The Zalt Household

"I thin' you overdi' it," Edward answered quietly. "Never a good idea, really, in'erfering wi' th' living. Even if you love 'em, th' worst tha'll 'appen is they'll join you 'ere. No' that bad a prospec' really." He shyly reached out a hand, offering a bit of stability so she could reform. "If you 'ave t' in'ervene, then best do it as a group."

As Dmitri headed for the door, the rumbling from down the hall got louder and louder. It wasn't too long before there was dragon standing at the top of the stairway. It's glowing eyes stared down at the men in the lobby as it put it's claws on the stair's rail, it's wings spreading slightly as it prepared itself to jump down.

Lucas was at his wit's end. First a necromancer, then ghosts, now a dragon. He was hardly planning on sticking around to let things get worse. He glanced at the front door, ready to make a full out dash for it before his brother's condition came to mind. With only a moment to spare to think about his options, the eldest Fairchild was quick to grab Alistair around the waist and set him over his shoulder. He then made a mad dash for the door, grunting as he tried to run with a full grown man on his shoulder.

Alistair, seeing the bloody dragon that had just crashed down the stairs, made no objection to his brother picking him up like a sack of potatoes. Rather, he screamed, then yelled at Luke, "Hurry up, damn it! It's gaining!"

Ivanna looked at the stranger as he spoke, nodding reluctantly. When he offered his hand, she took it, holding on with her other hand, as well. "Spasibo. Ah, thank you." She started feeling better after a little bit. At least, not as wispy. She still felt extremely weak. Feebly, she said, "You sound almost as if you speak from experience."

--

Dmitri flinched as the dragon reappeared, turning back to look at it. He saw Luke carrying Alistair and, not knowing why, went to hold the door open for the man. He knew that for humans, carrying a grown man was tiring and cumbersome enough, let alone trying to open doors. He might have offered to help, if he cared, but this was the most he would do. Besides, he still had to worry about leaving, himself. He came before anyone else, after all. This thought made him look toward the dragon again, thinking about how he left Ivanna there. He clenched his teeth, cursing himself for being thoughtless.

Another man, a few years younger than the one that was helping Ivanna, showed his face then. The family resemblance was quite remarkable, though this one had decided on a two-day beard rather than a handlebar mustache. "Oy! Edward! They're leavin'. Big bloo'y dragon's chasing 'em. 'arry an' John are already there, bu' they need us if we're going t' give 'em a moment."

Edward looked back at the man. "A dragon? You're pulllin' my leg, righ' Joe?"

"Joe" shook his head. "No joke."

Edward looked to Ivanna. "I thin' your frien' wen' out tha' way too. I 'ave to 'elp my little bro'ers. Wan' t' come wi' us?"

Ivanna nodded and tried standing. Though she still felt dizzy, she gave Edward the "I'm ready" look, but asked, "Is it okay if I still hold on to you? I don't feel well yet..." She didn't want to be bothersome or hinder his movements, but she also didn't want to lose Dmitri. Nor, she realized, did she want to keep the brothers from helping their family.

The entire house shook as the huge beast landed on the floor and cracked the wood. It's jaws opened into a stiff roar as a fame burst from the back of it's throat and for the front door.

Luke had managed to get out in time, though hesitated in his running when some concern for the vampire cropped up. Clearly there was bad blood between the two, though he had been nice enough to hold the door at least.

---

"It's a bloomin' dragon," The mustached man from before interjected from the far side of the room. "What you planning on doing to a dragon? It ain't like throwing bricks at the thing's going to slow it down much."

"I don' min', Miss," Edward answered her.

Meanwhile, Joe addressed the mustached man. "It's a dragon, bu' we might jus' be able t' give our bro'ers a momen'."

-----

Alistair got a bit singed in the sudden blast of flame. "RUN!"

Dmitri had just managed to leave the mansion as the brothers did, feeling the heat intensely. He turned as he ran, watching the dragon through the closing doors. The singed wood looked about ready to burn off the hinges. He wondered if the dragon would continue after them. Turning back to the brothers, he smirked. "Believe me now?"

((So sorry for the poor reply. Not feeling well at all.))

"I believed you before," Snapped Luke, as he continued to run from the house and more importantly the dragon residing in the house. He then glanced over his shoulder again. "An' you back there. Shut up and quit screaming. I know how to run."

The smoulder remains of the doors remained quiet upon being shut. However, it wasn't long before the embers grew red and slowly a hole began to burn it's way through the center of the doors. Finally, a burst of flame demolished the remains of the door, revealing a dragon still chasing after them.

---

"Suit yourself," Grumbled the mustached mine worker. "Destroy it if you can. Jus' don't expect to be able to do much."

Desperately Alistair tried to gather up his magic, desperation doing much to aid in the effort. While he could not readily defeat the dragon's full fire, he did manage to gather enough water from the air to get Luke and himself a little damp from mist. That small effort combined with the strain of the last couple of days left Alistair completely drained once more. He slumped completely, barely able to stay awake, let alone keep his head up. "We've go' t' get out of 'ere," Alistair slurred. "Somewhere it can't go an' breathe its fire. Is i' Zalt's?"

Dmitri had just gotten out of the way of the door, watching as fire occupied the space he was just standing in. In answer to Alistair, he answered, "I think so. It either belongs to him or the other necromancer." He frowned, thinking about how the dragon was most likely only after him. Surely he could outrun the thing, even if it could fly. Or at least be quick enough to find a decent hiding spot. He began running off, not telling the Fairchild brothers where he was going. He hoped they would think he left them to fend for themselves, strengthening the "uncaring bastard" aspect of Dmitri.

--

Ivanna looked at the brother of the man she was holding on to, asking, "How do you suppose we distract it? I don't think bricks will work... Of course, I have never seen a dragon before..."

Luke kept trying to get the hell away from the house, only managing to get about 3 meters from the door before a large dragon head busted its way through the weakened wood. It glanced around the street with its nostrils wide, trying to hone in on the running vampire. Thuggishly it tore through the rest of the frame, bits of wood sticking between its scales.

Dmitri ran a bit to the side, dodging a rather large piece of wood that was about to hit him. He looked behind him, and happened to the shape of a griffin in the sky. He couldn't quite make out the identities of the riders, but since griffins were used by the Phian police force, Dmitri knew that this could get even worse. That was considering, of course, the dragon didn't get to him first. Dmitri saw that some houses were ahead and, while they wouldn't provide cover well for a long time, it may provide temporary safety. He darted in between the houses, making sure he was as invisible as he could be to the dragon above. His hand went to his side, the gun wound acting up at all of his movement. Tonight was going to be difficult if he lived through this.

"Fuck!" Alistair yelled, seeing the dragon get its head out as it tried to further break its way out after the vampire. "Ge' the bloo'y 'ell out of i's way, Luke! Go right!"

Now firmly on the ground, Lyons turned to Lavinia ans insisted, "No, no, stay here." He gestured his hands down in the same manner one tries to calm a horse. "If you go out there and try to fight that thing, I'm going to be mad. Mostly because I'm pretty sure anything in front of it is likely to die. Stay safe and for the love of god don't get yourself killed."

With a moment to consider his actions, he turned to his partner. "Jant, keep her safe."

A screech of affirmation was enough to send Lyons running around the back of the mansion, toward the front door.

---

Luke stopped his running long enough to take a turn right. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to get far, but it was better than trying to outrun the thing straight on. "What's it doing now?" He asked.

The dragon managed to claw its way out of the front door and took to the air, the creature looking over the streets for its target. It passed over the Fairchild brothers without even taking notice of them, passing the gap Dmitri had hid in. As soon as it hit the end of the street, it turned itself around, flying the other way again.

"I hardly plan to fight it," Lavinia answered stiffly. "I doubt that I could. I merely think it is foolhardy for you to attempt to fight it without necessary cover." She moved to follow him, looking around until she spotted a bit of tin roofing nearby. Unbolting it with her telekinesis, she promptly moved it to shield Lyons and herself in case the dragon got too frustrated with whatever it was doing and decided to roast them. "Be careful and stay under cover!"

----

Alistair managed to look up. "It's flying around now. Heading away... Now coming back. Better turn left here and take cover somewhere!"

Dmitri instinctively held his breath as he saw the sky darken and heard the dragon fly above. The dragon was flying overhead back and forth, and Dmitri was sure the dragon was looking for him. As he sat pressed against a wall, he wondered just how long it would take the dragon to find him. He watched the part of the sky he could see, ready to run again if the dragon found him.

Jant moved to follow after Lavinia as well, obedient as ever.

Lyons looked back to Lavinia, surprised by the magic she managed to pull off. "I... honestly wasn't planning on fighting the thing. I want to talk to Zalt and make him put it away," he commented, stopping his advance.

---

Luke snapped back in response, "Don't think there's anywhere 'ere we can take cover. The houses are all the way over there!"

The dragon swooped around yet again, stopping when it spotted Dmitri between the buildings. It moved to land on top of one of the houses, trying to stick it's head between the houses with little luck.

Lavinia bustled along to catch up with Lyons. "All the more reason for me to follow you, then. I would rather a necromancer than a dragon." She kept the shield over them as she gestured for him to advance with her. "Coming?"

-------

Alistair looked up. "It's stopped now. Don't know why."

Dmitri flinched when he saw and felt the dragon land. It had tried to get him, but failed. He knew it wouldn't be long, though, until the dragon got through. Gritting his teeth, he stood up and ran off again, farther away from the Zalt house. He could only see houses as he ran, and knew they wouldn't be good cover anymore. He wouldn't be able to outrun the dragon for long, if at all. Dmitri was sincerely starting to think he was going to either get eaten or burned to a crisp.

Lyons stopped a moment to admire both the shield and the courage of the young woman in front of him. He shook his head and sprinted after her, his griffin in tow. He looked through the splintered remains of the doorway of the house, hesitantly stepping over the chunks of wood all over the ground. He couldn't help but get a chill down his spine when noticing the wreckage.

On the second story, Mr. Zalt limped to the stair rail, glancing down it with his cold, light purple eyes. Blood dripped down his mangled leg, though it hardly seamed to cause him pain at all. He treated it more like an itch than a life threatening injury. "Can I help you, officer?" He asked.

Lyons glanced at the doorway again to make sure Lavinia wasn't having trouble getting through it. "There's a dragon out in the street," He said as he looked back up at Zalt, his voice shaking slightly.

"So it seams," Zalt responded casually. "I hear they appear in these parts when little thieves come into my house. Isn't a shame, stealing form a senile old man such as I? I remember when I was a child, we respected our elders and the power they held."

---

The dragon took off into the air again, it's target now back in the open. It moved to circle the air again, aiming a line of fire down the street with no regard for anything that may be in its way. Things that counted as in its way would be the Fairchild brothers. Lucas gasped in horror and tried to run to the side of the blast, though his mobility remained hindered by his limp brother.

Lavinia had little trouble at all getting through since she was able to slide most of the offending boards out of her way. However, the hem of her skirt did catch on the doorframe, much to her chagrin. If she did not have propriety to worry over, she would have worn pants instead. The fashion was such a bother. "Your dragon is causing much more damage to life and property in the streets than is warranted. Had you a complaint of a thief, then you should have contacted the guard."

------

Fortunately for Luke and Alistair, they were well guarded by 16 ghosts who, through great effort, managed to deflect enough flame that the two brothers barely got soot on them. "Almos' joined us there, didn' you?" came John's voice again.

Dmitri cursed as he felt the heat of another fire breath. While none of the flames actually touched him, yet, the heat was nearly unbearable. Heat to a vampire was never good, and they felt the hotter temperature much more sensitively than other races. Burns also lasted much longer on vampires, causing more than enough troubles for the afflicted being. This was all in Dmitri's thoughts as he tried running toward empty space, away from the houses that the dragon clearly disregarded in its attempts to kill Dmitri. Of course, empty space meant no protection for himself, but he didn't feel quite so heartless that he would let innocent people get hurt or killed just because of his stupidity. The wound in his side felt like a bunch of nails were being driven into his flesh, but he couldn't stop. He gritted his teeth against the pain, wishing that it would just go away, even though he knew it wouldn't until he drank a good amount of blood.

--

Ivanna watched as the Fairchild family protected the brothers. Her mouth was slightly agape, amazed that they could avert such an attack. She had stayed back, since she was still feeling weak, and was now leaning against a tree for support. She was past the wavering stage, so she felt better, but she still didn't think that she could be of much help. Which was especially disconcerting as she watched Dmitri run from the dragon, while she was unable to help him as the Fairchilds had helped Luke and Alistair.

"I'm sorry, but the police would only arrest him. I want the man dead," Zalt responded, tapping his fingers on the railing.

"That's murder!" Lyons responded, finding some courage in his anger.

"It is defending myself. He was on my property, ready to harm myself and my friend," Zalt responded.

"That's no excuse. Take the dragon back here now, or you will be under arrest," Lyons demanded.

The necromancer smiled a crooked smile and laughed at the idea. "Arrest me you will? I should like to see you try on your lonesome."

Lyons looked back to Lavinia, demanding, "Take cover somewhere. Jant, detail him."

The griffin screeched a war screech as he extended his wings and flew into the air. He was a good ten feet away from the necromancer when he screeched again, this time in pain. The griffin landed on the ground not far from the necromancer, continuing his screeches of pain.

---

The dragon over shot his flight, landing on the ground in front of Dmitri when he was in the open. Teeth baring it lunged for him with it's large jaws, it's fire used up from it's previous passes.