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"Another one?" Talon growled in anger, looking down at the corpse before him.

"Yes Elder. Killed the same way as the others," came the reply.

A rumble rocked the drake, his tail twitching in frustration. The body that lay in front of him was a young dragoness, a promising young dragon that had recently joined his personal guard. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth slight agape. Blood had been spilt from her throat, originating from what looked like a stab wound in her hazel brown scales. She had been found that morning by several human servants. The fourth death such as this.

"Damnit," Talon snarled, turning away, "Tell me someone saw something this time Jider."

"No elder," Jider replied.

"And still no word back from the mind dragons?"

Jider shook his head.

"Damnit," repeated Talon.

Their continued ignorance of his pleas infuriated him. His dragons were dying, murdered by some unknown aggressor, and they refused to send someone who could likely figure it out by the end of the day. At the very least they would be able to keep any aggressor at bay, as they would be afraid of giving themselves away.

"That fire dragon is still here," said Jider hesitantly.

"He is, is he?" Talon growled, "He is probably the one that is doing this."

"We both know that is not true."

"I will not go to a fire dragon for help, Jider."

"With all due respect, elder, I do not think we have another choice."

"Another choice? He is a fire dragon! A villain of a species. You were not alive during the ashen wars Jider. You do not know what they did."

"Neither was he, elder. You can't judge a dragon on what his ancestors did over four hundred years ago. And you know his reputation. You know he can help us."

Talon turned his eyes upon his subordinate, remaining silent. Jider looked back at him, not at all intimidated. There was certainly a strength to this young dragon that Talon often admired until it was directed back at him. A sigh escaped the drake as he gave in, knowing his younger friend was correct.

"Bring him in."

Jider grinned at his reluctance, "It won't hurt to have another expert on the matter elder."

Talon snorted as the younger telekinetic drake quickly exited the courtyard of the murder scene, leaving his leader to mull over what was before him. Several humans were within the courtyard, tending to rows of green trees and plants neatly arranged next to high sandstone walls decorated with carvings of dragons. Talon had never understood the other race's fascination with living in caves, instead having chosen to build his city, with the help of many humans, out of sandstone. Hundreds of buildings, each of a size accommodating to most dragons. It allowed the city to be much more dynamic than many of the other draconic cities.

It wasn't long before Jider returned, tailed by a fire dragon. Talon regarded the newcomer with suspicion. It wasn't often another species of dragon came to his city, so the bright ruby scales stood out amongst the soft browns of limestone and greens of the several trees and plants within the courtyard. At first glance, Talon guessed the fire drake was in his third or fourth decade, but he had seen his fair share of hardship. Several old scars ran across his snout and chest. His body was hardy and strong, his wings held loosely by his side as his eyes scanned the surroundings with close observation.

The strangest aspect of the new dragon was brown leather bags hanging from his sides, laced together by multiple ropes running across his back and around the joints of his wings. Walking next to him was a human, a male. He had brown hair, curious but wary eyes, and garbed with a strange leather tunic. The two came before Talon, and the fire drake bowed his head.

"Elder Talon, I am glad to be of service," the fire drake said.

Talon grunted, "Ezeki, wasn't it?"

"Yes, elder," Ezeki kept his head bowed.

"I guess we have no other choice but to accept your help, fire dragon," snorted Talon, "Just know that if there rouses any suspicion around you I will not hesitate to rip you apart."

"That is only to be expected," Ezeki looked at the dead body who lay before them, "The body is fresh."

"We believe the death happened several hours ago."

"Couldn't be more than an hour."

"What makes you say that?"

"The blood is still leaking."

Ezeki moved past the telekinetic drake, stepping toward the body. He lowered his muzzle, taking a closer look at the stab wound in her neck. He frowned slightly, glancing back at the human. The two exchanged some words in the human tongue. Talon snorted in annoyance. He had never bothered to learn the human's language. They were servants, and useful only to serve. He had other dragons for talking to them.

"Brock here wants to take a closer look," Ezeki gestured toward the human, "He can figure out what was used to kill her."

"The human?" questioned Talon.

"Yes, elder."

The telekinetic drake snorted a laugh, "Seriously? Aah, I've humoured you thus far. Why not?"

Ezeki nodded at the human, and he walked over to the body, kneeling down before it to get a closer look at the wound. He muttered several words to himself as he did, pulling out a role of what Talon knew was paper. Humans seemed to be oddly fascinated with the substance, often marking it with pictures and writing.

"Something sharp made the wound," Ezeki said, "So that narrows as to what did it substantially. Not many dragons could make that type of wound, not so cleanly anyway. If it were claws the wound would have been bigger longer. Your dragoness here was stabbed."

"Stabbed? You mean by a human or something?" Jider asked, seeming rather shocked.

"It's possible. Could be a telekinetic dragon using a human weapon to point suspicion in a different direction. Could also be a metal dragon, but it would be pretty hard for one to sneak in here without being spotted."

"No metal dragons have been spotted around these parts for years," said Talon, watching as the human took out a piece of cloth and gingerly began cleaning the wound, "And no human would ever dare turn on their masters."

"You would be surprised," grunted Ezeki, "I've seen humans do some surprising things in my line of work. More often then not a death like this is a plot planned for weeks by some nasty individuals. Human weapons can do a lot of damage if you're not careful."

"So it was a human?" growled Talon in a spark of anger.

"I don't think so. Maybe if this was an isolated incident, but the fact that this is the fourth such death makes it unlikely it's a human."

Brock mumbled to the red dragon, causing Ezeki's eyes to widen slightly.

"Have all the other deaths happened in similar ways?" asked the fire drake.

"Yes..." Talon said, "What did the human say?"

Ezeki hesitated a moment, before asking, "Jider... you are not element starved are you?"

The telekinetic drake frowned, "What? No, of course not. What has that got to do with anything?"

"Prove it," the fire dragon continued, his voice steady.

"Jider is not under any suspicion drake," Talon growled, angry at the sudden suspicion toward his subordinate, "He was with me at the time of death."

"Humour me. This is rather important," insisted Ezeki.

"I will decide –" the elder drake began.

"It's okay Elder," Jider interrupted, "But you better have a good explanation."

Jider focused himself on one of the plants in the surrounding courtyard, and without any obvious movement, the plant was ripped from the ground, floating in mid-air with its roots covered in dirt. It was then settled back in the ground, the dirt moving to cover the roots once again.

"There you go," Jider grunted.

"Thank you," Ezeki bowed his head, "The wound in this dragon's throat is reminiscent of the spear-like tip of a spirit dragon's tail."

"A spirit dragon?" questioned Talon startled, "Why would a spirit dragon kill someone? And how?"

"Considering that four are now dead, I would say that they were looking into spirit dragons," replied Ezeki with quiet fury, "And the species being what it was, decided that it wouldn't allow such an affront to go unpunished."

Talon's eyes narrowed, "The spirit dragons are our allies. They wouldn't dare attack us."

"They would do anything to keep their secrets hidden."

The elder drake's suspicion of the fire dragon grew slightly. How did he know so much about the spirit dragons? Talon didn't know a lot about spirit dragons himself and was often frustrated at their secrecy. He didn't even know where their city was. Very few dragons did. All he had were rumours and speculation. Dragons that were able to change their shape, or steal someone's very soul and combine it with their own. He didn't believe them of course, preferring cold hard evidence to be given before he made any judgement.

"Are there any element starved dragons in your... palace?" asked Ezeki.

"What? No. What is your fascination with the element starved?" asked Talon.

"Spirit dragons can take on the shape of any living thing that breathes," the fire dragon began, "But if they take on the form of another dragon they can't use their element. Usually, they introduce themselves as element starved."

"How do you know so much about them?" Jider questioned.

"I had an... encounter with one when I was younger," Ezeki replied, "It did something to me while I was sleeping. I woke up and saw a white mist exiting my cave. I followed it, of course, and watched as it changed... into me. I've been looking into spirit dragons ever since."

Jider and Talon shared a glance. It didn't seem like this fire dragon was lying. But if what he was saying was true, then it meant a spirit dragon, an ally, was killing his dragons. It still wasn't entirely proven of course. The deaths could have still be caused by some human or a rogue telekinetic dragon, but considering how it happened, and how recently the attack had happened, Talon didn't believe so.

"Did this dragoness have any friends?" asked Ezeki, "Anyone she was close to in the guard?"

Talon looked at Jider.

The younger telekinetic drake hesitated a moment, "Likely. I will go and ask."

"Hold on Jider. How do we know you aren't the spirit dragon, Ezeki?" Talon rumbled.

"I mean... I wouldn't be revealing all this information if I was," Ezeki shrugged, "But if it will alleviate any suspicions..."

The drake opened his mouth, letting a tongue of flame scorch the air in front of him. Several of the humans nearby were startled by the sudden light, looking over at the dragons in the middle of the courtyard. Talon nodded, though he reasoned that it was possible Ezeki could be lying about spirit dragon's being able to use another's elements. Either way, it didn't seem likely.

"Elder?" Jider asked.

"Very well, go ahead Jider. Try to keep the knowledge of spirit dragons quiet. We don't want to cause a panic."

Jider bowed his head, and with a flap of his wings launched into the air. Talon watched him go, before turning toward. Ezeki had begun talking to his human again. Brock nodded, then began to walk toward the group of humans who were tending one of the gardens.

"I've asked Brock to see if the servants saw anything that happened here," said Ezeki.

"Very well," Talon rumbled, finding little use in the idea that humans would be of help, "There are very few element starved within my city. Only three I believe. We should go pay them a visit."

"If you hold on a moment, Elder," Ezeki said, "I believe it to be far more likely that the spirit dragon is within the palace. Likely disguised as a human."

"What?" the telekinetic drake froze.

"If I was one, and as an element starved I wasn't able to get into the palace, I would definitely make my way around as a human."

Talon turned his gaze on the several humans in the courtyard, who were going about their daily business. He saw a number of eyes look toward him, before quickly looking down in fear. That wasn't unusual though.

"We should gather them all up," growled Talon.

"I don't think that would work either," Ezeki sighed, "The spirit dragon would just escape if it knew we were onto it."

"Then how on earth do we get it?"

"Let's see what Jider finds. Then we can make a decision."

"There is a killer out there Ezeki. I thought you were good at finding these sorts of things."

"With all due respect elder, even I can't tell a disguised spirit dragon just by looking at them," Ezeki growled back, "They are difficult to pinpoint. The only way we do this is with patience."

Talon snorted, secretly wondering if he shouldn't just explode into equilibrium and crush every human within the palace in an instant. But that wouldn't do at all. It would be difficult to find a replacement for them. He flicked his tail in agitation, before nodding his head.

"What would you suggest then, dragon," he spat, unable to contain his frustration and anger.

"Stick together. While maybe not after you, the spirit dragon would have likely seen me by now, and it may know who I am."

"If you think I will feel any remorse in you getting slaughtered you are sorely mistaken."

"Maybe not, but my expertise will come in useful for dealing with the dragon."

Talon didn't answer, looking to the sky as he claws scratched at the ground for a moment, thinking through the information that he had been told, and trying to formulate a plan. A creature that could be literally any living thing around him was something that was rather worrying if true. Did that mean they could even transform into insects? Fish? Rodents? What was their limit? The only spirit dragon he had ever met face-to-face was Eledior, their representative. She had always been rather withdrawn and secretive, with a dangerous aura. But he could never imagine she would go so far to keep her secrets.

"Is there anything else I should know about spirit dragons?" he asked the fire drake.

Ezeki thought for a moment, "They transform into this mist like substance, and from the mist they can become other things. Claws and teeth don't harm them while they are like that, but fire can. I'm not sure about the other elements."

"A white mist 'ey?" Talon grunted, "It sounds like you have tested extensively."

"I've fought one," grunted Ezeki, "It came for me, disguised as a friend. I managed to overcome and kill it. I knew there would be more though, and I didn't know who to trust, so I fled."

"Yet you travel with a human, who could very well be a spirit dragon."

Ezeki chuckled, "That is true, but we have several safety measures in place... a phrase actually. Spirit dragons can't read minds, so whenever we see each other we say that phrase."

"Hmm, strange to put so much trust in a human."

"They are intelligent creatures, as intelligent as any dragon. They just don't have the power we do."

"I've been told," rumbled Talon.

The two made idle chatter for the better part of an hour before two dragons came flying down into the courtyard. One was Jider, and accompanying him was a young telekinetic dragoness, who looked around the area with panicked paranoia. She landed hesitantly, placing Jider between herself and her leader, as well as the fire dragon.

"Elder," Jider bowed his head, "This is Voya. One of our newer guards. She is a friend of the deceased."

Voya looked past them, letting out a small whining gasp as she saw the body, taking a couple of steps back. Talon felt pity for the small dragon. He knew what it was like to lose a friend, but at the moment he needed her to focus.

"Voya? Is that right?" he asked.

She nodded her head and stammered, "Yes Elder."

"If you do not mind, would you please give us a quick demonstration of your abilities," Talon asked, kindly but sternly, realising that she may be faking her fear.

"Y..yes elder," she didn't even question the order, looking around, before lifting up several particles of dirt with her mind.

"Thank you, Voya," he said, "Do you know why you have been called here today?"

"Gerta..." Voya looked at the body, before taking a deep shuddering breath, "You think I know something about Gerta and the other's killer."

"Yes," Talon nodded, "Do you?"

The dragoness nodded slightly, tears in her eyes, "I...I...I didn't come forward sooner... I was scared."

"It's okay, you're not in trouble."

"Gerta... Gerta saw something strange a week ago. She said it was a human that could become mist and transform... into some strange white dragon... before flying off. We didn't believe it at first and began to investigate... but then one of us died... and then another... and then another," she whimpered.

"How many of you knew about this?"

"Just the five of us... but the rest are dead now. I...I'm the last one... I'm the last one left," she sobbed, "And now it's gonna kill me."

"Not if we have a say about it," growled Ezeki, stepping forward.

She wiped her snout with her wing, "Who are you?"

"A friend," the fire dragon said, giving her a small smile, "A friend who has dealt with these dragons before."

Voya looked to Jider and Talon, and they nodded in affirmation.

"Is there anything else you can tell us Voya?" Talon asked.

"O... only that when the others were killed... they were on solo patrols."

"Thank you," Talon said, although he already knew this detail, it had given him an idea, "I am going to need your help Voya."

She shuddered, nodding her head, "I live to serve, elder."

* * *

The moon shone brightly in the night sky, illuminating a rather green forestry area of the palace, where the trees ran tall and bushes were thick. The light fell upon a lone telekinetic dragoness in the middle of the clearing. She was sitting on her haunches, a stationary guard looking toward the sky. It was a common place for a lone guard to rest, some even fell to sleep if they were incredibly bored, but the dragoness was not going to fall asleep. Her tense tail and shaking foreclaws showed her fear rather obvious to anyone who was looking.

"You know the spirit dragon may be onto us already and have left right?" Jider rumbled, shifting within the bushes as he tried to get comfortable.

"I know. But I do not think they would have stayed around the murder scene. They shouldn't know about this," replied Talon, keeping his eyes on the dragoness as he waited, trying his best to be as small as possible.

"Still," whispered his subordinate, "This is just too easy for them. Surely they would suspect something."

"Well, I didn't see you come up with a better idea, so shut up, and wait."

There was a huff in response, but Jider didn't say anymore. They seemed to wait for hours. Voya, who didn't move from her post, seemed to begin to relax, though her eyes constantly darted around the small clearing they were in, actively trying not to look in the direction she knew her leader was hiding. It seemed their plan wouldn't bear any fruit, when footsteps sounded through the clearing. Every dragon's eye turned toward the source of the noise.

A woman walked into the clearing, garbed in long cotton robes of dirty white, and hunched under some sort of jar. Voya flinched at the human's appearance, before taking a deep breath. Instead, acting surprisingly calm, she merely glanced at the servant, gave a snort of indignation, and turned away to ignore her. Talon could see her entire body tense as the human got closer and closer.

"That's it young one, remain calm."

The woman began to walk passed the dragon, seeming to ignore her presence as well, huffing softly at the heavy jar. Talon kept his eyes on the woman, waiting. There was no use striking now. If he did and caught the wrong culprit, they would give themselves away. It would only work once. Just as he thought the human woman was harmless, she suddenly twisted, her body dissipating into a white mist, changing shape in a near instant. Talon let out a growl of surprise as from the mist solidified a white dragon, their tail striking forward at Voya's throat.

With a roar, Talon launched out of the bushes, striking out with his abilities. The spirit dragon let out a growl of surprise as their tail was stopped inches from their target. The jar fell to the ground, smashing into several pieces. Voya leapt back with a yelp of surprise and fear, nearly tripping over her tail as she did.

The spirit dragon's eyes widened as she saw Talon and Jider emerge, and instantly dissipated back into mist, and as he suspected, Talon's hold on the dragon evaporated. But that was quickly overcome as, charging from the sky, came Ezeki. He roared out, fire blasting from his muzzle toward the mist. It tried to move out of the way but was unable to. A screech escaped the spirit dragon as her form quickly shifted back into the solid white scales she was hatched with.

Once again Talon lashed out, gripping the spirit dragon with his telekinesis, holding her place. Ezeki hovered above them, a snarl trapped on his snout as he waited, just in case the spirit dragon tried to transform again. She didn't, letting out a growl of her own as her body was raised into the air by Talon, held in place.

"What is your name, murderer," the elder telekinetic dragon growled, slowly walking toward the spirit dragoness.

She seemed to hesitate a moment, anger and frustration evident in her eyes.

"Answer me," Talon snarled, beginning to pull on the dragon's wings. He wondered if they were able to heal themselves when they changed forms.

"Kayhara," she growled, "And if you are wise you will let me go."

"Oh, I don't think so," Talon narrowed his eyes, "You trespassed on my land, killed my guards, and you expect me to just let you go. No, little dragoness, I am going to rip you apart and send what's left of you back to Eledior."

Kayhara's eyes widened a moment in a spark of fear, before snarling. Talon growled back, focusing his powers and snapping her muzzle shut. A whine escaped the spirit dragon as she began to struggle against her invisible binds. But she couldn't transform without being blasted with fire by Ezeki. Talon grinned, knowing she was trapped.

"Voya, would you like to do the honours? Seeing as she killed your friends?" Talon asked.

The young telekinetic dragoness was looking at Kayhara in both anger and curiosity, seeming to be rather confident now that she saw this spirit dragon was smaller than she was, "It would be my pleasure, elder."

She walked forward, anger in her step, all her fear gone as she looked upon her friend's murderer. Talon lowered Kayhara to the ground, giving Voya easy access to do as she wished with her claws and teeth. Kayhara whimpered, struggling even more against Talon's bonds, but Talon held her with a will bound by his own fury. There would be no escaping for her.

As Voya raised her claws to finish the spirit dragoness, Kayhara suddenly attacked, dissipating into white mist and surging in on the other dragoness. Ezeki growled, launching his flame, but it was too late. The white mist surged into Voya, becoming part of her. The telekinetic dragoness roared out, staggering back and forth, shaking her head. Talon roared out, quickly rushing to the dragoness's side. But before he reached her she stopped, breathing heavily.

"Voya, are you alright?" asked Talon, "Where is the spirit dragon?"

"Right here," snarled Voya, spreading her wings.

Talon rumbled in surprise as he was suddenly thrown back by a pulse of telekinesis. Ezeki let out a cry as he was dragged from the air and slammed into the ground. Even Jider was startled as his legs were pulled out from under him, dropping to the ground. Talon quickly got to his feet, grabbing the dragoness with his own power, ready to immobilize her, when the white mist fled her body, quickly racing into the surrounding bushes. Ezeki roared, sending out a ball of fire after it, but he was too late. Voya fell limp, gasping for air as her body once more became her own.

"Voya?" Jider ran up beside the dragoness, "Are you okay?"

"I... I am now?" she gasped, staggering as Talon released his telekinetic hold.

"What was that?" Talon growled at Ezeki.

The fire dragon stared at where the spirit dragoness had escaped, "I... I don't know."

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Hey guys! Surprise middle-of-the-week Chronicle! This is to make up for the last two weeks I have missed. Hopefully you found it interesting. It was a surprisingly difficult one to write. After this I should return to my normal posting arrangement. Hope you enjoy! Vote if you did and comment what you thought, and vote for the next one below!

Unwanted Love: Abelan, Fire drake - 35Yrs BTA

Let There be Light: Ego, Human male - 17Yrs BTa

See ya!

Pennator^^