And one stood out.The fourth in line.She was an inch or two shorter than the others, but nonetheless commanding and mighty.The Magic, Power, and Strength in her body were barely contained in her perfect body, a body that had all the curves of a country backroad I wanted to explore for the rest of my life.
“Mate.”Those four letters,that word, Lou and I said whispered them like a prayer.
My heart skipped a beat.The light in the depths of my soul, the small glimmer that had been there from my birth, waiting to find its perfect complement, sprang to life.A glittering bond, robust and unbreakable, shot from that light, out into the ether, and straight toward that fucking mushroom cloud.
“She’s in there!She is the one with the heart of a Warrior!”
I barely formed the words before every muscle and every tendon in my body contracted and contorted.Ignoring the torturous pain, I held onto my unrelenting belief in the Power of the Universe.It was my higher purpose.It was the mission I’d been given.I was the lifeline that kept me from screaming bloody murder.Transforming into the majestic form of one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors was utter agony and incredible ecstasy all in one, and it was something I’d never give up for the world.
The Enchantment of the Ancients battered the very core of my body.Every fiber of my being vibrated with glorious supremacy and unsurpassed authority given by The Powers That Be.The large, elongated muscles Lou and I used for flying jutted from my biceps, chest, and obliques as my adrenaline surged to a million and my body expanded in ways only understood because of my belief in the Universe.
Bolts of lightning filled the air– beautiful, white streaks of Heavenly Authority outshining and erasing the dull, crimson smudges from before.Enchantment from the very depths of the Earth, a gift from Mother Nature, rose up to meet me, driving me headlong toward the incredible transformation into Dragon.
Bones shattered, and muscles ripped as my wings stretched outward as far as they could go.Sharp, venomous talons– extensions of the long, hollow phalanges shared by all winged creatures– emerged from the tough, webbed flesh, tingling with the need to rip the unseen enemy to ribbons.
Unfurling to their full length, my wings cast a shadow over the entire gulley, blocking out what little light of the full moon had escaped the mushroom cloud’s growing mass.With a deafening clap, the wings thrust downward, compressing the air into a powerful, swirling wind that forced the sand beneath Lou’s massive paws to recoil.The air hummed as our wings beat with an immense force only possible by one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors.Turning the surrounding Ether into a raging tempest, we pushed the formidable body of the Dragon King off the ground.The long finger claws flexed, their webbing embracing the whirlwind of our own creation.Becoming one with the air in a single, powerful jump, we were airborne with our wings moving in a rhythmic, soaring motion.
The ripple of the thin, coarse sails was music to my ears.The resulting whistle as they cut through the atmosphere was a call to battle, even though I was the only Winged Warrior within the confines of Arrhythmia.Every undulation was a blast of Power unlike the one before.The feel of absolute freedom and supreme dominion over all we surveyed was nothing short of intoxicating.Both Lou and I were one with the elements.We were one with the Universe, and…
And…
Holy shit!We were one with the woman the Universe made for me!It was real.My Mate existed…
May Mate was in Arrhythmia.
“Did you feel…?”
“Aye, Lad,”Lou responded before I finished my question.“As I said, Fate will not be denied.”
“We seriously have to talk about your timing,”I growled, thankful when the Dragon King remained silent.
There was no time to think, no time to contemplate the future– no time to do anything but get through that wall of nasty Magic and get our Mate the hell out of Dodge.Bracing for the inevitable crash when Lou’s snout made contact with the wall of Sorcery, I got the shock of my life when we sailed right through the barrier as if we’d been invited.
“Because we were,”Lou stated.
“…we were summoned by the…”
Swallowed up by a bitter, metallic stench– a mixture of burning copper and hot iron, coupled with the nauseating blend of rotting meat, sour milk, and feces– Lou and I both snarled,“Hellmouth!”
“Why am I always the last one to know everything?”
“Because you are the one who is never paying attention.All you had to do was…”
It clicked.That’s what he had been referencing– not that I was never paying attention, but his suspicions that someone was opening a Hellmouth.He had been silently investigating a Gateway to the Underworld that wasn’t supposed to be on Earth at all.Someone, or something, had told him it no longer existed and therefore, could not be opened.
That’s what he had been…“What the fuck, Lou?Couldn’t you clue me in?Throw me a bone.Leave breadcrumbs for me to follow?”
“I was a little busy.”
“You were a little busy?”
“Yes!I.Was.A.Little.Busy.”
“And I was playing tiddlywinks?”
With a huff of steam and a growl that resonated within my chest, he fumed,“All you had to do was stop being mad at the world, tap into our shared psyche, and I don’t know, maybe help solve the problem, instead of feeling sorry for yourself.”
“Feeling sorry for myself?”I could feel my blood pressure rising and my heart about to pound out of my chest.I was quickly approaching what my Uncle Owen used to call fit to be tied, aka seriously pissed off.Yes, we had bigger fish to fry–namely the fact that my Mate was trapped behind a wall of nasty Magic, and the Dragon King with whom I’d shared my soul for almost three hundred years was preaching to me about my bad attitude.
