The Curse's Breath

Prologue

His hand grasped the door handle, slipping from the layer of panicked sweat on his skin. He opened the door and fumbled to close it before collapsing against the wooden frame. His breaths were labored as he glanced out the window. Distant shouts resounded through the air. Shadows moved in an interpretive dance outside the window, foretelling of certain doom.

"Malnoan!" came a female voice. A young woman appeared from the depths of the house, worry etched on her face. Her brown hair was held tight in a bun, but a curl had rebelled and was lightly touching her cheek. She held a young toddler in her arms. The girl gave a little wail as she squirmed, wanting to be let down. The woman kept her eyes on her husband but ran her fingers through the girl's hair to quiet her. "Did they find out?"

Malnoan met his wife's gaze, his heart heavy. "They're coming for us, Hilia."

Her hazel eyes sparked with shock. "All of us?"

He shook his head. "The rest are safe."

Hilia nodded, expression solemn. She handed the child over to him. "Then only we must go."

He followed her as she went to the back room. She moved aside a painting, revealing a hole filled with hidden supplies. She started gathering them into a bag.

Malnoan's head whipped towards the door at the sound of distant footsteps. "Quickly," he whispered.

Hilia closed the bag and hefted it onto her shoulder, eyes scared but determined. "I'm ready."

Just then, figures flashed past the window. Loud banging shook the door. "Halderan, open up!"

Malnoan's heart stopped in that instant. He turned to his wife, hardly able to breathe. "We're too late."

Tears welled up in Hilia's eyes, but she pursed her lips. "So be it." She took the toddler in her arms and placed her in the hidden hole in the wall. She cupped her hands around the girl's face and kissed her on the forehead. "Never forget who you are," she whispered. "And never forget those who've loved you." She slid the painting over the hole, tears streaming freely down her face now.

Malnoan drew his wife close, tucking her into his arms. He put his lips gently to Hilia's head as she sobbed silently. There were murmurs outside the house, and then frantic scuffling. The door sizzled. With a deafening explosion, the wood disintegrated in blue flames.

A large man stepped into the house. He had dark hair that was swept back under a general's cap. Glistening war medals adorned his clean, crisp suit. A necklace of dragon teeth peeked out from underneath his clothes. His face was framed with a cleanly cut beard, sharpening his stern features. His dark eyes glittered with anger and his broad shoulders seemed to shrink the room. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, Malnoan."

"You knew full well it would come to this, Reinej," Malnoan said. "You burned a path and forced everyone to follow it."

Reinej laughed. "I did no such thing."

He stopped when Hilia laughed too, her tone sharp like a knife. "Oh didn't you? You kill anyone who dares disagree with you!"

He narrowed his eyes. "You're not giving me good reason not to do the same to you."

"You shouldn't need a reason not to murder family!" Hilia bit back.

Malnoan rested his hand on her shoulder, telling her to pull back. It was his turn now. He would make one last stand. One last chance of changing the General's mind. One last desperate attempt to stop the destruction that was coming.

"Brother, you must stop this madness, please!" he pleaded. "All this hate—it will only lead to the end of our people."

"Our people?" Reinej scoffed. "These aren't your people. You betrayed them by siding with those—those creatures." He lifted his chin, his eyes flashing. "I am doing what's best for my people. I am keeping them safe."

"You've already enslaved the dragons! Is that not enough for you?" Malnoan shook his head sorrowfully, not needing an answer to that question.

"It wasn't enough for you to go behind my back and try to set them free? Do you even know what damage you've done with the ones that did get away?"

Malnoan sighed and looked down at the ground. "Look, I am sorry about what happened to Oniah. It was a tragedy, and you have a right to be hurt. But starting a war because of it?"

Reinej's face was devoid of emotion, but his eyes told all that they needed to. "They betrayed us, and they will pay for it."

"Brother, open your eyes!" Malnoan cried. "Can you not see that the Curse is happening again?"

"The curse is merely a children's story. A myth." Reinej scoffed. "It was made to scare humans into submission to the dragons."

His brother looked at him, his eyes solemn. "You know that it is not. You can feel it inside you--the rage, the hatred building. It's changing you, Reinej."

Reinej's gaze was as cold as ice. "The only one who has changed here is you."

Malnoan stepped forward, letting him see his earnest face. "When will this stop? When every bit of the land is destroyed? When every last dragon is dead?"

Reinej clenched his jaw. "If it must." He jerked his head to his soldiers. "Take them." He turned to face his brother again, lifting his chin. "It is time for you to pay for your crimes, Malnoan. I will not have your words infecting the minds of my people." He watched icily as the men grabbed Malnoan and Hilia and roughly dragged them out of the house. His face remained expressionless as two screams broke the air. They cut off abruptly, and the night fell into innocent silence again.

"You brought this upon yourself, brother." the General said grimly, as if those words alone would justify his actions.

He was about to walk out of the house when a muffled wail reached his ear. Reinej stopped, his head tilting. Turning around, he crept into the bedroom and listened, his breaths as quiet as the night air around him.

Then his eyes narrowed and he threw aside the painting. Shock filled his gaze, then sorrow, then dark delight. The moonlight outside seemed to darken as he took the child into his arms.

"I will raise you to be a great soldier for my cause," Reinej whispered in the girl's ear. He took her, and the shadows wrapped around him, his figure melting into the darkness.