Kai Drakon's Arc

Chapter 5 of 30

Kai kept the spear leveled at Scarlett's chest. She stayed where she was, one hand pressed to the cut above her elbow. Her fingers were shaking. So were his. Then Scarlett made a small, wet sound and looked down at her arm. Kai looked too. The skin around the cut had gone gray. The gray was spreading. It ran up her shoulder in a slow, cracking line, like mud drying in fast forward. Her fingers stiffened. She tried to bend them and could not. "Silver," she whispered. "It's turning me." Kai took a step back. He did not know if this was a trick. He did not know if a real killer would bleed like that, or beg like that, or freeze into stone in front of him. "Kai." The voice came from the fence line behind him. Kael stepped out of the dark, quiet as always, his blue hair catching the moon. Ire came with him, her amber tail low and twitching. They must have followed him from the tavern. Kai's shoulders dropped an inch just seeing them. Ire looked at Scarlett. Ire groaned. "Put the spear down, dragon." "She's a vampire," Kai said. "I know what she is." Ire walked past him into the pasture. She crouched by Scarlett and took the stiffening arm in both hands. Scarlett flinched, then let her. "Hey. Hey, love. Look at me." "Ire," Scarlett breathed. Her voice cracked. "I told him. I told him I’m sorry." "I heard you." Ire glanced back at Kai. Her green eyes were not teasing now. "She drinks at my tavern. From a cup. Has for two years..." Ire gave Scarlett a stern look and her voice drops, “But you killed my goats, didn’t you?” Scarlett sniffles and dropped her head in shame. Kai lowered the spear. His stomach turned. "The stone will reach her heart," Ire said. "Kael, my love. Honey and water, please. Now." Kael was already moving. He pulled the pouch of honey from his belt, poured it into his palm, and knelt at Scarlett's other side. He wet the honey with water from his flask and packed it hard against the cut. Scarlett hissed through her teeth. "Hold her," Kael said. Ire held her. Kai watched the gray stop at Scarlett's shoulder. It did not retreat. It just stopped. "She'll keep the arm," Kael said. "Mostly. She won't use it for a while." Scarlett looked up at Kai. There were tears on her face. She did not say anything. She did not have to. "I'm sorry," Kai said. Ire stood. Her tail lashed once and she sighed. "Well, now we know Scarlett killed my goats. But her punishment will be the pain from her arm for a while before it’s good again.”