Josh dreams of dragons.
He thinks it's just a welcome escape from everyday life. Until one morning, he wakes up with scales, wings, and a tail.
Josh faces a harsh new reality: he has become something that shouldn't exist outside the pages of his fan...
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The black dragon took a few silent steps toward me. His dark outline was blurred by the dim light, and his eyes were not glowing red like before. He was nearly invisible, a mere wisp of a shadow moving through the trees, but he was unmistakable even before his words reached me.
"You see now why I've become like this," he addressed me in English as he walked, his voice disembodied. It almost didn't sound like him—the silky arrogance usually present in his speech was gone. The words were plain and emotionless.
He made a flicking movement with his head, and several glowing orbs sprung to life in the air around him, throwing milky light that reflected weakly off his scales, except for bright lines marking the complex symbols twisting across his hide. His eyes were gold like mine.
A long sigh came from the other dragon as he looked at me. "Listen, Ayreth, I'm very sorry about what happened, and I do understand a little bit about how you must be feeling." He let the words hang in the air.
I lay still, ignoring him.
"I followed your scent from the house," the black dragon continued. "It's not difficult, even when I can't follow your athka, which I see you've learned to conceal." He moved closer to me. "I knew you'd go off to the clan before long to get some training."
"Get away from me," I shot back.
He ignored my command. "It was smart. You didn't risk anything, you didn't commit. You thought you could still have everything you wanted. Coming back to find this...that must be hard."
I said nothing. I was too exhausted to try to run or fight, so I sat glaring at Ares. There was nothing left for me to hold on to; he could have walked up and ripped my throat out for all I cared. "Maybe it would be better than living like this," I thought.
His features hardened; he let out a low growl before speaking again. "It's a tragedy what happened to them. And at the hands of that man," he spat. "Don't you see? It's the way humans are. Cruelty, fear, anger...murder."
I shivered slightly, averting my eyes and looking down at a puddle. Reflections of the magical lights trembled on its surface. "I...I just want them back."
Ares stood still, and something changed in his breathing. "I want her back too," he said in a soft, almost tender voice.
My brow furrowed; something about Ares bothered me. He seemed empty somehow. Like there was something missing from the dragon that made him less solid. I soon figured out what it was: his athka.
When mine had been open to him, I could sense his own spirit in return. But now we both had walled off our athkan, and there was no mental connection to be sensed between us. It was startling to me once I realized it. But I could still read something in his face and posture. Sadness was slowly and silently taking him over.
