Dawning Skye

606 The Fall of Dragonhorn(Part Three)

***WARNING: LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, MASS DEATH, AND DISTURBING CONTENT***

The moment that Benzo had killed Cu Sith, the people of Dragonhorn knew that they were lost. Many began to cry for the loss of their guardians, while some had instantly realized that Cu was the only thing between them, and death. Several tried to flee right afterwards, but were shot in their backs by the soldiers patrolling the outside of the town.

Right after Zas and Benzo’s little exchange, chaos overtook Dragonhorn. Zas’ ears rang with the screams and cries for help from the people he had known for decades. He wanted to rip his ears off, the voices were so loud, but Zas refused to even cover them..

‘I deserve this.. I deserve to hear them for the rest of my life..’

The soldiers killed the people on sight without mercy; men, women, and children alike. Snow and mud became indistinguishable as blood practically ran in the streets. Parents shielded their children only to have them ripped away, then killed in front of them before shortly joining.

By the time the town had grown quiet, thousands had been slaughtered in the streets, and within their homes. The few unknowns that had survived by hiding inside their houses or other buildings weren’t looked for, but merely written off as the last ones to die..

“Set the buildings on fire! It’ll make hauling away our objectives easier!” Benzo called out after the soldiers had started to check and stack the bodies.

The barely damaged ones were to be sent back to Doctor Stein, while the others were to be dumped later. The soldiers killed anyone they found to still be alive, then continued sorting the bodies like nothing was amiss. The entire scene was so horrific that Zas couldn’t even form words to describe what he was witnessing.

He and Benzo had started to walk through the town, to make sure that the burning of the buildings was being thoroughly controlled. On occasion, Zas could hear people screaming from inside the buildings, but could do nothing about it without sacrificing his family. The emotional turmoil became too much as they walked, and Zas temporarily shut down.

.....

Benzo noticed his zombie-like walking, and reveled in his misery as they continued through the city, then out into the wilderness. It wasn’t until they’d reached somewhere inside the forest that Zas had snapped out of his daze. A branch had hit the fresh wound across his eye, courtesy of Benzo.

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“Pay attention now, General. Wouldn’t want any accidents to happen, would we?”

The grin on Benzo’s face reflected the opposite sentiment of his words, but Zas brushed it all off. Because of his actions against Cu, he figured out that Benzo couldn’t touch him, or let anything serious happen to him..

‘If he wasn’t under some kind of orders, then he wouldn’t have interjected himself in my fight. Especially since it looked like I was about to lose..’

Zas knew that Benzo hated all Fae, and that sentiment doubled when it came to him and Shasta. Their status in Alcon was akin to blasphemy to Benzo, since all Fae were mere beasts to him. Smart beasts, but still the same as any other animal to him.

As Zas wondered why he’d brought him to such a secluded place, Benzo trudged along until he’d come to small hill. After walking around it through the trees, they came to a small clearing. They stood in place a few minutes while Benzo scanned the ground..

“There it is! Just where he said it’d be!” Benzo exclaimed, then immediately walked towards a sizable hole in the ground.

Zas followed after him with a skeptical expression; “There ‘what’ is?”

Benzo stopped in front of the hole, and pointed at a frozen waterfall; “THAT is why we’re here..”

Glancing up, Zas realized that the frozen water was actually coming out of a massive dragon’s skull. Confusion was the first expression he’d made, then Zas’ eyes widened with the realization..

“The dragon bones?! That’s what you fucking people are after?! That’s why you Killed everyone?!”

Zas’ fur bristled as his fury nearly overtook him. The bones surrounding Dragonhorn were part of the town, but they could’ve been removed without the town being destroyed, or the people killed. In Zas’ mind, there was no reason for the carnage he’d just participated in.

Seeing his rage nearly taking over his senses, Benzo calmly replied; “Aye, it’s all about the bones, my fuzzy buddy. You think that the town could’ve been spared, but it really couldn’t have. It sits on top of the wings and stuff, so it had to go either way.”

“And the people?!” Zas practically snarled.

Benzo sighed as he donned a quizzical expression; “Well, technically, we probably didn’t need to kill All of them, but it’s easier this way. We don’t have to lock them up, or cut out their tongues. Honestly-it’s much better for them this way. The weak are just that: Weak. They wouldn’t be able to survive the new world, anyway..”

Zas perked up; “New world?”

Benzo nodded; “Oh, just wait, my fuzzy buddy! My King has a dream, and it’s gonna be Awesome for those like us! Loyalty will be the new currency, and there won’t be anyone richer than us! Well-me, anyways.. You’re still up in the air on that. But I guess we’ll learn who’s side you’re on why the prince gets back.”

Zas tried to keep his expression neutral, but the information he’d just heard seemed insane.. ‘Dragon bones and new worlds? What does one have to do with the other? What the Fuck is Marco up to?!’

“Come on, furball,” Benzo stated as he smacked Zas’ shoulder, then pointed to the skull; “Let’s go see how big this thing is!”

As Benzo walked off, Zas sighed, then hopped across the hole in the ground. When he landed on the other side, he caught a small whiff of Skye and Tidas. His heart sank as he thought about what would happen when they saw each other again.

Shoving the dread aside, Zas went off to follow behind Benzo...

************

“How Could He?! He Was Our FRIEND! And He KILLED HER!” Jonathan screamed into his hands after he watched Zas light Cu’s remains on fire.

Maevis and Nicolas were trying their best to both comfort, and quiet down Jonathan McKurdy after they had watched the fight between Zas, and Cu Sith. He had been been completely silent the whole time, until the moment that Benzo killed Cu. They could only see Benzo’s backside, but knew what had happened the moment her body slumped over.

John had been balling since then, and could barely contain his sobs. Cu had become his best friend, and she his. They did almost everything together, to the point of Jonathan becoming occasionally annoyed with his lack of privacy. But he could never turn Cu away; that was how much he had cared for her, and now: she was gone.

Jonathan gripped the seeds in his hand like they were the only precious thing he had left in the world, which made Maevis cry all the more. She was usually more stoic, but the obvious bond they had reminded her of her own loved ones lost, and invoked tears of her own. Nicolas was the only one not in a state of sobbing, and was encouraging them to leave.

At first, Jonathan wanted to rush in after stealing a gun, but the two elder Fae had talked him out of it. They were just about to head for Warrick Forest when a soldier spotted them in the trees. Desperate to keep their presence secret, Maevis used up the few drops of magic that she had recovered, and dropped the soldier into a collapsible hole.

The moment that the soldier started to try and climb out, he had collapsed the sides, and buried himself before he could have think to call for help. They silently waited a few minutes, to make sure they weren’t heard, then the three left the town behind. Not even Jonathan stopped to look back.

He had decided to accompany Maevis and Nicolas to Warrick Forest. It seemed to be the closest, safest place, and he could also act as a witness if the two needed. Regardless, Jonathan knew that he could never return to Dragonhorn, even if the town recovered in the distant future.

The memories were too painful to relive, which he most certainly would upon turning any corner. The places and people were mostly gone, except a few intelligent thousand. Jonathan grimaced as he fought off pointless anger at those who didn’t listen to the elder Fae’s warning.

Victim-blaming only made his guilt stronger.. ‘Why didn’t I try harder ta convince’em ta leave?! Skye and Tidas trust these two, so why didn’t I fight harder?! Dammit! ..Some might still be alive if I were a wee bit more adamant in my opinions..’

As guilt raked Jonathan, Maevis and Nicolas struggled over how to approach their next task..

Convincing Celestia to evacuate Warrick Forest wouldn’t be that difficult, but Aero was another problem entirely. Nicolas was sure that he’d be stern in his stance on fighting back, but Maevis hoped that he could be reasoned with. He had seen what the humans were capable of, and she prayed that his own eyes would be enough to convince him to evacuate.

They quietly argued almost the entire way to Warrick Forest, but had temporarily stopped at a crossroads. One way led directly to the heart of the forest, and was the quickest way to the Fae’s home. The other way led to Moonstone Castle..

“We should warn Lucas,” Maevis cautioned.

Nicolas stared down the path for a few moments before turning back to Maevis; “We can either warn him, or Celestia and Aero. We don’t have time for both.”

Maevis stared down the path; “I’ll fly there while you two ho in to-”

“You don’t have the strength, Mae,” Nicolas stated with a soft tone; “That last bit of magic you used tapped into your life energy, didn’t it?”

Indignation flashed across her face; “I’m perfectly capable of reaching Moonstone Castle, thank you!”

Nic shook his head; “You’d collapse before you reached the loch. We’ll send a messenger as soon as we arrive home, okay? But we have to head there Now.”

Maevis stared down the darkened road with a deep, gnawing feeling of foreboding. Something inside of her was screaming to go and warn Skye’s father of the coming army, but the scales were tipped..

The Fae colony had hundreds of lives there, but Moonstone Castle had a hundred at most. That was the rationality she’d used to turn away from the path. As the three headed inside the forest, Maevis couldn’t help but feel a growing dread in her heart..

‘I hope Lucas and Lydia know what’s happening in the capital.. And how much danger they’re in..’