The horse gently fingered the trigger, waiting until the crosshairs in the scope switched from red to green before his muscles reflexively twitched. The semiautomatic rifle spat out three bullets in quick succession, flying straight and true into their target. Despite the high powered rounds penetrating flesh, the armour-clad canine attacker seemed unfazed. There was no cry or a moment’s hesitation before barrel of a shotgun came into view, prompting Hollud to twist his body back around the corner just as concrete exploded around them.

 

“You’re right about the impervious to pain,” shouted the horse over the rapid unloading of shotgun shells. Pressing his body close to the wall, he followed the wolf towards the stairwell. “Asshole didn’t even react.”

 

As they passed the threshold of the doorway, the tiger waiting behind the door slammed it shut, shoving a metal filing cabinet right against it. They quickly descended another flight of stairs just as they caught the sound of shrapnel striking metal, and metal scraping against concrete.

 

“And they don’t give up,” Fabian huffed as they slipped into yet another corridor. It was one of the administrative levels, according to the schematics on Hollud’s neural link, but still a good number of floors from where they should be.

 

“That’s no different from a damn zombie.”

 

“They’re skilled assassins,” Fabian replied, glancing back with a look of annoyance. “I’ve seen one ‘zombie’ wipe out an entire assault team.”

 

Hollud gripped his rifle at the newfound revelation, and at the growing frustration of realising that they were many things that he was supposed to know but did not. Endekes had mentioned some sort of memory wipe earlier on, but even he, too, knew nothing about what was gone or why it had been done. If he could tap into these memories, then perhaps they could have a fighting chance at whatever these things were, who were, as the horse now realised, tying up loose ends.

 

The ‘click!’ of the automatic safeties on their weapons meant that they were now in their designated safe zone. The fourth floor had remained unscathed by the enemy, given that it was mostly a large office space with little walls and cubicles you could easy see over by just standing up. It was also the floor with security systems that were still working, which meant keeping the bad guys out was as simple as the push of a button. A pantry provided  some resources like food, albeit from a vending machine, and bottled water, whilst a recreation room supplied a television to which they could gain an outside perspective of what was going on.

 

Endekes and Alexander huddled around the television, which despite the communications blackout, still maintained a hardwired connection to the media networks. The news broadcast rambled on about the developing situation outside, and it mirrored the solemn looks on the boar and tiger’s muzzles.

 

“They’re advancing,” Fabian reported as he stepped beside them, glancing at the screen as he did. “And getting stronger.”

 

“Makes sense,” Endekes acknowledged. “Send the weaker grunts to clear the way for the stronger ones.”

 

“I still think we should wait for reinforcements,” the tiger chipped in. “It’s all over the news. The Administration will definitely take action…”

 

Hollud’s eyes remained on the screen, watching the news broadcast carefully to confirm his suspicions. The studio shot switched to one of the roving news drones that now circled around the building. It showed the smouldering upper floors, which was where they were moments ago. Another drone camera shot tried to zoom in past the tinted windows, but the security tint was in place for such a reason: to prevent probing eyes. Another shot showed the empty streets that stretched for at least two blocks. The image shifted visibly, showing small tiny specks running across the streets, seeking cover under the safety of concrete and steel.

 

The horse reached back to a previous job he had taken on back, finding distinct similarities between that and their current situation. It had been a hostage situation, and his team had been called into to slip in the back and rescue the hostages from a group of terrorists. Well, the news called them terrorists; what Hollud found was rogue soldiers who were unhappy with their military superiors. At the end of the day, a co-ordinated attack with the local Special Forces meant zero casualties and scoring high on reputation with the local authorities. However, that event taught the horse how to recognise the signs that big strings were being pulled.

 

“They’re not coming.”

 

The surety of his voice caused the other three to turn and look at him. Hollud flashed a casual smile, giving a small shrug of his shoulders as if already accepting the conclusion that he had presented.

 

“But they know we’re here! They can’t just…”

 

“They can.” Hollud interrupted the tiger’s protest by stepping between the trio and in front of the big screen. “And they already have. Look.”

 

The horse poked at the screen, which instantly paused its broadcast. Gesturing for the onscreen controls, he scrubbed the video through the internal buffer until he found the highest, widest camera shot that the news channel managed to get.

 

“They pushed back the roadblocks,” Hollud explained as he circled at the screen, which tracked his finger with a red line. His finger scrubbed at the roads, which seemed unusually empty in comparison to others flooded with emergency vehicles. “They’ve cleared multiple routes into the area here, here, and here. Chances are, they’re also trying to patch up the wireless towers in the area, like right here.”

 

Hollud gestured at the tall, sleek antenna protruding from one of the nearby buildings. They could barely make out the tiny pixels on the screen that represented the technicians doing what the horse pointed out what they were doing. At another antenna in the shot close to the camera’s point of view, it was more distinct, especially with larger, more visible equipment on the rooftop.

 

“They, whoever ‘they’ are, are probably getting ready for something other than ‘reinforcements’,” he concluded.

 

The trio looked at the less than obvious clues that now stood out like a sore thumb. It seemed like everything that the horse had deduced fit into place. On hindsight, there were none of the usual emergency services; no air rescue choppers, no firefighters, minimal police presence, and a complete media playground. Fabian was the first to provide his opinion.

 

“Shit.”

 

“You have a keen eye, your Highness,” Endekes remarked. “I can’t believe you managed to pick all that out.”

 

The horse had already gotten over the initial shock as being addressed as royalty, but the way his ears pressed up against his head at that title still indicated he was far from comfortable from being addressed as such. The quick history lesson that the boar had given filled in some blanks, but formed many more in its wake.

 

“Huh. Seems like all that time I spent freelancing actually’s worth a damn.”

 

The horse barely flinched as he spotted the bared teeth and gums from the wolf. He had struck a nerve.

 

“You ungrateful…” Fabian began to advance on him, halted only when the boar stepped between the pair.

 

“Knock it off!” Endekes grunted, first at the growling wolf, before turning back to the horse. “Both of you.”

 

The stern look of confrontation on the horse’s muzzle seemed like it was going to remain for a while, but it eventually softened and he gave a nod. The wolf gave a glare of warning before turning away. During the brief history lesson, the professional relationship between horse and canine had degraded sharply after they had failed to settle their differences when broaching the topic on the outcome of living a life outside of the magic community. Whereas Fabian carried a deep sense of loyalty and pride, which Hollud could not deny, the horse was equally bitter and confused over his lack of education about his abilities. The picture that Endekes has painted cast plenty of doubts, and the horse had a growing number of questions that no one had the answer to.

 

Whatever questions he had, it was not as high as the list of priorities that were slowly piling up in his head. There were more important things to address, such as staying alive from an army of zombified commandos. If what Endekes said was true about stronger enemies converging on their position, then it made more sense to keep on moving.

 

“We should…”

 

For the second time, the tiger was interrupted, but this time by the sound of their Communicators beeping. Hollud consulted with Saviour through his neural link, and instead found short messages from his crew during the communications blackout. There was silent jubilation that his deductions were, indeed, accurate in presuming that the network towers would be restored. Of greater concern, however, was the content of the messages If anything, it just made a bad situation look worse.

 

The ringing of Alexander’s Communicator startled the tiger, who immediately fumbled with the device until it stopped. Saviour had it flagged as a call, and although the number was delisted, it was marked as encrypted. It also did not help that the first thing that came out of the tiger’s mouth was, “Dad!”.

 

While Endekes and Fabian were both busy with their own Communicators, Hollud had Saviour despatch a quick reply back to his ship. His best guess was that they were busy  in the Armoury stocking themselves with as many guns as they could carry. By how things were going, it would be best to exercise caution. He was dealing with things that he had only learned about minutes ago stretching far beyond what he could remember. The boar had mentioned about receiving some form of preparatory training for such a scenario, prior to his memory wipe. The last thing he wanted was to endanger his crew, whom he could only assume was less prepared than he was.

 

If I’m even prepared at all, he mused.

 

“Hold on,” Alexander mumbled before stretching out his Communicator to the horse. “Father would like to speak with you.”

 

That one sentence immediately attracted the attention of Endekes and Fabian, the former carrying one of surprise and the latter filled with what the horse could narrow down as shock. Hollud tried to rationalise the reason for such a reaction, but failed to draw up any logical conclusions. Then again, nothing about what had happened seemed entirely logical. The only one who seemed to be taking it as if everything were normal was the tiger, although Hollud suspected that his familial relations had probably had him accustomed to things he did not know about.

 

His fingers reached for the Communicator, and the moment the tiger’s fingers left the device, it beeped. It was now synced to his neural link and to him alone after the Communicator indicated it was now disconnected from the tiger’s concealed earpiece. He could hear some rumbling in the background, but nothing distinct told him what it was. One final instruction to Saviour and he was now ready to speak to whoever it was on the other end.

 

“Who is this and what do you want?”

 

 

 

* * * 

 

 

 

S’sythrael gave a smile of delight as the horse’s voice filled the interior of the SUV’s cabin. Normally, he would have preferred to take the call privately as most of his staff did not have the necessary privileges to listen to such information. However, Cassandra offered to take the wheel, and it was only Mia and Jeremiah in the back seat. The rest of his staff were spread out across the convoy making a beeline for the city.

 

“My name is not important right now. What is more important is that you listen to what I have to say and listen to it very carefully.”

 

The dragon added a pause, waiting for a confirmation of his orders. It was a pause, he had decided, to include out of necessity, rather than courtesy. He had tried not to make it sound like an order, but he could only hope that the horse would consider the severity of the situation and not challenge his authority. There were lives at stake, including his son’s.

 

“I’m listening.”

 

The brief glance from Cassandra told him that he was lucky, at the very least, that he had gotten the reply that he wanted. S’sythrael quietly sighed in relief and continued.

 

“Your lives are in danger. More specifically, Alexander’s. The enemy will come for him first. If they find out who you really are, then they will come for you as well.”

 

“I don’t even know who I am to them. I’m not even sure what you’re saying is true.”

 

“You will have to trust…”

 

“How am I supposed to trust the people who got into my head and wiped my memories?”

 

An uncomfortable silence hung in the cabin as Mia quietly mouthed the words “He knows” to the dragon. S’sythrael shifted uncomfortably in his seat, knowing that the past had effectively caught up with him. He knew that one day, he was going to have to address it and put some closure to the matter. The dragon wished it had been sooner and under better circumstances.

 

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or are you just afraid to stand up to face up to the facts like a real tiger?”

 

There was definite hostility in the tone of the horse’s voice, but his closing words puzzled the dragon. If the memory wipe was no longer effective, he would have remembered the dragon, or at least the fact that he was Alexander’s father. At the very least, he would have recognised his voice and immediately put two and two together. Unless…

 

“‘Though the clouds hide the light and truth from our eyes’,” recited the dragon. It was a long shot, but S’sythrael had to at least try. It was now the horse’s turn to pause; clearly, the dragon had caught the loop in the loophole.

 

“‘The… The winds of change will eventually clear the skies’. Wait. What was that? What the hell did you just say? Why did I say that? What’s going…”

 

The dragon’s brief excitement was quickly exchanged with worry when shouting could be heard in the background, followed hastily by the sound of a pistol unloading its rounds. The scratches and knocks conveyed a sense of urgency, before punctuated by the louder, sharper discharge of a high-powered rifle very close to the microphone.

 

“Contact!” screamed the horse with such ferocity that the speakers cracked and distorted  under his voice. “Get d-…”

 

The call termination tone signalled the sudden and abrupt end to their conversation. The dragon had to fight the rising panic as he tried to redial Alexander’s number, but was met with a tone of rejection. He glanced to Cassandra, who only nodded and flexed the foot on the accelerator. She jerked the wheel to the side, forcing their SUV to overtake the slower convoy vehicles ahead of them. This had a domino effect, mirrored by the slower vehicles that were now out of line and trying to keep pace with them.

 

“The wipe is intact.” S’sythrael concluded, swinging around to address the swan in the backseat. “His identity is still safe.”

 

“He is,” Mia replied in the soothing, calm manner she was known for. “But that also means his abilities are still locked away. He is now in a more dangerous position than we thought he was in.”

 

S’sythrael turned back to Cassandra, the worry spreading to the look on his muzzle. “How far is it to the city?”

 

“Ten minutes.”

 

“Ten minutes, it is.” S’sythrael leaned back into his seat, his eyes locked on the road ahead. Time, now, felt like it was going too slowly for the dragon. He knew that these ten minutes would stir in him countless years of worry, concern, and whether he liked it or not, fear. As he settled in for what seemed like the longest ten minutes of his life, he glanced at the road had before deciding to do something he had not done in a long while: to say what was on his mind

 

“By then,” he muttered, “we’ll know whether we’re fighting for a lost cause.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Covering fire!”

 

Unlike the previous action with the rifle, Hollud did not wait for the targeting computer to lock on before squeezing the trigger. A hail of lead and carbon exploded from the barrel, showering their attackers with shrapnel and bits and pieces of the concrete wall. Their attack wavered briefly, but it was followed by a symphony of gunfire from an assortment of weapons that provided a far bigger punch than any of the guns they had.

 

Pressed against his body was Alexander, the tiger behind him wincing at the fury and violence unleashed at the only doorway into the next room. He could understand his fear; he was probably the son of a very important person, deployed into the Administrative sector to protect his identity and to keep him away from the very prospect of danger. It all seemed like the horse was on another job, tasked with protecting the target of interest, and getting out of a tight situation. Only this job had somehow managed to find him entangled in the midst of it.

 

The horse heard the distinct beep of a low ammunition warning before Fabian shouted the two words he was expecting to hear.

 

“I’m out!”

 

The pistols clattered to the floor as the wolf threw them aside, useless without another ammunition clip. Endekes’ gave a few more shots before the barrels completely retracted, smoking from rapid, repeated use. The boar unloaded the empty magazine clips, but wisely kept the pistols instead of discarding them.

 

“I’m out too.”

 

Hollud glanced to the small readout on the side of his rifle, grimacing when he noticed that he had only half a magazine left. There was no point wasting any more bullets, now that the enemy had them pinned down. In situations like these, he knew that there were only two possible options; wait for the enemy to reload before making a break for it, or double-back and find another way around.

 

Retreating, however, was an option that had been denied to them. They had been forced down through this stairwell after their attackers burst through their security defences with pure brute force. Their attempts to slow the enemy had worked, but it took a toll on their ammunition. Now, with only one way forward, it seemed like they were being corralled to where the enemy had been waiting. It was a tactical mistake, and the horse inwardly cursed at not having picked up on it. He was not at his sharpest, distracted by the words in his head. It was times like these when the smallest mistake would cost them an eye or a limb. Now, it seemed like it was going to cost them their lives.

 

A dirty hand gripped the side of his head, the roar of pain within making it increasingly difficult to focus. Those damned words were still in his head! It bounced around in his head like a bullet ricocheting off his skull, stirring up agony that was only rivalled by the time he tried using hypnotism to recollect fragments of his memory. He had blacked out after the third attempt, but later found himself in the care of his crew and news of an explosion that occurred at the doctor’s office. It was the last time he tried anything with his memories, that is, until the dreams began.

 

The moment the gunfire stopped was when Hollud felt the pain ebb away with the noise. Through the flashes in his vision, he saw the worried eyes of Endekes. Even the wolf seemed genuinely concerned, and the horse had to wonder whether the haze of pain was getting to him.

 

Alexander gasped, the sound of his voice making him turn his head, which the horse instantly regretted.

 

“You’re bleeding!”

 

As if a switch had been flipped in his head, the horse suddenly became aware of the thick liquid against his upper lip. The rich smell of copper was the next sensation he registered, followed by the undeniable taste of blood on his lips. Automatically, he reached for his neural link, which warbled a reply that he could not understand. His eyes were blurry with tears of pain, which he quickly blinked out. Passing his rifle to the tiger, who nervously clutched at it like it was going to explode, he wiped his bloody nose with the back of his hand. It was probably that damn headache that caused this nosebleed, which distracted him from the attack that inevitably led them to his inability to fight and see that dispelling the dark energy would effectively buy them some ti-

 

Hollud jerked upright as he realised the pain was now replaced with distinct clarity. Something told him that he had to do something, and he had the distinct impression that it was from long, long ago. Whatever it was, it made the runes in his arm flare up with an intensity that he had never seen before.

 

“Fight fire with fire,” were the first words that tumbled out of the horse’s muzzle before he even realised what they meant. “To break the link is to break the hold.”

 

The horse glanced up at Endekes, who now grinned with quiet satisfaction.

 

“I’ll be damned!” the boar exclaimed. “What S’sythrael said to you, it’s doing something.”

 

S’sythrael. The name rang a distant bell, but like before, there was nothing to pin it down to. It rang like an echo that had been reverberating in an empty cave; someone had made the sound, but he could not pinpoint the source. There were words amidst the echoes, and he could not find their source either. However, he heard them, and understood every syllable that rung in his head.

 

“Stay with me.” Hollud grunted a quick command before breaking past the safety of the doorway. Throwing his right arm forward instinctively, he could see the ice blue wall of energy that formed in front of him. Bullets flew at him, but he was quietly surprised at the clarity of his awareness of their trajectories and capabilities. Despite his bulky frame, the horse danced his way through his way into the elevator lobby, either avoiding or deflecting bullets away.

 

As he forged a path, he felt a surge of energy behind him, followed by the battle cries of both Endekes and Fabian. His finger twitched, and walls of blue energy surrounded them as well, shielding them from harm. There were only a handful of grunts in the way, and the more battle-hardy wolf ploughed forward and took two out with claws enshrouded with magic. The boar followed, his enchanted punch caving skulls and snapping neck like twigs. They worked brutally, but methodically; those that they could reach with their bare paws they crushed, while snipers in the upper balconies required a mere flick of a wrist before gravity took over.

 

The horse shadowed the other two, who took the lead clearing corners and eliminating the remaining grunts. They were probably occupants of this building before, turned into mindless drones for the enemy. He could see, for the first time, the strings of dark energy that connected them all like an electrical appliance to a wall socket. Once the strings had been severed, it broke the enemy’s control, leaving behind an empty husk.

 

The carnage was over in minutes, and Fabian howled in satisfaction as his bloodlust was sated. The boar, ever so professionally composed, nodded in his direction before giving a somewhat out-of-character thumbs up. The waves of blue energy dissolving away as Hollud lowered his hand, knowing it was now safe to do. It felt oddly satisfying, even though he abhorred death and destruction. The sound of footsteps made him turn, just as the tiger stepped up to him.

 

“Your gun?” Alexander offered the rifle he had dropped earlier, his voice meek and lowered. He was frightened, but in awe. The horse gave a small smile to reassure the tiger; it was the least he could do, with the limited awareness of what he had just done.

 

“I’m not sure if I’ll need it,” Hollud started, but reached out his hand anyway. “But thanks.”

 

The tiger’s smile was the last thing he registered as he grasped the rifle before everything slowed to a stop. He could feel the sense of dread, and as he flicked his eyes over the striped shoulder, he saw the reason. There, just behind him, he could see the barely visible flicker of a stealth suit. Beyond the suit, he saw the strings of dark energy. High above what he assumed was the suit’s helmet, a mass of concentrated dark energy shaped like…

 

Dagger! Hollud mustered all his energy, grabbed the tiger by his forearms, and with a greater force than he expected, shoved the tiger to one side. As the tiger tumbled onto his side and slid across the marble floor, his right hand curled into a fist and thrust it forward towards the cloaked attacker. A blade of pure energy shot out from his arm and straight through, stopping his opponent in his tracks. He saw the strings of dark energy snap and shatter, a moment’s triumph surging through his body. It was then that he felt the searing pain just below his right shoulder.

 

Alexander’s cry of surprise attracted the attention of boar and wolf, who watched in stunned amazement at the speed of the horse’s reaction. The ice-blue spear that shot out was a marvel to behold, both unsure just how much of his abilities had been unleashed. They could see the outline of something frozen in the space in front of the horse becoming clearer and clearer, until it solidified out of thin air.

 

The cloaking mechanism fizzled and sparked before it failed, revealing one of the grunts who had been sneaking around them. Hollud could smell the stench of death and decay from such proximity, and it was likely that this individual was more dead than he had expected. It was then that he heard someone clapping, although he could barely hear it through the pain that now surged through the right half of his body.

 

“Bravo!”

 

The trio watched another figure uncloaked in the middle of the lobby, his scaled hands peeling the black hood of his cloak, which served as his cloaking device. Yellow eyes stood out against the black scales of the dragon, whose tongue licked at the air in satisfaction. Fabian growled, his claws unsheathed and ready to strike. It was Endekes that held him back with a gesture of his hand, the boar deciding to exercise restraint over an enemy they knew nothing about.

 

“Master expected some resistance,” hissed the newcomer. “Looks like I got Master something more!”

 

“Who are you?” Endekes demanded.

 

“Master will be pleased, oh yes! Very pleased!”

 

“What do you want?” Endekes gave Fabian a small tilt of his head, a signal for the wolf to go around. “Why have you come here?”

 

“To take care of you damn magi” the black dragon hissed, facing Endekes for the first time. “I thought the explosion would have killed you, but no! I found the child Prince instead!”

 

Hollud grunted in response, muscles paralysed in agony as he fought against the intense pain that seared every nerve in his body. It was then that the others realised that he had been still for too long, still pressed up against the assailant that he had defended Alexander from.

 

“Who would’ve thought the child Prince was still alive?” The black dragon quickened his steps until he was beside the horse, grinning muzzle right up against his cheek. “Certainly not I, but Master will know the child Prince was here. And I took care of him!”

 

A touch of the horse’s arm and the flickering blade of energy that surrounded it faded away, separating the two for the first time. The dead attacker dropped to the floor, but the horse barely moved, stuck in the same pose as before the dragon had appeared. Now, without the body, they saw the dagger’s handle hilted deep into his right torso. The dragon reached up, gripping the handle and slowly withdrawing it with careful deliberateness.

 

“Do you feel it, my Prince?” whispered the dragon, his tongue flicking around the  horse’s ear. “The dark magic slowly circulating through your veins? Perhaps you will last longer than your parents did.”

 

The whisper sounded more like a shout as Hollud struggled against his invisible bonds. His head hurt again, this time greater than the one he experienced in the stairwell. It was not so much pain than it was anger, and the growing frustration from not being able to do anything except make unintelligible noises. He could barely move a finger, let alone stab the dragon right in the heart.

 

Fabian leaped at the dragon with a snarl, hoping to catch him off-guard. The lizard already seemed ready for him and gave a snap of his fingers. The wolf grunted as he was tackled by an invisible force and slammed straight into the floor. When he finally regained his bearings, claws gripped at his neck, mere pinpricks away from severing an artery. The armoured bear above him, now uncloaked, smelled of death, especially with teeth so close to his muzzle. If Fabian even thought about moving, the bear reinforced his position by squeezing his paw, strangulating to the wolf until the thought vanished from his head.

 

Endekes, too, knew it was too late for him to take action. A blade pressed up right under his chin, threatening to slice right through muscle and bone with ease. The canine behind him was not as rough as the bear, but any movement from the boar and the blade pressed further against his fur. Regardless of what abilities he had, the stronger grunts had arrived and now held the upper hand.

 

“Three down,” the dragon hissed, sheathing the blade in a small scabbard around his waist before turning to the only remaining member of their team. “One to go.”

 

Alexander immediately shrunk back when he realised that it was him that the dragon was referring to. The tiger scrabbled against the slick floor, which seemed to provide little traction for his escape. He eventually got to his feet, raising the rifle in defiance. However, a flick of the dragon’s wrist and the rifle flew out of the striped paws before the tiger could even aim. There was a look of despair and a whine of realisation.

 

Hollud struggled to regain control of his body, but he felt like he had been dealt death’s hand. His head was a fiery explosion of pain, everything from the neck down felt like a lump of lead, and the world around seemed like it was turning into a black sphere. He fought to listen to his surroundings, tuning in to what would help him escape this vicious trap. Instead, he heard the distant echo of a tiger choking and struggling, fighting for his very life. The horse gave a silent cry, craving a memory or a thought that would enable him to render help when it was needed most. The power that he had been forced to forget eluded him, and for the first time since he could remember, he felt despair.

 

Remember.

 

Claws wrapped around the tiger’s neck, suffocating him in a grip of death. The enemy hissed in satisfaction, hoisting the tiger high in the air with unnatural ease. Endekes inched forward, but the blade pressed him back helplessly a few steps back. Fabian reached out, but the bear on top pressed forward his dominance, leaning his weight to the point where the wolf feared his ribs might give out before his spirit. The grin on the black dragon’s muzzle made Alexander cry out, the very sight of the wicked dagger swirling in dark magic stirring panic anew.

 

“Now,” came the hiss, followed by the rising blade. “You will all watch him die.”

 

It was not so much the brilliant flash of light that stopped the dragon in his tracks, nor the tiger’s startled look that was not one of imminent death. The pulse that rippled out like a shockwave did, and for a moment, he forgot completely about killing the tiger. The surge in magical energy began, tickling at the black dragon’s scales like a million bugs. When he turned around to look, he instantly regretted it.

 

Hollud felt the pain from his head fade away first, followed by the aches in his body. The horse felt light on his hooves and fresh energy charging through his renewed form. He remembered his father’s horn, which graced the top of his head in ethereal form, along with his mother’s wings. They were there, yet they were not; it was no more than a spectral projection, but it felt real. The curved horn felt like it had always been there like a sword on the top of his skull. Sensations from the wings on his back felt like as they had been hardwired into his brain since he was born, every powdery feather feeding information about the environment around him.

 

He stretched them out, relishing the satisfaction of releasing them after being bound for too long. It felt good. He felt good. Above all, he felt powerful, a feeling reinforced as he turned to lock eyes with the dragon.

 

“Pick on someone your own size.”

 

The memories flooded back, reminding him of the training Endekes had mentioned, as the horse raised his arm. His fingers tingled as he remembered how they should before a wave of ice blue energy left his arm at breakneck speed. It was a warning shot at best, an intention to test the enemy so that he would be able to react accordingly. However, he had been taught to always keep up with appearances, something his foe had missed out on completely.

 

The tiger crumpled to a pitiful heap on the floor as the dragon released his hold and raised his arms in defence. The glancing blow seared across the hastily conjured wall of energy, scorching a brilliant white against the evil black. The dragon hissed annoyingly, raising his hand as he did.

 

“Master did not expect this.” 

 

A black spear of energy shot out towards Hollud, who merely lifted his hand into its path. The dragon’s attack vaporised in his palm, just as the horse somehow knew it would. Something in his head told him that his energy would be sufficient to negate the amount of dark energy in the room. If he could find the source, then all the attacks would cease to continue. All his senses honed in on the dragon, and he knew what he had to do.

 

The dragon’s muzzle turned in an instant from annoyance to fear as the imposing form of the horse began to bear down on him. A flurry of attacks shot out from the dragon’s direction, which Hollud easily caught and disarmed. This only increased the panicked dragon’s desperation, launching himself at the horse. Both clashed in a vivid display, explosive sparks of magical energy flying out in all directions where their energies met. Fists flew and legs kicked, but neither made contact. It was more a battle of who had the most dominant energy, wearing down the opponent until the final blow could be delivered.

 

“Now, you die!”

 

The dragon’s threat confused the horse. Whilst his opponent was agile and fast, he most certainly felt like he could easily outlast the dragon. His attacks while not as fast as he hoped, packed quite a punch behind them despite having not used them in a long while. It could have been an empty threat, but something was nagging at him that it was not.

 

“Behind you!” Alexander screamed.

 

By then, Hollud already sensed the two attackers that were holding Fabian and Endekes hostage were within striking distance. With a now three-pronged attack, the odds were shifting in the favour of the enemy. If there was an attack that would be able to take the three enemies out simultaneously, the horse was not aware of it. Not much time was left before they began their attack, so if there was a good a time to take a leap of faith, it would have been now. Extending his wings out, he held his breath and jumped.

 

Hooves left solid ground as a current of magic propelled the horse into the air, leaving his enemies confused and bewildered as they stared upwards. Hollud himself was a bit stunned, and while it felt disconcerting, the sensation of familiarity was also there. He had done this before, perhaps even practiced it at great lengths, especially with the degree of control he was managing. With the mastery of basic flight conquered, he now turned his attention to his foes.

 

Folding his wings close meant cutting off the lift that keep him aloft, allowing him to fall rapidly to the ground. He just knew that his fall would be cushioned by magic alone, leaving him to focus on his attack. Killing was not going to be an option that he was going to choose; parts of his unlocked memories began to reveal just how he was going to do so. With arms surging with waves of magic, his hooves touched back down onto the ground.

 

The speed of his descent hardly slowed, the result of the sudden break in his fall sending a brief shockwave that pushed the ursine and canine back a couple of paces. While taking out the dragon would effectively neutralise the other targets, Hollud could not risk the two unknowns from putting the lives of his fellow comrades at risk. He closed the distance of the canine, the faster of the two, and struck out where he recognised as the weak points in the dark energy; the shoulder joints, the neck, the side of the head. Cutting off the source of their power was as effectively as death itself. All he had to do was tap, punch, or hit with sufficient force so that his energy could pierce the other’s like a needle bursting a swollen balloon. When it did succeed, he could see the canine attacks becoming more desperate, less accurate, and far more sluggish.

 

Once the horse had found enough weaknesses, through the sheer radiance of his energy alone, it overwhelmed the dark energy that ensnared the canine, shattering it like a fragile crystal subjected to a sudden amount of pressure. It was all invisible to the naked eye, but Hollud felt it as clearly as were the shadows from light. The canine slumped to the ground defeated, leaving only the more heavily armoured ursine to deal with.

 

The bear was a far more tricky opponent, the strength in his physiology adding to the potency of the dark energy. However, where the canine was free to dance, the bear could only throw a solid punch or two before the rest of his attacks were rendered to clumsy attempts as his stamina ran out. The horse took advantage of this to deal far more accurate blows in more places; the centre of his chest, the side of his hips, the back of his legs. It was the single point right to the bear’s throat that shattered the dark energy’s hold, leaving the bear to topple like a felled tree.

 

The snarl from the dragon was one of displeasure, especially after witnessing the ease with how the horse had taken out his puppets. It quickly turned into fear as the dragon realised the horse was now bearing down on him. For the first time since the attack began earlier in the morning, he suddenly felt helpless to do anything. That became physically apparent when the horse picked him up by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground until he was eye-to-eye with him.

 

“Who sent you?” Hollud questioned, tightening his grip on the dragon’s scales to emphasise just who was in control of the situation.

 

“Master knows all and sees all,” the dragon hissed softly. “However, he most certainly did not see you coming, child Prince.”

 

“Your Master is clearly after this prophecy. Why does he care so much for folklore?”

 

The dragon laughed, raising his voice for all to hear.

 

“Finally! Someone asking the right questions.”

 

Hollud could hear the click of the rifle as Alexander found his feet now that it was safe. From what he could gather, Endekes’ energy was satisfactory. Fabian, however, was clearly injured, and he could sense the damage that the bear had dealt him earlier. Alexander was far from injured, but he was clearly mentally shaken.

 

“Then answer, lizard!” shouted the tiger, arms and, in turn, the rifle shaking visibly under the stress. “Why is the prophecy so important?”

 

“Ask your Grand Mage, cat!” the dragon retorted. “Your so-called ‘Father’. Did you not stop to wonder why he chose to take you under his wing and why he gave the child Prince up?”

 

To deem the revelation as startling was an understatement; Alexander was in disbelief while Hollud stared on in silent shock. The dragon was suggesting that their past shared a common thread, and that their lives had resulted in being so similar and so different at the same time. Things could have been different, and yet, it was not.

 

“The prophecy was merely a ruse,” grinned the dragon as he took in their reactions, delighting in what little control he had left. “The greater trap that was laid to find the true prize that we were looking for.”

 

Hollud’s blood ran cold as he the dragon turned to look him straight in the eye, a toothy grin on his sneering muzzle.

 

“You.”

 

Endekes stiffened visibly upon hearing the dragon’s words as the boar tended to the wounded Fabian. Alexander ceased to shake, raising his gaze from the rifle’s sights to look to the horse with a unicorn’s horn and the wings of a Pegasus. Regardless of what the dragon had done, he sensed that the enemy was speaking the truth.

 

“Yes, you.” The dragon chuckled weakly, his claws attempting to pry the horse’s hand loose so that he could at least breathe a little easier. “They thought they could protect you with some mind wipe. But the more it degraded, the more Master picked up on your energies, child Prince. Master tasked me to take out the prophecy carrier, but I found you!”

 

Hollud felt his head beginning to throb again, suddenly aware of the aches in his muscles and the soreness of his shoulder as he held up the dragon. Whatever mysterious power that had kept him going was starting to fade. This conversation was going to have to conclude; he could not fight, not after receiving an overload of information and the injuries everyone had sustained.

 

Pressing his thumb over the dragon’s heart, he looked back up to the dragon, whose cockiness and confidence suddenly waned. That was where the dark energy had amassed, and it would take a solid blow to shatter its hold.

 

“Where do I go from here?” Hollud demanded, pressing his finger deeper into black scales.

 

“I…”

 

“WHERE?”

 

The dragon squirmed in his hands, but the stallion’s hold was far too strong. Hollud could feel more of his physical pain begin to take hold, but he knew he had to hold out for just a little longer. Gritting his teeth, he dug his finger in even more, denting scales and causing a brief cry of pain.

 

“WHE-”

 

“Your memories!” came the hasty answer. “Find your memories! They will lead you to where you need to go.”

 

Hollud’s finger eased until it no longer hurt the dragon. The answers lay inside his head, buried amidst the pain and lies that he had been fed since he could remember. Anger swelled up inside of him, but that was quickly replaced by the sensation of growing inner discomfort. Something told him that he was fast approaching the limits of both his physical and mental tolerances.

 

Lowering the dragon to his feet, he clamped his free hand on the dragon’s shoulder to hold him in place while pressing his entire palm over the dragon’s heart. This time, there were no struggles, and Hollud could see the resignation in those yellow eyes.

 

“Do it,” whispered the dragon. “Let me have one final taste of your power before you fade.”

 

Hollud focused the remainder of his energy down into his palm, only to replaced by the sensation of general weakness. With what remaining strength he could muster, he forced it out like a bullet exploding out of a barrel of a gun. His palm pulsed white, before it expanded into a growing ripple of energy. With the source of dark energy eliminated, all that could follow was the resonance of good defeating evil.

 

The dragon gave a soft gasp, then another. His muzzle softened as the tendrils of darkness began to recede. With a choked gasp, he struggled to find his words.

 

“They said… it would… hurt. They… lied?”

 

With that, the dragon collapsed to the floor. Hollud felt the horn and wings begin to dissolve the moment the dragon left his touch, drifting away like blown sand from the tops of desert dunes. His fragmented memory still remained, but it hurt to even try to reach out to his newly unlocked memories. His body, on the other hand, felt like it just went through a war and back. Exhaustion was starting to creep up on him, his movements now sluggish and slow.

 

The horse turned to hear the sudden increase in volume of footsteps and combat boots striking against the floor. Beyond the growing haze in his eyes, he saw medics attend to both Fabian and Endekes, although it was the latter briefing them about the wolf’s injuries. An orange blur streaked past his vision, and he could see the tiger running into someone’s arms. He tried to reason who it could have been to have generated such a strong reaction, but it felt like his brain was frozen. That was, until, he saw who it was.

 

“S’syt-”

 

Everything suddenly crumbled around him as the world around him suddenly spun out of control. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and he distinctly felt liquid dripping from his ears and nose. It was then that his world, mercifully, went dark.