I was trying not to think too deeply about everything that had happened, afraid I really would fall apart. My father had always taught me that every life was important, so just running away hadn’t felt like an option for me, even though my parents had never really discussed what to do if someone else’s life was in danger. Rather, they were always more concerned about my reaction to how people treated me, probably so I didn’t go and kill everyone I didn’t care for once I got older, found out I wasn’t fully human, and started using my magic.
And it wasn’t like I defended everyone for a ‘pat on the back’ either, especially since I fully expected the majority of the town to hate me now, Kaylee included, even though I had saved their lives.
But still, as much as I hated to be packing, I would rather be doing that than have to deal with the guilt of letting all those people die when I could have done something to help – of letting Kaylee, and her parents die, when I could have done something.
Mrs. Sykes especially had always been nice to me, and I could remember her kind words and hugs from when I was little.
And if I hadn’t fought back, the monster would surely be roaming around in town right now, killing without discretion, not to mention the shapeshifter would still be out there looking for me.
I still didn’t like packing though, even if it was better than the alternative. And the memory of almost dying – for real this time – was weighing heavily on me. My first brush with death had been bad enough, but this?
I really might fall apart.
My dad knocked on the door a minute later. “Can I come in?” he asked.
I nodded absentmindedly, before shaking my head, feeling stupid for gesturing nonverbally when he couldn’t see me.
“Yeah,” I croaked out after a second.
He opened the door hesitantly, before leaning against the frame and watching me shove some more of my clothes in my pack with clawed hands. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” he said after a moment.
I shrugged. “It’s not like it’s your fault.”
He sighed heavily. “I know, but maybe if I could have gotten there sooner.”
I finally looked up at him, a tear slipping out of my slitted eyes as I really thought about how close it had been. He immediately closed the gap between us and bent down to wrap me up in his arms, pinning my wings against my back.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For saving me.”
He nodded, holding me tighter.
I took a deep breath. “What was that thing anyway?” I wondered seriously. “The shapeshifter called it a chimera.”
My dad stiffened unexpectedly, before pulling away to hold my crimson gaze. “That’s the magic I was referring to the other day,” he admitted with a grimace. “I didn’t think it was real until now, but apparently it is.”
“He made that thing with magic?” I clarified in disbelief.
He nodded again. “When a shapeshifter collects forms, supposedly they can use a type of dark magic to modify members of those races. In the case of the chimera we saw, it looked like he either started with a dragon and mixed it with a worgron, or else the other way around.” He paused as he looked over my shoulder, his eyes unfocused. “Both creatures used in the transmutation lose their lives, with the new monstrosity basically being like a puppet for its creator.”
“So that’s why it was able to use magic,” I realized. “It was sealing my powers,” I explained when he gave me a confused look.
Unexpectedly Jasmyn’s eyes widened. “It was sealing your magic?” she repeated, seeming shocked.
I nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, why?”
“Because I couldn’t use my snake-eye,” she reminded us. “When those kids were attacking me, I couldn’t make them go away with my magic like usual.”
My eyes widened as I processed that.
So then, the chimera must have been what ate Ryker. The shapeshifter probably already had the human form, and was instead tracking down Jasmyn, only to stumble upon me. I never would have considered myself the target, but I supposed I really was a unique form to acquire.
But then if he really wanted me, why wait? I didn’t understand. Was he trying to evaluate my power first?
My thoughts wandered back to the fight, prompting me to meet my dad’s gaze again.
“Umm, dad,” I began hesitantly. “When you saved me, you sort of bit off my arm…” His eyes widened, but I kept talking before he could respond. “Obviously I’m fine now, but would that be enough of my body for the shapeshifter to become like me?”
His brow furrowed as he thought about it. “No, it shouldn’t be,” he concluded. “But then again, I’m not an expert on the subject since I’ve neglected to intentionally pursue the darker aspects of my abilities.” He then paused as he became pensive again. “But he’s dead now, so it shouldn’t matter either way.”
I nodded somberly, being reminded of our impending departure. “So are we going to have to cut off my wings and tail?” I finally asked, not looking forward to the experience.
My father stared at me like I was crazy. “Cut off your wings and tail?!” he practically yelled, his expression bewildered. When we both flinched, he lowered his voice with an apologetic expression. “I mean, have you even tried shifting back to your human form?”
I shrugged. “Well no, but I guess I can try.”
He nodded firmly. “Please do, because while you’re definitely not a shapeshifter, you still have two forms like I do, and I certainly don’t have to cut off my wings whenever I want to return to being human.”
I stared at him as I considered that.
Where did all that extra mass go anyway? Back into his body? I knew my dad was like ten times heavier than a normal person, but the idea that he really just absorbed an entire dragon’s body into such a condensed form every time seemed strange to me.
I finally took a deep breath and attempted to calm the internal turmoil inside of me. My magic was still swirling around like an inferno just below the surface.
Unexpectedly, I felt my wings and tail begin pulling back into my body. The sensation was extremely uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt like it had when they first appeared.
And then I opened my eyes, looking down at my human hands, the world around me not nearly as crisp as it usually was when I was in my demon form. I reached my hand back automatically to feel my smooth shoulders, before rubbing just above my butt too, where my tail had been.
My dad was grinning at me from ear to ear. “See?” he said cheerfully. “No need to cut anything off.”
“How is that even possible?” I wondered seriously, although I sort of already knew the answer, feeling like my body was slightly different now. I felt denser on the inside, and I suspected I might be heavier too. I wasn’t sure how I could suddenly weigh more, but obviously I did – possibly weighing even more than most grown men now.
Granted, I knew my magic was a big part of the change, because I felt like my initial transformation had used up at least half of what I had stored inside of me. It was slowly recovering, but it was the first time I had ever felt so empty.
Prior to today, my magical reserves had always been filled to the brim. Even the few times I had used my lightning attacks had done virtually nothing to deplete my magic, nor had I lost much when I had been stabbed.
But now, I could really feel the emptiness.
My dad was pensive as he considered how to answer my question about how it was possible, but he didn’t get a chance to respond.
Because unexpectedly, there was a rough knock on our front door.
I shifted instantly, minus the wings and tail.
“Stay in here,” my dad ordered. “I’ll see who it is.”
I barely heard him though, my sensitive ears focused intently on the noises outside. Three heartbeats, all of them racing, along with uneven breathing as well. Metal clinked together in one of their pockets as they shifted their weight, like a handful of coins, though the sound was different. Less metal involved,
like a pocketful of bullets.
One heart skipped a beat with each breath, as if the act of sucking in air into their lungs forced their pulsing muscle to change its tempo momentarily each time. A knee clicked as another shifted their weight, just before another knock came on the door, their sleeve gliding over their skin on their arm.
Usually the sound of a knock was an indistinct singular noise, but now that I was paying attention I noticed there was a slight rattle as one knuckle hit the wood just before a second one did. The stranger hit the wood in succession multiple times, before an elbow joint grinded slightly from age as an arm was lowered.
“Come on,” a low voice whispered to themselves, almost like a prayer.
A voice I recognized.
My eyes focused and I realized my dad had waited, watching me listening to everything he couldn’t hear. I straightened up slightly. “It’s Mr. Burrows,” I announced. “He has two men with him.”
My dad nodded with a grimace, before closing my bedroom door behind him and heading into the kitchen to open the front door. I heard two of the men take a step back as the door began to open.
Jasmyn moved to wrap her arms around me, but I abruptly held up my hand to stop her, my expression serious. I was ready to bolt straight through the door, smashing through both it and the wall in my way if needed, in order to protect my human dad in the event that they tried shooting him.
I didn’t want to hurt Jasmyn in the process of my rapidly changing locations, because I could feel it again.
Whatever it was that I was doing, I was doing it now. Everything seemed to slow down as I listened, all the noises sounding a lot lower pitch than usual. I was listening for anything that might indicate a trigger was getting ready to be pulled.
But I didn’t hear anything threatening.
My dad’s voice came out at an exceptionally slowed pace. “Can I help you, Nolan?” he wondered seriously, his tone firm.
Mr. Burrows still sounded slightly out of breath. “Thank goodness you’re here. I need to talk to you,” he replied urgently, though the pacing likewise wasn’t right. “It’s about your daughter.”
“You mean about the fact she’s only half human?” my dad responded with an edge in his voice. It was obvious he wasn’t going to try to feign ignorance.
Mr. Burrows paused for what seemed like forever, but I knew that was only because everything seemed slower right now. “Yes,” he finally admitted. “We were attacked by some kind of monster, as well as two dragons. I know it sounds crazy, but one of them took her. She might still be in danger.”
My dad was silent for what seemed like an eternity this time as he considered how to answer. “She’s fine,” he finally replied. “In her room actually, packing her things.”
I heard Mr. Burrows take a step back, his knee clicking as he did so. The sound wasn’t usually noticeable to my human ears – at least, I had certainly never noticed it before.
“You’re leaving?” he asked in disbelief.
I heard my dad’s shirt shift over his skin as he raised his shoulders in a shrug. His voice was beginning to sound more normal now, as everything seemed to speed back up to a normal pace.
“You’re surprised?” His tone sounded skeptical. “Half the women in town have been whispering about my wife being a devil for years, and now this? I’m not going to put my daughter in a situation where she might have to hurt someone to defend herself.” He paused. “Not that anyone could actually hurt her,” he clarified.
The head of the Guard was quiet for a long time as he considered that – sincerely, a long time, not just my perception of it.
“Just give me some time,” he finally requested. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but your daughter is the reason only a handful of people are dead, instead of half the town. I’ll try to get everyone to understand. All of my men who I’ve spoken with so far are in favor of her staying. We can’t fight against something like that if we are attacked again. Our guns were practically useless.” I heard his elbow grind again as he lifted up his hands. “Just give me a few days. I’ll have men watch your house at night to make sure no one bothers you.”
My dad sighed heavily, before speaking to me with a normal volume. He must have assumed I’d still be listening, because my human ears wouldn’t have picked up on it. “Alyssa, what do you want to do?”
I hesitated briefly, before opening my door and slowly walking up to the entrance of the kitchen. I stopped again just out of sight, and then peeked barely around the corner. I was still in my demon form, not about to let my guard down in case this was a trick, but at the same time I was hesitant to show myself to them again like this.
Mr. Burrows noticed me right away, seeing half of my gray face appear around the corner.
My eyes widened in shock as he abruptly knelt down on one knee, grunting from the effort. He then rested his hand over his chest, and inclined his head like I was some goddess to be worshipped.
“Thank you, Alyssa Dracul, for saving my life, as well as everyone else’s. I know you didn’t have to intervene. You could have just run away. Your life wasn’t in any danger if you had decided to leave. But you didn’t. You stayed to defend us, even almost dying several times by my estimate. So thank you.” He looked up at me then, holding the crimson gaze of my one eye that was visible around the corner. “I’m sorry to say that it’s unlikely that everyone will accept you, but please know that you at least have my gratitude, if nothing else.”
I just stared at him, completely baffled that he was being serious right now. I mean, what he said was true. I didn’t have to defend them. I could have just run away like he said. Sure, the chimera might have chased after me, but I probably could have gotten away from it easily if I decided to flee instead of fight.
After a moment, I glanced at my dad, who was now looking back at me. I then sighed heavily. “Umm, you’re welcome,” I finally choked out. I didn’t know what else to say.
My dad spoke up. “Do you want to try staying?” he wondered.
I gawked at him. Was he really serious? “Umm, maybe we can talk about it?” I offered, surprised he was suggesting it when he seemed so set on leaving just moments ago.
He nodded at that, before turning back to Mr. Burrows. “We’ll talk about it then. But no promises. However, for tonight at least, I think we’ll be staying.”
Mr. Burrows immediately nodded, grabbing the doorframe and grunting as he got back to his feet. “That will work for now. In the meantime, we have quite the mess to deal with. One of my men reported that the Mayor’s been killed too, so now we have a vacancy in our leadership on top of this mess.”
My dad took a step back in surprise. “He’s dead?” he repeated in disbelief.
The head of the Guard nodded somberly. “Probably the work of that man the red dragon ate, if I had to guess.”
My eyes widened in shock again, trying to understand what he was saying.
Did he not realize the blue dragon was that man? What was going on? Something just wasn’t adding up, but I was having a difficult time figuring out exactly what was happening. Had everything just taken place too quickly for them to see the details?
I’d have to ask my dad once Mr. Burrows left.
I was glad when he finally did leave a few minutes later. My newfound advocate thanked me twice more before departing. As Mr. Burrows readied himself to head back to town, he instructed the men with him to guard our house while he was gone, adding to not bother us in the process.
Once the front door was closed, I stepped into the kitchen, hearing Jasmyn slither up behind me now that the coast was clear.
We had a lot to talk about, and it didn’t all involve whether or not to stay.
“Why didn’t Mr. Burrows realize that shapeshifter turned into the blue dragon?” I asked the moment my dad turned around to face me.
He sighed heavily, before gesturing to the kitchen table. “Let’s sit down,” he suggested.
I plopped down in my seat, my crimson eyes unbl
inking. “What’s going on?” I tried again when he didn’t begin answering my question after sitting. “Is it because it all happened too fast?”
My dad ran his fingers through his red hair, glancing at Jasmyn briefly as she slithered up to the table, her expression slightly timid. “Alyssa,” he finally began. “You did something impossible back there when you were about to be…” He grimaced. “…be killed.”
“I did?” I asked in disbelief, my eyes wide.
He nodded, finally meeting my gaze and holding it. “You manipulated time.”
I gawked at him, trying to process what he was suggesting. Manipulated time? What did he mean by that? Was I slowing it down? Or did he mean something else entirely?
“H-How?” I finally managed.
He shrugged, followed by running both his hands through his hair and then resting his chin on his interlaced fingers. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of such a magic, but I experienced it for myself.” He paused, another grimace on his face. “I wasn’t going to make it in time,” he admitted. “I was sure I was about to watch my only daughter be eaten alive, already determined to do everything in my power to claw you out of his body if I had to. But suddenly I saw you reaching out to me, and it was like everything slowed down – everything except me.”
I gasped again as I thought about how he had been so far away – how I had been shocked to feel his jaws cut off my arm – shocked that he was there in the first place, that he had reached me in time. I then thought back to all the times when I had moved instantly, like the world stood still while I traveled to where I wanted to be.
I was manipulating time.
I was slowing it down, and possibly even stopping it entirely for short periods.
“Dad,” I choked out, thinking back to last night. “My nightmare. I dreamt about what happened today. Exactly as it happened.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “You saw the future?” he wondered seriously.
I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It felt more real than that. Like…” I paused biting my lip, not liking the idea. “Like maybe I’ve lived this day twice, sending myself back in time because I couldn’t figure out how to save myself.”
Magicbound to a Snake Girl Page 17