“What the fuck is this?” I snapped at the warlock who kneeled, observing me with one eye. The commotion drew the attention of the other Dragon Soldiers, but none of them moved.
“ROX,” the voice boomed again. “Explain this.”
My head whirled, frantically searching for the owner of the voice. He was nowhere to be seen. Was this the fabled demi-dragon? My eyes had found nothing, so I concentrated on the source of the pressure. It came from the middle of the yard, near Rust. I stood up, struggling against the unknown force.
“We apprehended these local wildings while chasing the shadow hydra hybrid, demi-dragon. The red-haired and her two friends seem to be supernaturals, while the rest of them are ordinary humans.” That made me laugh. In the evening light, the color of Rust’s hair almost matched mine.
“On your knees,” the warlock hissed to me.
“Get lost,” I hissed back as I managed to get a foothold. The two dragon soldiers, who had gotten hit by my fireballs, were slowly returning to their wits. What were these people made of? That fire wasn’t something to shrug off. Even Simona has respected its power, despite being temporarily stronger than me. If I wanted to, my fireball was more than enough to knock out a group of bandits from a distance. Here I’d hit these two right in their faces and they were almost up! It looked like I’d made a mistake of underestimating them. Shit. Rust’s assessment should have been enough, but I couldn’t stop myself. One thing I couldn’t stand more than anything else in the world was when someone threatened my friends. I mean, seriously threatened. Not like these local bandits who stood no chances against us. We’ve treated these skirmishes with locals as a sort of sport or training. The Wastelands had its share of big shots. Warlords, for example. Scary dudes who picked fights with the Dragon Corps and the Darkside alike. But no warlord lived this close to Great York City. Now, I understood why. Because a band of assholes in shiny armors could appear any time and spout bullshit about the Light and the Darkness and what not.
I realized that the lieutenant stopped speaking. I turned my head to the source of the pressure and found there a half-naked man. Oh my god, this can’t be real.
Chapter 3
I wanted to throw profanities at the man that has stolen everyone’s attention. He stood tall and shirtless. His godly sculpted body steamed. My mouth salivated at the sight of his chiseled muscles. His amber eyes fell on me and a wave of power crashed against my will. The lieutenant’s aura seemed now like a joke in comparison to this monster of a man.
“Who are you?” I asked, paying little attention to Simona’s growls and the Dragon Soldiers’ hisses.
“I’m a god!” the shirtless man answered, raising his hands and laughing.
The power that has been coming from him now increased the pressure even more. Still, I had a serious doubt that he was what he’s claimed to be. I straightened despite the mighty push of his aura.
“Don’t be suicidal, girl,” the warlock warned from behind. He, too, began rising. I looked at Simona, she lay sprawled on the ground with shock etched on her face. She didn’t expect me to be this strong. My satisfaction quickly turned into anger.
“Mr. God, can you ease off a little? You’re hurting my friends.” I planted my hands on my waist as I faced the so-called god.
The demi-dragon’s arms dropped, and he grinned. The pressure suddenly vanished, and everyone gasped. The lieutenant sprung back to his feet and has lunged for me. The shirtless demi-dragon appeared next to me faster than his lieutenant and threw him away. Lieutenant Rox crashed against the already half-destroyed house, destroying it completely.
My eyes widened at the sight. He killed his own soldier!
“A good lieutenant but overzealous,” the demi-dragon exclaimed amused. “Warlock, what is she? How the fuck she can resist my power?”
The warlock hurried to his side, then extended his staff toward me as if trying to smash my head, but I ducked and planted my foot against his knee. A crunching, painful sound came out of his leg. The warlock screamed, while his superior laughed.
“She’s a fierce one. I like that. My blood boils.”
“Good, I’m fired up, already.”
Flames came up, covering my entire body. I was ready to strike the bastard down.
“Flare, stop it!” Simona’s shout gave me a pause. I looked back at her. She was serious.
“Flare? I like your name!”
“I’m Dramer.”
Every soldier gaped. What was weird about introducing to each other? Were they so backward with good manners that it evoked such a shocked reaction?
“So, Dramer, are we good to go? I appreciate your concern, but we have a business to finish.”
Simona threw herself at me. The bastard demi-dragon must have distracted me because I didn’t see her coming.
“Please, forgive her, she’s mentally impaired.”
“Demi-dragon Dramer…” the warlock mumbled as he applied some bright green liquid onto his knee. He looked pale, though he got the pain under control. “This is unprecedented.”
“They’re the spawns of the Darkness!” Lieutenant Rox yelled, while some Dragon Soldiers were digging him out of the heap of rubbles.
“Fuck off, everyone,” I snapped. “I’m not mentally impaired, Simona. And I won’t let any asshole threaten my friends.” I got back to my feet.
Simona’s jaws snapped, then opened, but no sound came out. The warlock paled further. The Dragon Soldiers froze. Rust tensed. Something was up. Did I say something I shouldn’t?
“Finish checking that orange kid with a dragon compass,” the demi-dragon said, meaning Rust. His amusement was gone. “Then check the shapeshifter. I’ll check red-haired Flare myself. I don’t need a dragon compass to know if someone have the Darkness within them.”
I shivered. Simona’s hand fell on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. I appreciated the gesture, but we should get ready to cut through this party would their stupid device show more Darkness than they could stomach. I didn’t give a fuck if my friends had sixty or more percent of that shit in them. Abandoning them seemed incomprehensible.
“This one is fifty,” one of the soldiers exclaimed. Rust didn’t say anything. He simply stood, watching the soldier taking the device away and heading toward Simona.
“Interesting,” the warlock murmured, the grimace of pain gone from his face. Whatever the damage my kick had inflicted, it was healed now. “Perfect balance. That is rare.”
I moved to intercept the soldier with a dragon compass, but Simona halted me.
“Please, Flare. Let me do it.”
I feared for her life. She was like my older sister. I couldn’t let them kill her. My body tensed up like a bowstring when the soldier with the dragon compass approached us.
“Move aside,” the soldier commanded. If not for Simona’s quick reaction, I would punch the asshole in the face. I didn’t care a hoot for his fancy helmet. Simona pulled me back, exposing herself to the soldier. The tip of the compass touched her solar plexus and the air around me grew hot. I didn’t even realize that the heat has come out of me. I was so focused on getting us alive from here that I forgot about my temper.
“Forty-two,” the soldier exclaimed with a relief, which I shared.
“That one walks in the Light!” Lieutenant Rox yelled with delight.
“Impressive,” the warlock added, fascinated by the result. “Living here, outside the protection of the Holy Seal and stay in the Light. That takes true strength of will. We should take this one with us, sir.”
The demi-dragon didn’t react to the measurement or his officers’ words. He stood, watching me. His attention was all on me. What was wrong with this dude? If he fancied me then he would better change his manners because, at the moment, all I wanted was to give him a proper kick in the balls. I found him handsome, true, but the appearance wasn’t everything.
Dramer took the device from his soldier and advanced on me. I stepped back, my inner self-defense mechanisms alr
eady kicking into motion. I still got one ace up my sleeve. Unfortunately, Simona stood too close to me to pull this one off.
Dramer extended his hand with the device so it touched the same spot as with others. Hadn’t he said that he didn’t need the dragon compass to measure me? I didn’t like his change of mind. He looked down on the result and frowned.
“Soldier, what’s wrong with this?”
The same soldier, who had measured Rust and Simona, checked the device and shook his head.
“It doesn’t work.”
The warlock strolled to them and glanced at the result. My instinct whispered a warning. It is going to have a bloody ending. My hair stood up on end. There have been days as this one when my imagination has created an illusion of premonition. I was not a psychic of any sort to be able to tell the future. My power was fire.
“It had never malfunctioned before,” the warlock murmured. “We should take them to Great York City and put through tests.”
“Like hell, you will,” I jumped back, preparing up another fire attack. Flames awakened between my fingers.
“No use,” the warlock said coolly as he extinguished my powers once more.
“This one belongs to the Darkness!” Lieutenant Rox shouted heatedly. “We must execute this Darksider. She stinks of…”
His words faded away as something powerful invaded my mind. I didn’t know that such a thing was possible. The source of the power came from the demi-dragon, this self-styled god.
What are you? His voice asked in my mind.
Get out of my head! I snarled at him. I didn’t invite you here.
I don’t need your invitation. I do whatever I want. Now, open your soul. I must see what is there.
His demand resonated within me, but the fact that he couldn’t see what he had wanted, meant he wasn’t omnipotent. He wasn’t a god. He was only a demi-dragon, therefore he could be beaten. Or so I believed.
When his demand met with silence, Dramer decided to use force to tear through my mental defenses. Something snapped inside me and a gust of an unknown power shoved him out of my head.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” he bellowed, sending everyone—except me—to their knees. Maybe a few minutes back, I would awe at the display of his might, but whatever had kicked him out of my mind, has given me a boost of confidence.
“We must run,” I shouted to Simona, but she didn’t reply. I turned around and found her body sprawled on the ground. She was unconscious.
“Bastard,” I growled. “What did you do to her?”
Our eyes locked on each other. His resembled liquid amber, mine looked like two emeralds, or so Simona had described them to me. The air stirred with anticipation, thick and tense. If I had a soul, I would say it was touched. Not by this brute Dramer, not by him, no. But whatever it was, it came from him. Something awakened between my legs. Heat, unlike anything I have experienced, spread all over my thighs and abdomen. My heart missed a beat and my head suddenly felt dizzy. I didn’t remember my body to ever react this way to anyone. His amber eyes threatened to pull me in and I found his lips too attractive for my own good. Was this one of the dark arts? Compulsion, perhaps? I had never before wanted to taste anyone like this and now my mind couldn’t steer off this course where I … and he. Stop this, stupid. He’s using magic on you. Resist him. Deny him. Fight!
Dramer steamed all over his body but the true ignition point was the mysterious bulge in his crotch that caused me to blush furiously. I knew men’s anatomy and it didn’t help a thing! I couldn’t deny such a gorgeous man. My mind has gone haywire and I stumbled back, tearing my eyes from him.
The demi-dragon stepped back, shaking off his confusion. Was this really his spell? He didn’t look as if he was in control.
“Now, this was strange,” he said. A grin returned to his face. It suited him. “I am taking you to the Dragon Academy.”
The lieutenant and the warlock were the first to regain consciousness after Dramer’s temper had exploded.
“What happened, sir?”
“Hell, if I know,” the demi-dragon replied carelessly. “But I’m intrigued. I’d never met an elemental that could fend off my mental incursion.”
“Impossible,” the warlock exclaimed. “You were trained by the demi-unicorns. Even they found your metal aptitude admirable, sir.”
“I know, warlock.”
Unicorns? It was turning ugly. Dragons, unicorns, elementals; all these creatures possessed nasty powers but—luckily—they were rare in the Wastelands. On the other hand, Great York City was full of them and the fabled Dragon Academy was said to be their nest. I didn’t want anything to do with them. Okay, I need a way out of this. I must try a different approach. It seems we can’t overpower them.
“Look, guys. I think you got it all wrong. I’m no one. My friends and I are law-abiding citizens of the Wastelands. It would be best for everyone involved to split here.”
“Nonsense,” the demi-dragon said. “We have to figure out what are you.”
“I’m Flare, a twenty-year-old girl who wields fire.”
“And counters a demi-dragon’s mental assault?” the warlock snorted. “Sir, I’ll take the liberty of conjuring a portal to the Section A-1 battle station. From there we can take helicopters to the city.”
“Go ahead.”
“Wait a minute. Didn’t you hear what I said?”
The lieutenant took off his helmet, his eyes drilled me with hatred, then he rushed away, urging his soldiers to take a grip. It looked like the demi-dragon’s power didn’t choose between enemies and friends. It hit everyone. Why did it leave me intact? It was a bad sign. I didn’t need a spotlight.
Simona climbed to her feet.
“What’s going on?”
“I have no idea, but they want to take us to the Dragon Academy.”
I expected some sort of support from her, but Simona only gasped in delighted shock. Come to think of it, she confided her dream of joining the Dragon Academy to me. It didn’t fit her. Simona was one with nature. She loved freedom, didn’t she?
“Really?” she asked with a note of naivety in her voice. A responsible older sister, huh?
“Get a grip, Simona. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“I would give it a go,” spoke a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time. Rust approached us with two Dragon Soldiers, flanking him. Bandits were already chased away from the yard. They had no use for the forces of the Light, it seemed.
“Rust, don’t be naïve,” I said.
But I lost the argument. Not in any obvious way. As I thought of an escape plan, I noticed that Simona looked happy. Even Rust decided to break his habit of quietness and spoke up. Maybe it was the time to cool down and go with the current not against it? Rust and Simona wanted it. Why then all my instincts told me to run away?
The Blood of Dragons
TRY THIS: The Last Year – The Dark Fae Academy
Chapter 1 – Orphanage
The orphanage on the outskirts of Pearl village drowned in darkness as I sneaked out of the hall. Not a single soul stirred when my shoeless feet slapped the cold, wooden floor. Even during a day, this place was bathed in shadows and silence. The good sisters punished without mercy. They didn’t accept idle conversations or misuse of light.
Most orphans avoided the spotlight, tending their own business or duties. To me they lived like ghosts, such quietude encompassed them.
I moved through the corridor, my fingers tracing bruises on the old, cracked wall. The good sisters mentioned that some penitent pirate had built the orphanage almost two hundred years ago. I’ve never believed them. What would a pirate look for around here? Pearl village lay over a hundred miles from the sea. The good sisters were creepy, had eyes that saw too much and ears so tiny they were barely visible.
The summer brought nothing but rain this year and so I was cold most of the time. Orphans were issued a single set of clothes once a year. Shoes were harder to come by. We were responsible for tending our clothes
and keeping them safe. If I lost mine, I’d be in big trouble.
Some moonlight filtered through the stained window in a double door, which without a doubt was locked. This door has always been locked. The good sisters didn’t see why should we leave. We had classrooms, playgrounds, gardens, and woods all in one place. It didn’t matter we couldn’t visit most of these places without the supervision of a good sister, and they rarely had time to go.
I stopped by the room occupied by the good sister Maria. She was a strict and harsh woman who was quick with punishment. Other orphans avoided this one if they could. Loud wheezing told me that the old woman slept. Somewhere in her pockets were keys to the main door. Obviously, I’d not try to steal it. I’d once tried and ended up tied up to the pole outside for three days. The good sisters didn’t joke about when it came to punishing orphans. They had no opposing force in the place where visitors were forbidden except for the magistrate who oversaw the orphanage. She’s visited twice a year and these days were known as the holidays. Orphans were supposed to wear their best clothes, be bathed, and behave.
I haven’t seen the magistrate woman for a year now. No way I missed her visit. Something must have happened…
The wheezing snapped suddenly and I caught my breath. If the good sister Maria decided to leave the room through the corridor, I’d be in massive trouble. The freaking moonlight was too much for the shadow to hide me. I’d be caught and kicked out into the yard to spend there at least a week. I couldn’t afford that. Bread and dried fruits were harder to get and often reserved for the best behaving orphans—in other words, those who inform on others—and I was at the bottom of their list.
Freezing my muscles, I lowered myself onto the cold floor. I prayed for the good sister to stay in her comfortable armchair. It was getting difficult to not shiver. The chilling air came from the top floors where the good sisters have kept the barred windows open. It didn’t help that my shirt was thin and torn in many places, my pants were even in worse condition. When it came to hand out the clothes, I’ve been often forgotten by the good sisters. These weren’t my clothes. I got them from James who has left the orphanage for good the last year.
Bewitched: A Paranormal Academy Romance Page 17
