Queen of Fire and Shadows

Part 12

Conner

I stare in complete shock at the thirteen year old girl—thirty three years between us. I'm praying to whatever everlasting being that exists to make sure I survive this inferno. I am terrified.

The blazing thing in front of me is not a girl—it's an abomination, a disgrace to all in the Hidden World. It has curling horns sitting in a nest of flickering orange hair—it's identical to a mini bonfire—its claws are a strange shade of red; turning to a darker shade of the primary colour. Its face is unforgettable; the cheeks are glowing, revealing the faint outlines of scales, the eyes of this creature are glowing exactly as described of the most bloodthirsty dragons in the history of the Hidden World.

This is a plain version of 'the monster underneath your bed'. I take a step back and fire my gun. It ricochets off one of thing's large, scaly red dragon wings that flap effortlessly in the night air.

"You dare try to kill me?!" It bellows, no longer the sarcastic, beautiful girl I met a week ago. This—this is a mix between a demon and a phoenix straight from the womb of Lilith and a child of the most murderous dragon that ever lived; Bron Metheral.

This is not Ray. Ray is gone. I look to the vampire boy I just shot. He too gawks at the sight before him.

"I will make you pay for what you've done to me—and what you did to Caleb! That is unforgivable to all." It points a clawed finger at me and flies higher; it opens its mouth and inside is like a small version of the 'gates of Hell'.

I know exactly what it's going to do; it's going to blow me to pieces and then have no mercy as it flies away. I am about to just give up and accept my fate, but then a plan suddenly forms in my mind. I look at my gun's barrel; one bullet. The dragon creature leans back, ready to deliver my death blow.

I roll to the side and grab the vampire—Caleb and shove him to the ground, I look up at the creature and try to keep my voice steady as I cry out, "Kill me and I swear on Morning Star that this Dark Fellow dies with me!"

The creature hesitates and I know instantly that I have found the hole in its armour. It looks down at the vampire, its face shocking me into silence. The once fiery cheeks have now dulled to a faded rusty brown and glowing orange swirls curled up its arms and into its shirt. Its eyes have dimmed to a bleak, dark pink. Its face is filled with a softness only reserved for a friend.

"Caleb?" It asks lifelessly, I look down and realise why. Somehow the vampire managed get shot in a vital place in the string of events and is writhing in pain. Cupping his blood as it pours out of him in streams.

He looks up at the creature and something must've shifted inside the it because it slowly shrinks down to the size of my waist, everything exactly the same except it's three times smaller and now looks much more like a young girl it once was.

The demented girl runs over like a small child would run over to a whimpering puppy, the small dragon-like creature cradles the vampire's head it its arms. "You're still not afraid?" The vampire asks quietly.

The dragon girl shakes her head solemnly. "I'm not afraid because I was born to protect and to lead people like you." She says quietly, her pink eyes gleaming. "After so many months in Tortura I began to think that I was just some nobody and I—I guess I was wrong." The vampire smiles and looks at me carefully.

"Don't hate this girl, please." I shake my head—I will have to have my mind warped and my soul sucked out to even like this mutation.

The vampire sighs and leans back, nestling into the crook in the girl's—Ray's arm. She looks up at me desperately with pleading eyes when the vampire's red ones close. "Help him! Please Connor!"

I blow out a hesitant breath. I walk over and kneel down. I feel his gums and inspect his skin. After thirty seconds of examination, I turn to Ray-that's-kind-of-Ray and beckon her over.

"He needs someone's life to be able to save him." I look at her. "You head back to the manor, I'll take him back."

I lie and pick him up. Ray pulls out a grey bottle from my coat I threw into the grass—throws it to the floor and jumps in. I look at the place I last saw the girl who had tried to kill me two minutes ago. I successfully pull a glowing red portal out of my coat pocket and chuck it at the ground. I jump through and was immediately meet with a pointed dagger at my throat.

"We've got another one." A sharp, cold voice cries out triumphantly. And the last thing I see was a tattooed hand smack my face into a dreamless haze.