Page 99 of Memories Like Fangs
It slammed into me like a shockwave. Pain lanced through my skull, sharp and blinding. There were sickening wet pops in my ears as my eardrums ruptured. I screamed—or, I thought I did—but I couldn’t hear it to confirm or deny. Everything became muffled before a high-pitched ringing overtook the world. I staggered as my balance faltered, the world tilting. My body hurried to heal. I felt a tingling, itchy sensation as the tissues knitted themselves back together. Still, the ringing didn’t stop, a shrill screech that seemed to persist forever. I blinked against the tears and forced myself upright.
I had to keep my eyes on Byrd. I had to let her know that I was always here, that I wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what she tried to do to push me away.
Mi libélulita, please tell me what’s wrong. I want to help. I love you, I thought to Byrd using our bond. I could feel her presence on the other end, but it was tiny and felt like it was being stifled.
The agony was so much louder.
Suddenly, the air shifted. Byrd’s crystal magic exploded around her, forming a crystal chrysalis around her body. She disappeared within the brilliant crystal made of pastel and light. Clarkson rubbed her body against my leg, likely cowering and whimpering. The chrysalis grew to take up almost the entire space, pushing aside the couches, coffee, and end tables. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it shattered in an explosion of glittery dust.
And, there was Byrd in her full dragon form.
She filled the Great Room with the crystal crown that functioned as her horns brushing the high ceilings above. Having grown in proportion to her size, her dragonfly wings touched the walls on either side of her. Her tail, with itsspine of crystal spikes leading to a mace-like tip at the end, slashed through the air, knocking the couches and tables aside like they were made of paper. Her pastel pink locs were down from their bun and now streamed down her elongated neck like a mane. Byrd’s body now shimmered with holographic scales, every movement catching a different pastel hue in the light. But there was something dark and sinister in the chrome. There were shadows now, dark streaks in the pastel that I knew weren’t supposed to be there. Her eyes looking down at me were supposed to be calming pools of periwinkle and lavender, but instead they were tinged with that same menacing red from before. Her muzzle curled into a snarl, showing rows of her fangs. Her talons clicked threateningly on the hardwood floor. Her wings beat behind her, stirring up a tornado-like wind that blew my curls and shirt back.
I had always imagined Byrd’s full dragon form would be a delight to behold. Her partial form was always so beautiful, so I’d dreamed her complete form to be something majestic.
But this beautiful creature in front of me was nothing short of terrifying.
She was a weapon.
I fought the urge to take a step back. My heart pounded in my chest.
Byrdie… What’s happened to you?
As if she heard my question, Byrd roared again. This one shattered the glass behind her. The floor-to-ceiling windows exploded outward in thousands upon thousands of knife-sharp shards. The glass surged forward to surround her like a deadly halo. They twisted in the air, pointing outward, and spinning around Byrd like a sphere of clear blades. They were protective. Defensive. A shield, but also a readymade attack against any foe that dared to take her on.
Wait.
If Byrd wanted to attack us, she easily could. She had size on her side, and the broken glass could rain death upon us like we were the Spartans in300. If she had such an advantage, why not take it? If she sees us as enemies, why not treat us like that?
She’s not threatening us.
She’s protecting herself.
There’s a threat that she can see, but we can’t.
I dug through the bond for a moment. Normally, Byrd’s emotions were complex, layered, and entangled together. Unraveling her feelings reminded me of trying to undo a rubber band ball, each band getting caught in another, only to find more underneath. There was a safety net in the elaborate nature of her emotions. Especially, when I felt my emotions in spurts with one overtaking another easily. What I felt under the pain wasn’t Byrd’s usual feelings. No, these were simple. Compartmentalized. Individualized. There was confusion. There was agitation. There was terror. There was rage.
This wasn’t Byrd.
This was something that had been hunted and cornered.
“Kiddo, what’s wrong? Why won’t you talk to us?” Everett asked. The anguish in his voice matched what I felt. As much as I hated theperra,there was no denying that he cared for Byrd. I was close to feeling for him?—
And then, thependejohad the nerve to step forward again.
“Fucking don’t!” I shouted at him, but Byrd already had her eyes locked on him. With another mighty roar, she launched a blast of glass at him.
Teddy reacted instantly. He blurred in front of us, throwing a hand out. Pale green magic sparkled before a wall of it materialized. The shards got stuck within it harmlessly. When Teddy dropped his magic, the glass blades fell to the floor, sounding like rainfall. Byrd’s gaze narrowed on him, but she just growled.
“She’s scared, Quinn,” I heard Teddy say, his voice dripping with empathy. “She’s not angry, but she is scared shitless of something.”
I nodded. “It’s not Byrd in control right now. It’s her dragon. I can’t even feel Byrd through our bond right now.”
“Her dragon? What would make Byrd lose control of her dragon?”
“No idea yet. But, we have to calm her down.”
“How?”
