AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Luckily for him, the trees here were sparse, offering him enough room to transform, but he didn’t. Instead, he waited. If she fell, he’d be there to catch her.
To his amazement, she didn’t slip again, though the rain was coming down harder now. Finally she made it to the top, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“Dammit, Jessie,” he hollered. “Stay where you are.”
Leaning over the edge, she offered him her middle finger, the gesture punctuated by a crack of thunder and web of lightning in the sky behind her. “Bye-eee….” Then she vanished from sight.
Not for long.
* * *
Jessie was fuming, but when she surveyed the land below, something in her eased. Dark clouds swirled over a canopy of green that sparkled as the rain came down on each one. Beautiful. The rocky cliff where she stood was bare but for some ground cover weaving about. As though it didn’t dare approach such a precarious edge, the forest line continued several yards away.
As she started walking in that direction, the sky seemed to burst open, spilling a flood of water down upon her. Within seconds she was drenched. “Great. The perfect day to declare my independence.” It was clear this world planned to test her. She raised a fist to the sky. “Bring it on, bitches.”
A massive figure zoomed overhead. Her jaw dropped, and she nearly tripped over her own feet. It was like having a silent jet careen by, whipping up the wind with its wide sweeping wings.
Dragon!
She skidded to a stop as the dragon slammed down in front of her, its speed so great that its talons scored the soil to slow its progress. Tipping its head back, the dragon let out a mighty roar that Jessie felt deep in her bones. Adrenaline surged. She fell back in fright, landing in a cold puddle. Rain pelted her as she gaped up at the mammoth being. When it took a menacing step toward her, she wondered if this was the end for her.Death by dragon.What an epic way to go.
The dragon emitted a guttural sound, a humming that almost sounded like a growl as it craned its head down to put its snout at a level with her face. Its hot breath blew her hair back. Huge nostrils took in a long sniff, drawing in the air around her. It was then that the damp chill from the storm sank beneath her skin and she began to tremble…or am I in shock?
For several moments she and the dragon merely stared at each other, and she began to wonder what he was waiting for. It was almost as though he expected something from her. Each second that passed with her life intact, her adrenaline eased and the fear drained away, her mind clearing more and more. She was able to focus on the new sound he was making. Not a purr exactly. Much deeper than that, and more resonant. But she didn’t feel threatened.
Look at me, thinking I can read the emotions of a dragon through the sounds he makes.
His sparkling viridescent eyes held no malice. They looked…smug.
“Orik?” she muttered.
He chuffed in response. Slowly she rose to her feet so that she was eye level with him. He watched her intensely but made no other move. His snout was covered by fine azure fur that ran down his neck and back, while turquoise scales covered most of his undercarriage. Gaining a little confidence, she hesitantly reached out as one might with an unfamiliar pet. “Easy, boy.”
He took in more of her scent. A disturbing growl rumbled from deep within him as the fur on his neck stood on end. Her trembling intensified.
But instead of attacking her, the dragon began to shrink in size. As she blinked away the rain, he grew smaller and smaller until the dragon was gone completely, and in its place stood Orik…expression black with fury.
Lightning cracked; thunder boomed.
He stormed toward her. “It’s you!Yousmell of magic.”
Her gaze darted guiltily. “I, uh…what?”
His attention dropped to her hand. With a look of horror, he snatched her arm to examine the glyph. “What’s this?” he boomed, sounding so ferocious she worried the vein pulsing in his neck might pop.
So many things ran through her head then. Could she truly have been bespelled with a tracker? Had she really brought that lema back to life? Did that mean she could perform magic? If so, did that make her a witch? What would Orik think of that? He hated witches and magic. Would he come to despise her, too? Did he already? Would he show her why he’d earned the name The Destroyer?
“What is this?” he repeated.
“I, uh, don’t know, exactly. I ran into this guy in the woods and he gave me this.”
“You allowed a witch to mark you?” Rage colored his tone, his irises flashing green, and she found she was more terrified of him in this form than she was of the dragon. “Why?”
“I didn’t m-mean to.” He made it sound so much worse than she feared. She was shaking uncontrollably now, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of her sudden fright, the icy rain, or because she was only now beginning to process all that had happened.
Orik studied her a moment, then grabbed her by the elbow and began leading her toward the forest.
“W-where are y-you taking me? The castle is the other way.”
