Ember of Hope

“Who’s there?” Raegan yelled in the night “I know you are there”. She grabbed Sarah’s hand and pulled her towards the shack like structure they were currently residing in. whoever there was, probably just wanted to scare them. Well – bugger – she did get scared easily. However much she loved watching scary movies; they always made her heart beat go bat shit.

It was Sarah’s idea to have a girl’s night in the middle of a forest. If they survived this, she was going to kill her best friend who had her screws loose. May be she was to blame for Sarah’s insane idea because she had been spending so much time with Valiance, almost completely ignoring Sarah in an altogether different world. But in her defense, she was giving Damien time to woo Sarah. Uh huh… keep telling yourself that… So after they’d come back from visiting Val’s mother; Sarah had come up with this insane plan. And now they were here.

It was almost half an hour ago when they heard flapping of multiple wings in the air above the woods where they were lying on a picnic blanket; star-gazing. They thought it was Val and Damien just coming to check on them but soon enough Raegan could tell it wasn’t his flapping of wings. She couldn’t feel him nearby. Which meant Damien wasn’t there either. Those two were like joined by hips.

It couldn’t be a prank pulled by anyone else because nobody wanted to die at the hands of the running champion of the annual face-off Valiance D’evreux who could zap their asses to moon if they so much as breathed wrong in Raegan’s direction. Whoever it was; wasn’t friendly. And that was what made the hair on her neck stand up in fear. She and Sarah were taking self-defense sessions for sure, and Raegan was also learning combat with Valiance and General Roth but they still couldn’t fight off a dragon… let alone multiple dragon. Not while they remained in their dragon forms. And by the flapping of wings earlier and the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs outside; she could tell there were more than one dragon.

She had packed her fighting blades just to be safe because she was wary of wild animals. Now it seemed like they were about to come in handy.

A loud bang shook the walls. It was like someone was trying to break the door. They were dragons; they could easily turn this ratty old hut into rubble if they wanted. They were clearly trying to scare them – they were toying with them. Proving her right, a sing songy voice called out “come out come out little rabbits”.

Blades in both hands; she stood in front of Sarah, protecting her friend. She had easily slipped into the role of an alpha female. She wasn’t going to let down her mate by getting scared of these cowards outside who thought scaring two unarmed human girls was bravery.

Not completely unarmed she thought not the point because they didn’t know that fact. She was scared alright. But she wasn’t going to lose it because her friend was also in harm’s way and was clearly shaken and scared. So, according to their girl code, only one of them could lose it at a time. And today was Sarah’s turn.

“What are we going to do Ray?” Sarah’s voice trembled from behind Raegan.

Upon hearing Sarah’s question, an idea popped in Raegan’s mind and she whispered it to Sarah. Quietly they moved towards the back door. And as soon as the front door banged again, she creaked open the back door masking its sound in the bang of the front door. And they slipped outside making a mad dash away from there. They weren’t too far away from the fortress thanks to Valiance – may be they could make it.

It was a mistake. Because in front of them sat not one, not two, but three huge dragons blocking their path. Even if her aim was perfect, she could only kill two of them. They were outnumbered, helpless, and weak.

“What do you want?” She yelled keeping Sarah behind her. In answer there was a chuckle from behind them. The footsteps were light enough to indicate that whoever it was wasn’t in his dragon form.

He came forward in her line of sight. It was a man not too much older than her in human years – may be 27-28… dark hair and burnt gold eyes that flashed in the moonlight. He was handsome for a criminal which he obviously was if the feral gleam in his eyes was any indication.

“Isn’t that obvious sweetheart? Well, I’ll spell it out for you because I’m sure fear has burnt your brain cells for the moment”. He grinned at his own stupid joke. “I want you and your pretty little friend there. Trust me, I won’t bite”. He grinned again. “I’m only joking. I will bite. And you’ll enjoy it”. He winked at her, still grinning like an idiot.

A growl sounded in the air and she realized that it was coming from her own throat. He chuckled again. GOD this man was a bloody clown – “Feisty little thing, aren’t you sweetheart?” he stepped forward casually.

“Come near us and I’ll rip you open from balls to throat”. She snarled. He annoyingly laughed again. “Come now sweetheart is this any way to talk to your future husband?”

This time it was her turn to laugh – in disgust “oh you wish”.

“Trust me sweetheart I always get what I wish for. Now if you don’t mind we should be on our way to your new home”.

She was severely outnumbered and almost out of ideas by this point. If she was being kidnapped she had to leave something behind for Valiance to search for her… to know where they might be. This guy was in human form, he might be good in fighting, and he might be quick. But the three dragons – she could try to kill one of them if she was fast enough and accurate enough.

“You can’t outrun four of us love. So stop working your pretty little head and come along. We’ve already wasted enough time”.

Decision made, her hand shot up and her knife struck precisely between the eyes of one of the unsuspecting dragons.

“You bitch” the man snarled and lunged towards her but she took advantage of those precious seconds and threw the other knife at the soft throat of the same dragon to ensure his death; who was now busy in bellowing and falling over his feet.

Her knives had done their work and now his bellows might have woken every one up. The man back handed her so hard that she fell over… tripping Sarah along.

“Grab them and fly you idiots. What are you waiting for? An invitation?” he yelled at his dragons and shifted instantly.

She tried to get up but her head spin so hard she hit the ground again. And the next thing she knew claws were grabbing her and Sarah who was now screaming. She was afraid no doubt – but a part of her knew that Valiance would find her and she’ll meet him again. This wasn’t the end of them. She had left a dead dragon as his first clue after all. He’ll know who they were. And he’ll come for her. And she knew Damien would be there by his side.

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