The young Abigail led the young man towards the foot of the Dark Hills. They climbed to the rocky edges until they reached a cave-like entrance.

  Young Alex could only follow the girl. He was a little hesitant but he couldn’t help but feel intrigued. He had always wanted to see this legendary last dragon with his own two eyes.

  The path was made of crystalized black stones, almost as if it was coated with black diamonds. But the path wasn’t as dark as he expected it to be. It was pretty bright as there seemed to be a light source coming from the inside, reflecting the lights through the crystalized stones. He didn’t expect that the place would actually look like a fairy’s lair rather than a monster den.

  Once they were nearing the end of the tunnel, the girl turned to him as she smiled, offering her hand for him to take.

  "Lexus might think you’re an enemy so hold my hand Alexander," she said. The young man stared at her hand for a while before he finally reached out. "This way, Lexus will think of you as my friend," she added, grinning at him as she squeezed his hand.

  The young man couldn’t help but stare at their hands entwined together that he stumbled. The girl immediately looked back but the young man was quick to correct himself, pretending that he didn’t just stumble.

  She smiled at him and finally, they stepped out of the tunnel into a bigger open area inside the mountain.

  Young Alex’s eyes widened with what he saw. It seemed the inside of the Black Hill was a large empty space, almost like a huge crater filled with cloud-like white mist. He had expected a dark, dangerous looking place with melted walls and burn marks everywhere, but he could see nothing that matched his expectations. This was totally unexpected.

  "Lexus!!!" the girl called out, not letting go of young Alex’s hand.

  The next moment, a dark figure emerged from the white mist, its large wings spreading out causing the white mists to rise and then fall from its body like a silky white waterfall. The vision was breathtaking and the young man found himself holding his breath. In his eyes, the creature was simply magnificent and terrifyingly beautiful. He found himself being mesmerised by this gigantic, graceful creature before him and he couldn’t take his eyes off it. He felt like if he blinked, the creature might disappear.

  It stood still, with only half of its body emerging from the sea of mists. When the dragon’s eyes opened, the young Alex subconsciously squeezed the girl’s hand. The dragon’s eyes were like a pair of bright suns, blazing like an eternal inferno inside a crystal ball.

  "Lexus! I’ve found a new friend! His name is Alexander!" young Abigail yelled. Her sweet voice echoed inside the cavernous room, filling it with a .

  The dragon’s eyeballs moved slightly, as if it shifted his gaze to the young man next to his human. Young Alex froze as he looked into the beast’s eyes. He couldn’t move or say a word. He was simply overwhelmed and paralyzed.

  However, the dragon seemed to be uninterested. It closed its eyes and then it silently disappeared back into the mist.

  "Geez, Lexus……" Young Abi puffed her cheeks at the seemingly unfriendly dragon but when she faced Alex, she smiled at him. "Lexus is not so friendly today it seems. If I’m alone, he usually stretches out his tail over to this ledge and lets me climb on him. But don’t worry, he might be more friendly with you next time."

  "You…… you play with him? Do you ride on him too as he flies?!" the young man suddenly looked thrilled, his eyes filled with sparkling interest. He just couldn’t believe that in the space of one day, he went from a dying vampire and in the next, he actually ended up here and got to see the last living dragon!

  "Yes. But we only fly at night and only above these hills. I don’t want Lexus to go to the nearby villages."

  "Why?"

  "I don’t want other people to see him. Besides, everybody is scared of him. It is best that he stays here so that he doesn’t get attacked by those who may want to harm him. Fear does funny things to people."

  "I see…… So does it- I mean, does he listen to all your commands?"

  "Yes. He’s a very good boy," she said proudly, sounding like a proud and protective mother.

  Young Alex could only watch her expressions. He knew this girl was indeed the new dragon keeper, and it seemed that she was the last one of her family line. If and when she died, this dragon would be left without a human master. And when she was gone, what would happen? Will this dragon create havoc on earth? Or will he stay in this place forever?

  "Okay, let’s go back for now. We will come back again tomorrow. Maybe Lexus will be in a more hospitable mood and if you’re very lucky, you might get to ride on him, too."

  "Yeah, well, I have never been on the good side of luck……" he mumbled softly to himself.

  Luckily Abigail distracted him from his solemn thoughts as she dragged him back towards the exit. Shaking his head from his commiserations, he found himself asking more questions, more curious now than ever about this girl and her dragon friend.

  "How many people have you brought here to see him?" the young man asked.

  "Just you."

  Young Alex halted, halting her progress as well. "What about that half-witch friend of yours?"

  "He didn’t want to see Lexus. Zeres is a scaredy cat, you see?" She chuckled before her face became serious. "But I think there must be a reason why he refused to see Lexus. He knows that I know something is up but he didn’t spill the beans," she added with a pout.

  But her face brightened up again, almost too quickly, as she faced him. "That’s why I am so happy you’re brave enough to meet Lexus. You’re not scared of him, right?"

  "I’m…… not."