Sergia began riding before the sun was up. She had been riding north for nearly 2 hours when the sun finally appeared in the sky. She knew what that meant and immediately regretted leaving the city. Manius would know where Rhesus was if the sunlight touched him and Sergia could have followed Manius to Rhesus if she had stayed in the city. She felt angry and cursed at herself for leaving in such haste.
She rode on to the next village and decided to stop to think of what to do next. She found a stable for her horse to get a drink and something to eat, then did the same for herself. She then sat on the stone steps of the public bathhouse to think about what to do next.
The morning sky was bright and sunny. Normally, that would be welcome, but today it seemed foreboding, knowing that Manius could find Rhesus before her. She was worried Manius was already going after Rhesus, so even if she returned to the city, Manius would probably not be there. She felt foolish for leaving.
She sighed, leaned back on the steps, and looked up into the sky as if searching for inspiration in the heavens, and then she saw something drifting in the clouds. It was small at first, like a bird, but as it came closer it began to take a much different shape.
"Dragon!" she heard someone down the street scream as he looked upward at the southwestern sky. Suddenly, everyone in the street was screaming and fleeing. People were looking for buildings to enter or places to hide, ducking under carts and street markets.
"Shit!" Sergia screeched as she jumped to her feet, looking for a place to hide. In reality, she knew if it was looking for her, there was no place she could hide once it saw her. She tried in a desperate attempt to cloak herself as the old woman she normally portrayed herself as.
It was a massive dragon. It was so big it must have been 1000 years old. Even in the sky, one could make out his majestic details. His skin was a luminous green with scales that glistened like diamonds in the sun. Its besuited colossal wings emerged from just below its shoulders and disappeared at the lower end of its back. The wings looked almost demonic, the inside membrane almost entirely see-through when in flight and curved talons grew from each point on the bat-like wings like giant scythes.
It landed in the center of the village. Every step it took with its four, thick, powerful limbs shook the earth beneath it.
Two enormous angry viridian eyes sat well within the creature's thorny, angular skull, which gave it a threatening look. Two long crystal horns sat on top of its head, just above its small, arched ears. Its long neck had two rows of sharp armored tendrils running down its spine. Its nose was long and had thick, round nostrils. Its long tail had a sword-like edge that ended with a large barbed tip and was covered in the same radiant scales as its body. Countless razor-sharp pointed teeth pushed out the side of its mouth showing a glimpse of the horrifying death that awaited if he attacked.
Suddenly a frightened sheep that was fastened to a market cart got loose and tried to run away. It inadvertently crossed the dragon's path, close enough to startle the beast. The dragon reared up on two feet, now poised and elevated, and quickly sent a stream of molten fire bursting out of its mouth like an erupting volcano, burning the sheep in place. It scooped the charred animal up with its deadly teeth shaking its neck in a motion to help it as it swallowed the sheep whole. Then it let out a shriek so loud that it broke several vases on a market cart nearby and caused people to hold their hands to their ears in pain.
Sergia was terrified when the dragon looked directly at her. It took a step towards her. Then another. And another. Sergia was frozen with fear now. Her body stiffened and she couldn't feel her spine. Her nerves were causing her to shiver uncontrollably. She tried to utter the words to a spell to put the dragon to sleep, but she was so frightened the chant would not leave her lips.
The dragon continued towards her and stopped in front of the bathhouse steps where she stood, never letting his eyes leave her. He let a low growl escape his throat and moved his face to be within inches of Sergia's face.
"I know you," he said "or rather, I know your father." He looked deeply into her eyes. "Your disguise does not fool me, child. You might look like an old woman on the outside, but eyes can't be changed by an enchantment," he chortled.
"Besides, I can smell your age," he added.
"You were with your father when he took what is mine. Dragons can remember every detail, even minute ones, and I remember your eyes, and your smell." he looked with a tormented expression. "It was by chance that I flew over this village and saw you from the sky."
"I never thought it would be a problem, but I sensed that what was taken from me has been used for an ill purpose," he growled.
Sergia still could not speak. She was so frightened that she could no longer hold the enchantment that was her disguise, and her true form escaped.
"The blood your father took from me, it was only to be used for a great purpose," he stated, not revealing what that purpose was.
Sergia recalled her father coming back to her in her dreams, always trying to tell her something about blood. She was never able to catch the meaning of what he was trying to tell her, he always faded away before the message was finished. Now she understood.
"I feel a strange and confusing connection to two beings." he went on.
"One is good, and one is evil." he fluttered his wings slightly as he spoke.
"The connection is very strong with the good one. I can even smell him." he turned his head and growled at one of the villagers who was feeling brave and approaching with a spear. The man thought better of it, dropped the spear, turned, and ran.
Sergia finally gathered enough inner control to speak.
"My father never taught me about using dragon's blood in spells. There was very little on the subject in the few books I found. I didn't know it could cause …." She began.
The dragon curled its lip showing more of his dangerous teeth, so Sergia quickly changed the subject.
"What will you do to them?" Sergia questioned.
"I'm not sure just yet," he said snapping his head back around to meet her face to face. "I'm not even sure what I am going to do to you." he briefly hesitated. "Don't meddle with things you do not understand girl, or you will meet an ill fate." and with that, he spread his massive wings, took off into the air, and flew north.
Sergia knew she would face this creature again.