Chapter 7

-Xen-

It was chaotic. We made it back to the house in one piece, but the house wasn't. The door had been knocked off its hinges and the windows were shattered. Parts of the garden were on fire and screams came from inside.

Dag and I had one hand over our faces and another holding daggers as we ran through the entrance. I ducked as Dag sliced at a Dragon who lunged at us. The Dragon ducked out of the way and tried to kick Dag behind his kneecap. Dag side-stepped, treading on my toes, and brought his elbow down on the Dragon's face, making them fall to the ground.

"Go find Ellsworth," Dag demanded.

I didn't need to be told twice, I dashed through the house as quickly as I possibly could. I dived around corners and didn't let my feet stay in one position for more than a few seconds. A few daggers swung my way, but I focused on running.

Ellsworth's voice came from the library. I had my back to the wall and tried to listen to what he was saying, but that was impossible.

A Dragon ran down the corridor to my left, without even trying to hide from my view. I blocked their attack with my dagger and landed an uppercut. I backed into the library, still facing him

"What?" Ellsworth asked from behind me.

I ducked, narrowly missing another swing. "Hello," I greeted. "We're home." I blocked my opponent's elbow, causing them to spin around and strike me with their other arm. It was difficult to talk whilst focusing on the fight. "Having a good day?"

Ellsworth stepped into the battle and pressed on an opponent's arm and hit them in the head, effectively knocking them out.

"Why didn't you just do that before?" I asked, trying to catch my breath. "The entire house has been destroyed."

"Not the entire house," Ellsworth said with his hands behind his back. "My office has also not been touched."

I moved some hair out of my eyes. "Lovely," I said sarcastically. "That's two rooms out of, how many?"

Ellsworth sent me a stern stare, no doubt because of my sarcasm. "Where are the others? Mission status?"

I didn't like the fact that he was asking me this over an unconscious body whilst the rest of our house was being attacked by Dragons. "Target not eliminated, Ash compromised." It was rare that Ellsworth was like this; stony and almost robotic.

Fire flashed in his eyes, and he walked past me and into his office. I followed close behind him and kept an eye on his back.

"Go and get Dag, we need him," he commanded.

I hesitated but nodded and left the room again. He could've told me a few moments before we entered his office, but I wasn't going to openly complain with a martial arts master who was angry.

I passed Dragons fighting over what they considered to be valuables, strangers crouching behind desks and in corners, and shelves which had been completely knocked over. I found Dag holding a Dragon's head in a sink full of water.

"Upstairs," I stated.

He must've been too focused on making sure he didn't kill the Dragon to notice me coming. He jumped and let go of the person's neck, dropping them onto the sink. He rushed to pull them out and onto the floor.

"Learn to make some noise," he commented before pushing past me.

I frowned down at the unconscious Dragon before checking their pulse. They were still alive. There weren't many of them left in the house, but where was everyone else? Ellsworth couldn't have neutralised all the threats. There were a few of ours on the floor, but they were alright, they helped each other, and the Dragons were in a worse state.

Ellsworth was standing in front of a grey door which I had never noticed. A white cloth was on the floor by his and Dag's feet, presumably what used to cover the grey door.

"I hadn't touched this door in over fifteen years," Ellsworth said slowly, running a hand down the door.

As I grew closer, I could see that the door wasn't any regular slab of metal or wood. It was full of squares and curves. It was as though the door was made of LEGO. Each brick shifted as Ellsworth's fingers lightly pressed on them, falling back into the surface and leaving empty space.

Ellsworth made a type of pattern in the bricks, one which I recognised as Chinese characters, but I didn't know the meaning of them. When he reached the floor, the door opened, revealing what seemed to be a closet. It was big enough for someone to step into, with shelves on either side and a wall of weapons at the back.

"Is this what's going to save the day?" Dag asked, crossing his arms. "It looks like old armour and weapons."

"It is old armour and weapons," Ellsworth confirmed. "This will give us an advantage. Or at least, in par with the Dragons."

"How would you know that?" I asked, stepping backwards to see his expression.

"Because they're made of the same material, made by the same person." Ellsworth turned to address the two of us. "Jain and I learnt how to make this armour together as we were both masters of the Dragons."

The way Ellsworth was speaking made the situation much more dramatic than it actually was.

"We guessed," I said and crossed my arms. "Wasn't difficult."

Ellsworth's eyes widened and he turned to Dag for confirmation. "You did?"

Dag snorted. "Well, we knew you had personal history and you knew more than logically possible if you didn't have personal relations." Dag sat on the edge of a table and started to pick at his injuries. "What good is that though? We'll just be more protected against them."

I huffed and rolled my eyes, that sounded like a good thing to me.

"It's good because it'll protect you," Ellsworth spoke my thoughts. "I know Jain quite well. I know his methods and tactics."

"Yeah, remember? Ash is compromised." I raised my hand. "Would he kill her?"

Ellsworth's face paled even more than it already was. "Ash has history with the Dragons-"

"-We know," Dag interrupted. "The Dragon recognised her."

"Did you get more information on the She-dragon?" Ellsworth asked me.

I opened my mouth and closed it again with a sigh. "Yes, her name is Eir. She's Jain's daughter." I could've continued, but I didn't know what he wanted to hear.

"Daughter?" Ellsworth's eyes were steely. "You confirmed it?" He looked more disturbed than I had ever seen him. "I suppose he moved on," he muttered under his breath. He walked out of the room and paced. "Collect everyone. Make sure they are healed."

I opened my mouth to speak but I was interrupted.

"We're going to get Ash back. I'm getting my answers. If it means Jain's head comes home with us."

Dag and I nodded, exchanging a concerned glance before bowing to Ellsworth and leaving. There was something we're missing. He didn't answer us when we asked if Ash would be kept alive. Granted, we did interrupt him. His reaction gave no reassurance.