Dragon Witch ✔️

37 - Flight 2.0

Why couldn't I take the bird's magic? She was so weak, so small. Easy prey. So easy. She should be dead by now, and I should be hunting the true prey--Kyton. Why wasn't she dead already?

She let out a weak squawk. You no want kill me, no want eat me. I yours, I your friend.

Liquid dripped down my cheeks and fell on her feathers. What was this? I shouldn't be leaking. I wasn't bleeding. The liquid was clear. Sweat?

"If you don't open this door right now, I'm going to break it down," Kyton shouted.

I moved to the sink, needing to know what the strange liquid was. Silver scales and slitted black pupils stared back at me. Glittering tears ran down my cheeks.  A crown of short ivory horns stood in place of hair. Sharp fangs glinted in a partly open mouth. A lizard-like tail extended behind me. Eva lay panting and shivering, clutched between my strangling claws.

"No." The word escaped through my lips on a faint breath. "No, no no nonono." Shaking my head furiously, I backed away from the mirror. This couldn't be happening. I'd sworn to myself that I wouldn't let this happen. I wouldn't hurt anyone. I wouldn't be a monster.

I looked down at Eva again. She looked back at me, eyes half-rolled up into her head. She shivered with fear. I'd been about to- No, I couldn't even think it. It was despicable, the worst thing I'd ever thought.

I had to get out of here. For everyone's safety, I had to get far, far away from here. If I left, Eva might follow. Maybe not, but I couldn't risk that. I dropped into a crouch and opened the cabinet under the sink. In one fluid motion, I placed Eva inside and shut the door behind her.

The bathroom door crashed open, and Kyton ran inside. He brought with him the overwhelming scent of fairy magic. Every scale on my body wanted to take him down, to rip into him with fang and claw. I dug my claws into my palms. I couldn't hurt him. I couldn't hurt anyone. I had to get out of here.

"What happened to you?" he asked, sounding bewildered.

"The potion," Piper interjected, jumping into the doorway. "It must've-"

I leapt to my feet and charged toward her. She moved aside without a fight. The bedroom door offered an obvious escape, but it led to the possibility of running into my family. They had magic. Less than a fairy, but it was enough to make them tempting targets. The balcony it was, then.

Sprinting, I crossed the room in a few quick strides. I mounted the balcony railing, paising for a second to glance behind me. Kyton was running my way, kept grounded by his injured wings. Piper was more cautious, staying by her tranq rifle. She knew the truth. She knew I was dangerous.

"Listen to Piper, Ky. Don't follow me." With that, I jumped from the balcony.

Gravity meant nothing for the split second it took me to fall two stories. When I hit the ground, the impact jarred me from my ankles to my jaw. Claws cut through the toes of my shoes. Kyton was shouting at me from the balcony, but I blocked him out as I kicked off my shoes. My foot-claws dug into the ground as I took off running toward the forest.

Moonlight glinted off the silver birches as I sprinted into the forest. Every leaf and vine was outlined by ethereal light, as brightly as if it were midday. A new strength pulsed through my limbs, fueled by the light of the full moon. Trees turned to silver-gray blurs. Thorns grabbed at my clothes, but they couldn't scratch my scales.

Shouts followed me for a short while. But I couldn't stop running. If I stopped, I would turn around. If I turned around, I would do something I regretted. People would get hurt.

***

I didn't know how long I'd been running, but my strength had run out. My legs failed. My lungs burned. As I slowed by a stream, I caught sight of the full moon. It was directly overhead, shining with a magical intensity. Its power was the only reason I'd kept going this long.

I dropped to my hands and knees on the muddy bank. The changeling part of me knew this was it. This was the end. Transforming into a stage three changeling used all the magic my body had saved up. Magic I needed to survive.

My scales were already losing their shimmer, dulling to gray. If I didn't find a source of magic soon, they would blacken, and this would be my last night on Earth. Running here exhausted what little magic I had after the transformation. There wasn't enough left to hunt anything that wasn't half dead already. Plants, maybe. There were some magical plants. Would they be enough?

Leaning down, I sipped from the stream. Resting and drinking helped relax the stitch in my side. Now I needed to find a magical plant. There weren't many native to Earth, but fairies had planted some. With Kyton's family living nearby, there might be some fairy mushrooms. Maybe foxglove.

An owl hooted nearby. It couldn't be Eva. Her calls were shorter, higher pitched. Crickets filled the silence when the owl stopped hooting. The whole forest was filled with noise, even in the middle of the night. No one and nothing would notice if I keeled over then and there.

No, I couldn't think that. I needed to keep going. I needed to find magic. Closing my eyes, I tried to block out the sounds and focus on the smells. Most were earthy, musky. One cut through the others. It was floral, lukewarm and faintly sparking with magic The scent was strong. It had to be close. I could make it. Black spots swarmed at the corners of my vision, but I could make it.

I crawled on hands and knees. As my scales darkened, they became more brittle and stiff. Corners of scales cracked off on rocks and thorns. My tail dragged behind me, collecting layers of mud. The flowers were close. They had to be. I should see them already.

Seconds passed. Minutes. Too many minutes.

I stopped at the base of an oak. The smell was stronger than it'd been before, but I still didn't see it. A towering thornbush blocked my path. Was it even worth going around? My scales were coming off in ashy flakes. Even if I had the flowers in my hands right now, it might be too late.

Hah hah, a venemous voice laughed in my head. Drake told me about you. He said you were weak, that you wouldn't even bite a fairy to save your life. I didn't believe any changeling could be that pathetic.

At least the dragon would end me quicker than magic starvation. Not that I really wanted to be eaten alive, but it didn't seem like I had much of a choice. I couldn't even stand. 

Heavy footsteps padded toward me from a distance. The laughter came again.

To think, Drake imagined you were the Lost Daughter. That fool wouldn't recognize a sprite in a cloud of pixies. It's a pity he'll reign one day. He emerged from the trees, blindingly bright with his silver scales reflecting moonlight and a cloud of magic shimmering around him.

A whip-like tail flicked back and forth behind him as he padded forward on catlike feet. His shoulders were at least as tall as a horse's, and his serpentine neck towered a good four feet over that. He lowered his long snout to my face. Beneath a crown of straight, white horns, a forked tongue flicked in time with his tail. Scarred stumps grew between his shoulder blades. He'd obviously lost one too many fights.

Sickly sweet magic curled in my nostrils as his pitch black eyes drifted over me.

"Get it over with." I sat up straighter against the tree. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already."

Not yet. See- He sat back on his haunches and poked my chin with a claw. -this realm is so troublesome. Too many barriers keeping me from the fairies. Without my wings, I can't change into a human or return home.

He lowered his paw. You'll live until your fairy pet comes. Then you will both feed me. A roar exploded from his armored chest, echoing through the trees. That should bring him running. He'll be easy prey without his wings.

"How did you know-"

Growling, he hit me in the face with his paw. Even with his claws retracted, it was like being hit in the face by a flying dumpster. My nose throbbed as blood flowed down and over my lips. When I tried to pinch my nose, I nearly blacked out. It was definitely broken. Gah, on top of everything else, I had to deal with a broken nose, too?

Keep quiet, the dragon said. And stay still. I'd hate to have to spend more magic chasing you. He laid down and stretched like an enormous cat.

Even on foot, Kyton could catch up with a half-dead changeling and a resting dragon. He would be here soon. The dragon would eat him. I couldn't let that happen.