by Brandon Hensley

Chapter 1

The night is dark. No stars are overhead. I am worried. What does this mean? Why are the wyims not crowing? Why do the lizards who usually welcome me not come scurrying to me? Suddenly, I see it. 
The man in the black. He has his sword drawn. I see it too late. My wings cannot stop me fast enough. I clutch my amulet and brace myself for impact. He sees me too late as well. He raises his sword too late. I ram my head into his chest as he rakes his sword across my belly and abdomen. It hurts. 
"Silly dragon warrior!" 
I reel in pain on the ground. The wound will heal in a second. But for us, the pain is intense. "What do you mean?" I am finally able to catch my breath. 
"You have the Fire DragonSphere and I need it for my master. He is very tempermental and I cannot return empty handed. He said I could have your head. Tonight is already looking good for me. You will be dead in a minute." 
Obviously, he has not read up on our kind. I allow my body to stiffen and I force spit into my mouth to make gurgling sounds. I roll my eyes into my head and go limp. The man bends over and fingures my amulet. The Fire DragonSphere.
"You warriors are truly beautiful." He toys with my hair now. He has foolishly left his sword in front of me. I smile and he knows it. 
I lash up with my right leg and catch him square in the groin. He doubles up and I jump up. I kick the sword up with my left foot and catch it with my right hand. I smile wickedly and catch his eye. He is tougher than I thought. He does not stay reeled over in pain. Though he holds his crotch with one hand and pulls out a whimpy dagger. 
"Silly man. Tell me who sent you after me." "Never. For you see, we are all around. Each of us is expendable. Each of us are also immortal, as you are. I just didn't know how powerful you were." 
His remark is scary. I suddenly feel their presence. There are about fifty of these men in the shadows. I smile at the man in front of me. He intends to trick me. He is the leader of these men and their lives depend on his. I smile sweetly and ram the sword into his stomach. It has sunk to the hilt.
"What have you done?" 
"Any last words, O idiot one?" 
"I don't want to die!" 
"Then you should never have been born." 
I hear screams from the forest and see fifty-eight bodies burst into flame as this man melts. What is this all about? I will have to figure it out another day. 
But still, I wonder, why do they need the DragonSpheres? And why did they come after me first?

Chapter 2

"Allana!" I stir at the sound of my name. Sleep is uncomfortable for us. As is most activity that does not involve bloodshed. "Allana! Wake up! Chrisanthim is missing!" I sit bolt upright. My husband has awoken me. He is not a Dragon Warrior as I am. But our daughter is. 
"What do you mean she's gone, Marrin?" 
"I went to wake her up this morning and she was gone!" 
I flex my wings and blink a bit. Out of all the warriors, they had to pick Chrisanthim. Suddenly, it hits me. I left my mark last night. My blood spilled on that man. Dragon blood is easily followed. 
I know this is confusing, but I am not a dragon. I am human, with wings. I have exceptional speed, strength and skill. I am also immortal and heal within seconds. Yet the wound from last night still hurts. I wonder if there is a scar. 
I rush to my daughter's room. I can smell my blood everywhere. I never came in here last night, so how is my blood there? Marrin screams. I reel in the direction he's pointing and see a pair of blue wings. My daughter has been grounded. The worst curse available to Dragon Warriors. She was the holder of the Water DragonSphere. I scream as I see the glass ball that held her sphere. It is broken. They have it.

 It is night. Again. I spent the entire day talking to the Lore Master about these men. They are followers of Shayak. He is the Death Dragon Warrior. He holds the Death DragonSphere. He has faught me for one thousand years. My fifty centuries of life have not hardened me for what walks up to me. 
"Hello, Allanda." 
"Shayak. You monster. You stole my child when you should have killed me!" 
Even in the dark I see his expression. It is one of total bafflement. "I know nothing of what you're talking about." 
"Your men attacked me last night. They were after my DragonSphere. They said they needed them all for their master: you. And now my daughter, a DragonSphere holder, has been grounded and her sphere is not where it should be. She's not even where she should be." 
"My men? I have no men! Those men who attacked you follow someone else!" 
"You liar! I shall have your head on a golden platter before the day is through!" 
I have brought my sword. I rise into the air and he does the same. His wings are twice as long as mine. He has grown a tail. I'm beginning to. 
I unsheathe my sword as he takes out his battle axe. It is a big sucker. It could probably slice through King Nathjon's castle with one swing. I hurtle towards him. 
Suddenly, pain races across my back. I turn my head and see an imp sitting on me. A black dagger has been impaled in me. 
The imp laughs and plunges it further in. I reel in pain and slam into a wall. Sliding down, I leave a nice trail of blood. My head is bleeding. The dagger has penetrated through my heart and out my chest. It hurts-big time. 
I scream as I hit the ground. I do not have the strength to pull it out. Shayak lands beside me. 
"My beautiful Allana, why don't you listen to me? The imp will take it out if you join me." 
"What do you mean?" "Marry me, Allana! I command you!" 
"I'll never join you! You lied to me! Those men were working for you!" 
"Yes, I did lie. And I am sorry." 
I manage to look through my tears long enough to see the imp slam his fist onto the handle of the dagger. The hilt slices into my flesh. My face is a mass of blood and tears. My heart flutters as my body tries to repair itself. 
I scream out and writhe in pain. "Take it out. Please!" 
Shayak has not left my side. "I will take it out. Only if you hand over your sphere." 
I cannot think straight. I take off the amulet that holds my sphere and hand it to him. My wings shoot back into my body and I scream more out of fear than pain. My back contracts and the dagger hurtles through the air and pins the now-dead imp to a wall. My body continues to bleed. I have given up my amulet willingly. I am mortal. 

Even as I lay dying, I hear Shayak laughing in the distance.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Dragonsphere, coming soon at the ShadowDragon Inn!

© 2001 Brandon Hensley. Used with permission.