The Cursed Dragon

by Rachal M. Roberts

  He grinned and said “Follow me”. Barely forming the thought to consider it, Kalara’s body started flying as fast as if she were running. Before she realized it they were six shops away from where they had started. The shoppers didn’t seem to notice them soaring above their heads as if a spell of invisibility was emanating from them. Ravanan flew towards the atrium and found a bench to sit down. Kalara followed and sat down beside him.

  Kalara’s mind was racing, she had to ask, “How were we flying? That’s not possible!”

  Searching her eyes, Ravanan replied “Of course it is, it’s very natural for us. You seem to have forgotten. You don’t know who I am do you?”

  Kalara looked away and focused on a frazzled young mother forcing four kids into the glass elevator. She replied “No, I don’t know you. Nor do I understand how we were flying or that you were able to hold me still back there. You know my name and said that you have been looking for me. I would very much like to hear what you know of my past and how you know me. I was found alone and confused with no idea of who I was other than my name.”

  Ravanan sat back to consider the words he had just heard. What Kalara told him greatly influenced his next course of action. The thought of leaving crossed his mind. He would now have to account for her memory loss and adjust accordingly if he wanted to keep her with him. Perhaps it would be easiest to kill her before she was discovered. Walking away and leaving her as he had found her was not an option. Yet escorting her back, ruined, with no mind, was not what he had expected. She was tainted by them, the humans, believing she was one of them. She was of no use and dead weight to him.

  Finally coming to a decision, Ravanan devised a new strategy “I will tell you what I know about you. You are a dragoness currently trapped in your own morph spell. Your name is Kalara of Kynasteryx Ravyx. Your memory loss would explain why you didn’t defend against my spells, but regardless of that, you are still a dragon whether you use magic or not.”

  Kalara was at a loss as to what to say and ended up reciting the mantra “That can’t be, magic isn’t real. Dragons aren’t real.”

  Ravanan was prepared for the closed-minded response. “Just because humans can’t access magic doesn’t make it myth. Here are some facts you used to know about it before you accepted ignorant human beliefs as truth. First, humans don’t know about us, their minds don’t want to know either. The terror they would feel, knowing they aren’t the most powerful creatures on the earth would destroy all they have done and ruin their societies. After the initial shock wore off, the vile, inventive creatures would undoubtedly find a way to hunt us down and kill us all. So we use magic for a mind-blanketing effect that radiates from our blood to blind their senses, as opposed to sending out wild fear and panic, which we are also very good at doing. We have eluded humans by using magic; it is the one thing that sets us apart from other large predators easily run into extinction by humans.”

  Kalara was trying to find anything that might falsify Ravanan. She countered with “So why do you and I look like humans then?”

  Ravanan could see she was listening and had his answer prepared. “There are so many humans around us we often use transformation magic to mimic them and blend in. We can attain nearly 100% of the human form minus the mind and blood which holds consciousness and magic by casting a morphing spell that has been meticulously crafted to keep the benefits of both species, while denying the negative aspects of body density, frail tissue, and the smaller food portion that would normally hamper using magic.

  “Somehow, while you were in human form, your dragon qualities must have been made invisible to you, unreachable without help. This would prevent you from casting the reversal spell to change back to your base form. I can’t cast the reversal for you. You alone are the only one who can reverse it since spells of transforming are largely nonverbal visualizations executed by the caster’s blood. No other dragon would know your body or your particular human form exactly like you do. You have to be able to feel the shape you want to attain – you need to know what it is you want to do. You need to identify with the shape before you can take it as your own.

  “Once in human form we have to eat more often to keep the spell going, but in smaller amounts obviously. Your blood has been continuously keeping the human form all this time and it has been needing extra energy to do so. You have been led to believe you are human and you have been trying to blend in with them since you were discovered, thus eating every bit of food you can.” Ravanan knew this was where he needed to end the conversation with Kalara. He smiled, “You must be hungry even now. Do you want to go eat?” Kalara couldn’t deny she was famished, human or not. “You are right, I am hungry.”

  She began to walk, but Ravanan gently reached out and held her back. He said “Let’s fly again to help you reaffirm your magic”. He saw she was unsure so he jumped up as they had before. Kalara copied him and again they were flying, slower this time.

  Going to eat was a way Jenniffer could meet him as well. Gliding through the air liberated Kalara from her woes. She smiled at the thought of leaving her problems behind her. Even her purse seem to be weighing her down. Flying was really fun, Kalara smiled. She wanted to believe every word he said after all of the frustrated time spent desperately wanting to know who she was. She had just about given up hope of ever knowing. No one could lament with her because there was no bond there, no connection. This was something tangible to hang on to; a shining beacon to lead her to herself. The fantastic feeling of soaring above the crowd and not having to fight her way through the mall ended all too soon as the smell of fried foods filled her nares. Landing she looked around for Jenniffer but didn’t see her. It was no matter though, she would eat with Ravanan and then wait for her to show up.

  She turned in a friendly fashion and asked Ravanan “What are you going to eat? I’m going over to get a hot dog.” Ravanan replied “I’m not eating, but you go ahead. I’ll follow you.”

  After finding a table and starting to eat, Kalara wanted to keep things light and asked “Aren’t you hungry? You’ve been using magic too.” He smiled and answered “I didn’t come here to eat.”

  Ravanan seemed genuinely pleased and relieved to have found her. Sitting at the small table, he was close enough that Kalara could have reached out and taken his hand. He was handsome and disarming. Kalara got the feeling he would fiercely defend her against the entire crowd in the room if need be. He would see to her health and help her discover who she was.

  Kalara picked over the few fries that were left. She was eager to learn about who she was and yet on edge that Ravanan could do impossible things. She wanted to ask him about herself but her thoughts were taken up with trying to figure out how he was making them fly. Annette and Jenniffer had drilled it into her that magic was not real. It was not real. Jenn’s cynical attitude had rubbed off on her.

  Ravanan was watching the lunch crowd, studying every face like a hunter looking for prey that might be away from the others, alone and defenseless. He was actually scanning the room for any possible threat. Kalara made sure his attention was elsewhere and caught a few glimpses of him. Well-defined muscles rippled under his tan skin as he drummed his fingers on the table. The slight movements of his tendons mesmerized Kalara who had never noticed before just how sexy a man’s wrist could be. She tried to imagine how solid and hard it must feel. By looking at the way his clothes fit, his whole body was that way. She longed to run her hands all over him to find out for sure. Her observations were at the front of her mind and were quickly evolving into a need to softly stroke his wrist with her fingertips. She toyed with an idea of how to accidentally brush up against his arm. It would be a small move, nothing noticeable. There was nothing wrong with that. The urge was becoming a monster she had to tame.

  Kalara wondered if he could tell what she was thinking and if he was experiencing the same desire she was. It couldn’t be, he wasn’t even looking in her direction. She purposely held her hands together in her lap, as if to ho
ld them back from grabbing Ravanan’s wrist in her palms. Her fingers found the woven ring Annette had made and she tried to focus on feeling the ring’s smooth plaits instead of Ravanan’s smooth skin; it was no use. No matter where she looked he was in her vision – his perfect skin and well-built form getting in the way.

  It was at that moment Kalara noticed how warm she felt. It was the type of heat generated from warm blood pulsing through a body. It was in the air moving towards her instead of coming from within. The hairs on her skin indicated the subtle warmth was coming from Ravanan. It was enticing and fanned the flames of desire within her. Kalara’s skin tuned into it slowly at first but increasing rapidly until the full effect was felt. The warmth of his skin was constant and undeniable, but not uncomfortably warm. She wished he was closer to her. After some serious self-control Kalara was finally able to chain the beastly urge.

  Even though no sound had passed her lips and she had made no outward motion, Ravanan turned to squarely face Kalara and lock his azure-blue eyes on hers. His stare was like a spotlight on her. Had she done something to turn his head? Could he read her thoughts? Had she said or done something unaware? After a few embarrassingly long seconds Ravanan asked “Are you ready to go then?”

  Kalara sighed with relief that her thoughts hadn’t been exposed. Answering back, she said “Go where? Let’s stay here, I want you to meet my roommate and then we can talk about my past.”

  Ravanan had no intention of lingering among the humans. Even though he felt no other dragon blood in the vicinity, it was time to leave. “No. We should go.” And he stood up to walk away.

  “But what of my past? Won’t you help me?” She said in an attempt to stall him - it failed. Kalara stood up and pleaded “Please stay. I need you.” At those words, Ravanan ceased his movements. He held her eyes once more then said “Come with me then. I will find a way to recover your loss.”

  Ravanan walked away. Kalara hurried to catch up before she lost him, so intent on staying with him she forgot her purse hanging on the back of the chair.

  She felt much better after the meal; not just better, but invigorated. She was going to finally find her past. Life seemed more vivid to her now. Her senses were sharper somehow, making her more conscious of the world around her. The noise of the lunch crowd was louder, and she could separate out many individual sounds, much more than before. Aside from the sounds, the place reeked with a myriad of odors ranging from sticky spills inside trash cans to long forgotten chunks of food that had rolled under tables. Ready to get away from the putrid smell of human filth she followed Ravanan as he turned the corner from the food court.

  Kalara was a few paces behind his quick steps when she saw him stop walking, oddly glance around, then turn back towards her. Ravanan looked very concerned and was about to take her hand when he vanished. Not just invisible, but no longer near her – somehow she knew he was gone.

  Kalara stepped to where he had been and felt nothing but air. She looked around for clues and found none. There was no indication that there had ever been a dragon in the shape of a human with her. But he had been there. He had turned around, tried to get to her, and he looked worried. What had happened to him? Would it happen to her as well?

  Alone she made her way through the pedestrian traffic to a bench. Kalara felt a quiet rage coalesce in her blood as she sat down. Why couldn’t she have vanished with him? She didn’t want to be left behind. How would she ever find him again? He hadn’t told her anything about himself. Kalara clung to the image of his face and tried to burn the image into her memory, she must never forget him. She couldn’t even remember his last name.

  She meant something to somebody, she must keep telling herself that. How could she ever return to the hollow world she had known just a short while ago? She couldn’t, not now. Not now that she was so close to figuring out who she had been. To go back to that apartment would be like death.

  She didn’t belong with these people. The gulf between her and the humans around her was greater than ever before. It was like looking at an exhibit in a zoo, separated from the creatures within the cages. The long blank faces she saw seemed to be outward manifestations of pointless errands to fill up a Saturday; and there were so many of them. After a while they really did begin to resemble a herd that was milling about, waiting for death to find them. She couldn’t be a part of the crowd any longer. She was done trying to fit in with them, they disgusted her. The rage inside Kalara was now constructing an almost tangible wall about her, separating her from the masses of humans on the outside.

  All she wanted to do now was get away from them. The fastest way she knew to exit the mall was to fly. She hadn’t imagined it. Ravanan had been real and he had helped her to realize she could fly. She mustn’t forget that. Humans couldn’t fly, but she could. She could fly out of there right now. In a mighty declaration Kalara’s will to be a dragon won out. Standing up, she told herself “I am not a boring human any longer, I am a dragon!” Then she jumped............and fell back to earth. ‘It can’t be!’ Her mind screamed at her body. ‘Fly! damn it!’ Kalara commanded her body as she jumped again. Her feet touched the ground. She had been so sure. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  Doubt took root in her mind. Had she imagined it? For nearly a year she had been desperately searching, trying to find anyone who might know her, She was driven to find herself. Was her thirst for her past so great she had created Ravanan in her mind? The tears broke free and moistened her face.

  Ravanan was real – wasn’t he? Ravanan was going to give her memory to her. He had seen her, he had froze her, he talked to her. Kalara ran her fingers through her dark hair, pulling it back off her face as she sat down again. She had been flying hadn’t she? She had seen the tops of people’s heads, it had seemed so real but maybe it was all in her head. She wasn’t so sure now. She needed to hear someone tell her that he was real, that dragons existed and she was one, there had to be an eyewitness who saw her flying. She looked around but only saw shoppers who knew magic wasn’t real.

  Kalara’s ears replayed Jenniffer’s scoffing laugh over and over in her mind. Did she really think she could fly? How foolish of her! Magic wasn’t real, she knew better. Jenn’s laughter echoed in her head. She was losing it. The small cord of belief began to fray. She wasn’t a dragon. She was a fool to believe otherwise. Dragons weren’t real. She couldn’t escape being human, an unwanted human. She was crazy to think otherwise.

  Her grasp on reality was unraveling. With every minute the memories of Ravanan the dragon faded a little more. She sat there crying, the rift of frustration in her mind was leaking Ravanan’s very existence. Her mind created him; there, in the mall, created a friend to give her what she wanted. He wasn’t real. No one had seen him but her. He was nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

  Was she so desperate after the months of no memories she had to resort to fantasy? To think she was flying, it wasn’t possible. She wasn’t a dragon and had made the whole thing up. She was creating stories that seemed like they were real, so real she believed them to be factual. This was it then, this was to be the end of a pitiful life. After months of amnesia her final story would be dying while trapped within herself living a fantasy life that only she could see. It hadn’t been enough that her memories were lost, but no, fate would take her sanity as well, leaving behind a babbling idiot who was having a wonderful time inside her own head.

  Her wet eyes were closed, when a warmth came over her that coaxed her eyes open. Before she could turn to look, Kalara heard Ravanan’s voice cast “HOLD”. She tried to turn her head towards the source, but again, Kalara couldn’t move. She felt Ravanan’s warm hand grab hers and they were flying in a heartbeat. They reached the doors, Ravanan used such force opening them the handicapped gear broke and the heavy glass doors swung open freely. Once outside, he launched them into the sky. She couldn’t have broken his grasp even if she had wanted to. Kalara could feel his hard muscles flexing to maintain their hold on her, makin
g the necessary small adjustments as needed – it felt good. Their altitude increased high above the parking lot where Jenniffer’s 1973 red corvette convertible was parked, now a tiny speck among the many cars.

  Within seconds they reached a rocky outcrop over-looking the city. Although she felt the release to move again Ravanan held her hand tightly and walked a few yards towards the cliff.

  He spoke finally, “I’m going to get you out of here. Hold on....” He scanned the weathered sandstone to find the unremarkable center of a single large rock. In a firm voice he cast “ANCHOR”. Blood-red iron began to weep from the rock to form finely etched markings on the surface – it was a sketch of a hill top with four scraggly trees. The spell had taken all the available iron from the rock matrix and used it for ink to write on its surface. Runes of an ancient spell circled the two foot sketch.

  Ravanan watched the deep red lines thicken. He explained “I’m taking you away from here as fast as I can before anything else happens. I need to make sense of what is going on.” When the anchor stabilized, he stepped onto it, pulling Kalara with him. As soon as their feet touched the anchor their bodies wisped away in red smoke forming balls of lightning that catapulted into the air. As they left, the sketch seeped back into the sandstone bluff leaving no trace.

  Chapter 2

  Annette sat on her front porch watching the morning fog that was rising from a distant pond. The still water of the pond was one of her favorite things about the country... and to see its golden mirror reflecting the morning sun was perfection. She puffed on her pipe, the wisps of smoke were poor imitations of the low fog that filled the valley. She loved pipe smoke, its sweet aroma worked its own special magic on the sick and those who needed her services.