16 – Broken Halo

Paco stared at his mother’s wound through the crack in the stone, wailing in anguish.

Ashley manipulated the barrier, opening one side of the spiked dome just wide enough to let the small dragon through. Simon reached into the gap, but Paco violently pushed him backward, bolting out of the opening like a mouse freed from a trap.

“Come here, dragon,” Aury commanded, throwing himself forward to intercept him.

Paco bit the armored hand of the familiar. His teeth scraped sharply against the metal, barely denting the heavy gauntlet.

“You little…” Aury snapped, retracting his hand on pure instinct.

The young beast spread his tiny wings furiously. He beat the air frantically, pulling himself up to her wounded flank. Through the shimmering gaps of the luminous web, he began to desperately lick her bleeding wound.

“I can’t hold this much longer,” Ashley gritted her teeth, her fingers trembling with the strain of holding the spells. “Hurry up!”

“Come on, let’s get him out of there!” Simon shouted.

He reached for the dragon’s tail, grabbing it alongside Aury.

“You little fool! Can’t you see the mistress is trying to save you?” Aury’s voice cracked with uncharacteristic irritation as he seized Paco’s tail with a firmer grip.

They pulled together, hauling Paco away from the massive body in an awkward wrestle. The two of them looked as if they were pulling a frantic, fighting hot-air balloon dead set on going back.

Paco fought back fiercely. He kicked and howled, straining every muscle to get back to his mother’s side, completely oblivious to Ashley’s fraying magical hold.

“Don’t worry, little thing,” Simon said. His voice remained remarkably soft, even as his face turned dark red from the sheer effort. “We’ll help her, but we need to clear the area first.”

With a final, coordinated heave, they dragged him clear out from under the dragon.

Ashley immediately severed her connection to the defensive magic. The stone spikes of [Earth Hedgehog] instantly shattered, crumbling into a cloud of fine grey dust.

She simultaneously released her hold on the glowing web, allowing the green dragoness to settle completely to the earth. A heavy shockwave rippled through the clearing, making the ground shake violently under their boots at the final impact.

“That was… a lot,” Ashley panted. She wiped her brow and glanced at her mana bar. The glowing bar flashed a brilliant crimson, down to a quarter.

The moment Aury and Simon released their grip, Paco hit the dirt and rushed back to the immense snout. He pressed his small, purple head against his mother’s dull hide, letting out a soft, mournful trill that echoed through the quiet forest.

“Those little wings are surprisingly strong,” Simon said, breathing heavily. He leaned on his knees, looking at Paco with an expression of renewed respect.

Ashley was already moving. She stepped closer, her heels crunching sharply on the pulverized rock littering the clearing. “Don’t worry, Paco. This is your mom, right?”

Paco snapped his head toward her. The warmth in his reptilian eyes vanished, replaced by a hard, aggressive glare. He charged directly at her, opening his maw to reveal rows of needle-sharp, glistening teeth.

Is this some kind of rampage status? Or is he just… actually angry at me?

She stood her ground, reaching out with open arms. She caught him around the neck, twisting her shoulders and arms slightly to dodge his snapping fangs.

“Sorry. Oh, I’m so sorry, Paco,” she whispered, keeping her grip gentle enough not to hurt him. “I didn’t want to hurt her. I was just in a rush, and I had to use whatever spell I could to keep you safe. I couldn’t let her squish you.”

The small dragon finally relented, his frantic thrashing and squirming subsiding. Ashley cupped the sides of his head firmly in her palms, staring straight into his eyes.

“I messed up,” she said, her soft voice masking her deep unease. “I’ll fix her. I mean, I’ll heal her. Okay?”

Paco went still. His tense expression softened, and he nodded once in agreement.

“She will feel better afterward. Trust me.”

As Ashley reached out toward the giant emerald scales, the dragoness let out a low, guttural growl. The sound vibrated through the stone floor like a tremor running through the ground. Her heavy lips pulled back, revealing jagged fangs the size of shortswords.

“We are Paco’s friends,” Ashley said, maintaining a steady, calm voice.

Paco pressed his head firmly against his mother’s cheek, chirping softly. The dragoness turned her gaze toward the pup, her giant pupils widening as she recognized him. Slowly, she let her lips drop to conceal her teeth.

Ashley pressed her open palm flat against the emerald hide, only to jerk it back a split second later.

“Ouch! She’s scorching,” she said, rubbing her instantly reddened palm against her robes.

“I think she has that fever,” Aury said. “The same as Simon’s village.”

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“I think so,” Father Simon said before Ashley could answer. “I’ve seen this exact affliction among the people in my village. They grow faint on the spot and collapse without warning. The fact that she managed to stand up at all says a lot about how tough she is.”

Ashley’s gaze hardened, her mind made up. “I still have to heal the wounds from the spikes. She needs her strength and cannot afford to lose any more blood.”

She forced her hand back into position against the emerald hide. The heat hit her like an open furnace; enough to blister skin, a deep burn that showed no sign of easing.

She set her jaw and invoked her restoration magic.

“[Major Healing].”

A golden, shimmering aura erupted directly from her palms, casting a brilliant light across the clearing. A wave of warmth rolled across the dragoness’s entire length, the kind of warmth that went deep into muscle and bone.

She felt the jagged lacerations from the stone spikes knit back together, sealing the torn flesh and halting the flow of dark blood entirely.

She pulled her hand back, flexing her scorched fingers. “Done.”

“See? She is already looking better,” Simon said, stepping closer to Paco and patting the young beast gently on the head.

“Yes, the bleeding has stopped,” Ashley confirmed, her expression remaining grim. “And the wound is closed. But the fever is still there.”

Ashley pressed her palm against her chest. “Alright. Now the tough part.”