"Little slayer," a low baritone voice rumbled.
Libelle's eyes shot upwards, this time locking with a pair of glowing yellow eyes and a black smile to match the sinister voice. No more than a hundred feet in front of her was possibly Helheim himself, sitting on a rocky perch staring her down like she was dinner meant for a starving mutt.
"Eskil," she growled back. Returning to her feet, she gripped her sword tighter and raised it in front of her chest.
He sneered at her, arching his neck with a deep, throaty rumble. She adjusted her stance and gritted her teeth, waiting for the dragon to attack.
"Gaalin, get back," she instructed.
This time, her manservant obeyed without a word of defiance and took several steps backwards before turning with running leaps in the opposite direction. Eskil bellowed out a forceful roar, his voice echoing across the land. With his roar came an invisible force that shook the earth and sent a blast of hot air across the ground. The guards and citizens screamed and fled the area back to the safety of their city. Libelle covered her eyes with her arm as the shout kicked up all the dust and dew around her, causing a large and thick cloud to form around her. She couldn't see anything as the fine particles of soil coated her eyes. She felt something hot washing across her body, like steam from a geyser. She lowered her arm and slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the pain caused by the dust cloud.
Libelle almost fell over backwards when her eyes landed on Eskil's, he was almost touching her. His hot breath flushed over her, each breath releasing a gust of hot air that fogged in the cool temperature. He had his nostrils against her abdomen, pushing her backwards but not enough to cause her to fall. His eyes were narrowed, and he still had that wicked smile across his deadly looking mouth.
The black dragon was massive in comparison to any other dragon she had ever faced. Black scales with ashy gray points covered his body, and his soul was just as dark. A pair of long and jagged horns shot up from the top of his head, and lines of spikes protruded from his cheeks all the way down to his chin. Starting at the base of his neck and running down the length of his back, right to the tip of his tail, were many more sharp dorsal spikes. His massive wings were covered with a skin-like tissue and weaves of black webs that attached to the bony prominences.
His teeth were long and fit together like a puzzle between his lips. His chest expanded with each breath, and his abdomen flexed as he adjusted on his hind legs, his tail swaying inches above the ground to maintain his balance. He was giant, intimidating, and deadly.
She couldn't explain it, but her limbs went rigid at the sight of him and she actually froze, unable to raise her sword against him, even though she knew he would kill her where she stood. She swallowed hard, her blue eyes wide behind her helm.
Eskil rumbled with another deep, throaty chuckle as his whole body shook with laughter. His ebony-scaled tail slammed down hard on the ground, and his wings adjusted his body weight as he moved even closer to her. The movements kicked up more dust around them, shielding her demise from all those who might otherwise be watching.
"Little slayer," Eskil repeated his words, but this time it sounded more like a whisper. The black dragon moved around her, his head leveling with hers as he slowly walked in a circle around her. He stopped behind her, his chin brushing against her shoulder when his long, snake-like tongue sneaked from his mouth and slowly licked her sweaty skin.
Another chuckle shook him as she shivered, breaking her out of her statue-like trance. She spun around, swinging her blade towards his head to no avail. His mouth opened wide, and he caught her arm, his teeth clamping down against her chainmail felt like he was crushing her bone. She stifled her cry between clenched teeth and tight lips. She never stopped glaring at him, even as he smacked his tail to the ground again and lifted her up by her aching arm. She dropped the sword as her muscles spasmed from the pain.
Eskil then turned his head and released her arm. She fell to the ground and landed on her back, but she quickly scrambled to her feet as he lowered his gaze back to hers. Eskil pushed his snout up against her chest this time, his nostrils flaring as he deeply inhaled her scent. His eyes closed while he breathed, and a cat-like purr escaped from his curled lips. His wet and slimy tongue lapped at her again, trailing a path of saliva from her collarbone up to her cheek. Her eyes widened even further when he curled his lips into a dark and threatening smile while licking his lips.
"I will break you."