The Dragon and the Vampire

by A. K. Michaels

  Relief swept through her as she realized she had escaped...again. The Witch, unless he was very close to her, couldn’t disable her while she was in her Dragon form, so she knew she was safe…for the moment. Her immense body rose into the air, the air displacement her wings caused dust and rubble swirl about, as if a mini tornado had hit the area...then she heard it.

  The voice of the large Vampire from the previous day, roaring up into the sky.

  “Stop! I want to help! My Sire helped a family of Dragons centuries ago–please–I don’t want to hurt you!”

  Her long scaly neck whipped around, her bright violet eyes locking on his, as long buried memories made their way to the surface. Stories her brother told, of an ancient Vampire, helping her family to escape hunters in Ireland...more than four centuries ago.

  She watched him for a second more, wondering if it was true. Did he want to help her? Or was it a ruse to catch her?

  She couldn’t take the chance so she dragged her eyes from his and flew higher, to safety.

  *****

  Esther found the Witch within moments of Ronan and his men leaving her. He was standing just inside the doorway of a nearby building, she didn’t see him until he moved forward...but she sensed him. The dark magic cloying in the air around her, sticking in her throat, as he moved towards her.

  “Who are you?” the Witch asked, still moving in her direction, “What do you want? Are you after the Dragon too?”

  Esther stared into eyes that had no compassion left, no humanity, no feeling...the outcome of using dark magic far too often. She had known that she may come up against one such as this tonight, so she had taken the vital step to ensure her safety and the safety of the men she was with...sipping some of her dwindling supply of Dragon blood.

  She felt the power inside her that fought for freedom, as she contemplated her course of action with the Witch in front of her. He could possibly be redeemed, if they captured him, denied him access to dark magic, however, looking into those eyes...she doubted it.

  “Why do you hunt the Dragon?” She returned his questions with one of her own.

  “For its blood, of course.” He smirked at her, a wild look on his face.

  “I see, well, you leave me no choice.” Esther sighed, never liking what she was about to do.

  “I think you may be mistaken, old woman, you appear to be under the impression I give you a choice in what happens here...I don’t.” The man stared at Esther as if she as an oddity, something to just sweep away.

  Esther didn’t bother answering, knowing her words would fall on deaf ears. This Witch had used dark magic for a very long time, he was confident in his abilities against another Witch. His confidence was in everything about him, from the smug look on his face, to the way he held his body. Arrogance seeped from his pores, as he brought his hands in front of him to start a spell.

  Esther sighed again, just an instant before she harnessed her own power...including the dark magic, that was now invading her system, due to the Dragon blood. Her hands moved so fast that no human eye could possibly follow them, her mouth muttering as she did the only thing open to her. Her hands flew out, a second before the man unleashed his own spell. She watched as her magic flew forwards unspeakably fast, engulfing the Witch before her.

  The look of shock on his features, was the last thing she saw, before he literally exploded. She took several quick steps back, not wishing the blood and gore to cover her. However, she didn’t escape unscathed; blood, and what looked like brain matter, spattering the front of her coat. Her nose wrinkled as the smell assaulted her nostrils.

  Her heart was heavy, as it always was, when she had to destroy another Witch. It was such a waste of talent. She knew she had no choice though, this particular Witch being too far gone for redemption. Esther shook her head then turned and walked onwards, trying to find the rest of their party.

  She had only taken a few steps when she heard a noise that she hadn’t heard in a very long time. The unmistakable sound of Dragon wings, beating fiercely, as it took to the air.

  Her head shot upwards, her eyes scouring the sky...there...she saw the magnificent beast taking off into the night sky. The moon was behind it, the silhouette of the enormous creature searing itself into her vision. The Dragon was very dark, black in color, so she was certain if not for the moon she would have seen nothing. Only being able to hear the sound of its flapping wings as it took flight.

  Esther smiled as she saw the Dragon rise higher and higher into the blackness...knowing it was safe...for the moment.

  *****

  Ronan watched as the Dragon disappeared from view, melding into the blackness of the night. He realized he felt sadness at seeing it go. He had been so close, but not close enough. He cursed under his breath, if they had been even a moment sooner he may have been able to get the Dragon under their protection. His anger took hold as he looked to where the Vampire that had been hunting the Dragon had fallen, noting he was no longer there. He took off after him, hoping to get some information about the girl out of him. If not, then he would just end him, his anger at the unknown Vampire for hunting this glorious creature was growing by the second.

  Ronan used every single ounce of his enhanced abilities to run down the Vamp. Finally cornering him in a run down, small, outbuilding. The man backed up, his hands out in front of him as Ronan drew closer.

  “Hey, I’m just doing a job.” The man tried to wheedle his way out of the situation.

  “So am I.” Ronan snapped as he moved ever nearer. “Who exactly are you working for?”

  “The Witch, we work for the Witch, he’s around here somewhere.” The Vampire’s head moved from side to side, as if he expected the Witch to come to his aid.

  Ronan all but snarled his response. “I’m pretty sure he’s been taken care of. So, Vampire, you got any good intel I can use?” Ronan was now only a few feet away. “Think before you answer, because if you don’t, have any information that is, then you are no good to me.”

  The man’s eyes were now darting all around, looking for an escape. “What kind of information do you need? I mean, I’m sure I can get it for you. Just tell me what you’re after and I’ll get it.”

  “Where are they based? These ‘Witches’?” Ronan slid forward another step and was now within striking distance of the man in front of him.

  “Well, I’m not sure, not exactly. I know it’s somewhere deep in the Rockies, but I don’t have GPS coordinates or anything. I’ve only been there once and that wasn’t a pleasant experience. We didn’t exactly travel in the normal manner.” The Vamp’s body was tensing, as if readying to flee.

  “Don’t try it,” Ronan growled. “You won’t make it and I’d have to take you in for questioning. Trust me when I say you won’t like it.

  Ronan picked up on something the Vamp had said. “Hey, wait up, how do you know it was the Rockies? I mean, if the Witch just spelled you there and back...how do you know?”

  The man gave a lopsided grin, “Heck, he told me. Said ‘We’re going on a small trip, to one of my favorite places.’ And I said ‘Where?’ And he answered, ‘Why the Rockies, of course.’ As if I shoulda known. Freak. How was I supposed to know that? Huh?”

  “So, somewhere in the Rockies but you don’t know where? How exactly did you get there, that one time, surely you saw something to give me a clue. A road sign, a street sign, a town?”

  The Vamp was shaking his head from side to side. “No, really I didn’t see anything–I told ya we didn’t travel there, not as such, that Witch, well he can kinda move around and that’s what we did. He needed me to haul some crates and he did some spell or something. Shit, I don’t fucking know. It was magic, I don’t know anything about magic. All I know is he took me into the back of a van that was delivering to a blood bank, said his spell, then the next thing I know we’re outside the entrance to some fucking huge cavern. He made me haul the crates inside then we left...in the same way. Turned my fucking stomach, didn’t feel right f
or days afterwards.”

  Ronan listened carefully to the man’s words. Supplies that were supposed to be for a blood bank? Interesting.

  Ronan relaxed his body slightly, trying to put this lowlife at ease. “I hear ya, I hate all that mumbo jumbo stuff. So, crates from a truck? Seems a bit weird, if you ask me, but hey, Witches can be pretty damn weird.”

  Ronan saw the way the Vamp relaxed, with his own body now standing, loose and easy, and his friendly tone, he saw the man’s brain working...maybe he was going to get out of this after all. He was mistaken; he just didn’t know it yet.

  The Vamp’s tone was incredulous as he answered, “I know! Fucking Witches freak me out, but this one pays well so what’s a guy to do? Those crates–that was even weirder. It was those plastic bag things that they put blood into, you know, when folks go to donate blood and they hook them up? Crates of them there were. What the hell do they want those for in a fucking cavern in the middle of the Rockies?”

  Ronan just shook his head. “So you really have no further information? What about any other teams in this area? Any other Witches? Where did the Witch stay, sleep, eat? Any information would sure be useful.”

  Ronan’s friendly tone seemed to be working as he saw the Vamp take time to think before he answered.

  “No other teams that I know of, no idea where he stayed or anything. He would always just ‘zap’ away and we never knew where he went…”

  Ronan interrupted, “We? You just said we? Who else is here?”

  The Vamp’s body language changed in less than a second, tensing before a small smile came onto his lips.

  Ronan knew he had been led a merry dance by all the talking. He had been concentrating on the one in front of him, trying to get as much info as he could, while this fucker’s partner had probably been sneaking up on him.

  Ronan moved forward, quickly, not wasting any time, just punching forward with his immense strength...straight into the chest cavity of the Vamp. The surprise in the eyes now staring back at him was a little compensation for the way he had been suckered in.

  Closing his hand immediately, it found and encompassed the still beating heart, obliterating it completely, before pulling his hand out and turning so fast, he was only a blur. When he saw nothing at his back he frowned. He had expected at least one, possibly more, to have come up behind him.

  Ronan then heard a commotion outside, moving to see what was going on, he exited the building. What he found had a smile playing across his features.

  Drake’s large Wolf was circling another Vamp, one that showed signs of several injuries inflicted by the Wolf. Ronan had completely forgotten that Drake was with him, though he had obviously left Drake behind as his Vampire speed outran Drake in his quest to catch the Vamp he had been chasing. He was just about to intervene when Drake’s beast snarled and leapt high into the air, its maw wide, as it tackled the Vampire.

  Ronan watched as the Wolf’s jaws snapped closed, completely decapitating the Vampire, before continuing to sail over the already falling body. The animal landed softly on its huge paws right in front of him, shook its head and stared up into his face with its head cocked to the side and its tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

  “Good work,” Ronan said, realizing Drake had probably just saved him a world of hurt.

  The Wolf made a sound down deep in its throat, a kind of rumbling noise, which sounded suspiciously like it was laughing at him. The animal moved away slightly, before it started to morph, the sounds of bones breaking and realigning seeming very loud in Ronan’s ears. It never ceased to amaze him what a Wolf went through each and every time it changed.

  He had been told by more than a few Wolves that it didn’t hurt...well, not after the hundredth or so time. Jeez, it sure looked, and sounded, as if it hurt.

  Checking the area out, with his eyes and his senses, Drake continued to change. By the time the man stood before him, Ronan sensed Sam and Serge some ways away, with Esther not too far from where they were now.

  “You okay?” Drake asked as he gave his, now naked, body a shake.

  Ronan gave a half smile as he answered, “Yeah, just pissed we missed our chance to help her tonight. God knows where she’ll go to now.”

  Drake nodded his head. “That was some sight. A Dragon flying in the air like that, sure wasn’t expecting to see that tonight, but I’m sure glad I did. It’s not something I’m gonna forget in a hurry.”

  Ronan knew exactly what Drake meant, it was...out of this world...he had no words to describe how he felt when he first saw the majestic beast. He felt even more determined to find, and help, the girl.

  He started walking back towards where he had sensed Esther, but she met them half way. Her clothing marred on the front by what looked suspiciously like blood and brains. Ronan guessed he hadn’t been the only one to meet with one of the hunting party.

  “You okay?” he asked as she stopped in front of him. “You look a little messy there, Esther, is everything alright?”

  The old woman gave him a scathing look, as if she didn’t like the fact he had drawn attention to the state of her clothing. “I’m fine. Now take me to where you saw the girl. She may have left something I can use to track her.”

  Esther’s tone was a little sharp so Ronan said nothing, just turned around, heading back to the large building the girl had ran from. Esther completely ignored Drake and his nakedness and the Wolf started to follow before Ronan threw over his shoulder, “Drake, could you go back to the vehicle, get some clothes on, and get a clean-up crew out here for these two bodies?”

  Ronan continued on, hearing Drake sigh, before heading back to where they had parked.

  Ronan led Esther to the building, Sam and Serge joining them as they arrived. Sam noting the blood on his hand and the spatters on Esther’s clothing, but said nothing.

  “She was in here.” Ronan motioned for Esther to go on ahead, as he stayed at the entrance, he didn’t need to go in there again. The girl’s scent was all over the place and it was now imprinted in his brain. He needed some fresh air in his nostrils, to try and stop the need he felt to rush off and try and find her.

  Sam noticed his reticence for entering the building and lifted an eyebrow. “You okay?” his friend asked in a worried tone.

  Ronan sighed heavily, was he okay? He wasn’t so sure he was. “I’m fine, got some interesting information from one of the Vamps that was chasing her. Oh, by the way, did you see it? The Dragon?”

  Serge stepped forward. “We only caught a glimpse, we heard it though, but we were over on the other side of all these warehouses so didn’t get a good view.”

  Sam’s eyes were still watching him closely, his friend obviously wondering what the heck was wrong with him. He couldn’t answer truthfully, simply because he didn’t know.

  Ronan was saved from any more questions from his friend as Esther reappeared, holding something leather in her hands. It looked to be a leather cuff of some kind, with steel studs embedded into it all the way around.

  Esther held it out to Ronan. “Is this hers?”

  Ronan took it from the old woman’s hands, bringing it slightly closer, before nodding, “Yes, that’s hers. I can smell her on it.”

  Ronan held the cuff and inspected it closely, wondering why she would wear such a thing. It wasn’t pretty in any sense of the word, it looked utilitarian, though for what purpose he had no idea. He was about to place it in his pocket, when Esther’s cold hand covered his.

  “Sorry, but I’ll need that to do a locator spell,”

  Ronan lifted his eyes from the cuff and stared into Esther’s, who inclined her head with a soft smile. He supposed the woman had an idea of the thoughts, and feelings that were coursing through his system, as she gently took back the piece of leather.

  Esther held the cuff in her hands as she turned and started walking back towards where their vehicle was parked. “Let’s get home, I’m tired and I want to get started on this locator spell bright and early tomorr
ow.”

  Ronan, Sam and Serge followed Esther, though they kept a watchful eye out in case there were any others from the hunting party in the vicinity. Ronan wasn’t looking forward to the rest of the night, already on edge and wishing it was already morning.

  Ronan ran a hand up, over his face, through his hair and sighed, he wanted the spell to be cast as soon as possible. The sooner the better, so he could then set out to find, and help, the girl. It seemed to be the most important thing on his agenda, and he would put everything else to the side, to focus on this.

  He absolutely had to find this girl and keep her safe.

  Chapter 6

  Ronan opened the door to his apartment, walking in, once more, in his combat gear. The journey back to the city had everyone talking at once, mostly exclaiming about the sight of the Dragon in the sky. Drake had gotten a good look and couldn’t stop speaking about it. Esther would add little bits if asked a direct question, of which Drake had many.

  The entire car had grown silent when Drake asked how a girl could morph into a Dragon of such a colossal size. He had tuned in, listening avidly as Esther explained.

  “It’s really quite simple...magic. Dragons are magical creatures, far more so than Wolves. With Wolves their body morphs, bones realigning and such, however, with Dragons they simply call on theirs and they change. They are one with their beasts. Wolves have their beasts in their head and can talk to them as if they are a separate entity–Dragons do not have that. Their Dragon is them and there is never any discourse between the human and beast. With magic anything is possible and we see that in no better way than with a Dragon.”

  Esther’s voice lowered at the end as if she was contemplating on the way magic was responsible for Dragon shifters. Ronan felt more than a little awed at this news and once again felt deep inside him...he had to help this girl.

  After that he had zoned out, not listening to the conversation going on around him. His thoughts bringing those violet eyes into his mind’s eye, again and again. Beyond doubt, they were the most breathtaking eyes he had ever seen. He wondered what they would look like up close.