Bron flew over the trees carrying Aisling who was strapped both securely and quite uncomfortably to him. The fact that they could feel quite a few things and their already fond feelings for one another just created all kinds of sexual tension.

Aisling tapped his side with her hand, the signal to go to ground so they could talk without shouting over the wind, and he started to look for a clear space to set down.

They soon came to an empty road and after unstrapping, they both collapsed down from being weak in the knees.

“This sucks,” Aisling complained.

“Yeah,” Bron agreed. “Did you just want to take a break?”

“He’s moving again,” she told him.

“I see, this has actually gone a lot slower than I expected. I guess I was overestimating myself.”

“Just don’t go calling me heavy,” Aisling quibbed. Bron responded with a laugh.

“Which direction was the old man moving in?” Bron asked after a while.

“He was getting closer to us but also going towards the west,” Aisling reported.

“Proelefsi, most likely considering who he’s with,” Bron pondered out loud.

“Should we just gamble and go there directly?” Aisling asked him.

“Probably, it wouldn’t hurt us all that much in the long run if we have to go back on course to his lair.”

As Bron finished up his reply Aisling’s attention was turned to their pack where the scale and bit of horn from Chouyan and Liangfeng were stored.

“What’s wrong?” Bron asked when he noticed her troubled expression.

“I don’t know but the spirits around us are very agitated over it.”

Slowly a small patch of black smoke or mist drifted out of the pack and spread out along the ground. Bron and Aisling backed away from it. The spirits behavior and Bron’s instincts told them each that touching it would be a very bad idea.

“What in the…?” Bron muttered as he pulled his sword off his back.

“I’m having a great deal of trouble getting the spirits to calm down,” Aisling told him, “I don’t know if I can use witchcraft against whatever that is.”

“I understand,” Bron replied as Aisling drew a dagger from her belt.

The black mist put some distance between them and it before it began to coalesce into a shape. Its form got bigger and bigger until it was the size and shape of a tall man, although still shorter than Bron, and then the blackness faded out until a person stood before them.

“Ah so a human and a mutt of some kind,” the man stated once he had fully coalesced out of the black mist. “A heathen witch as well, this could actually turn out to be quite fun.”

“What the fuck are you supposed to be?” Bron demanded.

“I could ask the same of you, mutt,” the man spat back. “I take it you can fly since I couldn't come out until now. No matter I’m stronger than any half-breed.”

“Well if you’re not going to volunteer any information, should I just start this myself?” Bron’s lips curled up into the predatory grin that he shared in common with his father. He could sense that his opponent was strong and his blood was raging at him to prove his dominance.

“You’re an aggressive one huh?” the man continued to taunt them condescendingly. “The little lady in the back is never going to regain control of the spirits with me here and you’re no match for me. Just hand over the scale why don’t you?”

“No can do,” Bron replied sarcastically. “As much as I complain about him I’m not about to disappoint the Old Man for some overconfident human.”

“Well, to be honest, I was going to kill you anyway,” the black mist started spreading out from the man again. It went in little rivulets into the surrounding grass and trees. “Let’s find out what kind of bird you are then!”

Something screeched from the surrounding grass. It was soon joined by another, and then another.

“I’ve gotten a few spirits to calm down,” Aisling muttered to him under her breath so the opponent wouldn't hear.

The strange man started laughing as the last of the mist trailed off of him into the surroundings.

“Well, I guess if you had attacked right away I might have had trouble,” the man cackled as the screams got closer.

Bron turned his gaze toward a patch of tall grass that rattled as something moved through it towards him. The grass parted to reveal some kind of small scavenging predator, except it was covered in the black mist and moving unnaturally.

A low growl escaped Bron’s throat as he readied his sword towards the new threat. More and more corrupted creatures joined the first. They were completely surrounded.

Aisling moved closer to Bron and the stood back to back with Bron facing the man who was maniacally laughing at the pair.

Bron took a step forward and shifted. When his wings unfurled the man’s laughter died and he stared slack-jawed. His expression made the feral grin on Bron’s face spread even wider.

Aisling raised her arms and pointed out toward the creatures in front of her and after a short incantation, the road around one of the creatures cracked as if something heavy had landed on it. A moment later blood and black mist shot out as the creature exploded.

Bron released his draconic aura and the man dropped to his knees and clutched his head. The creatures just mindlessly charged and the melee was opened with a swing of Bron’s sword severing a head.

Aisling stabbed one in the head that made it past her defense but immediately screamed out and grasped her hand in agony.

“Hold them off with a barrier and I’ll circle around!” Bron yelled after looking back at her.

He grabbed one of the smaller creatures that leaped at him with his off hand and drove it into the ground. His hand was smoking and bleeding from the corruption but his naturally high regenerative abilities took hold and he was in much better condition than Aisling.

“It’s up!” Aisling shouted back to him.

Bron became a dervish. He went around the circumference of the barrier slashing and hacking. He killed them almost as fast as they came but he was being driven back ever so slowly as the barrier took hit after hit.

“They’re able to wound the spirits!” Aisling called out through gritted teeth.

Bron pushed himself to move even faster. His muscles were strained and he noticed his sword was being eaten away by whatever that mist was. He was no longer slicing through the creatures instead battering them to death with the blunted blade.

“Focus on the dragon!” the man yelled out orders as he clutched his head. He had managed to rise to one knee.

The creatures started to ignore Aisling and focused on Bron like a spear point. He swung his sword only to hear the steel finally snap. He slammed the hilt into the nearest one and continued on using it as a club. Blood poured from his hand as he was forced to make contact more and more. His regeneration just couldn't keep up.

"Bron!” Aisling yelled as one of the creatures sunk its teeth into his arm.

He grabbed it with his other hand and ripped it in half. He took another step back and bumped into Aisling. The barrier was almost gone.

“Aisling step back!” he growled and jumped forward to meet the creatures head on.

“What!? No!” she screamed as the barrier finally broke.

Bron was swarmed under. The pile would heave back and forth as he struggled within it. Aisling could catch a glimpse of a wing or an arm every now and again.

Bron was in a state of bloodlust. All he could see was red and all he could feel was rage. In a corner of his mind, he knew he couldn't win though. A sliver of doubt in a sea of rage. He knew that he would fall here and his flesh would be devoured by this black mist. He knew that when he fell Aisling would be next.

Aisling would die, he couldn't protect her.

He knew she wouldn’t run away.

She would die.

His treasure would be taken from him.

Stillness overtook the struggling pile as he stopped fighting in the midst of it. To Bron, it was as if time had stopped.

Why should he let his world come to an end like that? Thoughts entered his head and a flicker of crimson started up in the middle of the doubt and fear that was overtaking his rage.

It was like a candle.

He felt like he could reach out and touch it. He felt pain in his arm when he tried to lift it and when he turned his head he saw a creature latched onto it. He felt the backs of his legs burn as they tried to sever his hamstrings.

“Fuck this!” he roared with all his might.

Aisling was dumbstruck. The tears that had been running down her cheeks forgotten. She had feared the worst when the pile stopped moving but it soon exploded out in crimson fire and the stench of burnt fur and flesh filled the air.

The creatures that somehow survived were flung through the air. One flying over her head to land what would have amounted to a city block away if they were still in Tiantang.

Bron had transformed. He was no longer just a half-blood, his dragon blood had fully awakened, and he stood there staring down at the now cowering man. The pinnacle of beings, a dragon. Her dragon.

Bron stalked over to the man who was curled into a ball on the ground as he sobbed. The man couldn't stand up to the increased aura that Bron now possessed.

Bron looked down. He saw such a puny insignificant thing. A puny insignificant thing that tried to steal from him.

He didn't hesitate. He lifted the man up and as he screamed out bit him in half. Bron spat out the filth as the corruption was seemingly in the man’s blood and it burned Bron’s tongue.

When he was through he walked over to Aisling's position and brought his snout close to her. He could see the awe and shock in her eyes as she stared up at him. He sniffed taking in her smell, she was alright, he could tell her hand was injured, but she was alright. The thing that tried to hurt her was dead.

He felt her uninjured hand on his nose. It tickled somewhat as she stroked him. His eyes never left hers as the look on her face morphed away from the initial shock. The expression Bron saw made his heart beat with desire even with him being in the form of a dragon. He saw pure love in her eyes.

His form shrunk down until he stood as a human once again, naked and bleeding from the wounds that had not fully healed yet.

Aisling walked up to him. His eyes were still had the golden irises of a dragon, and they never left hers. She touched his cheek, careful to avoid the scratches and bite marks. He let out a low growl. She could tell his blood was still raging from the battle. Heat as if his blood was on fire came off of him. It was almost to the point of being uncomfortable to touch.

Aisling wrapped her arms around him and the adrenaline she had been running on caused her emotions to come crashing down. She wept into his chest as he patted the back of her head. They both trembled in each other's arms from the adrenaline, the shock and the emotions amplified by both.

After a short while, Aisling lifted her head and looked back up into Bron’s eyes. They flickered back and forth between his dragon and his human eyes. Neither of them said a word.

Bron brought the hand of his less injured arm up to her chin and lifted her face. He lowered his head and brought their lips together. Aisling unwrapped her arms from around him only to move them up to wrap around his neck and pull him closer. She was forced to stand on her toes to deepen the kiss.

They began making out more aggressively and soon they both started seeing Aisling’s clothing to be inconvenient.

The clothes were made up of stout wool since they needed to be able to protect her as she was carried in flight. There were plenty of straps and buckles to contend with, but they were made short work of. Soon her clothing lay tattered on the ground, its corpse providing a cushion for her back against the road.

They were both too far gone to be gentle. Bron plunged into her mercilessly. Aisling bit into his shoulder to fight back the scream. Her mind was so filled with pain and lust that she couldn't form a coherent thought.

Bron’s eyes had settled to the golden color of his dragon form. His blood was raging for a completely different reason than it had been with the battle.

As the sun began to sink toward the western horizon they each gave one final gasp before collapsing in a heap. They both panted for breath as their bodies finally gave out. They fell asleep there on the road, holding each other tight, wanting the moment to never end.

Bron was the first to open his eyes. He had slipped out of Aisling sometime while they slept, and she was curled up against his side using his arm as a makeshift pillow.

“Fuck, everything hurts,” he grumbled out loud. He couldn't feel the arm she was laying on at all.

Some of his injuries had healed but there were still others that hadn’t. He noticed he could now see well enough by the light of the stars and moon to distinguish the color of his bruises. A product of his ascension to being a pure-blood he guessed.

He took note that the wounds which had not regenerated fully were the ones that were mostly caused by the black mist. It was almost as if it were a curse attempting to deny his abilities as a dragon.

“Fuck, everything hurts,” Aisling woke up and said the same thing he had.

He looked over at her and winced when he saw the state of her hand. He wished there was some way he could help heal her.

“I think my aura helped push us into that,” he told her apologetically.

“It would have been nice if it had been gentler, I will admit,” she winced. “I don't think I can walk, go get me some clothes.”

“I’m not sure if I can get up either. Everything seems to want to cramp.”

“Do your best, big strong dragon. Also, can you see my medicine pack anywhere?”

“Yeah,” Bron handed the pouch to her. It had gotten flung off to the side when the murdered her clothes.

“Your aura was affecting that wasn't it?” she asked as she started to apply a poultice to her hand.

“I think it’s safe to say that considering how much that hurt you,” he answered choosing his words carefully. “If I’m being honest though, I don't actually remember much.”

“If anything it was just amplifying the feelings I already had,” Aisling sighed. “I wish the consequences didn't go so far as to prevent me from walking. I wonder why there’s no traffic on this road?”

“I have no idea.”

“I’ve finished checking, it doesn’t look like there’s any more of them,” Aisling changed topics. “Also it looks like that mist is even able to harm spirits in some way, the ones that made up the barrier are very ‘sluggish’ for lack of a better term.”

“That’s disconcerting,” Bron found and began to dig through their clothing pack. “Oh, looks like some blood seeped in.”

“Let’s just make a pack out of one of your shirts and burn the stuff that got soiled,” Aisling said without looking up from her work. “Unless using that new fire of yours is going to cause you to lose it again?”

“It shouldn’t,” Bron replied. “So do you want your blue underwear or your green underwear?”

She glared at him and the stupid grin on his face.

**

Zag and Thea landed where she remembered the battlefield having been only to find almost no sign of anything having happened there.

They shifted back to their human forms and Zag rummaged around for some clothes in a pack they had brought with them. They quickly dressed and began to look around. Zag sniffed the air to see if he could catch the scent of anything out of place.

“I’m sure this is the place,” Thea said while looking around.

“Let’s go look over there,” Zag indicated a spot in the trees.

Thea looked to the left and right as they made it into the trees as Zag crouched down and felt of the leaf litter with his hands.

“I smell something here, someone tried to hide it though,” he explained. “I don’t think a quilin could catch it unless they came close, if it was fresh I think even I would have missed it.”

“What is it?” Thea asked as Zag dug into the litter and dirt.

“A dead body, of a human,” Zag answered.

“I don’t remember any humans being present,” Thea watched as he dug up the body. “I just recall the strange shadows and the qilins.”

“This human smells like the ones that were with Huilei when I rescued you,” Zag explained. “They don't smell the same as the ones in the north.”

With the body uncovered they examined it to find that it was a shriveled husk. Nothing about it pointed to natural mummification since the area was much too moist. Zag and Thea both pondered what could have caused it as Zag moved the body around to see it from every angle.

“Well it was definitely killed by one of yours,” Zag pointed to a barely discernible wound. “I think whoever did it dried out the body to further cover up the smell.”

“Ahh!” Thea exclaimed. “I remember Foro talking about that once before, he read about it in a book, I think.”

“That was your second, right?” Zag asked. “Would he have left something for survivors to find?”

“You’re right!” Thea nodded. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me not to think of it.”

“Go look for it then,” Zag told her. “There’s something weird about this corpse that I want to look into.”

Thea hesitated. She looked back and forth between Zag, as he worked over the corpse and the surrounding trees. She felt a cold sweat break out on her back before she forced herself to take the first step.

Once she took the first step the rest were much easier. Her nervousness remained, however, since she was in the center of the place where the greatest trauma in her life had occurred.

As she made her way out of sight of Zag she began to go through her memories of the ambush. She remembered where Foro and herself had been when it started. She remembered where he went in the first moments and came to think that he would have had to notice when she got taken down.

Once she established that she figured he would have been blocked off since she had been the primary target for capture. She took into account the corpse that the dragon was currently examining and narrowed down the possibilities of where Foro would have left a message.

Once she had decided she walked quickly, her nerves had settled well enough as she focused on her task at hand. She made her way to a tree and looked around the trunk until she found an inconspicuous looking scratch. The scratch told her what she needed to know, and she recovered the message capsule a few steps away buried under the leaf litter.

**

Zag concentrated on the shriveled up husk that once was a human. He couldn't smell much from it, just some subtle hints at decay and remnants of its original human smell. It smelled like the humans that had been cowering from his aura behind Huilei, and he figured they were comrades of some sort.

He finally prodded the body with a transformed claw. He just couldn't figure out the peculiarity he was sensing about it. The claw punctured the skin just above the fatal stab wound and Zag heard a hissing of some sort as if there was some small amount of gas that had not yet escaped.

He looked at it in puzzled bewilderment because there was no accompanying stench. He prodded the body in a few more places eliciting the same reaction each time. He decided one more prod wouldn't hurt and applied his claw to the neck and yanked it back with a hiss of pain almost as soon as his claw punctured the skin. A small trail of black mist rolled out of the hole as he stared at his finger slowly start to regenerate.

“Why is your finger mangled... No, how is your finger mangled to that extent?” Thea asked after having returned.

“Some kind of black mist came out of the corpse, I imagine it’s responsible for the shadow things you mentioned,” Zag answered while he stared at his finger. “It seems to be able to hamper my regenerative abilities. Try to heal it for me.”

He stuck his finger out in her direction.

Thea grabbed his hand and golden flames spread over the finger. It had a small effect but was not even close to the amount it should have had.

“Interesting,” was all that Zag had to say.

“That explains what was happening…” Thea’s voice broke as she went back to the subject of the ambush. A tear escaped and ran down her cheek as she spaced out somewhere in the air between her and Zag’s hand.

Zag reached out with his free hand and patted her on the head. Thea snapped back to reality and jumped back a step.

“What do you want to do now?” Zag asked her as he watched his finger finish healing up.

“I found the message he left, it designated a rendezvous point in Proelefsi,” she explained. “I want to go there and find out how many...made it.”

“I see, it wouldn't be bad to see if there are any of these humans there as well,” Zag grinned, it didn't look nice. “I find myself curious as to their origins and would very much like to ask about it.”