PART 21

The view beyond that was nothing less than majestic. Baylin had set up his camp at the edge of a cliff, Dresden figured this would be a very easy position for he and other Dragons to fly in and out of freely.
Dresden expected an ambush to come up behind him, to prevent him from changing, but nothing interrupted the transformation. Just he and Baylin stood face to face, naked for a moment on a mountain top. Baylin bent down on all fours. Dresden did the same. They faced one another as scales formed, tails sprouted, horns and other protrusions emerged from their bodies and they grew to enormous size. Kizjin Kol could be comparable to a toothpick when Dresden was a Dragon. He hadn’t designed the blade to be wielded by a dragon, even though he was a Dragon when he’d crafted it, so long ago. Baylin’s voice boomed through the mountains.
“If you want me, come and get me then!” He stretched his wings and flew into the air, heading up to the next highest peak that could be seen just behind where Baylin had been standing, the sun shone directly overhead of them behind clouds, a gentle snow tickled Dresden’s scales. He hadn’t become a Dragon in so many years, he wondered how it would feel to fight in this form, a thought that he hadn’t considered properly before engaging in battle with Baylin. He tested his wings, felt his legs underneath him, stretched and flung his tail from side to side. He adjusted to his body, but knew that he wouldn’t have time to gain his bearings before the battle. He watched Baylin cling to the edge of the cliff like a vulture, talons digging into the stone, waiting for Dresden to meet him there. Dresden stretched his wings again, preparing to take off, when a force hit him hard in the back of the head, toppling him towards the fire. A larger Dragon clung to his back, grinding his face into the ground.
Laughing loudly, Galvinor, reveled in the surprise attack. “I bet you haven’t used these in so long you forgot how to fly old man!”
“Dresden turned quickly on his side, rolling Galvinor over like two cats clinging to one another. “I’ll show you what this old man can do!” He bellowed, grabbing Galvinor by his broad shoulders and headbutting him with his wide forehead. Galvinor reared back, shaking his head, trying to steady himself. This gave Dresden time to get up, but not enough time to see another Dragon coming at him from behind. The green Dragon he’d seen overhead in the storm, the spiny golden tail meeting the side of Dresden’s face, hurtling him to the ground once more.
“What’s the matter old man? Feeling rusty?” The deep, throaty growl came so clearly to Dresden, he turned instantly to look at his attacker.
“Well, Tyndor, you look as ugly as ever.” Dresden remembered him well, one of the few Dragons in his group of exiles he would have gladly killed right from the beginning. Bad temper, poor listening skills and a strong penchant for violence. He was not happy to see Tyndor alive. He’d hoped the Dragon had met some horrible fate many years ago. With Baylin, Galvinor and Tydor, all much younger Dragon’s than he, and with all of their Dragon faculties intact, he wasn’t sure how he was going to make it out of this situation alive.
Baylin flew down from his perch to land in front of Dresden, the others gathered around, encircling him with the fire behind Baylin, casting shadows on the Dragon even in the middle of the day.
“You see, I knew you were coming.” Baylin cooed with a cocky head shake. “You’re not the only one out here with a cause old man.”
“Let me guess.” Dresden called out. “Sariahfina exiled you on purpose. I had plenty of time to think about it while I climbed the mountain. You are working with her aren’t you?”
All the Dragon’s laughed openly at the fact that Dresden had climbed and not flown up the mountain. He would have arrived immediately had he flown, but he needed time to work out the details he had recently learned.
“You see.” Dresden continued, “I had to wonder what about being an exile made you so damn happy Baylin. I went over my memories and recall you looking not too sad to leave the island.”
Baylin nodded and sat back on his haunches. The other two Dragons paced back and forth like hungry animals while Baylin spoke.
“You never questioned me when I supported you. You never wondered why I joined you and the other loser lizards in the fight for humanity.” He paused to scratch the back of his head with a scaly back foot before continuing. “Sariahfina encouraged me to join you. She knew exactly what you were up to well before you came out and questioned her authority and our position on BasNassal. It’s a shame the puny, assassin woman wasn’t able to kill you, but better for me, because I get to be the one to seal your fate!” Baylin lunged quickly, regardless of his size. Dresden, leaned to the side, but was caught by Tyndor and shoved back into Baylin’s path as the younger Dragon rammed him head on, lifting Dresden off his feet, allowing Galvinor an opening from the other side to press into him as well, crushing him. Dresden fell backwards, but righted himself and caught his breath.
“You’re a sick bastard Baylin!” Dresden croaked. “What you did those children is unforgivable.”
Baylin laughed again darkly. Tyndor swept Dresden off his feet with the golden spiked tail while Baylin answered him.
“You’re here because of a few human brats? What about the empires I took down, well, we took down?” He corrected himself, looking back and forth between the other two Dragons fighting alongside him. “Did you even give a mouse's tail about any of that. We staunched human growth as much as we could without giving ourselves away. Oh, that’s right. You got all lost in being a human being and forgot you were a goddamned Dragon! Drank it away, got all sad for your loss, misery loves company right? We’re here to make you miserable before you accompany the rest of the swine that died following your lead into a world where humans infect the land like rats. Not anymore though! We’re going to make sure of that Dresden.” Baylin came forward again, this time, he breathed fire at Dresden, while the other two at his sides closed in and nipped at his feet. They had him closely surrounded. They were young, strong and very fast. He would be unable to outmaneuver them, but he had a few tricks they probably hadn’t seen before. He ignored the biting at his ankles and hunched down very low to the ground, ducking his head from Baylin’s fire. He let out a deep growl that shook the Earth beneath them, then filling his body with air, he blew out hard and pressed his belly to the ground. A resonant wave shook the mountain top and threw his attackers to the ground giving him enough time to rear up and gain the upper hand. He went after Tyndor first. He knew of a weak spot on the Dragon’s neck, just above his shoulder. He jumped on top of the green and gold Dragon, clung on hard while Tyndor was disoriented, and gouged out a chunk from his neck, spilling his blood on the snow covered ground. Dresden relished in the warmth flooding his mouth and the feeling of Tyndor’s flesh between his teeth and claws. It had been too long since he’d enjoyed the animalistic, primal urges contained inside of him. His Dragon form felt good, natural, and exciting to be in. He wanted to bite Tyndor again just for good measure, but remembered he had two other Dragon foes to take care of next. He jerked his head up with blood dripping from his fangs.
Gavlinor recovered quickly and dragged Dresden by the tail off his brethren even though it was too late to save him. Once he had him close enough, he grabbed Dresden by the side of the head with a massive clawed hand, and beat him with the end of his tail until Baylin recovered enough to join in.
“You’ll pay for that.” Was all Baylin said as he looked at Tyndor’s lifeless body.
He climbed on top of Dresden while Galvinor held him down and dug his claws into Dresden’s back. He grabbed Dresden by the other side of his face and looked down into it from above.
“You remember what I can do right? You were foolish to think you could come here and kill me in my own camp.” Balyin blew a thin wisp of Dragon fire into Dresden’s nostrils and motioned for Galvinor to release him. Dresden shook his head vigorously. His vision was impaired. He looked up at the two Dragons in front of him as they began swirling into an indistinct blur. Illusion, Baylin could use the power of illusion, Dresden remembered in a panic. He spun his head around to stare at the fire. It was no longer fire, it had grown into the shape of a gigantic bear with glowing eyes and reached out a paw to claw Dresden in the face. He reared back before it could lay a fiery claw into him. Baylin and Galvinor laughed hard at the sight of him fighting something that wasn’t really there. The sound came clearly to Dresden’s ears, but when he looked at them, they were no longer Dragons. They had changed into huge trees with snakes for limbs and red eyes. They were twice as big as he, and he looked up into their faces, but the Dragon’s on the ground in front of him hadn’t changed at all. Dresden knew he was in very real danger now. If he could not make sense of his surroundings, he would never be able to win this battle. That’s when Galvinor stepped forward and blew another misty cloud of Dragon smoke over Dresden’s face.
“Don’t forget about me old man. I’ll help you see things clearly.” He let out a bellow of laughter as he and Baylin, relished in torturing Dresden before they killed him. Galvinor, Dresden remembered in horror, could paralyze his foes where they stood. So now, Dresden stood there, unable to move. Fighting against the poisons in his head, he stared at the two enormous trees with snakes dancing from their trunks, as they advanced to seal his fate.