Sneak Peek: Zarik Ch2 & Ruben Ch5 (2)

Zarik Al-Asherath

Khan Zarik clears his throat, his eyes trained on you and you only, "where is the pain centered?" A look of bewilderment appears on your face, but no one's face, not even Laurens, gives a clue as to why he has asked this.

You focus back on him, "my chest." Khan Zarik's jaw clenches, and Ari Baz just closes his eyes. One look at Laurens tells you that whatever this was about, he had won.

"What will you do to him?" you inquire.

"You have nothing to worry about," Laurens snorts with a smile that backs up his words, "they wouldn't dare touch me."

"Hold your tongue," Khan Zarik growls, "if you think any of my soldiers will care about the death of a defective member, then you are confused."

"They heard what I said. They'll tell their superiors what you did."

"Do you wish to test that?" The two continue glaring at one another until Ari Baz steps between them.

"Let us not test anything," he sighs, resting both hands on Khan Zarik's shoulders and forcing the man to look at him instead, "we also do not wish to anger the phoenix. Let's bring him with us and let the Patriarchy decide his fate." Khan Zarik says nothing for a while before finally pulling away from Ari Baz's touch and turning.

"Bind the both of them and put them on the cart with Diouri's things."

Ari Baz snorts, "and when he complains about the extra weight?"

"Tell him to deal with it."

Another soldier approaches as soon as Khan Zarik finishes speaking, "my Khan, we have confirmation that the boats are prepared for departure."

Ruben Draco

"Stay close to me," he spares you a single glance before slowing his pace to match yours, "phoenixes aren't exactly welcomed." His words come to life as heads swivel your way. Dragons nestled down on rocky outcrops watch you with obvious ill-intent. Some roar and snap towards you while others keep their distance but hiss when your eyes meet theirs. One dragon approaches, their wings sparkling green and gold hues that remind you of ripe grass. They hardly spare you a glance before looking to Ruben.

//"Î, Draconis khago. Î byâg ble yîtskay. Tswub?"// You hardly can make out the syllables, and perhaps even then, you may be giving yourself too much credit. Most of what you hear is a mix of low rumbles, grunts, and what sounds like a deep whistle.

//"I hîiw hîk. Draconis."//

The dragon gazes from him to you and then back, nodding.

//"E."//

"What did they say?"

<<if $vigor >=50>>"Does it matter? Come on."<<else>>"They asked why you were here. I told them, come on."<</if>> Ruben follows behind the dragon who leads you towards the gigantic cave entrance, one that seems far more proper for giants than dragons. <<if $ruben >=50>>As you travel deeper, you find Ruben wringing his hands together, his gaze focused on the dragon leading you, but his gaze was farther away.

"Will you be okay?" you question, nodding to his hands. The attention causes him to stop, placing them back at his side, and then he crosses them over his chest, unsure of what to do now that you had said something.

"I'm about to meet the dragon who blessed the first of my line. Who my people view as gods. What do you think?" There was no malice in his words, but that could be due to his nervousness overpowering the former tone. Neither of you says anything more and travel deeper.<<else>>You notice movement out the corner of your eye and see Ruben shifting into his dragon form. You take note that he is larger than the dragon leading you, at least by three or four feet. You also realize that you had never had much to compare Ruben's size to, was he considered large, average, perhaps even small? These thoughts travel with you as you walk deeper into the cave.<</if>>