2
Halo
Daylight burned away the early morning mist and warmed the air. I thanked the sun for heating our bones, especially since I was walking around the mountains with only half a shirt.
Cinderhollow loomed in the distance, but my anxiety about what it would be like so many years in the future tempered my curiosity.
So close, yet so far.
I was well aware that I needed to enter town eventually. A cavern wouldn’t do for raising a child, especially since I’d come so far and given up so much just to be here. We needed food, clothes, and a proper roof over our heads.
But travelling through time had drained most of my energy, both mental and magical. It would take a long period of rest to regain full use of my powers. The best course of action was to lay low until the peak of my magic returned, then enter town - armed and ready, just in case.
In my arms, Angel began fussing again. She frowned and let out tiny grunts of discomfort. It wouldn’t be long before she began crying, and I needed her to be as quiet as possible.
“You must be hungry,” I said sympathetically. “I’ll hunt for you.”
I hoped game meat was as prevalent in the mountains as it was when I left. Farther out into the wilderness, you could barely walk without kicking a pheasant by accident. Those dumb, fat birds floundered at staying hidden, and were even worse at flying. If my luck held, I’d be able to catch a handful of them easily.
Cautiously hoping for the best, I crawled up the ravine. To my surprise, I recognized a familiar ridge where I used to hunt for fun back when I was a teenager. Perhaps things hadn’t changed much in four hundred years.
I hope that’s just the case for the environment, and not Cinderhollow’s society…
Thick brush covered the ground and provided cover for the birds. I gently shushed Angel as she began to grumble.
“Just one second, hon,” I promised. “We’re gonna eat some fried pheasant soon enough.”
A low clucking sound within the shrubs made me freeze. Listening carefully, I recognized the familiar noises as pheasants, just like I predicted.
Even though it’s been four hundred years, those birds are still as dumb as ever,I thought smugly.
The easiest way to quickly kill a bird would be to spear it with magic - taking the time to shift to hunt, or even trying to catch it with my bare hands, would probably end in the whole flock taking off. Though the pheasants weren’t the best flyers, my daughter couldn’t afford to lose this meal.
Holding Angel close with one hand, I outstretched the other and felt the magic flowing in my blood. But the time travel had drained me - though I sensed the magic beneath the surface of my skin, it wouldn’t manifest in my palm. I growled in frustration.
All I need is one spear of clear magic to skewer the damn chickens!
The clucking continued. The birds hadn’t noticed me yet. Growing desperate, I tried again, making the familiar motion of my hand that would create magic instantly any other time. But now, exhausted and depleted of magic, the spear wouldn’t appear.
“Damn it!” I snapped.
My frustrated outburst alerted the birds to my presence. With loud clucks of panic, they scattered and took clumsily to the air.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. With no time to waste, I instantly locked onto a single pheasant’s trail. The bird flew lower to the ground than the rest, and I knew I could still catch it. My muscles burned with sudden effort as I ran after it - but while holding my daughter and running on only two legs, I wouldn’t get far.
There’s only one way,I thought with a growl.I didn’t want to have to do this now, but…
In the blink of an eye, my human body disappeared, replaced by that of a shining golden dragon. I clutched my daughter safely in my claws as my wings beat rapidly to catch up with the bird. Cool wind whipped past my face and beneath my wings.
A pheasant was no match for a dragon. Soon I snapped up the bird in my jaws, snapping its neck with a single bite. Since I’d already gone through the effort of shifting, I figured I might as well stock up on food and snatched a few more birds out of the sky.
After collecting a good haul and feeling satisfied with myself, I sailed through the air for a bit longer, enjoying the fresh air and sun on my scales. It seemed like I hadn’t had a moment to enjoy the outdoors - and life itself - for a very long time.
Not since Kass -
But the bad memory cut itself short when something below caught my eye. A too-familiar sight. My heart flipped in terror.
It was a Knight.
