They needed to get out of here right now. They had seen something they absolutely shouldn't have witnessed, and his instinct told him that this was far beyond his scope of expertise. He might be a common swindler and conman, but kidnapping was not something he approved. "She's not. But we need to get out–now." Auron didn't care if the clerk saw them exiting the woman's room anymore. This was bad on so many levels. Shutting the drawers he had opened and fumbling to get to the door, he looked over his shoulder to see a hand with long nails grasp the lower ledge of the open window. No, no, no! Fear came over him as the woman pulled herself into the room, and he was sure they were dead. "Drake, Drake behind you!" He hissed, eyes wide with terror.

With hair pale as moonlight and lips red as blood, the woman seemed to slither in with a sickening fluidity of motion. "I spy a pair of little nosy mice…" Her voice dripped with deathly intent. "Don't you know better than to enter a lady's room uninvited? I'm afraid I can't let you leave without a proper introduction." Mad bloodlust glistened in her eyes as she rushed towards them, with teeth bared and lips grinning wide! Auron's first instinct was to send a blast of fire into her face, forcing her to leap back before the flames reached her flesh. Her reflexes were ungodly, and he was trying to guess what kind of monster she was. The flames burnt a good portion of her sleeves and the lower hems of her gown, revealing a bright crimson mark on her upper thigh reminiscent of a crescent moon. Any singed parts of her skin quickly regenerated, make him blanch in horror. With the mark revealed, he put two and two together. So that was why she was able pass through the out-lands with no trouble. Not even an army could match that terrifying speed she had!

Vampire, demon, or whatever–if they didn't kill her they would be the ones killed. She must have rendered the elven woman unconscious when she received room service, and then kept her inside the wardrobe for whatever monstrous purpose she had in mind.

It was a strange thing to watch as Caranthir, who had made himself out to be cool-headed and collected, shift to a more panicked demeanor.  Of course, it wasn't without reason, but it was heavily distracting.  So distracting that Drake barely had a chance to react when the elf called for Drake, pleading him to notice what was behind him.  Drake spun around, drawing his dagger, ready for a fight.  His eyes widened, though, as the pale woman- no, this couldn't be a mere woman, as the creature slithered into the room, her words piercing through the once-silence like daggers.

Caranthir was quicker than Drake to react, which probably saved the young man as a blast of fire burst into the woman's face, causing her to reel.  But it wasn't enough, and the creature lunged forward, but this time Drake was ready.  His eyes flashed from silver to red for a moment as he deflected the blow with his dagger.  What strength!  Even guarding, Drake was taken off his feet and pushed back, nearly colliding with Caranthir. 

But Drake was smiling, his eyes still glowing crimson red.  I may be lousy at magic, but…  Fire burst from Drake's chest, enveloping his arms, shifting his tan skin into black, draconic scales.  A partial transformation was all Drake could handle at the moment, but the enhanced strength and speed, coupled with the protection the scales would offer, would prove to his benefit.  Drake pushed off, launching himself at the creature with the dagger outstretched.  I'm one hell of a-

The woman seemed to move twice as fast as Drake, shifting to the the side and grabbing Drake's arm, and flinging him into the wall as if an insignificant piece of trash being discarded.  W-what is she!? he thought as he nearly blacked out from the crash, his head spinning.  How am I even supposed to fight something like this!? 

Seeing her throw Drake around like a doll made his fear intensify. Contrary to his pomp and bravado, Auron was not a fighter. One hit from that she-demon and it'd be over for him. His natural instinct was to run, get away from her as fast as he could without caring for the consequences. But the other part of him reminded that if he let her be, everyone else in this inn would likely be dead by morning. What was supposed to be effective against her?! Silver, or some other holy talisman? Even getting stabbed might not be fatal, seeing how she regrew her burnt skin in seconds. This was all going very badly, worse than he could possibly imagine. He was supposed to collect information and leave, not have a run in with the target himself! "Kill her!" He shouted as he engulfed himself in flames. Now was a perfectly good example for justifiable murder, but with what they were fighting shouldn't this be self-defense?

Teleporting behind the woman, he sent another torrent of flames at her again. Right now collateral damage and property loss was the least of their concerns. He could ask his friend to clean up the mess if the inn burned down, but this monster had to die. He desperately tried everything he knew to put her down, while keeping out of her reach. She was lightning-fast, moving on to attack him after hurling Drake. Even the fire he sheathed himself in did little as she slammed him against the wall with a hand around his throat. His head was spinning, and in an impulse-reaction he conjured a blade formed from light that pierced her through her torso. There was a moment of hesitation and a slight loosening around his neck, and his hand twitched as he made the magically constructed weapon slice through her body. Her arm was severed down the to bone, and he slumped to the ground as she pulled away. Gasping for air, he watched as she began regrowing a new limb where it had been cut off. Thankfully the severed arm wasn't moving after being removed from its body.

Drake could barely follow the flow of the battle while he stood there, recovering from the initial blow.  Ok…  He shook his head, willing the world to stop spinning, just in time to see Caranthir separate her arm from her body.  Still, even that proved to barely phase her, as she merely started to regrow another in it's place.  She keeps regenerating, but…  Drake staggered up.  His vision was focused again, though blood clouded his vision.  A head wound.  I'll deal with it later…for now…  

"Caranthir!  Grab my swords!"  Drake glanced back, his eyes still burning red.  There was no way they could continue to fight inside.  The wooden inn itself was already starting to catch fire from the fight, and the limited space made it near impossible to do anything tactfully.  Still, the question was how to get the creature outside.  The window.  Drake growled, his voice layered with something beastly.  One of the more simple rules of combat…

Drake let out a roar, forcing his draconic form a step farther.  He felt the flesh on his back rip and tear at huge wings erupted from his back, filling most of the room.  Shock and awe!  Drake let out a furious battle cry, taking advantage of what he hoped would be a momentary shock at the sudden change.  His plan worked, crashing into the woman and sending them both tumbling out of the window and into the street.  The sudden burst of fresh air was cleansing, to say the least, and it helped clear the rest of the fog from his mind.

They hit the ground hard, Drake rolling and tucking his new dragon wings on instinct.  Still, this wasn't an ideal situation.  The inn might catch fire if Caranthir's flames took hold of the rest of the building.  Furthermore, the transformation that Drake made took far more stamina out of him than it may have been worth.  Panting, Drake stood up.  In the confusion, he had lost the dagger.  Sadly, the woman recovered from her shock fairly easily, and seemed to mostly brush off the fall.  

Well…that didn't work anywhere near as well as I had hoped….  Drake smiled though.  It was in fights like this, for some reason, that he felt the most alive.  "All right, you ugly hag…" Drake called out, breathless.  "Bring it on…"  

Drake was still fighting, which gave him a little hope. Sending him and the monster outside the inn, he soon realized the smell of smoke was filling his lungs. The fire! He had been so focused on staying alive, and he had to make sure things didn't go straight to the Circles. Sweeping up the flames into his hands, he flung it out the window at the witch hoping it'd deal more good than harm. Running back to their room he grabbed Drake's swords and teleported himself out of the inn. "DRAKE, SWORDS!" He hoped the man could hear him. Throwing the swords down he hoped it'd buy him a little more time. The pale-haired monster was cackling with maniacal glee. "Do you think you worms can do anything to me?! HAHAHA!!! You can't kill me! I am IMMORTAL!" From how easily she could recover, it would seem so. 

She then dug her own nails into her flesh, cutting deeply and releasing rivulets of crimson blood. At once, an overpowering perfume filled the air–the same scent that she had been emanating this whole time but in greater strength. At once anyone who breathed it in would feel a dizziness and have their senses impaired. Everything was becoming clear now. All the clues falling into place. Auron teleported himself to a higher vantage point, and realized that by bringing her outside, she could escape. They had to keep that from happening at all costs! Conjuring up more flames, he sent a flurry of fire balls down towards the two hoping to bombard her and give Drake more time to wear her down. Even if she could regenerate, maybe if they forced her to use up her energy it would reach a limit. Taking a dagger from his clothes, he threw it as hard as he could at her back. 

"GO FOR THE LIMBS! DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!" He shouted. The woman laughed madly and rushed Drake again. "Here I was thinking of helping myself to a little snack, but I don't mind having an extra meal!" So she was intending to eat her victims after rendering them helpless. Not even a vampire had this level of depravity. 

It was taking every ounce of concentration Drake had to dodge her blows.  They were faster than any bandit Drake had fended off, but with the activation of his draconic form, his speed and senses had been heightened beyond human levels.  But I'm still not used to this yet!  Caranthir, hurry it u-  He heard the elf's voice call out, and Drake immediately went on the offense, lashing out with a surprise kick.  C'mon!  Just long enough for…

His blades landed a few feet to his left, and Drake immediately lunged for them, spinning around in a whirl with both blades extended.  The pale haired creature, though, easily slithered beyond the reach of his swords.  Still, now…now I'm ready for a real fight!  He grinned like a mad man, and started to rush the creature.  Yet, he couldn't get close before she released her 'perfume.'  But it was too late, Drake had already gotten to close.  He leapt back, but was already coughing and sputtering.  Damn…not…not again.

The world was spinning once more for the young warrior.  C'mon.  Keep a level head…  She lashed out at him, but Drake managed to deflect the blow.  His wings spread just enough to catch him from falling over, but not enough to keep him from stumbling back, his vision swimming.  Sense her.  You can do this.  Just feel her out.  Anoher flurry of blows from her.  Drake could only parry a few, her claws soaked with blood cutting into his scales, despite their protective quality.  Great…that can't be good for me… I have to switch to the offensive…I can't last like this.

Drake jumped back, staggering.  Now…breath.  Feel the flow of mana.  Feel her energy….  Drake lifted his blades, and closed his eyes.  He could feel Caranthir above them, preparing to rain down flames.  He heard his call to take her limbs, to not let her escape.  Like hell I'd let her escape now…  She moved in to strike, but had to come from his left due to the fireballs from the elf.  Drake's eyes shot open, and he dodged the blow, as if dancing around her.  His blades became extensions of his arms, agile slashes cutting through her arms like paper.  They dropped to the ground, and she cried out in surprise.  

Drake smirked.  Immortal or not…you have to be drawing that energy from somewhere.  It's simply a battle of attrition now, isn't it!"  His blades cut through the air in a renewed flurry, his body dancing around her with agile spins and slashes, dancing between her own blows.  With Caranthir supporting him, the two seemed to have her on the ropes.  We can do this.  We can wi-  The dizziness, which had been under control, suddenly worsened.  Wait…no.  Damn it…I'm such an-  The young man suddenly stopped his assault, and fell to his knees.

The pale-haired woman, her limbs already regrowing, smacked Drake with a partial limb, sending him to the ground.  

Her blood.  The more damage I cause her, the more she can spread it.  I'm such a fool…but…but maybe I've worn her down enough for Caranthir to…

The intoxicating fumes from her blood were getting worse with her injuries. Yet, she was still relatively unscathed. Auron had been hoping he wouldn't have to take off his disguise, but it was pointless to keep it up now. He needed the extra power maintaining the illusion was siphoning. Dropping all pretenses, his blond hair turned red while his olive eyes changed to their original golden sheen. Blasting the area with as much fire as he could pour out, his flames were burning up the blood and the fumes. The sickening smell was momentarily cleared while she had to avoid being singed. She figured Drake was done for already, and had turned her sights to him. But he had plenty more tricks up his sleeve, even without his magical guise. Casting another spell, he created several copies of himself across the area, teleporting to a new location while an illusory copy took this original place. She went for it, without thinking more of it. She must be confident to make such sloppy mistakes. The witch probably thought she'd find him eventually, and he knew that wasn't wrong.

Sending another magical blade formed from light, he impaled her through the leg, severing it and halting the blood flow oddly. It took a little longer for her to regrow it, which made him grin. Even that insane power wasn't limitless. She'd have to run out soon–and as long as she wasn't allowed to feed her reserves would be running empty. But he had to stay alert. She still wanted him dead and could easily close the gap. She rushed him again, and he teleported at the last moment to stab her with another magic blade. Horrible shrieks pierced the silent night underneath the light of the moons. "I'LL KILL YOU AND DEVOUR YOUR FLESH!!!" She screeched. "Drake get up! She's coming after me!" Auron screamed as he made another narrow dodge. In the few seconds he had in between fleeing and attacking, he realized that she took the longest time to regenerate when she was injured by light. If only he could keep her immobile long enough to stab her through her heart. Maybe that would make her stop for good.

Drake could barely move, but he could hear the fight around him.  It seemed Caranthir was going all out, but Drake honestly couldn't tell who was winning.  Damnit.  I've got to move.  He closed his eyes, willing his body to move, but it simply refused.  No, his mind was far too clouded, and his senses couldn't recognize the sky from the earth.  

He could feel something though.  A burning inside of him that wasn't there before.  During the fight, it had started small, but now it was growing.  He could feel something menacing, ancient.  He tried to open his eyes, but when he did so, what was facing his was a great, black dragon.  Drake could feel it's immense presence, the smoldering flame inside of him, waiting to be unleashed.  He had torn pieces and parts of this beast and made it his own flesh, but the heart of the beast was still locked away.  

Because I'm afraid I'll lose myself to it…

Drake smiled, Now isn't the time the fret, is it?  His eyes opened in reality, burning red.  Despite his lack of feeling, he clambered up.  He could hear Caranthir call for his help.  Can I really do it?  His maddening smile hadn't faded yet.  

And then it clicked. 

His eyes narrowed as he saw the woman.  A primal rage coursed through his blood as he felt another part of his transformation form, and before he knew it, he was on her, weaponless.  He hand opened, slamming into her face, pushing her into the ground.  "Burn."  The draconian mana flowed through his arm, erupting into a blast of flames at point blank in her face.  Once.  Twice.  Three times.  Despite lacking any real stamina, Drake had an entire untapped pool of mana which before, he had been to afraid to utilize properly.  But now, it was only a blazing rage of a dragon.  Finally, the pale-haired creature had had enough, and managed to shove Drake off of it.  She pounced onto Drake, her hands wrapped around his neck, her face contorted from its once previous form, leaving her wide open.

Drake was still smirking at her, even as she choked the life out of him.  

With her attention off of him and back onto Drake, he had to act fast. If either of them died, then it would be all over. Nobody would know that there was a monster lurking the streets, and there would be more victims. He wasn't caring about the potential victims that might come after them should they fail, but he did mind if someone was making a struggling place worse. She was just another one of those leeches that grew too greedy and was eating more than her share. People who treated the lives of people like food were worse than scum. She had to die. "I'll think of something, hang in there Drake." He muttered as he took this chance to get behind the witch. With a hastily-formed arc of light, he swung as hard as he could. The light cleaved through her neck, lopping her head off the rest of her body. Following up with a swift kick, he tried to prevent the pieces from reuniting together.

The body was still moving, trying to wring Drake's throat. But realizing her current situation, she dropped him and was trying to regain her head. Even with that unholy amount of regenerative power, her field of vision was limited to what she could see. So she couldn't tell that Auron was still nearby as she was so wholly preoccupied with finding where her head had fallen. He kept telling himself that this was fine, that he wasn't actually committing murder. She was still alive–technically, just dismembered. She could still speak and move even when she was in pieces. He was doing the world a service. Pinning her down with another construct of light, he impaled her from the back. The body was still writhing, and he had to back away as the arms tried to swipe at him.

"Drake! Drake can you hear me?! Get up! Take off the rest of her limbs! I won't be able to hold her down much longer!" Every few seconds he glanced up to make sure the head was too far away for it to reach its body. She was breaking free, so he torched her to buy a few more minutes of time. Although her head and body were in two parts, she still screamed in response to her body's injuries. While they fought for their lives, they didn't notice the moons in the sky fade as dawn steadily approached.

Drake swayed as he stood up, but Caranthir's instructions were ringing loud and clear in his head.  Move.  He ran to where he had dropped his blades, picking them up with a quick sweeping motion.  With a powerful thrust of his wings, he pushed himself in the direction of the vile woman and where she lay scrambling, pinned by the blade of light.  Drake slammed his first blade through the core of her body, pinning her to the ground.  For a moment, he leaned into the blade, putting his entire weight into it as he almost passed out, his body threatening to give out yet again.

Not yet.  He growled, shaking off the fatigue and numbness, and pushed off the blade, forcing it just a little deeper into the ground. With his other sword in hand, he set to hacking off the limbs of the now grotesque woman.  At this point, her blood-perfume had more than permeated the area, and Drake was running on nothing but instict without truly feeling the weight behind his attacks.  He would more than likely have to get checked after this, to make sure there wasn't permanent nerve damage due to whatever was in the woman's blood.  

"Why.  Won't.  You.  Just.  Die.  Already!" Drake yelled in anger, which surprised even himself.  Every strike was making a cut, and her regeneration had slowed to a complete crawl.  At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if they would end up all dying by the end of the night.  By the end of the…  His eyes widened, and he looked up.  The sky was beginning to brighten.  Damn it.  If the people here come into the streets…  He let out another flurry of strike.

"Just.  Give.  Up.  And.  Die!"  Drake growled.  But his hand would no longer hold his sword, and it merely fell to the side.  His body gave way to the poison once more, and fell back.  Did….did we do enough?