She pressed another thin blade to his neck, and ice--not from the metal--raced across his scales. The knife seemed to glow scarlet, brighter than either of their blood.

"You're an animus," she whispered as she drew the knife across his neck.

"But that doesn't matter anymore . . ."

*******

Dragonbite writhed against her claws, tail lashing as he felt the pressure on his neck gradually increase. He'd expected it to cut sharp and quick, like the razor it looked like, but instead it felt heavy--still dangerous, but comparatively dull. Its blade continued to shine red, brighter and brighter till the audience looked away. Cowards.

I've gotten out of tighter situations than this, he thought, scanning the room. It was humiliating to be pinned like this, but even worse that it was happening so moons-blasted slowly. He strained against the Sandwing's grasp, but although she was half his size, she was tough as wire; as immobile as the mountain itself.

She had his tail pinned, too, and he wondered why she hadn't just killed him with her own poison. She was so invested in this one knife, and though it was certainly unusual-

'You're an animus,' She had said. 'But-'

He fought back with renewed vigor. For some reason, somehow, this worm of a dragon had found a dagger that could kill animus dragons. He sought out Doomsayer in the crowd, and found her in moments. She was the only dragon still watching, her eyes locked on the blade, her forehead wrinkled intently.

"Three moons." He breathed. The Sandwing behind him flinched, and he felt her tension spike as if it he had whispered the hour of her death. She thinks I'm an animus. She's too caught up in her illusion to even wonder if I'm not a Sandwing.

And right now Doom is giving me the opening to kill this worm.

"You want magic, salamander?" He hissed. "I'll give you magic."

Dragonbite laughed, quick and vicious, then vanished.

It was like he'd opened another view of the world, when he turned invisible. His thoughts clarified. His movements felt sharper, more precise.

His prey hadn't anticipated this.

No longer afraid of the knife, no longer caught in his paralysis, he lunged his head back, horns hooking the soft part of his assailant's jaw. He thrust a talon up in the now-present gap between the blade and his neck.

It didn't cut. Didn't hurt.

 But it glowed like the heart of a volcano.

The Sandwing had less than a second to react as he curled into a tight ball and elbowed her collarbone, before dropping out of her grasp and finally--three moons, finally--getting free.As he have the blade a final shove it flared, the brightest it had been, and shattered into a dozen fire-bright shards. He heard a gasp of pain from somewhere in the crowd, but paid little attention as he whirled and rematerialized in front of the Sandwing.

"I didn't crawl out of my own grave just to die here." His grin looked like the grimace of death itself. "But you, on the other claw . . ."

It took him a moment to realize that his opponent hadn't moved since he broke free. Hadn't said a word to him.

Instead she sat, entirely defeated in the middle of the school's entry hall, talons shaking as she scraped at the shattered blade. He stepped closer, tail and talon and blades still raised an ready. She was muttering something nearly unintelligible.

"Should have killed him. Broken his magic. Shouldhavekilledhim. Shouldvekilledhimshouldvekilledhimshouldve--" She broke off with a wail that could have broken a dragon's heart and collapsed, finally seeing Dragonbite approaching. "Just kill me now," she whispered. "I can't live like this anymore."

"Looks like someone sold you a fake," he said, kicking the scraps away and raising his tail for the final blow. He grinned at her. "But I can be merciful. I've never left a job unfinished and don't plan to start now."

He lunged, barely registering the sudden shadows in his periphery.

Only half noticing of the dull thump as something crashed into his skull.

But fully aware of the darkness that filled his vision as

he

fell.

____________________________________

A/N:

Hello, all, and welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the latest update, and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments :D

Thanks to everyone who steadfastly demanded "MORE CHAPPIES" and desperately needed to know "WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" I write this story for people like you, and every single comment, vote, and read helped inspire me to finish this chapter.

You all are the best (but I think you know that already)

~GingerFlame