Darkbeam Part II

by Adrienne Woods

  I doubted that Elena would pack anything, so I put some extra robes into my backpack.

  I pulled my backpack over my shoulder and headed to the Parthenon Dome.

  I undressed and placed my clothes in my bag before I shifted, then, holding the bag in my paw, I waited patiently for Elena.

  But when there was still no sign of Elena at five minutes past two, my patience started fading.

  At ten past I was about to lose my shit, but I forced myself to remain calm and get comfortable.

  Finally, Elena appeared, jumping when she saw me.

  She spoke in English, but I had no idea what she was saying.

  I stretched as I got up, and I could feel her green eyes on me.

  What could I say? I was a dragon who loved to be admired.

  She huffed under her breath.

  Was that a hint of a smile?

  I jumped and grabbed her on my way up.

  She yelped as she dangled upside-down in my paws. I flicked my talons and flipped her around, settling her safely inside my paw.

  She yelled something again.

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  I twirled in the air, even though I knew Elena hated it.

  When we were right above the mountain, I released her.

  She landed on the ground with a soft thud.

  I transformed and quickly pulled my robe out of the bag and over my head. I walked over to her, where she was still lying on her back.

  “Wasn’t that fun?”

  Her eyes were closed and she grunted softly.

  “I’ve got a robe on, Elena. It’s safe to open your eyes.”

  She quickly pushed herself into a crawling position, scampering to the nearest tree where she hurled.

  I took out a wet cloth in my bag and walked to her, smirking.

  “Was it that bad?”

  I crouched behind her, trying to keep her hair away from the vomit, but she had everything under control.

  She held her hand up.

  “It’s not that, believe me, this is an Elena thing.”

  “I would love to hear about it.”

  She looked at me and took the cloth I held out to her, then wiped her mouth.

  “Something tells me you already know.”

  I chuckled. “I don’t, I just came prepared.”

  “I’m afraid of heights,” she spoke softly.

  “Sorry?”

  “Oh, you heard me,” she spat. “I’m afraid of heights!”

  “How is that even remotely possible?” I tried not to laugh, but it was ludicrous.

  “Go ahead, laugh,” she snapped. “I don’t know, it is the way it is. I’ve always had this fear of heights thing going on.” She sat down and put her head between her legs, taking slow, deep breaths.

  “You serious?”

  “Yes, always have been.”

  “But you’re a dragon?”

  She looked at me. “So sue me.”

  I laughed. “You’re funny in a messed up way. You always this pissed?”

  “No, it somehow seems to come out whenever you are around.”

  I chuckled.

  “First rule,” I said.

  She looked tentatively at me.

  “Whatever you do, don’t fall in love with me.”

  “Excuse me!” She was bowled over. I guess there was first time for everything.

  I smiled. “You heard me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not one of those bimbos that buff their eyes every time you come near.” She stood up.

  I grinned and she averted her gaze, looking slightly pissed with the first rule.

  I started to pace. “Second rule. You need to deal with being naked, Elena.”

  “Fat chance, Mr. Ego.”

  “Elena, you’re a dragon; all dragons are used to being naked.”

  “Well, not this one.”

  “Good,” I said.

  “What’s good?”

  “You finally acknowledged yourself as a dragon. I can work with that.”

  Her lips pulled back into a snarl before she turned her head away.

  “Why don’t you like her?”

  “Because I don’t remember the shit she does; I can’t control her and I always end up wanting to kill one of my friends.”

  “That will change the more you bring her out, Elena,” I said gently.

  “I can’t promise that she won’t hurt you.”

  I laughed. “I can handle a little female Rubicon.”

  She huffed, her lips tugging up in a crooked grin. “She’s different.”

  “She doesn’t have my experience.”

  “Fine, just don’t fall in love with her, please,” Elena retorted.

  Touché. “Glad we have one rule in common.” I clapped my hands together. “Get her out, Elena.”

  She blew out a breath, nervous.

  “It’s going to be fine, I promise.”

  “I don’t even understand one word you are saying, Blake. She doesn’t speak Latin.”

  “Let me worry about that. I’ll work something out.”

  “I forgot my robe.”

  I chuckled as I took the extra robe out of the backpack and handed it to her.

  “I told you, I always come prepared.”

  She got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. She grabbed the robe, then past me to the tree behind me.

  I shook my head.

  I muffled my laugh when Elena walked back toward me. The robe was a few sizes too big, hanging off one shoulder and showing off her collar bone. She balled the material in her fist on the one side so the hem didn’t trail on the ground.

  She stood in front of me.

  “I need to meet her, Elena.”

  She bit into her lower lip. “She makes everything feel ten times worse, Blake.”

  “It’s normal. You’ve got to embrace her.”

  Elena groaned. “Fine, turn around.”

  I stared at her.

  “Turn around.”

  “Seriously?”

  She grabbed my shoulders and turned me around.

  Teasing Elena was going to become one of my favorite things to do.

  I couldn’t resist peeking.

  Elena was on the ground, her legs pulled up to her chest, covering the intimate parts of her body.

  She grunted and scales started to appear on her skin.

  Her limbs grew and she doubled over.

  The process was faster than it was to get Elena to shift to her human form.

  She was huge, but I would be able to take her if something happened.

  She stood in front of me in her majestic form and opened her eyes.

  “Hi, I’m Blake.”

  She snorted. “It’s still me, idiot.”

  “I thought you said—”

  “It takes about a couple of minutes, just wait.”

  I smiled. “I don’t know why you don’t like her, Elena.”

  “You’ll spin another story once you meet her.”

  She lay down and put her head on her paws.

  She closed her eyes and I took a seat on a boulder close by.

  She lifted her head and looked the other way.

  I frowned, wondering if this was the dragon or Elena.

  She just stared at the view.

  I cleared my throat and she looked at me.

  She got up immediately and she rumbled a growl.

  I held my hands in defense.

  “Calm down, Elena.”

  “Who the hell is Elena? I’m not Elena.”

  I frowned. That wasn’t normal. “Who are you then?”

  “My name is Cara.”

  “Cara?” I raised an eyebrow. She had to be fucking with me.

  “Fine, I’ll go with that.”

  “And you are?” She asked but something in her shifted and she seemed ready to blow.

  “Wait,” I said, my hands still raised. I didn’t want to hurt her. “I’m like you, okay.”

 
She laughed. “You are nothing like me, little rodent.”

  “She wasn’t joking when she said that you are feisty.”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “Elena, she’s in there with you.” I laughed again. It sounded so stupid, especially since I knew this was Elena. “I’m sure you’ll meet her soon.”

  “I have nobody inside of me.” Her words were cold. I laughed and her talon connected with my body and I fell off the cliff.

  The beast came out immediately.

  I flew into her view and hovered in the air.

  She got up and ran the opposite direction, smashing everything in her wake.

  What the fuck, Elena?

  I flew above, tracking her movements. Trees fell all around her as she passed.

  She reached the edge and hurled herself off, taking to the air.

  I followed behind her, but kept my distance.

  This entire situation puzzled me. Why was she calling herself Cara? Had they changed her name to Elena when they left Paegeia?

  Even so, whenever I was the beast, it was still me. This was different.

  She looked around and spotted me, then whirled to evade me.

  Not this time, sweetheart.

  I darted higher until she was a speck below me, then I swooped down, hovering above her.

  She slowed down, craning her neck to look behind her.

  I let a few drops of acid drip from my lips to her snout.

  She shook her head and looked up. Swiftly, she darted down. For the next half hour, she tried everything in her might to shake me off.

  It was a great workout.

  She stopped midair, and I darted passed her, then I stopped and turned around.

  She yelled in English, but I had no idea what she was saying.

  She was hostile.

  I nodded to the mountain and turned around.

  I flew slowly, and after a few moments, she started following me.

  I quickened my pace. We were both still pups, and loved to play tag.

  She got into it and stayed on my tail, surprising me with her moves.

  She could do everything I could. Her wings were strong and she was skilled. And right now, she didn’t have a fear of heights.

  Suddenly, it seemed like she forgot to flap.

  She struggled and started to fall.

  When I realized she wasn’t going to start flapping again, I darted down. She shrieked as I swooped down, moving beneath her.

  It was as if she suddenly forgot how to fly.

  My paws hit the ground and I ran a few steps, bringing us back into the air. I felt her panting on my back.

  This wasn’t normal. What did this mean?

  Why was she always making me confused?

  The mountain came into view and I landed softly.

  She slid off my wing and landed on the ground with a crash.

  I quickly changed back to my human form and pulled on my robe.

  “Why did you fall?” I asked her.

  “Just give me a couple of minutes and I’ll remember,” she snapped sarcastically.

  I huffed and decided to humor her again. “You’re back.”

  “What happened?”

  “I’ll give you a couple of minutes.”

  “Haha, you are so hilarious.”

  “You can change back now, Elena. I still don’t know why you don’t want to embrace her.”

  She sighed. “Please don’t tell me you actually liked her?”

  I chuckled as I took a seat by one of the remaining trees. I rummaged in my bag for my cigarettes.

  “You still smoke?”

  “Yes.” It had nothing to do with her.

  She hooked the robe with her one tooth and walked deeper into the forest.

  A few minutes later, she walked out of the forest.

  I studied her. A piece of her hair had changed color. It was now like a rainbow.

  That never happened to me.

  “What now?” She looked down at her body and hugged herself tightly around her middle.

  “Your hair.”

  She grabbed her ponytail and let it go.

  I got up and pulled the band out of her hair.

  Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders, and as I looked at her, I felt the shift in my body. My heart beat faster.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Look, Elena.” I showed her the strand.

  She sighed but grabbed the rest of her hair to inspect it. “Is it only my bangs?”

  “Humph.”

  “That’s all you can say?”

  I shrugged. “It looks kind of cool.”

  “Urgh! Whatever.” She grabbed her elastic out of my hand and pulled her hair back into a pony.

  I sat back down, and Elena followed suit, sitting down with her back against another tree.

  We were quiet as I finished my cigarette.

  “She flicked you off the mountain!”

  I snarled sarcastically at her and she smiled.

  “You are right, she’s sort of awesome… Cara?”

  “Yeah.” It was my time to sound sarcastic.

  “Is that normal?”

  “I don’t know, you tell me.” I asked. “But then again, nothing about you is normal.”

  “Ha, ha,” she snapped back.

  I smiled, taking another cigarette out of the pack. I blew gently on it to light it, then I took a drag.

  “How do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Use your abilities while in your human form.”

  “They haven’t taught you that yet?”

  “No, they have. I just don’t seem to be able to do it.”

  “You’ll learn in time.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  I shook my head. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, Elena. Or so I’ve heard.”

  She took another deep breath. “Yeah, well, my patience isn’t what it used to be.”

  “It’s all up here.” I tapped my temple “Yours is stuffed with a lot of crazy things right now, things you need to accept first, before you will be able to use it to conquer your abilities. So, the faster you get rid of the ‘world owes me something’ mentality, the sooner you’ll be ready to start learning.”

  She glared for a moment, then looked away.

  I looked at my watch, and realized we’d been here for two hours. I’d told Tabitha I’d only be an hour. She was going to flip.

  I got up. “I still have Warbel practice to coach, so let’s call it a day.”

  She stared at me and shook her head. “Fine, when do you want to do this again?”

  “Tomorrow, same time, same place. Like I said, you have a lot to learn.”

  “Yeah, that I already know. Maybe if you tell me something I don’t know, like why you’re helping me, then this could get a bit easier.”

  I chuckled. “If I tell you that, I might as well kill you, Elena,” I shifted back into my dragon form and held out my paw for her.

  She climbed into it without another word.

  When I got back to Dragonia, I contemplated what I had witnessed.

  She could fly. Though the minute—and this was pure speculation on my part—Elena took over, she almost fell to her death.

  I knew I was dark, but never like that. Unless she wanted to kill herself but didn’t want anyone to know.

  It could be the reason why she’d made up this extra persona.

  Elena was Cara.

  And I would prove it.

  Tabitha was pissed that I was late, and wouldn’t listen to my explanation. She just slammed the door behind her as she stormed out of my room.

  I took my irritation out on my Warbel team.

  I was surprised at my sudden mood change. I’d been fine all day.

  The next afternoon, Elena was sulky. Her demeanor rubbed off on me and I snapped at her.

  By the end of our training session, we were barking at each other. I almost left her on that mountain.

  My poor Warbel
team had to deal with the aftermath.

  Tabitha still wasn’t talking to me, but I doubted that was the reason for my foul mood. Unless the Snow Dragon was finally affecting me.

  I tried to make amends.

  “I don’t see why you have to help her.”

  “Because she is what I am.”

  “And that makes her special?” Tabitha hissed.

  “Tabitha, I’m not going to fight with you about Elena. She needs to learn how to embrace her dragon. I’m the only one who can handle her fire.”

  Tabitha pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

  I stroked her arm. “Tabitha, baby, please tell me that you aren’t so selfish that you’d let me put someone else in harm’s way.”

  “I just don’t like her,” she whined.

  “That makes two of us. I swear to you, that hasn’t changed.”

  She gave me a small smile. “Okay.”

  “You seriously think that, what, now she is a Rubicon I would fall for her? It’s Elena, Tabitha.”

  “I know, it’s just that the freak has something in common with you now.”

  “Believe me, she doesn’t. She is the opposite of me. I don’t think she would ever be able to handle the darkness.”

  “Well, not all Rubicons can be like you.” She kissed me. “Sorry I’m so insecure. I’m working on it. Promise.”

  “Good.”

  I felt a bit better that we patched things up, but I didn’t feel the joy from before. What had happened to it?

  It bothered me.

  When I got to my training session with Elena, she had the same attitude from yesterday.

  Her refusal to try to make peace with her dragon form only confirmed what I’d thought that very first day. She was making Cara up because she was trying to commit suicide. She was giving up.

  I pushed again but she just ignored me.

  “What is wrong with you?” I shouted at her.

  “I don’t want to do this!” she yelled at me, still in her human form.

  I rubbed my temples. “Elena, I can’t help you if you are not going to try.”

  “I never asked for your help. It’s a hopeless case, Blake. I’m not like you.”

  I scoffed. “You got that fucking right.”

  My watched beeped. The hour was over, so I took her back to the academy.

  When I got to my room, I was pissed.

  I also missed Lucian, for fuck’s sake. She wasn’t the only one whose heart ached for him, but we all had to go on with our lives.

  Maybe I should go talk to Sammy and tell her what I thought Elena might do. If Elena died, I was screwed.