Dream Walker✔️

5.6

"Shut it off," the emerald kapi shouted as something yanked me back by my hood.

Coughing, I tried to rip my hood out of his grip. I wanted to touch the light. I needed to touch it. Why couldn't he understand that?

Thud. Darkness fell. The room fell cold again. It was freezing in here. Why would he turn off the beautiful warmth and light? What was wrong with him?

I spun around, teeth bared, ready to shout at the kapi.

Aster was already moving our way when the kapi let go of my hood. I stepped back. Should I make a run for the machine's controls? They had seemed simple enough. I could probably manage it. The light would hurt the others, though. I didn't want to hurt anyone, I just wanted the light. And it wanted me. We would be perfect together.

"Everyone should go now." I nodded at the kapi and repeated the statement in English for Aster's sake. "You should go. There's something I need to do."

"Oh no you don't," the kapi said with a hiss. He grabbed my arms in all four of his hands. "Berad, escort the class out and call the enforcers. We've got another crazy here."

Growling, Aster grabbed the kapi's shoulders and shoved him back. "What's going on, Mars? You're freaking me out."

The kapi's grip loosened on me, and I jerked back out of his grip. I glanced at the altar, then at the controls in the corner. The class was filing out of the chapel, but there were enough left that I couldn't risk turning on the focuscope yet.

"Take him outside." I patted Aster's shoulder. "I'll be out in just a minute."

He paused, and for a moment I thought he would actually listen to me. But then he let go of the kapi and lunged at me. Before I could stumble back, he shoved his hand in my pocket and pulled out the translation necklace. I didn't care; I didn't need it to touch the light.

I carefully watched the receding line of students leaving the chapel. As soon as they were gone, I would turn on the focuscope. It wouldn't take much more than a shouted warning for Aster and the two priests to put their glasses back on or turn their backs. They would be fine.

Aster put on the translation charm. "What's going on? What's the problem here?"

The kapi huffed. "This woman is trying to commit suicide in my chapel, and I won't have it. Are you her guardian?"

Aster raised his eyebrows at me. "I'm her boyfriend, so... kind of. If you're saying she's trying to touch the indoor sun, yeah, she is. It's the only thing that will heal her particular ailment."

"Is that so?" The kapi shook his head and palmed his forehead. "Oh, wow, I didn't know the centuries-old artifact that creates a sunbeam hotter than any other substance on Mystica could heal people instead of burning them to a crisp. We should just take every inhabitant of Oveb's public hospital and toss them in the fire. We'll be famous for coming up with a miracle cure."

"Ha ha," Aster said with a scowl. "I'm not saying it works for everyone, just that it'll work for her. She's special. Come on, let her touch it. I won't tell anyone if she goes up in smoke."

The last of the students had left the chapel. I sprinted into the corner with the control podium. Aster and the priests were frozen in shock, eyes wide.

"Shield your eyes," I shouted, grabbing the big lever I'd seen the borin pull.

Aster threw on his glasses, the borin dove behind a column, and the kapi raised his hands in surrender.

"Look, woman, this isn't going to help you. It's never helped anyone. It's killed a lot of people, but it's never healed anyone. Please, just step away from the controls so we can talk about this."

"Put on the glasses." I jerked my chin at the glasses hanging from the neck of his robes. "I'm going to open the roof hatch."

"Do you want to die?"

I shook my head, gripping the lever even tighter. "I won't die. I just need to touch the light. Then I'll be better." I knew I sounded crazy, but I didn't know how to explain it all to him. He couldn't know I was a dragon, not if I could help it.

"I'd listen to her," Aster called. "She's serious."

I nodded emphatically. "I am serious."

He was still slithering closer, and nothing in his expression made me think he was going to stop.

I pulled the lever. The ceiling started to part over the focuscope. The kapi scrambled to put on his glasses as the light reappeared over the altar. I ran out from behind the safety wall, basking in the fiery heat and blinding light. It wouldn't be long before the kapi managed to take the light away from me again.

I sprinted toward the altar. It was too bright to make out anything besides the light. I ran into the velvet rope around the altar and slammed into the stone steps, tangled in the rope. Cursing, I kicked it away. Gear noises sounded overhead, like the kapi was closing the ceiling again. No, he couldn't. I wasn't ready yet.

I scrambled up the steps and rammed my shoulder into the altar. The air burned around me, seared my lungs. Barely breathing, I threw my arm up over the altar to touch the light before it was too late. Heat raced through my hand, banishing any trace of pain or even numbness.

The light disappeared again. Dropping my hand to my lap, I leaned back against the altar. Everything was still too bright to see, just white blotchy spots dancing around the hall. One of the spots raced toward me, shouting my name, while another just cursed from the shadows.

"I told you this would happen. You insane zealots, making us all seem like a laughingstock to the entire world. No matter what I say or do, one of you will always make the news and erase every sense of sanity I've instilled in this fine establishment. And now what, you've lost your ha-" The kapi stopped. "What the ferge is that?"

My vision cleared, and I could see what he was talking about, what Aster was staring at in horror. The hand I'd put in the light was gone. Everything was gone, up just past the elbow. Where my elbow should've been was a broiling mass of a yellow lava-like substance that reached outward. As it reached, it formed bones, a joint, more bones, another joint, then dozens of tiny hand and finger bones held together by strands of liquid golden magic.

Muscle and tendon raced along the bones, filling them out and giving them a movement I could control. Skin soon followed, along with lovely crimson feathers—thick and soft, so dark around the fingers that they almost looked black. I hadn't noticed how pale the rest of my feathers were, but they really didn't look healthy, especially not as thin and sparse as they were, interspersed with partly-healed scabs.

"Oh holy Friwa," the kapi said in one faint breath. He was clutching the dark glasses against his chest. "You're a dragon. A real one, you're a- a real dragon, in my chapel."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Aster reaching out to touch my new hand, and I jerked it back out of his reach. "It's too hot, even for you."

Nodding solemnly, he stood and backed away, putting his glasses back on. "Care to do the honors?" he asked the kapi.

"What? Oh, yes, of course." He slithered back into the control corner and shoved his glasses back on as he pulled the lever for the ceiling.

I tossed my coat to Aster and climbed onto the altar, ready for the light to come.