The Dragon Kid

Chapter 4

I awoke when I heard a gasp. I whipped my head around, trying to find where it came from. That's when I remembered yesterday's sequence of events. I was turned into a dragon, ran away to find help in Draig Town, met some dragons, and fell asleep in the forest.

"Bryn! You're back to normal!" I heard Denver shout, hugging me around my chest. When I looked down, I realized that he was right. I had fingers and toes along with the chestnut brown hair that I've become so used to. I touched my face and didn't feel a snout.

I turned to Denver with a smile. "I'm actually back to normal?" I asked, hardly able to believe it.

He smiled back. "Yeah! And you even have your clothes still." He frowned. "But your shirt is torn."

I reached back and felt the two shredded holes where my wings had torn the cloth right before I fully became a dragon. I suppressed a shudder and smiled. "Well, at least I'm human again."

Denver nodded, a thoughtful look etched on his face. "That's good and all, but how are we gonna get back home?"

My eyes widened with worry. "You're right! My parents must be so worried!" My eyes caught on the front gates of Draig Town. "I guess that we'll just have to find a ride."

Denver followed my gaze and sighed. "We're gonna be in so much trouble, but hopefully they'll forgive us if we return in one piece."

I started picking up the supplies that we had brought with us and threw them into a satchel. "We'll be fine. I just need to ask nicely, and someone who's already on their way to Dargon Town should be willing to let us catch a ride."

Denver sighed and picked up a clay cup that his parents brought back from Spain. "I hope you're right. Let's just focus on-" He paused when a long shadow reached over him.

He gasped and whipped around as someone grabbed his shirt collar, lifting him off his feet. The person was a man with poor hygiene and scruffy clothes. He had a dusty gray bandana around his neck and his chin was littered with black hairs, probably neglected from the shaving razor.

He sneered as someone grabbed my arms from behind and started binding them with ropes. "These two will make excellent slaves. Especially this one." He pointed at Denver. "He looks like he's a little smart boy."

Denver tried to scream, but the man threw a hairy hand over Denver's mouth before he could shout. "Tsk tsk tsk. Good little boys don't raise their voices." He laughed loudly and three other men behind him mimicked his chortle.

Get ready to run. Denver's voice echoed inside my mind. I shook my head, not wanting to leave him. But I knew better than to argue.

Denver bit down hard on the man's hand, causing him to scream in pain. He drove his heel into the man's shin and dove at the one holding me, a knife extended in his hand. Before he could strike, a long arm struck Denver in the head and sent him flying.

I gasped as I saw blood where the hand struck him. Anger started welling up in me as I watched the man close in on Denver's slumped figure. I was beginning to lose control as I started to grow.

Red scales erupted across my body and a tail shot out from above my tailbone. Two wings stretched out from my shoulder blades and my hands stretched out into claws. This time, they were sharper than before and my eyes flashed red as fire poured out from between my jaws.

The men around me screamed as I breathed angry flames. I was so mad, that I was furious. I didn't even know how to describe my rage, other than hot and fiery. I used that fire to keep the man away from my friend.

However, my flames may have been too hot, because they toasted the man's face and leaving it a shiny red color. He yelped and danced around, trying to figure out where a dragon just came from while simultaneously trying to cool his burning cheeks.

I took several steps until I stood over Denver, protecting him underneath me. My back was alight with white hot flames as I glared at the retreating men. I sighed, accidentally spitting flames out at the grass and setting it on fire.

I danced on my toes before I saw that the men had left a canteen behind. Carefully pinching it between my claws, I managed to put out the small fire by ripping open the water case and pouring it out.

I carefully lay down next to Denver, whimpering softly. When I looked closer, I saw that the blood wasn't his and that it wasn't pouring out of his head. In fact, it was the blood from the man's hand when Denver bit him.

I aggressively nudged Denver and he rolled over laughing. "Great job, Bryn! I knew that would work."

I glared at him, my snout spurting out small flames as I breathed angrily. He held up his hands in defense. "I already guessed that it was your emotions that allowed you to turn into a dragon." He tilted his head. "But you look different this time. You're a Scarletback now. That's not a very native dragon."

I looked down at my claws. I had been too angry to process that there had been a change. I just knew that I had turned into a dragon and was beating the sorry tails of those bad guys.

"Also, the fire was a pretty big clue. You were purple before and you couldn't breathe fire." He pointed to my snout, which still spit out the occasional tongue of fire. I snorted, making the fire stronger and causing Denver to leap back. "Careful, bud. You don't want to set me on fire too." He patted his clothes to make sure that none of them were on fire.

"At least we have a ride now." Denver said cheerfully, picking up what the men had dropped when they fled. "Plus, we now have some cool new stuff." He held up a knife in front of his eyes, examining it closely.

I sighed and stomped angrily away. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked me, which just made me more upset.

"What's wrong?!" I roared, knowing that he would only hear me growl and grunt. "I was a boy yesterday and now I'm a freaking dragon who can spit fire. If that doesn't make things worse, we live in a town that is terrified of dragons. I'll never make it home and be accepted into my family when I look like a walking stove top with scales."

I seethed angrily, not caring whether or not if anyone heard me. "I'm sick and tired of this. I just want to go home to my family and be normal." My eyes were starting to well up with tears. "I just want to go home."

I curled up into a ball and continued crying. With a whimper, I tucked my tail over my nose and didn't bother to move. I felt a hand touch my shoulder as Denver kneeled next to me.

"It's gonna be okay." Denver soothed, rubbing me between my shoulders. "We're going to get help in Draig Town and then fly home to figure this all out. Okay?"

I sniffed and nodded sadly, not sure how much I believed his words. It's going to take a lot of effort to figure out what's wrong with me, and I'm not really sure how I changed back in the first place. It was all new territory for me.

"Come on. Let's get something to eat." Denver said, helping me to my feet. My stomach grumbled and I winced, remembering that I hadn't eaten anything since that caramel apple the other day.

We approached the city gates and got ready to figure out an end to all of this.