Page 2 of Taming
The dark and fuming hellhound, Grim, might just be the love of my life. It’s a pathetic love life that I’m leading, I’ll admit.
With the force of my hip, I bump open the door. A creaking cry comes from the hinges, and I don’t bother closing it behind me as I settle in near the dwindling embers of the fire. The one room home is tiny with a cot on the far left side of the room and a worn and rickety kitchen table on the other side. The small fire easily warms the abandoned shack that I made my home.
The smooth curve of one of the eggs fills my hands. My own reflection peers at me on the iron like surface. The two others glisten near the fire. In the lighting, I can really make out their details. One’s a pure white color. It shimmers like fresh snow while the one nestled next to it is as dark as blood. The third one, the one that I hold in my hands, is a consuming deep smoky tone.
They’re shining and beautiful.
“But what are they?” I whisper to myself.
I have a thing for creatures, the dangerous and the unique, and I’ve never seen an egg this large. It’s even bigger than an ostrich egg. Its structure seems thicker as well. I hold it close to my chest, and my eyes fall closed as a deep breath fills my lungs.
My magic is quiet within me. I’ve hidden it away and tried to save it up for when I know I’ll really need it in the future.
It’s there though. A numb sort of tingling feeling of power stings through my body.
A blur of a thousand images flickers through my mind. I search past them all until one faded image pulls to the front.
My sight shows me three colossal animals. Their wingspan is the size of the run-down shack that I’ve called home for the past year. Thick scales cover their bodies like proud armor. Long talons and sharp teeth lash down from the heavens, preparing to scoop up their next prey.
“Dragons.” My eyes open once more, the depths of my blue irises are inky in the reflection of its glossy shell.
A strong and quick beat begins to take over my heart.
They’re rare.
Deadly.
Expensive.
I’ve never sold a dragon before. The most I’ve ever gotten for a magical creature was a year’s worth of income for a pegasus. Would have been more if it was a unicorn, but the buyer didn’t believe me when I said its horn was just underdeveloped.
A dragon could pay for a new life, though. A real life. Imagine how I could live.
With three dragons, I could start over. No longer would I be a drifter running from her past. I could have a home. A family.
Alife.
A smile pulls at my lips, and I’ve already made up my mind.
Without another thought, I toss the onyx egg into the fire.
Mages no longer have the darling little reputation that the generations before us had. No, we’re feared. My mother hid me away to protect me, but it weakened my powers. When I was older, I studied magic and magical creatures. Studying magical creatures was the safest form of magic I could think of to continue to stay under the radar of those who hunt us. My actual powers grew stronger with the help of Kreedence. I thought he cared about me, but I know now that that was a lie.
My lip curls as I think of the man I thought I loved. I push the thoughts from my mind. It’s an old chapter of my life and I grew from it. I learned more about my trade because of it.
I know creatures from all over the world. It’s a specialty of mine.
And I know heat is needed for dragons to survive.
Maybe that’s why Agatha disposed of them. Maybe she couldn’t get them to hatch.
A cold summer breeze shakes against the worn, open door, threatening to tear it from its weak hinges as it drifts back and forth. The wind catches against my dark hair, but all my focus is on the flames caressing the inky shell.
Grit and dirt of the old floorboards shift against my fingertips as I move closer to the shining black egg.
Prayers like I’ve never said before stream through my mind to whatever goddess my mother loved so much. I pray hard, wishing like hell the little creature will survive the heat and grow stronger from the kiss of the fire
The smallest of lines crack against the surface, making me gasp.
