To Cheat Death

Chapter Twenty-one

"AND NOW! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

Jeering exploded from the stands, most of the boos directed down into the area.

"It's nothing but a blood bath!"

"The prominent one is getting cheap!"

Someone threw a rock that barely missed me.
I ducked.

The bearlike creature turned its head my direction, its nose twitching.

With its stained muzzle pointed my direction, its mouth parted, revealing jagged teeth a herbivore, like a beaver, would never have.
A large drop of saliva fell and hit the dusty ground.

Without warning the top half of its body flipped toward me and tripping over its feet, it charged. The crowd swelled with screams.

I froze, paralyzed, my talisman burned in my hand and I reflex changed into a wolf. I threw myself to the side, adrenaline pumping through my body.

It hit the stone wall with a thunk and scrambled on all four limbs toward me. Its small eyes dumb and searching.

My legs flew as I raced around the edge of the area, panicking, afraid I would trip and fall.

The crowd went wild.

"Phoenix feathers. Have to get-"
Suddenly it's claws were on my back. I spun around and bit it's leg, hard.

Rows of teeth marks scared it legs. I was doing nothing that hadn't been done before.

Jerking myself out from under its snapping jaws, I jumped and bit a long shining feather.

It slid through my teeth as I pulled away, then caught and ripped free from the string holding it with the others.

Racing to the other end if the area, I dropped the feather to keep it from disappearing with my wolf and a changed back. The infuriated monster barreled toward me. I reached down, touched the feather, and Changed.

It was not a natural change, like my other animals are, nor was it painful like my werewolf, but it was strange.

I felt my arms and back elongate and shape themselves into wings in seemingly slow motion. My height grew till I was as tall as the creature. My face warped and stretched out into a sharp beak holding a small gray stone. I was a conforming warm that scorched the nearest wall. The people nearest the edge panicked in terror.

Red blazed, hot and vivid, at my throat. It stretched down my breast turning a dark auburn bended down into black powerful talons then shot into orange and yellow that stretched into my tail feathers. The top of my head crest was bright yellow that flared down and out onto my wings, which were the most colorful. Tipped with red and shot with orange they burned hot with flames. I looked like the sun.

My wings shifted of there own accord and I realized, I was not in control of this body.

Fear hit like a wave.
"A black creature." I mentally shuddered, wondering what had I done?

"Do I look like a black creature to you?" The powerful voice resonated through me and the Phoenix threw open her wings and screeched past the stone in her mouth. I could feel her brilliance.

The bear monster flinched back, surprised.

"What right do you have to call me a black creature? You, dragkon, have Changed into me. I am not a dragon to give you my form so easily. I'm am Brilliance. I have lived burning lifetimes that begin when the creator first spoke me into existence! And you dare call me a black creature. Still... you have remade my heart stone. But for what? One of theses black creature has already destroyed my heart once. And that was on my mountain where I had room to fly."

"Your heart?" I suddenly realized the stone in her mouth was no ordinary stone.

"My heart is my weakness. If anyone with a hateful intent touches my heart stone I cease to exist."

"Fly and get us out of here."

"Little dragon you see out of my eyes but you don't look."

I peered harder and suddenly the colors became vivid. She glanced at the sky and shock hit me. Swirls of magic lit the dusky sky.

"This place was a city of dragkons and white magicians. I remember well their glory but now only traces of their powerful magic still remain. That is a defensive barrier. It will throw me down. I wouldn't make it out of the area."

The Phoenix flapped her wings sending blazing flames around her and discouraging the creature from attacking.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"I can't fight it with my heart stone unprotected."

"Can you change back into me?"

"You will have less chance against it than I do."

I described my idea.
"It's has a better chance of succeeding then fighting it with your heart stone."

She agreed with some doubts.
"My heart stone is my life. I would never trust you with it but it seems I have no choice. Remember your life is at stake as well."

I fell, human again. The bright feather in my hand. An ordinary grey stone sat in front of me. She had dropped her heart stone before changing back.

I reached out, touched it and, careful to focus on the feather, I Changed into the Phoenix.

The heart stone disappeared into my human form.

The Phoenix screed.
It jumped and flying low, it threw up a talon and slashed the monsters muzzle.

Growling, it swiped back but the intense heat scorched its paw.

"This is not the havgoy that fought me. I killed the one that attacked me. But it distracted me long enough for something to touch my heart stone."

Screening so loud as to shatter glass, she landed, and arched her neck. The desire for vengeance making her burn hotter.

Her strong beak snapped forward and grabbed the havgoy's shoulder.

Yanking him back, she jumped in the air, and ripped with her talons.
Dropping the bloody remains she threw back her head and screed.

The hovgoy was dead, but this was far from over.