The Dragon's Rose Read online

  “What are you doing?” Bella yelled above the melee.

  Her aunt waited a moment and then charged at the Shadow King, who seemed to have the upper hand at the moment. She beat him hard with the bat and then followed with her Taser. The Shadow King yelled and screamed. He was about to go after Bella’s aunt, when Rogan rose up from his position on the floor and threw a hard spell at the Shadow King, whose side exploded in blood.

  The king yelled and turned back to Rogan. “She will be mine! It was meant to be! She will be heavy with my child, but before then, I will enjoy every moment when I am inside her, releasing my seed into her hot, tight--”

  Rogan roared and unleased a heavy ball of flame. Part of the Shadow King’s arm was singed, but he rebounded.

  “You are no match for me,” the king taunted, and Rogan growled.

  The two clashed once more and, to Bella’s horror, she realized that shadows were forming in the living room despite the light. They took shape and became solid, their haunting eyes looking straight at Bella. She screamed and tried to push her aunt and uncle behind her.

  One shadow slithered up to her like a snake and grabbed her by the neck. It lifted her up, and she began choking. It then surrounded her like a blanket, and Bella felt as if she would drown in its darkness. It seemed to be carrying her out the door, and Bella flailed. She tried to scream, but darkness rushed down her throat and she gagged and felt herself retch.

  She was pushing past the darkness, struggling to see past the complete lack of light, when she felt warmth running up and down her body. The shadow exploded, and Bella sat in a puddle of goo, coughing and sputtering. Bits of flame were still clinging to the dark bits of matter that remained of the shadow, and her aunt was at her side, helping her up.

  “Let’s go,” her aunt was saying, and Bella shook her head.

  “Can’t leave him,” she managed to whisper.

  Her uncle laughed humorlessly. “There is a damn dragon and a—a shaman fighting in our living room. It is time to go, young lady!”

  “No!” Bella said and felt her strength returning. “I am not leaving him. He would never leave me.”

  “My only loyalty is to you!” her aunt yelled, her eyes filling with tears. “I promised long ago I would make sure nothing happened to you!”

  Bella sighed. “I can’t leave him, Aunt Sue,” Bella insisted. “I—I think I love him.”

  “Love or no, you have to come with us. You’re young. There’ll be other loves. Come on!”

  Her aunt and uncle tried hard to pull her out of the house. Bella was kicking and screaming, trying desperately to get back to Rogan, to help him.

  The Shadow King and he were engaged in heavy battle, and Rogan was bleeding heavily. Bella called out to him, her heart breaking when a spell hit him in the chest and he staggered.

  “I have to help him, Aunt Sue! Please!” Bella pleaded. She could see that Rogan was slowing down, that he was becoming fatigued from blood loss. He was trying hard to overcome the king, but the wily adversary was too strong. Blood exploded from Rogan’s mouth as the king threw a curse at his face. Rogan staggered and then fell.

  The shadows were on Rogan at once, pulling at him and tugging, suffusing him with the same discomfiting darkness that Bella had experienced. She imagined that he was suffering, that his lungs were filling with something his body couldn’t expel, that he was literally drowning in darkness.

  Tears rolled down Bella’s cheeks, and she struggled against her uncle’s hold.

  “No! Rogan!” Bella shouted, and then an idea came to her. She stopped struggling and instead sang. She sang one clear full note, her voice rising high above the melee, and the darkness seemed to rebound from Rogan, slithering to the walls to cling there. The Shadow King turned and threw his attention onto Bella. He sneered and began to approach.

  Bella instinctively took a step back but stood her ground. She continued singing, telling the Shadow King that she would not give up, commanding that the darkness subside and that she prevail. She sang a high note and then a low note; each one struck the Shadow King like a bullet, and he twisted and turned as if hit. Bella continued singing, her brain filled with a song she couldn’t describe but she could certainly sing.

  She threw open her arms and sang high to the heavens. Thunder rolled in the distance, and she called to it. It obeyed, and soon the house was shaking and shuddering in a frenzy of a storm’s power. She slowly wound words across her tongue, words that tore into her reality and into another. The rip began slowly and moved across the living room space like a tiny tear, only to become a portal that roared and expanded.

  Bella threw all she could into the notes, the power of her mother’s people rippling through her, sending her music soaring. The thunder and lightning were drawn to her call, and they wrapped themselves around the Shadow King. He flailed and struggled, and Bella kept going, her voice ringing out in an arc of power. The king tried to hit back with spells and chants, but nothing seemed to work. They all rebounded harmlessly off, their lights twinkling like stars as they faded into nothingness.

  As Bella sang, the portal got bigger and bigger. She sang the notes in quick succession again, and the portal became a window, then a door, then a big open space. She could see into the reality beyond. There were monsters there, hellish things that one could only find tucked in the corners of children’s books and imaginations, things that truly went bump in the night.

  Bella closed her eyes against their fervent gaze as they waited for someone to come into their realm to claim him. Bella could only sing. She sang of triumph, of mastery of her elements and her power. Rogan was roused by the noise and stood. One wing on his back was broken, and he was limping badly. Bella continued her song, her tone growing sorrowful as she took in his injured visage. She faltered a moment, and the portal flickered, but she continued stronger, her voice carrying anger and pain.

  Rogan stumbled forward and, without hesitation, pushed the Shadow King into the realm beyond. He went in screaming, scrambling and pushing against the creatures that eagerly converged upon him. He yelled and turned a hate-filled gaze to Bella, a dark promise in his eyes. Bella met his gaze with her own and finished out the song, the final note sealing the portal and closing it forever.

  Bella fell to the floor in a heap. Her throat ached, her body hurt and her muscles were so sore. She took in deep breaths of air and then briefly considered throwing up. The contents of her stomach were sloshing about dangerously, and she retched a bit before Rogan, in full human form, helped her up. She fell into his embrace and sighed tiredly. Tears were rolling down her face, and she sank deeper into his arms and cried. She had almost lost him. Intense emotion lanced through her and, as she looked into his shining, prismatic eyes, it was as if a piece of puzzle finally clicked into place.

  She could hear her aunt and uncle coming up behind her, their hands on her, and they were embracing her, too. She cried deeply then, cried for the mother and father she didn’t have, cried for everything she had just been through and, finally, she cried for herself. As her cries slowly turned to whimpers, she stood and took a look at her aunt and uncle’s home, a place that she had grown up in and a place that housed so many memories.

  “This place is trashed,” she said in awe. Broken glass was all over the floor, windows were busted out, furniture lay overturned and ripped to pieces. Her aunt was crying softly over her collection of fine china.

  “Young man!” her uncle howled, and Bella tensed. “You saved my daughter. ‘Cos that’s what she is. We’ve raised this little girl since she was knee-high. You have my respect. And my blessing.”

  Rogan nodded, and her aunt added, “I still don’t want no hanky-panky--”

  “Aunt Sue, he’s my—my future husband. We’re betrothed.”

  Both her aunt and uncle began yelling and screaming, and Bella could only smile. “I don’t think we’re getting married right now.”

  Rogan looked at Bella in confusion. “We are not?”

&nb
sp; “No. You will court me like a proper gentlemen, we will get to know each other and we will have a yearlong engagement. Then, we’ll tie the knot,” Bella told him.

  “And you’ll finish school?” her aunt asked.

  Bella nodded. “I will finish school.”

  “Son, I don’t know who or what you are, but--” her aunt shook her head. “I just don’t know. Your mom would always talk about these fantastic creatures and people, and I just thought she was making up tall tales. I never thought any of it was true.”

  “Well, it is. I am the descendant of a magical line of humans that live in a magical realm, which I spent the last few weeks at,” Bella informed them, and they gasped.

  “How--” her aunt began.

  “Time runs differently there. I suspect that for every minute here, it is a day or so there.”

  “I can’t—I don’t believe it!” her aunt said obstinately. “And, young man, look at the mess you made!”

  Rogan chuckled. “You have my sincere apologies. And I will compensate you greatly. You are, after all, family.”

  Her aunt sputtered and twirled away. Bella giggled into her hand, and her uncle shot her a warning look. She stopped but settled for a sly smirk instead.

  Bella could hear sirens coming up in the distance, and she cursed. She had forgotten about things like the police and neighbors.

  For the next ten minutes, Bella, her aunt, uncle and Rogan tried to come up with a plausible explanation for all the racket and mess. When Bella opened the door, she gave the police officer a rueful grin. He was the same officer from earlier, and he didn’t look happy.

  “Officer--” she began.

  “Jones. And what is going on here? This is the second time tonight my partner and I have had to come here.”

  Bella batted her eyes innocently. “Well, lightning struck that tree outside,” Bella pointed to a small tree that she commanded through song to topple over only moments before. “It came flying in, and it was crazy! We were all sitting around, and then the tree just fell in. Then, there was a lightning strike over there, started a small fire. We’re just happy this is all the damage we’ve had. It’s been an unlucky day for us.”

  She spoke in syrupy tones, and the officer glanced at them all, narrowing his eyes. Bella could tell he was tired, though, and didn’t want to bother with the hassle of paperwork.

  “I don’t know what you people are doing over here, but whatever it is, I’m watching you.”

  Bella nodded. “Of course. We would expect nothing less. You’re good at your job, and we appreciate it.”

  The officer did a report and then asked that they follow up with their homeowner’s insurance. Her aunt made a promise that they would. Her uncle shook both the officers’ hands and then watched as they left out the door and into their squad car.

  Her aunt looked around at the mess with her hands on her hips. “Well, isn’t this just a pickle?” her aunt said. “How are we going to claim all this?”

  Rogan grinned. “I can fix it for you.”

  Her aunt turned to him and looked taken aback. “Fix all this?”

  “Yes. It is a minor maintenance spell I learned from the servants, but I have used it a time or two myself.”

  “Servants?” her uncle began, and Bella waved off his questions.

  “Okay, Rogan, get to it.”

  Rogan chanted and, as he did, glass began to fly back into its place, furniture righted itself, and pieces of broken china came back together.

  Some of the furniture was woefully still broken, but for the most part, the place looked nearly like it did before the big fight.

  “Wow,” her aunt said, amazed. “Not bad.”

  Her uncle and aunt collapsed on the newly mended couch. Bella and Rogan sat in the opposite-facing chairs.

  “You two do owe me a vacation,” her aunt told them, and they smiled.

  THE FINAL

  CHAPTER

  Hildevar and Alannah ran to Bella with tears in their eyes. They cried tears of happy relief and then reached out to Rogan, who hugged them fiercely.

  “Bella, after you and Rogan disappeared, we thought for sure you were dead! The king has been mourning Rogan and his lost queen since you left. His mother is beyond comfort!” Hildevar informed them. Rogan and Bella exchanged looks.

  They had spent the last month and a half introducing Rogan to her world. They had delayed going back several times, insisting that time ran so differently in both worlds that they’d hardly be missed. They were wrong.

  “I am so sorry!” Bella told them as they sniffled, “We should have come sooner. How long has it been?”

  “Three days,” Hildevar replied with red-rimmed eyes. “The Shadow King has disappeared as well. He is not in the Darklands, and there is unrest in the forest there.”

  Bella shuddered just thinking about the king. “He’s gone for good. I sent him to another reality where he can’t hurt anyone.”

  Hildevar’s eyes opened comically wide. “Bella—no! You shouldn’t have. This sends the balance off greatly! If he is no longer king, then that makes you--”

  Alannah gulped. “You will take his place as ruler of the Darklands. It is written.”

  “You are truly queen,” Hildevar said.

  “But—but how can I be queen of two places?” Bella asked, and Alannah shook her head.

  “We have never encountered such a thing. This is new. I cannot tell you, my queen—Bella.”

  The group looked worriedly at the ground for a long moment until a gentle cough interrupted their musings.

  “Hello there!” her uncle called out. He was dressed in his Sunday best and had even topped his balding head with a hat. Her aunt was wearing her best dress and was carrying a cake she’d made.

  “Oh, guys,” Bella said, “This is my aunt and uncle.”

  “Howdy do,” her uncle said jovially.

  “Hi,” her aunt said shyly.

  Alannah and Hildevar took turns giving them both warm hugs.

  “You are the ones who raised her! We are honored!” Hildevar announced, and her aunt blushed.

  They were all quickly ushered into the castle. Her aunt and uncle were bowled over by the luxury that was inside.

  “He’s a king, right?” her aunt whispered, and Bella nodded.

  “He is the king of the Southern Clan of Dragons. His father will soon pass on his crown and become regent, leaving Rogan king of all the clans and myself queen—when we are married, of course.”

  Her uncle was shocked. “You’re royalty?”

  Bella nodded. “Yep.”

  “So we can come crash here whenever we want?” her uncle teased.

  “Oh yeah! I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Hildevar and Alannah hurriedly showed her aunt and uncle to their guest chambers while Rogan scryed his mother and father. They were shocked to see him alive and well. Once Rogan explained their escape, his mother had pushed his father out of the way and asked for Bella.

  Bella approached the bowl with trepidation. The queen was staring back at her, her face lined with sorrow. Bella’s heart ached. She had been so sure that they’d only been gone a few minutes. She hadn’t realized it had been days.

  “You saved my son,” the queen sniffled. “Twice you have done this. This makes us family. I pledge my love and support to you.”

  Bella felt a warm glow surround her, and she nodded gravely. “I understand.”

  Rogan’s father approached, and he gave her nod of respect. “I, too, pledge my love and support to you.”

  Surprise rolled through her as the oath suffused her. She stammered, “I—I—don’t know what to say.”

  “Thank you is customary, though I think, for today, we will forego such niceties,” his father said imperiously, and Bella stifled a laugh.

  “We will marry, mother and father,” he informed them. “But not for a year. We must—get to know each other better.”

  Rogan’s father nodded. “You have only one year. If yo
u are not married before then, grave consequences will be dire.”

  A chill ran through Bella and she nodded. “I vow to marry Rogan after one year,” Bella found herself saying, and Rogan shivered as the oath took place.

  “Blessed be,” the queen said and looked as if she wanted to sag in a chair with relief.

  “I have always liked something about you, girl,” his father was saying. “You have a certain—fire.”

  The queen slapped the king playfully on the arm. “Oh, hush,” the queen smiled wide at Bella. “We will celebrate three days hence to commemorate your journey.”