The Cursed Dragon

by Rachal M. Roberts

  Only able to watch from inside her own eyes, Jenniffer knew where they were headed. When she arrived Jenniffer noticed Todd’s pickup at Annette’s house.

  Annette made Jenniffer’s body take the trash and sit it around the side of the house then she headed back to the car just as Todd was coming from the backyard with his rifle aimed at her head. Her brother was only wearing boxers, his shredded shirt was dangling from his non-trigger hand. Jenniffer wondered what his part in all this was.

  “Jenniffer! What are you doing here this late?” he set his gun down against the house.

  Annette answered in Jenniffer’s voice “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “The thing is, little sister, I belong here. I do what Annette says – unlike you. How could you lose Kalara? Are you that stupid?”

  “Todd, I’m not gonna fight with you. What are you doing wandering around outside? Why aren’t you asleep? It’s late.” Jenniffer’s voice sounded to her like Annette was surprised to see Todd awake.

  “Your headlights woke me up.”

  “Oh.” Her voice sounded as though Annette didn’t believe him.

  Jenniffer saw Todd shivering in the cool night air as if he’d been outside for a while. She knew her brother well enough to know when he was not being fully honest.

  Whatever Annette may have thought about him, she went on despite her doubt “I brought some stuff for Annette that she asked for, she said it had to be fresh so I brought it over just as soon as it was ready. See? I can obey too.” Jenniffer handed the closed paper bag to him. “Can you put this bag in the fridge for me? I also set a couple of bags of trash by the house, I didn’t want to throw them away at my apartment building because of all the blood.”

  “Blood? What did you do? And what happened to your face and arms?!”

  “Seven attacked me after I fell asleep, just like Annette said he would. I guess I should have believed her when she said that a seven-toed cat was a bad omen – maybe she really does know what she is talking about after all.”

  “Yeah, she’s pretty smart if you’d just listen to her.”

  “I see you still think she hung the moon.”

  “Shut up Jenniffer, you don’t understand.”

  Jenniffer’s voice said “Oh I understand alright, I bet you’d just love it if she wasn’t our step-mom and maybe ten years younger. I’m surprised you weren’t in there right now jerking it on the couch.” Jenniffer was shocked that Annette would say that and for once she wanted to give her step-mom a high-five because she knew it was true.

  Todd threatened his little sister with the look that only a big brother can give. “I said shut up, you’re just jealous because she loves me more.”

  “Hardly.”

  “Just admit it, the only love you can get is from your damned cats.”

  “Well, they’re gone now, they’re hearts are in that bag along with Seven’s stomach. Killing them was my punishment for losing Kalara, Annette said if I didn’t do it she would..... I guess she is asleep right now isn’t she?”

  “Yeah.” The fact he was holding raw cat hearts in his hands didn’t faze him he knew full well the type of punishments their stepmom gave.

  “So, you come over here every night to jerk off on her couch?” Annette was egging Todd on. Jenniffer silently wished Annette wouldn’t have said that, everybody knew Todd got violent when provoked and her body was hurting enough from all she had been through.

  Astoundingly, Todd didn’t hit her, instead he said “Go home Jenniffer, I don’t need this shit right now, it’s late, I’m tired, and you have no clue what you’re talking about. Annette is worried the man who took Kalara will come for her too. She asked me to keep watch.” he turned to leave but then caught a good look at Jenniffer’s iridescent colorful eyes. “Wow! What’s up with your eyes? They look cool. Are those contacts?”

  Jenniffer marveled at hearing Todd’s question and was surprised he didn’t know about her eyes already. Being in the background, listening, gave Jenniffer a pretty good idea of the real reason Annette had asked Todd to be there and he was the one who had no clue. Annette needed a guard for her sleeping body while her mind was out possessing Jenniffer’s. She wished she could take control of her body and march into Annette’s bedroom just to see what Annette’s body was doing or if it was even there. Clearly Todd believed he was talking to his sister and not his step-mom, why hadn’t Annette told him? Then Jenniffer heard her own voice speak again, totally controlled by Annette. “Yeah, expensive contacts. By the way, does Bill still work on cars?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Can you tell him I’m going to bring this car over to him tomorrow night, it’s running a little rough. It’ll be after dark when I get there because I have to work all day in Tulsa.”

  “So this lemon is yours? You got rid of the corvette?”

  “Yes.”

  “Man alive Jenniffer, you are stupid. I would have bought it from you, you should have talked to me about it. I wonder if we can get it back....”

  “What’s done is done, just talk to Bill for me, OK?”

  “I thought you didn’t like him. Why would you want his help and drive all the way out here? I’m sure there are mechanics in Tulsa who could help you.”

  “There are, but I know Bill. He does good work, and I don’t have a lot of money.”

  “I’ll never understand you Jenniffer. You know he still has a thing for you, do you really want to deal with that?”

  “Yeah, I know he likes me. That’s why he’ll take care to do it right. Hey, one more thing...” Jenniffer reached up and pulled out some of her red hair by the roots and handed it to Todd. “Give this to Annette also.” Then Annette made Jenniffer’s body get in the car and drive away. Todd noticed that the car sounded fine.

  Jenniffer’s body arrived back in Tulsa, she picked a fluffy dandelion puff before going in. Once inside the cat-free apartment, Annette prayed a quick prayer in Jenniffer’s voice “Great Spirit, hear me, your daughter, Annette. Use this puff to stop Jenniffer from revealing my possession spell to anyone. Just as the little fluffs drift away in the wind, let her voice do the same should she try to speak of it. Just as the seeds break away from the stem, let her fingers, toes, and teeth do the same should she try to write it down.” Then Jenniffer stuffed the whole puff into her mouth and swallowed it down with water. Annette laid Jenniffer’s body down only a short while before dawn, there was no trouble making it fall sleep, it was exhausted.

  When dawn arrived back at Annette’s house, Annette’s mind went back into her own sleeping body which stirred awake slowly with a smile on her face. Annette felt refreshed, her body was safe and rested from a full night of sleep, and ready for her trip to find Kalara.

  When Jenniffer woke that Monday afternoon, she was hysterical. Annette wasn’t in her head anymore but the damage was massive. Jenniffer remembered all of it, she bathed, but no amount of water could wash away the filth that her body had been through. Annette hadn’t even used condoms with those men! And her cats...... Jenniffer’s body shook and she sobbed until her bath water was cold.

  She called her boss, but when she tried to speak about the long night her voice faded to a whisper and then fully stopped. Her boss was saying “...hello?....Hello?....HELLO?...” until she changed her thoughts and could speak again, but the call did no good and she lost her job.

  She didn’t know what to do, even though she was in total control of her body, she was powerless against the evil medicine woman – how could she fight her? She wondered if it would happen again that night – and she was sure it would, Annette had said as much when she told Todd she’d be over at Bill’s. Bill of all people! Jenniffer wanted to throw up. He was definitely punishment for her, he gambled at cockfights, he even raised fighting roosters, he made minimum wage as a mechanic, and he didn’t care at all about the finer things in life. Engines, hunting, fishing, and cockfights were all that mattered to Bill. His body smelled, it was repulsive. Jenniffer felt defeated
– worse than defeated, she felt conquered, she was a slave with no hope or self-esteem.

  Late that afternoon, Jenniffer tried to undo the car trade she’d made, she’d been foolish to think she could run from her step-mom. And she really did love the corvette, that was one area she agreed with Annette and Todd on. The way Jenniffer saw it, if she was going to be defeated she could at least have a good-looking car to be defeated in. The car dealer laughed in her ear and said it had already been sold.

  The apartment was dead without her cats, she missed them. Her aches were great, it stung when she urinated, and so she just laid down with a small hope that maybe she would sleep the whole night through and not witness anything - maybe nothing would happen.

  But something did happen, she woke up. It was only 7:30 PM. For a brief second Jenniffer believed she was herself and tried to stand up to go get a drink of water, but she couldn’t move. If she was able to move, she would have just sighed a heavy sigh of resignation for another night of surreal movie watching.

  Her voice said “Good Evening sweet heart, are you ready to be a good daughter?” and her body got up, made itself beautiful, and drove to Bill’s house wearing a black, low-cut mini dress.

  Needless to say, Bill was happy to see her, even happier when she paid. Jenniffer hated every minute of it, no condom, he was still greasy and dirty from work, and his bed was crumpled with old sheets. Jenniffer was still sensitive enough to feel Bill’s ego unnaturally drop when he finished, again she didn’t know where it went; it didn’t go to her. She was thankful though, Annette allowed her to sleep the rest of the night, even if it was in Bill’s arms.

  The next morning, Bill slept in with her, they woke late in the morning, Bill’s boss wasn’t even mad when he called, he actually congratulated him and said he’d see him tomorrow. Jenniffer noticed that he was oddly tired, he didn’t even want to crawl out of his dirty bed, whereas she couldn’t wait to get out of it. She jumped up, taking the sheet with her to cover up her nakedness.

  Bill leaned up “Come on baby, one more go, but why don’t you ride on top? I’m kinda tired.”

  “You are a disgusting pig. How can you lay in that mess?”

  “Ouch! What happened to the sex kitten that needed me so desperately last night?”

  “I wasn’t myself......” Jenniffer’s voice faded to nothing. She moved her mouth, trying to fight it, but nothing came out, she was angry and wanted to cry but there was no way she was going to shed tears in front of him, and she sure didn’t want him comforting her. She didn’t need comfort, she told herself she was stronger than that. Jennifer mentally cursed Annette and redirected her thoughts. “I’m hungry, what do you have to eat?”

  “Bread. Bring me some with coffee, it’s instant, it’s in the cabinet by the sink. You’ll have to let the sink run for a while though to get the water hot.”

  She laughed in indignation. “Forget it, I bet the bread is moldy. Besides, you should be serving me breakfast in bed.”

  Bill wasn’t smart enough to be offended. “That’s cool, whatever it takes Hon, come lay back down, I need some more of you.” His eyes tried to see through the sheet. “You are so beautiful. Your eyes are like rainbows, and I didn’t think it possible that you could get any prettier, are those contacts?”

  “No, they’re not, it was a very expensive surger....” again her voice stopped cold, instead she said “I’m outta here.” She didn’t even hesitate when he asked her to stop, she grabbed her black mini-dress and walked out. Jenniffer wanted to cut out her beautiful eyes, she’d rather be blind. She looked in Bill’s smudged bathroom mirror and touched the windows of her eyes, trying desperately to pull a contact from them.... but they weren’t contacts. Maybe she should gouge them out, maybe that would stop the nightmare... Annette would pay for this somehow, someday she would pay.

  Chapter 7

  Kalara replayed that kiss over and over in her head, wishing they would have talked more about it. It was not over by any means. She would get to the bottom of it. He had been gone so long she was sure he was avoiding her rather than hunting. Obviously the kiss was more than a moment of weakness for him. All she needed was a few more words with him.

  She wrapped herself in her bedding for warmth and decided to go look for the water she had heard splash. She grimaced as her still-healing feet pressed into the floor. There were rocky walls in the distance and a high ceiling overhead. The cavern had very little moisture and was well lit, being nothing like a dark damp chasm that other caves are. Dappled beams of sunlight bounced off crystals in the walls and magically illuminated the whole cavern, making the light’s point of origin impossible to trace.

  As Kalara slowly made her way across the lair other rooms became apparent. She took one careful step at a time until at last she entered a new, smaller room and found the water she was looking for. In that room there was a sprawling glassy lake that filled most of the chamber, the other shore couldn’t be seen. Where she stood on the shore was a stalagmite pedestal that had a bowl sitting on it full of what looked to be ice cubes. She touched one but it didn’t feel cold or wet.

  The surface of the water rippled as she stepped into it. Her skin turned to goose flesh, but despite the frigid temperature she lingered. She tossed her blanket and robe back to dry ground wondering how many days had it been to cause the grime that she felt. She washed off as best she could without chilling herself to the bone.

  The lake was shallow where she was but further out it looked like it dropped off suddenly into murky black ink. Ravanan must have jumped in, but looking around, Kalara couldn’t see any water puddles from where he would have gotten out. He wasn’t in the lair or else he was being very, very quiet.

  The next antechamber she came to seemed to be a storage room for crystals and metallic rocks of various shapes and colors. If she would have had her memories back she probably could have named each one she found there; a geologist would call it a treasure room. Piles of rocks and crystals were everywhere, some were plentiful, others held just a few. There was also several stalagmites in the room, each had been topped off smooth and served as a display pedestal for solitary crystals. Kalara figured she shouldn’t touch anything and after a long look she moved on to investigate elsewhere.

  Kalara followed the walls of the cavern around, venturing into some of the openings and tunnels although most were uneventful and terminated a little ways in. In the far back corner was an adjoining room that had terraces and ledges at various heights, it was void of any crystals or rock piles. It would be a perfect place to lay down for a nap.

  She felt bad using his bed but here she could sleep on a different ledge every night until she found the perfect one. The more she thought about it, it did seem like it was a good idea, and she would be out of Ravanan’s way. With her mind made up and her body worn out from walking and climbing, she made herself comfortable on one of the lowest ledges.

  Soon Kalara was deep in sleep. Her dreams took her to a crowded place. Faceless people were everywhere all holding bags, she was lost among them. One of the bags contained her memories; all she had to do was find the right one. Occasionally a stray arm would reach out of the crowd and Kalara would bite the arm off and then look in the bag. It was never the right bag though. The people didn’t notice or care that she had blood on her face. She was a monster with no name. She kept walking, pushing through the crowd, but Jenniffer was everywhere she went, blocking her way. She would have to eat Jenniffer. Kalara grabbed her roommate’s arm and was about to dig in when out of nowhere Ravanan the Azure Wizard appeared. He killed Jenniffer with his crystal blade then licked it clean. All the people vanished except for him and in his hand was a blue star sapphire that held her memories; it was more of a star than a blue gemstone. He held it up to her and asked “Do you want your past back?” He dangled the glinting gemstone just out of her reach, toying with her, then he swallowed it. He dramatically pulled her to him and said “Take it from me if you can, you know where it is.” It was in hi
s heart, she had to go to his heart and she knew the perfect way...

  ....Her hands glided over Ravanan’s skin, thanking him for saving her. His hard body felt superb even as he laid there not helping her find her memories. Her inner thighs rubbed against his hips as she arched her back and danced on his slick length to find the ultimate pleasure. Leaning in close, enjoying the wet heat, her hands rubbed his chest as her fingernails grew into long, black talons. She lightly pinched his nipples, making him groan with pleasure. If she would stay with him just a little longer now, he was almost there; he felt really good -and then at his pinnacle she dug her claws deep into his chest ripping it open to pull out the blue star. But instead of a blue star the black tip of a nose horn shattered his spine from underneath, followed by a massive dragon’s head that burst through and exploded his ribcage. The dragon’s eyes were sharp and sneered at the human carcass it had just ripped into two bloody halves. Chunks of meat and bone flew off his long snout as Ravanan the Malefic Azure shook his head. The dragon climbed out of the blue wizard, smashing underfoot what remained of the frail human corpse, and prepared for the final lunge that would slice her to shreds and swallow her. She turned to run from the gnashing teeth with Ravanan stretching his long neck to nip at her as she ran. Ravanan took giant steps quickly gaining on her, she could feel his crackling aura on her back. Soon the explosive storm would overtake her. There was nowhere to hide and she couldn’t out run him so in a final act a bravery she stopped and turned around to face her killer.

  The great blue dragon didn’t strike; instead he stared at her. Unblinking, he held her with his fierce and calculating eyes, she was unable to scream or move. The blue lightning of his aura was zapping at her skin and the smell of rain was on the air. Rather than a pleasant and invigorating scent it was a foreboding smell – warning her of the impending electrical doom that would befall her. This was it, he was going to fry and eat her; she braced herself for the killing jolt.