by Sariah Skye
Gabriel rubbed my forehead with a hand, and I dared to open one eye to see the piteous pout on his face. "I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do."
My eyes flew open again, and I whipped my head up. Perhaps there was. "Well, you are a conjurer, are you not?"
He lifted a brow, curiously. "What are you getting at?"
"Well…can you push the wind away from me when it comes? Just until I get the hang of it?" I asked, pleading. I didn’t realize just how badly I wanted to fly until now; my dragon soul was craving more. The sensation of being weightless, of being off the ground felt right, even if the wind did not.
Gabriel breathed out. "As long as you’re near the ground, I could help. The second you get over those trees, though, I can’t reach you."
I grinned. "So, come with me."
Kiarra let out a disturbed noise. "Leo! You can’t possibly think that’s a good idea! You know what you’re asking?" Humans riding dragons was frowned upon, but it was hard to believe she held the same prejudices.
"So? He rides on my back, at least until I get the hang of it. No big deal," I replied with nonchalance.
Gabriel bit his lip, and exchanged a look with Kiarra. "No…I think she’s getting at that I could fall."
My face fell, crestfallen. "Oh, yeah. Of course."
Gabriel frowned. He scoffed. "Fuck it. I know you won’t let me, and you won’t get that high until you really get the hang of it, right?" he asked me, almost pleading but trying to sound confident.
I grinned. "I won’t go that high."
"I can just break any fall with the wind…right!" He leapt up to both feet with conviction. "Sure, let’s try."
"You can’t be—" Kiarra began, but we cut her off with a stare-down. "Okay, okay," she relented. "Whatever you want."
I growled with defiance. "Damn right," I mumbled. I raised myself on all fours, and bent my knees and lowered my head to the ground to allow Gabriel to climb on.
He paused at my side. "Umm…" he said, looking confused. He laughed, attempting to grab spots that weren’t there to help pull himself up. "This isn’t exactly like getting on a horse." He stepped back thoughtfully for a moment, rubbing his chin between is thumb and index finger. He snapped them together then. "I got it." He tossed the robes over his back, and exposed his chest, and more specifically, the string that wrapped around the neck and hood of his sweatshirt. He gave it a strong yank with both hands and pulled it all the way out. "Bridle."
Kiarra snickered. It was one thing to have a human ride you, it was another thing entirely to wear a bridle or saddle. But, I didn’t care. I nodded at him and lowered my neck again, allowing him to tie the string around my neck. It barely made it around enough to tie, but he managed. "We’ll find something better for next time. For now, this will have to do." He gave a couple yanks to make sure it wouldn’t come off. "Oh, sorry…that hurt?"
I chuckled. "Did what hurt?" I kidded. I felt no more than a light tug.
He laughed. "Okay, good," he said. I knelt down again, craning my head backwards to watch him awkwardly grab the string and pull himself up slightly. "Here," I said, lifting one leg out to allow him to climb it, giving him height to throw his leg over me. He nearly tumbled off the other side, but I braced him with my wing and tightened them around him briefly, to allow him to balance his legs on either side of me. He scooted his backside back and forth to find a comfortable position.
"Okay, then," Gabriel said, nervously. He fixed his face up bravely. "This is…odd. But not bad." He said. "Softer than I thought it would be," he said.
"Are you saying I got big junk in my dragon trunk?" I asked with mock incredulity.
Gabriel gasped. "Oh—no I didn't mean that, I—" He was interrupted by the sound of Kiarra cackling uncontrollably, and it was very disconcerting in her dragon form. Sort of like she was a lion, getting strangled.
"Awkward," I just said, shaking my head. "I was kidding!"
Gabriel bumped me in the back of the head with his palm. I just cackled.
"Geez, dragons laughing is a really strange sound," Gabriel said, with a hesitant laugh.
"Sort of like a cow getting beat against a rock?" I suggested.
"Something like that, though I've never heard of someone beating a cow against a rock before so I'll just have to take your word for it," he responded sarcastically.
I snorted. "Are we ready?" I asked him. The moment I said this, I felt his legs tighten nervously on either side of my chest. "It'll be fine. Right?"
He nodded, his mouth in a firm, straight line. He grabbed the string in both hands and gripped tightly. "Y-yeah."
Kiarra shook her head. "First time for everything," she mumbled. "Just remember, you’ll be slightly heavier now. It might be harder to take off."
I hadn’t considered that. Some of my conviction started to leave, but Gabriel’s joke helped lighten my mood, "What, are you saying I’m fat? You guys weigh like, what? A ton in your dragon forms? I feel like a feather to her." Kiarra wore a look on her face that said, "If I had hands, I’d be facepalming right now."
I laughed loudly. "Ready?" I said, between chuckles.
"Yeah."
I flapped my wings and exhaled again, and flapped harder. I tried to push off the ground with my legs like I was going to jump, and I was airborne again, about halfway up the tree line.
I twisted my head to give Gabriel a glance. "You okay?"
Gabriel was concentrating (on what, I wasn’t sure) so he just nodded, his forehead crinkling in thought.
I flapped a little harder and gave a big exhale and we flew higher and higher still, well over the tops of trees. Gabriel’s nervous gulp was barely audible to me: I felt his weight shift as he briefly looked down at the ground. "Shit…" was all he muttered. "How you feeling?" he shouted to me, as a small burst of wind came from the clouds.
I braced myself and exhaled more dust, and out of the corner of my eye I could see one of Gabriel’s hands give a wide gesture, the other hanging on the sweatshirt string for dear life. He pushed a gust of wind against it, and I remained unscathed.
"Cool!" I said, feeling a burst of confidence. I lowered my head, and flapped harder. "Hang on!"
Gabriel let out a curse, and tightened his grip as I picked up speed. I didn’t gain altitude, but I was flying around the clearing, a bit faster with each pass around Kiarra, Gabriel fighting the gusts of wind with his own as I flew.
I giggled joyfully. "I’m flying!" I kicked my legs and I flew a little higher. Gabriel’s grip tightened a moment, then loosened as I gained my bearings.
I looked down myself at the trees, mere toothpicks in the ground as high as I was flying, Kiarra’s dragon form was a large spec on the ground. I swiveled around to catch a glimpse at the center of town: the market was just beginning. "Here we go!" I said, and lowered my wings slightly to allow the air to pass over, gaining a little speed as I flew over the trees, to the market.
"They’re so small!" Gabriel mused, out loud. Every now and then he shot a burst of wind in various directions from his hands, and I flew the perimeter of the market. I was high enough so no one would really notice me unless they looked up. Dozens of people wandered around, and chattered, I caught random laughter and yells as vendors hawked their goods (food and crops, today, apparently), everyone looking like ants as I looked down.
"Leo—careful!" I heard Gabriel shout, but before he could get the words out, a massive gust of wind blew across the area, flying everyone’s hair back and to the side, and vendors were chasing various things they were selling as they blew off their counters and into the Square.
It took me by surprise and knocked me slightly to the side, and I felt Gabriel slip. His legs tightened on either side of my body, and he leaned his entire body on my neck. "I can’t fight this one, Leo!"
I blew out and flapped furiously, bending my neck down to allow the wind to glide over me, but as it did, we shook under the turbulence. Beating my wings as hard as I could I tried to stay aloft as
the wind kept trying to push us down.
Gabriel kept shooting blasts of wind from his hand, underneath us to prevent me from falling to fast, but the people underneath us were growing larger as I slowly fell.
"We can’t fall, Leo! You’ll crush them!" he shouted at me.
I narrowed my eyes. I wouldn’t fall. I would fight it.
With a newfound determination, I growled all the dust I could and picked it up in my wings, outstretched on either side as far as I could reach them. The growl must have been a bit louder than I thought, because a handful of people looked up, a couple screamed, sounding rather terrified. One ducked behind a vendor booth and cowered with a scream.
"Leo!" Gabriel cried, as we came near to flying over their heads.
"No!" I called out, beating harder and kicking my legs. I straightened my neck and just as I dipped, I caught my strength again and we flew back up to a safe distance.
"Phew…" Gabriel said, relieved. He patted my neck approvingly. "Good work."
I flew past the market and over the treeline, again, back to the clearing. Kiarra was hovering over the clearing, flapping casually like she didn’t even have to think about it—and she probably didn’t. I was extremely aware of my beating wings, of the way I jerked around as I lifted or bowed my neck and where the wind was as it darted across us (and Gabriel loosening and tensing his grip as I tried desperately not to toss him off the side).
"Nice save, girl," Kiarra said, with a nod of approval. "Let’s bring it in for a landing." She turned and lowered herself to the ground with no effort, and I tried to mimic her movements: head down, legs tucked in, wings flapping slower. Gabriel assisted with shooting wind under me cushioning my jerky landing where I kind of thudded down, causing my front legs to bend and we skidded through the dirt a few feet; Gabriel clutching his arms around my neck. I could feel his jaw tense as he buried his face in my cold skin, and loosen again as we landed. Not gracefully, but safely.
I knelt on my knees and kept my head lowered, allowing Gabriel to slide off my left (well, more like slide and jump).
I straightened myself out after he was safely on the ground. The sudden realization of what I just did suddenly hitting me.
I flew. I actually flew.
Even in my dragon form, I could feel tears prick at my eyes (dragons in their dragon forms seldom cried) and my lower jaw quiver. A proud exhilarated feeling shivered down my back and through my wings. I looked back at them, rustling them slightly and giving a small grin. Maybe they weren’t so bad after all.
Gabriel leaped in front of me, jumping up and down excitedly. "You did it! You flew!"
I nodded slightly. "I did…" I trailed off, turning around so I wasn’t facing either of them. I didn’t want them to see my joyful tears as they tumbled down my scaly face. I tucked my head under my wing as I began to sob, both terrified and relieved and happy.
"Leo…" Gabriel said softly joining me at the side, Kiarra on the other side.
"No!" I said, pulling away from his grasp. "No."
Gabriel and Kiarra hung back, but Kiarra said, "It really was great for a first time."
I nodded slightly, sniffling, snorting out my sparkles as I did so.
"Just like Harry Potter on the broomstick!" Gabriel offered, with a laugh.
I tittered, unburying my face and turning back towards them. "Ha," I said, trying to sound mocking. "I can’t believe I did it. I can really fly!"
"You can. And you’ll only get better at it," Kiarra said, sounding proud. She appeared sympathetic, watching happy tears roll out of my eyes. "I think that’s enough for today." Underneath the blue robe she was wearing around her neck, she shifted back into her human form, Gabriel pointedly looking away from her even though as she shifted, the robes (thankfully!) covered all the key points.
Almost feeling reluctant, I lowered myself once again onto my knees to allow Gabriel to tie the pink robes around my neck, allowing them to drape over my front (covering everything in front, but if there was someone in back they surely were going to get a show!). I closed my eyes and I willed the change, again, feeling the familiar tense and squeeze of everything getting smaller and upright.
I heard a collective gasp from both of them as I finished and tried to pull myself to my feet…but instead I stumbled backward, feeling a heaviness I was unaccustomed to. With a yelp, I started feeling myself fall backward, pulled down by an unknown force.
Gabriel was quick, and grasped my hands before I fell. He helped steady me on my feet, all the while never ceasing to stop looking over my shoulder.
I wrinkled my forehead. "What?" I heard a flapping, like the noise of a bird’s wings.
Kiarra, wide eyed just simply pointed behind me. "Leorah…"
I turned my neck quickly.
In back of me, my dragon wings remained, jutting out from my back and arched over my head and diving down, their edges barely scraping the dirt below.
I screamed, covering my surprise with my palm. I stumbled under the unfamiliar weight. Gabriel braced me once again, this time with the entire side of his body smashed into mine.
"Oh…my…" Dumbfounded, those were the only word Kiarra could mutter, both palms covering her open mouth.
"Try again, maybe it was just too much magic you used," Gabriel suggested, not sounding very convincing but it was a reasonable suggestion. "They’re smaller than your dragon wings, though so you almost got it."
He was right, they were, but they were almost the size of my entire human form. I nodded though in agreement and kneeled again, willing the change into a human—a full human again, sans wings, and recalled the sensation of my wings being pulled into my back, leaving nothing behind.
I stood again, when I was satisfied, Gabriel swallowed, and simply pointed.
I looked over my shoulder again and yelped: my wings were still there.
"What the…" Kiarra muttered.
"Did this ever happen to your grandfather?" I demanded, my tone full of distress.
Shaking her head slowly in a no, Kiarra scratched her head with the fingers of her left hand. "We need to go see Finnian. Now."
I didn’t argue. Gabriel nodded, and helped fix the robes over my backside, biting the fabric over the spots where my wings jutted out with his canine teeth and ripping the fabric in long strips, allowing my wings to jut out comfortably and cover up my ass.
Kiarra stomped with a purpose through the clearing. Gabriel clutched one of my palms between his and pulled it to his chest with a comforting squeeze. He shot a worried look my way. I swallowed, and awkwardly followed behind him as we darted through the trees for the Loremasters main office in the center of town.
Chapter 18
Kiarra barreled through the French doors to the Loremasters’ office, like an outlaw barging into a saloon. "Finnian!" she bellowed in such a low, roaring tone that nearly made me jump, as I was so used to hearing perky, giddy Kiarra.
A door attached to the office opened and Finnian emerged, wiping his hands off on a towel.
Kiarra said nothing. She simply pointed at me.
Finnian’s jaw dropped. The towel fell to the floor, as his hands covered his open-mouthed, shocked expression. "Oh my…"
"What’s wrong with me?" I whimpered, crossing my arms over my chest, as if holding myself would prevent the anxious trembling. It didn’t. Gabriel placed two strong hands on my shoulders and grasped, sending his strength to me.
Finnian shook his head slowly, his wide eyes changed from the pleasant blue they were to a pale golden color. "I haven’t seen anything like this before," was all he could remark. He stepped forward towards me, and reached out to one of my wings, folded against my back like an angel’s wings were typically depicted. I shied away momentarily, causing the wings to rustle against each other. The noise startled me. I turned slightly to allow him to touch a wing.
He rubbed a palm along the outer side of my left wing, intrigue on his face. "Fascinating…" he mumbled to himself. "Does it…hurt?"
; I thought a moment. It didn’t hurt, but it was a bit uncomfortable if not heavy. I shook my head no. "Feels really weird, though."
"I imagine so," he said, touching various spots on the wing.
Kiarra tapped her foot impatiently behind him. "Well?"
Finnian shook himself out of a mesmerized daze, and swiveled on his heels to face her. "Right. I’m simply at a loss. What were you doing before this happened?"
"Flying," Gabriel offered. "Kiarra was helping her to fly. Me too."
Finnian arched his brow. "Really? Were you successful?" he asked me.
I nodded, with a small smile, my moment of triumph still fresh in mind but regrettably trumped by the winged nuisance on my back.
Finnian smiled widely. "Excellent. Besides the wings, how do you feel? Drained magically? Emotionally?"
"We thought that maybe she might have exhausted all her magic, and she wasn’t able to shift fully into a human, leaving her wings stuck out, basically," Kiarra hypothesized.
"I would agree with you, but…they did shift, at least a little. Leorah, your wingspan is about twice what they are right now, correct?" Finnian questioned. "They look a little small for a dragon, yes?"
I nodded. "Yes, they are smaller."
"These are suited for a human’s size, like fairy wings," Finnian said. He backed himself towards the desk and leaned against it, knocking several knick-knacks and pen cups over. It didn’t faze him, he just rested his chin in his palm and drummed his fingers against his jawline.
"You don’t think— "Kiarra began, but Finnian interrupted her with a flourish of his hand.
"Ceceline? Come, quick!" he hollered, to no one in particular. A door opposite the wall creaked open and emerged a short, voluptuous woman with white hair piled on her head artfully, piercing blue eyes and porcelain skin, ruby lips standing out like a sore thumb. She wore a set of bright red robes, which kind of made her appear to me like a candy cane. I almost laughed at the image, then I remembered why we were here…best not to piss off the lady who might have information.
