The Dragoso Series 2: Strength in Darkness
Chapter 4

“We can’t just waltz up to the base, they’ll see us from a mile away!” Samual argued with Sylark. The team was in the conference room trying to figure out a way to attack the Hunter base, but nobody could agree on a suitable plan.

“That is not what I was implying, Samual! If we plan a diversion at the front, another team can break through the Leader’s false wall and storm the base from there!” Sylark explained. His finger jabbed at the blueprint on the table that Aaron had drawn for them.

“The Leader isn’t going to join the fight, he’s going to stay in his room with his guard dog and Cenod and we’ll meet a quick end,” Kathey snapped. Sylark and Samual were silent, they hadn’t had any close encounters with Garrett like Kathey had. Her life had been jeopardized multiple times going against him.

There was no easy way to attack the Hunter base, seeing that hundreds of hunters prowled the inside and the outside not to mention the dragons under their control AND Cenod’s control. Trevor leaned on the back of a couch, his wounds still tender, so sitting was difficult. There must’ve been an obvious way in that they couldn’t see. Trevor looked up when the door to the conference room opened and in walked Darkness. A Shadow Dragon of pale skin, black hair, black eyes, always wearing black clothing. He acted as a waiter in the Mess Hall, the only one at that.

Darkness held two trays with various dishes containing snack foods, fruits, veggies, dips, crackers. He set the trays on open spots on the table and smirked when most of the team started taking bits of this and that and shoving the handfuls into their mouths. Darkness looked over at Trevor, who hadn’t moved to grab anything. He moved to stand beside Trevor and watch the scene before them.

“Rejecting my peace offering?” Darkness joked and Trevor smirked.

“They’ve been arguing since this morning. They can’t agree on anything it seems,” Trevor recapped and Darkness nodded, crossing his arms.

“Can’t go directly at them. Sneak attack?”

“Only way in is through the Leader’s false wall that leads to his room, which is suicide. Course, this whole mission is a suicide mission.”

“Vents?” Everyone looked at Darkness. “What?”

“Why didn’t we think of that before?” Samual questioned. He looked to Aaron, who had his hand to his face before grabbing his pencil and drawing out the vent plans.

“I d-didn’t th-think about th-that,” Aaron stammered and he huffed. Trevor noticed Aaron stuttered anytime he was around dragons not under any control. The Compass Dragons had a reputation, Trevor and his siblings, not so much.

“There is the matter of getting to the vents. It would be foolish to go in without access to abilities,” Sylark stated. He had a handful of blueberries and popped a few into his mouth.

“What about Salem?” Kathey suggested.

“That psycho?” Sylark snapped. Trevor never heard Sylark speak that way. The two telepaths looked over at Trevor.

“Salem isn’t always mentally stable. He can be a little...much at times.” Kathey rubbed her face. “It’s the only way we can get someone in there with full access to their abilities and not stick out like a sore thumb. Salem’s pale, but he won’t scream non-human right away.”

“Well, let us test your communication skills, Trevor,” Sylark mused and Trevor looked between the two.

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~oOo~

The rhythmic banging of metal on metal met Trevor’s ears as he approached the Forge. He hadn’t been near the building at all since he and his siblings arrived at the Academy. Trevor spotted a man at the anvil, shaping a sword. He had very pale skin, like he had no blood in his body. His hair was pitch black, shoulder length and slicked back. He wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black dress pants, black dress shoes, and wore a simple brown leather apron. He looked up when Trevor’s footsteps in the grass caught his attention.

“Well, well. A new visitor, how surprising. How may I help you?” he greeted, setting the hammer down and reaching to undo the knot in his apron. Trevor stepped into the Forge and approached him.

“The team has a mission, they wanted me to ask for your help,” Trevor started, running his fingers through his hair. Salem smirked, showing a hint of sharp fangs. He crossed his arms and Trevor spotted a silver ring with an amethyst on his ring finger.

“Well, you obviously know my name, it’s only fair I know yours,” Salem stated.

“Trevor Williams.” Trevor held out his hand which Salem grasped and shook, bowing his head lightly.

“Salem Xavier Vladimir at your service. What is the mission that I’m requested to aid with?”

“We need someone without limited access to their abilities to infiltrate the Hunter base and cause a distraction inside the base so us dragons can go in and attack them.”

“A suicide mission, hmm? I’m aware of the news, but to go to this length to save them without proper aid is foolhardy.” Trevor noted that Salem’s speech was very outdated, the vampire had to be hundreds of years old. “Give me a moment to clean up and I will join you.” Trevor nodded and watched Salem dunk the sword in water before he put his tools away, hung his apron, and grabbed a black vest and a fedora from a hook on the wall. He buttoned the vest and placed the hat on his head before stepping out into the sun. Trevor half expected Salem to shy away from the sun.

“How are you not burning?” The question slipped and Salem chuckled before holding up his hand with the ring.

“Vampires are given special arcane stones that prevent us from burning up in the sun. We choose the stone and the jewelry to embed. I was...married once. Sired four darling children as well. I had grown accustomed to wearing a ring, so I made mine to replace my wedding band. My daughters remain home in my castle on Yamikage, the vampire home planet.”

“What happened to your wife?” Trevor shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Sadly... I killed her and my son when I experienced one of my breaks. That was when Mykau and I were the same.” Salem’s silver eyes glinted in the sun and Trevor knew what he saw. Mykau’s one silver eye, it was from Salem.

“I saw Mykau not too long ago, over by the river.”

“How is he?”

“He seemed ok, a little sad that he was sent away, but he understood.”

“I fear his anger came from me. An immature adult forced to live with an angry demon inside of his mind. It could not have been pleasant.” Salem tilted his fedora down, hiding his face slightly. “I only wish I hadn’t slipped into a break, maybe things would’ve been better for everyone.” Trevor frowned.

“How do you slip into a break?”

“Humans need a trigger of sorts to fall into a psychotic break. I wish it was that easy for me. Should my anger or sorrow get the best of me, I break.” The conversation was dropped when they walked inside and soon came to the conference room. “Hello, Kathey. Sending the inexperienced to request my help now?” Salem chuckled and Kathey turned to face him, smirking.

“He needs the exposure,” Kathey replied and Salem approached the table, but stopped short. He sniffed the air slightly before looking to Aaron.

“Well, this is a surprise. What’s a human doing here?” Salem questioned and Aaron swallowed.

“He’s one of the hunters helping us out, don’t eat him.” Kathey laughed and Aaron paled. “Kidding, Aaron. Salem has complete control over his bloodlust.”

“V-vampire?” Aaron asked and Salem nodded.

“Let us discuss the plan,” Salem offered and he moved to lean his hands on the table and look over the blueprints.

“The best way in is through the vents. As for a distraction, we need to be smart about it,” Sylark started.

“Th-they have a w-weapon stash in the g-generator room,” Aaron advised.

“Seems simple enough, destroy the generators and weapons and they’ll act. Making our work a bit easier” Salem said, grinning.

“Perfect, now for the other issue of this matter,” Kathey started and looked to Trevor. “You and your siblings have no idea how to fight against dragons and hunters.” She looked to Aaron. “Tell Cyrus he’s got a job now, teaching the yearlings how to fight hunters.” Aaron nodded and hurried out. Salem watched him before chuckling.

“He’s nervous around non-humans,” Salem noted.

“He had no choice in becoming a hunter. He chose a Hiertic Dragon as his mount for a reason. They’re natural protectors and only aggressive when needed and that’s only towards real threats. Humans feel safe around them, even without knowing they’re dragons.” Salem hummed in thought.

“If you will excuse me, I must get ready for the mission.” Salem bowed his head and walked out.

“Right. Trevor, get your siblings and head down to the gym, I’ll let Cyrus know to meet you there for training.” Trevor nodded and walked out.

~oOo~

Cyrus thrust the pole at Trevor, the end nicking his shoulder. Trevor groaned and stomped away.

“This is impossible!” he complained. Trevor couldn’t change to his dragon form yet, but he still needed the practice. Cyrus rested an end of the pole on the ground and leaned his weight on it.

“You don’t have to be perfect, not everyone is as skilled as I am. The dragons will be the problem,” Cyrus explained. He looked towards the Insect Dragon that sat in the corner. Trevor looked to the dragon as well before huffing.

“How can you be so sure?” Brenda asked. She sat nearby with Aya and David.

“Because besides the boss, I’m the oldest living hunter,” Cyrus stated, though he hesitated.

“Something on your mind?” Trevor asked and Cyrus exhaled.

“Yeah, but I’m not spilling my guts to you lizards.” He stood straight and spun the pole over his shoulder, bringing it back to his front and held it like a spear. “Who’s next?”

For a few hours Trevor and his siblings trained with Cyrus and his dragon. Halfway through, Trevor stopped due to his back and watched his siblings practice. He pointed out errors that his siblings made and ask questions when they came up. By the end of the session, everyone was exhausted. The Insect Dragon laid, barely able to move.

“Is that what the parasites do to dragons? Push their limit until they physically can’t move anymore?” Trevor questioned as Sereph looked it over.

“It’s a theory,” Kathey replied. She stood nearby with her arms crossed. Malice, Sylark, and Zoymey stood behind her.

“He’s just exhausted, he’ll be alright,” Sereph announced.

“Good time to test that idea you had, Sylark,” Kathey suggested and Sylark nodded. Kathey dropped her arms and looked among everyone in the room. “I want all of you out in case this works. I’m not taking any chances.”

“What is it you plan on doing?” Trevor questioned. Kathey looked over her shoulder at Zoymey who nodded and waved Trevor over to what could only be described as an observatory. His siblings, Sereph, and Malice walked out of the gym, the door locking behind them. Zoymey secured the observatory’s door and Trevor looked out through the glass.

“They think using telepathic abilities, they can push the parasite out. Possession is of the mind as well as the body,” Zoymey explained.

Trevor watched as Kathey and Sylark stood on either side of the Insect Dragon. The dragon lifted his head and looked between the two before screeching in pain and standing, stumbling backwards. He pawed at his head before he started coughing. Something black flew from his mouth and attempted to crawl away and into the corner of the gym.

Zoymey grabbed what appeared to be a glass capsule the size of a microwave from the corner of the observatory and rushed out, turning to his dragon form in the process. He opened the capsule and scooped the gelatinous parasite into it and sealed it. Trevor stepped from the observatory to where Kathey, Sylark, and the Insect Dragon stood.

The dragon rubbed at his face before opening his eyes, now back to the normal yellow-green they were meant to be. He looked at the four in the room with him.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice held a heavy German accent. “Where am I?”

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