Dragon Emperor 10: From Human to Dragon to God

by Eric Vall

  “Yessss,” Abel hissed, and the frills of his neck swelled as he got excited for the fight ahead.

  “Any questions?” I asked the group, and after a moment, I pointed to the door. “Let’s go, then.”

  We walked out of the castle, and I quickly noticed the raindrops had gotten even bigger. Instead of being their normal size, the black drops were now the size of golf balls. The large black beads hit the ground and splattered sand along with the oily black substance, and black rivers of the rainwater carved paths through the sandy ground as the wind began to howl with the power of the storm.

  The sky should have been brightening with the sunrise, but instead, dark clouds formed over the city as the storm grew, and a purple and yellow glow tinted the sky. It looked like a giant bruise had bled into the air above us. Several lizard Demi-Humans ran around to gather livestock and bring clothes in from the clotheslines outside while other citizens yelled and screamed, and it seemed the plan to terrify them had worked so far.

  I growled as I strode out into the storm to transform. I focused on my natural draconic form, and I could feel the power surge through my body as my magical transition began. The shiny black scales on my forearms spread out to cover the rest of my growing body, and I felt my wings pop out of my back as I towered over the group.

  “Wow,” one of the warriors breathed before he turned to face Abel. “You fought him like that?”

  “Yeah,” Abel murmured. “You see why I lost now?”

  “I do,” his comrade confirmed. “He’s rather large.”

  “And he has magic,” Abel added. “I didn’t have a chance.”

  “It was all for fun,” Vallen insisted. “I wanted to see if he lived up to the tales we’ve heard.”

  “Oh, he did,” his warrior replied with an eye roll.

  “And then some,” the other guard muttered as he gazed up and down my whole body.

  Abel and several other guards nodded, and I chuckled to myself before I shook my head and refocused.

  “Okay, let’s split up,” I boomed.

  Ravi stepped out into the rain, and a column of fire shot up from her feet as she took her beautiful phoenix form. When the fire went out, she stood with her wings spread and ready to fly. Her orange feathers fluttered with the growing winds, but the oily rain seemed to run off her body as though she could wick it away, so at least her feathers wouldn’t get heavy in the rain.

  I nodded to her, and we both took off into the sky.

  As I flew south toward the fields, I could see more people as they screamed and ran into their homes. I flew high enough to see the rooftops of houses and shops, and I swept back and forth from the east to the west then back to the east. I soared over a neighborhood of small huts and then back over toward the masonry and other trade shops. After that, I looped back around to pass over the market, where people pushed their carts under the protection of the buildings.

  Then I heard a sound that was less of a scream and more of a whimper.

  I looked down to see two lizard Demi-Human children huddled under a food cart at the edge of the market, and I glanced around the area but didn’t see anyone who paid any attention to them at all. The other Demi-Humans were still screaming as they tried to find cover for their goods.

  I knew we had to find the mage, but there was no way I would leave kids out here alone and terrified. So, I cursed as I looped around and carefully brought my large body down between the buildings next to the cart. Then I peered underneath the cart to find a boy who looked about ten and a girl who looked no older than five.

  “Hi, there,” I said gently.

  The older child gasped, and he pulled his little sister closer to him.

  “I know, I probably look pretty scary, right?” I asked.

  Both children nodded but stayed silent.

  “Well, I promise I’m a very nice dragon,” I said and smiled as best I could with my dragon mouth. “In fact, I came all the way here to Kana to help. Did you know that?”

  “I heard you fought Abel in the arena,” the boy nearly whispered. “He’s a very skilled warrior, one of Lord Vallen’s best guards.”

  “I did,” I chuckled. “And, yeah, I won, but it was all for fun. Now, where are your parents? Are you out here alone?”

  “We came to surprise our mama,” the girl chirped. “She loves flowers, and the nice man at the market said he would have some new ones for us this morning if we came early.”

  “Ahh, I see,” I sighed. “Okay, you may have to go home without flowers today, but I want to help you get home. Does that sound alright with you?”

  They both nodded vigorously.

  “So, normally, I’d just give you a ride on my back, but I need to keep you out of this rain,” I said. “You point in the direction you need to walk home, and I’ll fly above you to keep the rain off. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, sir,” the boy replied as he gripped his sister tighter around her shoulders. “I have to get her home.”

  “Okay, I’ll do the easy part.” I smiled. “You make sure she gets there with you. Lead the way.”

  The boy pointed to his left, and I flapped my wings to hover above them as they crawled out from underneath the cart. Then they took off running to the left, and I shielded them from the black droplets as they ran.

  I moved slower to keep their pace, and the oily drops hit me harder as I flew. The liquid was thick and greasy, and it began to cloud over my eyes so I could barely see ahead of me. I blinked over and over, but the thick drops continued to block parts of my vision.

  Would my healing magic help protect my vision like it did my hearing?

  I sent a wave of my healing magic to my eyes in a thin layer to keep the black drops out of my way. Within seconds, my vision was clear, and the oily rain seemed to roll right off the surface of my eyes.

  Perfect.

  The boy pointed right just before they took a turn into a small housing area.

  A moment later, I could hear a woman shouting from the front door of the hut-style home that was three houses down the road.

  “Luna!” she screeched when she saw them. “Astro!”

  Then the woman saw me flying above them and ran outside to wave her arms at me.

  “He’s our friend, mama,” Luna giggled. “He helped us get home without the yucky rain.”

  “You did?” Their mother squinted her eyes up at me with doubt across her features, and she wrapped up her children in a bear hug.

  “Of course, ma’am,” I replied. “I wanted to make sure they got home safely. I have to get back to finding whoever is doing this. I’ll come back and give them a ride, if that’s okay with you. Bye, kids!”

  “Bye, dragon!” Astro and Luna called out as they waved goodbye.

  I chuckled as I gave a flap of my wings and tore back up into the sky. Then I returned to my sweeping pattern as I searched back and forth on the rooftops in the southern part of the city.

  Nothing looked out of place, though, other than the obvious black rivulets streaming down the cobbled roads and sandy ground. It seemed everyone had made their way inside since there were no more screams or carts on the main roads of town, and I’d nearly made it all the way out to the fields without seeing anything when I heard Ravi’s caw.

  I flipped around and made a beeline for the northern part of the city.

  As I got closer, the rain fell even harder than before until it seemed like I was flying through a sheet of thick black oil. It slipped off my scales and dumped onto the ground as I flew, and I slowed down when I got close to the castle and listened for Ravi.

  I could barely see, and it wouldn’t do me any good to fly blind into the storm. I had to make sure I was headed in the right direction and didn’t crash right into her. So, I focused my dragon hearing out into the storm and tried to tune out the sounds of the water whipping past my ears and crashing into the ground.

  Then I heard her wings as she flapped about fifty yards ahead and to my right, and I grunted and heade
d in that direction as I heard her cry out.

  “Lord Evan!” Ravi yelled. “They’ve seen me!”

  I snarled and flew into the black curtain of rain.

  Chapter 8

  The rain poured down over my eyes and rolled down my snout as I pushed through the sheets of liquid toward the sound of Ravi’s voice. I could barely see ahead of my nose, and I grunted as I pushed through the oily downpour.

  Then it was like the rain simply disappeared as I broke through into a clearing. It was the eye of the storm, and the mage who had cast the spell stood inside it along with five other bandits. They were crowded together on the flat roof of one of the three-story buildings near the jail, and they were definitely trying to keep the phoenix away from the mage. They had encircled the mage while he continued to cast the Oleum spell, and they threw water spells across the roof at Ravi like Germans at a world finals dodgeball game.

  “I can’t get to him!” she called out as she dodged the balls.

  I growled as I decided to fight his water with my fire. Then I swooped down closer to the roof and opened my maw to release a plume of flames over the whole group of bandits. I had no problem roasting all six of them for attacking one of my women. They’d learn about the Dragon Lord soon enough.

  But the flames hit a transparent wall and flowed down the sides of the magical bubble.

  Another damn protection spell.

  This mage must have learned some tricks from Sila. And he would end up like her, too.

  “We’ll have to get inside their spell to cause any damage,” I told Ravi as I flew back up to her.

  “I could fit on the roof, but I think it’s too small for you,” she replied as we hovered over the roof together.

  “Yeah, I’ll shift on the way down,” I agreed. “Let’s get rid of these bastards.”

  Ravi nodded, and we both plunged down toward the roof, but before we landed, I transformed into my human body and cushioned my fall with my healing magic.

  As soon as we crossed the magical barrier, Ravi shifted into her human form as well and conjured fiery daggers in each hand.

  I stood from where I landed, drew the Sword of Hatra from my spatial storage, and looked down the blade at each of the thieves who had watched our entrance with shock. Then I smirked as I watched them scramble to figure out what to do next.

  They had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

  Suddenly, Alyona and Laika crawled over the side of the roof from a ladder on the other side of the platform, and two of the lizard guards climbed over behind them. Laika pulled her broadsword from the scabbard at her waist, and the guards gripped their spears with their long-clawed hands.

  The mage who was casting the Oleum spell stood in the middle with his hands held high as he controlled the storm. His long burlap-colored robes covered him from his neck to his feet, and I could see he was a wolf Demi-Human, but his fur was jet black instead of gray like Laika’s. His hood was down to reveal long, black hair that billowed in the wind from the storm, his black ears were flattened to his head, and his large, dark eyes were filled with rage as we began to surround the group.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” he shouted to his comrades. “Get them!”

  I bolted toward the mage, but one of the other bandits jumped into my path to protect him. I plunged my sword into his gut without missing a beat, and a curse bubbled from his throat as I pulled my blade back. He stumbled toward me with dark red blood pouring out from his wound, and Ravi launched two of her fire daggers at his face. The tiny fire blades pierced his eyes, and he screamed as the flames caught on to his face and licked across his skin before he fell to the ground in a heap.

  “Nice,” I murmured, and I looked up to see Laika as she realized the mage was another wolf.

  She growled deep in her belly before she charged at him with her broadsword held high above her head, but the mage who had thrown the water orbs at Ravi cut her off.

  The other mage was a human, and he wore the same robes as the wolf mage, but he had tattoos along his neck that peeked out of the collar of his robes below his ears. His white hair was shaved almost to his head, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He grinned as he lifted his palms and pushed them forward toward Laika, and a surge of the oily black water rushed in from the air above him and into the wolf-woman’s chest. The force of the water knocked her back, and she slid to a stop about fifteen yards away. She shook her head to clear the daze, and I started toward the man.

  Suddenly, Alyona’s amethyst eyes filled with rage, and she screamed a spell at the human mage. A gust of wind poured across the platform and slammed into the mage’s body, and his eyes bulged before he went flying across the roof and slammed into the three-foot ledge. His eyes rolled back in his head as he took a few hard breaths and then passed out cold.

  Don’t fuck with the princess.

  As I grinned and turned back toward the other bandits, one of them rushed me. He was another human, but he was no mage, and he lifted a long, curved saber as he ran toward me and swung it wildly.

  He had no idea who he was dealing with.

  I dodged his first attempt and lifted my arm to clothesline him. Before he fell backward, I used his momentum to swing around behind him into a headlock, and then I quickly conjured a fiery rope and wrapped it around his neck as his fingernails dug into my forearms. He tore at the rope, but the fire burned his fingers, so he tried to reach around and claw at me instead. His hands swiped the empty air between us as I craned my neck away from him, but I kept my hands locked onto the fiery rope as it squeezed his throat.

  After a few moments, his body went limp, and I dropped his corpse onto the ground. Then I looked over to see the two lizard guards in hand-to-hand combat with two more bandits. One of the lizard Demi-Humans got the upper hand and drove his spear into a bandit’s chest, and the man’s body crumpled as he fell to the floor.

  The other lizard was not as skilled, though, and his opponent was a cheetah Demi-Human who quickly gained the advantage. The giant cat extended his long feline claws and slashed the lizard guard across the face from his forehead, across his nose, to his jawline. Streams of his deep burgundy blood dripped down his face as he groaned and tried to recover from the stunning blow, but he could barely see through the blood that poured out from his forehead over his eyes, and the cheetah Demi-Human reared back to deliver another strike.

  I sprinted toward the bandit and swung my blade in a quick chop to remove the cheetah’s hand. Blood arced through the air as the appendage flopped to the ground, and the cheetah screeched as he held his bleeding arm next to his body and tried to run away.

  I wasn’t about to let that happen, though, so I took another long swing with the Sword of Hatra, and the blow nearly cut the Demi-Human in half. He was dead before he landed, and the lizard guard looked at me with surprise and gratitude.

  “Here, let me see that,” I said as I grabbed his chin and turned his face up.

  I sent a wave of healing magic over the lizard, and within a second, the skin had begun to stitch itself back together.

  He nodded his thanks as he wiped the blood from his face, and I flipped around to find the wolf mage again.

  “We have to stop him!” I called out to the rest of my group. “Stand back!”

  While my group took several steps back, I opened my maw and released another column of flames, this time inside the mage’s protective barrier.

  The wolf mage’s deep brown eyes widened at the sight of the flames as they surged toward him and licked at the bottom of his robes.

  “No!” he screamed as the fire traveled up his clothes in a rush.

  The protective barrier that surrounded us wavered as he tried to beat the flames that had almost reached his neck. Then the protection spell disappeared, and the new source of oxygen hit the flames with a vengeance. The fire rose until the flames were as tall as the wolf mage, and he bellowed at his men for help.

  “They’re dead!” I called out over the roarin
g flames. “Just like you’re about to be. Say hello to Sila for me!”

  Then he groaned one more time before he collapsed onto the roof while the flames continued to ravage his corpse.

  Suddenly, the storm disappeared. One minute, the sound of the wind howling through the town was nearly deafening, and the next, it was completely gone. The silence was almost as deafening as the storm, and I took a deep breath as I looked up at the sky. The clouds dissipated and floated away, while the sky returned to its normal pale blue.

  “Now, let’s get to the fun part,” I muttered to myself as I turned back to the human mage. I was going to get some answers out of him, and he wouldn’t like how it happened if he had his own protection spell as well.

  My inner dragon roared at the idea of chopping off his limbs until the mage removed the spell.

  Then I realized that the man was no longer crumpled up next to the ledge, and I whirled around to find him.

  “Looking for me?” the human mage asked and then laughed maniacally.

  He stood on the edge of the building with his heels hanging over the ledge, and he laughed again as we all turned to face him.

  Oh, hell, what was he about to do? Another spell?

  “Wait!” I heard Naomi shout as she climbed over the ledge from the ladder with two guards in tow.

  “We’ll get the Sundex sooner or later,” the mage continued. “You’ll never stop us!”

  “Just come down and--” I tried to reason with him, but then he spread his arms and leaned back from the ledge. “Shit!”

  I reached for him, but the mage’s grinning face disappeared from the ledge before he crashed into the ground below with a sickening plop.

  “What have you done?” Naomi shrieked as she ran across the platform and peered over the edge.

  “It looks like I’ve just saved everyone in Kana.” I smirked. “And I can’t help it if that guy would rather kill himself than talk to us. Maybe he heard about our interrogation techniques.”

  “Well, how are we supposed to stop them now?” she wailed. “He said there are more of them.”