My shadow self wavered when stabbing pain hit my stomach. It was so strong that I spontaneously shifted. I fell over twenty feet in human form before I managed to shift to my dragon. I had graduated to about the size of a dog, so in other words, I was still small. One day I’d be full-sized, I hoped.
My wings caught a thermal swirling between the old dilapidated buildings and I rose with it. Traveling in either of these two forms was exhilarating. I loved the freedom these alternate forms afforded me.
I would rather die by my own hand, than forfeit this feeling. I would never tolerate the confinement of an asylum again, especially after tasting and knowing such freedom.
I loved the sensation of air flowing across my dragon scales. Individually my scales weren’t much to look at per se, but their coloring was unique, I’d been told. They were variegated with a blend of Phoenix-red, Dragon-blue and pearlescent.
In addition to the beauty they presented, they collected and collated information. They sensed and perceived various stimuli and sent the perceptions to me for analysis, behaving somewhat like a computer.
I could tell by the resonance of the mother-daughter beacon and the oppressive feeling of the warehouse I approached that I was where I needed to be. The dark magic implemented by Hulbetto would deter normals from venturing too close to his building or any attempts to breach the doors to his inner sanctum.
I shifted back to shadow to be less detectable. Though I doubted I’d be able to sneak up on Hulbetto, but I was going to try. Once inside the building I followed the trail straight to them.
It felt like I had travelled back hundreds of years with the way the interior of this enormous room had been renovated. The floor was covered in soil and I would bet it had been flown in from Scotland.
Druids had a close connection with the earth, but drampires had turned their backs to these earthly ways. I was surprised Hulbetto would carry on with this tradition. There was power in the ancient soil and it was sure to be infused with dark magic. I was leery of stepping on it.
I wanted to learn all that I could about my drampire enemy and absorbed all that the others had told me. Cipriano and Ian had the most experience and knowledge about them, but the drampires had touched all our lives.
My glyph was connected to the drampires via Hanley’s druid blood and I hoped it would help me to save more dragon brethren. I needed every advantage that I could find to defeat them, especially the older, more powerful ones like Hulbetto.
Where was he hiding?
At the center of an immense room was a large rock that looked like a flat cairn, again from Scotland. It reminded me of the standing stones in England—though on a much smaller scale. The rock was discolored and deeply stained with the blood of my ancestors, a testament to the atrocities my dragon brethren had suffered.
I could feel the echo of the pain and suffering—both ancient and current—as mother and daughter lay immobilized on the rock. I could no longer feel the mother and realized that I was yet again too late. The stabbing pain that had caused me to spontaneously shift, had been her killing blow.
Hulbetto wasn’t there, or not that I could detect, so I floated towards the rock in the middle of the room.
The mother was littered with more glyphs than I had ever seen and she’d been brutally eviscerated. The rock bore yet another dragon death.
Her daughter had several glyphs carved into her delicate skin and each was glowing green with dark magic. She was young, younger than I had been—maybe five. It was hard to tell. She wasn’t speaking and her gaze was fixed and staring up at the ceiling. I rushed to her side.
She was dead.
Chapter 16
I grabbed the little girl and pulled her into my arms—dropping to my knees.
I was an utter failure as a soul seeker. Would I ever be in time?
I wanted to die with her in this moment. I wanted to escape the never-ending struggle. The constant strife and misery. I wanted to make a difference and find the souls that were suffering and deliver them from hell.
I didn’t want to destroy what was left of them with my dragon fire!
My efforts were worthless, I was worthless!
Despair gripped my heart in a brutal vise. I could feel what little hope I had accumulated exsanguinate from my dying soul—one painful drop at a time. Just like the mother behind me, we had both tried and failed to protect her daughter.
Tears slid freely down my face, something I hadn’t allowed in years. I wept for all the lost. I wept for this little girl and all that she would miss.
I wept for her dreams—never to be realized.
I pulled her limp body tighter against my chest and screamed as loud as I could, “Why!” Not caring who heard my rare outburst.
“Why?” I sobbed softly, my eyes shut tight. Tears escaping to anoint her neck.
“I’m so sorry little one…” I whispered, my voice raspy and small, “so sorry.”
With my eyes shut, I didn’t see that my aura had surrounded her in the white light of healing. She was alive and I didn’t realize it until I heard her weakly within my mind.
My eyes widened and I looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed, but I saw a lone tear slide out. Her curly auburn hair was wound around my arms, as if seeking life.
Gently, I placed my ear to her chest and heard her heart stuttering—just as mine had been when Cipriano found me in the dungeon.
I didn’t think, I just reacted and gathered my dragon essence and prepared it for her.
“Drink, little one,” I frantically implored, “drink of my essence and be Renascent!” I rasped into her ear.
Whether she understood or not, I don’t know, but thankfully she accepted my offering—a necessary component. I gave her my dragon essence without reserve and I felt the shift. I was weakening, but I didn’t care.
She was growing stronger and would live. That was all that mattered. I would forfeit my life for hers and happily.
I finally got it right! I saved a life, but that thought was tempered by the fact that I had lost one too.
I could see that my essence was reviving her and because I had the ability to heal as well, her injuries were disappearing. Her color improved to the healthy glow of youth.
She opened her solemn amber eyes to look up at me and the rush of maternal feelings I had for this young girl were unexpected. I would die to protect her, just as her mother had.
I arched my back as I was hit with a burning pain that sliced across my back from left to right in a ripping arc that felt like fire.
Chapter 17
“I see you made it in time, well…” Hulbetto said, trailing off with the unsaid implication hanging in the air between us.
He had taken me unawares. Where were all those wonderful dragon senses when I had needed them?
I shook my head. I still had a lot to learn. I projected with my mind to Cipriano exactly where I was and added an apology and to hurry.
I saw Hulbetto’s glowing green eyes and smug evil face for the first time, from where I curled my aching body around the little girl in my arms. I would protect and shield her with my body.
He had his hands resting on the hilt of a sword. It was resting on its point in front of him like a staff. Blood—my blood dripped from the blade to soak into the soil at his feet.
I refused to answer him or cry out in pain, even though the pain was excruciating. Staying curled around the girl, I took slow deep breaths and pushed the pain aside—easier thought than realized.
“Pray forgive me, My Lady,” a voice whispered apologetically though my mind. His words weighted heavily in grief and remorse, “I cannot control his strikes, no matter my wishes.”
I tried to focus on the words, but it was difficult through the haze of pain.
Focus, Charani. Focus!
“Tell my brother to break the sword and destroy me! I can no longer endure the blood of our race upon my hands and staining my soul.”
“Aiden?”
�
��Aye, My Lady. Tell him…”
He faded away and said no more. I was left with a lingering sense of desolation, but before that feeling could disappear, I snatched a remnant of it, tethering it to my soul for safe keeping—if I survived.
I’d only had brief glimpses of Hulbetto through the eyes of his victims, so I hadn’t known what to expect. And like most things in life, the more time you had to think upon the problem, the larger it seemed.
I expected to find someone larger-than-life, not diminutive in height. However, the evil emanating from him, coupled with his muddy, yet magic-enriched aura made him seem larger.
The hate I felt for this man—this drampire—eclipsed all other emotions in this moment, until I was consumed by it and channeled that hate to alleviate the debilitating pain. I placed the girl behind me, but away from where her mother was and turned to face Hulbetto.
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he had scored a debilitating hit and stared straight into his soul-less eyes. I stood unflinching—no small feat—as I could feel the burning laceration pull and gap open with my movements and blood gushed out to pour over my butt.
The little girl scooted up behind me to rest against my legs, her arm curled around my calf. Hulbetto tracked her movements, a predator sizing up its next kill!
“Did you know that Hulbetto was an anagram for butthole?” I taunted.
His eyes narrowed on me—the little girl at my feet forgotten.
Perfect.
I jumped well away from her, knowing that he would strike again and he did. He clipped the fleshy part of my upper arm and back—a twofer—with his sword. Poor Aiden, I thought just before Hulbetto struck again, clearly pissed at my anagram reference.
I was bleeding from multiple strike points and weak from sharing my essence. My dragon would be so little compared to him, but I shifted anyway to escape his next blow. The current created by his sword lifted my hair just as I turned to dragon.
I needed to get creative. He was extremely proficient with that sword and had dark magic at his disposal, plus centuries of experience. I shouldn’t have come by myself, I thought briefly as an arrow whizzed by my ear. I barrel rolled to my left to miss have my head skewered.
Not fair, he had help. I should have realized an apprentice would be lurking around somewhere in the background. Now my attention would be divided three ways!
This would be so much easier if I was a full-sized dragon, but at least I was no longer a hatchling, I thought as I rolled to avoid another arrow. I primarily focused on Hulbetto, but saw the archer start for the little girl.
Oh, hell no!
I pulled my wings in tight and arrowed myself towards him, diverting his course away from her. I pushed at her mind to run out the door. Either she didn’t hear me or she was too scared, but she didn’t move an inch.
I saw her shake her head.
Stubborn. Good, I thought with pride.
I saw the apprentice gearing up to let fly another arrow, so I changed my direction. Instead of avoiding Hulbetto, I went straight for him. He saw me coming and readied his sword to strike out at me.
I had my ears attuned to the twang of the bowstring releasing and prayed my shift to shadow would be immediate and it was. The arrow that should have found its home between my shoulder blades, was buried into Hulbetto’s right shoulder instead.
His yell of pain was music to my ears.
Dropping into human form, I reached for Hanley’s reaping knife that was secured around my leg where I kept it handy. Weakness added weight to my movements, but I moved as quick as possible to strike a killing blow to Hulbetto.
He was momentarily preoccupied with pulling the arrow out of his shoulder and that’s when I struck. I grabbed at the amulet around his neck and yanked with all my dragon strength. I used that momentum to pull him into my slashing knife and ran it across his exposed throat.
Blood sprayed out and I jumped back as he dropped to the dirt floor below me.
Chapter 18
I was breathing heavy with exertion. Shifting back and forth had drained more energy, but had healed the sword injuries Hulbetto had scored. I turned to see where the apprentice was and couldn’t find him.
The little girl ran to me and wrapped her arms around my hips. I picked her up and walked away from Hulbetto.
The apprentice ran past me and I turned to protect the girl, but he wasn’t interested in me. He hustled towards his master to offer aid I thought, but he grabbed the Sword of Dramascus instead. He looked over his left shoulder at me and then took off running with the sword cradled in his arms. He didn’t even glance at his master as he left.
Damn it, I wanted that sword! I’m sorry, Aiden, I thought to myself, but I couldn’t leave the little girl to pursue the apprentice. Besides, I was too weak at the moment.
I gathered the little girl into my arms and walked to the opposite side of where Hulbetto was laying. I wanted to keep going and walk right on out the door, but I couldn’t leave straightaway.
I had to destroy the amulet and release the dragons trapped within.They were the voices that haunted me since I was eight years old. My dragon brethren that had been reaped and trapped in hell.
I had a dream or perhaps a vision that showed me how to release the dragons from their continued torment. I would follow that premonition and accept whatever conclusion resulted from it.
I walked straight for the sacrificial rock near the center of the room where the little girl’s mom was still laid out. Her blood was hardly visible now having soaked into the dirt below the cairn. I stayed on the opposite end so the girl in my arms wouldn’t have to face the carnage that had been done to her mother. I wanted to protect her as much as I could, but I needed the cairn to complete the process of releasing the dragons.
The sacrificial rock had bore witness to the death and destruction, as well as the reaping of hundreds, upon thousands of dragon and our brethren over the centuries. Let it also bear witness to the release and renascence of the remaining dragons imprisoned within the amulet. Finally, they’d have the freedom to move on. To where, I had no idea, but they’d be free and at peace.
I felt like time was running out for Mia. She was weakening and I needed to free her now!
Mia was in the amulet too, I realized. She must have suffered tremendously through her reaping to still be there. The energy stolen during the torture deteriorates and degrades over time losing its potency until it stops feeding the drampire altogether. But instead of being released, the dragons essence remains trapped and in limbo.
Not anymore! I would release them all.
I sat the amulet on the cairn. The chain was still attached and puddled on either side to form a linked barrier. Something about that bothered me, so I pulled the chain from the eye of the amulet and threw it as far as I could.
I wanted nothing to prevent their release.
My hands were shaking, as I pulled out the reaping knife coated with Hulbetto’s blood. Just before I proceeded to follow my vision, the little girl started walking towards her mother.
Oh, God! “Please stay here with me, little one,” I pushed to her mind.
“Dreah,” she answered, then said, “I have to say goodbye.”
With that she walked the short distance to her mother. I was panicking and conflicted. The sands of time were almost gone. I could feel it in my bones that the final grains were about to fall and would have failed yet again.
I grabbed the amulet and walked with the little…with Dreah. What a beautiful name I thought. When I reached her side she was standing by her mother.
I looked for something—anything to protect her from how her mother looked with abdomen slashed wide open and blood dripping over her sides. But it wouldn’t erase the image from her mind or the fact she had witnessed the whole thing in the first place.
She had to be in shock, numb from all that had transpired, but she needed this moment for closure. I completely understood that. I had that same sense with releasing t
he dragons from the amulet.
I needed to release them to find closure—of this chapter at least. I had a feeling that I had many more chapters to go before all would be said and done, before I would find the peace that my soul craved.
“My father is trapped in there too,” she suddenly said.
“In here?” I asked holding the amulet out to her, using my voice, which I rarely if ever did.
“Yes. That bad man killed him.”
She looked up at me with her solemn amber eyes and I saw a level of understanding that no child of her age should have, but she did. My heart broke for the fact she had lost both of her parents to such an evil man. To such an heinous process—all so that one person could extend his life beyond what nature had intended.
“I’m sorry, Dreah.”
She nodded her head to me, then kissed her mother upon her white cheek. I imagined what Dreah must have felt under the press of her warm lips. The skin would be cool and lack resilience, since the life had long since been stolen from her.
So brave, this little girl and more so than I.
She finished with her goodbyes and grabbed my hand to walk back to the other end. She sat out of the way, though close by—instinctively knowing that I needed to start.
I sat the amulet back on the cairn, this time my hands were calm. The amulet was roughly the size of my hand and very heavy. It was made of Damascus steel and a huge blood-red stone that was swirled with the blue of our dragon essence. As I studied the amulet and really looked at it and I could see that the swirls were moving.
My breath caught at the implications. When my hand hovered over the amulet, the swirls increased their movement. I opened myself up to the voices, as I ran my finger across the hard surface of the stone. I could hear every one of them and all at once.
I must free them and right now!
I pulled out the reaping knife again, still coated in Hulbetto’s blood and ran the blade across my palm, adding my own blood to the mix.
I slid the knife into the amulet’s stone—which turned gelatinous as soon as the reaping knife touched the surface and twisted it counterclockwise. I could feel vibrations run through the knife as I held it still. The voices that had been extremely loud within my mind were completely silent once I slid the knife in.
Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 202
