Skyfire Dragon

by Natalie Kristen

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sky cleared his throat. “I said...” But before he could finish, he heard Storm’s strident voice.

  “Gimme the phone! Sky, what did you just say to Seath?” Storm demanded. “He looks like he’s about to faint or something.”

  “Meet me at my house, and I’ll explain everything.”

  “We are at your house,” Storm said dryly.

  Sky clicked off and stepped on the gas. Once he turned the corner, he saw his two brothers push themselves off the front steps of his house and race down the street to meet him.

  “What’s going on?” Storm shouted as Sky screeched to a stop.

  “Get in,” Sky said. “I want to show you something.”

  His two brothers piled into his truck and even before Seath managed to slam the door shut behind him, Storm had already started his interrogation.

  Sky turned the truck around and drove towards the rolling hills that flanked the western side of town.

  “You told Seath we’re dragons,” Storm said impatiently. “He swore he didn’t hear wrongly. What the hell are you talking about? Are you...”

  “I did tell him that. It’s the truth.”

  Sky turned to his younger brothers. Two pairs of intense green eyes were staring expectantly at him. Storm and Seath looked a little confused, but Sky could see the hope and excitement in their eyes.

  Sky smiled. “You don’t disbelieve me.”

  Storm and Seath glanced at each other, then back at Sky.

  “I just told you that we’re dragons. And you’re not in shock,” Sky said. “You believe me because you already knew. Deep down, you knew. You could feel your dragon. But you didn’t know what it was.”

  “You saw your dragon?” Seath asked breathlessly. “Did you shift into dragon form last night?”

  “No, I didn’t shift fully. But I breathed fire.”

  “No shit!” they yelled.

  Sky laughed. “When I breathed fire for the first time last night, I should have been paralyzed with shock and fear. I grew scales and claws and I breathed fire! But I wasn’t afraid. Instead, I felt exhilarated and powerful. Instinctively, I knew how to use my powers. I knew what powers I had, and I knew how to use them. Deep down, instinctively and intuitively, I knew.” Sky exhaled and said, “It all makes sense now.”

  “Does it?” Storm said, frowning at him. He looked a little skeptical. “It doesn’t really sound...”

  “Everything makes sense!” Sky exclaimed. “All your scale-like marks, the searing heat that you felt when those marks appeared...the stories that Dad used to tell us. He told us stories about dragons. Don’t you remember, Storm?”

  Storm blinked and fell silent for a moment. “I remember those stories,” Storm muttered at last. “I used to wonder if they were true...”

  “They’re not just stories. Dad was telling us about our ancestors,” Sky answered. “We were still young, so he made it sound like bedtime stories. But I think he was trying to...”

  “What stories?” Seath demanded angrily. “No one told me any stories. Why didn’t anyone tell me...”

  “You were just a baby when Dad passed away,” Sky said. “I’ll tell you all the stories. I promise. And I’ll tell you what happened to me last night.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Sky parked his truck and got out. Shadow Point was a pretty town, surrounded by rolling hills and lush forest. There were lots of wide open spaces, which suited the shifters in town. Their animals had to get out and get close to nature once in a while.

  Sky pointed to the hill in front of them and smirked at his brothers. “I’ll race you to the top.”

  His younger brothers exchanged a look. “Are you sure you want to do this, Sky?” Storm asked, arching a brow. “Aren’t you too old to be racing us?”

  “Yeah,” Seath said gleefully. “You’ll lose, Sky. You always do.”

  “Oh I won’t lose this time,” Sky said, folding his arms.

  Seath snorted. “Ha! You drove us all the way out here, so no one can see you lose. You just want to save face.”

  Sky stretched and said in a bored tone, “I’ll give you two slowpokes a head start.”

  “Slowpokes?” Seath spluttered and turned to Storm. “Did he just call us slowpokes?”

  “He must be getting old and senile.” Storm gave Sky a sidelong look and said,“I can stroll to the top and you’ll still be wheezing your way up, old man.”

  Seath rolled his powerful shoulders and got into position. “Come on then. Let’s race! You can’t beat us, big brother. We’re way faster than you.”

  Sky went over to his brothers and clapped their shoulders. “Fly,” he said softly. “Use what you have and fly to the top.”

  Sky had told his brothers how his dragon had emerged to save Leia. He tried to describe as clearly as possible how he’d felt when his dragon rose so his brothers would know what to expect.

  He had driven them all out here so they could try to let their dragons out. He didn’t want to pressure them, so he pretended that he would race them to the top of the hill. They needed the adrenaline, he realized. The rush of speed and adrenaline might push their dragons out.

  “Now, be prepared to get your asses kicked by your big brother,” Sky declared. “Start running!”

  His brothers burst into laughter. “Come on, Seath, let’s go!” Storm yelled and took off.

  Seath whooped and ran after Storm. Sky watched his brothers run across the wide, grassy field towards the hill. When they were halfway across the field, Sky took a deep breath and called forth his dragon.

  His dragon rose and Sky concentrated on pushing his beast to the surface. He had felt his dragon just beneath his skin last night. He could feel his dragon trying to get out but Sky had leashed his beast down through sheer force of will. His human will could control his beast, but Sky knew that he had to let his dragon out sooner rather than later.

  He was out here in the open with his brothers. There was no better time and place to shift for the first time.

  His ancestors were dragon shifters. Their dragons had been dormant, sleeping and biding their time. But their time had come. The Fireblood dragons were rising again.

  Instinct took over, and Sky released his hold on his dragon. He just let his dragon take over and he felt a great wave of power surge through his body.

  Sky tamped down his fear as pain exploded through his entire body. He had never felt such excruciating, burning pain before. It felt as though he were being burned alive.

  Sky roared as the change ripped through him. His bones snapped and broke away to construct a new skeleton for him. His tendons and muscles tore and blood seeped from his pores as his scales emerged to form a shimmering armor over his body.

  Sky blinked and saw that the world was changing before his eyes. He gave his head a hard shake. No, the world wasn’t changing. He was. And he was seeing the world through his heightened senses.

  Everything was clearer, sharper, brighter. And his brothers looked a lot smaller. He could see their stunned, pale faces as he moved towards them.

  With a running leap, Sky spread out his arms. Wait, those weren’t arms anymore. They were wings. Wings! Wide, powerful wings with spikes at the end.

  Sky flapped his wings and flew over his brothers. He didn’t even have to learn how to fly. His dragon knew what to do. Even though he was now bigger than a double-decker bus, he felt almost weightless as he soared through the air, going higher and higher. It was the most exhilarating feeling, and Sky wanted to keep flying until he reached the clouds.

  “What the…!”

  “Sky? Sky!”

  “Is that really him?”

  “Holy fuck!”

  His brothers were shouting and scrambling up the hill, trying to reach him. They looked up at him with awe and wonder, whooping and cheering.

  “Look at his tail...”

  “And his wings!”

  “Sky, can you hear us? Show us your fire!” />
  Sky took a deep breath and spat a small ball of fire into the air. He exhaled the smoke from his nostrils and turned around to fly back to the hill.

  Storm and Seath came running up to him as he landed at the top of the hill.

  “You...you’re a real dragon. Holy fuck! Is this what we are?” Seath said breathlessly, pushing both hands into his short, blond hair. “Is this really what we are?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Sky shifted back to human form and faced his brothers. Seath hooted and punched Sky in the arm. “You’ve got to teach me how to do that!”

  Storm was shaking his head and laughing. “You really did breathe fire! You’re a dragon, Sky. A dragon!”

  Sky grinned. “So are you.”

  “How did you do that?” Seath asked, hopping from foot to foot. “Teach me, Sky. Come on, I want to be a dragon too!”

  “You are a dragon,” Sky told his baby brother. “Your dragon is in you. You just have to let it out.”

  “Let it out?” Seath wrinkled his nose. “Like a fart?”

  Sky chuckled. “Well, if that works for you, go for it. Fart it out!”

  “We can shift? To dragon form?” Storm said, turning his hands over in front of him.

  “I’m sure you can. That’s why I drove us out here. So we can practice. All this space for us to practice shifting and flying and...”

  “Breathing fire,” Seath and Storm said together.

  Sky rolled his eyes at them, laughing. That was what they were most eager to do. They were just raring for a fire-breathing competition.

  “Just don’t start a forest fire, okay?” Sky pointed to the trees. “Be careful where you aim your fire.”

  “Now,” Sky said seriously. “Don’t be frightened when the shift happens. Just go through with it. Don’t fight it. You body, every cell and bone in your body, will know what to do to change fully into dragon form. It’s pure instinct. It’s like...breathing. No one taught us how to breathe. We just do it.”

  “Just do it,” Seath repeated, practically quivering with excitement and anticipation. He took a deep breath, balled his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. “Okay, I’m going to let my dragon out. Come out, come out, wherever you are...”

  As Seath tried to cajole his dragon out, Sky turned to see Storm studying him quietly.

  “You never had any symptoms,” Storm said at last. “You never had any marks, no scale-like pattern appeared on your skin, nothing. And yet, you can just shift easily, effortlessly into a dragon. You said you could call forth your dragon and control the beast. You can actually feel and own the power of your dragon. But...” Storm turned to face him. “I feel nothing.”

  “I felt nothing too,” Sky answered. “Until...her.”

  When Storm narrowed his eyes at him, Sky continued, “When I saw Leia being attacked by that monster, I just felt this burning, consuming anger. I wanted to fight for her, and I wanted to do everything in my power to protect her from that monster.”

  “Your power,” Storm said slowly. “You could feel the power of your dragon?”

  “No. I couldn’t at first. I never even knew that I had a dragon inside of me all this time. All I felt was rage, a burning, consuming rage and pain. When that monster hurt Leia, something exploded in me. I felt this fire burning through my body, and my body began to change. I grew claws and scales, and I spewed fire. My dragon just rose without warning. I didn’t change into dragon form, but my dragon powers emerged. I...I can’t explain it...”

  To his surprise, Storm said, “I can. Your dragon rose to protect Leia.”

  “Yes.” Sky nodded at his brother, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Just the mention of her name made his heart and dragon soar with joy and pride.

  They both turned when a loud, raunchy fart ripped from Seath. Seath was turning red in the face as he assumed another position.

  “Let it out,” Seath muttered to himself. He opened one eye and asked, “I won’t fart fire out of my butt, will I?”

  Sky shook his head but before he could speak, Seath was already striking another pose to try and fart his dragon out.

  Storm walked off and Sky let him go. Storm would try to shift when he was ready and he would do it in his own quiet way.

  Seath was shouting encouragements, pleas and threats at his dragon.

  “Please, please, just shift,” he whined, clutching the sides of his head.

  “Come on, you lousy piece of shit! What kind of a dragon are you? You’d better come out right now, or else…!” Seath yelled, shaking his fist at himself.

  As Seath continued bellowing at himself, Sky shifted to dragon form, hoping to communicate with his brothers’ dragons. He flew into the air and circled the hill, watching his brothers’ growing frustration as the hours wore on.

  “It’s no use,” Storm said at last, dropping to the grass. Sweat was dripping down his face and arms. “We can’t. We can’t shift.”

  Seath threw himself flat on the ground and stared up at the clouds. “Maybe you’re the only Fireblood dragon of our generation,” Seath muttered and rolled onto his belly so his brothers couldn’t see the disappointment on his face.

  Sky’s frowned. “But those marks...”

  “You never had those marks,” Storm pointed out.

  “If our ancestors were dragon shifters, then you definitely have a dragon in you,” Sky said firmly.

  The three brothers sat shoulder to shoulder, each lost in his own thoughts.

  Finally, Storm got up and dusted himself off. “No point moping around. It’s early afternoon. We still got quite a few hours of sunlight. We should get back to work and finish that landscaping job for Tristan. Come on.”

  As they trudged back to the truck, Storm and Seath talked about a new landscaping project and their mood seemed to improve.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Seath said. “While we were waiting for you at your front door this morning, the lady from the corner house across the street came up to us. She asked if we could do some work for her.”

  “What lady?” Sky raised his brows. “The corner house has been vacant for ages.”

  Seath shrugged. “Maybe she just moved in. We didn’t ask. Anyway, she said she’d be home all day, so she asked if we could go take a look and give her a quote today.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Leia stepped out of the house and went to her little car. Her car was old and cranky, and she usually preferred to walk. But she wanted to get some grocery shopping done, and she didn’t want to lug her heavy bags all the way home on foot.

  She had rested and finished up some chores around the house. She’d been using housework to try to distract herself. All day her thoughts had been on Sky and she’d had to resist the urge to pick up the phone and call him. “He’s working,” Leia kept reminding herself. It was her off day, but that didn’t mean that everybody was taking the day off too.

  Finally she decided to just get out of the house and go to the shops. Her fridge was almost empty anyway.

  At the supermarket, Leia bumped into Gramma and Ne-ma. “Leia!” Gramma bounded up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you for helping me pull off that prank on Neveah!”

  Ne-ma laughed. “Prank? If I remember correctly, you were the one who got pranked, Glynda!”

  Leia smiled at them. “Everyone had a great time. And the cake was lovely.”

  “It was, wasn’t it?” Gramma beamed. “No magic was involved in the baking of that cake. The girls did everything themselves.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know you could use magic to bake a cake,” Leia said.

  “You can use magic for anything,” Ne-ma replied. “There are spells for everything, but some spells need a familiar.”

  “A witch’s familiar,” Leia said, nodding. “My old neighbor was a witch. Her cat, Smokey, was her familiar.”

  “Cats are fine,” Ne-ma said. “But there are some witches who use familiars which are...dangerous.” She lowered her voice. “If you can’t
control your familiar...”

  “...it will destroy you,” Gramma said gravely. “We just got off the phone with one of our friends, a witch from another town. She told us that a witch in her town was murdered three nights ago.”

  Leia’s eyes widened. “Murdered...by her familiar?”

  “For her familiar,” Gramma said. “Someone killed her to steal her familiar.”

  “Someone murdered a witch to steal her cat?” Leia gasped.

  “It wasn’t a cat,” Ne-ma said and looked around. “It was an impundulu,” she said in a hushed tone.

  “A what?”

  “A lightning bird, also known as an impundulu,” Ne-ma said.

  “I’ve never heard...”

  “Not many people have,” Gramma answered. “An impundulu is usually passed down from mother to daughter. It outlives many of its masters and serves generations of witches. It usually stays within the family, unless...”

  “It gets stolen,” Leia said.

  Gramma and Ne-ma sighed heavily. “It happened three nights ago, but we only just heard about it. Our friend tried to call us but we were too busy planning our birthday celebration and forgot to return her call.” The two witches shook their heads, looking disgusted with themselves.

  “Oh Gramma, Ne-ma, nobody could have foreseen or prevented it,” Leia said. “You can’t feel guilty...”

  “We didn’t know her, but no one deserves to die like that. It’s terrible,” Gramma cried.

  “Terrible and tragic. We all have to be careful now,” Ne-ma said softly. “Whoever did this...”

  “...is devious, ruthless and unscrupulous. The murderer left no traces at all. Some very powerful magic was used,” Gramma said.

  As the two grandmothers took their leave and walked off, something struck Leia. She turned around and called after them, “Gramma, Ne-ma!”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “The impundulu...” she said breathlessly. “Can you describe it?”

  “It’s a bird with black and white feathers, and it can summon lightning with its talons,” Gramma replied.