ort Calais, Fairy king of the Ort forest. He was a tiny creature with dragonfly wings, but a regal bearing. His golden hair was arrayed in a manner that some might reference as a Prince Valiant hair-style.

Boss King smiled that disturbingly smug smile of his. "Hey, fella. I get it. You're a king. That's a big deal."

The fairy king tilted his head to the side, but said nothing. Boss King, however, decided to be a little more active. He lifted his hands into the air then began to make strange tapping motions. A few seconds later the king, his lady wife, and their small child Lillia fell to their knees. Some incomprehensible power had caused them to kneel before the terrible man sitting in the comfortable chair.

"Ah, there we go. That's better... Oops, almost forgot..." Boss King tapped the air a few more times and a flash of light occurred next to him. A massive warhammer with an oversized head appeared out of thin air. It had the words Bug Swatter gaily emblazoned upon the side.

"What are you doing to us!" cried Amaraldis.

"Well, you said that you would not agree to terms. So, I figured the discussions were over." said Boss King before gesturing to one of his hench-wolves. He tossed Bug Swatter to the rapacious looking beast man with a casual flick of his wrist. "Start with the little one and make the king watch."

"You monster!" screamed the lady wife.

Boss King rubbed his chin. "On second thought start with her, but don't use the hammer."

The wolfman tilted his head in confusion. The evil bastard presented him a warm smile. "You should take things slow. She is a lady after all."

A dark light arose within the beast man's eyes and sinister laughter began to echo through the room once more. The beast man did not speak, but he did enjoy the idea of what was to come.

"You'll burn in hell for this!" cried out the fairy king in rage, and more than a little fear for his family.

Boss King glanced at him then grinned. "You should smile. It's a happy day."

The fairies kneeling on the floor looked away from the grinning monstrosity sitting upon his comfortable chair. The beast men snatched them up and tossed them into a birdcage that had been provided specifically for small creatures such as them. He had work to do, slow cruel work.

A pleased sigh escaped the lips of the creature on the comfortable chair. "Happy day? That reminds me... I haven't played with my puppy in a while."

"Hey, fetch my dog." said Boss King. Every time that he looked at the cute little thing he felt like all was right in the world.

While one of his minions wandered off to retrieve his master's favorite pet, Boss King sat down and manipulated the air once more. An image of Shara appeared on a screen before him. "Won't be long now, you stupid cow."

Boss King's grin widened, and then widened more. The smile stretched well beyond human proportions and revealed triangular shark-like teeth. "Let's see how the story goes when your family isn't in charge."

**

Draconic eyes swept the landscape as Scott gazed down upon the world below. He stood atop the tallest building in town, a building that housed the IDB, a telecommunications firm that employed roughly one percent of the people in town. The IDB building was the closest thing to a sky-scraper in that city, and it afforded the best overall view of town.

Scott could see flickering lights, and the flames of trash fires in various areas. Monsters, and men who acted like monsters, prowled the streets. Most of the honest people were huddled in their homes at the moment.

In his dragon form, Scott could see to the edge of town even in the dark. So far he had not regretted that ability, but he knew that there were probably a few things happening on in the dark that would be regrettable by morning.

"So much is happening. The world is changing so fast." The hatchling dragon released a slow sigh. In some ways it was like he was forced to climb up a steep hill with incredibly loose terrain on the side. It was almost impossible to gain any headway and rise to the top.

People were afraid of his group now, but that was fine. They would learn the truth in time. The world that they knew had ended. It did not seem so to them immediately. The apocalypse had taken its sweet time in coming. At the moment most of the people who he had met, had not realized that the old world was not going to return. Certainly, the old American leadership might make an attempt to reclaim the country, but they would just be one faction among many vying for autonomy.

Increasing his level and power through training would take a long time. Even with his accelerated experience growth, he would not be a match for someone like Melisandre overnight. Scott had come here to surveil the city while he thought about his situation.

He had people. He had some money, and a capacity to both feed and house those people for the next month or two. What he did not have was a decisive edge. His draconic nature and the nature of his friends was an incredible boon. Shara alone accounted for a lot of the edge that they already had.

Still, they needed more. In order to protect the fragile lives of those who decided to believe in him there had to be more.

It was a strange sensation, the growing concern that he had for other people. No one had ever really given a shit about him, at least no one in recent years that he could recall outside of the sheriff. In all honesty, it would be much easier for him to simply abandon the world to its own devices and live with his friends. But he could not do that.

Hunger pains gnawed at his stomach. The more he thought about the people who looked to him for help, who looked to him with those bright eyes filled with equal amounts of hope and fear, the hungrier her became.

Scott fought against a sudden wave of weakness that hit him. It happened most frequently when he was a dragon now, but even when he was in human form he would sometimes feel sluggish. He was tired all of the time now, both tired and hungry. Part of him just wanted to lie down and sleep for a while, but he felt that he could not do that. There was too much to do to just sleep for a few days like he wanted.

He would not be able to fight it forever, this desire to eat to his utter fulfillment and then to sleep for a time. "Just a little longer..." whispered Scott as he gazed out at the city, his eyelids heavy and his stomach twisting with hunger. He had to last just a little longer, and then he could sleep for a time.

**