From Human to Dragon to God

by Eric Vall

  Great, so she was also a little crazy. Maybe all the time alone wasn’t so good for even an ancient being.

  Small mercury-colored stones dropped from the ceiling, crashed to the ground, and left shards of reflective rock all around us. I turned to my comrades and saw everyone trying to grab onto something stable, but there was nothing to hold on to in the quaking cavern.

  “I didn’t know he was a traitor!” Mona argued and stamped her foot. “How was I supposed to know?”

  Then the shaking stopped.

  “How were you supposed to know?” the Oracle repeated with wide silvery eyes. “You trust your instinct. I know you ignored it, which was a disappointment.”

  “Sorry to have disappointed you.” The queen rolled her eyes with her response.

  Suddenly, the Oracle shrieked, and a powerful gust of blue and silver wind left her tiny frame and headed straight for us.

  “Get out!” the Oracle screeched as the wind pushed us back toward the tunnel.

  This lady was fucking nuts, so I turned to the rest of the group and pointed to the tunnel.

  “Let’s get out of here!” I yelled over the wind that whistled and echoed through the cave.

  Our party turned around and sprinted back through the tunnel, but I looked back to the cave to see Mona standing with her arms straight down her sides and her hair whipping in the wind. River stood next to her with an eye on the exit, and he was clearly torn between standing by his queen and escaping the Oracle’s wrath.

  “I want my son!” the queen demanded over the roar of the gusts.

  “I said get out!” the Oracle screamed at her.

  The glowing well now overflowed with the blue water, which poured onto the floor at Mona’s feet, but the queen didn’t pay any attention to anything except the Oracle.

  “Go, I’ll catch up,” I told Alyona and guided her to the tunnel.

  Then I ran back to Mona and grabbed her arm. She ignored me for a moment before she faced me, and I saw the look of desperation in her green eyes.

  “We’ll find him,” I soothed her. “We got all the information she was going to give.”

  “She knows more,” Mona cried out, but I could see her resolve falter.

  “Yeah, she does,” I agreed. “But she’s not helping us anymore. Let’s go.”

  I kept my hand on the queen’s arm and motioned to River to take her other one, so he grabbed her upper arm and waited.

  “I need to find him,” Mona whimpered, and her body went limp against me.

  I lifted the queen up to the centaur commander, and River picked her up and threw her over his horse back. Then he nodded to me and galloped into the tunnel, and I followed close behind.

  “And never come back!” the Oracle screamed over my shoulder.

  She didn’t have to tell me twice.

  Chapter 9

  As I exited the tunnel, the wind gusts stopped, and the rest of my group stood outside the cave and looked at each other in shock.

  What the fuck had just happened?

  We were evicted by an ancient wizard lady apparently.

  Mona laid crumpled up on the ground at River’s feet, and he murmured to the warriors as they stared in confusion.

  “She’s alright,” River told the other centaurs. “She’s just shaken up. We need to get her back to the palace.”

  “No,” I cut in. “We don’t have time to go back to the city, and she wouldn’t want that anyway.”

  “How do you know what the queen would want?” River sneered.

  “Because I know all she wants is to find Archer,” I shot back. “If we go back now, it could mean losing him. We need to keep going and take her with us.”

  “We don’t even know where to go!” The centaur commander threw his hands up in exasperation. “How are we supposed to just keep moving?”

  “We don’t know the exact place,” Alyona chimed in, “but we do know how to find it.”

  “And how’s that?” River asked as he raised a brow at her.

  “The Oracle said it’s just like the tear we had by Hatra, right?” Alyona faced the centaur commander. “So, we’re going to have to work together. We know what the tears feel and look like, and you know the land.”

  “Then what are we looking for?” River demanded.

  “It feels like imminent death,” I growled as I remembered the last experience we had with a tear. “There are probably no animals near it, since it practically oozes with evil, and their instinct is to steer clear of it.”

  “For Demi-Humans, you probably sensed something that wasn’t right, too,” Laika added, and her gray wolf ears twitched atop her head. “You probably avoided it without even realizing it.”

  “And if you did get close to the tear, it smelled awful.” Alyona wrinkled up her nose as if she could smell the miasma as she spoke. “Like rotting fruit and decaying flesh.”

  “Excuse me,” one of the centaur warriors nearly whispered and raised his hand. “I think I might know the place you’re describing.”

  “Well?” River prodded him. “What did you see, Jager?”

  The warrior named Jager stepped closer to the rest of the group, and his long, golden braid laid over his shoulder and grazed his belly button. His human torso was extremely muscular, and his tattoos rippled as he moved. He didn’t have as much ink as River, but he had quite a bit covering his skin. His horse half was the same golden color as his hair, with one patch of brown on his back that looked like a saddle. His eyes were the same color as sapphires, a deep blue that sparkled when he spoke.

  “On a hunt a couple weeks ago, we ventured further out because of the kidnappings,” Jager explained. “A few miles out from the city, near the Dandelion Gates, there’s a place none of us wanted to go.”

  “The Dandelion Gates?” Alyona gasped with excitement.

  With all the other events that had taken place upon our arrival, we hadn’t had a chance to search or ask about the Gates we’d heard about from the Green Glass Sect member in Tikal.

  “Yeah, we don’t go there much since we can usually get the food we need in the forest close to the city,” Jager continued. “But anyway, no one said they were scared or anything, it was just like this unspoken agreement that we didn’t want to go any further.”

  “And you’re certain what you experienced is what they’ve described?” River questioned the young warrior with his arms crossed over his chest. The commander obviously doubted everyone now, probably because it wasn’t his idea to keep moving.

  “I can’t promise it’s the right place, but I knew what they were describing, sir,” Jager replied with a nod.

  “How far away are the Gates from here?” I asked Jager.

  “About ten miles that way,” the warrior answered as he pointed in the opposite direction of the city.

  The location made sense. It was close enough to the city for the Sect to keep an eye on the centaurs, but it was far enough away that the citizens of Lumin typically wouldn’t bump into them. The irony was it was the Sect’s own plan to kidnap centaurs that led to the warriors coming across their location.

  “I don’t like this,” River muttered, and his brow furrowed.

  “You don’t have to like it,” I told him. “But we’ve heard other things about the Dandelion Gates in relation to the Green Glass Sect, so we’re going. I think it’s best if most of the group stays back and a few of us scout ahead, though.”

  “I’ll go ahead,” Nike volunteered.

  “You and Aaliyah should go with me,” I directed. “The rest of you should stay here and wait for the all clear. I can send a messenger back once it’s good to go.”

  “Wait just a damn minute.” Mona sat up from where she’d finally composed herself on the ground and glared at me. “I won’t be left here while you take your own people to find my son. I want to be in the loop.”

  “What do you propose?” I asked as I raised my brows.

  “One of my men goes with you,” the queen replied. She crossed he
r arms as if to dare me to argue with her, but I’d already decided to invite one of her men.

  “Fine,” I agreed. “We’ll take Jager since he knows the place anyway.”

  “Oh, uh, fine,” Mona stuttered, and she seemed surprised I didn’t argue.

  “It will probably also be better for the boy to see a fellow centaur who isn’t trying to kidnap him,” Alyona added.

  “Yeah, that’s a good point,” I conceded with a nod.

  “So, the rest of us just sit around here and wait?” River gestured to the clearing around us as his voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “Sitting is up to you.” I smirked. “I’d suggest walking with us to the edge of the forest and waiting there. Then you’ll be in a safe place with the queen, but you won’t have as far to catch up with us.”

  “We will wait,” Mona answered before River got the chance. “There’s no sense in all of us traveling if it isn’t the right place.”

  I was more worried about having the centauress with us if it was actually the right place. She’d already proven to be a liability when she was upset, but I’d let her believe what she wanted to.

  We would handle what we needed to.

  “Yes, we can rest while they check it out,” Polina said with a kind smile.

  “We can even make you somewhere to sit or lie down,” Trina suggested.

  “Oh, they can make an amazing bed from moss.” Alyona smiled and reached for the queen’s hand to help her stand. “I’m sure they’ll show you once we get there.”

  “Of course!” Marina squeaked.

  “You’ll love it,” Ravi chimed in.

  My women were doing their best to calm down the queen, and I smiled at each of them for their effort. Mona was a wild card that we had to keep under control, but my lovers were doing an amazing job so far.

  “Let’s make our way to the end of the forest,” I suggested.

  We lined back up to head out, but this time Alyona and I took charge to lead the way. Mona was still distracted from our time with the Oracle, and River walked with the warriors at the back of the group and murmured to them.

  “If you see the dragon do anything out of the ordinary, shoot a flaming arrow straight up,” he told Jager as he clapped a hand on his bare shoulder. “I’ll be there fast as lightning.”

  I smirked as I realized he’d probably forgotten about my dragon hearing.

  “I do out of the ordinary things all the time,” I said over my shoulder. “You should be more specific next time.”

  I could practically see the smoke coming out of River’s ears. One day, he’d learn what kind of dragon I was, but until then, I enjoyed pushing his buttons.

  We continued along the path to leave the Oracle’s forest, and the stillness was kind of eerie, especially with the darkness of the dense trees. No birds chirped, and no animals scurried across the forest floor. I knew it was still daytime, but it was hard to tell with the trees blocking out the sunlight. I briefly wondered what the Oracle did to survive. Did she eat? There was nothing here to hunt. Did she sleep? I hadn’t seen a bed or anything in the cavern.

  I told you, old magic, Miraya piped up in my head.

  “So, old magic doesn’t use any basic human needs?” I furrowed my brow at the idea.

  Not really, Miraya answered. They just exist.

  Sometimes this magic shit was really weird.

  I refocused on the path ahead when I realized Alyona was looking at me with her bright, violet eyes.

  “Sorry, I was talking to the Sword of Hatra,” I chuckled.

  “Oh,” Alyona giggled. “I forget she’s in there sometimes.”

  I saw Miraya in my mind’s eye as she put her hands on her hips.

  “She doesn’t mean it in a bad way, Miraya,” I snickered. “Don’t take it so personally.”

  The spirit of the Sword of Hatra huffed and sashayed away from the forefront of my thoughts.

  I watched her voluptuous hips bounce from side to side and grinned at the idea of Miraya joining my harem of beautiful women. It was definitely something I’d be interested in figuring out. My cock pressed against my trousers at the idea of Miraya riding me while I buried my face between Alyona’s legs …

  “Is this where you think we should wait, my love?” Alyona’s sweet voice pierced through my daydream and brought me back to the present.

  “Yeah,” I agreed as I looked around the last part of the path that was still under the forest’s canopy. “This looks good.”

  “As we promised, Your Highness,” Polina announced as the sisters made their way closer to the queen.

  The dryads strolled over to a patch of moss and closed their eyes, and within seconds, a fancier version of the moss beds we’d used on our journey to Lumin rose up from the ground. The green bed sat up about three feet from the forest floor, and it appeared to be fuller than the original versions the dryads had made. The mossy mattress looked fluffier and inviting, and I almost wanted to rest up, too.

  “This one is even nicer than the ones we made before,” Trina declared with a proud smile.

  “Yeah, we made it special for you,” Marina added as she bounced on her toes.

  Mona strutted over to the moss bed and patted the top. Then she sat down on the edge of it, and her body sunk into the creation. A smile flitted across her face as she laid back, and she threw her legs onto the bed.

  “This is extraordinary,” Mona mumbled. “I like your magic.”

  “We do, too!” Trina giggled.

  With that, the queen relaxed and closed her eyes.

  “Send for us the moment you find the location,” she ordered without looking up.

  “Yes, Your Highness,” Jager responded with a hand crossed over his broad chest.

  “And remember what I said,” River piped up.

  “Yeah, keep an eye on me.” I winked at the centaur commander before I turned back to my princess.

  “Be safe,” Alyona murmured as she stood on her tiptoes to give me a kiss.

  “I always am,” I replied and kissed her back hard.

  “And I’ll keep her safe,” Laika promised.

  “I know.” I leaned over, pressed a kiss between the wolf’s gray ears, and watched her tail swish with satisfaction. “You always do.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need one more?” Ravi asked with her eyes cast downward.

  “I think you’d be better off here as a lookout,” I suggested. “You can shift and keep watch from the trees.”

  “Good idea!” The phoenix perked up and pecked me on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon!”

  As soon as she’d finished her words, Ravi’s human form flashed into a column of fire, and her bird form emerged. Then she took flight into the shady trees above us.

  The dryads looked content as they cared for the centaur queen. They’d used their magic to conjure up a pillow and blanket for her moss bed, and all four of the women seemed to be satisfied with getting ready to rest.

  “Are you ready, Lord Evan?” Aaliyah’s orange eyes flashed with excitement, and I knew she was ready for another hunt. The lioness enjoyed going after her prey, especially when she was able to finish the job with her bare claws.

  “Yeah,” I replied and turned to face the scouting group. “Let’s head out.”

  The four of us stalked out of the forest and back into daylight. While the sun had lowered, it was still at least an hour from going down, which gave us just enough time to get to the Dandelion Gates and assess the situation before the moon took over the sky. We could use the cover of darkness if we needed to, but it was important for us to see what we were up against before that.

  We turned away from Lumin and headed for an open, grassy field. The expanse was filled with a tall, yellowish grass that blocked much of my view ahead. The grass stood about six feet tall, and most of it was topped with some kind of fuzzy buds. As we walked, I noticed there were only a few other flowers and trees in the field, and they were nowhere near as big as the ones in the forest. Thi
s flora looked more like the plant life back on Earth.

  The trees stood a mere twelve or fifteen feet tall, and the flowers were smaller than my hand. The neon yellow and blue flowers popped through the soil at random intervals all along the direction we were headed. There was no trail or pathway to follow, so I kept checking with the centaur to make sure we were headed in the right direction.

  Jager seemed to have no doubt about where to go, though, so we continued to follow his lead.

  “So, Jager, how long have you been a member of the Sagittarius Order?” I asked.

  “Thirty-four years, Lord Evan,” the centaur answered without looking at me.

  “Wait, so how old are you?” I was surprised at his answer. He didn’t look a day over twenty.

  “I’m sixty-five,” he chuckled. “Don’t dragons age slowly as well?”

  “Ah, yeah,” I answered. “I’m pretty young for a dragon, though, so I don’t know much.”

  “River said the Oracle implied you’re not from Rahma.” Jager raised a brow and looked down at me. “Is that true?”

  “Yeah,” I confirmed, “but I was adopted by my parents in Hatra, so my blood says I belong here now.”

  Jaeger seemed alright so far, but I didn’t want to give away too much information. I knew he’d report everything back to River, and I didn’t need to give him any more ammunition to hate me.

  “I believe you belong wherever you want to be,” Jager said with a shrug as he returned his attention to the grassy field ahead of us. “An adoption ceremony is just a magical way of making it official.”

  The centaur continued to surprise me. I figured the city’s rigid rules wouldn’t create an open-minded person.

  “Lord Evan.” Nike got my attention, and I slowed to even my steps with his. “What is the plan when we find the Dandelion Gates?”

  “It depends on how long it takes us to get there,” I murmured. “I think we should handle things the best we can before the queen arrives. She’s a bit of a loose cannon right now.”

  “I’ll say,” Aaliyah huffed, and her orange eyes narrowed. “She got us kicked out of the Oracle’s cave, so we need to see if we can save the boy before she can catch up.”