19 Sky Dance
“Am I late for the party?” The shadowy figure let out a mischievous smile, his confident stare taunting at Scion’s pride.
It was Maxill-in bat form-and he came to the rescue. His claws were clutched on Chastine shoulders.
“Thanks, Maxill!” Chastine’s smile was beaming from ear to ear.
“Missed me already, Chas?” Maxill drew out an amusing smile on his face.
The female witborn touched one of his claws. “Hyeah.”
Maxill was flapping his wide wings high up in the air.
His bat form was quite large he looked like a harpy eagle.
The turbulence his wings were making made the airship tilt and sway.
At such a high altitude, the wind grew more violent than it was before because of his flapping.
Juste covered his face with his arm, while his other hand held on the ledge.
It was dangerous for them at the deck, as they might get blown by the strong force of the wind.
But it also was dangerous for Maxill to hover that high in the air because of the sun’s rays.
Even as a hybrid, he was still susceptible to getting literally burned.
What Maxill did was heroic and sacrificial. He was willing to endure it for the sake of his companions.
Scion managed to release himself from the mesh of ropes. He then ordered his guards to capture Maxill in his bat form.
“Get the bat!”
But as soon as Maxill placed down Chastine on the deck’s platform, he transformed back to his human form.
“Seize the bloodhunt! Seize the bloodhunt!” cried Scion’s henchmen.
Vampire magic doesn’t entirely work on fellhounds.
Although they have mutated to persist the effects of the darks arts, sometimes bloodhunt sorcery can work effectively against them.
With Maxill’s overpowered skills, he managed to effortlessly affect all of Scion’s henchmen with his hypnotic ability.
“Fight each other.” He calmly ordered the war veteran’s henchmen to raise their fist against each other.
The sight was too disorderly to describe. Mayhem was happening on the airship’s open deck!
Brother was fighting against brother. Things were getting out of hand.
Scion was almost hit in the face. He was looking for Juste amongst the melee of fellhounds.
But Juste, Chastine, and Maxill was nowhere to be found.
They seized the opportunity to exit the mob fight and escape Scion’s clutches.
Maxill was trying out the controls of the airship.
He quickly looked for the red button and intently pressed that emergency landing button for them to get away.
Maxill warned Juste and Chastine, “guys, brace yourselves, this could get dicey.”
The airship was already getting off course, but with Maxill pushing the emergency landing, it suddenly plummeted downwards at a growing acceleration.
The drag of the wind burst open the gas bag of the airship. It was located at the upper part where the hot air was stored to lift the vehicle from the ground.
Boom! The airship began to catch fire because the hot air was flammable and it had gotten out of hand.
“Juste! Maxill!” Chastine cried for them out of concern
“Maxill! Where to?!” Juste made his voice louder, asking Maxill how will they be able to escape from the crashing airship.
Maxill stretched out his hand and made up a sign on air, as if he was writing some sort of symbol in the aether.
“Just relax.” He finished drawing the symbol in the air.
Bam! The loud and explosive impact of the crashing airship on the ground made the perching birds fly away.
Thick, black smoke came out of the airship’s engine, but the other parts of the vehicle were still on fire.
The destroyed airship landed in a flat and barren area of the forest.
It would seem that no one survived the dangerous fall, but Maxill have had some tricks up his sleeve.
He set up a protection barrier around them as he completed the mark he was writing in air when they were about to hit the ground.
They were suspended in space inside that bubble, time standing still, them stopping in motion.
Pop! The barrier around them popped like a dense bubble after the airship recklessly landed.
It had served its purpose, with them breaking free unscathed from the explosion and the crash.
They landed on their backs.
“Hah, hah, hah,” Maxill was catching his breath.
Out of them three, he gave the most effort and energy for them to escape Scion’s clutches.
Coupled with being exposed to sunlight at a good distance, Maxill was quite exhausted.
It’s as if he was on the verge of death, with one foot stepping deeply on the grave.
“Maxill? Maxill, are you alright?! How do you feel?” Chastine quickly noticed the bloodhunt panting with all his might just to catch his breath.
“Muusst… bbloodd…” he weakly uttered this plea towards the beautiful witborn.
Without any further ado, Chastine offered her wrist to Maxill.
“Maxill, here.”
“Wait.” Juste quickly grabbed her extended arm to temporarily halt it from reaching Maxill’s fangs.
She grew too confused at Juste because she was met with disapproval from the young fellhound.
“What are you doing, Juste? Maxill says he needs blood! Can’t you see he’s dying?!” Chastine was holding back her tears.
But Juste was keen in preventing Chastine’s blood from getting sucked by Maxill.
“I didn’t say no, I said wait.” Juste hissed at Chastine.
He was greatly concerned for her.
He was aware that bloodhunts may not be able to control their craving once they tasted witborn blood.
Juste removed his jacket and tied Maxill’s hands with it.
He then held Maxill’s tied hands with one hand, and grappled Maxill’s neck with his other hand.
“Juste!” Chastine felt offended at what Juste did.
“I’m just protecting you, Chastine, in case Maxill goes into a drinking frenzy.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Chastine solemnly nodded for she understood what Juste was saying.
“Ok…”
The female witborn then drew her wrist near Maxill, who was still lying down on his back.
He was still heavily panting and his eyes were half opened.
“Cccaann’tt…ttooo…weaakkk..”
Chastine then grabbed a sharp stone on the ground and made a slit on her palm with it. Blood oozed out of the slit.
“Here,” Chastine told Maxill while her palm touched his lips.
As soon as blood dropped freely inside his gaping mouth, he regained little strength, enough to lift his head a little to reach and bite Chastine’s hand.
Chastine winced from the pain. She felt like she was bitten by a hangry dog.
Not so many seconds had passed when she felt nauseous and was about to faint but she hid what she was feeling to Juste.
Maxill’s mouth was still latched onto her hand and was vigorously drinking her blood. He still didn’t want to stop any time soon.
Chastine’s head was getting foggy.
When Juste noticed her slight expression of fainting and nausea, he warned the now envigorated bloodhound and forcefully pinned his head to the ground.
“Maxill, enough!”
Juste repeated his words, “I said enough!”
But Maxill kept on drinking Chastine’s blood.