"Who are you?" I demand, getting ready for a fight.

There are five of them, surrounding me and Lexi. They've all got large battle axes, and they're wearing ridiculous helmets with horns and everything. Something else they've got in common- beards. All of them have one, in various colors and sizes. That, their shoddy leather armor, and rough-looking clothes all make them look like extremely poor warriors. There's dirt caked on their hands and faces too, like they haven't had a shower in months, and to be perfectly honest, they reek.

A tall man with cold blue eyes steps forward. His hand is on the hilt of his sword, which is gold and decorated with little gems. It doesn't look like something a poor person would have, but what do I know? This clearly isn't Fiore, and I'm new to the place. Anything could be true of this realm. What I do know is that I do not like this man. His eyes are full of pride, and from what I've seen, men like that can get you killed.

"I am Ragnar Lothbrook, leader of the Expedition, and the viking army." He walks a circle around me, a frown fixed on his face. "And who are you, boy?"

"Not a boy, for one thing. My name is Raiden. Will you let me through?"

They don't reply. I cross my arms and wait while Ragnar and his vikings continue to examine me. Finally, their silence becomes too much. "Look, I have places to be, so move out of the way, or I'll make you."

Anger flashes through those cold eyes, and Ragnar leans in close. "I would not threaten us. We outnumber you, five to one." He exhales in my face, giving me a clear whiff of his breath.

I cough and step back, holding up a hand. "Hang on," I wheeze. "Man that smells."

Lexi sighs, and flies up in Ragnar's face. She looks like she's going to lecture him, but he practically jumps away from her. I can hear his breathing increase, just a bit. He's scared of Lexi, and she's practically harmless.

"Demon!" he hisses, drawing his sword.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I jump in front of her, and she flies out of their range. "She's not a demon, she's an exceed, and if you hurt her, I'll blast you into tomorrow."

Ragnar laughs and sheaths his sword. "You? You're a twig. A mere boy. Now, what's your name? Who sent you?"

"No one sent me. I'm only here because some Unseelie King decided I should participate in his games."

At least, that's what Midnight told me. Who knows how much of that is true. Believing in magic isn't much of a stretch- I've lived with it all my life. Beyond that, I'm not sure what to think. I'm not dreaming- the village hunters were proof enough of that- but what I'm experiencing shouldn't be possible.

"You're with the Unseelie King?" Ragnar grins, and slaps me on the back, sending me stumbling forward. The guy has more strength than I'd originally thought. He's big, too. Fighting him without magic would be tough. Lucky I've got magic, then. "You should have said something earlier. Come on, we were just about to leave."

One of his warriors grabs my shirt collar and I'm dragged down to their ship, Lexi following close behind. They dump me in the back and run off to set sail. Several minutes later, Ragnar joins us, still smiling. "Where are we going?" Lexi asks him.

He glances down at her and his smile fades. "The demon isn't allowed on board," he says, reaching for her.

I slap his hand out of the way. "Exceed. And if she goes, so do I."

"Fine. She can stay. For now. But if you want her to live, I would keep her away from the coming battle."

"Where are we going?" I ask, repeating Lexi's question.

"We're going to a castle. It's just across the sea, to the south." He points in the general direction. "There will be riches for all of us there, and plenty of fighting."

Great, now I have to cross a sea with a bunch of smelly vikings. "Look, I don't know what your plan is, but I'm just trying to get away from whatever sick game this King has planned. I'm not going to join your senseless battle."

"You're just a scrawny lad," Ragnar scoffs. "No one would let you near the battlefield in the first place. We're only taking you to the other side. You can get off after we've won the battle."

"Bit sure of yourself," Lexi comments.

I think arrogant describes him better. "Do what you want. Good luck."

Someone calls Ragnar, and he stands. "Enjoy the trip, Raiden."

***

It's chaos when we land. Several other ships are already there, and other warriors are racing across the beach toward the castle. "Let's have a look from above," I decide.

Lexi grabs me and then we're flying. The battle has already started by the time we're high enough to see everything. Ragnar and his warriors are clashing with a bunch of men mounted on horses, as well as hundreds of footsoldiers. Neither side seems to be winning or losing at the moment, but people are dying left and right. I can only think that it's a good thing we aren't participating. I don't mind a good fight, but someone with my power doesn't belong in an all-out war. Not with people like the vikings, who have no magic.

"They're killing each other," Lexi murmurs.

"Yeah. All for some money. It's stupid, all of it."

"Not much different from some of the people in Fiore, though."

She swoops down a bit closer to the field, away from the stronger winds. It frees up my hearing, and the din of the battle assails me. I can hear everything. Each dying scream. Every anguished cry of pain. All of the yelling. There has to be a way I can stop it, without hurting anyone.

"There's a tunnel, in the woods. It leads directly into the castle. You can get the gold." I'm not entirely sure where the information comes from, but it gives me an idea. If I can give the vikings what they want, then they'll have no reason to continue killing the castle residents.

I scan the area below until I spot the woods. "Lexi, head over to those woods," I yell over the din of the battle, pointing.

She starts to fly over, but an impossibly loud roar stops her. The sound is joined by a second, and then a third one. I hear the warriors voice below us screaming, "It's dragons!" But I already know that. Even all these years later, I still know a dragon's roar when I hear it. None of them are Ionean, but they're definitely dragons. Not happy ones either, by the look of things. They swoop down from the sky and attack the vikings, burning them and tossing them aside like rags. The vikings' weapons don't appear to be doing any damage either. They're defenseless. The battlefield is becoming a one-sided slaughter.

"Take me down!" I order. "Find Ragnar."

Lexi swoops downward, and for a moment, all I can hear is the wind in my ears. Then I'm standing on solid ground again, next to Ragnar. I grab his arm to get his attention and yell as loud as I can, "You've got to retreat! The dragons will kill you all!"

"I told you to stay on the ship, boy!" He hefts his sword and heads back toward the fight, shouting back once more. "Go back to the ship! We can handle a couple of dragons. I'll kill them myself."

"Idiot!" I hiss. "His arrogance will be the death of him and his crew." A shadow passes overhead, and Lexi grabs me, flying us out of the way just as a blast of fire roasts the ground where I'd been. "Thanks."

I don't question what to do next. The answer is obvious. There are three dragons killing people, and I'm the only dragon slayer around. It's up to me to stop them, although I haven't the faintest idea how. If they're anything like Ionean, then taking down just one dragon would be a miracle, let alone three. And at the same time? How am I supposed to save all of these people?

"Lexi, go back to the ship," I say. "I'll handle the dragons, you stay safe."

She crosses her arms and huffs. "That's never worked before and it won't now. We're partners. Anyway, how are you gonna fight them from the ground when they're busy flying around up there?"

She makes a good point and I don't have time to argue with her, so I give in. "Alright, fly me up."

All of the dragons use fire, which is probably a good thing. If there was too much of a variation in their power, they'd be even harder to defeat. I watch them for a moment, trying to come up with a plan. At first, I think it might be better to take them on one at a time, but I don't have time for that. While I'm taking out one, the other two could easily kill everyone else. Plus, I don't have enough magic power to take on three one right after another. If I play things right, though, I might get the dragons to hit each other. But before I can try that, I have to get their attention.

"Take me above them and spin me when I attack. I've got to hit all of them," I yell.

Several seconds later, I'm right above all three of the dragons. They're circling the battlefield, dropping down on the vikings below at random moments. Death bringers. I breathe in deeply, and scream. "Roar of the sound dragon!"

Sound waves blast the dragons, loud and painful. Not enough to hurt them much, but enough to make them angry. It works- they're all mad now. They attack faster than I thought they would, blasting fire at Lexi and me.

Lexi barely gets us out in time to avoid being roasted. "Try to get me on one of their heads!" I tell her. If I can take one of them out before the battle gets too bad, I'll have an easier time of things.

Wind roars in my ears as Lexi drops through the air toward one of the dragons. Then I'm standing on its neck. I drop to my knees and grab onto its scales before it gets a chance to throw me off. Lexi flies up above the battle, and I begin to eat.

A bitter, metallic taste fills my mouth as I consume the screams of the dying, the clash of swords, and the war cries of each side. It's disgusting, but it gives me the power I need. I stand, and leap at the dragon's head. "Wing slash of the sound dragon!"

Sound waves circle my arms, vibrating eagerly as I collide with the dragon. It lets out a furious roar as the sound waves slice across the back of its head. Red lines appear, and then the other two dragons attack. They're probably going for me, but their fire hits the dragon I'm standing on directly in the face. I jump off the dragon just in time to avoid it, and watch as it falls to the ground. It lands with a thud, crushing everyone unfortunate enough to be fighting underneath it.

I can't worry about that, though- I'm busy plummeting to my death. "Lexi!"

She catches me inches from the ground, and flies up toward the remaining dragons. They're attacking the armies again. I watch as one of them snatches a viking and rips his head off. It drops the guy's body and moves to attack again. "Roar of the sound dragon!"

The attack hits its wing and knocks its next attack off course. It wheels around and roars angrily. Lexi pulls me into the sky again, and we fly straight for its face. It opens its mouth and I'm faced with two rows of enormous, pointed teeth. I can see the embers burning deep in its throat as it prepares to fire, but I beat it. "Dragon slayer secret art: sonic boom!" I clap my hands together, directing a huge blast of high-pitched sound down the dragon's throat.

The fire in its throat dies, and I can see it choking on the attack. It lands next to the other dragon, opening and closing its mouth over and over again. It looks like it's trying to scream, but can't. I've probably sliced its throat, maybe even its vocal cords. It's no wonder it isn't making any noise. Did I go to far?

I don't want to kill them, just stop them. After all, they're only protecting their castle. The vikings provoked them and the inhabitants of the castle. Technically, they're getting what they deserve, but that doesn't stop me from feeling responsible for every person who dies at these dragon's hands.

The secret art took a lot out of me, though. I'm not running on empty, but I don't have enough magic power to use it again, and it might be the only thing that can actually take out the third dragon.

Someone catches my eye. A blond haired boy, standing on the castle wall. He's staring at me, his mouth open slightly. I can just barely hear him talking over the din of the battle. "What the heck? Is that guy battling three dragons with an orange cat? And... winning?"

"Raiden!" Lexi screams my name, yanking me upward.

Her quick flying saves my life, but I feel the dragon's claws scrape down my side, shredding both my skin and my shirt. I cry out as pain burns through my body and clutch my side. "How bad is it?" Lexi asks, hovering a ways away from the dragon.

Deadly, that's how bad. But I won't say it, because I have to keep fighting. "It's nothing." I rip the bottom of my shirt off and bandage the wound as best I can in the middle of the air. "Let's finish this." And quickly.

The last dragon is bigger than the other two. Stronger too, by the looks of it. It heads toward us and opens its mouth to incinerate us. "Up!" I yell, and take a second to eat what little I can. "Roar of the sound dragon!"

We attack at the same time, the effort causing more pain to shoot through my side. Lexi's change in altitude allows me to hit the dragon directly on the head, throwing its fire off course. I see a girl on the ground below look up just as the attack hits. Her mouth opens slightly in surprise, and then she's bathed in fire. Between the flickering tongues of flame, I see her brown hair instantly burned to nothing, quickly followed by the rest of her. She doesn't even get the chance to scream. When the dragon stops, there's nothing left of her except the ash that floats away on the wind.

"No!" I stare at the spot where she'd been. It should have been me. I was the target, but I chose to deflect it, and instead she was killed.

Lexi dodges the dragon as it attacks again, but I don't react. I'm just dead weight now, trapped by the knowledge that I have killed. I swallow, my eyes fixed on the spot where the girl was standing. If I couldn't save her, then how could I save the others?

"Raiden, get your act together!" Lexi orders, digging her claws into my back. "You can still save the others!"

Her reminder brings me back into the battle, and I clench my fists. Time to end this. If I just focus... The dragon sends another blast of fire our way, and Lexi drops below it. I close my eyes and tune out the world. Envision the sound waves and grab hold of them. I can feel them. They blanket the battlefield, vibrating deep down inside me.

My eyes snap open and I spread my arms, praying I have enough magic power to finish it in one blow. I certainly won't be able to continue fighting if this doesn't work. Not without eating something. It's not like the dragon is just going to watch while I have a meal. "Dragon slayer secret art: sound devour!"

The sound waves respond to my call and rise from the battlefield to circle the dragon. I clench my fists, and they slam into the dragon on all sides. It takes effort, but I maintain the attack until the dragon can't fly anymore and crashes into the ground. When I finally release it, I'm dizzy and my side hurts more than ever.

None of the dragons are dead, but I've done enough damage to keep them from hurting anyone else. Or at least, I hope I have. I briefly consider what the battle might have been like if these were more intelligent dragons, like Ionean. There's no way I would have won then. Getting even one of them out of the battlefield would have been nearly impossible, most likely. Still, the dragons are nothing compared to Acnologia.

Lexi sets me down near the forest and I collapse. Breathing is painful, and I'm completely out of magic power. I try to eat some of the sound, but it hurts too much. Lexi lands and her white wings disappear. "You said you were fine," she scolds. "Fighting like this could have killed you! It might yet."

Her tail flicks back and forth, a sure sign that she's worried, but I ignore her. "Come on," I say, pushing into a standing position. "We need to stop the fighting."

I begin to limp toward the battlefield, but she flies in front of me and holds out her paws. "You aren't going near that fight, Raiden. You're out of magic power, exhausted, and bleeding out. Sit down and let me try to fix your wound."

A small smile forms on my lips. She's always like this- constantly worrying about me overexerting myself. I suppose I've given her a good reason. She's seen me after one of my training sessions and she knows how hard I push myself. Still, there are people out there killing each other. I can't just let that continue.

I'm about to say something else when I hear breathing. Two people behind us, in the woods. I turn and head toward it. Maybe whoever they are can help me find the tunnel.

"Good. Finally listening to something I say," Lexi mutters. When I don't stop, she gives an exasperated sigh. "Or not."

I ignore her and follow the sound until I find a young man. He's on the ground, his shirt ripped to pieces, with a huge gash in his stomach. The claw marks of a dragon. The cut is deep- so much so that I can see the man's insides. Blood is still pouring from the wound, but the man is dead. His whole body is covered in cuts and bruises and blood. His black hair is matted with blood, and his aurelian eyes are glazed over. Once, there was life in those eyes. Now they're empty. I reach down and close them, despite the pain it causes me.

There's someone else, leaning up against a tree. She's wounded as well, though not quite so badly. Still, I can see she's dying. She's unconscious, with a gash across her throat and a second one on her leg. Both wounds are bleeding heavily.

Lexi is still staring at the dead man, her yellow eyes wide with horror. It's the first time she's seen a death this gruesome, and I can see it's hurting her. I pull her back gently. "Come on," I whisper. "The girl is still alive. Let's see if we can save her, at least."

"What about you?" Lexi demands. "You can barely stand."

She's right, but I don't care. I try to kneel next to the girl, but my legs buckle underneath me, and I end up sitting next to her. I peel off the rest of my shirt and rip it into strips.

"I... think I'm going to black out now." My vision is going black as I hand the strips to Lexi. "Try to... stop her bleeding." Then everything fades and I let the darkness envelop me.