Heart of a Dragon

Chapter Thirty-Six

By the time Donovan was close enough to see the park, the mist had risen to where it nearly brushed the clouds. Lights flickered deep within that mist, but it obscured any view of what was happening beyond the edge of the sidewalk. The street was lined with the Dragons' bikes; the glittering, polished chromed caught reflected shadows from the park itself, but they had no form.

As they drew closer, muffled sounds of a battle reached them, but it was impossible to make it out as more than the muted clash of metal and the distant echoes of screams. Donovan stopped and turned.

"What's happening?" Amethyst asked.

"I'm not sure," Donovan replied. "It could be Los Escorpiones, if they're still possessed. It could be something Martinez and the boy unleashed. We need to get in there."

Amethyst nodded. She reached up and unclasped a silver chain from her hair. When it unwound it was surprisingly long. There were crystal globes at either end, wrapped in coils of silver. She gripped it near the center and began spinning the globes with a deft flick of her wrist. After only a moment the chain was a blur of motion.

Donovan watched in fascination as she strode toward the mist. He followed, and as they made contact with that cloudy wall, it gave way before the whirling crystals. It didn't disperse, but the motion of the chain created a tunnel about twice the height of a man that stretched out slowly, cutting through the misty shroud toward the center of the park. Figures flashed in and out of that tunnel. Donovan saw a big man, one of the Dragons, with his hands locked around the throat of a small, slender Escorpione. Before the two disappeared into the mist, the Dragon lifted his opponent and threw him like a rag doll.

Amethyst glanced over her shoulder at Donovan, her eyebrow raised. The Dragon was a big man, but what they'd just witnessed had been too effortless. A second later the man lunged out of sight with a cry of rage. As he turned, Donovan caught a flash of green, and knew it must be Jake.

Something cracked like a shot from a very large gun. The sound came from overhead, and Donovan glanced up. He didn't want to take his eyes off of Amethyst. While she spun the crystal she was unable to fend off any attack. Something very big and very dark soared overhead. The mist cleared, just for an instant, and Donovan saw vast wings stretching out to either side. He saw the passing of a long, serpentine tail, and before he could open his mouth to shout a warning, or even voice his surprise, a scream cut through the air that shook the ground and shivered through the mist like rippling waves on a pond.

At that moment, there was another cry. It wasn't as loud, but there was an echo of the dragon's scream buried deep in the sound. Donovan spun back to the park in time to see Snake leap into view. The Dragon leader had his head back and his face to the sky. He screamed in answer to the beast and spun, just in time, to catch one of Anya Cabrera's bald servants by the throat. The black man was much larger than Snake, but the Dragon gripped him with one hand and lifted him. A quick shake of that hand, and the big man's head lolled one way, and then the other. There was a horrible snapping sound, and Snake released him, turning again. This time he saw Amethyst and Donovan approaching.

For just a second it seemed he would come at them. Donovan braced himself. His hand went to the hilt of the slender dagger he wore on his hip. Then Salvatore stepped from the fog, the flagpole gripped so tightly in his hands that even from where he stood Donovan saw the boy's knuckles were white with strain. Salvatore's eyes had a glazed, far-away expression, so different from Snake's that Donovan's hand fell away from the handle of his blade in confusion. It was obvious the young artist saw nothing that happened around him. He stood very still, and a white light flickered up and down his arms. It shimmered on his hair and cast a brilliant glow on the ground at his feet.

Over head, the flag flapped and waved. As it moved, the dragon emblazoned across it swooped and dove. There was such a sense of motion and life, that Donovan found his gaze drawn to the sky above them once again. Somehow he knew that the dragons were connected. Salvatore was the key.

Two more Escorpiones leaped into sight. One came at Snake from the front, and the other literally climbed his back, clawing at his hair, scrambling to get higher and reach over to the Dragon president's eyes. Snake bellowed and rolled forward, flinging the attacker off his back. Donovan drew his blade and moved in. He had to step to the side to get around Amethyst without disturbing the spin of the crystal globes, and in that instant, everything changed.

There was a screech of rage from off to their left. A small form moving very quickly darted out of the mist. It was a young Hispanic woman. Her skin glowed a sickly yellow, and her hair spun out about her face madly. There was something familiar in the woman's gait, and in her voice. Donovan dove forward to try and intercept her course, but she was like a screeching bolt of lightning. As Donovan closed on her, he heard her chanting, and his heart glazed with ice.

"Anya!" he cried. "Snake! Look out!"

Snake spun. He saw the girl coming for him and he slipped to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. He stepped back, but his motion was too swift, and Salvatore was lost in some vision the rest of them could not see. The two collided, and just for an instant, Snake was off balance. In that moment, the woman struck. She dove at him and drove a long, thin blade into his heart.

Snake reeled from the blow. Even as he lost his balance, he managed to grip the woman by the hair and toss her to the side. She spun with another screech of rage and came in low. Snake tried to dodge her again, but he was bleeding from the knife wound, and still tangled with Salvatore, who stumbled blindly back as if unaware of the encroaching danger.

"No!" Donovan cried. He flicked his wrist, and a rolled bit of parchment slipped into his hand. He raised it and began to speak, but even as the first words left his lips, Anya struck again. Snake screamed and clutched his chest where her blade bit deep. She drove it in again and again, and he toppled.

The moment lasted an eternity. Snake fell hard into Salvatore, driving him back and down. Even as they fell, the young artist clung to the flagpole. They struck the ground at the same moment and bounced once. Snake fell across the painted image of the dragon, his blood pouring freely from a wound directly over his heart and blended with the brilliant red paint — the Rojo Fuego. The mist faltered, and as Donovan stepped forward, holding the small parchment before him like a shield, the park grew deathly still.

Amethyst stepped up behind him. She stopped whirling the crystals and stood just behind his shoulder. Donovan felt her pressing close, and heard her mutter under her breath.

"My god," she said. "What have they done?"