by Shay Roberts
I return to the center of the room and crouch with my hands near the first hole. After ten minutes of waiting, nothing happens.
The moment I step away from the hole, a rabbit pops out. I chase him in circles around the chamber, never getting close. The furry bastard is toying with me, and I feel irritated despite the calming drug.
I search the chamber, trying to find something to make a snare with, but come up empty. Clearly, I'm supposed to catch it with my hands, and clearly that's impossible.
Now I get it! Lagashan wants me to shift into a dragon. That's how I'm supposed to catch a rabbit. But how do I shift? Some instruction would have been nice. What's the magic word that turns me into a dragon? Maybe I just have to wait for it to happen naturally.
I also wonder what happens to my clothes when I become a dragon. If they get ripped up, what will I wear afterward? Probably the same silly robes that everyone else here is wearing.
I strip off my clothes and leave them in a heap near the narrow exit of the cavern. I still can't tell if Ayana and Lagashan are on the other side of the opening. Maybe they're in a room below me, chasing rabbits up these holes.
Another rabbit runs past me, making a squeaky noise that sounds like laughter. I dive for it, missing it by a yard and banging my elbow on the stone floor.
"Damn it!"
The cursing lessens the pain.
This time, the stupid rabbit doesn't run off. It stops just out of reach, taunting me with its wiggling nose.
As I lie on the floor, I feel something within me rise up, like I'm about to have a nervous breakdown. It scares me and I push it down. Lagashan and Ayana might be watching, so I can't afford to lose my shit.
Then it occurs to me that maybe it isn't a nervous breakdown, but my inner dragon trying to emerge. Maybe I should just give myself over to it. But what if I'm wrong and I have a meltdown for nothing?
Another rabbit pops up, and this one runs right over me.
I give in to my rabbit rage, not sure of what to expect. Will there be tears and revelations?
I feel a painful burning sensation as my skin becomes transparent and splits open. Whatever is coming, it controls me now, and there's no stopping it.
I feel myself expanding, my arms and legs getting bigger, my fingernails becoming long, sharp claws. Glassy scales cover my arm, catching the lamplight and splitting it into a shower of rainbow colors.
The chamber seems to shrink and I feel claustrophobic and trapped. I open my mouth to call for help, but all that comes out is a deep hiss that makes the floor vibrate.
Somehow, I've managed to bite my tongue, and I can taste an acidic, metallic flavor that must be my blood.
Another one of the damned rabbits races across the chamber. Unlike the others, this one appears to be several different shades of gray. Going down on all fours, I slap it with my hand, no, my claws. I sense the creature die, almost as if its soul is passing through my claws like water.
Without thinking, I stuff the rabbit into my mouth and swallow it whole. It doesn't have much of a taste, but the act itself is hugely satisfying.
I survey the chamber and it looks different than before, like it's been painted with additional colors to make the details in the rock stand out.
In a hole along the wall, I see the shiny eyes of another rabbit. I roar in anger and the air seems to ripple around me. I reach the hole in a single leap and struggle to shove my claws in, but the hole is too small.
I move my mouth down to the hole and flick my tongue. I can taste rabbit in the air, and I feel its body heat on my sensitive tongue. Frustrated, I spit into the hole, unleashing a stream of liquid that bursts into sticky orange flames upon contact with the air.
From the shadows beyond the narrow slot, I hear Ayana's voice. "Come back to us, Tyler! Come back!"
I can't fit through that slot. They've made me a prisoner here. I could spit my fire through it, and maybe kill Ayana, but that wouldn't set me free.
Kill Ayana? What am I thinking? I'm a little out of control here.
I look at my pile of clothes on the floor. They're so small, they look like doll clothes. The humans really are tiny, fragile things.
Judging from the size of the chamber, I'd guess my dragon form is at least forty feet long and fifteen feet high.
Am I no longer one of the humans? Is this my fate, trapped here forever, content to kill any rabbit that dares to cross my path?
My name is Tyler. I'm human. I'm in control.
My name is Tyler. I'm human. I'm in control.
As I repeat those words, the room gets larger and drabber. My skin grows opaque, and my claws shrink back into fingernails.
Moments later, I'm standing on my feet again, my legs rubbery. The transformation back to human form was relatively quick and painless.
Ayana races into the chamber and embraces me. "You are an amazing man."
"All I did was kill a couple rabbits."
"No one has ever shifted so quickly, or returned so quickly. It normally takes days."
Lagashan stands behind Ayana, smiling. She speaks a single word, her accent so heavy I can barely understand. "Confidence."
I nod, and Ayana squeezes me harder.
"Ayana?"
"Yes, Tyler?"
"Can I put my clothes on now?"
I later learn that sometimes, when new dragons shift for the first time, they're unable to turn back into humans. In those cases, they're left in the chamber to die. It's already happened twice before.
This dragon stuff is dangerous business.
My body continues to transform over the next several weeks as I become a full-fledged dracoform. In addition to the orange eyes, my skin becomes warm, waxy and covered with tiny scales, making it more cut resistant. The end of my tongue forks, bringing an increased sense of taste, and my body becomes much stronger and faster. I'm also told that if I don't do something stupid, I'll live about fifty percent longer than a normal human lifespan.
Ayana tells me that so far, there are only five dracoforms with the blood of Aido-Hwedo. I am one of them. Three of them are my trainers. And the fifth is somewhere out in the world in an unknown time.
I ask Ayana if dracoforms can mate and produce dracoform children. She tells me they can mate, but produce normal human children with no special abilities. The only way to become a dracoform is by receiving dragon blood. Before Aido-Hwedo died, he gave some of his blood to his followers for storage.
As a dracoform, my sex drive increases, and though I know I probably shouldn't, I find myself sleeping with Ayana almost every night.
Whenever I talk to Ayana about the future, she changes the subject. It's not just her, everyone here is that way. It's like they've already drunk the poison and are waiting to die. It's depressing. They're not a dragon cult, they're a death cult. The only thing that makes them happy is when I make progress in my training. And even when they're happy, they don't laugh or make jokes. Everything is so damned serious. I'm starting to feel like I'm losing my old happy-go-lucky self.
As time passes, Ms. Luvalle checks in each month. I always ask her about my mom. Ms. Luvalle assures me that she's been moved to a safe place in the present, and when I'm ready, I can meet her there.
I also discover that my family line has been ghosted. SA has completed the complex and expensive task of destroying or modifying all records, throughout time, that point to the whereabouts of me or any of my relatives, living or dead, going all the way back to the first recorded documents. Apparently, SA does this for all of its members. It'll make it difficult for supervillain time travelers to go back and kill my younger self, or kill a relative so that I'll never be born. It is not an absolute guarantee of safety, but so far, their ghosting protocol has never been breached.
That does a lot to ease my mind. Every time I see Ms. Luvalle, I thank her for her efforts, then she jumps ahead to meet me in another month. For her, only days are going by, but for me, months pass, and my dragon training continues.
&nbs
p; There's a lake not far from here. Lagashan uses it to teach me to swim in dragon form. I love being in the water. Swimming is easier than flying, so new dracoforms always start there. Over time, the weather has gotten better, but it's still cool. I find I prefer cooler temperatures, especially when I'm in dragon form.
So far, I haven't seen another human being besides the Hwedoists. I have to keep reminding myself that it's now 541 CE. I wish I had gone to college and studied history. I'm not sure what's going on elsewhere in the world. All I know is that the Roman Empire has fallen, but medieval knights have not yet risen in their place.
Nearly every day now, Lagashan shifts into her dragon form to teach me how to hunt and fight as a dragon. I have nine weapons and I learn to use them all. Fore and rear claws, fangs, tail, and fire can devastate opponents. My small horns are my eighth weapon, used to butt or gore enemies. The ninth weapon is my size. I can use my bulk to knock over and crush things.
I discover that during fighting or feeding, it's possible to lose a tooth or claw. Unlike my scales, they are not crystalline. Thankfully, if lost, they grow back in a week or so.
My eyes, open mouth, wings, and belly are vulnerable, so Lagashan shows me how to hunt and fight in ways that keep them protected. In most places, the crystalline scales on my body are thick enough to ward off arrows, swords, and spears, but they will not stop bullets. A bullet to the brain might prove fatal, but a single hit anywhere else would probably be survivable.
Ground fighting is considered risky. Apparently, proper dragons hide in the glare of the sun and zoom down in surprise attacks from behind, spewing fire before climbing high again. I'm good for about three spews before I need to spend a day or two regenerating my fire-starting fluid.
I have to be very careful not to shred my wings. A sword could do that. I could also get them caught in the trees. If I damage my wings, I can't fly until they heal, and I lose my chance for a quick escape. I can run along on the ground, but it's very tiring. If I can't make an airborne escape, the next best thing is heading for water. I can swim deep and fast, and stay under for ten minutes at a time. Lagashan says my water skills are unusually good, proving that Aido-Hwedo's blood is strong in me.
Shifting into my dragon form is tiring, and I need to rest a day or two before I can do it again. It's dangerous to stay in dragon form for more than a couple of days at a time, because my brain becomes more dragon-like and I don't want to go back to being human. Also, the longer I stay in dragon form, the more impatient and irritable I become.
One day, I ask Lagashan how it's even possible to transform into a dragon. I mean, where is it coming from? Is it a spirit creature that invades my body? Is my DNA transforming? How does it work exactly? She doesn't seem to have a good answer. All she can say is that it's a gift from the ancient dragon gods.
I'm not happy with that answer, and I continue to ponder it over dinner in the communal dining hall. Lagashan talks about shifting as if it's magic, but I'm someone who likes to understand how things work. Even magic must have some rational explanation, once you understand the details.
As I finish my azifa, a lentil salad served over injera bread, Ayana passes by and whispers in my ear, "Meet me in the bath."
What is she up to? Is she trying to distract me from thoughts about dragon shifting? There's only one way to find out.
After my meal, I hurry to my private bath. I've used it many times already, and it's very relaxing. Somehow, the water coming up from the hot springs is carbonated and leaves my skin tingling. I just have to be careful not to stay in too long, because the heat is almost too much for me.
Ayana isn't there when I arrive at the bath, so I strip off and jump in to get the party started.
She arrives moments later, carrying a washcloth and a bottle of scented oil. To my surprise, she steps into the water without undressing.
She crouches beside me and gives me a lingering kiss. "Happy birthday."
"What?"
"You're twenty-six years old today."
"How do you know it's my birthday?"
"I have seen your passport."
"We're not on that calendar here. It's a completely different month now."
"Yes, but we count the days passed to know our true ages."
It's weird to think that when I return to the present, no time will have passed, but I will be much older. In my mind, I imagine a time traveler with a passport that says he's thirty, even though he looks sixty. I'm guessing that cosmetic surgery is popular among time travelers.
Tonight, Ayana has traded her dowdy robe for a sheer gown that clings to her wet body. I want to watch her, but she takes up a position behind me, pours oil in the water, and begins washing me with the cloth.
The oil smells like lime, and it's making me light-headed. As Ayana washes me, my skin becomes super-sensitive, like I can feel every fiber in the washcloth.
Ayana is very thorough, reaching down between my legs and gently scrubbing every inch of my scrotum and surging manhood. I feel myself about to explode, but she knows just when to stop.
She whispers into my ear. "Meet me in your bedchamber."
She steps out of the bath, not bothering to dry herself. As she leaves, I watch the globes of her perfect ass move beneath her clinging wet gown.
I have to wait a bit before getting dressed and following her. I can't be running around the temple with a raging erection.
When I finally arrive at my bedroom, I find Ayana taking off the thin gold chain running from her nose to her ear. That's odd, I've never seen her without it.
Then she smiles and puts on a dragon mask. This mask is not as fierce as the others I've seen. It's feminine and pretty. The message is I'm going to fuck you, not I'm going to kill you.
We've never had sex while she's wearing a mask. This might be fun. I sweep her up in my arms and carry her to my rainbow bed.
As she murmurs in a language I don't understand, I straddle her and rip off her wet gown. I never used to destroy clothing, but the dragon brings that out in me.
At an unspoken signal, we smoothly reverse positions. I like the feel of her breasts hanging down on me, and I enjoy watching her ass in the silver mirror above.
She continues to murmur as I slide into her. I wonder what she's saying. To avoid climaxing early, I try to focus on her words, even though they make no sense.
Suddenly, Ayana reaches up and removes her mask. Now she has red hair and a completely different face!
Her body remains the same, so I know it's Ayana, but she now wears the face of a beautiful stranger.
I explode into her. Too early, I know, but I just can't help it. Her strange magic has brought sex to a whole new level.
For a moment, I forget where I am, and I'm relieved of the enormous burden of my training.
After giving me some time to recover, Ayana explains that the mask creates the illusion of strangers. She offers me many more nights with many random faces. Who could say no to that?
Later that night, wrapped in my arms, I hear her talking in her sleep. She's speaking Ethiopian, so I don't understand her. But I do recognize one word. Rosemarie.
Who is this mysterious Rosemarie?
In the morning, I ask Ayana about the dream, but she says she doesn't remember it.
I'm four months into my lessons before Lagashan allows me to fly. At first, it's just short hops over the lake, but we eventually make longer trips south, to the Great Rift Valley, where we enjoy stunning views of waterfalls, deep blue lakes, lions, elephants, giraffes, and hippos. The animals scatter anywhere our shadows fall. Wariness of dragons is deeply embedded in their instincts.
Flying is hard to learn. Lagashan says that dragons weren't made to fly, and I believe her. Taking off is easier than landing. When I first start landing, Lagashan makes me practice on the lake, and after a few crashes I see why. When I slow down enough to land, I start to fall out of the sky, so it all has to be timed perfectly. It's essentially a controlled fall, executed just above the
ground.
Navigating is also tricky. Lagashan teaches me a system where I memorize a series of landmarks so I can always find my way back. Viewing the world from above is weird, and I'm sometimes not sure what I'm seeing on the ground. Whenever I can't identify something, Lagashan has me fly lower until I can make it out. Over time, I learn to recognize common animals, trees, and natural formations.
During one flight, I spot a group of humans traveling on foot in a long column. Lagashan immediately diverts me. During the training period, contact with humans outside the temple is strictly forbidden, and it's strongly discouraged even after the training period. Most humans hate dragons, so it's important that we don't attract attention and lead them back to the temple.
Once I can fly reasonably well, Lagashan introduces the flight harness, a bulky leather apparatus that allows someone to ride on my back. I hate the damned thing. It takes two people and a ladder to get it on, and it's much harder to take off, especially with a rider. It also reduces my flight range. Normally, I can fly nearly fifty miles at a time without rest, averaging about thirty miles per hour. But with a rider, even a light one, I'm lucky to make thirty miles at twenty miles per hour.
Riding is dangerous. The rider has to be strapped down to prevent falls, but there's also the danger of hypothermia and oxygen deprivation at higher altitudes, something that doesn't affect dragons.
The harness is my least favorite part of my training, and I'm happy when it's finished. Ayana wants me to take her for a ride, but I refuse. She isn't one of the temple's trained riders, and I'm afraid something will happen to her. She pouts a little but gets over it quickly.
At least once a week, Ayana brings the magic mask to bed, and I have sex with a different woman. It never gets old.
Sometimes, when we're lying in bed after sex, I feel bad about the mask. Maybe I like it a little too much. Maybe Ayana herself isn't enough for me anymore. I wonder how she feels when she's using it. Does she ever want me to wear the mask? These are things that we never talk about.
