The Dragon's Redemption

by Martha Woods

  “What the– have I gone blind now, on top of everything else?!”

  Suddenly, however, the light all came flooding back, so intense as it did so that I had to squint my eyes shut again. I jerked my head up, startled at this development. Something had been blocking out the moon entirely, and now it was circling overhead, like an enormous buzzard, circling around and around.

  Only this was no buzzard.

  My jaw dropped.

  My eyes widened.

  I gazed in wonder at the creature overhead, which was unlike anything I had ever seen in real life. A product of the human imagination, or so I had always believed, now manifesting itself in the night sky above.

  A long, thick, reptilian body. A tail whipping along behind it as it wrenched its way across the stars. Its wings huge and bat like, beating every so often, but the pressure of the air beneath it evidently enough for it to glide along most of the time.

  I thought for sure I must be misinterpreting something– that there was no mistaking the fact that something was there, flying over me, as plain as the nose on my face. But with regard to exactly what that something was, I had to believe I was delusional. Until all at once, it opened its mouth wide, and sent a brilliant, golden ball of fire erupting across the night sky, putting to bed all doubts that this could be anything other than exactly what I'd interpreted it to be.

  A dragon.

  I stared and I stared, awestruck, trying to wrap my head around this strange new reality. My hands were cold and clammy, and shook so bad that I nearly dropped my camera. It was then that the overwhelming fantasy of the moment softened somewhat, and the real world seeped in again, leaving me panicking like a madwoman.

  Moments ago, I had believed a photo of a deer drinking from a stream to be a once in a lifetime shot. But a massive, fire-breathing dragon, soaring above the forest canopy, blotting out the moon itself?

  I hurried to adjust the settings on my camera, certain that by the time I got it ready the beast would have disappeared from view, or else I would simply wake up from whatever fever dream this was.

  At last, thank God, I got everything set to where it needed to be, and immediately I jerked my lens back up toward the moon, just as the dragon was flying back across its bright opal face.

  Click. Click. Clickclickclick.

  I lowered my viewfinder, staring up along my lens like looking down the barrel of a gun. I still couldn't believe it, but I was forced to yet again as yet another eruption of sparks began to accumulate in the center of the dragon's open jaws.

  BOOM!

  A brilliant tunnel of flames, brighter than the stars themselves.

  Clickclickclickclickclick.

  Finally, I just couldn't stand the suspense anymore.

  I brought my camera back down, and scrolled back through the images I'd just taken. I was certain– absolutely certain– that I would scroll through the photos and find them all empty. Like trying to take a portrait of Dracula, or something like that.

  But no.

  They were all there.

  The dragon surging, this way and that across the sky. The fire erupting from his serpentine throat. Photos of such high quality that they put the ones of the deer to shame, and the definitive proof I needed that I wasn't just seeing things– that this was, in fact, really, really real.

  My heart felt like it might explode from my chest.

  If anyone actually believed that this was real, this could be just the thing I'd been looking for, that could change my life forever.

  If only I'd known at that moment just how true that really was...

  I threw my head up again, camera at the ready, but mostly, just needing to see more of this amazing creature.

  Only all of the sudden, it appeared to have vanished once again.

  My brow furrowed, and my heart sank. I wanted to understand what was happening. I wasn't ready for this incredible experience to be over yet, as greedy as it may have been for me to expect more than I'd already been given.

  I craned my head across the horizon, looking for any signs of movement. Until at last I saw it. A section of stars was blotted out, and then the on nearby. And on and on and on, as the dragon appeared to sink toward the ground, its wings outstretched, blackening one more section of sky after the other.

  It may have been the stupidest thing I'd ever done, but I needed to know more. I ran.

  I raced toward the spot where the dragon was heading, abandoning all thoughts of my campsite, or of survival itself. This experience suddenly became the only thing in the world to me, and I had every intention of seeing it through– even if it killed me.

  The dragon fell out of the sky like the setting sun, but I thought I had a fairly clear look at where it had decided to land. I rushed toward the spot as fast as I could, branches and thorns lashing my skin as I ran through them, but the stinging pain and the smeared blood across my skin doing little to deter me as I advanced to my destination.

  And there, at last, it was.

  As large as it had appeared in the sky above my head, it was absolutely enormous up close. The leaves in the clearing were still settling around its looming form, its orange eyes glowing like candles in a jack-o-lantern. It snorted, flaring its mighty nostrils, staring absently around at its surroundings.

  It looked out of breath, exhausted from its flight. I weighed my options in my head– wanting desperately to get a photo of this amazing creature up close, but not wanting at all to be ripped to shreds the moment it heard the click of the camera.

  Despite my better judgment, I pressed down on the shudder, and got such a perfect shot of the beast that even I couldn't believe it. The creature didn't seem to notice me at all, and so I took another photo. Then another. And then another.

  And then I stopped.

  Suddenly, the beast was changing.

  Its body was distorting. The skin seemed to bubble. The enormous neck and tail to writhe. The wings to fold up and draw into themselves.

  I panicked, wholly unsure of what the hell was happening now. But then the creature began shrinking. The enormous frame getting smaller and smaller. Reducing to the meagerest remnant of its former self.

  I couldn't believe what I was seeing– it seemed even harder to believe than the sight of the dragon itself. At last, though, my instinct finally kicked in, the significance of the moment not lost on me. I took several more photos throughout the stages of the beast's transformation, then stopped, right after I'd taken a single photo of its final, astonishing form.

  The form of a man.

  My jaw fell.

  I lowered my camera, and stared wide-eyed into the clearing.

  Even wholly apart from the circumstances, he was one of the most beautiful men I had ever seen before in my life. He stood completely naked, his body pulsing with solid muscle. Writhing black tattoos twisting around his bulging arms and legs, sloping down along the impressive muscles of his back. I stared at his ass a little bit longer than I should have, then ducked behind a tree when he turned suddenly in my direction– revealing a chest that was every bit as immaculate, and every bit as tattooed as his backside.

  He had jet black hair, and irises that retained the cool amber glow of the dragon's eyes that had just been floating in mid-air in front of me. His nostrils continued to flare as though much of the beast he had been still lingered, and I studied him with rapt attention– both out of sincere interest, as well as the fear that he might catch me spying on him at any moment, and respond to the fact in God-knew-what way.

  I was mesmerized. Transfixed on this man, this mysterious stranger. I strange tingling seemed to wash across my entire body. An attraction unlike any I had ever felt toward any man– certainly not toward Evan. A kind of scent seemed to emanate off of him. Attractive. Desirable. Arousing.

  I shuddered. I felt an ache in my stomach. A pleasant burning between my legs.

  I wanted him. Badly. Far worse than I could explain or justify.

  My mouth fell slightly open. My breat
hing grew heavy. My chest rising and falling with a lack of control that was animal in nature.

  I wanted his hands on me. His lips on me– on every part of me.

  I needed him, desperately, and in that moment, it felt like this man was everything in the world. That my entire life would all fall into focus with him in it, in me, but that without him, nothing could ever make sense again.

  All at once I found myself not giving a damn if he saw me there. Even worse, wanting him to see me. Wanting him to take me without saying a word. To give me all of him, everything I needed, to make me scream for him.

  I took a single step forward into the clearing, like a sailor being lured into the sea by the song of a siren. He turned his head slightly further in my direction, as though he'd heard me, and I knew that this was it.

  But then– another black shadow, blotting out the moonlight.

  I gasped. Froze. Pivoted my eyes upward, then back down at the man standing before me.

  Now he was looking up, seeming every bit as perplexed as I was.

  I took a step back and watched, as a second dragon came settling down into the undergrowth, just in front of where the first man stood. Its hide was pitch black, covered in sharp, deadly looking horns. Its eyes glowed a hideous red, and gave the impression of seeing anywhere and everywhere at once.

  I watched as the creature shrank down, just as the first one had done. I felt none of the warmth, none of the attraction I had known moments ago. I felt terror, a desperate urge to run that I found myself powerless to indulge.

  I stood rooted to the spot, transfixed. Certain, deep down, that I would be unable to escape the two of them now, even if I tried.

  Good God, what had I gotten myself into?

  You wanted to start making changes in your life, said a voice in the back of my head. Well, Alicia? From this moment onward, nothing is ever going to be the same...

  3

  Nol

  I had sensed a presence, just moments ago. And a frightfully strong one at that.

  I thought that this late night escapism would be exactly what I needed. Away from The Dark Ones, and from Fri, and his bullshit justifications. Just me and the night, lost in my element, free to fly and explore as I had done as a child. Or, at the very least, to believe that I was free, only for a night.

  But it was only upon landing, and sensing the presence in question, that I had begun to feel even a shadow of the fulfillment I'd been seeking in the sky above.

  A furious desire came over me. I thought that it may be in my head, given the intensity of my emotions since I'd awoken from that horrible dream. Still, though, I was desperate to find the source of this need. Sniffing it out. Listening closely. Certain that I would track down whatever the hell was causing me such tremendous angst.

  Before I got the chance to do so, however, I was greeted by an entirely separate presence– one I found myself welcoming with far less enthusiasm.

  It was one of the Dark Ones. All horns and fangs and claws, glaring at me with its crimson eyes. Leaving no doubt in my mind about the steaming pile of shit I'd stepped in by transforming, defying the orders of King Ryl himself to remain in secrecy.

  I watched the Dark One transform. Its body shrinking, but the aura of malevolence not relenting for a moment as it rose onto its hind legs, and leered down at me with just as much vermillion fury.

  It was Yrsur. One of the King's most loyal subjects, and active doer of his dirty work.

  I scowled at him, my eyes not leaving his own for a second.

  “Well, hello there, Nol!” Yrsur snarled, smiling a smile at me that was totally devoid of any warmth. “And what might you be doing out here in the middle of the night, so far from where you belong?”

  I didn't look away for a second. Didn't blink. I tried to hold back the fury in my veins. The hatred toward this creature, telling me where I could and couldn't go in a land that had once been my birthright.

  “Where I belong, Yrsur? As far as I'm aware, I'm exactly where I belong. All of this was my father's territory, after all...”

  He let out a mean cackle. “Funny,” he said. “That word, was... It makes such a tremendous difference, doesn't it? Was, as in past tense. As in, it may have once been the case, but not anymore. As I seem to recall, your poor dear Daddy kicked the bucket, did he not? And as a traitor to his people, no less...”

  My temples thudded, and my hands curled into fists. It was only the rapidly dimming hope of surviving this encounter without things deteriorating into violence that kept me under control.

  “Go fuck yourself!” I said anyway, and he could clearly see how much of an effort it had been for me not to take things further. He smiled a wicked, toothy smile at me, and waved a casual hand through the air dismissively.

  “We can put a pin in that for now,” he said, shrugging. “You and I both know that this particular issue, serious at it may be, is not the foremost of your offenses. Don't we?”

  I didn't answer, but stood there panting in silence. Without meaning to, I think this gave him what he was hoping for even more than talking back to him outright might have done.

  As such he continued, viciously savoring the words as ever. “You shifted, Nol. And that is a big, big no, no. You flew hundreds of miles. Soared across the human world, exposing our kind to those wretched vermin. Not giving a damn about what happened to your own kind, just so long as you got a chance to stretch your wings and fly. I know that you may be a Wrecker, but that gives you no right– “

  “A Protector,” I snapped, sick of that word. Wrecker– a derisive term for my family that had made its way into the lexicon thanks to King Ryl, back when he was first coming to power and seeking to delegitimize us.

  Yrsur cackled. “No, no, I don't think that sounds right... You see, a Protector is someone who protects things. Like, I don't know. His throne. His land. His people. While a Wrecker would be someone who– hm, what would be a good example of a wrecker... Someone who would break the law and flaunt himself for all of humanity to see, not giving a damn about the consequences! Anything just to get away with his little flight of fancy...”

  “Human beings are not my enemy!” I insisted, becoming testy. “Fear is the greatest enemy of our kind! The bullshit Ryl feeds everyone, that the moment any human being lays eyes on us it will be the apocalypse! That we have to isolate ourselves, hide away from the world, and murder anyone who gets the slightest whiff of the truth about our kind! What kind of life is that?!”

  “Those fucking swine can't even stop themselves from murdering their own kind!” Yrsur sat back at me. “You say these things from the safety of isolation, yet I can guarantee you, no sooner would they discover us than they would be finding ways to exploit us– the superior race, who should be in control of them, and not the other way around! If only our numbers were greater...”

  “I refuse to continue living in fear!” I said resolutely, taking a solid step toward him, puffing up my chest with a might I wasn't wholly sure I felt.

  “Then let's see how you like living in chains,” Yrsur snapped back. “Or better yet, not at all...”

  My muscles tensed. My temples throbbed, and I prepared for this to come to blows.

  Yrsur took a single step nearer– and then, all at once, the whole scene came toppling down.

  A woman screamed. We jerked our heads around, and looked just in time to see a small, human female hit the undergrowth on the edge of the clearing. She landed on her hands, and immediately sprang back upon making contact with the ground– looking justifiably terrified for her life.

  Our eyes met, and instantly I knew that hers was the presence I'd been sensing moments ago.

  The girl was absolutely stunning. She looked so delicate there in the moonlight. So vulnerable. Light brown hair spilling over her face. Her red lips wide open, her green eyes glittering in terror.

  For a brief moment, I very nearly forgot about Yrsur entirely. I wanted to run to this girl. To express to her the sudden, vicious pulling on
my heartstrings, which I couldn't wholly explain, yet neither could I dismiss it.

  But it was at that moment that my eyes fell to the girl's heaving breasts. A black strap was wound around her neck, and a camera dangled against her stomach.

  A camera.

  A human being with a camera, who'd just stumbled upon a meeting of two dragon shifters in the middle of the forest.

  Yrsur needn't say a word for me to know exactly what was racing through his head in that moment– murdering this beautiful creature, and destroying that camera and the evidence of our existence at all cost.

  The moment seemed to last forever, with all parties involved apparently too dumbstruck to know where to go from there. But at last, inevitably, it was Yrsur who moved first.

  The girl screamed, and I watched, horrified, rooted to the spot as the Dark One leapt into the air, lunging straight at her. In the blink of an eye his body was covered once more in its armor of gleaming black scales and vicious horns. He let out a monstrous roar, jaws wide open, and shot across the clearing like a rocket.

  All at once, the whole world felt like it was about to end, and any chance I had of stopping it felt absolutely slim to none.

  But I had to try.

  Too slow to stop him, I watched in horror as Yrsur seized the girl by the legs, sinking his teeth in deep. He jerked her up, and flew into the air with her flopping between his jaws like a rag doll. She let out a scream that was an alloy of severe pain and unmitigated terror, and it was this, at last, that shook me from my stupor– perhaps, at this point, entirely too late.

  I leapt from the ground and was a dragon again by the time I made it into the air, beating my wings as fast as I could make them go. Yrsur was wasting no time ferrying her higher and higher up into the night, her screams becoming more and more distant, along with the prospect that I might ever be able to get to her in time.

  I was making gains, closing the gap between the two of us, barely able to keep pace with the Dark One as he slowly beat his wings, even as I hurled myself through the night as fast as I could go.