Page 124 of Memories Like Fangs
I didn’t want to only visit during the holidays. I wanted to find a way to visit more often. I wanted to feel this as many days in the year as I could.
Suddenly, a sharp and jarring chill stabbed its way down my spine, cutting through the smiles and joy.
I gasped, the snow packed in my hand falling to the ground. My knees buckled, and I fell to the ground. Ayrie doubled over beside me, her hands on the ground with her breath ragged. Bryson called out to his mom, eyes widening in fear. Around me, the other adult dragon-shifters dropped, too. Some went to their knees, while others fell flat onto the snow like they’d been yanked too hard and forcefully from the sky. Even the Sire was doubled over in pain. It was like being in proximity to Lilah’s blood magic. Every nerve ending in me screamed in warning, but my dragon was even louder.
Wrong. Unnatural. Wrong. Bad. Fight. Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong,my dragon roared. She didn’t hesitate to surface in retaliation. The tattoos on my back and leg snapped off my skin, quickly bursting to life from under my dress and through the cutout in the back of my sweater. My fangs descended. Mynails lengthened, puncturing my gloves and threatening to do the same to my boots. I shredded the gloves to let my talons breathe. Translucent and strong, my wings shimmered like a holographic image in the sun as they pulsed. My tail cracked like a whip in agitation.
Quinn was at my side in seconds, her hand resting on my shoulder in support and reassurance. “Sweetness? Byrd, what’s going on?”
“I-I don’t know,” My voice shaking as I growled. It wasn’t from fear, but from the raw and primal energy ripping through me. “I-I-I don’t?—”
“Something… Something got through the barrier. Somethingbad,” Ayrie muttered low and tense. She stared up, her eyes turning from brown to blue in the winter light.
Wind swirled violently around her back then. Her glamour dropped as her feathered wings and tail were summoned forth. They unfurled with a wide and powerful gust, the golden feathers in her wings and at the end of her tail caught the light just like my own. Wordlessly, she launched into the air, rising fast with snow spiraling in her wake.
Quinn squeezed my shoulder once before backing away—Fuck, I loved her so much and how well she knew me—so I could push off the ground to join Ayrie in the sky. We weren’t alone either. The sound of flapping wings filled the air with our own. Sire Gale rose even higher above us, accompanied by her elite guard. All of their eyes were fixed toward the edges of the enchantment.
There was a flood of motion at the border. Black vehicles all charged toward us like a storm. The engines of G-wagons, ATVs, dirt bikes, and more roared loud enough for me to hear even from this far and high in the sky as they kicked up ice and snow. A deep, sinister red magic shimmered in front of them. The tendrils twisted and moved ahead of them and trailed behindlike a smoky trail, taking on a too-familiar shape as they rushed on.
My heart dropped.
It looked like a dragon.
Soaring at nearly the same height as the rest of us, I could make out something warping the barrier.Wait, not something.Someone. She floated at the enchantment’s border with her hands straight out and veins of magic altering the shield. Her black waves were in a ponytail, her pear-shaped, mid-sized body in a black bodysuit that hugged her curves in such a way that made me hate her for how good I had to admit it looked, especially with her dark makeup. Even from this far away, I could see that doll-toothed smile that only meant bad news.
“Lilah,” I snarled, furious at the sight of her and the feeling of her magic. “She’s here.”
“And, she’s brought friends,” Ayrie added with a raised eyebrow. “Looks like heavily-armed hunters. A small army of them, Sire.”
“How did so many of them get in here?” One of Sire Gale’s guardsmen asked on his own growl.
“I’m sure it’s Lilah using her blood magic to mimic dragon blood and energy. It’s just as I warned you before,” I replied.
“Smart, but not smart enough,” Ayrie muttered before raising her voice. “The witches have fortified the barrier enough to buy us a warning, so they have lost the element of surprise.”
One of the guardsmen near Sire Gale looked to her with eyes that were already sharp slits. “What are our orders, Sire?”
“We prepare for war,” Sire Gale answered. “Ayrie and Byrd, organize the civilians. Get those who can’t fight to safety and rally the others. The rest of you Guardsmen, on me to buy them time. Kill if necessary. We take no prisoners. We will not make any stupid mistakes. No one dies today, except for thesehunters.” Sire Gale smirked slowly. “They came into our house, so let’s show them what that means.”
“Yes, Sire!” The Guardsmen said before they followed her toward the approaching hunters.
Ayrie and I, meanwhile, dove back down. The magical chaos of the snowball fights and the ice skating rinks had vanished, replaced by a waiting, patient stillness. Quinn stood with her cousins, Talli, Simone, and Maisie nearby, purple sparkles fading with us just catching their arrival. The moment Ayrie and I’s feet touched the snow, Ayrie’s whole demeanor shifted into something I had never seen before. Ayrie was always strong, but now there was a demanding confidence to the set of her shoulders and vibe. Sharp and commanding, her voice boomed across the field, rippling aloud and through the minds of every dragon present.
“We have hunters inbound, so get ready! If you aren’t able to fight, please help get others to safety and evacuate immediately! If you can fight, you need to prepare for battle!” Ayrie turned to find her mother. “Mama, please take the kids and anyone else who can’t fight to shelter now.”
“I’m not going to be much help here, but I’m amazing at herding folks,” Nat volunteered.
“I can help, too!” Simone said, turning to kiss Cole on his lips. She muttered into them, just loud enough for Cole and anyone close to hear. “Stay alive, Coco, okay?”
“Always, my princess.” Cole kissed her again before she left to join Nat and Auntie Titi, who was already picking up Bryson while corralling a line of elders and other folks away from the rink and park as a whole. It still left more than thirty dragons behind.
So, we prepared.
My wings vibrated and tail thrashed in anticipation, ready to take off at any time. Next to me, Quinn bent down and drew herdaggers out of their sheaths. When she stood back up, she was as calm and deadly as ever with Amy and Tina in each hand. I still remembered the feeling of those knives dancing and slicing into my skin and scales like they had in our sparring match. The memory made my scales ripple down my skin. Quinn’s golden eyes were hotly pointed toward the horizon like weapons of their own. Her muscles strained through her hoodie, coiled in anticipation of battle.
Miss Puss, please. Now is not the time,I internally shook my head, loving how feral for my girlfriend I was at the worst possible times.
Cole took out his guns from their holsters, checking their magazines and safety. Cody snapped his crossbow together and loaded bolts into it. Neither were as enchanted as Quinn’s daggers, but I could still feel their magic. Talli’s and Maisie’s magic flared around their hands, their eyes lighting up to match the color. The other dragons transformed, too, either partially or fully. Their growls and snarls shook the very earth, knocking snow from the trees and rooftops.
