The Assassin's Target

            If you have not been here since the first book, then there is a lot to discuss here. Simply, we will begin from the beginning. No, not WAY back to the beginning; I am just going to give you the rundown of things. My name is Guilbert Anton Hawkings. I am the fourth child of my late parents, Nixon and Melody Hawkings. I have 3 other siblings: 2 older brothers and an older sister. The oldest of us is Gull, a white and blue scaled dragon.  Varin is the second oldest, he is pretty much a were-dragon. I mean, he was a were-dragon. He has complete control of his transformations and I can now consider him half dragon. Galena is about a year younger than Varin, but she is the most mature of the three of us. She is pure human but she is stronger than all of the normal humans in our village. Both of our mother and father are dead. There is no sugarcoating that. Our mother fell ill and succumbed in bed. Our father was murdered by a white dragon. I still have nightmares and regrets about that dreadful day. I still feel like crap and think about it 24/7 because, even as a little kid, I felt like I could have done something to try to prevent that lizard from punching a hole into my father's chest.

            My village is called “Hawktown". It is a free society here and it is the home of our best soldiers, the “Hawk Warriors". I worked very hard to continue in my father's footsteps and I was able to become one of the Captains of the Warriors. I even have my own team assembled: Tirela, Elgris, Tyrone, and Bradley. Tirela was really a dragoness in disguise, in a way. He is mostly in her human form, but she claims it is unstable and she cannot sustain it for a very long time. The maximum time that I can keep track of is probably 7 hours. Well, to me, it doesn't matter what or who she is. She is perfect the way she is. …I guess you can say I have developed a crush on her if it wasn't obvious to this point. Elgris is part panther, although we have never seen her as a panther. She is mainly human but the only way to tell that she has any kind of animal DNA in her is her eyes. She has feline eyes. It is no wonder she is so good at playing hide-and-seek in the dark. Tyrone has some animal DNA in him as well, but he is just mainly a human…who wears a robe and a Friday the 13^th mask and carries around a very large sword that puts Cloud's sword to shame. I always wonder where does he get the strength to carry that thing around? I keep forgetting to ask. Bradley is just your average human and has the attitude of a spoiled brat. We always seem to question his motives for joining the Hawk Warriors. “I joined because I was bored" was all he said, but I have a feeling it's something much more, considering that he hates anything non-human and his parents were killed by them. All I can say is at least he has us so he doesn't have to be or feel lonely. That is all that we can do.

            There is also Shang Boswell, a rather, um, very large black-furred wolf. He and I go way back. When I escaped from one of The Masked Eagles' prison fortress, I came across a village full of wolves. They fed me a Wolf Seed and I am able to talk to any feral animals that do not speak the human language. I met Shang and his parents when he was a puppy…and when I was forced to kill his mother and father and his pack mates from some sort of tentacle beast. He has been with me ever since and has grown attached to me. You can even say overprotective. But, I do not mind in the slightest. He even calls me “master" because of my status of “Captain", which I still find weird but I'm used to it. Over the years, I, literally, watched him grow…and he's…gigantic for a 9-year-old wolf. He moves around like he's still 4. I am really impressed…and proud of him.

            I came across a white-furred wolf named Zalek who has control over lightning. I managed to get him away from his now deceased “master" and introduced him to everybody. Now, he and Shang are BWFFs (Best Wolf Friends Forever). He was exiled from his pack and family and left to die so he didn't have a home. Tyrone actually offered to take him in. We didn't think that he would say yes, but he did. Plus, nobody really teases him about his tail, or tails, that usually split apart whenever he wants. He is one unique pup.

            Then, there's Grazar. He is a large dragon that's been around almost since the dawn of time. I know I'm exaggerating on that, but he's known everybody from 400-500 years back. Heck, maybe even further back. I usually fall asleep when he talks about this sort of stuff…like I do with Gull when he's trying to scold me like a big brother should. I am not saying that their stories are boring, but their tone of voice always put me to sleep. I can't help it! He was very close to my father, my grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle; pretty much my whole family. Like Shang, he is also overprotective of me, but I think he's more protective than Shang is. He has a proud, calm, and somewhat gentle demeanor, but he does get blinded by rage but he rarely acts out from it. Overall, he's a pussycat on the inside once you get to know him.

            Here is more of the rundown: When I was born, I discovered that I could immediately talk, walk, and transform into a dragon. I went through a lot of training and I'm very good at hand-to-hand combat, which is a mixture of boxing and martial arts skills that my family has shown me and techniques that I learned from books. I can use swords, staffs, guns, daggers, and much more. I can even transform into a wolf. I've had lots of close calls with missiles, bullet wounds, stab wounds, bites, having a building fall on me, and being thrown out of an aircraft while steering it away from a nuclear power plant. We have also come across a traitor named Henry, who goes by the name of Avoi, who is a part of The Masked Eagles. Things have been very hectic, to say the least.

            3 months have passed since I downed that aircraft and stopped the Eagles from releasing missiles on the villages and towns all over the world. Not much has happened in that much time. I continued to work with my team as one of the Captains of the Hawk Warriors. We would continue going on missions and still getting some training in. It was much more entertaining now that Sly was reunited with his brother, Shadowclaw. At first, it looked like they did not get along, but I was wrong. They actually get along really well. Things were swell until we got a red envelope. When something is red, it usually means something bad is about to happen. Shadow opened it up and the letter stated that His Majesty has invited us to his palace for a ball. It was his birthday and he wanted to celebrate with his people. How awesome was this? We didn't think he had any time to have a fun and forget being a king for a day! How could we pass this up?

            We arrive at the front gate a few hours later after the invitation was sent and we could already see the place was just swarming with people conversing and enjoying the food and the drinks. We all didn't have much to offer as the girls wore some very nice red and yellow dresses and us guys just wore some fancy tuxedos. Shang, Zalek, and Grazar couldn't find anything in their size, so they just wore either a bow-tie or a regular tie. Personally, they look a little silly. I didn't say anything.

            As I was looking around while talking with the others, I felt someone tap me on my shoulder. I turned around and saw that it was His Majesty himself.

            “Guil, my boy," he said in a friendly tone. “I didn't think you and your team and your family would show up! I know how awfully busy you all are!"

            “We wouldn't miss this for the world, sir!" I said to him returning the friendly gesture. “Well, I don't know about the others, but I know I wouldn't."

            “Hey, I wouldn't miss it, either!" Shang shouts out as his tail wags in the air.

            “We all wouldn't," said Tirela as she pokes at my arm.

            The King strokes his beard as he chuckles.

            “Well, I am happy that you all have arrived to enjoy the party." Then he looked at me and he jerked his head a bit while looking away for a split second. I had an odd look on my face and wondered why he did that, until I figured out that he was gesturing me to follow him up the stairs that was across the room. I nodded at him and looked toward my family.

            “Say, why don't guys have some fun? I'll be with you all in a bit," I said to them. Before they could even say anything, I was following the King up the stairs. We walked for a bit until we were on top of one of the palace balconies. He walked a little further and stopped, standing still as he put his hands behind his back and looked out upon the beautiful sight of Hawktown.

            “This whole town has been through a lot of strafes on and off for thousands of years," he started to say. “Throughout all of the turmoil that the people here have faced, they have not given up any kind of hope. They continue to strive and fight for their future as well as others. This town is the pinnacle of tomorrow." He looks down to the ground for a second and then he turns his head to look at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Your father believed that if the people here come together, anything is possible. The most important thing is that you must work as a team." He then turns his full body around to face me and he smiles. “You have demonstrated that with your team, your new friends, and your family. Because of the hard work that all of you have done, the people here can continue to live their dreams, work for their dreams, and can continue pushing themselves to overcome anything. For this, all of you have my thanks as well as the people here."

            All of this was enough to make a guy blush and that's exactly what I did.

            “I am not worthy of such praise, sir," I said as I tried not to show any embarrassment. “I just do what needs to be done. This town is my birth home. The people here are my friends. I do what needs to be done to protect the ones I love."

            I saw him nod as he continues to look at me.

            “Guil, do you know why I am the King of Hawktown?"

            I gave him a blank stare as I do not really know why. I am not really familiar with his family as well as I claim my mother and father do.

            “Uh… Because you like ruling?" I asked sheepishly, knowing that my answer was very stupid. The only response I got from him was a hearty laugh. I don't think I ever heard him laugh this hard before.

            “You amuse me, Captain Guil. It is true that I do enjoy ruling this town" — Wait, I was right? — “but that is not the main reason why." Damn, so much for that. “My father and grandfather did a marvelous job watching this town come into fruition decade after decade. And now, that duty has been passed down to me. I believe that people can work together to get through even the darkest and toughest storms. My job is to lead them there. I give them the strength that they need to push through. I, too, will do what is best for my people and for them to keep going."

            “I believe you are doing a wonderful job at that, sir. Everybody looks up to you. Without you, the town would be upside down. All of this would not be possible without your leadership."

            He simply chuckled and shook his head.

            “Maybe so, but—"

            “No, no buts, sir. You are an outstanding ruler, and that is that."

            He let out another chuckle and smiled. “Well put then, Captain. Shall we head back downstairs? The night is still young."

            I smiled back and nodded to him. “After you, sir."

            He nodded and walked back to the stairs that lead back down to the main entrance. Everybody was still chatting and enjoying themselves. I couldn't help but smile at how everybody was having a good time. Then, I remembered something as I quickly nudged the King before he walked away.

            “Oh! Your Majesty. I forgot to ask you about something!"

            “Oh? And what might that be, young Guil?"

            “I wanted to ask you have you ever heard about this, uh, group that my father and a few of my friends are a part of…" I made sure to keep my voice down while speaking to him. “Have you ever heard of The Blessed Warriors?"

            He raised an eyebrow and he stroked his beard again.

            “Hmm…where have you heard that from?"

            “My father left a recording for me describing them and that he was a part of it. I was wondering if you might shed some light on them if you could?"

            He then takes a deep breath and looks at me with a serious look.

            “Well, if you know that much, perhaps I could spare a few words. You see, The Blessed Warriors were—"

            BANG! We heard a gunshot coming from outside as one of the upper windows shatters apart. All of a sudden, a middle-aged blonde woman in a red dress falls to the ground. She took a bullet straight into her head and everybody started to scream and run out of the palace. Tables, chairs, food, beverages, wine glasses, and plates were falling over and crashing onto the ground as the people were scrambling everywhere just to get out.

            I quickly escorted the King out of the palace just to see someone running on one of the residential rooftops heading toward the exit of the town. I instructed His Majesty to stay where I left him and proceeded to chase the assassin down. The easiest way to catch him was being a dragon, so I shifted to my dragon self and took to the skies. I easily caught up with him and tackled him to the ground level. I shifted back to my human state and stood my ground as he got up. I didn't have my weapons on me so I was forced to use hand-to-hand combat.

            “Who are you?!" I shouted at him. “Why are you attacking our town? Why'd you kill that innocent woman?!"

            “It wasn't my intention of killing her," he started to say. “I was aiming for that blockhead of a King you have. This thing packs one hell of a punch, though." He held up his sniper rifle and he started to laugh. “But she makes sure that the job gets done, no matter what!"

            “If you want our King, you're going to have to go through me."

            “That can easily be arranged!"

            I saw him aim at me and I swiftly dashed forward and grabbed the rifle, holding it up as he pulled the trigger. The bullet shot up in the air as he wrestled with the gun. I managed to snatch it away from him and I smacked him across the face with the butt of the gun. He falls back on the ground and I tossed the gun further away from us so he couldn't reach it. I could've just aimed the gun at him and forced him to surrender, but I can tell he is the shady type and wouldn't surrender and it would end up killing him. So, I prefer to let my fists do the talking.

            The both of us were staring each other down until I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I looked over and I saw that His Majesty was next to me.

            “I will take care of this, lad," he said to me as he walked in front of me. The assassin was still in a battle stance as the King was standing a few feet away from him. “I understand that you were trying to get me. Well, here I am. What will you do now?"

            “I will show you what I will do!" He charged and was getting ready to punch His Majesty in the face. The King just stood there unfazed. His fist was about to make contact until his hand caught his fist. The assassin gasped as he tried to get his hand free, but it was no use. His Highness then used his free hand to punch the assassin square in the face. The force was so strong that he immediately fell over to the ground, unconscious. It looked like his face was smashed in…which it kind of was.

            I walked over to the knocked out goon and stared at his bloody face.

            “Damn, he got knocked the hell out…" I said to myself.

            “Indeed he did," the King said as he chuckled from my statement. I think he got the reference I made.

            “This is one way to celebrate your birthday, sir. I hope it's not a thing every year."

            “Nah, I think this is a one-time thing. But, there's no promises on that one." He laughed a bit. “We will let the Hawk Warriors that are on duty take care of him. You wish to know more about the Blessed Warriors, yes?"

            I looked at him and nodded. “Yes sir."