The Ain'Dha.s.si still had enough strength left to summon a blood-curdling scream, it went on for several seconds before tapering off to blubbering. "I-I was only under orders! Morana sent me here, I'm just a messenger."

Nix nodded in agreement. "Sure, I know that." His yellow eyes stared into the red ones for several seconds. "That being said, going after Hyai... you've forfeited your right to exist in this world."

"I can tell you things! Very important things about the Blood Temple and Morana." Kedric spoke fast, like someone trying to make a deal before time ran out.

Nix let his archon blade flame out and pursed his lips as if considering. "Let me tell you my plans first, then you can decide how cooperative you wish to be."

Kedric turned his head to one side and vomited blood into the wreckage. He coughed a few times, terror slowly creeping upon him. "Show me mercy and I will give you all my secrets."

Nix smiled and knelt down on one knee. "After I remove your limbs, I'm going to bury you and that artifact deep in the ground. Vampires don't die very easily right? I expect you'll linger for quite some time. Between the two of us, I don't give a s.h.i.+t about your secrets."

Kedric started screaming, no longer did he bother to hold out for mercy. He had been caught by a demon, escape had become futile.

[Whisper: Beta to Nix] None of my business, but I thought I would mention that Vampire hearts make great enhancements for crafting especially fresh ones. I'll give you something nice if you give me Morana's heart.

[Whisper: Nix to Beta] Why don't you take it yourself?

[Whisper: Beta to Nix] That would get me in a lot of trouble.

[Whisper: Nix to Beta] Fair enough, no promises.

Nix took a moment to pilfer all the items Kedric was carrying. "Truthfully I'm too lazy to dig a hole to bury you in."

A noise from behind him caused him to glance over his shoulder. The horse Kedric had been riding apparently survived the house exploding. Nix approached the animal, immediately he sensed a difference in the mare. Her hooves were cloven like a goat, and scales advanced upward to her knees before turning into black fur. She had a few minor cuts on her chest and back, but nothing life-threatening.

"This some sort of mutation? Crossbreed maybe?" Nix looked closer and noticed her eyes were blood red. "Oh... hey I like this horse."

Nix dragged Kedric toward the property's only well. "As I was saying, I don't like digging. However, I'll just dump you in the well and collapse it.

After removing Kedric's legs, he picked up the screaming vampire and dumped him down the well, after searching carefully, Nix recovered the parts he chopped off and tossed them in also. After some careful thought, he added Roz and his severed head to the well.

[Balefire: Burst: Gemini Flame]

Nix targeted the well and turned into a pile of melted rubble.

[Tides of Flame]

[Tides of Flame]

After the second Tide, the entire area over the well was smooth like gla.s.s. He unsummoned the Kedric's demon horse and headed back toward town.

/Alpha Team: Nix: All hands report immediately to Isla'Fairbal.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Special mission?

/Alpha Team: Pon: On my way.

/Alpha Team: Fajii: Understood.

/Alpha Team: Wind: You got it, boss.

*******************

When Shae entered her Elemental World she immediately sensed the chaos and ran towards it. She found Fey on the bank next to her favorite hot-pool, half of her body was still in the water. "Not good little lizard."

Originally Fey's dark body was sleekly scaled with wings about five meters from tip to tip. The ma.s.s of silver and brown blob was barely recognizable as a drake. "What's wrong Fey? The Ice Dragon Spirit shouldn't have caused something like this!"

Shae's voice was calm, Fey had only been slightly larger than a warhorse. The shapeless ma.s.s of scales was easily four or five times bigger. She gripped Fey by one foreleg and pulled her completely from the pool.

"Silver flame is combating my natural flame Shae, I must have absorbed it from Nix."

The red-haired Salamander lay a hand on Fey, companions would often rise in strength when their Spirit bonds did. Just as Nix benefitted from the spiritual bond he shared with Shae, Fey also benefitted from his strength. The difference was that Fey had been a fairly ordinary Lord Cla.s.s Drake.

Fey's breathing was labored. "The Ice Dragon Spirit isn't compatible with Nix's Silver flames, nor my form. I just wanted to be stronger for him."

Shae nodded, she understood the sentiment. "There is something I can try, I wouldn't dare do it, but I've seen Nix accomplish it once."

"I will try anything." Fey already knew that this failure would lead to her death, not a combat death from which she would be revived, permanent death.

Shae removed her clothes and let warm red flames engulf her. "First, I'm going to pull out your natural flames, that will ease some of the chaos." Once touch had told her everything. The drake was too weak for the silver flame. The Ice Dragon spirit was only compatible with the Ice Flame. "After I remove the red flames, you will have to focus all of your strength on the silver absorption."

"I'm too weak for that Shae."

"This battle you will have to win, if you can manage that, then I will be able to weaken the Ice Dragon Spirit enough for you to meld with it."

"I will make the attempt." Fey slowly regained her focus, Drakes didn't rely on fire seeds like salamanders. They possessed a core that burned with the flames they were born too. Fey had never heard of a Drake switching flames. She gathered her courage, her will to fly the skies with him pushed her forward.

Shae nodded to herself when Fey's red flames pulsed outward, the Salamander pulled them in like a sponge in water. As an Archon level Salamander, her flame tolerance was years ahead of Feys. When her senses told her that the Drake had pushed away everything she could, Shae focuses on the Drake's core and stole the rest, leaving an empty whirlpool where the red flame had housed.

Fey's weak body convulsed when her flame left her, but she was expecting it and instead of panicking, she managed to pull the smallest bit of Silver flames into her core. Immediately she felt the Ice Flame follow.

Shae was deeply focused on the flames raging within Fey when the Ice Flames moved, she pulled at them with all of her strength. Silver flamed wings appeared on her back, the instant mind-numbing pain of Ice Flames made the red-haired Archon grit her teeth. She had acquired the small bit of Ice Flame compatibility from her spiritual bond with Nix, it would have to be enough for her to pull it away from the Drake. "Fey! The Ice Flame feeds the Ice Dragon Spirit, try to meld with just the spirit!"

The Ice Dragon Spirit was something that scared Fey to her core, although she wasn't weak, she was aware that her blood held only the slightest trace amount of Dragon. She had bonded with Nix originally to protect herself, but as their bond grew, so did her desire to protect him. "I..I will pull it all in, even if it kills me!" The weakened Drake encountered an Ice Dragon spirit that was fighting on two fronts. A powerful Archon was pulling away its life fire, while a pitiful drake was pulling at its spirit. Mistakenly, it chose to take on the stronger Archon first.

Fey felt the Ice Dragon Spirit weaken slightly, and dived in with all her strength. She had decided that she would not be able to survive, at all cost she must protect her companion's mate. She released her own Drake ident.i.ty and focused on become part of the stronger Ice Dragon Spirit.

"Fey? What are you doing?" Shae felt a moment of panic, she used her own flames to completely cut loose the Ice Flames and then yanked them out completely. An explosion of Ice flames shook her elemental world, tossing Shae into the air like a dried leaf.

Shae woke a few minutes later, oddly enough she landed in her ghost pepper garden. She frowned at the half-dozen plants that were wrecked. She limped slowly back to her hot-pool while checking her injuries. There were only a few minor cold burns, nothing serious. "How does he hold the Ice Flames?"

She stopped when the silver form rose from the ground, her pretty brown eyes showed her surprise. Thirty feet of beautiful scaled silver, her furled wings must be nearly twice that. Shae advanced and lay a hand on Fey's smooth shoulder. "Your flames?"

Fey's silver eyes showed some confusion, she inhaled and shot flames into the air. Shae clapped excitedly when she saw them, they were pure silver. "My flames..."

Shae nodded and stroked her neck. "That's not all. Examine yourself."

Fey [Silver Drakon: Hybrid]