Nineteen - Ranulf
Shedding scales didnot come naturally. If Rosalia had known how to transform into a dragon, she would have done it within minutes. She did her best to coach me through how she grew her hair during a shift, but it was difficult for me to do anything but what I had always done.
That was why I could only transform into a dragon. I knew it would work, because it had worked previously. Doing something different caused me to break into a cold sweat, my heart galloping in my chest, as I fought the belief that I’d cause fatal damage rather than transform.
“You must know how to control the length of your hair as part of the shift,” she complained on the second day as we returned to the cottage. “You’ve done it before, because every time I see you, your hair is the same length, and I know you aren’t using scissors to trim it.”
“Rosalia, I’ve been transforming into a dragon at least once a week ever since I was a teenager. I’m not changing my hair; I’m keeping it the same.”
“What if Scarlette told you she’d like to see you with longer hair? What would you do then?”
I raised a brow. “Really?”
“Scarlette!” Rosalia beckoned her over from where she knelt in the garden.
She and Grandmother had hammered out the language of the contract we’d give Gideon in a single day. They were focusing on the household chores while my twin had me shifting until I grew dizzy. Scarlette wiped the dirt from her hands and came over. “What?”
“Don’t you think Ranulf would look good with longer hair?”
She pursed her lips and looked at me with her head angled slightly. “I think you are right. This length is nice, but it would look wonderful longer, too.”
“You want more to run your hands through, huh?” Rosalia nudged Scarlette with her elbow.
She blushed, which was a clear enough answer.
I pivoted.
“Hey, where are you going?” my twin demanded.
“Back to the clearing. Let’s try this.”
She laughed. “Come on, Scarlette. Ranulf needs your help.”
I hurried back to the clearing, listening to my sister explain how I was trying to master growing my hair first, since it was easier to control the transformation back into human form.
I left them at the bend in the path where Rosalia always waited for me, but Scarlette came through the trees a moment later. She waited until I finished stripping, then came up and kissed me, running her fingers through my hair as she did.
“Good luck,” she whispered, her eyes sparkling as she tugged on my hair once before stepping back.
I hurried out to the meadow, more interested in getting Scarlette someplace without my sister than running this experiment. Better to do it quickly.
I pulled the node power into my body and let my dragon form explode outward. I turned one eye on Scarlette at the edge of the clearing. She blew me a kiss.
I thought about her hands in my hair and pulled on the magic once more.
Scarlette’s grin was huge when she saw me. I took a step and felt hair brush over my ass and the backs of my thighs. I grabbed a fistful and stared in horror. My hair went down to my knees.
Scarlette met me in the middle of the clearing, carrying my clothes. Her voice was full of suppressed laughter. “Pull on your trousers before Rosalia gets too impatient.”
I got dressed, fighting my hair every step of the way. “You don’t actually like it this long, do you?”
Scarlette’s smile grew impossibly wider. “It is rather sexy.” She laughed at my expression. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t actually thinking that long. I’ll cut it for you when we get back to the cottage.”
We rounded the bend and my twin saw me. She bent in half, laughing uncontrollably.
I walked around her, pulling Scarlette with me.
The next dayI transformed into a dragon, scattering emerald scales across the clearing as I did. I still wasn’t sure what Rosalia’s explanations meant about how to adapt the shift, but I knew that I needed to shed those scales to get rid of Gideon, and I needed to get rid of Gideon to keep Scarlette safe, and that was enough.
My fear of messing up the transformation couldn’t compete against the fear of anything happening to her.
When I transformed back into a human afterward, my hair was the same length Scarlette had trimmed it to the night before—a little longer than I was used to, but not too much.
Rosalia and I collected the scales and carried them back to the cottage.
“We need to contact the hunter.” I told Grandmother and Scarlette as I let my armful of scales spill onto the table.
Rosalia added the ones she had carried.
“You did it!” Scarlette threw her arms around my neck.
I pulled her closer. For Scarlette, I’d do anything.
“I’ll go to Ortfel,” Grandmother announced. “If you fly me up, he might come to investigate or to watch for your return. I’ll spread the word among the villagers to tell him you want to make a deal. We’ll use the summons crystal if he agrees to meet.”
“I’ll do the same in Wulfkin,” Rosalia offered. “I know they banned him from the village, but if he is sniffing around down there, maybe we can pass on the message, anyway.”
Scarlette and Ienjoyed two days alone in the cottage.
“I love my family,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her back against my chest, “but having the house to ourselves is nice.”
She tilted her head to smile at me. “If you want this pie, you have to let me finish preparing the dough.”
I nipped her ear. “I’d rather have you.”
She wriggled, turning to face me. Flour dusted hands landed on my shoulders.
Bang! Bang!
We jumped, spinning to face the front door.
“Dragon! You wanted to talk? Let’s talk.”
“He was supposed to go to one of the villages,” I grumbled, stepping away from Scarlette. “Stay here. I’ll talk to him outside.”
She shook her head. “I’m not letting you deal with him alone.”
“Dragon!” Gideon’s voice echoed through the cottage.
“He wants a dragon, not a man,” I pointed out to Scarlette. I crossed the room to the door. “I’ll be safe enough, but he’s already proven willing to use you to get at me.”
She huffed and crossed her arms. “Be careful,” she ordered.
I nodded and opened the door. The huntsman stood right there, his fist raised to pound on the door once more. I glared until he lowered his hand, then walked outside, pushing him aside without so much as laying a hand on him. The mighty hunter couldn’t stand his ground.
He covered his retreat with bluster. “I was told you wanted to talk.”
“If you heard that, then you know I have an offer for you.”
“I’m listening.”
I took a closer look at the hunter, surprised by his willingness to talk. He was no longer clean-shaven, there was dirt in his armor, and the crossbow hanging off his shoulder was of noticeably poorer quality. Between the fine lightening his purse and the lack of welcome by any of the residents of Drakona, he had been forced to live rougher.
Gideon had wanted an easy path to fame and fortune. He thought hunting a dragon in the forest simpler than scaling the mountains to get near one. Now he was without resources.
Perfect.
“I will provide you with a dragon scale,” I told the hunter. “In exchange, you will stop hunting me. In fact, you will leave the forest and never return. You can tell whatever tale you want about how you came by the scale, so long as it doesn’t mention me or shape-shifting.”
“You can’t buy me off with a single dragon scale.”
I raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t refusing to deal; he was simply greedy. That was expected. I had shed plenty of scales over the past few days. I was ready to haggle. “What do you want, then?”
“A dozen scales every year to maintain your secret.”
I shook my head. “Nothing ongoing. Once you leave the forest, you do not come back. A dozen scales total.”
“Fifty. And I want my crossbow and silver returned.”
“Two dozen. I’ll return your crossbow, but I don’t have the silver.” Nor would I ask Scarlette for the money, though I’m certain she’d offer.
“Then the equivalent in copper or whatever you do have.”
I rolled my eyes. “Does it look like I have need of much coin here? I barter with the villages. My coin is healing charms.”
“Fine. Fifty scales, my crossbow, and a dozen healing charms.”
“Three dozen scales, your crossbow, and five charms. And if you tell a story about defeating a dragon in the forest, the villagers of Wulfkin will corroborate your story—so long as it bears no resemblance to the truth.”
“Deal.”
“I’ll get the contract.”
“What?”
“The contract. You didn’t think I’d take your word for it, did you? We will sign a contract detailing our agreement.” I cocked an eyebrow. “That isn’t a problem, is it?”
“Fine. Write your contract, but I want to see the scales.”
“Of course. I’ll bring everything out.”
Gideon scowled, but didn’t protest when I left him outside.
Scarlette sat at the table, pen in hand. She looked up at me. “I almost have your terms filled in.”
“Thank you. I’ll grab everything else.”
I ran up to the loft and counted out scales, slipping them into a rough sack. Then I grabbed five of the charms I had been working on to send to Ortfel, tied off the spells, and shoved them in my pocket. It would serve Gideon right if I made him five charms that lasted no longer than an hour after I finished them, but though he hadn’t specified the strength of the charms, I would still give him quality spells. No doubt he would sell them, and I didn’t want the people who ended up with the charms to suffer because of him.
I slung the crossbow over my shoulder and carried everything downstairs.
Scarlette gave me a look that dared me to object to her bringing the contract out to the hunter. With the sack of scales and the bow to deal with, I decided the extra set of hands wasn’t a bad idea. I didn’t want Gideon to grab things while I was dealing with the contract, especially since we had to bring out pen, ink, and something to write on since I refused to let him in the cottage. Besides, Scarlette pulled a thin stick partially from her pocket, waiting for me to notice it, before reaching for the doorknob.
I smiled. She still had the paralyzing enchantment I had given her. I’d have to see about making a stronger one, maybe fashioned as a bracelet, to replace the stick. But for now, it ought to suffice if the hunter tried anything. It should still have a couple of uses left.
Gideon wasn’t surprised to see Scarlette. He must have heard us talking through the open window as easily as she had listened to our negotiations. He held out an imperious hand for the contract. She passed the paper to him, but he didn’t start reading. “The scales?”
I opened the sack and lifted one iridescent green scale out, angling it back and forth in the sun. Then I dropped it back in with the others and held the bag open wide and angled it toward the hunter. “Three dozen.”
He smiled. “I need a pen.”
My eyes narrowed. He still hadn’t read the contract. Before I could say anything, Scarlette stepped forward, holding out the pen, inkpot, and a book to write on.
Gideon lunged.
The world slowed. I saw the ink tumbling toward the ground, paper, pen, and book with it. Scarlette’s hand reached for her pocket. Gideon reached for his knife.
I reached for the power of the node.
I pulled, the power coming in a rush since I stood so close to the source. I threw the magic outward. I could have paralyzed Gideon, the same use of healing magic as I had put into the stick. I could have stopped his heart. Instead, the power took the most familiar shape for me after days of practicing my shifting.
Learning to shed scales had given me a better understanding of what I did instinctually every time I transformed into a dragon. I knew how supple skin became hard scales; I recognized how organs shifted and altered. I didn’t hesitate; the fear of making a mistake was nothing now.
I inverted the transformation, shrinking Gideon down until he became a lizard the size of a squirrel. Chain mail collapsed to the ground, and for a split second, a tiny dragon floated above the pile of clothes. Then he fell, his wings snapping out awkwardly as he tried to use an appendage that hadn’t existed on his human body.
I ignored his struggles and rushed over to Scarlette. “Are you hurt?”
She gaped at me.
“Scarlette! Did he hurt you?”
She slowly closed her mouth and shook her head. Then pointed to where Gideon had stood moments before, her finger following the path of the lizard as it disappeared into the underbrush. “You transformed him. I thought you couldn’t do that?”
“Some fears are greater than others. I couldn’t let him grab you. The power responded to my desperation.”
“You made a tiny dragon.”
I nodded. “There’s a legend that claims the first dragons were the creations of body-changers millennia ago. Though I don’t plan on repeating the transformation, so I guess this new species will not survive.”
“He’s gone,” Scarlette pointed out.
I shrugged. “What’s he going to do?”
“I don’t know, but shouldn’t we . . .” She trailed off, clearly at a loss for what we should do.
“It’s too late now. I changed him by instinct. I’m not sure I could transform him back into a human even if we caught him.”
“But Rosalia or Grandmother—”
“No. Shifting another person is much harder. Not to mention, they have never shifted with a major size change, or between reptile and mammal before. They’d have just as much difficulty.”
After a moment, Scarlette shook her head and bent to pick up the fallen contract supplies, grumbling about the spilled ink. “What are we going to do with his chain mail?”
“Store it in the attic and tell our grandchildren wild stories about why we have armor rusting away up there?”
Scarlette glanced up at me, her expression incredulous. “The truth isn’t wild enough for you?”
“We wouldn’t want to give them ideas. Look what happened to me thanks to reading a few old journals.”
She left everything on the ground and walked over to wrap her arms around me. “I don’t know. I rather like how that story turned out.”
I held her close. “It does look like it will have a happily ever after.”
She tilted her head back, her smile luminous. “One with grandchildren.”
“Eventually. I think we have plenty to be happy about for a while.”
“I think you are right.”