So? Had enough of my mild insanity yet? Here’s some more just in case.
Melody’s legs started to move by themselves and she was suddenly running, a drab blur moving through the winter woods. Her trapline was one of the longest in the area and the trek to her cabin, which should have taken days in the deep snow, took less than an hour. Though nearly twenty, Melody, an orphan, had spent almost two years posing as a fourteen year old boy, earning his income by trading furs. The remote cabin and trapline offered a hard life, but compared to the life of an orphan in the colony, Melody thought it preferable. Even as it was, it was getting harder to avoid curious glances every time she went into town.
“You won’t have to hide anymore,” said the voice as she opened the cabin door. Unbidden memories of the men other girls had warned her about came to her mind. “You’re stronger now….”
“Then what are we running from?” she demanded as she went to the hearth. The winter cold didn’t bother her, but the familiar ritual of lighting a fire was comforting. “If I’m a blood dragon, what’s there to be afraid of?”
“Our maker was running,” replied the voice. “The dragonflights are the founders of the supernatural courts, but it doesn’t mean that we’re above their laws.” Melody gasped as a flood of memories and knowledge filled her mind. “Our maker was being hunted by the Court of Magi and the mage dragonflight.”
“But I didn’t do anything,” Melody groaned, dropping miserably into a rickety chair. “They don’t need to hunt me!”
“Our maker was a renegade,” said the voice. “Courtless. Until we find the Court of Blood and our own dragonflight, the Court of Beasts and the Court of Magi will consider us a threat. Other courts would be eager to gain the favor of a dragonflight… without our own Court to back us we are vulnerable.”
“How do we find our Court then?” Melody asked wearily.
“I don’t know. The Blood Dragonflight will search for us though… a new dragon is too valuable to ignore. We just have to survive until we’re found.”
“We have to get to town,” Melody said. “They’ll be less likely to attack there… I, I have to get ready.”
“Look in the mirror,” commanded the voice. “You’re disguise won’t work. We’ve changed.”
Melody got up and went over to the single old mirror. Her breath left her in a gasp. Even under a layer of dirt and ash and blood, her face was… beautiful. Too pretty to be mistaken for a boy any longer.
“My eyes,” she said, running her fingers over skin the color of ivory. “They’re purple!”
“The color of our dragonflight,” said the voice. “Blood dragons and their vampires all share purple eyes. Your friends will know something is wrong. We need to be careful.”
Melody threw off her stained and dirty clothes, suddenly filled with an uncharacteristic desire for elegance.
“What else do I need to know?” she asked, forced to choose a pair of heavy woolen breeches and a man’s shirt that was several sizes too large.
“You already know it,” the voice said. “I’m your memories. I’m nothing but a way for you to cope with the turning.”
The voice faded away and Melody was left feeling strangely alone as she gathered what little money she had and shrugged on her heavy, fur lined coat. The new memories and knowledge was becoming easier to process and the subconscious piece of her mind that made up the voice, opened. Melody swayed and fell against the doorjamb, feeling like her head was going to split in half. The psychic pressure faded and the girl swore, growling under her breath as she stepped out into the snow.
Within the Endless Skies 