by Eden Robins
“What do you want of me, evil one?” he asked through tightly clenched teeth.
“Fix him,” she managed to say, trying to reacquaint herself with forming human words while in her true form.
Her voice came out deeper and less clear, but she knew the words were understandable.
Magnus narrowed his eyes, glaring up at her and slowly shook his head. “Never. He is a traitor to his own kind. He had a holy mission in this life, which he chose not to obey. He is better off dead. But he will not die. He cannot die at the hands of a human, whether actually a dragon or no. A slayer can only be killed by a dragon in his or her true form, or another slayer. But you, now that’s different. You could kill him. You could do it right now, Sabrina. And you should. It is the only way to his salvation. Death now, or hell on earth forevermore.”
“What do you mean?”
Before Magnus could answer, her parents walked to where she stood over him. They both had made the transformation as well. Her father, a large black dragon, looked menacing. And her mother, a smaller green dragon, looked no less intimidating. She knew they were both very angry by the smoke slowly unfurling from their noses. Dragons preparing for battle smoldered in that way.
“What are you waiting for, daughter?” her father asked. “Kill this ancient one. He has taken much pleasure in viciously murdering many of our ancestors and friends. He is dangerous and must be stopped.”
“I know, Father. And we will handle him, but not yet.”
“What! Why do you hesitate, daughter? If you can’t do it I will,” her father declared angrily.
“Your father is right, querida. This man is evil, and if you care for your kind at all you will put an end to his miserable life here and now and save us all a lot of pain later,” her mother agreed, glaring down at Magnus.
Her parents were right. Sabrina knew Magnus was nothing more than pure evil, determined to kill her kind without a backward glance. Meeting his eyes, she saw his insane, hateful stare and truly understood in her heart that were their situations reversed he would gladly kill her. He would consider it an honor.
Did Eric feel the same way? Did he look forward to killing dragons, her people, her family? Did he consider his mission a holy, worthy one? Was it only a matter of time before he turned on her and her family?
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trying to clear her mind, trying not to let Eric’s betrayal color the decision she had to make. But the dragon in her wasn’t quite so magnanimous. She felt her chest rumble and knew she was smoldering just like her parents.
She thought of all the injustices, the prejudices, the cruelty her species had had to endure over the centuries merely because of their differences. All the hatred perpetrated against her kind despite the good they had done for others, for their communities, for the world. Dragons were Nobel Peace Prize recipients, scientists, doctors, lawyers, celebrity sports figures, police officers, firefighters nurses, teachers, politicians and everyday Joes and Janes.
Dragons had integrated themselves completely into the human world in productive and beneficial ways. Despite this there were those who, once they learned of a dragon’s heritage, let fear and ignorance replace any rational thought that person may have had. Instead they hated and discriminated based only on a dragon’s true form. And there were those, like Magnus, who took great pleasure in killing her people.
Was Eric really that way too? Was he secretly disgusted by her true form? Did he hate who she was?
“That’s right, Sabrina. Let your hatred and fury fill you,” Magnus encouraged softly. “Think about all that I have done against your people. I have abused, tortured and killed your kind over the centuries. And do you know what? I have enjoyed every minute of it, just as Eric relished killing your evil disgusting kind. He would especially enjoy slaying you. You are a rare golden dragon. Slaying you would be an honor that would be hard for even Eric to resist.”
Sabrina’s eyes flew open and she pulled back from Magnus. His poisonous words were infecting her, filling her with fury and hatred. Taking away her rational thought.
Kill the slayers, kill the slayers, kill the slayers. Just rip their throats out. Her dragon mind urged her on.
It would take all of three seconds each and then their blood would run out of them and into her mouth. And she could devour her enemy and the enemy of all dragons with joyous relish and celebration. She could chew their bones and enjoy the crunch of each bite, knowing that dragons were cheering her on. Her species would be saved from these slayers once and for all. She would be a hero. The kind of hero she wanted to be for her people. Making their life better would become a reality. And the book she wrote would become frosting on the cake.
She would save her people.
Sabrina began to salivate. She couldn’t help herself. Her fury and hunger were growing. Rearing back her head, she stared down at the two slayers who lay at her feet, helpless against her and her people’s power. Ready to be devoured. Crunching their bones and drinking their blood would be like ambrosia. And her people, her family, would support as she did so. They would shake her hand, slap her on the back and hug her, calling her a savior.
“That’s it, Sabrina, let the bloodlust and dragon fury overtake you. Let it rule you. Let it show you the way, beautiful one,” Magnus said in little more than a whisper.
The urge to kill filled her so completely she started to shake.
She looked to her parents for guidance.
“Do it, Sabrina. It is your duty, it is your destiny. The slayers must die so our people may live. You must do this,” her father urged her.
“Listen to your father, Sabrina,” her mother agreed in little more than a whisper. “But also listen to me. I will tell you a story now. One that I hope will help you make your decision.”
Her mother’s soft, gentle voice momentarily checked Sabrina’s primal instinct, keeping her urge to rip, tear and kill temporarily at bay. The humans before her were transforming. They were becoming nothing more than pieces of meat, nothing more than sweet, sweet sustenance whose blood would fill her with life and satisfaction.
“When you were born, a shaman came to visit and give you a blessing as is the way of our kind at the time of a child’s birth,” her mother started to explain. “The shaman gave you her special prayer and we were very happy. She said you were one of the rare ones. The golden dragons of legend who not only have incredible beauty but also unusual intelligence and immeasurable strength. We were ecstatic and honored by this but she didn’t stop there. She went on to tell us that you were born into this world for a purpose. You were destined to help your kind in some way. The shaman said you would one day be faced with a very difficult choice. One that involved choosing between your people and your heart. She said you would make the right choice. And your people would love and honor you for that.”
Sabrina listened to her mother. She heard her words in her mind and understood. But then she glanced down at Eric and her heart rebelled. It balked at the idea of killing this man she loved. Her heart screamed against hurting this man who had brought pain to her life but also incredible joy, a kind that she had never experienced before. Joy and happiness that had made her whirl around, arms outstretched, laughing out loud. And the kind of pain that had almost broken her completely.
In that moment, as she stared down at Eric, he stirred and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was unfocused. His brow furrowed and he frowned. He reached up and touched his head then winced. Sabrina realized that he must have hit his head on the floor when he passed out.
Narrowing his eyes, Eric stared closely at her. It took him a moment to register what he saw but once he did, instinct must have taken over. Sabrina had never seen him move so fast. He rolled out from under her, jumped to his feet and reached for his weapon.
He ceased being the man she loved.
Eric had become the dragon slayer.
Holding Magnus down with one clawed foot, Sabrina faced Eric. She stood tall and proud, unfurling her wi
ngs completely. She held nothing back. Smoke swirled from her nose as fury burned inside her.
She was dragon.
Eric needed to face that once and for all.
Although Eric’s side still hurt like hell, he knew that Thomas’ knife hadn’t hit any vital organs. He had managed to move slightly sideways as he struck. Though the wound still bled, it would heal quickly. In human form, Thomas was not able to mortally wound him. Part and parcel of being a dragon slayer, he gave it little thought. All his attention was on Sabrina.
She had become the dragon.
And despite the fog that still lingered in his head, Eric acknowledged one fact with all the clarity in the world—the magnificent golden dragon he now faced was the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld.
Complete, holding nothing back, she was proud and regal in her true form.
At first all he could do was stare up at her in awe. He had seen many dragons in his life but there was something special about Sabrina. And it went beyond her rarity as a golden dragon. It had more to do with the energy she projected. Some dragons were purely evil and he could see that right away. Others went about their life in ambiguity, letting life drift them along into good and bad and taking no responsibility for it other than to say that their dragon nature was to blame. These dragons looked dull and old in their appearance.
Not so with Sabrina. Her energy, her pride in what she believed and her goodness shone from her like a beacon, beckoning all around her. He noticed from the corner of his eye that the others had begun to gather around her, staring up at her with awe and respect. They saw the goodness and strength she held inside. Her golden scales sparkled like stars in a dark night sky. Her eyes glowed with a knowing wisdom, kindness and understanding that was usually reserved for beings much older than she. And the power she exuded, it went beyond the power he had detected in many other dragons. It was undeniable, it was overwhelming and it was goodness and light. Even in this form his gatita was rainbows and summer days. And even now, as he faced a creature who should be his enemy, he saw her as so much more. Beauty, goodness and wisdom.
Sabrina was all that the legends claimed rare golden dragons to be and more. Stories told of creatures who would affect their peoples’ lives in profound, tangible ways. Dragons who were born to her kind with a mission, a purpose to fulfill. His woman was one of those dragons.
His woman? Where had that come from? Eric felt sadness as he realized how false that was. Looking at Sabrina now, he knew that she would never be his. He was a dragon slayer, she a dragon. She could never accept him. He’d made his life’s mission killing her kind. Their time together had been brief but now it was gone. Forever.
Eric could only serve Sabrina in one way now. He could protect her. He could make sure she made it through this to go forward and live her full potential. Then he would return to the shadows. He would return to the darkness and violence that his life was meant to be. That was his destiny. He’d thought he could break away from that and live a different kind of life but now he knew that wasn’t possible.
There would be no salvation for him. Eric didn’t deserve it. His life as a slayer was death, blood and destruction. It was violence and pain for her kind. Sabrina deserved so much more than him. She needed to live her rainbows and summer days, helping her people. She was a dragon queen.
And he was a dragon slayer.
It was time to accept each other for who they were.
Squaring his shoulders, despite the incredible weight of the dark and desolate future that lay before him, Eric stood tall and proud, widening his feet into warrior stance.
He awaited his queen’s next move.
“What would you have of me, dragon?” he asked in a quiet, respectful tone, bowing his head slightly in deference to her.
His queen.
Eric knew this magnificent dragon was Sabrina, but he also knew that when in dragon form her kind reacted differently, in more extreme ways. She was humming with pent-up energy and he didn’t want her to lose control. It wasn’t a matter of him not being able to handle her. He was a slayer, one of very few on this earth, and he knew how to bring a dragon down. Even if he couldn’t kill Sabrina, he would seriously injure her before she got the better of him.
It was more about him helping her stay in control.
The dragon lowered her head, bringing it closer to Eric. He felt her warm breath play over him as she scented him. Dragons often could “smell out” other dragons or humans to discover what their motives or true feelings were. He didn’t fear her scrutiny. Instead he enjoyed being closer to her, studying her beauty in this form, while she decided what he was up to.
Beauty? He kept thinking that. He had never felt that dragons were beautiful before. He had never taken the time. They just were what they were, and it was his job to slay them when they caused trouble or harmed others. The fact that he found her so incredibly magnificent and that he wanted to help her and her people left him flabbergasted. Nevertheless he knew he was on the right course and would follow it through to the end.
She met his gaze with her own large, lushly lashed, wide green eyes. Her look was a mix of innocence and wariness. It called to him. Made him want to reassure her that everything would be okay.
But he kept silent, meeting her stare with his own.
“Why do you ask me what I want, slayer?” she asked softly. Her voice was deeper and huskier in this form “That is not the way of your kind. We are enemies. You and my kind have never worked together in the past. What makes you think we would do so now?”
“I think it’s time for a change, don’t you?”
Sabrina didn’t answer him right away. Instead she tilted her head to one side, studying him intently.
“What kind of change?”
“I think you know what I mean, gatita,” he said, unable to keep the tenderness from his voice. “We need to work together until your book is released and your speaking engagements are over.”
“And then what, dragon slayer? Once your duty is fulfilled and you’ve done the honorable thing, what will you do after that?”
An ache knotted his stomach but he ignored it. This was how it had to be. He was gray skies and violence. She was rainbows and summer days. She needed to understand that, just as he now understood it.
“Then you will be free to go on and live your life. After this case has come to an end I will let you go. And I will go back to being what I am. A dragon slayer. As it should be.”
Sabrina wanted to scream. She wanted to yell her outrage to the moon. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised. She knew that in all likelihood Eric would reject her because of her dragon heritage. On a rational level it made sense, but her heart, now that was a different story. Her heart didn’t think it made sense. Her heart rebelled against it.
How could Eric talk about letting her walk out of his life as if he were talking about the weather? Didn’t he know how much he meant to her? Didn’t he know how much he had affected her life? Didn’t he understand how much she needed him, his strength, his gentleness, his humor, his intelligence and his love?
Didn’t Eric understand that she loved him?
She’d held a dim hope, deep inside, that despite what had happened tonight, despite everything, he would accept her for all she was. It had been a foolish hope, a childish dream that only came true in fairy tales. And this was no fairy tale.
Sabrina’s life would be empty without him. She knew that down to her soul. She knew it with a kind of complete and irrefutable knowing that was more instinct than anything else.
A little voice inside whispered to her. It made her wonder about Eric’s integrity and about her own worth. The voice frightened her, made her weak and left her sad. It was the voice that William Shakespeare once wrote of. His words came back to her now with complete and utter clarity, “Our doubts are traitor that make us lose the ground we oft might win.” Those doubts raced through her mind now, obliterating every other thought. Rationality disappeared as emotio
ns reigned free.
Maybe he didn’t care about her? Maybe she had been reading him wrong all along? Maybe he thought of her as no more than a burden and responsibility that he wanted to get finished with as quickly as possible so she could be relegated back into the box of “past mistakes” that every person held in their mind. Maybe for Eric that was all she represented and he did this out of nothing more than guilt and obligation.
Pain ripped through her, joining forces with the anger.
She felt Magnus start to squirm under her foot. She pressed down a little harder, trying to keep him in place. Maybe a little too hard. He gasped loudly but she ignored it. Everything narrowed down and focused on one thing.
Eric didn’t love her. He couldn’t accept her for who and what she was. He had used her but was no longer interested, other than obligation and maybe a little fun on the side. Once this case was finished he would be done with her. Sabrina’s fury and grief simmered just below the surface, ready to explode at any moment.
But what else had she expected? Eric was a dragon slayer. He had lied to her from the beginning and probably wouldn’t have told her the truth if Magnus hadn’t spoken out about his true heritage. Ignoring the voice inside her head that reminded her that she had also lied about her true form, she thought about the slayers of legend, the stories she had heard. They had no heart, no conscience, no soul. They lived in darkness and death, shadows and violence, little more than ghostly killers walking endlessly through time, taking what they needed, leaving the chaos and mess they created for someone else to clean up as they moved on to the next kill.
Well, Sabrina wouldn’t let Eric do that to her. She wouldn’t be just part of another mess he left behind. She was more than that. She was enough, more than enough, and she needed to be treated like a queen, just as all women need to be treated in this way. With respect, caring and understanding.