Meet Melody: Part 10

Alright, this short introduction to Melody and her world of magic and monsters has finally drawn to a close. I’m not sure what I’ll be posting next, at least as far as stories go. I’m still having a hard time working through the creative block, but it never lasts too long. It just feels like it to me sometimes.

 

“Enough!” said a soft voice, the gentle tone holding a power that stopped her cold.

 

Melody dropped the man in shock and turned around to see a woman standing beside the docks. She was tall, and dressed in a beautiful gown that looked jarringly out of place in the rustic colony town. Her stunning appearance and shining violet eyes were so distracting that Melody nearly missed the men standing by her side.

 

“Enough!” she repeated, her violet eyes flashing. “Lord Ethan!”

 

Ethan tottered to his feet and backed away, clutching a hand to his torn neck. “Lady Victoria,” he spat. “This matter is the Court of Magi’s to resolve, not the Blood Court’s. The hatchling and her maker are mine!”

 

“This hatchling is not responsible for her maker’s crimes,” Victoria rumbled. “Do what you will with the maker if you can catch her, but you will not touch this hatchling. By right of her rebirth, she is a member of the Blood Court and under our protection!” Fangs glittered in her mouth as she looked at his bleeding throat. “Though by the looks of things, she may not need us much.”

 

Ethan’s face became ugly with rage and he grabbed Melody by the hair and reached out with his free hand. The dragonbone sword, lost during the struggle, came to his hand with a loud smack and he touched the deadly edge to her neck.

 

“I was only getting started!” growled the mage dragon as Victoria’s eyes widened. “The girl is mine! Let me leave peacefully or I will kill her here and now!”

 

“If she dies you will die as well,” she warned as Melody gasped for breath, struggling to force Ethan’s wrist and blade away. “Take care friend, this is an act of war.”

 

“I’m no friend of yours,” Ethan snapped. “And peace died with the aspects! They were the only ones keeping you in check!”

 

Victoria’s face tightened and she took a half step closer. “Look around you! While you fought a harmless hatchling, you put this city in danger and exposed all of us!” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you think they haven’t attacked you in terror?”

 

Ethan backed away, pulling Melody with him. He swallowed anxiously and she could feel his breathing quicken.

 

“My men have seized control of the city,” Victoria said firmly. “The townsfolk have already been evacuated from the area and their memories altered. You cannot face the might of the Blood Court alone Ethan.” Her voice became like granite. “If you had attacked the hatchling while she was still in the tavern you would have been dead already!”

 

“The Court of Magi gave me my orders Victoria,” Ethan insisted stubbornly. “The hatchling comes with me… she may well lead me to her maker!”

 

His grip loosened and Melody took her chance, yanking her head to the side and clamping her fangs down on his exposed wrist. There was a crunching noise as his bones broke, shattering under the force of her bite. He howled in agony and the sword fell as he tore himself free. Melody reached for the blade but Victoria moved before her fingers even touched the hilt, bounding past to drive her fist into Ethan’s gut. The man doubled over and she raised her knee, smashing his jaw. She threw him into the snow, her lip curling in disgust.

 

“The hatchling is under my protection!” she hissed, her eyes blazing. “As is this town! Leave now or I’ll arrest you for exposing us to the humans!”

 

“Escort him out of the colony,” she ordered, turning to her guards. She sighed and shook her head as the beaten man snarled and shook away their hands.

 

“Stubborn fool,” she muttered, turning back to Melody. “Are you alright young one?”

 

Melody nodded nervously, suddenly noticing that the voice seemed to have vanished. “Y… yes my lady.”

 

“You don’t have to be afraid of me hatchling,” Victoria said with a gentle smile. “You’re with family now. What’s your name?”

 

“Melody,” she replied, overawed by Victoria’s strength and beauty. “My… my name is Melody.” She hesitated and looked back at the inn and Mary’s ruined house. “Wh… what happened to my friends?”

 

Victoria’s face fell. “Your friends? My men will have altered their memories by now. If they remember you at all they will think you died in the fires.”

 

Melody’s heart fell and Victoria caught her arms as her knees buckled. “They think that I’m dead…” she mumbled, forcing the words past a lump in her throat. “I won’t be able to see them again will I? I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

 

“I’m sorry Melody, but it’s better this way,” she replied. “Humans don’t do very well in our world.” She squeezed her shoulder. “Come. Let me introduce you to your new family.” Her eyes twinkled and she winked. “Better than a voice in your head I’ll wager.”

 

Melody’s eyes widened. “What? How…”

 

“You aren’t the only one who was left alone when she was turned,” Victoria said gently. “But it gets better. I’ll show you everything you need to know.”

 

End

Meet Melody: Part 9

The man, Ethan, Melody guessed, was lounging on a chair in the corner, blowing smoke rings. He was weaponless and dressed in elegant, if somewhat weatherbeaten, coat and leggings. There was a tricorn hat hanging from a peg by his shoulder. Ethan smoothed his leggings and stood up.

 

“I should have known that Trent would underestimate you,” He said, looking from the sword in her hand to the blood on her side. “He’s strong enough but he’s reckless.”

 

Melody backed away, carefully putting herself between Ethan and her friends. Her eyes flashed and her voice became a rumbling snarl. “What did you do to my friends?”

 

“Nothing,” he said as Mary stirred, mumbling fitfully in her sleep. “Certainly nothing as bad as you would do.”

 

“I won’t hurt my friends,” Melody snapped, louder than she wanted. Mary groaned and she softened her voice. “And I won’t let you hurt them either!”

 

Ethan sighed and took off his coat, folding it carefully and draping it over the back of the chair. “You don’t belong in their world anymore young one. If you stay, they will get hurt… eventually will lose control and kill them.”

 

“Then let me go,” Melody said, the tip of her blade starting to waver. “Let me find my own court.”

 

“No,” Ethan replied, the sudden cold in his voice belying his pleasant smile. “The Court of Blood hardly needs another vampire within its walls… they have more than enough monsters as it is. Besides, your maker was a renegade… Courtless.” His smile turned wicked. “For all I know you would turn out the same.”

 

He paused and his face changed, lengthening as his eyes turned to cat-like slits. “You were born of dragonfire and now you will die by dragonfire!”

 

Melody’s eyes widened as the man’s mouth gaped open. She cried out, diving forward and throwing her arms around his waist as a river of flame roared out of his open jaws. The man howled as her hand closed on his jaw, forcing his fire-breath up and away from her friends. The terrible heat ignited her sleeve and blackened the beams supporting the ceiling, filling the room with thick, acrid smoke. Mary and her husband awoke in fright as Melody roared and drove he knee into Ethan’s groin. The man’s eyes crossed and the fire stopped as she lifted him into the air and threw him through the door.

 

“Run!” she cried, pulling Mary upright. “Go! Out the window!”

 

There was a flash of light and something hot hit her between the shoulderblades, the strange energy causing her muscles to spasm and her teeth to click painfully together. She cried out in pain, shielding her friends with her body as a second bolt thundered in. The dragon bellowed inside her as Mary and her husband scrambled to safely and she turned in a fury to catch a third blast in the palm of her hand. The pain put her on her knees and suddenly Ethan was towering over her.

 

“You’re no vampire,” he rumbled, grabbing her by the hair and slamming her to the floor. “The courtless made a dragon!”

 

The floor splintered and cracked as Melody tried to resist his strength. His foot caught her where her neck met her shoulder and suddenly she was in the air, turning a wall into rubble. She was on her feet an instant before Ethan reached her. Her hand closed on a fallen beam as she rose and she used it like a club, her dragon’s strength sending Ethan reeling. She followed, dropping the ruined beam as she closed in, her torn dress flapping in the wind.

 

Ethan gave ground, rocked back on his heels by the power of her blows. He howled in pain as her fangs closed on his neck, her arms closing around him in a backbreaking hug. He grabbed at her head, his fingers lengthening and twisting into talons as she ripped free, the wound on his neck oozing black blood.

 

Lightning lanced from his mouth, nearly bowling Melody over as it struck her in the face. This bolt hurt more than the rest and she stumbled away, tears streaming from her eyes. The dragon’s roar became thunder in Melody’s ears and the heat in her throat changed, dropping into her chest. Her mouth opened and she turned blindly, spitting fire the color of blood.

 

“Dragon’s don’t fear the flames!” thundered Ethan as his clothes began to smoulder and steam. He reached out and caught Melody by the throat, stopping her burning breath.

 

“Then fear my thirst!” Melody gasped, her anger lending her strength as she bent Ethan’s hand back on itself. The mage dragon’s eyes widened as her furious power forced him to his knees. Her fangs glittered in the dark and she leaned closer, eager to taste his blood again.

Meet Melody: Part 8

This one is a bit longer. I haven’t really had much that I’ve felt like saying in the last few days but hopefully I’ll have a couple of blogs to post next week. Enjoy the next piece of Melody’s origin story while you wait. Let me know what you think.

“Our powers are growing,” said the voice as Melody slipped away. “Soon you won’t need me anymore.”

She grunted, wishing suddenly that her maker was with her. At least then, if the voice did stop, she wouldn’t be quite so alone.

The sight of the stables distracted her and she jumped easily to the rooftops, her feet crunching softly in the snow as she circled, leaping from one building to the next. She found her prey sitting by a roaring fire, looking even bigger and more beastly than she remembered.

Gavin looked up as she dropped to the ground and stepped into the firelight.

“Who’re you?” he asked suspiciously. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m a little lost,” she replied. “I arrived on the last ship and don’t know the town very well yet.” She gave a sheepish laugh. “I must have taken a wrong turning.”

The man’s piggish eyes glittered with barely concealed lust as he rose ponderously to his feet. “Well we wouldn’t want you to be late now would we? Got a husband at home waiting for you?”

Melody smiled sweetly and shook her head. “No. I don’t have anyone really.”

Gavin’s face twisted in what was meant to be a friendly smile. “You look cold dearie. Come into the tack room. I’ll get you a blanket and then I’ll help you find your way home.”

“You’re too kind,” Melody said, resisting the urge to tear out his throat right then and there. She followed him into the dark stable. “You seem like a good man.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Gavis spun around, his meaty hands reaching for her arms. She curled her lip in anger and disgust, planting her palm in his thick chest. The blow knocked the big man to the ground and she knelt beside him, watching him gasp for breath. His face paled as Melody bared her sharp teeth. He tried to scream but the noise was cut short as her fangs sank into the soft flesh below his ear. Melody growled in annoyance as he thrashed, batting at her with his thick arms and heavy fists. After several long moments his movements slowed and she released him, tearing away part of his shirt to wipe her bloodied mouth.

“Either drain him or heal him,” said the voice. “If you leave him as he is, he will turn.”

“A dragon?” asked Melody, staring down at the gasping man.

“No,” growled the voice. “A vampire. We were… different.”

Gavin’s eyes fluttered open and he moaned miserably as Melody leaned closer, tempted by the blood seeping from his mangled neck. She growled and bit her wrist, pressing it to the man’s mouth. He gagged and writhed but she tightened her grip, watching in fascination as the bite on his neck closed and blood returned to his face.

“You will leave on the next ship,” Melody said, transfixing Gavin with her eyes. “And you will never harm another human being for as long as you live!” Her eyes narrowed. “You will not remember me.”

The man nodded stupidly and got up, tottering away past the fire and into the sleeping city.

“You should have killed him,” said a voice from the far side of the stable. “ ‘Twould make me feel better about killing you.”

Melody tensed and turned around to see a man dressed in buckskin and furs, leaning lazily on the door. He adjusted his cap, puffing contentedly on an ornate pipe, watching her with bright, blue eyes.

“I thought that this job would be fun,” He said with a sigh. “I was hoping to finally test my strength against a dragon… but I guess a vampire will have to do.”

“Vampire?” Melody asked warily, backing away.

The stranger shrugged off his coat and drew a slender sword from its scabbard. “Your maker didn’t even tell you what you are? Maybe your death will be a mercy after all.”

He bolted down the aisle, the point of his blade narrowly missing Melody’s shoulder as she ducked away. She vaulted into the nearest stall, slipping past a frantic horse to break through the wall with her shoulder. Snow sprayed from under her feet as she skidded around a corner with the stranger hot on her heels.

“Bloods and Beasts. Think they’re the strongest,” he taunted as he followed Melody to the rooftops. “The fastest. They’ve  never fought a battle master….”

Melody snarled and spun on her heel, driving her fist into the man’s gut as his sword cut a deep gash above her hip. She roared in pain and caught the man by the wrist and throat, levering the blade away from her body.

“You’re stronger than I thought leech,” he panted, planting his feet on the slippery roof. “It won’t help… steel might not hurt you, but dragonbone blades will….”

His eyes widened as Melody’s eyes began to blaze and she forced his arms apart.

“I’m not a leech!” she roared, her fangs shining in the darkness. “I’m a dragon!”

The mage gasped, dropping his sword as Melody wrenched him in and closed her jaws on his neck. Her mouth still dripping, she dropped the man to the snow, kicking his blade away.

“Leave me alone!” she growled as he gasped for breath, clutching his neck. “If you’re a mage, then my bite won’t turn you, but if you come after me again it doesn’t mean I won’t try!”

“You won’t make it out of the city,” the mage rasped as she turned to leave. “Even if you are a dragon…. Better check on your friends, Ethan isn’t as merciful as I am.”

There was a loud crack as Melody punched him in the jaw, loosening his teeth and laying him out cold. She snatched up the mage’s blade and dropped to the ground, sprinting madly through the streets to the tavern. The door shattered under her hand as she opened it. Before the broken wood even touched the floor she was through the second door and inside Mary’s bedroom.

“Shh…” said a voice. “They’re still sleeping.”

Meet Melody: Part 7

Melody followed her back outside and down the street to Mary’s home, a small, isolated building at the edge of the harbor.

“You don’t need to do this,” she said. “I can just stay in the kitchen for the night.”

Mary shook her head. “We have more than enough room for you here.” Her face hardened. “We’ve had one of the girls staying here with us for the last few days.”

“What happened?” asked Melody, narrowing her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

The woman sighed and went around the room, lighting candles. “One of the night watchmen tried to attack her last week. She got away, but he’s been bothering her ever since. Mark took her home this afternoon so her bed’s empty tonight.”

“She was attacked by a watchman?” Melody asked, feeling the dragon stir with sudden anger. “Hasn’t anyone done anything?”

“No one else believes the girl,” was the reply. “It’s her word against Gavin’s. But I’ve seen the bruises Melody… I’m afraid of what could happen if he gets her alone again.”

“Gavin?” Melody growled. Her fangs began to lengthen. “The blacksmith’s son? How’d an animal like him ever make the watch?”

“His father’s well respected,” Mary answered. “And Gavin’s the one of the most skilled fighters in town. When he’s around the sailors don’t cause as much trouble.” Her jaw tightened. “As long as his aid outweighs his sins, the officials look the other way.”

She stopped by the door, taking a deep breath. “But don’t listen to me. I have to go check on my husband. Why don’t you make yourself at home? Get some rest.”

Melody nodded and she left, closing the door gently behind her as she went. The vampire dropped to extra cot, not bothering to crawl under the covers. She remembered Gavin well, a brutish, leering boy whose bullying had terrified many of the other children in the colony town. His reputation for cruelty had been well known and she had always taken great pains to avoid him. The thirst prickled in her throat and she suddenly found herself wondering what it would feel like to sink her teeth into his neck.

“We’re still a newborn,” said the voice. “The wolves were not enough, we will need more. He would do well as a meal.”

Melody’s insides churned and she closed her eyes. The hunters were waiting beyond the town limits and she instinctively knew that she would have no choice but to feed. She heard Mary returning with her husband and stilled, feigning sleep. the door opened and their voices softened. She listened halfheartedly, too distracted by the thirst to pay much attention. After what felt to her like hours, the couple went to bed. When they were finally asleep, Melody got up, leaving as quietly as a ghost.

She caught the first watchman she found by surprise, dragging him backwards into the darkness. He cried out in shock as she slammed him into a wall.

“Where is Gavin?” she asked, her violet eyes shining as they bored into the helpless man.

“By the stables,” the man mumbled, his eyes going blank and his jaw slack. “His watch ends in an hour.”

“The eyes are the doorway to the human’s soul,” hissed the voice. “His mind is ours… erase yourself and leave him to his work.”

“Forget me,” she growled, dropping the man to the ground. “Go back to your post.”

Meet Melody: Part 5

I’m too tired to think of an intro, so here you go.

She pulled Melody back into the room, away from the crowded common room. “What are you doing here like this? I thought…” she hesitated. “Melody, what happened to you? Your eyes!”

“It’s a long story,” Melody said. She looked around as one of the cooks slipped and pricked her finger on a knife. The scent of blood filled her nostrils and she swallowed uncomfortably as the thirst began to return. “Mary, I need help. Do you have my room open?”

Mary hesitated again and nodded, leading her up the back stair to a small but cozy room on the inn’s third floor. The woman bustled about, lighting candles and oil lamps.

“I’ll have my girls bring up coal for the brazier,” she said as she worked. She looked at Melody in concern. “Are you sure you’re okay? Is there anything I can get for you?”

Melody shook her head, struggling to ignore the sound of her friend’s heartbeat. “No… no, I’m fine. I just need a place to rest.”

Mary stared at her carefully for a long moment and left with a nod.

Sounds of the inn and town outside filled her sensitive ears as she stripped off her coat and crossed to the frosted window. Her eyes pierced the darkness outside, cutting through the dark and the smoke. Clouds obscured the sky and it had started to snow. She glanced up, momentarily forgetting the burning of the thirst as she saw past the cloud cover and into the endless stars.

“It almost makes up for the thirst,” whispered the voice. It look Melody a long moment to realize that the thought was her own.

“I guess I’m getting used to this,” she mumbled, groaning as she dropped into the soft bed.

There were footsteps in the hall outside and she sighed, realizing that she could recognize Mary by the smell of her blood.

“Thanks for doing this Mary,” she said, closing her eyes as the door opened. “Something happened, I….”

There was a clicking noise and her eyes snapped open.

“What are you?” demanded Mary, leveling her husband’s flintlock pistol at Melody’s head. The weapon wavered slightly, matching her trembling voice. “I’ve heard the stories! You’re not my friend!”

Melody froze. “Mary, no, it’s me….”

The woman shook her head, frightened tears filling her eyes as she edged closer. “No! You’re a vampire, a demon! What did you do to Melody?”

Melody started to move, started to reassure her friend but Mary panicked, her finger tightening on the trigger. The gun went off with the sound of thunder and something hard hit her in the head, knocking her back into the soft pillows. The bullet, glancing off of her iron hard skin, slammed into the oil lamp on the stand by the bed. Shouts and screams filled the air as flames spread through the room, biting hungrily into the bedding and wooden walls. Mary dropped the gun and clapped her hands to her mouth in horror, screaming hysterically as Melody jumped to her feet and dove headlong through the window.

She landed easily on her feet in the street below, the voice screaming at her to run.

“No,” she growled, forcing the voice away as she looked up at the smoke pouring from the shattered window. “Mary!”

Guests inside, already unnerved by the gunshots and screams, turned in shock as Melody burst through the door.

“Fire!” she screamed. “The inn’s on fire! Everyone out! Get the buckets!”

Meet Melody: Part 4

Melody wasn’t actually supposed to be a blood dragon, or even a dragon at all. When I first created the character, she was a photographer, struggling to survive in the city. I had intended for her to meet a dragon, but as I began to write her main story, set some 250 years after this timeline, she became the dragon and Barnabus the human. Blood dragons were also an accident, created as I simplified an overly complicated system for dragon society and magic.

“When I talk to you, you know you’re talking to yourself right?” asked the voice after a moment. “I’m magic and the memories your maker passed on, nothing more.”

“Well your company’s still better than nothing,” Melody growled, coming to a stop on the hill overlooking the settlement. Her eyes focused on the people moving through the growing evening. She cocked her head, suddenly hearing a complaining lamplighter as if she were standing at his side.

“What am I looking for?” she asked, more to herself than to the voice. “How do I know if there are more supernaturals down there?”

A sound in the distant forest behind her brought her around with a start. To her new eyes, the evening was still as clear and bright as it had been at mid-day. Movement on the trail to her cabin caught her eye and her breath quickened.

“I think you had better worry about what’s out here!” warned the voice. “Quick! Hide in the town!”

With barely a thought, she was in town, moving almost more quickly than the eye could see. One of the night watchmen swore in shock as she went, the wind from her passing lifting the tricorn hat from his head. She stopped in the darkness not far away, resisting a sudden and overwhelming urge to laugh.

“This isn’t funny,” grumped the voice. “We should get inside before the hunters get here.”

Melody nodded, slipping through the streets unseen, her new powers making it easy to hide from watchmen and townsfolk alike. She stopped beside a small tavern by the waterfront, owned by the husband of a woman she had known in the orphanage. The woman, a pleasant girl named Mary, and her husband, were the only people in the colony that knew her secret.

The common room was crowded and Melody kept her head down, ignoring the raucous noise and curious glances as she crossed to the kitchen. Mary looked up as she opened the door.

“Melody?” she hissed, her eyes widening in surprise. “Is that you?”

Meet Melody: Part 3

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.

Through the Bridge of Worlds: Part 2

I’ve only read a few stories that deal with alternate history and technology, steampunk and gearpunk and the like. The idea of a world where technology took a different path always intrigued me and was a part of the reasoning for this particular story.

The man smiled. “My name is Baird. This is the capital city of Revalan. Do… do you remember anything? Anything at all?”

“Reapers,” Blink whispered, struggling to piece together her past. “They attacked Mauradin. I tried to stop them but… but they captured me.”

“Mauradin?” asked Baird. “There’s no place called Mauradin here.”

“You dreamed of me,” Blink said, her head still swimming. She looked over at the wide window and up through the tattered clouds at the single moon. She pointed. “I… I don’t belong here. This… this is wrong.”

She stared at Baird as he sat down, forgetting for a moment that the mask was still hiding half of her face. “I’m not crazy.” She tried to sit up. “The Reapers, their magic did something to me.”

“You appeared out of thin air, right on my porch,” Baird said carefully. “It happened right in front of me. It was like magic.”

“It was magic,” Blink said sourly as she lifted the mask, fighting the headache as it threatened to return. “What else could it be.”

Baird moved his chair closer, folding his hands together. “Magic doesn’t exist here miss. It hasn’t for hundreds of years.”

“Well it exists where I came from,” Blink growled, squinting her eyes as the headache began to lessen. “Damn it, Damn it, Damn it! I need to get home.” She stood up too quickly and nearly fell. Baird caught her shoulders, helping her catch her balance. She glanced at him. “Were there ever two moons in your sky?”

“Once,” Baird answered. “I’ve read legends about a second moon in the sky. People used magic and traveled freely between the worlds.” He got up and looked up at the night sky. “The elves say they came from somewhere else. They still tell the stories if you ask them.” He turned on Blink with a strange expression on his face. “But I’ve never even heard stories of a kingdom named Mauradin. And that still doesn’t explain why I saw you in my dream.”

Blink, transfixed by the spectacle of the strange city, didn’t answer for a moment. “Seers say that dreams bridge the worlds,” she said softly. She looked at Baird. “But you don’t look like a seer.”

Baird blinked. “I’m not a seer, I’m a storyteller.”

“Maybe you are a seer after all,” Blink quipped. “All the seers I know love to tell wild stories.” She put her hand on the window, pushing out into the cool night air.

“Where are you going?” asked Baird, following her out onto the flat, rooftop patio.

The woman held up her hand as a chilly wind began to blow. “Hold still,” she commanded. “Reapers… they’re coming. Back, back inside!”

Meet Melody: Part 2

If you haven’t guessed yet, I have an odd imagination. One slightly demented result is the blood dragon, the most feared member of the three dragonflights. All dragons refuel their innate magical abilities by “consuming life force”. Wild dragons and mage dragons hunt prey, typically devouring it whole, but blood dragons drain their victim’s blood, allowing them to leave victims alive.

“What are you talking about?” screamed Melody, a deep growl ripping from somewhere deep in her chest.

“We’re a blood dragon now,” the voice snapped. “I’m your ancestral memories. The one who turned us should be helping us, but right now I’m all we’ve got! So shut up and listen!”

She froze in shock as a vision of a tremendous creature with shining red, black, and purple scales popped into her head. The dragon spread its sail like wings and roared, spouting flames. She felt the beast inside of her at the same moment, straining, begging to be unleashed.

“No!” commanded the voice. “Not yet! Not here!” Melody subsided, her breath coming in great, heaving gasps as the voice continued. “Blood dragons don’t need to show their true form. You have all the strength you need as you are.”

“My throat,” she choked. “It hurts!”

“It’s the thirst,” said the voice. “We have to feed!”

*

Melody dropped the last wolf to the ground, wiping blood from her mouth as her fangs receded. She looked around at the four others, equal parts horrified and exhilarated. The  wolf pack, once so terrifying as she followed her trapline,  had been no match for her newfound strength and ferocity. It had been a simple thing to chase them down and drain them, their jaws not even scratching her skin in the few moments they had to fight.

“I killed them,” she panted, the thirst finally sated. “I drank their blood!”

“You’re a blood dragon now,” the voice said. “One of the three great dragonflights! As well as the most powerful vampires in the world!”

“Vampire?” she whimpered, sinking to her knees as she stared at the slaughtered wolves. “Blood dragon? No… no, no, no, this can’t be real….”

“It’s real,” snapped the voice, losing patience. “But our turning attracted attention! We should go, we’ve been out here too long already.”

In the War of Light and Shadow: Part 1

I know, I know, most of you have probably already seen this on Blogger. It’s a little bit of a mess, but I’m going to be moving most, if not all of my Blogspot content here to wordpress over the next few days. If you enjoy it, please comment and share. Thanks

Aravos had been a paladin once, a defender of good and a powerful champion of the light. The Bulwark had been his home and defending the Kingdom of Stone, his life’s work. Now he was imprisoned, trapped in the sunless depths of the king’s dungeons. The cell was small, barely wide enough for the elf to stretch out on the chilly floor. The only light came from the ghostly blue runes etched into his silvery, metallic skin. Hunger gnawed at his belly; he couldn’t remember the last time the prison wardens had brought him food. Not that it mattered much now, not with the dark magic that kept him alive. Well, sort of alive.

His keen ears caught a distant sound and he frowned. The tap tap of boots on stone grew closer and he stood wearily, the heavy chains that bound his limbs clanking loudly as he moved against the wall. Torchlight stung his eyes as the door slammed open.

“So you are still alive,” boomed a deep voice. A paladin in shining, golden armor stared at him with cold eyes, flanked by a pair of knights.

“Ser Halvor,” Aravos replied cooly. “It seems that death has not seen fit to claim me yet.” He narrowed his eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“The king requests your presence,” Halvor grunted. He stepped aside. “Though why he wants to have an audience with a traitor is beyond me.”

Aravos shuffled out into the hall, trying to ignore the knight’s drawn weapons. He was thin, little more than skin and bones and between the large soldiers and the massive paladin, he looked even smaller. He winced as one of the knights pushed his shoulder with a plated hand. His eyes flashed and he shot the man a dark glare. Less than a year ago he would have towered over the man, dressed in his own battle armor. Now, the man glared back and shook his sword.

“Move!”

Halvor hesitated by a heavy door. “It’s daylight. If you go out in the sun will you survive until we reach the palace?”

“I’m a Deathknight, not a vampire,” Aravos growled. “And I’m undying, not undead. There’s a difference. The sun’s no threat to me.”

“You fought for the damned king,” snapped the paladin. “You lead the undead against your own brothers, you commanded them… you are no different from the rest.”

“My will was not my own,” said the Deathknight, squinting his eyes against the blinding sunlight. “You know that as well as anyone. When Ser Zeffron freed my mind I turned myself in to the Church of Light. Does that sound like the undead to you?”

“Shut up,” rumbled the paladin. He started to continue but was cut off as screams and cries rose from the city below. He hefted his hammer and gestured at Aravos. “Get him out of here! Now!”

There was an explosion that shook the ground, knocking the weakened prisoner to his knees. The knights swore and grabbed him by the arms, hoisting him back to his feet as the paladin sprinted away. Aravos resisted feebly, helpless against their strength.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “What’s happening?”

“Don’t you already know?” snarled one of the soldiers. “You’re one of them!”

“Quiet!” cried the other. “Just help me get him to the palace!”

Aravos would have whitened if he hadn’t already been the color of pale silver. “The undead… they’ve breached the Bulwark.”

A second explosion rocked the ground and Aravos fell a second time. “They have throwers,” he panted. “That means it’s an invasion not a raid. You need to kill the commander, break their strength!”

One of the knights stopped and leveled his blade at Aravos’ throat. “You were their leader once! Why don’t we just kill you? How do we know that you aren’t causing this?”

“We take him to the king!” said the other, urgently laying a hand on his companion’s arm. “We have our orders!”

“Killing me won’t make a bit of difference,” Aravos said calmly. “You need to get these people to safety before the wall falls.”

The knight’s blade wavered. “They won’t make it through the wall… they can’t….”

Aravos bared his teeth in disgust. “You’ve never even been at the front lines have you? Do you even know what those throwers are casting? Didn’t you hear me say that the undead are already inside?”

Something slammed into the walkway ahead of them, throwing them to the ground and showering them with dust. The knights lurched to their feet, raising their weapons as a hideous shape emerged from the choking dust. Its flesh was putrid and discolored, crisscrossed with oozing scars, held together by sloppy stitchwork. Its hands were gone, replaced by rusted iron hooks. A single milky eye rolled in its socket, locking on the knights and the prisoner as they shifted nervously. Aravos could see the blood drain from their faces as the monster moaned.

“It’s a flesh golem,” he said quickly, wishing fervently for a blade of his own. “An abomination! Strong but slow! Don’t let it get you in a corner!”

The first knight swore and charged recklessly, driving his blade into the creature’s barrel-like chest. It roared, more in rage than pain, and swatted the knight with a heavy arm, catching him in the stomach with the hook and hurling him into the air. It pulled clumsily at the blade in its ribs, slashing its own flesh as it hooked the sword’s hilt and tugged it free. The weapon clattered to the floor covered in black ooze, forgotten.

“Take the legs!” Aravos yelled to the surviving knight as the undead thing shuffled forward. “Knock it down and take its head!”

The man yelled and darted forward, ducking a wild swing from the beast’s hook hand as he hacked at a monstrous leg. It growled and stumbled, crashing into a wall as it waved its arms, keeping the knight at bay. Aravos gathered his strength and ran forward, throwing himself at the fallen sword. The knight, too distracted by the undead thing’s deadly hooks to notice the elf, cried out in pain as a blow caught his shoulder.

Aravos swore and snatched up the dead knight’s blade, nicking his thumb with the keen edge. He traced a rune on the hilt, feeling the magic in his runic tattoos begin to awaken. The red symbol flashed and the Deathknight cried out as the magic flooded his body, swelling and healing his withered body and filling out his gaunt frame. The crude rune flashed a second time and icy chains spat from his outstretched hand, wrapping around the golem and pulling it to the ground. The knight yelled in triumph and brought his sword down in a sweeping arc, parting the beast’s head from its shoulders. It fell to the ground with a wet thump, still bound by chains of frost.

“Is it dead?” asked the knight, menacing the fallen golem with his gore spattered blade.

“Yes,” Aravos replied, examining the fallen knight. “But there are more of them. We need to get to the wall and kill the horde’s leader.”

“What about him?” asked the knight, gesturing at the fallen soldier. “Is he…?”

“Gone,” Aravos grunted, gently closing the dead man’s eyes. He stood and spread his manacled hands. “Come on. Let me out of these, we need to get to the gate.”