Chapter 9: You or me

 Givontair: 

I whip my tail. The ogre stumbles from the force of it. Like a whip, my tail whips again, this time trying to break the bones in the green beast's legs, and not just trip him. The battle-axe swings down, but meets my claws. Metal and claws meet, and sparks fly. I whip with my tail again, this time to the hand holding the axe. 

There is now a big gash in the ogre's arm. I begin battering the spot. Or, at least try to. The ogre grabs me by the tail, and throws me in Nathaniel's direction. I snarl at that, and rush back towards the ogre. The lines must hold. Nathaniel can't kill something like an ogre by himself. His dragon slayer sword won't have any effect on this ogre. 

I lunge fangs first. My target, the ogre's neck. I get a slam of the axe's handle in my skull, for my trouble. For a couple of moments, I sway, trying to come back to reality.

That is all that the ogre needs. He picks me up, and then slams me on the ground. This time, the pain doesn't make me as dizzy. I clamp my fangs around the left leg of the ogre. He screams, and kicks me away. Unlike the goblin who attacked Nathaniel, I take more than just skin with me. 

I land in the sewer waste, and spit out the disgusting ogre meat in there. Just as I am about to get out of the dirty water, five goblins pile on top of me. Their crude daggers try to pierce my scales, to no avail.

One of them moves, so he can get a better shot at my eyes. I open my maw, and breathe fire straight in his face. The being doesn't even have time to scream. One by one, I pick off the goblins, and either crush their spines with my teeth, or burn them alive.  

When I finally get out of the water, I see Nathaniel facing off against the ogre. I curse in my mind. He should have run! With a couple of lumbering steps, I manage to get behind the ogre, and to breathe fire at his back.

The fur pelt he is carrying lights up. The ogre takes it off, and then I see it. A rune on his back. One that is dispelling other runes. 

I whip my tail, and wrap it around the ogre's legs. Turning him around with a push, I hope that Nathaniel will see the same thing as I did. 

"What is with the rune?" The dragon slayer asks, as I clamp my maw around the ogre's head. My fire glands secrete, and I breathe out a steady stream of fire. The ogre screams once, and then moves no longer. 

I spit out the bone and marrow that went inside my mouth. Finally, I look at the surviving goblins. Now that Nathaniel is behind me, I don't have to worry about burning him.

 They try to run; my fire catches them. There is just one goblin who has the foresight to dive in the water. That one, I drag out, and throw at Nathaniel's feet. I finally transform back into my human form. My clothes are drenched. I scoff at that. 

"What is happening here? What is with this rune?" I ask the goblin. 

The being opens its mouth, and I freeze. The tongue is cut. I begin to pity the creature. But then, just as I turn to speak to Nathaniel, the goblin takes out a dagger, and lunges at me. Nathaniel skewers the green creature on his sword, and throws it in the murky, foul smelling, water. 

"How do we stop the rune on the ogre's back?" Nathaniel asks. I hum, not having any ideas. 

"It should stop on its own. I mean, its mana source is now dead," I hold up my dagger. With a flick of my wrist, I throw it in the center of the rune. Nothing happens. More than that, I can still feel the mana coming off it in thick waves. 

"This is a rune made by a dragon," Nathaniel tells me, as he points at the way the writing is scratched on top of the skin. "A dragon who led to an entire town being in the midst of an epidemic." 

"I don't hunt my own kind," I say. Nathaniel snorts. 

"Your kind, Givontair the White, is a dying breed. I am not saying that of all the dragons. But of the dragons who fought against Ajax the Bold," I don't like where this is going. Nathaniel has hopes for me. Ones that I don't want to feed. 

"I didn't fight for or against Ajax, during the war," I inform him. "I was too busy healing both sides." 

"You might as well have told me you don't approve of Ajax with those words. Look, I was on the trail of Ulcer the Relentless, before I got sick. What will you do, if he was the one, who spread the sickness in Portius?" I narrow my eyes at Nathaniel. 

"I don't kill my own kind," I say once more. Nathaniel's eyes narrow at me. 

"So, you will stand by, and let countless people die, just because your kind doesn't want to accept that the war is over?" His tone is harsh. I wonder if he really is on board with helping me find Erik's mother, and the rest of the traders. 

"Prove to me that it was Ulcer, and I will help you find him, once I find the people I am searching for," this is more than I should have given. Yet, how is he going to prove to me that he is right? It would be impossible.  

Nathaniel kneels next to the ogre, and then there is a green mana stream coming out of his hand. I take a couple of steps back. He was not honest with me.

 I should have known that no normal human is going to ever approach a dragon for help. The ogre opens its eyes, and stands up. Yet, now those eyes are glassy, and the being doesn't so much as twitch. Only one word repeats in my brain. 

Necromancer.