A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 118: Garde Rescue Garde

A single bullet. Shot from a pistol in Bray's hand. Penetrating Drac in his stomach.

"NO!" I shout while his knees hit the floor, my ears ringing from the sound.

Frankly, I'm not sure why I care. Drac took away my legacies. I shouldn't care if he's dead or not. But he's still human. And who am I to decide whether a person is fit to die for their wrongs? There are other ways to punish people than death or suffering.

Putting the weapon back in its holster under his jacket, Bray demands, "Dennings! Get the girl ready for tests. Drac, you are no longer welcome here. Leave or it's a bullet to the head."

Drac does not reply. No one does. No one even moves.

That is until a loud animal roar sounds from close by. The sound of a beast with wicked fangs and claws. A beast large enough to reach nearly 20 feet in height and strong enough to kill a man with a single swipe.

I would know. Because if I'm not mistaken, that roar almost sounded like...

BOOM!

The door is kicked down and blown off its hinges.

And there, standing in the way of the only exit to the room, is a greying beast with lush green eyes that remind me of a Piken. But is not at all one of them.

"Pixie," I say in a disbelieving tone, yet relieved at the same time.

She looks to my voice and roars. A loud terrifying roar that shakes the ground. Before she charges the men. And as she does, I feel a whoosh of air.

I shut my eyes, expecting it to mean that something is close to striking me. Though only when I hear his voice do I open my eyes in mock surprise.

"Hey Em. It's been awhile. Sorry I missed your party. I wanted to be there, but I was a little preoccupied," he says before slicing through my bonds with his hidden blade.

"Five..." I start, a wide smile on my face and before either of us says anything further, I jump up and hug him. Tight around his shoulders. Chin tucked close to his neck. And just like that, it's like all the emptiness and despair washes away. "I missed you..."

"I missed you too," he says and hugs back briefly before letting go. "We can catch up later though. First, let's get you out of here."

Only then do I bring myself back to the present.

Pixie is moving swiftly around the room, until she manages to pin Dennings to the ground, roaring in his face when she does and likely readying to end his fight right there.

"Stop Pixie! Don't kill him!" I say, and the Chimæra immediately stands down.

She changes shape, smaller and smaller, until her form completes into a mighty bald eagle. And by then, she swoops up and around, and finally lands on my shoulder.

I give her a quick pat on her head. "Thanks for the save girl," I say.

"How pathetic," Bray states. "Can't let your pet kill a man, can you? Are you waiting for him to screw you over again?"

I open my mouth to speak, but Five beats me to it; "Don't know what you're talking about big boy. She just saved all of your lives."

"Pfft. I don't need saving," Bray states confidently.

At that point, Five flies at him, his skin glistening steel. At a speed so fast, I can barely register his movement. One moment he is hovering in flight next to me, and the next, he is holding the monstrous guy by the throat against the opposing wall.

"Are you sure? Not even against me? My friends do call me a little bit sadistic," he says, almost amusingly.

There is a part of me that wants to stop Five from causing the big man any sort of pain and another part that wants him to cause as much pain as possible. Thus, resulting in a brief conflicting moment where I'm not sure what to do.

I look to Drac, who is still bleeding out on the floor, and all I can think about is how these people took my legacies from me somehow.

If I can get them back – how I hope with everything I can – we might need Drac alive to reduce and undo whatever he did to me. But Bray on the other hand?

Bray threatened me. Bray threatened to kill me to get my power. Bray is the type of person who is willing to kill to get what he wants. He's done it to Drac. I have no doubt he'll try it again to others. Although I hate to admit it, maybe it is better if he is taken out.

So I end up not doing anything.

Dennings makes a run for it and in the time that I spend wondering if I've made a huge mistake, Five has already slit the big man's throat with his hidden blade and returned to my side.

"Ready to get out of here?" he asks.

I gulp; swallow the unease and turn my attention from Bray's corpse to Five's one eye.

"Yeah," I answer. "But Drac is coming with us."

Five raises an eyebrow. "Why can't we just leave him here to die?"

My expression turns cold and I reply, "I need him," as I make my way to Bray's corpse. I pick up the gun, check how much ammunition is in the clip, and snap it shut. Satisfied, I take it with me and head to where Drac bleeds and look him in his close-to-dead eyes before continuing, "He is going to help me get my legacies back."

"Your- legacies?" Five questions but soon understands when I give him a look of disappointment and sorrow. I try to keep the helplessness out of my expression, but I don't think I am very successful.

I hit Drac on the back of his head with the butt of the gun and he falls forward. Then I drag him by the shirt to the exit. Five follows behind and Pixie brings up the rear, having morphed back into her rabbit form.