DragonFire

Chapter 21 - War (part 3)

 Chapter 21

"Eric!" Demetrius screamed. He watched helplessly as the great Dragon carried Eric high above the smoke. He reached out, and tried to pull him back with his magic, but winced as blood flowed from his chest. It wasn't a lethal wound, at least, not yet. 

"The King has fallen! Save Demetrius!"

Demetrius suddenly found himself surrounded by his men, they were fighting in a defensive formation. Captains Cado and Kharn helped him to his feet, Cado tied his belt tightly around Demetrius's waist, in an attempt to stop the blood flow. It hurt at first, but soon came the soothing relief. With his arms around their shoulders, they slowly made their way further and further away from the sounds of battle. Soon he was engulfed in darkness.

"We'll take shelter in there." He heard Kharn whisper.

They broke down the door, and Demetrius fell heavily into a chair. He looked around the house, it was deserted. The furniture was arranged messily, as the previous owners must have hurried to retrieving any valuables.

"Get a fire going, find some food." He ordered. "I'm starving."

"No fire." Kharn said. "It's too dangerous."

"Kharn." Cado said. "The whole city is burning. What's one more fire?"

Kharn said nothing while they searched for food. Demetrius sucked in a lungful of air before carefully removing his armour, so that he could get a look at the wound.

"Kharn, heat up an iron." Demetrius ordered.

Kharn looked over from the fire he'd just brought to life. The flames cast shadows on his face.

"An iron?" He asked. "I don't think this house will have an iron."

"A knife then, just heat up some metal. I need to sear this."

Kharn went into the kitchen, and returned a moment later with a butter knife. He threw the blade into the fire, and watched as the sides turned red. Cado returned from the pantry, with jars of fruit and rolls of bread.

"Look what I found." He said snickering. "Looks like the owners only had time to pack away their money and forgot to pack food."

He started to laugh, but was quickly cut short by the sharp pain in his gut. "How's that knife?" He asked.

"Looks good." Kharn said. "Are you fine to do it, or do you need me to?"

"I should be fine. Just hand it over."

Kharn shrugged, and reached for the bone handle. He handed it to Demetrius and then moved closer to the fire.

Demetrius bit down on the belt, and applied the searing hot knife to his skin. The pain almost brought him to tears. The room was filled with the sweet stench of melting flesh, which was enough to make him feel nauseous. He pressed on.
Soon he felt light headed, and he had to stop. Kharn reheated the knife, and continued where he had left off.

Kharn was soon finished, and he handed Demetrius a piece of bread and some apple slices. He accepted the food, and the three ate in silence.

"We should rest here, and regroup with the others once we've all had some sleep." Demetrius whispered. "Do you think they got out?"

"I guess we will find out when we get to the northern watch tower." Kharn said quietly.

There was an uncomfortable silence, in which Demetrius sat watching the flames. Was Eric dead?

"I'll take the first watch." Cado volunteered, breaking the silence. Demetrius nodded, and lowered himself carefully towards the fire. He slept without dreams.