Okay, I was left to my own devices.That wasn’t such a bad thing.I had my own Magic, a pretty good mind, and was a damned good Warrior, if I did say so myself.
“Time to put on the big boy boots.”
Doing just that, I opened my preternatural senses wide, set my sights on ground zero of the mushroom cloud, got as close as I could, and let the search begin.Up one side and down the other, right and then left and back and forth, using the pure white Magic of my heritage and from the Ancients Dragons, I examined every square inch at least ten times, and came up with bupkis… nada… nothing.
There was an impenetrable wall of the darkest, nastiest, hellish Sorcery I’d ever seen all around the blast sight.I couldn’t get close enough to pinpoint anything for sure.I had thoughts, feelings, and even a few guesses– and they all had apocalyptic consequences that I chose not to ponder.
Not to mention, I needed to find the woman who belonged to that fierce heartbeat and lend her a hand.Not only because I was a Guardsman, and that was what I did, but because, for some reason, I just knew I had to.
So, I shut it down.I pulled back my Magic.I gripped the throttle on my Harley so tight that I knew the design of the rubber grip would be forever embedded in my palms, and I held on tight.
Head down, my preternatural senses on high alert, the only thing I knew with absolute clarity was that something had torn through the fabric of Time and Space, andthatsomething was fucking with Arrhythmia big time.Oh, and that woman, the Warrior in her own right, was way too close to danger for comfort.
Flying across the sand without a clue or a plan, I aimed for the wall of Witchcraft, Wizardry, and hellacious bullshit with the wild abandon of one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors.I trusted Lou not to let me down, no matter how distracted and introspective he was in that moment.
Sure, I’d gone into battle blind before, but that didn’t mean I wanted to do it if I didn’t have to.
This was Arrhythmia.For better or for worse, it wasmytown.The people were the Sheriff’s responsibility, but the Wards, the Magic, the essence of what kept us hidden, well, they were mine to protect.That meant someone was playing in my sandbox, and they damn sure hadn’t been invited.
“Time to take out the trash,” I seethed through gritted teeth.
Pouring copious amounts of Enchantment into my preternatural sight for the umpteenth time, I skimmed the wall.There had to be a chink in that blasted armor somewhere.I prodded and probed and searched for the tiniest weakness.
“It has to be there.It has to be there.It has to…YES!There it is.”
I’d found it.I was happier than a pig in mud.It was the teeniest, most minuscule, damn near nonexistent blemish that I was sure had gone unseen by its maker, and I had found it.Now, I was going to exploit the hell out of it.
Focusing all the Enchantment racing through my veins into that blemish the size of a dime, I said I was sorry to my prized Harley Fat Boy and mentally bellowed,“Time to get your ass in gear, Old Man!”
“No need to yell,”Lou grumbled.“I’ve been here all along.”
“He speaks,”I scoffed.I wanted to say more, but there was just no time.
Aiming the front wheel of the motorcycle towards a sloped mound in the distance, I pushed the plan from my mind to Lou’s.I was about to do some BMX shit that even an X Games gold medal winner could imagine in his wildest dreams.Not waiting for approval or commentary, I inhaled deeply and raced headlong into the unknown.
The instant the single lug, a molded rubber nub of the tire, made direct contact with the dune, I launched myself from the seat.Trusting that Lou would be there, I let my consciousness fall to the background as he pushed forward and took over with the pure, white Dragon Magic of our Ancestors.Together, just as it had been for centuries, we were ready for the fight of our lives– and to save the unknown female stuck at ground zero.
Embracing the Power, the Majesty, and the unrivaled Supremacy, I reveled in everything it meant to be one of the Universe’s own Winged Warriors.The air flew from my lungs, but this time it was expected, even welcomed.My vision blurred, and I embraced the warm, burnished bronze scales of the King of the Culloden Dragon as they ripped through my flesh.
Gritting my teeth, I steeled my resolve for what was coming.From one beat of my heart to the next, my blood ran cold.My teeth literally chattered, and goosebumps jumped to attention.Then it was hot.Not just hot, but boiling, sweltering, fiery in every sense of the word.
Before I could catch my breath, it flipped back to subzero in the blink of an eye– and so it went for what seemed like forever but was actually less than a second in time.
The only thing keeping me together was Lou’s legendary control and the strength of his ancient Dragon Magic.He and he alone held back the icy madness of the Shift that would’ve crushed the human side of my very existence.
Images were flying at my mind’s eye like a video on fast forward.Glimpses of people I knew, my family, my friends, then others I didn’t recognize, but somehow felt a kinship towards.
This had never happened before.It was strange, but compelling.I wanted to see what was coming next, even as I knew I didn’t have time for dilly-dallying.
A little girl with long red curls tied up in a high ponytail played in the sun.She giggled and laughed with a woman she resembled so closely that there was no doubt that they were mother and daughter.
That was all I got.A tiny glimpse.The scene blurred.The images were once again flying past me.
Then they slowed.Moving closer, coming into crisp, clear focus were five beautiful women.The mother from before was there, along with her daughter, all grown up, and another, younger sibling.They stood together.Two held hands.The mother and her daughters simply stood close enough that their adoration of one another was evident.Through it all, one thing was clear: they were Family.They would support each other, uplift each other… give their lives for one another.
“Generations.”The word flashed in warm, bold letters above their heads.“Magical.Special.Anointed by The Powers That Be.
There it was–the family resemblance.Long, red, curly hair–check.Gorgeous emerald eyes– check.Fortitude and forte that surrounded them, joined them, empowered them– check, check, and check.
