The Changeling Princess

by Jackie Shirley

  “How did you break your wing?”

  “I was playing tag and I ran into the side of a mountain. I was carless. I do not deserve to play with the other children.

  “That’s a sad story, but I may be able to help. Let’s talk to your father because I have something I want to ask him.”

  Kazanza and his mate were watching the children playing dragon games. Like all parents, they enjoyed the sight of children having fun.

  “If you will permit me, Great Kazanza, I would like to repair your daughter’s wing.”

  “You have such power?”

  “Yes, I can heal the sick and fix broken bones. I obtained this power by drawing the life force from the crystals I seized. With your permission, I can make your daughter’s wing as good as new.”

  Kazanza hesitated. “Please father, please let the Changeling Princess try. I would love to fly again.”

  Kazanza hesitated, so his mate spoke up. “Don’t be so stubborn, Kazanza. A dragon that cannot fly is like a fish that cannot swim.”

  “Make it happen,” Kazanza bellowed.

  I concentrated my energy beam on Vita’s broken wing. I released the healing power of the crystal and watched as the broken wing mended itself before our eyes. Vita flapped her wings up and down and then soared high into the sky. I sensed that Kazanza was all choked up at the sight of his daughter flying again. His mate remained motionless, but I saw a tear running down her cheek. No one will ever be able to tell me that dragons don’t cry.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” said Vita when she returned to the ground. She was flapping all over the place, showing off her new wing.

  I looked at Wade who looked a little teary eyed. “That was really touching,” he said. “Having super powers sure does have its benefits.”

  CHAPTER 68

  We were invited to eat with a Ren family that lived on the island. The food looked extremely appetizing. We were served beef ribs, fish and a variety of fruits and vegetables

  “Are you servants to the dragons?” I asked the Ren.

  “No, Ren and dragon good friend. We are peaceful together, go back many years. This island have good soil for growing. We share crops. Everyone benefit.”

  “Does that include the cattle?” asked Wade.

  “Share cattle, too. Dragon provide fish.”

  “I’ve never met a Ren who likes fish,” I said.

  “That strange. Fish tasty food.”

  “Why don’t the Ren catch their own fish?” I asked

  “Ren bad fisherman, no like water. Ren cannot swim.”

  What I had just heard was really weird. The Rens were island people, but they couldn’t swim and they were lousy fisherman. They were just the opposite of island people on Earth.

  We ate until we were stuffed. We felt like stretching our legs, so we went for a walk around the island. I was surprised when Vita landed in front of us. “Hello, Vita,” I said. “How are you this evening?”

  “I am fine. My father asked me to tell you that he wishes to meet with you tomorrow morning when the Sun comes up. He wishes to discuss strategy.”

  “Wade and I will be happy to meet with your father. How does it feel to be able to fly again?”

  “Wonderful. My friend, Boco returned from the Kingdom of the Dragon Fliers and we went flying together.”

  “How is it that your friend was able to return home,” asked Wade.

  “Boco outsmarted the King and his brothers. When they tried to catch him, he flew in front of a powerful windstorm and got away. Boco is very clever.”

  I looked at Wade, trying to conceal my grin from Vita. It was obvious that Boco was the little dragon that escaped when Wade conjured up the windstorm. I wasn’t going to say anything to Vita. Boco was her hero and everyone needs a hero.

  We settled in for the night and constructed a force field. We were in friendly territory, but it wasn’t safe to let your guard down. I remembered the slogan in Girl Scouts. Be Prepared.

  We were up early the next morning. We flew to the royal chambers to find Kazanza waiting for us. We showed our respect by bowing.

  “We are here to discuss strategy,” I said.

  “That is good. What can you tell us about the daily habits of the Demons that guard the Kingdom?”

  “The Demons have regular patrols that cover the entire city. They travel in groups of two to four, depending on the area they’re covering. When the Demons are practicing their warrior skill in the arena area, they can number up to five hundred. The Demons are organized and well disciplined, but they have a fatal weakness.”

  “And what is that?” Kazanza asked.

  Wade replied. “The power granted to the Demons by the crystals eventually fades away. To insure the strength of his army, the King holds a rejuvenation ceremony once every ninety days. If we attack the day before the rejuvenation ceremony, the Demons will be in their weakest state.”

  Kazanza leaned forward. “I am not familiar with the term “day.”

  I suddenly remembered that the Rens used the term “go around” instead of day. “Does the term ‘go around’ mean anything to you?”

  “The Rens use this term. When the Sun returns to the same place in the sky, we call that a rotation.”

  “Let me repeat what I said before. If we attack one rotation before the rejuvenation ceremony, the Demons will be in their weakest state.”

  Again, Kazanza’s roar sounded almost like laughter. “That is a clever strategy coming from someone so young. I am impressed.”

  “How do you think the dragons will react when they’re freed from the grip of the King’s power?”

  “That depends,” said Kazanza. “If their masters mistreated them, they will respond with violence. They hate Demons, so I suspect many of them will go on the attack. There are four Demon dragons that are subservient to the King and his brothers. They will have to be destroyed.”

  “Maybe not,” said Wade. “Janis has the power to reverse the power of the crystals. It’s possible that she can return the four dragons to normal. I think she should at least give it a try.”

  Kazanza pondered. “I agree. Now we will prepare for battle. You and Wade will be our guests until the time arrives. Today is the gathering of the fish. You may fish with us if you so desire.”

  “We would be honored, but I have a suggestion.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “As you have seen with your daughter, I have the power of healing. There must be many dragons on this island with wounds that need to be tended to. I offer you my services in the sprite of friendship.

  “That is most gracious. I accept your generosity.”

  * * *

  Wade and I were taken to the west side of the island by Kazanza. We saw a large lagoon that stretched a good mile and a half inland, opening up to a width of almost a mile at its widest point. The water was four to six foot deep, blue in color and crystal clear. It was a beautiful lagoon.

  The next thing that caught my eye was a bamboo fence that stretched all the way across the mouth of the lagoon. Standing beside the fence in the shallow water was a line of Rens. The fence was raises and another group of Rens herded a school of small fish out into the ocean.

  “We return the small fish to the ocean to grow larger,” said Kazanza.

  “How do you herd the larger fish into the lagoon?” asked Wade

  “We fly far out, dive into the water and form a dragon net to herd the fish. When the lagoon is full of fish, the Rens close the fence. We share the fish with the Rens.”

  After Kazanza left, Wade was standing there looking baffled. “This is mind boggling,” he said. “I’m really impressed that the dragons are so intelligent. So, are we going to go fishing with them?”

  “You bet, but we’ll just be spectators. Are you going to morph into a Mist when we go into the water?”

  “Not this time. I’m not afraid of the water anymore.”

  We learned that the dragons had scouts patrolling the ocean for
fish. A large school of tuna had been reported heading this way, so today was fishing day.

  Wade and I watched as more than one hundred dragons spaced themselves out evenly over the water. When the signal was given, we dove into the water with the dragons. We watched as the dragons formed a huge net, herding the fish toward the lagoon as a slow, but constant pace. When we neared the mouth of the lagoon, Wade and I flew out of the water to watch the fish being herded to their new home. It was a spectacular sight.

  As the dragons moved forward, the fish were herded farther and farther into the lagoon. When the dragons reached the mouth of the lagoon, the Rens hurried to place the fence in place. The entire lagoon was now filled with splashing fish.

  From what I could tell, the fish were similar to Longtail Tuna. Most of them were about three feet in length and weighted fifty to sixty pounds. The weight of the entire catch was too enormous to calculate. It took a lot of fish to feed an entire island of dragons.

  The Rens from the two surrounding islands had paddled their boats to the mouth of the lagoon. After their boats were filled with fish, the Rens returned to their islands.

  “It’s really nice to see such a close relationship between the Rens and the dragons,” said Wade.

  “I nodded my head. “It gives you hope that all of God’s creatures could someday live in peace.”

  We found out later that the dragons depended on the Rens to raise the beef cattle. Unlike the stories I’d read about dragons living on a meat diet, the dragons of Kazanza Island only ate meat for dessert.

  I spent the next couple of days healing the injured dragons. The rejuvenation spell, combined with the healing power of the crystals, gave me an extremely powerful healing tool.

  The dragons suffered from everything from broken bones to missing teeth. I was delighted to discover that I could cure arthritis. A lot of the older dragons began playing tag again to relive their childhood. I couldn’t see a lot of difference between dragons and people, but I guess it’s common for humans to fear anything that’s different or anything they don’t understand.

  The remainder of our time was spent having fun. We enjoyed playing games with the youngsters, so Wade and I would morph into dragons and play tag. Wade wouldn’t admit it, but he was just as much of a kid as any of the young dragons. When play time was over, he just hated to quit. I always knew that Wade was just a little boy at heart. I think that’s why he was so special to me.

  CHAPTER 69

  The day of the attack against King Tabia had finally arrived. Kazanza had picked two hundred of his finest warriors. Now it was now up to Wade to invoke the cloaking spell to hide their scent. Turning the dragons into invisible Mists would be the final touch.

  I had the dragons’ line up in two separate lines of one hundred each. Wade and I took our positions at the front of each line.

  “Relax and keep a firm grip on the dragon in front of you,” I shouted out. “Wade and I will do the flying and all you have to do is retain your grip. When we reach the Kingdom of the Dragon Riders, you will turn visible and you’ll have to maintain your position above the city. If fighting breaks out below you, you will take your orders from Kazanza. With a little luck, your friends and family will soon return to Kazanza Island. The rein of the evil brothers will become nothing more than a bad memory.”

  I grasped the first dragon in line and Wade did the same. We morphed into Mists and then turned invisible. The dragons that had gathered to watch our departure looked astonished.

  We lifted off the ground and headed toward the Kingdom of the Dragons Riders. We had it timed to arrive at exactly fifteen minutes before the King and his brothers began their rejuvenation process. I hoped we had it timed perfectly.

  I kept looking behind me to make sure everyone was still invisible. I couldn’t see anyone, so that told me everyone was still following my instructions. Hopefully, everything would continue moving smoothly for the rest of the trip.

  * * *

  We slowed down when we reached land and circled over the city. Our timing was perfect, so we released our hold on the dragons. The dragons turned visible, spreading out and positioning themselves over the city. Wade and I quickly flew toward the castle

  The brothers were about to join hands when we entered the royal room. The instant we morphed to our human form, the four brothers morphed into skeleton creatures. We opened fire with our energy bolts, but all we accomplished was knocking them off balance. I didn’t know what substance the skeletons were made of, but it was stronger than a diamond. I was positive the skeletons had been created from the power of the crystals.

  “I know you,” said the King. “You’re the Ivarr we encountered at the opening of the Portal of Darkness. You have sealed your doom because you’re in our domain now.”

  I retaliated by turning my energy beam into a laser, severing the chains of the crystals around each of the skeleton’s necks. Before they knew what was happing to them, Wade used his power of telekinesis to wrap a force field around all four brothers. I strengthen Wade’s force field by adding my own force field. “Let’s triple our height,” I said. “We’re going to need all the power we can muster to tighten this force field.”

  After we increased our height, we put our minds together and began tightening the force field around the four brothers. We made the force field smaller and smaller, slowly crushing the brothers like tin cans in a trash compactor. As we continued squeezing, the cracking of their bones sounded like glass being smashed. When we were finished, all that remained of the four brothers was crushed bones.

  “Wow!” said Wade. “What a way to go.”

  “It’s still better than they deserve. I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to crush their skeletal bodies.”

  “It just goes to show how powerful we are when we combine our powers. I don’t think the brothers are ever coming back.”

  “I agree, but let’s play it safe and add a couple of more layers.”

  We gathered up the crystals and then flew outside to see a full-fledged war between the Demons and the dragons. Kazanza’s dragons were flying in formation, backing up the local dragons with fireballs of tremendous power. We flew to the rear of the Demons and began firing energy bolts at will.

  The Demons looked confused. They realized their King was dead and their strength was at an all-time low. Demons are basically cowards, so they dropped their swords and raised their hand over their heads. Kazanza spoke to his fellow dragons.

  “The fight is over my brothers. The King and his brothers are dead and we can all return to our island. We will once again live in peace.”

  The dragons began heading back to Kazanza Island. Kazanza remained behind to speak to us. “There are at least a thousand demons remaining, what do you suggest we do with them?” asked Kazanza.

  “Let’s round them up and put them in the arena.” I said. “I have an idea.”

  * * *

  I stood before the Demons in the arena and summoned my energy beam; focusing all the power of the crystals I’d absorbed. I covered the entire arena with a bright green light and reversed the power, drawing out the evil from the Demons.

  The Demon’s grotesque features slowly disappeared and they began shirking in size. What remained was confused looking Rens, who looked like they’d just awakened from a bad dream.

  “Most of these Rens were criminals,” said Wade. “The city will have to figure out what to do with them.”

  “That’s true. They’re the city’s responsibility now.”

  Kazanza spoke. “You and your companion have done well, Changeling Princess. We are in your debt.”

  “Those are kind words, but we wouldn’t have been successful without your help. I think we should check on the four Demon dragons that are caged in the meadow.”

  * * *

  We arrived at the meadow and approached the four Demon dragons. They were in a frenzy, bellowing smoke and roaring at the top of their lungs. I stood back and bathed all four dragons in the green
light from my energy beam. The dragons quieted down and became relaxed. After several minutes, we opened the cage doors and watched as the dragons slowly emerged and stood before Kazanza.

  “All four of you have broken the sacred laws of our island,” said Kazanza. “However, it is my judgment that it was not your fault. You were overpowered by the crystals that magnified the evil that dwells deep within all dragons. You will not be punished and you will return with me to the island. Come my brothers, it is time to return home.

  “One moment, Kazanza,” I said. “I have one last thing to do.” I walked up to each dragon and used my energy beam to heal the scars on his neck. When I was finished the dragon’s necks were completely healed and the memory of the electrically charged whips would eventually fade away.

  “The Changeling Princess and her companion will not be forgotten,” said Kazanza. “You are a force for good and you will always be welcome at Kazanza Island.”

  Wade and I watched as the sky became filled with dragons, flying higher and higher into the sky. “I’m never going to forget the sight of those dragons flying into the sunset,” said Wade. “Gosh, I think I’m going to cry.”

  “Don’t you dare, you’ll have me crying too.

  “So what do we do next, Janis?”

  “I’m going to drain the four crystals and then we can dispose of the brothers. On second thought, let’s get rid of the brothers tomorrow. I’d like to get a get a good night’s sleep.”

  “Why don’t we sleep in the King’s quarters? I’ve always wanted to sleep in a triple king sized bed with silk covers.”

  “Okay, Wade, I’ll go along with that. Just remember to stay on your side of the bed.”

  “How could you even imagine that I’d try to take advantage of you?” Of course if you pull your Queen Neela trick, all bets are off.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. That’s not going to happen.”

  When we retired for the evening, I morphed back to Janis French and Wade kissed me goodnight. When Wade moved to his side of the bed, it took all of my will power to keep from throwing my arms around him. I took several deep breaths until my emotions were under control. I loved Wade, but this wasn’t the right time or the right place for a love affair.