Page 1 of Slay Me

A Soul of Fire

Biala, Poland. 150 years ago

Match woke up before the sun and despite his father's warnings that he be on his best behavior today, he could not talk himself into staying in bed another minute longer.

Today he would become more than the heir to the Red Dragon Wyr, more than the Wyvern's son. Today he would get his soul shard and become a Dragon Warrior.

He dressed in his best leathers, the ones with the red dragon stitched on the front and snuck into the kitchen as quietly as he could. He wanted to see if Nanny had made his favorite apple cake for his birthday party this afternoon.

"Sit yourself down at the table, young man. You've got a big day ahead of you and you'll eat your porridge and an egg. You're going to need the fuel." Nanny was already there stoking the fire.

"Yes, ma'am." He'd learned quite a few years ago to do as Nanny said if he didn't want his ears pinched. Nanny Ninshubar was faster and stronger than most of the Dragons he knew. He sniffed the air as he sat at the table like he' been told and did indeed smell the scent of cooked apples but didn't see a cake anywhere.

"When will the witch be here?" It was his all-time favorite question to ask. He'd asked about a thousand times in the past few weeks, hoping each time that the answer was sooner than before. It never was.

"Naughty boy, it's not like you don't know. Eat your porridge." Nanny set his bowl on the table and sat across from him with her own. "Then I'll give you some apples to take to your lair."

"Hey." He swallowed so his food didn't come running out of his mouth. "You're not supposed to know about that."

"Oh. I know nothing. Except that every young man about your age has a secret place he likes go. I simply believe that place should be stocked with sustenance in case he ever decides to have a visitor."

Okay. Good. She didn't know where his place in the woods was. He hadn't shown anyone. His father said all dragons had secrets. Like how they didn't tell the humans who lived around their village about their shifter natures. There were a few exceptions. Like his mother. She had grown old and died when he was still young.

Match didn't really understand why his mother had grown old and died, but his grandmother was much older and still as strong and as mean as the day was long. Grandmother was the last of her generation and she'd decided she wasn't going to die. Not until Match found his true mate, she said.

Which according to his father was never.

But Match had a secret of his own. He hadn't told anyone, especially not grandmother. He didn't want her to die. She might be mean, but she told him stories from before the cursed times and he liked that.

"Boy, you're dribbling porridge down the front of yourself. Eat your egg and be gone with you. Go run to the top of the hill and back to work off some of your energy. You'll know when the witch is here, and you can head back then." Nanny wiped his tunic clean.

"I'll know when she's here?"

"Yes. The witch coming to pull the shard from your soul is a very special one. I haven't seen her in a very long time and I too am looking forward to seeing my mistress again. Now shoo. And don't get your clothes dirty."

Match slurped up one more bite of porridge and popped the whole boiled egg Nanny peeled for him in his mouth. He ran outside before she could swat him on the butt for that. He didn't understand who her mistress might be. There hadn't been a woman of the house since his mother died and Nanny hadn't ever known mama. She came after.

He did run up and down the hill behind the house just so he could say he did it when Nanny asked later. Then he picked his way through the woods to his secret place. He jumped over the little creek and into the spot where the tree trunks made a circle about two meters. A fairy circle of mushrooms grew in the center and sometimes the little creatures would visit.

A very old tree stood on one side and the base of it was hollow. This is where Match kept all his precious items, the beginning of his hoard. He put the apples from Nanny near the front where he could get to them later when he brought Fallyn back to see it. The sun would be shining through the leaves then and it would make the gold he'd already collected for himself sparkle for her. He really wanted her to like his lair.

A rainbow of sparks flew through the circle of trees and one landed on his hand. A smolder of his own fire flickered on his fingertips and ignited into a full-fledged flame. It had never done that before. His father had been working with him so he could light the fire in the fireplace, and he could put out candles. That fire had always been outside of him. This came from inside and was on his actual skin.

He laughed and let the flames dance from finger to finger and then up his arm. It crawled up to his shoulder and jumped to his ear.Get a move on kiddo. It's time you let the dragon out. I picked out a particularly brilliant scale of my own for your color. Run now, go get your soul shard.

Oh. Oh. Nanny had said he would know when the witch arrived.

Match ran as fast as he could to his house. He leapt right over the stone wall and into the back garden. He would have normally gone into the house from the back door, but he heard Nanny talking in the front. Maybe she was greeting the witch.

Instead of going in, he crept along the side of the house. He'd seen other boys just older than him get their soul shards. Fallyn's mother was a fire witch and she'd pulled the shards for several of his friends.

"Mistress. I praise your name."Nanny curtsied for the witch. "It's good to see you again."

Ah, Ninshubar, ever faithful." The witch hugged nanny. They must have known each other for a long time. "I see you've chosen a female form for this duty I've given you. I would have thought you'd go male to guard Ashtoreth's mate."

Nanny smoothed her skirts. "The boy has plenty of male influence in his life. A bit too much, at times. I thought he could use a little feminine touch to balance him out."

"Smart." The two women hooked arms and walked toward the front of the house. Match had to sneak a little closer to hear what they were saying.

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