by T Ariyanna
All at once, the fear fell away from Kaitlyn. The pain faded, numbed by the adrenaline that raced through her veins. She tightened her grip on Kaliyah's wrist, unsure of what her plan was. Everything slowed and Kaitlyn’s vision dulled as her body moved on its own.
She twisted on the spot, flinging one arm out. It hit Kaliyah in the side, and Kaitlyn felt a rib break under the pressure. Kaliyah buckled. She gasped in shock, stumbling backwards. Kaitlyn got to her feet, taking a fighting stance.
She spread her feet and her fingers curled like talons. Her muscles were stiff with tension, and her skin felt taut over her arms and legs. She blamed her odd feeling on the adrenaline. Though her vision was still blurred by stress and darkness hung in the air like a fog, she could see a shape she expected to be Kaliyah, and she watched it closely.
The two girls circled each other, Kaitlyn defensive and Kaliyah more hostile than ever. Kaliyah jumped for Kaitlyn, but she grabbed the other girl's shoulders and used her leg to propel Kaliyah overhead, rolling onto her back. She heard the girl's claws scraping against the stone, and turned to see her hanging off the edge. Kaitlyn inched closer. She debated whether or not to kick Kaliyah's hand and make the girl lose her grip, but she didn't get the time to make a decision.
Kaliyah hoisted herself onto the ledge, her wings beating furiously. Kaitlyn's vision was beginning to clear, and she could see the strain on Kaliyah's face.
Catching a glance of her own arms, Kaitlyn was shocked at the shine on her skin from the moonlight. It nearly blinded her, and she did her best to ignore it. I’m sweating so much. Is it fear or the fight? she thought absentmindedly. Her attention was focused on the girl in front of her, drowning out her thoughts.
Kaliyah ran at her, yelling in rage. Her scream gave Kaitlyn just enough time to react, and she sidestepped the girl at the last second. Her foot caught Kaliyah's, and both girls tumbled to the ground. Kaitlyn hit the side of her head on the ground, stunning herself.
Kaliyah was on top of her in an instant, her knees pinning Kaitlyn's arms. Kaitlyn squirmed under the other girl, and though Kaliyah was small and lightweight, she was all muscle, and was holding Kaitlyn down with sheer strength.
Kaliyah's hands came down on Kaitlyn's throat, strangling her. Claws dug into Kaitlyn's flesh, and her blood was hot against her already flushed skin. Kaitlyn bucked desperately, doing anything she could to get free of Kaliyah. With a last burst of energy as her vision started to fade again, she kneed Kaliyah in the back. A sickening crack resounded in the air.
It caught the girl in her spine, and she arched in pain. Her hands fell limp around Kaitlyn's neck. While Kaliyah gasped, Kaitlyn used all of her weight to throw the other girl off. She rolled away from her, chugging air into her lungs at a rate that burned her throat.
Kaliyah was on the ground, holding herself up with one shaky arm. The other was wrapped around herself, feeling her back. Her mouth was agape and her eyes wide as her hand moved from her back to her legs. She rubbed them at first, then began pounding them with all her might, screaming manically. She slashed at her legs with her claws. Blood pooled around the gashes, staining the shorts that she wore. Tears glistened on her cheeks, and sobs hitched in her throat
The adrenaline rushed out of Kaitlyn as quickly as it had come, and she fell to her knees. “Kaliyah…” she gasped, coming into herself. She couldn't believe what was happening. She reached out toward the girl, wanting nothing more than to help the person that had tried to kill her.
Kaliyah's head shot up, and she glared at Kaitlyn. Despite her pain and anguish, a fire roiled within her eyes. With another scream of insanity that pierced Kaitlyn's ears, she used her arms to fling herself on Kaitlyn.
Though Kaliyah didn't have the control she had before, Kaitlyn no longer had the fighting spirit. She threw her arms up to shield her face from the flurry of swipes. Kaitlyn cringed with each hit Kaliyah landed, but the pain she had expected wasn’t there. There was a ringing in Kaitlyn's ears that she couldn't place, and she put her questions to the back of her mind.
Footsteps could be heard in the distance, though just barely. Kaitlyn's arms finally gave out, and Kaliyah leaned over her in triumph, raising a hand to strike.
Kaliyah’s arms swiped within an inch of Kaitlyn's face. With a desperate yell of her own, Kaitlyn lashed out and slapped the girl. Kaliyah was thrown off of her, and curled up on her side. She clutched her face, cursing and whining to herself.
Kaitlyn crawled over to the girl and saw blood between her fingers. Long gashes ran across Kaliyah's entire face, bleeding profusely. Doing the only thing she knew how, Kaitlyn screamed for help, pressing her hands to Kaliyah's face to stop the bleeding. Despite Kaliyah's threats and protests, she didn't fight Kaitlyn any further.
Within seconds, a group descended upon them. Strong arms tore Kaitlyn from Kaliyah and held her tight. Vyekrin appeared between them, pacing in the small space. His tail twitched in agitation, a continuous hiss streaming from his mouth.
“Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn! Are you okay? What the hell happened? I was gone for five minutes! How could this happen. Oh shit, your arms. What the hell is up with your arms?!”
Cy turned Kaitlyn to face him, but she couldn't see him. The moonlight was reflecting off of his chest, showing every detail of Arion's craftsmanship. She found herself getting lost in each line, in every overlapping piece of metal.
“My arm…?” she asked in disbelief. Cy lifted her arm to his face, studying it. “I don’t care about my arm, we have to help her, I don’t know what happened. What I did…” Kaitlyn lost her words as she glanced at the other girl. She was curled up on the ground, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Cy put his hands on her shoulder to steady her, and she gazed into his eyes. He looked afraid and angry. “I couldn’t give a damn about her! There’s something wrong with you!”
“Wrong? Because I care about someone other than myself? I’m not in pain, I can’t even feel anything. Happy now?” Kaitlyn burst, losing her temper.
“Not that, Kaitlyn. They’re covered in scales! And you have claws. What exactly happened out here?”
Kaitlyn stared down at her arms in shock. What she had thought was sweat glistening before were tiny blue scales covering her arm from her fingers to just past her elbow. She grazed her fingers, now tipped with thin white claws, over them, relishing in the smoothness. They began again at her shoulder, and she couldn't find where they ended on her back. Lifting her fingers to her face, she found more scales splotched across her cheeks, forehead, chin, and around her eyes. They covered her hairline, leaving very little skin left on her face.
Kaitlyn dropped her hand to her side, where it shook wildly. She looked behind her, at Kaliyah now restrained and unconscious on the ground. Vyekrin was pressing her down with one large paw, and her face was bleeding freely now. Kyros stood over her, his face solemn as he watched her. Without her dragon form, she looked like nothing more than an injured little girl.
She turned back to Cy, her eyes brimming with tears. “What have I done?”
Kaitlyn
The cave was dark, the opening facing away from the rising sun. The rock wall was cold on Kaitlyn’s back, even through the jacket she wore. Her mind was racing and nerves were eating at her insides.
Kyros had found a Draken to join them, but the preparations would take a little longer. They had sent her away, to wait with Gil while Cy and Kyros finalized their plans. She had so many questions she had wanted to ask Cy, but he wouldn’t answer any of them. He told her to wait until they had left the Drakens.
“They sure are taking a long time,” Kaitlyn whispered. She glanced up at Gil, leaning against the wall across from her. Gil’s arms were wrapped around his body, keeping himself warm from the incoming wind. He was as far from the entrance to the cave as they could be while watching for Cy and their Draken.
Kaitlyn squirmed closer to the entrance as another gust of wind blew past. She tightened her grip on her chest, the thick coat awkward ov
er her arms. The scales from the night before hadn’t faded, nor had they been a dream. Cy had made her promise to keep them a secret from Gil until he joined them.
Vyekrin was curled up in the darkness of the cave, but his blue eyes shone brightly. She hadn't seen him with his eyes closed since they had found her last night. He hadn't even blinked, and it scared her. She could read the fear and guilt in his eyes, but nothing she had said or done would calm him.
Kaitlyn thought back to their fight, to the primal rage in Kaliyah's eyes, then to the sorrow of her defeat. The way she had been curled up after Kaitlyn kneed her, the fact that she had dragged herself by her arms, gave Kaitlyn a bad feeling in her stomach. Did I paralyze her? Did I do something permanent?
The questions whirled through her head, and she felt dizzy. She stepped outside of the cave, scratching at her scaled wrist.
“If you're too hot, why don't you take off that coat? It looks too big for you, anyway. It would fit me better,” Gil said, coming close to Kaitlyn. He reached out to grab the sleeve of the coat, and a breeze caught his hand. He jumped back with a yelp, examining his skin.
The cold could be deadly to him, Kaitlyn knew, but Cy had been strict when he told her to keep herself covered until they figured things out. They hoped that Kyros would know more, but Kaitlyn was sure there was more to the situation than Cy was telling her.
She glanced at Gil, scarily pale in the bitter cold. She was extremely hot under the coat, as the scales gave her an extra layer of protection. Even her insides seemed to be warmer. She was sweating. Biting her lip, she shrugged off the coat and tossed it to Gil.
He caught it easily and put it on as fast as possible, burying his chin in it. He held it to himself, sighing in content. “So warm,” he muttered. His eyes fluttered open as he started to thank Kaitlyn, but he stopped short. His eyes went wide and his jaw fell slack. His mouth moved slowly as he worked out the pieces in his head, and finally said, “What happened to you?”
Kaitlyn looked away, unsure how to feel about the situation. It had scared her at first, but in all honesty, it didn't feel too out-of-place to her. It felt like it was how she was supposed to be. She raised her arm, the blue scales glinting in the light. She stared at Vyekrin. Her scales matched his perfectly, like Kaliyah's had matched Polae's. Maybe she was like Kaliyah.
“It's a long story,” Kaitlyn said slowly. “I got attacked by a girl. She wasn't a Draken. She was mad that I had a dragon and was taking all the attention, so she tried to kill me. Twice. The second time, I guess I just transformed to defend myself. I was tired, and it was dark, so I didn't realize what was going on until after it was all done. They haven't gone away, but it just happened last night.”
“One of them attacked you, and you stayed long enough for there to be a second attack?”
“They had her locked up, but she's the best fighter they have, so obviously she got away. It's not like they had intended for her to attack me. They tried to keep us safe. They're not all that bad, Gil. Maybe you should try to work something out with the Draken that comes with us.”
“I don't want anything to do with them. They stay away from me, and we won't have any problems.”
Kaitlyn sighed as Gil stomped his foot in determination. Though he was much thinner than the Drakens, Kaitlyn was sure he was agile and fast enough to hold his own in a fight. With all the testosterone in the group, he might have to.
“Kaitlyn, I thought I told you to keep the coat on?” Cy said as he jogged up to her. Ice crystals were forming on his shoulders. She pulled him under the shelter of the cave. He shook the snow from his body, but seemed otherwise unphased.
“Gil was cold, and I wasn't. So I gave it to him. He was going to find out eventually, and we trust him, right?” Kaitlyn looked at the ground, ashamed that she was making him worry about her again. She knew he wasn’t being warry of Gil, just concerned. She wished she would have just listened to Cy, but it was too late now
He glanced towards Gil, retreating into the cave to lean against Vyekrin. The dragon's tail twitched nervously, though he didn't seem to mind.
“Right,” Cy said with resolve.
“Are we going to just stand around, or are we going to get moving?” a voice said from outside the cave. A Draken with long gray hair and solid features stood holding the straps of his pack. Steam rose from his body between the creases of his light brown armor. Wayonn remained just outside the cave, and through the heavy snowfall, Kaitlyn almost thought the dragon was playing.
“Jayr?” Kaitlyn asked, remembering the Draken that had fought against Kaliyah. “It was you that volunteered? But we don't even know you.”
“No, but I know you. I feel as though I have a debt to repay, for Kaliyah's mistreatment towards you.”
“Why would you feel responsible for her? Didn't she kick your ass the other day, and every other day, from what we were told?” Cy asked scathingly.
“That she did. Regardless, I would like to pay my respects to you in hopes to make up for her poor behavior.”
“Seriously what's going on here? You got some ulterior motive, don't you? You have to,” Cy insisted.
Jayr sighed. “If you must know, I take responsibility for Kaliyah's actions because she is my betrothed. I am the strongest male in Deidrich, second only to her. It only fitting that we wed.”
“So it's an arranged marriage?” Kaitlyn asked. She felt sorry for Jayr. Not only for who he was engaged to, but that it might not even be his own choice.
“It is. It is our custom.”
“Your custom? Ha! Why don't you just break it like you do all your other customs?” Gil remarked from the depths of the cave. Vyekrin jumped at his sudden outburst, growling at the Droll.
“I assume that voice is that of the Droll within our party. Keep your words to yourself, Droll. And I shall keep my blades to myself,” Jayr said.
“Ah, yes. Greet me with a threat, just like I knew you would. You're so predictable, though I wouldn't expect much more from the likes of you.” Gil stomped to the mouth of the cave, fists at the ready.
Jayr took a step forward, his hand resting on the handle of his blade.
Gil puffed at the clear threat in Jayr’s actions. “Give me a crossbow and you won’t even have a chance to draw your swords. That’s a promise,” Gil hissed.
“Enough!” Kaitlyn yelled, stepping between them. “We don't have time to fight like this. You have a problem, you take it up with me, which really means that Vyekrin will squash you. We’ve got more important things to discuss right now.”
Vyekrin was at her side at the sound of his name, glaring at Jayr and Gil. Jayr backed down first, returning to a relaxed position. Gil forced himself to calm, though his jaw remained clenched.
“Cyllorian,” Kaitlyn said pointedly, turning to Cy. He looked away from her, and the gears on the sides of his head spun fiercely. “What did you find out?”
All eyes were on Cy, but he refused to meet a single one. “Do we have to do this now? I thought we were in a hurry?”
Gil looked between Kaitlyn and Cy, understanding in his expression. “You still didn’t tell her?”
“Tell me what? Gil, do you know something?” Kaitlyn whirled on Gil, and he looked away from her gaze.
“Cy wouldn’t let me say anything,” he answered, glancing at Cy.
Kaitlyn turned to him again, but he didn’t look to willing to talk. “What aren’t you telling me?” Kaitlyn tried forcing herself to remain calm. Cy tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling with a vacant expression. “I thought you trusted me, that you wouldn’t keep any more secrets from me? Have I just been following you around blindly for no reason? Does it have to do with this?”
Her questions all came out at once. She lifted her arm, taking a step towards Cy.
He took an unsteady step away from her. the plates that made up his jaw were shifting continuously. His glowing eyes were darting toward Kaitlyn. She stared him down, her breath looking more like smoke in the cold air. Cy
’s hands were shaking at his sides. His eyes went dark for a moment, then his voice boomed throughout the cave behind her.
“You’re not human, Kaitlyn! I don’t know what you are, but magic has a strong effect on you. I didn’t want to tell you, because I didn’t want to ruin the possibility of you being able to go back to normal once this is over.” Cy confessed this all in a rush. He finally met her gaze, his eyes dull.
“I’m not… human? How is that possible? I’ve always been human. Maybe I’m just sick, or cursed. I can’t be…” Kaitlyn’s gaze fell. Horror was set on her round features, and shock had left her frozen.
Kaitlyn’s words faded as she stared at her hands. The blue scales shimmered over her skin, and the white claws were undeniable.
Gil stepped up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. His touch was cool against her skin, burning from the scales.
Everyone was silent for a long moment before Gil broke the silence, “What do we do now?”
“The next step is getting off this damn mountain. That means we start climbing,” Cy said as he marched toward the mouth of the cave. The storm that had been so violent just moments before was already fading, large clumps of snow drifting slowly to the ground.
“Not necessarily. I have a better option,” Jayr said. “We’ve got two dragons, right? Each dragon can carry two, and we’ll get to Kindling Woods in no time.”
“Kindling Woods. You have got to be kidding me,” Cy snapped. “What makes you think we’d ever go there?”
Kaitlyn looked to each face, taking in the terror rooted in their features. “What’s wrong with the Kindling Woods? I don't know what you all are so scared of. They're just fairies and pixies, right?”
Cy didn’t answer, and he refused to meet her gaze. He was too preoccupied with Jayr.
Jayr spoke next, never breaking eye contact with Cy. “They have a strong affinity with life. They’re the most likely ones to have a way to help your cause. Theresa told me when I made my decision to join your cause.”
