INFERNO: Frost (Book One)

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    A small black dragon slunk over the rocks, her shadow creating a void against the pale stones. Crouching behind a large boulder, she assessed her surroundings. Rocks lay strewn all around her while a thicket of trees stood tall in front of her. A cold wind rattled through the nearby trees, carrying the scent of her opponent towards her. She peered around the rock, and determining her opponent hid deep in the forest, quietly crept out from behind the boulder.

    Making her way toward the trees she ran through all of her attack options. Circle around him and attack from behind, attack from above, or charge straight at him. She entered the forest and followed the scent trail of her target. She had fought him many times, so she needed to use tactics she hadn't used against him before. As she passed between a forked tree, she caught a glimpse of sapphire blue scales behind a clump of dark green bushes. There he is.

    She burst through the bushes and soared through the air above the blue dragon. As she landed, she transformed. She rose up, no longer a dragon. She was a Vekinrin, a dragon elf. Black hair flowed behind her, parted by two red horns protruding from her skull. Red and black wings burst from her shoulder blades and a red tail dragged on the ground behind her. Her yellow eyes were bright against her pale red skin. Her opponent whipped around to face her.

    "I'll still attack you, no matter what form you are!" His voice sounded confident, but his eyes said differently. He charged at her, claws ready to strike. She flipped over him, and grabbed his tail as she landed. She yanked him backwards and pinned him to the ground. Her forearm pressed his neck into the dirt. He snaked his tail behind her and around her neck. She unpinned him and tried to pry his tail off her neck, digging her claw-like fingernails into the soft flesh on the underside of his tail. He yelped and unwound his tail from her neck, leaping onto her. She crashed to the ground, her enemy on top of her. Most of her strength had left her when she transformed, but she couldn't bear the thought of losing. She mustered all the strength she had left, and kicked out her legs. Her feet connected with her opponent's stomach, sending him crashing into a tree. He fell into a heap on the ground, leaves showering down on him. He laid there for a few moments before getting up and shaking the leaves off. She ran over to him, and pinned him to the ground, his neck between the fork of her tail.

    "I've won!" she exclaimed, standing over him.

    "Because you cheated! If you have the power you're not supposed to use it!" the blue dragon complained. He stood up and ruffled out the green fins along his spine and the back of his legs.

    "Really? They want us to hide away our abilities all because of a grudge?" she answered. "All because some king long ago decided he hated elves and wanted us to be just dragons and not dragon elves."

    "Ember, please don't drag me into this. I don't have the power and I don't want it. Discuss this with your father, not me."

    "You know my father hasn't been the same lately! Thysi you're the only one who knows about my ability! I haven't even told Father yet."

    "You do realise that if you tell him he might let you join the army like you've always wanted?" Thysi pointed out.

    "Or he might use it as another excuse to keep me out of the army!"

    "Whatever. Just transform back and let's go," Thysi muttered.

    Ember rolled her eyes and changed back to a dragon. Her scales shone black in the sunlight, hints of red and orange in between. Her red horns had black accents, the opposite of her scales. Her underside was a bright orange and her wing membranes were dark red. Leaves stirred as they beat their wings and took off to go back home. The trees flew by in a green blur below them, which gradually changed to a rocky gray blur. A giant mountain, Untinghir, soon loomed before them. They landed on a wide stone bridge leading up to the mountain. There was no way to get in by flying, so most dragons used the bridge.