Soulbound to a Dragon

by Kurtis Eckstein

  He glanced at me and sighed. “It doesn’t really matter. I can’t either way.”

  “It matters to me!” I exclaimed, feeling extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t want to find a way to undo the magic only to have him attack me. If he were an elderfel, elf, or human then I would probably be fine with it, but I had already seen for myself just how significantly stronger he was.

  I supposed I did still have my binding spell, but that didn’t work on everyone. There had been at least one elf, who also used dark magic, capable of defending himself. And I had no idea what this half-dragon was capable of.

  Eli eyed me curiously. “Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t? You don’t even know me.”

  I stared at him for a moment. He was right. I would have a difficult time believing him after all the betrayal I had already suffered in my life. But part of me wanted to believe him. Part of me wanted to trust someone. Somehow, even after all this time, I hadn’t lost hope that I might find someone I could rely on, but that was probably because it was my deepest desire.

  He was completely right, although he likely didn’t realize just how right he was. I needed to guard my heart, because if he did betray me like everyone else had, it might be too much to bear this time.

  I felt my ears and tail droop again as I thought about it. He noticed of course, but didn’t say anything else. I quickly shouldered my pack and then grabbed the large piece of parchment off the ground when I noticed it.

  Eli took a step closer with an outstretched hand. “Can I see that?” He wondered.

  I immediately eyed him suspiciously, already having it halfway in my bag. “No,” I said curtly.

  He cocked his head. “Why not? I just want to read it. From the small image on it, I assume it has information about the crystal. Besides, it’s not like you need it anymore.”

  I turned my head away as I replied. “It has a message from my godmother on it, so it’s more important than that.”

  “Then I promise I won’t damage it. That page might have information about how to release this magic.”

  I sighed heavily and handed it towards him without looking. When I felt him draw near and gently begin taking it from my fingers, I tightened my grip slightly. “Promise?” I whispered.

  He sounded annoyed. “Yes, I promise.” Then after I loosened my grip he backed away, muttering underneath his breath saying, “Trust issues much?”

  I glared at him, my ears twitching. I crossed my arms. “You just reminded me that I know nothing about you, and now you’re complaining I don’t trust you enough?”

  Eli smirked. “Fair enough. But I haven’t done anything to break your trust yet.”

  “Yet,” I repeated in annoyance, beginning to walk off.

  He quickly followed after me, sounding irritated himself. “What? Did an elf boyfriend break your heart or something?”

  I immediately tightened my embrace around my chest. “No,” I retorted. “There is no elf who would ever consider dating me.”

  “Well, at least you got to live a semi-normal life until now.”

  I glared back at him, only to see he was looking away, that same pained expression as before. Still, it wasn’t enough to abate my anger. “You don’t know anything!” I snapped, turning my gaze forward again.

  Eli didn’t say anything. After a few seconds of walking in silence, I heard him unfold the page and began reading it. Much to my surprise, my godmother’s message must have been the first thing he read, because he blurted out a comment about it in disbelief. “She really never told you she loved you?”

  I grimaced, refusing to look at him as I replied. “No, and she didn’t need to. She housed me, fed me, and if it wasn’t for her, then I never would have been trained to fight or learn magic. I owe her everything, much more than I deserve.”

  Eli didn’t respond. I assumed he must have gone back to reading again. We walked in silence for a long time, and I realized I didn’t have time to be angry. I needed to focus on my surroundings or else risk being attacked blindly again. The last elderfel I had slain seemed confident I wouldn’t survive past sunset, which meant I had to get out of these trees and find somewhere safe to stay the night as soon as possible.

  This forest was different than the elven forest. The trees seemed less…magical. I had never really seen trees like these. They looked sickly in comparison, although the deep green leaves that grew above our heads indicated they were in great health. There was also significantly less vegetation, and the tree trunks were spaced out more. I could see clearly far out from where we were, which meant we could also be seen easily too.

  My ears began twitching as I listened for any unusual sounds. It was fairly noisy with all the birds and summer insects, but I knew I should still be able to pick out the sounds of footsteps. I was surprised Eli was able to walk so quietly, even though he wasn’t paying attention. I glanced back at him briefly, trying not to seem obvious. He had turned the page over and was reading intently whatever was on the back.

  Why did he have to be so damn handsome?

  It made me even more annoyed that I’d never have what everyone else obtained so easily. Even if he was a pantherian like me, I doubted he would ever have any interest in me. He was way out of my reach in more ways than one.

  I blushed when he looked up to see me watching him from the corner of my eye. I immediately turned my head back around, feeling self-conscious. “What?” I asked, as if I had been expecting him to say something.

  He sighed. “What were you thinking about when you ‘accidentally’ used the crystal?”

  I stifled a groan, thankful I wasn’t looking at him now. Because I knew exactly what I had been thinking about, though I had been trying to avoid considering it. I wanted something lethal, like a dragon, but just before I heard the sizzling of my blood, my mind had trailed off…wishing for a friend…

  “Dragon,” I said automatically, not wanting to admit that to him. That was too vulnerable of a desire to share.

  “So, let me get this straight,” he began. “When you accidentally activated the crystal, you were already thinking about a dragon?”

  “Yes,” I said simply. “I was just in the middle of reading that first part on the page when it happened.” I glanced back at him again. “Why?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing.” He then paused before continuing with a sigh. “But, it looks like breaking this enslavement is next to impossible because of how you did it.”

  I halted in my tracks, turning to look at him. “How I did it?” I repeated in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

  He hesitated, seeming cautious. “It requires the summoner’s blood to activate…”

  “And?” I prompted when he didn’t continue. I had figured that much out on my own. But he didn’t look at me. Instead, he just stared off into space. When it didn’t appear that he was going to respond anytime soon, I carefully took a step forward and slipped the piece of parchment out of his hand.

  He let me, still looking away.

  I eyed him suspiciously, before glancing at the back side of the page. I began scanning it carefully, trying to find the spot where it talked about how to activate it…and then I found it. Blood given freely from the summoner from them cutting themselves would allow the master to break the bonds if desired with the use of another summoning crystal. However, the crystal was designed with a sort of failsafe intended on protecting the mage in the event they were in danger.

  Blood used that was extracted unwillingly, such as from a wound created by an enemy, would create an unbreakable bond only shattered by…

  Death.

  Chapter 3: Eliakim

  I gasped as I looked up at him again, suddenly feeling a renewed sense of fear. This half-dragon was bound to me for life, and the only way to break it is if one of us died.

  “We’re soulbound,” I whispered out loud in disbelief. The magicbound version of the spell could have been broken with another crystal, but not this. This was truly permanen
t, hence the name given to it according to the page.

  Eli seemed to notice my sudden uneasiness, maybe even catching my slight trembling, and sighed heavily. “I told you I can’t hurt you, remember?”

  “But you can still let me die!” I retorted. Since I hadn’t been successful in enslaving him, he didn’t have to fight for me. He could just let the elderfel kill me and then he’d be free. In my attempt to gain an ally, I had just created another enemy.

  He shrugged. “Obviously you’re more difficult to kill than you look,” he replied, gesturing to my bloodstained leg. “There’s not even a sign of the wound that blood came from.”

  I wasn’t about to tell him how I’d managed to heal that. The last thing I needed was for him to steal my potion and leave me with nothing in the event I was attacked again.

  What had I gotten myself into?!

  My mind became frantic as I tried to understand the entire scope of the situation. He couldn’t harm me, and he didn’t have to fight with me…so in reality, it wasn’t much different than if he wasn’t even here. I was basically just on my own again, which wasn’t as bad as it could be. It just sucked that I had wasted my one chance of having a pet, or partner, or whatever, to help defend myself.

  Eli’s sigh brought me out of my train of thought. “Look, I’m not going to intentionally get you killed. If we are attacked, I’ll fight too.”

  “But how can I know you’re telling the truth?” I wondered skeptically. He began walking again, passing me up. I turned to follow, waiting for an answer.

  “Well?” I asked after a minute.

  He shrugged again. “I honestly don’t know what to tell you. It’s not like I had anything better going on, so being stuck with you isn’t so bad…I guess.”

  I still felt skeptical. “What about your family? Won’t they be worried?” But Eli didn’t respond. He just kept walking in silence. My head dropped as I began to suspect why. “Sorry…” I whispered.

  I saw him glance back at me, before looking forward again. He then ducked under a low tree branch that I wouldn’t have even considered paying any attention to, before responding. “I never knew my father. And my mother…” He took a deep breath. “She became sick a few months ago with some weird disease. I brought her to the nearby human village, but they couldn’t help her.”

  I suddenly felt irrationally annoyed again, but on his behalf this time. “Couldn’t? Or wouldn’t?” I sneered.

  He stopped, almost causing me to knock into him. I quickly took a step back, uncertain about his reserved expression. “Couldn’t,” he said simply. “They didn’t know I was a pantherian.”

  I gawked at him in surprise. “But how…”

  He shook his head and began turning back around. At first, I thought he was going to ignore me, but then his wings vanished right before my eyes. I immediately reached out in shock, grasping one with my thin fingers. The leathery texture was so smooth and soft.

  “Hey!” He exclaimed. “Don’t touch them!”

  “Sorry!” I said sincerely, immediately letting go. “I just couldn’t believe they disappeared.”

  “Yeah, well they didn’t. It’s a type of illusion magic that lets me conceal myself. Or in this case, parts of myself.” He began walking again, and I immediately followed.

  “So, you can make yourself invisible then?” I wondered.

  Eli glanced back at me with a smirk, and then vanished right before my eyes. Fear gripped my chest again, afraid he was going to disappear forever. I began frantically looking around, my ears twitching as I tried to listen for him.

  Suddenly, his face was just inches away from mine, causing me to fall backwards. He instantly reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me back upright before I fell entirely. I blushed furiously, but the moment only lasted for a few seconds before he took a step back.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” He then smirked again. “Although, I have to admit the look on your face when I reappeared was priceless.”

  I couldn’t meet his gaze, so I just nodded and walked around him. I was doing my best to conceal my reaction, afraid my expression might give too much away. His brief touch had affected me in ways that I’d never want to admit out loud.

  I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head. However, his tone surprised me when he finally spoke.

  “Did I make you angry?” He wondered quietly.

  I glanced back at him, having composed myself now. “No,” I admitted. “I’m fine. It just surprised me is all.” When he looked away, I sighed and then slowed my pace so he could walk beside me. He looked down at me hesitantly before finally believing that I wasn’t angry. Granted, I had to admit I was glad that’s what he had assumed instead of the truth.

  As I began focusing more on my surroundings again, he wondered about my weapon.

  “Can I see your sword?”

  I stopped immediately and eyed him suspiciously.

  He held his hands up in defense. “I just wanted to see it up close. I assume it must be elven made, because I’ve never seen a weapon like that before.” When I didn’t stop glaring at him, he sighed. “I can’t hurt you remember?”

  “No,” I agreed. “But you could still hide it from me or something.”

  He scoffed. “I’m not going to hide it from you. If the elderfel attack again, I have no doubt they would try killing me too. I just want to take a look.”

  I pouted as I considered it, before begrudgingly sliding out my blade and handing it over. He accepted it carefully and then held it up close to his face. “Wow,” he exclaimed. “The magic used to forge this was really powerful fire magic.”

  “It was?” I asked in surprised.

  He nodded, running his fingers along the flat surface before handing it back to me. “Yeah. I can use fire magic of course – I am part dragon after all – so I can sense the remnants, although I have no idea what the lingering effects do. I assume it must have made the blade more durable, since the metal is so thin.”

  I sheathed my sword and began walking again. “Yes, supposedly it will never dull or break. Other than the note my godmother left, it’s my most precious possession.” I paused. “Really, it’s one of the few things I have that I can call mine.”

  “Oh…” I saw him look away from the corner of my eye as he hesitated. “Thank you for letting me hold it then. I didn’t realize it meant that much to you.”

  “You’re welcome,” I replied simply, trying to ignore the heated sensation I felt in my cheeks yet again. My constant blushing today was really starting to annoy me. I needed to get a hold of myself and focus on what was important – like staying alive.

  Unexpectedly, Eli’s wing shot out around me just as an arrow stopped an inch away from my shoulder, buried in the membrane of his extra appendage. He growled in pain, before shoving me to the ground roughly. I twisted around so that I was on my back and quickly reached out with my mind, binding the assailant. The creature dropped to the ground in the distance.

  Then, I heard another arrow pierce Eli’s other wing. I gasped, looking up at him urgently. “I can bind the other archer, but I won’t be able to fight if I do. It takes too much concentration.”

  He grunted in discomfort. “Do it. I’ll kill them.”

  Fear seized my heart again as I realized that this was his chance to let me die. But if I didn’t stop the archers, then we would both probably die anyway. I trembled as I closed my eyes and concentrated on the second archer. He fell to the ground immediately, but now I was trapped, feeling helpless as Eli pushed himself off me and began to fight two…no three more elderfel who were attempting to attack at close range.

  I had never felt so vulnerable in my entire life. I was literally laying in the middle of a battlefield, helpless to defend myself. Could Eli really defend me as I lay here wide open to attack?

  I quickly bound a third assailant, making my head hurt from the effort.

  Unexpectedly, my hair stood on its end as the air
became charged with an unknown energy, and flashes of light along with peals of thunder erupted all around me. I heard an elderfel hiss before a blade sliced its throat and it fell limp to the ground.

  And now I was only binding the two archers.

  I heard Eli running away from me, followed quickly by the second archer’s lifeforce fading, allowing me to open my eyes to see Eli heading back in my direction. The three closest bodies were almost charred, their fur singed and smoking. The smell threatened to make me gag.

  He paused, staring into the distance. “Are you wanting to try to get information out of the last one?” He wondered.

  I looked towards the first archer, barely seeing the glow of my ethereal chains in the distance. I got to my feet as I looked up at him. My head was beginning to pound from the concentration that had been required to bind three at the same time. “I couldn’t get any of the others to talk, so I doubt this one will be any different…” I looked around at the bodies. “What kind of magic did you use?” I wondered seriously.

  He shrugged. “Lightning magic.”

  I gawked at him. “I didn’t know dragons could use that. I thought it was a rare form only occasionally seen in humans. Even the elves have never been known to use it.” He crossed his arms and looked at me as if I was missing something obvious. “Oh!” I exclaimed as it hit me. “Your mother was a mage?”

  He nodded, speaking as he began to snap the arrows in his wings and pull them out. “Yes. I’m sure you know that just because someone can use magic doesn’t mean their children will be able to, but I ended up with the ability to use both fire and electric-based magic. My illusion magic is a form of dark magic – that comes from my mother too. Both my biological parents were strongly touched by it.”

  I just stared at him in awe. He could use three types of magic, which almost seemed impossible. Even some of the best elves could use two at most – and that by itself was exceptionally rare. Magic was a uniform energy, but it would manifest differently depending on the user. For a person to be able to manifest that homogeneous energy in two different ways was unique – and three…that was just unheard of.