Book IV: Avi Dragon

Army of Darkness

Avi kissed Angel's forehead and straightened. "So she's healthy?"
   Gwinn's arms crossed over her ample bosom. "For now, aye." She jabbed a finger at her patient. "You're not indestructible, no matter what you think. When I tell ye to rest, do it! I mean it, young lady!"
   Angel fought a smile. "Yes, ma'am."
   And then, her eyes blanked. The twinkle of suppressed mirth vanished into the alert, unfocused eyes of a dragon whose alarms had been tripped. She sprang from the bed, and out the door. Avi was quick on her heels, with Gwinn close behind.
   Angel ran through the house with very little sound or effort. Her in-laws knew by now, as they all did, not to question such intent. They watched, Shelly clutching her granddaughter tightly, as the room darkened around them. Mike snapped on a light, just as Angel whipped the door open.
   When Avi tried to follow her past the doorframe, she tapped his breastbone, and he froze on the threshold.
   Three steps. That's all it took for Angel to Shift. She spun, bolted the three steps to the edge of the porch, and leapt out. Her arms, held as one in flight, Shifted as fast as the darkness hit them. It was as if she'd jumped through a transformation portal. The change rippled over her body, in roughly the blink of an eye.
   She turned ninety degrees, almost before her back legs hit the ground, and sprinted out into open spaces wide enough for her to grow full-size.
   With their son unable to go through the front door, the Kaplans raced to the side of the house facing the direction Angel was headed. Avi discovered that while he couldn't leave the house, he could follow them through it, to the window. Gwinn had her own ways of observing, so she didn't follow them.
   Angel's feathers played a vicious song that drove a path across the barrier above, evil creatures cringing from the sound below. A blaze of sunlight followed her, growing wider as she grew larger. The battle hymn reassured the mortals in the house, in direct proportion to how much it repelled the swarm above.
   She didn't think they could see the vile horde pressing against her dome, and she aimed to keep it that way. When she reached the middle of the barrier--the center of the cross--she circled to a stop, massive wings mantled. She hissed a warning, but the army didn't withdraw. The path she'd cleared was already growing dark with alarming speed.
   Angel, a full-fledged Arch-Celestial Dragon in a Sanctified stronghold, did what she did best: she fought off an entire army, without breaking much of a sweat. She roared her defiance, a righteous thunder that rolled a dozen miles across the sage and stone. Wings mantled and beat the ground, making her appear larger still; yet the army remained.
   Up she reared, talons and wings spread wide. Down she crashed, wings springing in, up, and out, sending a wave of celestial energy in every direction; a holy atom bomb that disturbed not a blade of grass. Her feather-scales clanged a painfully pure note as her wings lashed the air. Sunlight filtered through in large gaps, but the evil that remained pressed against the supercharged barrier.
   Up again, channeling the protections she'd lain the night before; down again, blasting energy and sound through the dome with her great, feathered wings. The shield took the energy she gave it, and magnified it a hundredfold. Light covered most of the ground now, but the mindless swarm was relentless.
   A third and final time, the eternal dragoness rose high. When her huge paws connected with the divine patterns, the energy blasted through her body, given direction by her wings, up to the dome; obliterating the last of the army of darkness.
   Angel bugled her triumph to the skies, caught up in the moment.

   A hawk circled in the sky, just below the barrier. They hadn't seen it because of the shadow army, but it called out to the big winged creature, without fear.
   Angel, having disposed of the threat, began to shrink. She didn't like being Shifted longer than she had to, even though her soul craved the freedom of her dragonself. She answered the hawk's call, throat lifted to the sky.
   Curious, the hawk drifted lower. She was confused, because she never seemed to get closer to the feather-kin. And then, she was close enough to land on the muzzle of a creature she'd never seen. Her head tilted, eyeing the oddity that instilled not a trace of fear. This was strange, considering the size of the beast. She tried to preen what looked like feathers, in thanks for protecting her nest from Things She Couldn't See, but the feathers were too tough.
   The longer she stood on the feather-kin, the more her distress waned. She need not scream defiance at fear-things that crowded her hatchlings, and it was good.
   And then, the feathers disappeared. The hawk squawked, more confused than before. Not-Feather-Kin held a foreleg out, where there were still not-feathers, and she hopped onto it. She preened the feathery stuff atop Not-Feather-Kin's head, surprised when her beak didn't bounce off of it. Feather Head, as she called it, made happy chirps when she did. It pecked her softly on her head, which was odd, but pleasant. She eyed the human feather-kin with some measure of affection, but there were more humans running toward them. Feather Head sensed her fear and launched her airborne. She chirped her thanks, as she flapped back to her nest full of hungry chicks. She had to make sure they were unharmed before resuming the hunt for food.

   Angel watched the hawk fly away, peace settling about her shoulders. She would've liked to show her family the beautiful bird, but those sharp talons had begun to shift in a way that told her it was nervous. Besides, she needed to Shift the rest of the way back.
   Her husband reached her just as she was shaking the scaled gauntlet from of her arm. She'd known better than to do so while holding a raptor. She rather liked her skin intact.
   Gwinn was right behind Avi. Mike was behind her, Shelly having stayed back with the baby. It was debatable who was more concerned about her well-being, though for different reasons. Avi knew she could handle herself in a fight. She'd proven it more times than either of them knew, and she was literally built to do just that. He was more worried about the babies, as were Gwinn and his father. The difference was, they didn't see this sort of thing very often. The healer was all set to do a thorough examination on the spot.
   "Whoa, whoa, I'm fine! This is precisely what I was designed to do."
   Avi backed her up, but Gwinn wouldn't leave without another quick scan, to be sure. They exchanged a Look, and a mental shrug. It couldn't hurt.
   Gwinn placed a hand on her stomach and closed her eyes. When they opened, there was a scowl, and an "I told you so" look on her face. Hands on hips, she berated the dragoness.
   "You've accelerated their growth by about two weeks wi' that stunt, young lady! When I tell ye 'tis dangerous ta meddle in Shiftin', and more important, wi' magic, I'd recommend listenin'! Can ye promise to limit yer magickin' for the next eight months, or will I hafta put the lot o' ye in some sorta magic-proof box?"