by K L Rymer
The Liverpool accent does have strong Irish and Scottish influences, but it’s still technically English. Or Scouse...
Brynmawr inhales Megan’s red hair. “With those flaming locks? I don’t think so. This girl is of Celtic blood.”
I chew on my lip then. I suppose. Her last name is Maloney. I mean, can you get any more Irish?
Megan, still dumbfounded, nods her head, and it appears she can understand Brynmawr. I’m impressed.
Humans can’t hear dragons speak. Well, not normally.
“Nan’s dad was Irish...” she mutters.
Brynmawr peers my way, smugly. “See, Bryn? It seems you don’t know your human friends as well as you thought you did...”
Megan folds her arms, and I see she has finally relaxed in his presence. “Yeah, Bryn...”
I don’t have time to reply because more dragons break through the clouds, and my jaw hits the floor.
There’s a pink dragon, a black dragon, and a brass dragon. Then there’s a green dragon, a golden dragon, a navy dragon, and finally, a dragon of the brightest, cerulean blue.
Tears gather in my eyes.
It’s the babies. But they’re babies no longer...
They’re all as big as horses now. Buddy’s as big as an elephant.
Each dragon stares at me like they’re seeing the Ghost of Christmas Past. After all, they haven’t seen me since they were the size of puppies.
It’s a lifetime to them.
I’m like that long lost aunt who came home at last.
I wave a hand. ”H-hey, everyone...”
The dragons blink, not knowing what to say. Azure, however, does have tears in her eyes, and Sparkle Hearts too. That’s when I meet the eyes of all their riders, and look at them all... riding their dragons like pros now.
I find Thomas and Nora. Then I see Jack and Zahara (the latter smirks at me knowingly), and then I lock gazes with Damien and Felicity.
And finally, Angelina.
The vampire’s actually smiling, and I grin back.
I’ve missed my fellow Mendacious.
Felicity slides down from Sparkle Hearts and bounds toward me, and that’s when I get a look at her hair.
She has a pixie cut!
“Bryn, thank goodness!”
The tiny girl throws her arms around my waist, squeezing me tight, but I’m still shocked by her hair.
She has short hair now. And it makes her look older...
I don’t like the change.
Everyone else soon joins her, and now I’m surrounded by my old housemates. They ruffle my hair and offer me hugs, and poor Megan’s just standing there like a Billy No Mates (something she says a lot).
They all turn in her direction. Angelina flinches when she gets a sniff of human blood, but the others are all right around her. Jack especially.
Megan’s face stretches into a smile. “Look, it’s the old drama club! How’ve yer all been?!”
Again, no one speaks. There are a few murmurs of confusion.
“Drama club?” Thomas says.
I don’t have time to explain as I place an arm around my human friend and introduce her to those supernaturals... for a second time.
“Guys, you all remember Megan, right?”
Zahara nods her head. “Ah, yes... the sexy kitten from Halloween... I remember now.” Her black eyes move up to Jack, and then a sneer crosses her lips.
Jack smiles at the memory.
Megan matches her expression. “I knew you weren’t Welsh, Snow White...”
She’s referring to Zahara’s costume from Halloween first year. Such a long, long time ago now...
“No. I’m fae. Unseelie. Not as interesting, I’m afraid.”
Another awkward silence passes amongst the group.
That’s when Brynmawr steps in. “I hate to interrupt this little reunion, but there is a war starting on earth... we must go, Bryn...”
I sigh, finding Gwyneira at last. She stands to the back of the horde, and I see the both of them have taken the babies under their wings.
Just as I anticipated.
The White Dragon’s frosty blues shine, and now we make a silent pledge.
Let’s help Matthew...
Chapter 14 - Matthew
I send another streak of lightning Diafol’s way, and this time I make contact.
He stands as rigid as a statue while I fry his brains, and now his ice thaws into a puddle.
Water and electricity don’t go together after all.
If I act now, I can kill him.
And this war will all be over and I can finally defeat Father.
I can save Mother’s soul...
The memory of her beautiful face spirals up before me next, one framed with long locks of soft, brown hair, and I add more juice to my bolts.
Diafol remains frigid, his pale, heartless gaze locked on mine. His mouth stretches into a sneer, and there’s no single drop of sweat on his pallor face.
Of course there isn’t. He isn’t a true human after all. This is merely a cover up.
However, I’m sweating buckets as I keep my lightning trained on him. A thunderstorm has gathered around Bangor now, sending torrents of rain crashing down to earth.
It covers my hair, drowning my eyes, but I still don’t take my gaze off that monster.
Once I’m through with him... my father is next.
To my utter horror, Diafol chuckles, even with a thousand volts running through his system.
He’s indestructible. I have yet to see his dragon form, but it must be pretty tough if my lightning isn’t enough to stun him.
This is going to be harder than I realised.
“Give up, young Matthew. You can’t win.”
I gnash my teeth. “No... you’re going down, scumbag. You and daddy dearest.”
Diafol exhales, shaking his head with mild disappointment. “You really are a fool. Just as your father warned.”
I snicker. “Well, I’ll show you what this fool can do...”
I send more volts his way, enough to completely subdue him, but he still doesn’t yield.
Fuck.
Diafol’s blue eyes shine ominously now, and he’s about to shift. Shit... I have to do something fast.
A large pair of leathery black wings sprouts from his back next, and now he slowly morphs back into his beast.
My heart races.
If I don’t strike him down now, innocent lives will be killed.
Diafol opens his mouth, and a thunderous roar escapes. It seems to shake the very essence of the universe itself.
His human form rips apart as a bugling, black beast takes its place, extending towards the clouds, and it encompasses the entire sky.
The great, ebony-skinned creature hovering above is nothing more than a shadow. Dark mist obscures its entire body, apart from its shining, blue eyes. A row of sharp teeth encircles an unseen mouth where a burst of ice swirls towards the earth, freezing me in place.
Frost covers my body, travelling up and down my arms and legs. It’s not enough to freeze me to death, but if I don’t move soon enough, I’ll be killed.
My eyes bulge when a barbed tail swings my way.
He’s going to crush me to death.
As that tail looms closer, I see both my mother and Bryn, and I know in that moment that I’ll see neither of them again.
This is it.
But then something dodges the tail as a person shoots in front of me, holding up a sword of immeasurable power, and now a blinding white light explodes from the weapon.
Diafol retreats as the light chases away the shadows, revealing his true, gruesome form at last.
He’s hideous. Full of scars and nodules, Diafol truly is a beast.
I can’t move as I’m still frozen, but when my rescuer rises to his feet, I’m greeted by the friendly face of Ken Tanaka.
My old teacher.
He nods, placing his sword back on its belt. “Young Matthew.”
I blink in greeting
. My eyes are the only thing I can move. I do manage to utter something as fog escapes my frozen lips.
Someone else enters the crime scene, and it’s the dwarf and Princess Sparkle Hooves. The angry little man waves a longsword, dressed head to toe in heavy armour.
I’m not sure what powers he has, but Princess Sparkle Hooves can shoot lasers from her horn, so we’re good.
One cherry pink beam hits Diafol straight in the eyeball and he bellows, causing the ground to shake. His tail descends towards the earth again as he intends to smash all three of us.
That’s when a light as bright as a newborn star materialises on the walkway, and it soon takes the form of Myrddin Emrys.
Our saviour.
The wizard wields his staff, and the light chases the clouds away. Now Diafol is outmatched.
Yet in one last act of defiance, he tosses his head back and delivers a stream of ice towards the wizard. Myrddin blocks his blow with a protective bubble, and now he yanks onto my shoulder.
The moment his hand touches me, the ice thaws, and now I’m a dripping, shivering mess.
“See, Young Matthew? This was exactly what I was talking about?! Look where your foolishness has got us!”
I swallow, bowing my head in shame. “B-Bryn?”
“Safe. She made it to the oasis with her redheaded human friend.”
A huge weight lifts from my shoulders. Nearly dying was worth it if I managed to get Bryn to safety.
But then to my utter horror, there comes the sound of another dragon, and now the red shape of Brynmawr appears in the sky. A pretty blonde rides him, and I groan.
Bryn.
She just has to be a part of the action...
The girl’s going after Diafol. I know she has a score to settle but still. She will get herself killed.
Gwyneira flaps above the buildings, creating a small gale. “Matthew, climb up!”
The dragon tosses down her tail like a rope. I grab onto a spike, but then Myrddin throws a firm hand on my shoulder. “Absolutely not.”
“But I have to stop Bryn!”
Myrddin presses his lips into a thin line, his gaze flickering over to Bryn and Brynmawr. They’re gaining speed, fast.
The Red Dragon is smaller than Diafol, but that doesn’t stop him from stretching his head back and expelling a gust of orange flames.
I can feel the heat of his fire all the way from the ground, and it warms my cool, shaking body.
Myrddin makes up his mind. “Fine, but we both go. Ken, Shankfoot, clean up this town. The effects may be irreversible now, but we can fix some damage. The humans have been exposed to our world at last, just as Matthew III wanted...”
Ken and Shankfoot do as he instructs, and now we both climb up Gwyneira’s tail. I wedge myself inside the nook of her slender neck as Myrddin sits behind, and now we fly up to stop Bryn.
She’s fucking crazy. The girl cackles on the back of her red dragon, summoning scarlet balls of flames as she tosses them at Diafol. One lands on his pale eye and the ugly dragon roars.
“How d’ya like that! Trap me in the Oblivion for two long months!”
“Bryn!”
Bryn stops, throwing those manic eyes on me, and I’m seriously turned on.
Now that’s one hot, crazy bitch.
Unfortunately, her irate father, Myrddin, senses my arousal and I clear my throat. “Bryn... let’s go. We won...”
She bares her straight white teeth. “No. We do this now. If we kill him, then we can move onto your father.”
She’s right. That’s the exact thought I had before, but I was kidding myself. As if I could have beaten Diafol alone.
The clouds slowly gather around us again as the effects of Myrddin’s beam wear off, and now we’re shrouded in darkness once again.
Diafol’s black shadow masks his ugliness once again, and now he sets his cold, frosted eyes on all of us. His gaze moves from Brynmawr to Gwyneira, then back again, and his teeth curve into a sneer.
The Red and White dragons snarl, baring their own fangs.
Diafol looks at Gwyneira again, and she hisses.
“Why, hello... daughter... Have you missed me?”
Bryn and I visibly shake when we hear Diafol’s dragon voice. It’s soft yet cold, freezing the very blood of your veins.
Gwyneira growls, and I wish I could see the expression on her face. “No.”
Her voice is just as icy.
Diafol snorts, flicking his eyes back to Brynmawr. “A shame... I was really looking forward to meeting my granddaughter. I hear she’s just as beautiful as her mother...”
Brynmawr snaps. “I won’t let you anywhere near her!”
Diafol sighs. “A crying shame... Of all the dragons in the world... she had to pick you. Such an insolent child. This act of pure rebellion will not go unpunished. Daughter... I am sorry... but you made me do this...”
The Black Dragon stretches that wide, chasm of a mouth, and before I can take my next breath, he flings shards of ice at my dragon.
They’re small, but still enough to penetrate dragon armour.
There’s no time to move. Not even Myrddin can act, but then Brynmawr pushes Gwyneira out of the way, and the shards pierce his skin. He lets out a roar.
Both my dragon and Bryn scream, “Brynmawr!”
Myrddin raises his staff high, and now he forms a bubble of protection around the five of us, and Diafol can hurt us no more.
Before the wizard creates another portal and sends us spiralling back to the oasis, I look to the Black Dragon...
He’s smirking.
He has won.
My father has won.
They have seized control of the human world at last.
Chapter 15 - Bryn
The world fell into pandemonium.
The day that dragons and magic were revealed, humanity fell into total panic mode.
It was like World War III had come at last.
Diafol spread his murky black shadow over every city, and he truly is the Devil of the Land.
Well, it looks like I won’t be going back to Bangor to finish my studies now after all.
Diafol’s shadow can encompass land and sea, covering every continent, and he has managed to block out the sun.
This is bad. My mom is still in Texas, and she must be so frightened. We have to get to her, and my grandparents too and Tilly the cat.
Funnily enough, I’m not worried about my uncle Francis. That man has been playing video games since he was twelve; it’s like he’s been preparing his whole life for the end of the world.
He’s got this.
Brynmawr survived the ice attack, and it’s a miracle. Myrddin said it should have killed him. Diafol knew what he was doing after all, yet my dragon lives, and that’s all I care about.
Luckily for us, Mr. Tanaka knows a few healing spells, and soon enough the Red Dragon of Wales was up and flying in no time.
Gwyneira had been beside herself with grief. Her man threw himself in front of a bullet for her. It’s both romantic and tragic.
But if he ever does anything so reckless again, I will kick his scaly ass. I don’t care if he’s a dragon, I’ll find a way...
Our relationship has barely just begun. I’m a wizard after all; if I look after myself, I can live to be a millennium.
After the fight in Bangor, Mattie and I got put on the naughty step. Myrddin wanted to teach us a lesson of course, which was fine by me.
His idea of punishment though was having us spend some time alone in the mountains to meditate, but really, Mattie and I were just having hot sex (we had some serious reuniting to do after all).
At least we’re all together again. Even better, I have my human friend Megan with me now.
The girl has fetched her entire family, even her dear old Nana, and now the Maloneys have all taken up residence in the oasis.
They all looked a little out of sorts, but the humans soon got used to the spirit world. Chloe, Megan’s younger sister, has even put
that phone down of hers for once and taken the time to appreciate the beauty around her (I even caught her doing Tai Chi with Mr. Tanaka by the cherry blossom tree).
Meg’s Nan has knitted me ten sweaters already. So sweet...
I’m glad I could save one family from the despair on earth, but we have to get my mother. I can’t leave her there with that fat pig Larry.
Larry can stay and rot for all I care.
So I search for the wizard in the mountains, going to his favorite beauty spot—the waterfall.
It’s where he goes to meditate and channel his magic. One time I caught him balancing on his staff upon a rock in the middle of the lake, and it was the coolest thing I ever saw.
He’s just awesome in every possible way.
It takes me back to first year when he taught me to meditate and channel my powers so I could pass my Magical Equilibrium exam. No doubt he will be asking me to join him.
I trek up the craggy mountain path, running out of breath, but the sights are gorgeous up here.
I stop a moment to look behind me and draw a loud gasp.
Wow...
It really does resemble an RPG fantasy world.
An expanse of lush green fields spreads far and wide as a blazing sun never stops shining. Night seldom comes in the oasis, but our bodies never need sleep. It’s odd yet liberating.
Megan’s family seemed to have flourished the most, even more than us supernatural folk, and it appears that they were starved of magic.
It’s been sustaining them after all with newfound energy (I even saw Meg’s Nana doing star jumps between knitting, and she’s in her 80s).
I hear distant roars next, looking up at the sky.
The babies stretch their wings high above, and they resemble an array of multi-colored birds. The sun gleams off their bright scales, Sparkle Hearts’ especially, and it appears that they’re having so much fun up there, somersaulting and zigzagging amongst the clouds.
It’s downtime for them after all. They’ve been training pretty much since they were hatched, so it’s the least they deserve.
I’m amazed to find Zahara’s Elvira up there (she’s the darkest one after all with her navy scales).
Normally, shadow dragons hate love and sunshine, but the evil, soul-sucking wyvern has let herself loose today.
