Dragons of Cinderhollow Bundle

by Hawke Oakley

  Angel had stopped crying now, but her face was still stuck in a frown.

  Maybe she’s hungry, I thought.

  I glanced over the land and felt a pang of longing. In the distance stood the tribe I knew and loved - Cinderhollow.

  Even if they didn’t love me back.

  The thought of strolling into town and picking up necessities was tempting, but right now I felt too vulnerable to try. I was exhausted from spending so much magical energy. A lot could change in a few centuries, and I was afraid things had taken a turn for the worst.

  But one specific thing gave me hope. Surrounding Cinderhollow in a huge, translucent arc was the barrier I’d created long ago. My heart filled with hope. It was still standing, after all this time - still protecting the tribe.

  I’d left something special behind using the same skills that earned me so much hatred. I felt a smug satisfaction that the barrier stood untouched while the Knights who tried to kill me for my magic had died a long, long time ago.

  Serves them right, I thought bitterly.

  But that led me to another train of thought - once again, unfortunately, about Kassius. I frowned despite myself. Was he still alive? My mate had been a dragon shifter, too, giving him the ability of a long natural lifespan. Dragons who had claimed their mates in a mutual bite could share their life force equally, but it was at the cost of cutting down their own natural lifespan.

  But Kass and I never claimed each other, I recalled. It was one more reason for society to despise me. Not only was I hated and feared for being skilled with magic, but I was an omega who refused to be claimed by an alpha. People’s reactions ranged to thinking of me as a foolish troublemaker, to being downright sinful.

  My lips faded into a frown. Just because we hadn’t split our life force didn’t mean that dragons couldn’t be killed in other ways, I recalled. Disease or murder was always an option, and Cinderhollow wasn’t exactly a paradise when I left it behind. A lot could have happened after I vanished. Maybe Kass was murdered for promising to turn me in and showing up empty-handed.

  The thought of Kass slowly getting sick - or being killed - made me shudder. Maybe it was what he deserved. But he was the father of my child, and the horrible act he commited didn’t make his death any less uncomfortable to think about.

  I couldn’t do it back then, I thought, remembering the awful feeling of being surrounded by the Knights with Kass at the lead. I couldn’t kill him. I didn’t want to kill him.

  Angel suddenly laughed. She was sitting by the stream and giggling at her wavering reflection as she splashed her hands in the water.

  Her smile looks so much like Kass’s.

  I sighed as the good memories of my ex-mate floated to the surface of my mind. Kass was full of surprises. He never minded that we were mates without a mutual claim. It was one of the reasons I chose him, besides the fact that he was the only alpha in the tribe with any romantic interest in me. A smirk crossed my lips. Every other alpha was afraid of me, but not Kassius. He liked playing with fire.

  A chilly wind ghosted across my skin and I shivered. The weight of the situation grounded me back to reality. This wasn’t the time to reminisce on the good times with my ex-mate. Those were over now, and he would never be in my life again. Chances are that Kass was dead now, anyway, either by sickness or murder or - my chest clenched sickly at the thought - claiming a different omega and splitting his lifeforce, only to have died before my arrival.

  I quickly scooped Angel up in my arms and walked up the slope. I needed to accept the truth. Kass was gone. The Knights were gone. The only thing that mattered now was raising my daughter in the safety of the future.

  2

  Halo

  Daylight burned away the early morning mist and warmed the air. I thanked the sun for heating our bones, especially since I was walking around the mountains with only half a shirt.

  Cinderhollow loomed in the distance, but my anxiety about what it would be like so many years in the future tempered my curiosity.

  So close, yet so far.

  I was well aware that I needed to enter town eventually. A cavern wouldn’t do for raising a child, especially since I’d come so far and given up so much just to be here. We needed food, clothes, and a proper roof over our heads.

  But travelling through time had drained most of my energy, both mental and magical. It would take a long period of rest to regain full use of my powers. The best course of action was to lay low until the peak of my magic returned, then enter town - armed and ready, just in case.

  In my arms, Angel began fussing again. She frowned and let out tiny grunts of discomfort. It wouldn’t be long before she began crying, and I needed her to be as quiet as possible.

  “You must be hungry,” I said sympathetically. “I’ll hunt for you.”

  I hoped game meat was as prevalent in the mountains as it was when I left. Farther out into the wilderness, you could barely walk without kicking a pheasant by accident. Those dumb, fat birds floundered at staying hidden, and were even worse at flying. If my luck held, I’d be able to catch a handful of them easily.

  Cautiously hoping for the best, I crawled up the ravine. To my surprise, I recognized a familiar ridge where I used to hunt for fun back when I was a teenager. Perhaps things hadn’t changed much in four hundred years.

  I hope that’s just the case for the environment, and not Cinderhollow’s society…

  Thick brush covered the ground and provided cover for the birds. I gently shushed Angel as she began to grumble.

  “Just one second, hon,” I promised. “We’re gonna eat some fried pheasant soon enough.”

  A low clucking sound within the shrubs made me freeze. Listening carefully, I recognized the familiar noises as pheasants, just like I predicted.

  Even though it’s been four hundred years, those birds are still as dumb as ever, I thought smugly.

  The easiest way to quickly kill a bird would be to spear it with magic - taking the time to shift to hunt, or even trying to catch it with my bare hands, would probably end in the whole flock taking off. Though the pheasants weren’t the best flyers, my daughter couldn’t afford to lose this meal.

  Holding Angel close with one hand, I outstretched the other and felt the magic flowing in my blood. But the time travel had drained me - though I sensed the magic beneath the surface of my skin, it wouldn’t manifest in my palm. I growled in frustration.

  All I need is one spear of clear magic to skewer the damn chickens!

  The clucking continued. The birds hadn’t noticed me yet. Growing desperate, I tried again, making the familiar motion of my hand that would create magic instantly any other time. But now, exhausted and depleted of magic, the spear wouldn’t appear.

  “Damn it!” I snapped.

  My frustrated outburst alerted the birds to my presence. With loud clucks of panic, they scattered and took clumsily to the air.

  “Shit,” I muttered under my breath. With no time to waste, I instantly locked onto a single pheasant’s trail. The bird flew lower to the ground than the rest, and I knew I could still catch it. My muscles burned with sudden effort as I ran after it - but while holding my daughter and running on only two legs, I wouldn’t get far.

  There’s only one way, I thought with a growl. I didn’t want to have to do this now, but…

  In the blink of an eye, my human body disappeared, replaced by that of a shining golden dragon. I clutched my daughter safely in my claws as my wings beat rapidly to catch up with the bird. Cool wind whipped past my face and beneath my wings.

  A pheasant was no match for a dragon. Soon I snapped up the bird in my jaws, snapping its neck with a single bite. Since I’d already gone through the effort of shifting, I figured I might as well stock up on food and snatched a few more birds out of the sky.

  After collecting a good haul and feeling satisfied with myself, I sailed through the air for a bit longer, enjoying the fresh air and sun on my scales. It seemed like I hadn’t had a moment to en
joy the outdoors - and life itself - for a very long time.

  Not since Kass -

  But the bad memory cut itself short when something below caught my eye. A too-familiar sight. My heart flipped in terror.

  It was a Knight.

  But something was wrong. He wasn’t moving. As my initial panic faded, I drew cautiously closer and landed a safe distance away. The ground was strangely flat here, as if it had been purposely altered. Cobblestones covered the earth, and wild weeds poked out through the old cracks. Huge trees hung over the area, protecting it from view. In the middle of it stood the Knight, who still brandished his dull sword.

  The Knight remained still. Tense but curious, I approached him, ready to fight if necessary.

  The Knight’s eyes were closed, and he wasn’t breathing. I quickly realized why and let out a sigh of relief.

  He wasn’t moving because it was only a statue.

  And not just a statue - it was Silas, one of the highest ranked Knights. One of the men who were responsible for my capture.

  Anger stewed in my gut, but it was tempered by a sense of smug superiority. I was still alive after all these years - I pulled off time travel, for gods’ sake - and all Silas had to show for his achievements was a measly old statue.

  “Who would even make a monument to him?” I growled to myself. “He never did a good thing in his life.”

  They must have built this statue after I disappeared, I realized. Some kind of homage to Silas, or the Knights in general. They probably took the credit for getting rid of me, even though they didn’t actually kill me.

  A flash of rage struck me. Those cowards were rewarded by monuments while I was forced into hiding. But my anger melted away, replaced by an idea. This strange monument was far from town, and judging by the cracked stones and overgrown nature, no one had been here for ages. Possibly four hundred years.

  No one remembered Silas, or what he represented. Therefore, nobody would mind if I destroyed the statue.

  Silence gripped the thicket. Nobody was around. Deciding it was safe to temporarily let go of Angel, I backtracked into a corner where a clump of bushes grew near a crumbling step. I gently placed her on the ground along with the hoard of dead pheasants. She was too hungry to wait for me to cook one - she shifted into the form of a wolf pup and threw herself teeth-first into the pile.

  “Smart and self-sufficient, just like me,” I remarked with pride.

  Knowing she was safe in the corner, I stormed back towards the statue of Silas with my fists balled.

  “You tried to kill me,” I growled at the statue, feeling anger bubble towards the surface. Four hundred years had passed, but to me the incident barely happened a day ago. The wounds were still fresh. The memory of his twisted face calling me a demon made me snarl. “You don’t deserve to be remembered!”

  In a flash I shifted into my golden dragon form, and with a deep growl I swung my tail in a powerful motion towards the statue. It smacked into the statue’s head.

  I grinned, ready for the satisfying crack of broken stone and scattered debris - but it never came. My smile fell. The statue was still in one piece.

  “What the hell?” I growled. Indignant, I smacked it again, growing angry that I couldn’t destroy it. “Why don’t you break!?”

  Frustrated and not wanting to waste my energy any longer, I shifted back to my human form with a deep scowl. My failure turned me hot with shame. I wanted to leave this place. But as I turned to pick up Angel, a cold light filled the area.

  I whipped around, my heart racing. A horrified gasp escaped my throat. The statue was glowing. The stone shards of the statue broke, like a clay pot crumbling - but instead of turning to dust like I intended, something unimaginable happened. As the shards fell away, it revealed a face underneath. A living face.

  The statue wasn’t a statue at all - it was Silas.

  My lungs felt like they were crushed. Terror struck me and I scrambled to back away. But the moment his face was fully revealed, it was too late. I cried out as a sharp, rough claw of stone shot out from the ground and clutched my wrist. Another one quickly apprehended my other wrist as I tried to jerk myself away. My heart raced, thick with horror.

  “No!” I screamed.

  Desperate, I tried to throw myself against the ground to break the stone cuffs, but they locked me in place. Even the panicked instinct of magic running through my veins wasn’t enough to free myself - my magic was still exhausted, and there was nothing I could do.

  The rock shards continued to crumble until Silas’s body was freed. When he opened his eyes, a new jolt of fear hit me.

  He smiled.

  “Well,” he said slowly, “hello, Halo.”

  I snarled. “How did you do this? Let go of me right now!”

  Silas stretched languidly with a grunt. “How many years has it been? It’s hard to tell the passage of time when you’re locked in stone.”

  My heart beat violently against my ribs. “Silas, release me before I kill you where you stand.”

  He didn’t reply as he shook the remaining rock debris off his armor. It should have rusted by rain and wear in the centuries he was dormant - instead, it gleamed just as brightly as it did the night of the incident.

  He took a step closer and I snapped, “Don’t you dare come near me!”

  Silas looked me up and down. With a smirk, he said, “He was right after all. You really are petty.”

  “What?”

  He laughed, an infuriating sound full of superiority and self-satisfaction. “I didn’t believe them at first. I thought the idea was absurd. But here you are, doing exactly what’s expected of you.” He narrowed his eyes. “I should have known you wouldn’t change.”

  Silas circled me as he spoke. I yanked my body against the stone restraints, but they refused to budge.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I don’t care,” I snapped. “You’ll release me this instant if you know what’s good for you.”

  Now Silas turned irritated. “You’re completely at my whim and still making threats? Please, Halo. Try to have some semblance of self-preservation.”

  My blood boiled. My mind stormed with confusion and fear. It should have been impossible for Silas to still be alive. Had I walked into some kind of trap?

  “You claimed a mate, an omega,” I said, trying to piece my panicked thoughts together. “Your lifespan should have been halved. Why are you still here?”

  He didn’t seem phased by the mention of his omega. “Oh, yes, him... I suppose he is dead by now. But it’s no matter to me. I knew the risks when I took this position. It’s still worth it to be able to deal with you.”

  The crude, uncaring way he spoke about his former mate made my skin crawl. A claiming bite was supposed to tie two shifters together for their entire lives, yet Silas lived while his omega was long gone. “So why aren’t you dead?”

  “Still as rude an omega as ever, I see.” His smirk widened. “But your arrogance turned out to be your downfall.”

  I shut my mouth, locking my narrowed eyes onto Silas as he continue to circle around me like a vulture. I knew he couldn’t keep his big mouth shut so I waited for him to explain himself.

  “You always did think you were the smartest, strongest dragon to ever live,” Silas went on, his voice laced with bitter sarcasm. “You thought you could outsmart the Knights by doing what you did best - running away.”

  I flinched. The truth hurt.

  “But it didn’t work. We decided to use your own arrogance against you, and it turned out to be our greatest weapon.” He grinned. “You see, we knew you wouldn’t go far. Why would you, when your big accomplishment - the Cinderhollow barrier - is right here? You wanted to keep yourself safe, so of course you’d stay within its walls. And you decided to stay in the area. So that’s where we set up our trap.”

  Who is we? I thought angrily. Who is Silas working with?

  “So with the help of some magic, the plan was laid out. I would become
the bait. A statue of stone - ”

  “Magic?” I said, startled. “You don’t know any magic. If you did, the Knights would never let you join.”

  “Don’t be a fool,” Silas said. “Of course it’s not mine. Another mage performed the magic.”

  “Who?”

  “It’s none of your concern,” he declared, waving a hand.

  I scowled. Another mage helping the Knights to apprehend me? I found that hard to believe, but it wasn’t entirely impossible. I knew I wasn’t the only shifter in Cinderhollow with magic in their veins - only the strongest, and therefore the biggest threat. Still, was I really so hated that someone I didn’t even know was going out of their way to get rid of me? There was clearly a lot that Silas wasn’t telling me.

  “Regardless, the trap worked.” He shot me a smug glance. “We knew you were too arrogant to stop yourself from destroying a monument to the Knights you hated so badly. And here you are.”

  The pieces fell together. “Earth magic,” I muttered. “Someone cast earth magic to lay you dormant until my specific energy signature touched you. Is that it?”

  He seemed surprised that I figured it out so quickly. “Yes. Too bad your wit is marred by your lacklustre personality.”

  I ignored his jab because I was too busy feeling angry with myself. Hot shame flushed my cheeks. Despite being a wretched person, Silas wasn’t wrong - I’d completely fallen for the trap. I was too arrogant and petty to refuse the opportunity to destroy the statue, and now I was in trouble again because of it.

  All I had to do was ignore it, I scolded myself. Instead I went ahead and acted like a smug idiot!

  My heart clenched with fear. How was I going to get myself out of this mess? With my magic drained and my human form physically weaker than an alpha, all I could do was shift to get away.

  But Silas was a dragon, too. He would have no trouble shifting and coming after me, and I doubted he would be so gentle after a break-away attempt.

  If I only had my magic! I thought desperately.

  A sudden high-pitched yelp behind us made my blood run cold. Angel was still sitting in her corner, all alone. Silas noticed her with a slow raise of his brows.