Mentored in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

“Dragons hunt in the night or early morning, when the wilds are most active. The larger, more powerful dragons usually make the first and largest kills. The smaller, weaker dragons go out after they do. As such, the weaker dragons make it to their nests later. The more powerful ones should be rousing now, at their height of energy.”

“You didn’t plan to make it easy on me, huh?”

“What would be the fun in that?”

The dragons were getting larger now, some glittering with multiple colors and others more monochrome. A few lifted their heads now, peering at us as we passed. Their acute stares, intelligence behind those slitted eyes, made my stomach churn with equal parts fear and excitement.

“They sense your magic,” Lucifer said quietly. “They wouldn’t bother looking up at me, knowing I have already bonded. But you are just as powerful in a different way, I am sure of it. It is rousing their interest. You will have your pick of the best today, mark my words. You will make a good match. A noble match.”

I preened. He’d said “noble.”

“We are coming up on the larger dragons now,” he murmured. “Most of these have not been bonded, to my knowledge.”

Pushed off from the path, none of these had shelter, unless they’d created a sort of burrow between the trees. They lifted their mighty heads to watch us as we made our way past, their wings fluttering at their sides. One’s tail lifted, the end spiked like a dinosaur. That would put a few holes in my middle.

“They are regal creatures, and they don’t settle,” Lucifer said. “They are pure of heart and intent. If they choose you, it means they believe in you. They will never let you down, not if they can help it. They will fight with you to the death. Once they choose someone, that’s it for them, for life. It’s a decision they do not make lightly.”

A strange sort of tension wormed through me as one of the dragons pushed to its feet, the motion shaking the tall grouping of trees next to its bed. It didn’t move forward, though, and it wasn’t looking at me. Its focus was on Cahal behind me, who was watching it with wary eyes tinged with excitement. We were clearly entering the territory of dragons of the level that would take notice of him.

Great trees rose into the sky, much denser the farther in we got. Bushes grew in size, too, covering more of the land. Shapes moved within the shadows, looking out at us through the cover of foliage. Some dragons stepped out now, watching us pass.

“Those have riders,” Lucifer said, noticing them. “They are taking an interest, though. I have never escorted someone through here, not even my staff. I always come alone. These dragons are wondering why the change. Soon everyone will know of my heir.”

“Because they’ll sense my magic?” I asked, my voice unnaturally subdued. Anxiety ran through me as I witnessed the raw power of these creatures pushing up to their feet, moving toward and around us.

“Yes.” He left it at that.

A pastel-pink dragon roared, the sound infused with magic, and a wave of darkness swept over me. Depression rose and tried to pull me under, dragging tears from my eyes, until the last echoes faded away. The beast stomped out through the trees. Wood cracked and branches swayed, leaves raining down. Into the clearing it went, its great wings snapping out to either side, the ends sporting wicked claws. It huffed, and smoke billowed out of its nostrils.

“That’s yours, obviously,” I said to Cahal.

“Dragons don’t belong—”

“Yes, yes, I know.” I fashioned a sword out of air and stepped in front of him, blocking the way. “It’s your favorite color, though. Match made in heaven.”

His large, strong hand covered my shoulder, and he gently pushed me to the side. “I would rather die by the efforts of this mighty creature than watch you slowly lose your mind and eventually give in to madness and kill me. I will take what comes, sword or no.”

“Its roar especially suits you, Mr. Downer.”

The dragon lumbered closer, at least twelve feet high, its broad chest filling before it blew out a blast of blistering fire, spraying the area in front of us. I threw up an ice shield immediately, keeping the heat from washing over Cahal and rendering him crispy.

I sent a blast of icy air to push the beast back until we sorted this out. It trumpeted, surprised, before crashing through the trees behind it and lowering its head, focused on me now. It crouched there, waiting.

“I didn’t bring you here to see you get killed,” I said. “What’s the plan? You wanted to see them, but you didn’t say anything about choosing one. You don’t have your sword, remember?”