By: STEVIE WEBER
Staff Writer
…The King flashed another thin smile, one that revealed his sharp, predatory canines. Still, the Child looked cooly into his eyes, bright green meeting his dull yellow. His arm reached out and stroked her cheek. She was repulsed but did not let it show. This action only solidified the plan in her mind. His hand fell when he did not get a reaction out of her. The smile faded as well. Reaching into his robe, he produced a small dagger. It’s metallic sheen entranced the child, as did the almost glowing ruby in the center of the hilt. The blade was sharp, meant for piercing dragon scale. Just looking at it made the Child tense a bit. He set the blade on the mantle, next to the altar. She knew it was time to start. She knew it was time to end this. Breathing in, slowly and carefully, the Child morphed into her draconic form. As she was still young, she could not fully transform into the beast that ruled the skies. Her form was more of an ugly amalgamation of scale and human. Large wings, horns, and a tail protruded from her body; making the already cramped room grow even smaller. The King smiled at this. Fully. He was delighted. He could almost taste the power she was emitting. The Child reached up with her clawed hand and dipped it into the liquid. It burned, but she did not wince. Taking it out, she drug the liquid across her scaled chest, drawing a holy symbol with it. With this seal, she could feel her power weaken. The King did the same, yet he visibly winced with the burn. Now that they were both sealed, and both their powered weakened, it was time for the final part. The King grabbed the dagger and held it in between the two. The Child lightly put her hands over his. This was it. This was the moment she was waiting for. Her mind raced with “what if”, but she knew she had to act quickly, or this dagger will be plunged into her own chest. Summoning all her power from deep within the recesses of her soul, the Child gripped the dagger tight and forced it towards the Vampire King with all her might. Before he could resist, the blade had already split his chest cavity. Dark energy filled the room as the King fell to the floor, screeching in agony. He tried to reach for the Child as she backed away, but it was too late, as he was already crumbling to dust. His dark aura started pooling out of him, a sludge that looked like oil. His power, all that he amassed from his previous killings, it all poured out of him. It shook the whole room, which made the Child unsteady. She did not know if she should flee, as what was going on in front of her captured all her attention. She could not look away. But in an instant, it stopped. The King was nothing more than fine dust. His power still circled around in the air, almost like a predator observing its prey. It looked like a cloud of black smoke. It swirled around the Child’s head, seemingly studying her. Without truly understanding what she was doing, the child extended her hand to the force. It took the invitation and brushed her fingertips. It crept up her arm, which had turned back to flesh soon after she stabbed the King. The smoke encapsulated the Child’s body. She let it. It was absorbed into her body, merging with her own power. She saw white and felt as if she was floating. The newly found power coursed through her blood, invigorating her. Something was happening to her body, but she could hardly control anything in her mind. It was too shrouded with images of the sky, people and dragons she did not recognize. They all quickly flashed through her mind like a slideshow, she could not keep up. She tried to move, but her limbs felt like weights. Foreign sensations ran through her body. The Child had more control of her body, but she still was blinded and confused. She thrashed and collided with everything. The ground beneath her feet turned from wood to grass, to nothing at all. Suddenly, she regained all her senses as she tumbled down the hill the church sat atop. When she finally stopped falling, she looked up, and up and up… Fear and confusion struck her as she realized she was taller than normal. Her eyes flew to the church, which was reduced to nothing more than a collapsed mound of board and glass. Slowly, she looked down to herself. Her arms were large, fully scaled, and a glossy black. The ends of her finger were talons. The Child sat for a moment and tried to relax. Her eyes focused on the large snout attached to her face. Like a train, it hit her. She was a dragon. Fully transformed. Standing, she tested her new, quad-pedal form. It took a moment to get used to, but she quickly adapted. Her legs took her back up the hill to the ruined church. From up there, she could see the whole kingdom. She itched to be up in the sky. But she stayed up on the hill, basking in the sun and the relief of surviving. The Dragon closed her eyes and thanked her ancestors for gifting her this power. It hurt for her to know, but she was the last of her kind. The last, but the strongest. Unfurling her wings, she lifted off and took for the skies, heading for her family home.