Chapter 4 #2
Flying across the sand without a clue or a plan, I aimed for the wall of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and hellacious bullshit with the wild abandon of one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors. I trusted Lou not to let me down, no matter how distracted and introspective he was in that moment.
Sure, I’d gone into battle blind before, but that didn’t mean I wanted to do it if I didn’t have to.
This was Arrhythmia. For better or for worse, it was my town. The people were the Sheriff’s responsibility, but the Wards, the Magic, the essence of what kept us hidden, well, they were mine to protect. That meant someone was playing in my sandbox, and they damn sure hadn’t been invited.
“Time to take out the trash,” I seethed through gritted teeth.
Pouring copious amounts of Enchantment into my preternatural sight for the umpteenth time, I skimmed the wall. There had to be a chink in that blasted armor somewhere. I prodded and probed and searched for the tiniest weakness.
“It has to be there. It has to be there. It has to… YES! There it is.”
I’d found it. I was happier than a pig in mud. It was the teeniest, most minuscule, damn near nonexistent blemish that I was sure had gone unseen by its maker, and I had found it. Now, I was going to exploit the hell out of it.
Focusing all the Enchantment racing through my veins into that blemish the size of a dime, I said I was sorry to my prized Harley Fat Boy and mentally bellowed, “Time to get your ass in gear, Old Man!”
“No need to yell,” Lou grumbled. “I’ve been here all along.”
“He speaks,” I scoffed. I wanted to say more, but there was just no time.
Aiming the front wheel of the motorcycle towards a sloped mound in the distance, I pushed the plan from my mind to Lou’s.
I was about to do some BMX shit that even an X Games gold medal winner could imagine in his wildest dreams. Not waiting for approval or commentary, I inhaled deeply and raced headlong into the unknown.
The instant the single lug, a molded rubber nub of the tire, made direct contact with the dune, I launched myself from the seat.
Trusting that Lou would be there, I let my consciousness fall to the background as he pushed forward and took over with the pure, white Dragon Magic of our Ancestors.
Together, just as it had been for centuries, we were ready for the fight of our lives– and to save the unknown female stuck at ground zero.
Embracing the Power, the Majesty, and the unrivaled Supremacy, I reveled in everything it meant to be one of the Universe’s own Winged Warriors.
The air flew from my lungs, but this time it was expected, even welcomed.
My vision blurred, and I embraced the warm, burnished bronze scales of the King of the Culloden Dragon as they ripped through my flesh.
Gritting my teeth, I steeled my resolve for what was coming. From one beat of my heart to the next, my blood ran cold. My teeth literally chattered, and goosebumps jumped to attention. Then it was hot. Not just hot, but boiling, sweltering, fiery in every sense of the word.
Before I could catch my breath, it flipped back to subzero in the blink of an eye– and so it went for what seemed like forever but was actually less than a second in time.
The only thing keeping me together was Lou’s legendary control and the strength of his ancient Dragon Magic. He and he alone held back the icy madness of the Shift that would’ve crushed the human side of my very existence.
Images were flying at my mind’s eye like a video on fast forward. Glimpses of people I knew, my family, my friends, then others I didn’t recognize, but somehow felt a kinship towards.
This had never happened before. It was strange, but compelling. I wanted to see what was coming next, even as I knew I didn’t have time for dilly-dallying.
A little girl with long red curls tied up in a high ponytail played in the sun. She giggled and laughed with a woman she resembled so closely that there was no doubt that they were mother and daughter.
That was all I got. A tiny glimpse. The scene blurred. The images were once again flying past me.
Then they slowed. Moving closer, coming into crisp, clear focus were five beautiful women.
The mother from before was there, along with her daughter, all grown up, and another, younger sibling.
They stood together. Two held hands. The mother and her daughters simply stood close enough that their adoration of one another was evident.
Through it all, one thing was clear: they were Family.
They would support each other, uplift each other… give their lives for one another.
“Generations.” The word flashed in warm, bold letters above their heads. “Magical. Special. Anointed by The Powers That Be.
There it was– the family resemblance. Long, red, curly hair– check. Gorgeous emerald eyes– check. Fortitude and forte that surrounded them, joined them, empowered them– check, check, and check.
And one stood out. The fourth in line. She was an inch or two shorter than the others, but nonetheless commanding and mighty.
The Magic, Power, and Strength in her body were barely contained in her perfect body, a body that had all the curves of a country backroad I wanted to explore for the rest of my life.
“Mate.” Those four letters, that word, Lou and I said whispered them like a prayer.
My heart skipped a beat. The light in the depths of my soul, the small glimmer that had been there from my birth, waiting to find its perfect complement, sprang to life.
A glittering bond, robust and unbreakable, shot from that light, out into the ether, and straight toward that fucking mushroom cloud.
“She’s in there! She is the one with the heart of a Warrior!”
I barely formed the words before every muscle and every tendon in my body contracted and contorted.
Ignoring the torturous pain, I held onto my unrelenting belief in the Power of the Universe.
It was my higher purpose. It was the mission I’d been given.
I was the lifeline that kept me from screaming bloody murder.
Transforming into the majestic form of one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors was utter agony and incredible ecstasy all in one, and it was something I’d never give up for the world.
The Enchantment of the Ancients battered the very core of my body.
Every fiber of my being vibrated with glorious supremacy and unsurpassed authority given by The Powers That Be.
The large, elongated muscles Lou and I used for flying jutted from my biceps, chest, and obliques as my adrenaline surged to a million and my body expanded in ways only understood because of my belief in the Universe.
Bolts of lightning filled the air– beautiful, white streaks of Heavenly Authority outshining and erasing the dull, crimson smudges from before.
Enchantment from the very depths of the Earth, a gift from Mother Nature, rose up to meet me, driving me headlong toward the incredible transformation into Dragon.
Bones shattered, and muscles ripped as my wings stretched outward as far as they could go. Sharp, venomous talons– extensions of the long, hollow phalanges shared by all winged creatures– emerged from the tough, webbed flesh, tingling with the need to rip the unseen enemy to ribbons.
Unfurling to their full length, my wings cast a shadow over the entire gulley, blocking out what little light of the full moon had escaped the mushroom cloud’s growing mass.
With a deafening clap, the wings thrust downward, compressing the air into a powerful, swirling wind that forced the sand beneath Lou’s massive paws to recoil.
The air hummed as our wings beat with an immense force only possible by one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors.
Turning the surrounding Ether into a raging tempest, we pushed the formidable body of the Dragon King off the ground.
The long finger claws flexed, their webbing embracing the whirlwind of our own creation.
Becoming one with the air in a single, powerful jump, we were airborne with our wings moving in a rhythmic, soaring motion.
The ripple of the thin, coarse sails was music to my ears.
The resulting whistle as they cut through the atmosphere was a call to battle, even though I was the only Winged Warrior within the confines of Arrhythmia.
Every undulation was a blast of Power unlike the one before.
The feel of absolute freedom and supreme dominion over all we surveyed was nothing short of intoxicating.
Both Lou and I were one with the elements. We were one with the Universe, and…
And…
Holy shit! We were one with the woman the Universe made for me! It was real. My Mate existed…
May Mate was in Arrhythmia.
“Did you feel…?”
“Aye, Lad,” Lou responded before I finished my question. “As I said, Fate will not be denied.”
“We seriously have to talk about your timing,” I growled, thankful when the Dragon King remained silent.
There was no time to think, no time to contemplate the future– no time to do anything but get through that wall of nasty Magic and get our Mate the hell out of Dodge.
Bracing for the inevitable crash when Lou’s snout made contact with the wall of Sorcery, I got the shock of my life when we sailed right through the barrier as if we’d been invited.
“Because we were,” Lou stated.
“…we were summoned by the…”
Swallowed up by a bitter, metallic stench– a mixture of burning copper and hot iron, coupled with the nauseating blend of rotting meat, sour milk, and feces– Lou and I both snarled, “Hellmouth!”
“Why am I always the last one to know everything?”
“Because you are the one who is never paying attention. All you had to do was…”