by Katie Cherry
The questions were coming too quickly for Myra to respond, her head still spinning. Breathing hard, she tried to force her thoughts to catch up. “My… ankle… and legs…”
Flipping her from her side onto her back, he quickly ran his fingers over her legs. She followed them with her eyes. There was so much blood. Most of it was just minor scrapes, but some were gouges. As for her ankle…
“I think it’s broken,” Jasper informed her, carefully moving it. She cried out at the sharp pain that followed, and he stopped. “We need to get you home. I’ll help you stand,” he directed, pulling her up until she was standing on her one good foot.
“I’m so… dizzy,” she gasped, leaning against him. Her blood was still pumping and her heart thumping hard. In her mind, she could still feel the wind screaming past her ears, cooling every bit of skin it touched. Yet now, her skin felt like it was burning up.
“No… not now,” Jasper groaned, feeling her forehead. Quickly moving her a few more steps, he set her down on a fallen tree. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Stripping off his shirt, his wings snapped out behind him, their golden expanse blocking the light of the morning sun. With a huge flap that nearly knocked Myra over, he was gone.
Myra stared after him, feeling an itch on her own back. Wait… two itches. Grunting, she swiveled to try and scratch at them, but the itching only grew. Standing, she staggered in a daze toward a nearby tree, rubbing her back against it like a bear. She stumbled on, not noticing the two chunks she had carved out of the bark. Her mind in a haze, she didn’t notice her legs and ankle slowly healing and the pain in her abdomen rapidly disappearing.
Soon, she could hardly see, and the world was swirling around her. She continued to stumble onward, searching for Rhys. Rhys can help me… he’ll know what’s wrong with me… I have to find him… find Rhys…
Her vision flickered in and out as she continued forward, her back aching all the while. Finally, her feet stumbled. Finding no ground beneath them, Myra began to fall backward, a hazy memory of a cliff near the house flashing beneath her closed eyes as she felt herself plummet.
*****
The wind was rushing past her again, and her heart thumped eagerly against her ribcage. Her eyes opened suddenly as an electrifying wave of pure energy washed through her tired, aching muscles and a sound echoed close around her ears, similar to a kite tossed about in the wind. Something leathery appeared in front of the blue sky; a red, foreign thing. It twitched and moved out of the way when she turned her attention to it. Panic and excitement seemed to simultaneously crush her chest at that moment. My wings!
As she continued to fall, she jerked back to full alertness, instantly recognizing the situation. She had stumbled about the mountain while transitioning, and she finally completed it… in mid-air.
And she had no idea how to fly.
Shrieking, she felt for the wings in her mind as she would to take stock of any of her other limbs. Yep, there they were, sticking out beside her shoulder blades. The muscle connecting them felt sore and raw. The wings themselves were beginning to burn, catching the wind the wrong way as she fell backwards through the air. Grimacing, Myra forced herself to roll over so she could face down. Her gut clenched. She was nearly to the ground. Flap, flap, flap!!! Panic clawed its way up her throat as her wings caught the air, the strain unfamiliar to her. She slowed as the leathery canvas billowed to either side of her, but it wasn’t enough.
Flapping was awkward and required a huge amount of focus, like learning to walk again after being in a wheelchair for years. But slowly, she began to rise. Panting from the effort and concentration, she wobbled her way back toward the house.
Her dragon wings burned where they connected with her human skin as they painstakingly lifted her weight, defying gravity, as she slowly rose up the cliff. Something seemed to finally click once more inside of her. The pain in her stomach, which was nearly gone, vanished completely. Her wings strengthened and seemed to connect with her brain, instantly teaching her how to fly more effortlessly.
In another single flap, she shot up above the edge of the cliff, dangling high in the air, higher than she’d ever been before. The human part of her panicked and pulled in her wings, sending her hurdling back toward the ground. They snapped out again at the last second, and she landed, one knee crumpling from the force and one hand shooting out to steady herself. Her crimson wings billowed grandly behind her, the light catching them. They’re beautiful, Myra thought before collapsing fully to the ground.
Chapter Eight
Myra woke slowly, the sound of birdsong echoing in her ears and her face warm from rays of sunshine. A cold, wet, washcloth then patted around her face. Stirring, annoyed at the interruption from her peaceful morning, she opened her eyes. Bonnie was at her side, the damp washcloth in her hand as she pulled back.
“Myra! How do you feel?” she asked, dropping the washcloth to the side and turning her full attention to Myra.
Carefully pushing herself so she could sit to talk to her, Myra considered the question. “Honestly, I feel amazing. Just… my back feels really tender.”
A laugh sounded at the door, and she looked up to see Tavin leaning against the doorway. “Well that’s probably because you used your wings before you had fully finished transitioning,” he chuckled, coming forward with a hand-held mirror. “It’s like learning to run before you take the time to crawl. Somehow, you managed it, and honestly, we’re all still pretty shocked about it,” he continued, stopping before her at the bed. “I figured you’d want to take a look,” he explained, handing her the mirror. Thanking him as he pulled out another one, she turned to look. Her jacket had been removed, and the back of her shirt had been torn to shreds. Her new jacket had probably been in a similar state. On her back were two red, swollen stripes, about four inches long, and two or three inches across. She winced to look at it. It looked even worse than it felt.
“Ugh, it’s like demon skin!” she choked. Tavin and Bonnie laughed, which drew the rest of the crew into the room, making it feel cramped. Rhys, of course, was by her side in an instant, with Jasper just behind him. They both looked at her with worried eyes.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Jasper sighed, running a hand over his tired face. “I left you to go get Rhys, but by the time we were out of the house, we saw you landing at the edge of a cliff! You could have died, and it would have been my fault!
“You’re okay, right?” Rhys asked, holding one of her hands tightly. “If there’s anything I can fix…”
“I’m okay,” Myra replied, unnerved by all the attention. “Really. I feel better than ever, honestly.” Everyone in the room relaxed at that, giving her relieved smiles. She smiled in return, then continued, hoping to ease the tension in the room. “Did you see my wings?!”
They all laughed and gave her genuine smiles.
“Red,” Rhys murmured, his words for only her. “Just like I thought.”
“They were honestly freaking hot,” Jasper admitted, winking at her. “Watching you dive out of the sky like a fiery goddess or something… it was breathtaking, to say the least.”
“I wish I was there to see it,” Cynthia sighed.
Bonnie nodded in agreement. “It must have been quite the sight with how much the boys have been talking about it,” she chuckled.
Myra blushed. “It couldn’t have been that great to see a bloodied up, nearly passing out girl falling from the sky.”
“Well, when you put it like that…” Tavin began, Jasper’s elbow to the ribs cutting him off.
“Whatever you think,” Jasper said, turning to Myra, “It was impressive. Definitely never been done before.”
“Maybe because no one’s ever been abandoned near a cliff during transition before?” Cynthia teased, causing Jasper’s face to go from humiliated to angry and back again.
“Hey, I didn’t… I wasn’t…”
“Guys, guys, it’s alright, I’m fine now, regardless,” Myra cut in, tired of the drama.
“I am, however, ravenous.”
“Oh, of course!” They all scrambled to get out the door, talking over each other about dragon hunger, transitioning, and energy. Rhys stayed by her side, chuckling at the others’ antics.
Once they had all gone, he climbed up on the bed next to her and looked at her seriously. “How are you really feeling? Like, everything?”
Myra considered it. “I feel strong. Like I’ve been crippled my whole life. The past week I’ve gotten to know what it felt like as a human, and it was great; a huge relief. But in just the past few minutes I’ve been awake, it’s like… well, it’s like I just woke up. Like I’d been going through my whole life asleep, with everything barely functioning- if at all. Now… I feel like I am a fire, I am a goddess, I am… whole. Complete. I gained a part of me I never knew I had. I have a crazy amount of energy, but it’s not like I’m hyper. It’s a calm, controlled energy. I feel like my body obeys me better… like I was living life on ‘hard’ mode and now I finally finished it and severely ‘leveled up.’ Oh, and my back hurts,” she adds with a wink, diffusing the serious nature of her speech.
He chuckled and pulled her in for a hug. “I’m glad you’re doing okay. And I hope to hear how you’re feeling regarding me specifically after a few more days,” he winked.
“Why a few more days? Am I not done?” Myra groaned.
Smiling, he held her cheek in his hand. “Transition period is over, yes, but I’d like to make sure you’re settled.”
“Fair enough,” she sighed, slipping her feet off the bed to stand, pulling Rhys with her. “Let’s go get some food. I really am ravenous.”
*****
The next few days passed quickly, with Myra’s back slowly healing as she focused on enjoying life in a way she had never been able to before. She played games with the others, played sports- something new for her- and finally, she was cleared to try flying again.
Myra put on the specialty shirt and took a deep, nervous breath. Her back had returned to being smooth and flawless, without even a hint of the wings that could erupt from it. Still, she slipped her fingers through the holes in the shirt meant for her wings to see if she could feel them hiding beneath the skin. Nothing. That ancient dragon spell was seamless in making her look just like a human. But underneath, she knew that she was changed forever.
Another measured breath, and she stepped out of her room, walking through the empty house to the courtyard where she had first seen the dragons transform. The others were waiting for her there, all with wings already out. She hardly had to think this time to unleash her own; it came as easily to her as extending an arm. Wrapping one of them around her body, she looked at it in awe, running her hands over the warm, velvety expanse. It should seem crazy that she had wings, but it just felt so right. They were a part of her. They always were, she supposed, but being unable to release them, they were weighing me down in my human life. I’ve never felt such euphoria being able to let my wings out… I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to it.
“Ready?” Bonnie asked, giving her a knowing smile.
Inhale… exhale. Inhale…
“You know it!” she cried in response, running toward the edge of the cliff. Laughing in surprise, the others chased after her, wings raised and ready. Pushing hard off the edge, Myra launched herself into the air, her wings prepared to catch her this time. One pump lifted her to a comfortable height, so she decided to glide for a while, turning to watch the others jump off of the cliff as well. Most did flips, and Jasper went straight into a dive, flipping at the bottom, and soaring back up to meet the rest of them, hovering around Myra.
“You said the dragon magic makes us look like birds to humans, right?” Myra called over the wind.
Rhys nodded in response. “Now go on, show us you were born to have wings!”
Nodding, Myra angled up, flapping hard. Inhale… exhale. She continued past where she was comfortable, burning off the incredible amount of energy her dragon blood gave her, until she reached the clouds. Panting from the lack of oxygen, she looked around. Everything was white up here, soft and quiet, like the earth just after a snowstorm. Flapping her wings, she flew across the tops of the clouds, moving her legs as though she was running through them. After a few moments, she angled into a dive, rushing back through the moisture, the high speed of the wind immediately ripping it away again. Gradually pulling out of the dive, she did a few loops closer to the group, and even figured out how to do a corkscrew. She was breathing hard by the time she returned to Rhys’s side, but her grin couldn’t be bigger.
“Wow, I think we unearthed a daredevil!” Jasper chuckled. “It took me weeks to get up that high!”
“And it took me months to dare to do a corkscrew,” Cynthia grumbled.
Rhys flew closer to Myra, looking at her intensely. “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmured. “You’re so gorgeous. Your eyes, your wings… that hair you hate,” he chuckled. “You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met.”
“It’s all thanks to you,” she responded with a bright smile. “You lifted the huge burden I was under. If that can be done, anything can.”
“Anything?” he asked, trying to hide the spark of hope in his eyes.
She carefully came closer to him. “Anything,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him. He responded in kind, and the two remained locked, hovering in midair, their hearts brighter than the sun setting behind them.
Chapter Nine
Another couple of days passed, and Myra felt like she was living in paradise the entire time- except for the nagging guilt for leaving her former life in her past, with no explanation as to her leaving. Harper was probably out of her mind with worry. She might have even made the news- Harper would find a way. Finally, she brought her concerns up with Rhys.
They were nestled into a couch together, watching TV. Everyone else had to go into town to work- it was costly feeding six dragons- so it was just the two of them in the house.
“Hey… Rhys?”
“Mmhmm?” He moved his eyes from the screen to her eyes, a subconscious smile playing at his lips like every time he looked at her lately.
“…I’m… worried.”
“What are you worried about?” he asked, straightening, a concerned look now pulling the corners of his mouth down. “You’re a dragon now, and nothing scares us,” he grinned. “Regardless, I’ll take care of anything that was foolish enough to dare approach you. Promise.”
She smiled in return. “No, not like that. I’m worried about Harper.”
“Your old roommate? Why? Was she a mutt too?”
“No, nothing like that,” Myra hurriedly amended. “It’s just that… well, I disappeared. She has no idea what happened. The police are probably looking for me, and she’s probably out of her mind with worry. I’ve been gone for weeks now.”
“You want to go back,” he finished, crestfallen.
“I mean, I probably won’t stay, I just need to make sure Harper knows what happened to me. She was a good friend; more understanding than most and definitely more than she ever got credit for. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
He didn’t respond for a few moments, looking into her eyes; baring his soul to her. It nearly took her breath away, seeing how much he cared for her. Finally, he nodded. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“That would be nice,” she replied, landing a light kiss on his lips.
“Should we go now?” he asked, pausing the movie they had been watching.
Myra nodded. Harper had been kept in the dark long enough.
*****
The sun had set by the time they arrived, but their enhanced dragon eyes could see just as well by the light of the moon as that of the sun, so they walked unhindered to the door. Calming her rattling nerves, Myra knocked on the door. After a moment, it was opened by a bleary-eyed Daniel. He blinked a few times and stared for a moment before he recognized her. “Oh my god. Myra,” he gasped before finally opening t
he door further and ushering them inside. “Where have you been? Harper’s had the police looking for you.”
“Daniel? Who is it?” Myra nearly teared up at the sound of her old friend’s voice. Harper appeared in the doorway from the hall and froze at the sight of the purple-haired girl. “Myra!” she screamed, throwing herself at her. Myra was able to keep them upright thanks to her improved strength as she wrapped her arms around Harper in return.
“Hey, Harper,” she murmured, feeling embarrassed. How on earth am I going to explain everything?
“Don’t you ever do that again!” she exclaimed, pulling back at last to look her over. “Humph. At least you look okay. Listen, I know I said all I wanted for my birthday was for you to be spontaneous, but good heavens! Over two weeks, and not a word from you! I was so scared something bad happened to you!”
“That was my bad,” Rhys chimed in, stepping forward.
Harper squinted at him. “Oh! Rhys, Rhys Rune, from the bar- I mean, pub!” She then burst into laughter. “Myra, what happened? Last I heard was you weren’t going to go home with him!”
“I couldn’t take no for an answer,” Rhys responded with a wink, his dimple showing as he smiled charmingly.
“Okay, but like, over two weeks?” Harper reminded them.
“I know,” Myra grimaced. “I’m so sorry. I got hurt… mountain biking with him, so he had me stay and patch myself up. …And I lost my phone when it happened. I would have used Rhy’s, but I didn’t have your number memorized,” she explained with an apologetic smile.