Dragon Unleashed (Book 1 of the Dragon Mage Saga)

The Journey's End

“We’re about to begin descent. The portal to Pharix is only around a ten minute trek from here,” Earl shouted over the strong winds.

            The dark, clouded night sky had begun pouring down. A full-blown thunderstorm was about to begin. Usually, they’d continue further before descending, but the current weather conditions proved far too dangerous to continue flying. As Charles knew from personal experience, being struck by lightning in flight seriously hurt.

            The rain came down even more intense, blowing in a million directions. The dragons were strong, but they couldn’t fight Mother Nature. She was the only one with the ability to weaken them, aside from the Devils.

            “Get down!” Ruby yelled, swooping fast to the wet earth of the forest.

            Thunder rumbled overhead, sounding like a round of applause or the stamping of giant feet. Charles braced himself for landing, but his feet slipped on the mud and he ended up sprawled on the ground. How wonderful. You’d think that being a prince and receiving only the finest warrior training in Pharix would mean he’d be some kind of dragon flying extraordinaire. But alas, he was only slightly above average. The real champion of the family was his twin sister, Princess Ruby. She’d been the one with the superhuman strength, speed, and agility. He was just the failure of a brother.

            “You okay there?” Darla asked, managing to land upright. She had a natural gift for flight. Only understandable-she was the dragon mage, after all. She had more power than anyone in Pharix.   

            “I’m fine,” Charles muttered, standing up. Taking a deep breath, he allowed himself to transform back into his human self. He liked it better this way.

            “Um, how do you…” Darla began, watching as they all switched back to their usual selves.

            Earl chuckled as the beautiful golden dragon stared at them with her gaping blue eyes, perplexed. “Just close your eyes and allow yourself to be revealed. It’s simple.”

            Darla closed her eyes and in a flash of radiant white light transformed back into a young girl.

            She was…special, out of the ordinary. Unlike any girl that Charles had ever met. Her features were fairly plain-long, waist-length white-blonde waves, pale skin, and wide-set green eyes. Her pale skin was dusted with freckles like little cinnamon specks and her teeth were slightly crooked. She was tall, and quite awkward-looking, with gangly limbs that seemed almost disproportional to the rest of her body. Still, she was striking. You just couldn’t look away.

            “Can I help you?” Darla snapped.

            Realizing he had been caught staring, Charles blushed. “Sorry-it’s nothing. C’mon, the storm’s only going to get worse and we’re surrounded by trees-not exactly a good situation when there’s lightning involved. The portal’s not far.”

            The group of four sloshed through heavy mud as they navigated their way through the dark, dreary forest somewhere in the Appalachia. Muddy and drenched in rain, Charles certainly didn’t look-or feel-like the prince his parents wanted him to be.