Viscount Luke burst into wild laughter, the sound sharp and broken, like a madman pushed past the edge. His shoulders shook as he cackled, eyes wide and bloodshot.
"You see what you've driven me to?" he roared. "This, this is the price of standing against me!"
Raze and Fey didn't spare him a glance.
Their attention was locked on the massive undead dragon looming amid the shattered remains of the manor. Its skeletal frame towered over the ruins, massive wings half-spread, purple flames leaking from between its jagged teeth. Slowly, deliberately, it turned its skull-like head toward them.
Then it opened its mouth.
A torrent of thick purple-and-red flame erupted forth, crashing down like a falling meteor.
Raze reacted instantly, grabbing Viscount Luke by the collar and yanking him along as he leapt aside. The ground where they'd stood vanished beneath the blast, stone and earth melting into scorched slag in a heartbeat.
They skidded to a halt several meters away.
