Dragonsong

Chapter One

Dragons. These brutal, bloodthirsty shifters have ruled over humans for centuries. Their fire means death, but there's one thing I fear more.

Becoming one of their slaves.

I must hold my breath and not make a sound. One wrong move tonight... and I'll never be seen again.

My name is Erika. I have straight, white hair that stops a little bit above my shoulders. I also have blue eyes and light skin. I'm wearing a tan colored tank-top and black pants with a belt.

This is where my story begins.

Smack!

I hit the floor and taste blood. My face throbs where my father had struck me, like he had so many times before.

"You spilled my good liquor! You stupid bitch!"

"I didn't mean to, it was-"

He raises his hand at me again. But the booming roar of a dragon from outside cuts him off.

It's the winter solstice. The one night of the year when the dragons descend... and hunt us. To take us as their sick playthings.

"God, Erika, shut up! Are you trying to get me kidnapped and made into a fucking slave?" Exclaims Gina, which makes me glare at her. She fakes a frightened sob to get me in worse trouble.

"Excuse me, Gina, but I'm not the one being loud."

"Oh, now you're insulting me? Was killing our sister not enough?"

"You know I didn't kill our sister. She-"

Suddenly, my mother grabs my hair and yanks it so she can look down at me with her cold, dead eyes.

"Shut your mouth, Erika. Say another word, and I'll throw you outside to the dragons myself."

I grit my teeth and ball my hands into shaking fists. I squeeze so hard that I can feel my nails digging into my palms, but I don't stop.

I'll get out of here one day. Away from these dragons and this so-called family. I swear I'll escape this prison.

"Erika! Erika, help me!"

My heart stops when I hear the familiar sound of my best friend's voice. I hear her pounding on the front door.

"Oh shit, that's Sonia! We have to let her in!" I exclaim in horror, knowing what's out there.

"Not a chance in hell," my father says with a cold glare.

I look at him, horrified. Does he really have no soul at all?

Suddenly, a vicious snarl rumbles behind the door. Sonia let's out a terrified scream.

Without thinking and ignoring my parent's threats, I run towards the door and grab a knife from the kitchen counter.

As soon as I run outside, smoke and ash fill my lungs, making me cough. I move through the suffocating blackness around me while dodging bursts of fire from the dragons soaring high above. If one of them catches me, I'm dead.

But Sonia is worth it.

"Sonia! Where are you?! Sonia, I-"

The ground suddenly shakes as two dragons land in front of me, shifting down into their human firms. I couldn't believe how quickly they shifted. It was the first time I've been this close to a dragon.

"What do we have here? She's a pretty little thing." Says one of the dragons. He had brown hair and dark eyes. He wore all black leather, and there was a sick look in his eyes.