Kaz stepped back in time to avoid the bite and a burst of deep orange Origin Flames that came millimeters away from his right ear.
“Ba!” The small Voidfeather Dragon growled like an angry lion, roaring her challenge.
The Rys stood up, revealing their size, while Shyfs came out from their hiding spots, ready to pounce. Several Crons as big as piper planes started to circle around Kaz, their shadows eclipsing the sun in turns like clockwork.
“Stand down!” Kamila said and the beasts obeyed. “Well, Kaz, do you still want to hold Elysia?”
“No, thanks.” He had seen the pictures but they weren’t enough to prepare him for the sight of a baby shapeshifting into a Divine Beast. Even worse, no one seemed to care about the transformation.
Elina and the farmhands were still staring at Kaz like he was the monster.
‘Has Mogar turned upside down and I’m the only one who noticed?’ He thought.
“Do you need help, miss?” Bromann, one of Raaz’s best friends asked.
“Bo!” Elysia wagged her tail and waved her clawed hand.
“Yes, I’m Bromann. Thank you for remembering my name, little miss.” He waved back and the baby girl shapeshifted back with a giggle.
“She talks and understands?” Kaz fell butt-first on the ground.
“Yes, she does. What do you want, Kaz? Your two minutes are running out.” Kamila put Elysia back in the crib for his protection.
Elysia flew awkwardly but that and the orange Origin Flames were more than enough to maim an adult man. If not to kill him.
“I came here to apologize for what I-, no, what we did to you in the past. It was wrong and we abandoned you while you were at your weakest. Also, I want to ask you for mercy for our parents.” Kaz took his top hat off and held it against his chest with both hands.
“Prison isn’t the place for middle-aged merchants, Kami. You wanted to teach Mom and Dad a lesson and, believe me, they learned it. You have every right to be angry at them, but now they are at their weakest.
“If you abandon them, you would be no better than them. Please, I know you have the power to grant them a pardon. Use it for good.”
“You are right. I have power. I have lots of it.” A wave of her hand lifted him from the ground with Spirit Magic. She would have loved to choke him like Lith would, but Kaz had yet to do anything to deserve it.
Also, she didn’t want to use more violence in front of Elysia than what was absolutely necessary.
“And I could also use it to get your parents out of jail if I wanted. But I don’t. I haven’t forgotten how you stood there and did nothing when they kicked me out of our house with nothing but the clothes I wore.
“Or when Fallmug started to beat Zinya and took her children away from her. I haven’t forgotten how the first thing your parents did after years of neglect was to try and con my sister into taking part in their schemes!
“Just like I can see through all your theatrics and know that you aren’t one bit sorry for what you did, only because you are forced to face the consequences of your actions. You haven’t changed one bit, Kaz.
“You still believe that the end justifies the means and try to manipulate those you can’t bribe. I’m the one who has changed, Kaz. I’m not the little girl who was desperate for her parents’ affection and approval.
“I’m not the naïve little sister who admired her brother, mistaking his arrogance for confidence. Now that you have your answer, get out of my house and never come back.” Kamila put him down gently but Kaz fell to his knees anyway.
There was something about his sister that stunned him, a strength that had nothing to do with magic or the physical might she had gained after Awakening. It was the confidence she had gained after going through many bad and good things with those who loved her.
Kamila didn’t feel lonely nor did she care about what others thought of her anymore, not even her old family.
“Wait, what’s that?” Elina pointed at the sky where a small light had become visible. “It looks like a morning star, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there yesterday.”
“Is it me or is it getting bigger?” Kamila squinted her eyes, noticing that the light was growing in size and intensity.
A few seconds later it was so big that it was impossible to miss and soon it became clear that whatever it was, the fireball in the sky wasn’t getting bigger, just closer.
“Kaz, stay back.” Kamila shoved her former brother behind her. “Bromann, get everyone inside the arrays!”
She made the protective magical formations visible to the naked and the farmhands and the magical beasts ran under their protection. The comet soared through the sky, leaving in its wake a blazing trail visible for kilometers and aiming straight for the Verhen house.
“Grandma, Grandpa, if either of you is here today, this would be a good moment to step forward.” Kamila nervously looked around, trying to decide what to do.
She could fly away, but that meant leaving Elina and Raaz behind.
‘What if I’m the target and this is the same person who wants me dead? If I leave, the killer could follow me and, away from Elysia, I’d have no chance of survival.’ She thought as countless scenarios ran through her mind, one scarier than the other.
Once the comet came close enough that its light and warmth dwarfed the sun, it slowed down and shrunk in size, gently landing without burning a single blade of grass.
“How are my favorite girls?” As the flames opened, the human form of Gentor the Golden Dragon emerged from within. “Who is this guy and what did he do to anger you, sister?”
He looked like a burly blonde man over 2 meters (6’7″) tall with a clean shaved face. He wore the finest noble clothes that Kaz had ever seen in his life. A set of golden wings came out of his back, revealing his inhuman nature.
“Sister?” Kaz managed to echo before he felt something squeezing his throat and the life out of his chest.
“Why do you entertain a hairless monkey?” The comet reshaped itself in the massive form of a man with flaming long hair and beard streaked with white due to old age. “You don’t ask a mosquito why it bites you. You just kill it.”
He was at least 2.5 meters (8’2″) tall with biceps bigger than Kaz’s head. He wore a flaming red overcoat over a white silken shirt and black pants. He had no wings but his yellow eyes and vertical pupils betrayed his nature.
“Stop right there!” Kamila used a tendril of her Spirit Magic to mess with the old man’s and save Kaz’s life. “I won’t let you kill a man in front of my daughter.”
‘That’s your concern? That the little monster might might get scared?’ Kaz thought but he had the presence of mind to keep it for himself.
