39. Tree Rings
Tree Rings
S imone, Maisie, and I hurriedly packed our bags, and Maisie teleported us home to Blackbell. As soon as we were in the condo, it was like the encounter with the energy vampire all over again. I felt so exhausted, a level of tired I had never felt before. I could barely stand. My eyes fluttered, and I could feel myself falling back with Simone and Maisie calling for me. Something caught me just before I hit the ground, though.
“I got you, kiddo,” Uncle Everett reassured as he picked me up in his arms. He cradled me like I was a kid again who had just scraped her knee or broken a bone. I settled into the comfort and familiarity of it, letting my eyes close for the briefest moment to enjoy it.
“Byrdie, are you all right?” Simone asked.
“What happened? She was fine just a second ago,” Maisie asked.
Someone tenderly touched my face, and I felt a slight warmth that was both foreign and familiar to me at the same time. It was magic, but it felt… different. What about his magic felt like an old friend to me? Then I heard Thompson’s voice, realizing it must be him. “She looks to have expelled a lot of shifter magic and still is in her current form. It’s exhausting her.”
“You’re exactly right, Thompson. We need to get her back to her human form for her to fully recover.” I opened my eyes when I heard Talli’s voice. She smiled when our eyes met. “Hi there, Byrdie-Bee.”
“What are you doing here?” My voice was heavy and deep with sleep. Every time I blinked, I was scared I wouldn’t be able to open my eyes again from how drowsy I was.
“As soon as you broke the spell, Everett and I were flooded with memories. I teleported here as soon as I could, and we caught Thompson up. Let’s get you to the couch. Maisie, Thompson, sit near me, okay?”
“Wait, is Teddy a fitch, too?” I asked, as I felt myself being carried into the living room by Everett.
“Not quite, honey, but I am still pretty rare.” He winked. “I’m a shifter witch.”
“A shifter witch?”
“It’s like a hybrid between a shifter and a witch, but really it’s just a kind of witch,” Maisie explained. “They are ridiculously cool because they have the magic of a witch, but they can shift like a shifter. Izzy is kind of a shifter witch. They are pretty connected to shifters in general, which is why he was able to sense your magic and know it was depleted.”
“When you touched me…” I trailed off.
“It was my jaguar calling to you through the magic. He really likes you.” Teddy smiled, an image of a purring cat coming to my mind.
“Dragons have an affinity for other animals, especially cats. Set her down on her stomach, Everett,” Talli instructed.
Everett gently placed me on the couch on my stomach. I readjusted to get comfortable, my wings pulsing slightly to settle on my back.
My newly returned memories reminded me that I had been here before, laying on my stomach with my fresh wings and Talli about to do magic on me. My dragon growled in my head, and I had to fight the desire to do the same. But that was the difference. Last time, she was fighting to get out to protect me from falling apart. This time, we were connected as one. I calmed her, reminding her that we were doing this with good reason this time and that nothing would separate us again. I was a dragon-shifter forever like I had always dreamed. This was enough to get her to curl up and relax.
Speaking of relaxing, Dinah yowled loudly over to the couch and jumped onto the arm. I petted her biscuit-head and was rewarded with some of the loudest purrs she had ever done.
“She has been hollering since we got our memories back.” Everett shook his head at the chunky dark ball of fluff.
“It’s because she was worried about her mommy.” Teddy smiled. “Pets can often be like familiars to shifters and witches, especially. It’s why they choose them and come into their lives at the right time. But also, Dinah really loves you.”
“She is her mama’s baby!” I cooed, scratching Dinah under her chin. Somehow, her purrs grew even louder.
“While I prepare,” Talli said, rummaging through a duffel bag next to her and pulling out various glass bottles of herbs, liquids, and powders. Maisie and Teddy sat on either side of her, while Everett leaned on the back of the couch. Simone sat on the floor near my head. “Why don’t you girls tell us what happened? What made you shift and remember everything, Byrdie?”
I caught them up on the events of tonight from my dream about Mom’s last moment to when I was awoken by Zaria’s attack to now. Simone and Maisie interjected when they could with additional details. Throughout it, Thompson was wide-eyed, but Talli kept her face measured as she listened and continued to arrange what she needed for her spell. When I finished, a crack resounded through the room and the couch began to whine and buckle. Din-Din, the cat I got to help with my anxiety, jumped down to curl up on a different, safer couch. Scaredy cat.
“Hey! I like this couch, sir! It took us months to find it!” I protested to Everett who was softly growling.
“It took months for you to decide on it,” He corrected.
“Tomato, potato.”
“How can you be so cavalier about this? What if your dragon really had been sealed away forever where you couldn’t manifest? Then what?”
“Simone and Maisie would have helped me. They were prepared to do that. Not to mention, Quinn was there?—”
“You could have died tonight, Byrd.”
“I’m well aware of that.” I leveled him with a look. “But I didn’t. We could talk all day and tomorrow about what could have, would have, should have happened, but the point is that I’m alive. I’m here, and I’m okay, Ever.”
He shook his head, but some of the tension did manage to leave his shoulders.
“Now, you need to apologize to Din-Din for scaring her. You know she has anxiety.”
Everett snorted. “The TV coming on scares that hairball.”
“You are such a bully to what is essentially your genetic cousin.”
Thompson coughed to cover his chuckle, but Everett didn’t miss it. He shook his head again. “Good to see you’re in perfect health, kiddo.”
I got comfortable again before continuing. “ Anyway, so far the only thing dying tonight has been furniture and my optimism about going on trips with Quinn and her family in the future.”
Simone chuckled. “Something always does seem to happen every time we go on a trip, huh?”
“What else has happened?”
“Everett, be a father later,” Talli reprimanded. “Let’s focus on the task at hand, yeah?”
Everett snorted. I’m sure he was rolling his eyes. Talli ignored him. “Maisie and Teddy, I’m going to teach you both how to do this, since it would be good for you two to know. When I’m done, Byrdie-Bee, you are going to have glamor tattoos just like your mom and dad hiding your tail, wings, and scales, but you will be able to surface them and manifest them when you want. Okay?”
“Will my scars be gone then? What about the tattoos already on my legs?”
“They will all be like a backdrop to them. I would never cover them up, love. I swear.” Talli smiled. “Also, your scars are already gone, actually.”
“Haha, so I will have that tattoo after all.” I chuckled, and Maisie snorted.
“This shouldn’t take too long, and it won’t hurt. Can you take your clothes off for me?”
“Jeez, Talli, you really should take me to dinner first,” I joked before sitting up to take off my shirt and shorts. I stretched out the cramps in my wings and tail.
Talli rolled her eyes. “I can really tell you were raised by Everett.”
Uncle Everett and I chuckled while I laid back on the couch. Talli got to work out of the corner of my eye.
“Now, Byrdie-Bee, just lay still for me. You two,” she gestured to Thompson and Maisie, “need to know how to do this and more. I’m guessing neither of you know anything dragonborn?”
They both shook their heads.
“Perfectly fine. Byrd’s case is highly unusual, honestly for multiple reasons. Normally, the manifestation of a dragon is gradual and not so instantaneous. Even if the dragon has been tucked away. I’m curious what could have triggered the shift tonight.”
I shrugged slightly. “Maybe the danger of it all?”
“How in the fresh fuck did a hunter get through all of that security in that house on that island, anyway?” Uncle Everett asked.
“Honestly, no idea.” Simone shook her head. “I spoke with Jacques, the head of security, before we left, and he said they didn’t find any forced entry or exit. He’s a shark shifter, so he scented the perfume. His fae associate sensed some weird magic, and they could feel its power even though they couldn’t fully trace it. It faded quickly, too.”
“Question, would this help someone break in and be the source of that magic?” Maisie gestured toward her luggage, and the bubble containing the cursed dagger landed softly in her hands. She popped it and held it. Instantly, the power radiating from the knife was so strong, it hit me all at once. It was so harsh and wrong I wanted to throw up. Instead, I growled loudly, honed in on the blade. I crouched ready to pounce. My skin rippled as I felt my scales spread and multiply. Thompson and Everett had to dodge my tail whipping back and forth behind me. Dinah ran into my bedroom with a loud meow as my wings created a swirl of wind. The magic for me to shift into a full dragon sparked ready to be summoned to protect me from the threat.
“That’s a hell of a response in Byrd from a tiny sword. But why?” Talli took it from Maisie, got up, and walked a little far away from me. I bristled, but I was able to calm down enough to lay down again, ensuring my tail stilled and my wings relaxed. Simone grabbed my hand to calm me. It helped.
“Could it be the Archaic on there?” Maisie asked.
“That looks like an Archaic, but it also isn’t one,” Thompson said, looking at the dagger along with Talli.
“You are both right. It’s like an Archaic, but not quite. It seems… older?”
“That dagger is similar to something I’ve seen and felt before.” I realized then. “When Pops and Aunt Max died, there was a hunter who had a gun and knife with magic just like that.”
“Byrd is right. I remember seeing that same glow that night, too,” Everett added.
“Hunters have weapons, sure, but where would they get weapons like that ?”
“That is an interesting question, Bee. What do you all know about the connection between hunters, fitches, and dragon-shifters?”
“Feeling like not as much as I should?” I replied for everyone.
“Well, you were robbed of your chance, darling. Sorry about that.” Talli’s smile crinkled the corners of her eyes.
Maisie tilted her head. “How do you know so much about this? I mean, I have only known I was a fitch for a few months. But I have been reading up on this, and I never saw anything about dragons. Fuck, I didn’t even know they existed until Byrd literally turned into one tonight.”
“Honestly, same. I have never heard anything about dragons before this. I thought dragons were just in fairytales.” Simone agreed.
“That is because history is written by the victor. But to answer your question about how I know so much, I have been a fitch working with dragon-shifters since I was born over one-hundred-forty years ago?—”
Everyone’s jaws, except for Everett’s, dropped.
“Fitches can live for a very long time and not even look it.” Talli winked.
“How has no one ever heard of dragons before, though? Like, unicorns are creatures of fairy tales, but everyone knows unicorn-shifters and uni-taurs exist. Why have dragons been scrubbed away from existence?” Simone asked.
“Excuse me? You know what exists?” Teddy asked incredulously.
“I’ll tell you about it later, babe.” Ever smiled.
“Allow me to answer all of your questions. Well, most of them. Sorry, Thompson.” Coral orange magic encircled the dagger, and it went flying to the guest room to be tucked out of sight. I was able to relax fully into the couch cushions then. Talli continued. “Now, Maisie and Teddy, stay close to me. This spell takes quite a bit of magic, so your presence will be appreciated, too, for support.”
Talli kneeled above my back with Maisie and Teddy on either side. Talli used her magic materials to prep my back. Whatever she put on there was tingling in how cold and hot it was. It relaxed me, though.
Finally, Talli began:
“To answer your questions, we have to talk about history. Ancient history. Dragonborn were among the first shifters who ever existed. Before civilization, they existed all over the world among the first fae, vampire, werewolves, and other creatures. Those first creatures came to be called the Ancients. As humanity came to be, they started to be worshiped as deities. Their existence spans across cultures, which is how there are stories of dragons in each culture. However, as with many things in history, people wanted power. The only way they saw to have it was by stealing it by any means necessary. Thus, the most powerful witches among the humans gathered and created hunters.
“Hunters are superpowered humans. Their skin is tougher, they are stronger than most humans are capable of, their senses more powerful, they live longer and stay in their prime for longer, they are immune to most of the abilities that affect humans normally like compulsion from vampires and certain spells from witches. Being a hunter is passed down the generations, and they hunt in families. They naturally know their way around a weapon and have a drive to kill certain supernaturals. They know how to sense them and track them. It’s one of their many powers.
“Originally, the witch creators designed them to fight dragon-shifters, but they developed abilities to hunt other supernaturals as they became a danger to humans or got too close to power. There are hunter families that exist now that hunt only dragonborn, specific supernaturals, or all supernaturals in general. They have an instinctive drive to do it, but they also can do it for power like their ancestors or for money. It’s insanely lucrative, and there are families that are the wealthiest in existence because of this. They are the only beings that are naturally capable of withstanding an attack from a dragon-shifter—or, anything for that matter. They know the weapons that can kill them and are able to wield them with an efficiency that comes second nature to them.”
I shivered, unable to unsee Zaria’s movements with her blade and the thirst for blood in her contact-laden eyes. So, Zaria was a huntress. My tail and wings twitched with nerves.
Talli lifted her hands off my back. “I’m so sorry, love. Did I hurt you?”
“No. Keep going please. What happened after the hunters were made?”
“The first hunters quickly decimated the dragonborn race. The dragons tried to defend themselves, but it became a numbers game. The witches could create more hunters from humans faster than a dragon-shifter could birth another and raise it to be strong enough to defend itself. It was almost a complete genocide. But the dragonborn had an alliance of their own. They were not the only ones being attacked for what they were.
“The dragon-shifters and witch-fae were both getting attacked by witches and those who wanted power, so they created a bond to link them together. They would protect each other with their magic: dragon-shifters in the physical sense and fitches by concealing them for protection.
“Dragon-shifters are born human, but once they reach puberty, they change into their full form and maintain partial forms from then on. This is fine if they live in enchantments with their own kind and often is the reason why they do. But if they do want to blend in outside of these places, fitches have to use magic to make them human. That’s why your mom found me before she moved to Blackbell, Byrdie.
“Dragon-shifters and fitches are all drawn together. There’s always a connection, like a symbiotic relationship, even if they don’t know why at first or know about each other’s existence.”
“Why wasn’t there anything about this in the Archive?” Maisie asked.
“Dragonborn are private and rare, even more than unicorns. They have survived this long. Those who know about them are intrinsically connected to them, even if they do not know it. Guardian shifters like griffons, gargoyles, and the like are drawn to them because they feel a need to protect them and the treasures they may have. Dragon-shifters are intelligent and great with money so they hoard knowledge and money. Yes, Byrdie-Bee, that is partly why you are as smart as you are and a prodigy at some things, but most of that is because of your mom being who she is.” Talli winked toward me. “But the only written text that you will find about dragonborn are in their own personal libraries and within enchantments. Honestly, the Pierce family grimoire is the closest I’ve ever come to any written dragonborn record in my lifetime.”
Everett leaned forward. “Most dragon shifters also don’t keep written records because they are able to pass anything important down to their offspring. That is what happened to you the night your mom died and tonight, kiddo.”
“Yeah, but that only happens when they—we—die, right? What about when we are alive? Why didn’t Mom and Pops ever tell me any of this about dragonborn, our history, and about hunters? I mean, I grew up knowing about dragons, obviously, but I never knew any of this. I didn’t even know about the grimoire even though I remember seeing it as a kid, because Mom never talked about it. I didn’t even know that hunters were a thing until they killed Mom. Why not tell me?” I asked the question that had been weighing on my mind since my memories had returned.
“No one can speak for your mother and exactly why she did what she did when she was alive,” Talli answered. “I can tell you that I used to not understand it, either. But once I had my girls, I understood it. I wouldn’t do the same thing, but I understood. There’s nothing a parent, especially a mother, wouldn’t do to keep their children safe, happy, and healthy for as long as possible. Sometimes, that means not telling them the bad things because you don’t want to pop the bubble too soon, even if it is something they should know. You just want to shield them from the world as long as possible and push away everything else.”
“Talli is right. I think your mother wanted you to enjoy the good of being a dragon for as long as possible, kiddo,” Everett said. “She was robbed of it when she was a kid. She never talked about it, but she did talk about how she wanted you to have what she didn’t: the security that comes with not knowing the evil in the world just yet. Can’t say I blame her after everything.”
“Dragon-shifters are incredibly protective over their young. They will do whatever it takes to keep them alive. Even if it means they might not achieve full happiness like the children always wanted.”
I locked eyes with Talli. She had stopped applying the medicine to my back and leg. Now, she was drawing motions with her hands just above me. Her eyes looked sad and full of remorse.
“Talli. I know you didn’t do any of this with malicious intent. You did what you thought was best to keep me alive. I would be dead if it wasn’t for you.” My eyes flicked to Everett. “Both of you.”
His eyes were watery, making my heart squeeze. “That doesn’t make what we did something that doesn’t weigh on us. Hell, if you had heard your Auntie Max the entire time, she was begging for anyone to think of another way. She worried that you would feel so unfulfilled without your dragon. I…” Uncle Everett shook his head. “I hope she was at least a little wrong about that.”
“Everett… I was happy. I am happy. You made sure of that. Of course, I dreamed of being a dragon, but without her, I still had everything I could ever want. She just makes my life a little better, but I already had such a good life before. It’s like having an old phone. I was still able to do everything I needed to and wanted to, just slower and I have to charge it more. But now, I got an upgrade.”
“I just… We did the best we could, kiddo, but we make mistakes. We don’t have all the answers.”
“I know. I love you, Eevee-chu.”
Uncle Everett rolled his eyes. “Leave it to you to ruin a perfectly good moment.”
Suddenly, I felt my wings and tail heat up with the tingle of magic.
“Okay, Byrdie-Bee, the spell is done. You are going to feel a little warmth for a second or two longer.”
I took a breath. My wings lifted and settled on my back. My tail curled around my right leg a few times before ending on top of my foot. It was a strange feeling. I could feel my wings and tail still while not feeling them at the same time. My back and the lower right side of my body was hot and tender like I had gotten a new tattoo. All four of my fangs shrunk up to just be sharp human canines. My nails shortened, too, back to their regular stiletto. The crystal horns on top of my head disappeared in a cloud of sparkles and dust. My ears also lost their points. The patches of scales faded into old ink on my skin. I was human in appearance again, but it still felt different.
“Okay! Now, I want you to shift into your partial form. It should feel similar to shifting into your full form. This is just to make sure you can still access your powers.”
I nodded and called on my dragon. Feeling her stir and surface within me reminded me of all the times I felt something within me listening to Quinn or when I heard my dragon’s voice. My dragon was a part of me, an extension of my soul. Connecting with her was easy, just like shifting from my full form had been. It felt easier somehow with the ghost of my tail and wings heating my skin. My dragon awoke and rose up. I felt my wings curl from my back and my tail lift from my leg, and come to life. I stretched my tail and fluttered my wings behind me. My horns, talons, scales, and fangs all materialized once more. It was painless, smooth, and easy, just like getting back on the ice.
“That is so fucking amazing,” Maisie marveled.
“Beautiful job, Bee,” Talli complimented. “The spell worked!”
Talli wiped her hand on a towel and started to pack up her materials. I shifted back into my human form with ease, my dragon curling up to sleep again. Around my neck, the obsidian stone was warm, insanely so. So hot that the cold I had been feeling for months melted away.
Everett appeared with a silk robe from my room, and I sat up to put it on. As I tied it, I noticed my new leg tattoo. Talli was right. It was a background for my floral print tattoo. The stark black atop the vibrant holographic pastels was stunning and poetic. The scales were still holographic when I moved my leg, and the whole thing was hot to the touch. I was obsessed. I clutched my necklace, allowing the heat from my new ink and my necklace to make me feel cozy.
Talli must have noticed because she said. “You are still wearing Doe’s necklace, huh?”
“I haven’t taken it off once since she died.”
Talli nodded. “I will never forget when I made that. Doe had just lost her mom and left her enchantment. She always dreamed of leaving and making it on her own, but she never learned how to conceal her partial form. I had done some work for the enchantment before, so the Sire—what they call the ruler of an enchantment—sent her to me. You and her are so much alike, Byrd. So sweet, so lovely, and full of so much light it’s contagious. I knew I had to help her. Since she had never learned to contain her power, I had to create something that could hold her magic and allow her to release it when she wanted. So, I used that necklace.”
Realization dawned for me. “That’s why she never took it off.”
“She only took it off that day so she had full access to her power without restraint. With it on, she was able to manifest her dragon for short periods of time and access her powers in short bursts. You want to know something special about it? That obsidian? She created it from her own power, her lava abilities. It made it easy to use with the spell.”
“Is that why it’s always so warm now? I finally don’t feel cold like I have been for months.”
Talli sat on the couch beside me and took my hand in hers. “Just like any shifter, you have traits of your other form as a human. You are a reptile at the end of the day, so you are naturally cold-blooded, you shed your skin every once in a while—” Seeing my eyes widen, she hastily added. “It isn’t as bad as it sounds, I promise. The necklace is imbued with your mom’s power, so it is warm and responds to you and your magic. Now that your dragon has manifested, the necklace should help to stave off that cold you were feeling.”
I covered my mouth as I yawned. “That makes sense.”
“Our little gay gator through and through,” Maisie remarked. I flipped her off.
As Maisie and Teddy asked Talli more questions, the events of the day landed heavy on me all at once. Just like before, I had to fight harder and harder to keep my eyes open. I lay back down on the couch. Warmth encircled me in pure comfort. I just… I just needed to rest my eyes for a second, the sound of my friends—my family—talking was the best lullaby. I slowed my breathing. I bobbed in and out of darkness. Then one last memory:
You’ll be fine, baby Byrd. I know it. You are strong. You will show us. One day.
Pops was right, after all.