A Curse Worse than Death

There weren’t always Dragons in the Valley. They came in and took over like the devil at night; kidnapping children, killing men and women, burning homes. They established a place of power. Taking so many lives and causing even more destruction. That was two years ago. Now they’re everywhere, our streets, our primaries, even our homes. My own brother is a Dragon himself. Now everytime I ask him about it he just says-

“You know why I do this, Armani!”, my brother exclaimed.

I was so angry I could feel my own blood boiling beneath my skin. We have this fight so often and everytime it ends the same way. Every. Damn. Time.

“No, Bellamy, I know why you started doing this a year and a half years ago, but now, I don’t even recognize you!” I continued lacing up my combat boots.

“Will you just calm down for a second, please, and listen to me?” He placed his hand on my shoulder but I shrugged him off. “Armani, I am doing everything I can to find her.”

I gritted my teeth. “No, you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself, the only person you actually care about.”

“What? You don’t like having clothes on your back and food on the table?”

I picked up bread from the table and threw it at him. “You think this is what I care about?” I stood just inches shorter than him. “The only thing I care about is finding Alexi! That is who I am fighting for day in and day out!”

My eyes followed his pacing back and forth, wearing the old, raggedy threadbare rug in our living room..

“You don’t think I miss her everyday?” I turned my attention to my shoes, I didn’t want to meet his eyes. “I’m trying to help out the only way I know how.” He paused. “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” I clenched my fist, digging my nails into my palms, forcing my eyes to meet his. “Dragons take care of each other. They take care of me so I can take care of you and Ma.”

I could feel the tips of my fingers moisten with blood. “We were just fine before the Dragons came along and screwed everything up. We were fine, Bellamy!” My mouth turned bitter with the words I was about to say. “We don’t need them and I don’t need you!” The words hurt him. I knew they did. His dark eyes shifted from left to right before returning back to mine. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. “You don’t think that the choices you're making are putting us in danger? No one can even LOOK at me because of the people you're involved with. Do you know how many of them would love to get revenge for everything the Dragons have taken away from them; how many have tried? Not one person in the Valley has forgotten that day, not one!”

“God, Armani,” he rubbed his hand through his hair, “Don’t throw that in my face! We have both done things we aren’t proud of!” His eyes darkened, we both knew what he was talking about. “But have you ever stopped to consider that maybe we won’t find her?” His face changed instantly. I could tell he regretted his words but I didn’t care, he meant them just the same.

“You son of a bitch!” I brushed past him on the way to the door but he grabbed my wrist. “Let go of me, Bellamy!”

“Just wait. I didn’t mean that.”

I gripped his arm in my free hand and held it up. “Look at it.” His eyes turned away from me. “Look at it!” Grudgingly he looked at his forearm. At the tattoo of a dragon that was engraved into his skin. “This is all you stand for anymore! You can never ever get rid of this curse. You knew that when you started this.” I pulled my arm free. “Now, I am going to find our sister, because she is all I stand for.”

I walked over to the rocking chair that was occupied by our mother. She sits here everyday staring at nothing, rocking back and forth. I kissed her on the forehead and whispered, “I am going to bring her back to you.” Then I left, slamming the old wooden door on the way out.

My boots have walked this path so many times its familiarity is a comfort. The trees engulfed me providing a welcomed shade. The forest is the one place I can find a semblance of peace. The animals don’t tend to seek vengeance, not on me anyway. Anger fled my body slowly. I couldn’t afford for my head to be anywhere but on finding Alexi.

Bellamy just makes me so angry. He’s my brother and I love him but he is so stupid sometimes. Ever since he accepted the Dragon’s curse, he’s been so focused on himself. He agreed to join them to try and find Alexi from the inside. That was his priority, but he’s long since given up. They say the more times you turn the less of yourself you become. I didn’t believe it before, but now I’m not so sure.

Pushing aside my lingering thoughts of Bellamy, I reeled in my focus on Alexi.. Last week I found a new lead. There was a man who was said to have been a part of the Dragon’s but he got out. No one knows how or why. But if there was any chance of him having information on Alexi I was going to find out.

I walked the floor of the tavern. Eyes darting away from me just as quickly as they drift towards me. I was accustomed to it by now. After very few seconds of scanning the room I located my target. He looked just as he was described to me. Black hair, gray eyes, sharp jaw, muscular build. But most importantly I noticed his tattoo, or lack thereof. It looked as though he tried to burn it off. He was partially successful. I can’t imagine how much pain he suffered to do that. Let alone what would drive him to do such a thing. The Dragons have power. Who would give that up?

I approached him carefully so as to not scare him off. The closer I got the younger I realized he was. I thought he would be in his mid to late twenties at least but he didn’t look much older than me. I sat in the empty stool next to him. The tavern owner approached me, “What can I get for you, little lady?”

My attention was practically entirely on the guy next to me so I said the first thing that came to mind, “Uh, mulberry gin, please.”

“You got it.”

I didn’t know what to say to him, how to start the conversation. My drink was given to me but I couldn’t bring it to my lips. I just rotated it in my hands. Before I could come up with anything he spoke, “Stare at me a little harder and maybe I’ll combust into flames.”

I swallowed hard. “Clay, right?”

He took a sip of the glass in his hand. “What happened to your wrist?”

I looked down to the bruise forming on my wrist. I hadn’t realized how hard Bellamy had grabbed me until this moment. I shook my head. “Nothing.”

He chuckled without humor, “Nothing doesn’t do that.”

Just as I opened my mouth to change the subject, pull the focus back to my sister, a loud thud came from beside me. A heavy set guy displaying a dragon tattoo kicked the door in. Clay tensed, slowly lowering his glass. He said something to me without looking at me, “If you want to know about your sister do exactly as I say.”

My head shot towards him. “How did you know I was looking for my sister?”

His voice became sharp. “We don’t have time for this, Armani. Follow my lead, okay?”

I nodded. All my trust went right out the window but he knew my sister and I wasn’t going to let him go.

He grabbed my wrist causing me to flinch. Without letting his eyes leave the Dragon he moved to grab my hand instead. “On my count, we run.”

I whispered harshly, “Run? Are you aware of what these guys can do?”

He looked at me as though that was the stupidest thing I could have asked. And it probably was given his history but I still thought it was a bad idea.

“Oh come on, sweetheart, don’t you trust me?” He shot me a charming smile.

“Not in the slightest.”

“Atta girl.” He held my hand tighter. “One, two,” he held me in anticipation. “Three!”

On his mark we took off towards the back of the tavern and out a window I didn’t even know existed. He jumped through first and I followed closely behind. My feet hit the ground and we took off towards the forest.

He was fast but I was able to keep up. The deeper we got into the forest, the faster we moved. “Wait! I think we lost them.” I shouted while keeping pace.

Just as the words left my lips a huge shadow cast over the two of us. Clay still somehow found time to be snarky, “Believe or not, I don’t think we lost them.”

I groaned and we both sped up. Though I followed him with ease because I knew these woods like the back of my hand, I wasn’t sure where he was taking us or why he thought we could outrun a fire-breathing dragon.

All of the sudden Clay stopped. “Why are we stopping,” I managed to huff between heavy breaths, I could hear the panic in my voice.

“Listen, I know you don’t trust me, but I need you to take a leap of faith for me, darlin’.”

No matter what my gut was telling me, I didn’t really have any choice. I nodded and he grabbed my hand again. We ran for a short amount of time but stopped short of a giant hole covered by a large piece of wood. He removed the wood and before I could protest we jumped.

I felt like we were falling forever but it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. Briefly, I thought I was going to die. That was until I felt myself fall into some sort of net. Clay fell right next to me.

My heart was beating so fast I was sure it would beat right out of my chest. Nothing would matter anymore because I would be dead with my heart on display for all to see. Next to me Clay started laughing, laughing.

“What the hell is so funny?”

He rolled off the net and I followed. “That is what I like to call a good time.”

I was astonished. “A good time? You call almost being burned alive a good time?”

“Well when I have a pretty girl on my arm I do.”

I didn’t bother arguing. This wasn’t what I was here for. “Whatever. Just tell me about my sister.”

He ignored my notion. “Water?” He held the canteen out to me. I didn’t argue with him. I was so thirsty. “Woah, slow down there.” I wiped the water that dripped from my chin.

I handed him the canteen, and finally took a look at my surroundings. We were underground in a small room. It was simple, a bed, a stove, and a wall lined with weapons. “Is this where you live?”

He took the canteen and nodded. “There’s not much left for me up there, not anymore.”

I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, why he lived down here alone, and why he didn’t just leave. But I held my tongue. I was here to learn about my sister, I couldn’t get distracted. “So, my sister. Can you tell me about her?”

His gray eyes met mine. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll take you to her.” Two years of searching and everything I’ve worked so hard for was suddenly going my way. “But Armani, you should know; you might not like what there is to see.”

I didn’t listen to anything he said after he told me he would take me to Alexi. Nothing else mattered. “I don’t care. I want to see her. I have to know.”

I followed him eagerly. We walked so long the sun began to set beyond the horizon. After what felt like another two years we came to a hilltop. I looked at Clay but he was already looking in my direction. Clay gestured to the top of the hill where the silhouette of a girl sat. On either side of the girl were lines of men.

No, not men, Dragons. There were at least 30 of them.

Confusion rushed over me. Every eye turned in my direction. I looked at Clay, “You tricked me?”

He shook his head vigorously but I wouldn't hear it. He had tricked me and now I was going to die. Every single Dragon began to transform, taking their true shape. Fire illuminated everything. Had I been given the chance I would have turned over every rock to find my sister, but now my mother would lose another child.

Fire unleashed all at once from every direction. Every dragon took to the sky and flew in my direction. Smoke filled the sky. This was it for me. I was going to die. By the looks of it Clay was going to be dying with me since he didn’t seem to be running. The Dragons began their descent towards me.

Until they stopped. All at once the Dragons stopped, bowing and returning to human form. High above me the girl had raised two fists, signaling for them to stop I assume.

Clay looked at me knowingly. The fires died down and the smoke began to clear. The girl finally came into clear view, “Alexi?”

Alexi was a Dragon? Not just a Dragon she was their leader. The realization hit me hard, stunning me in place. All these years and she was right here tormenting and killing people. Tears quickly began to fall from my eyes.

She spoke to me from a distance. “You shouldn’t have come, Armani. You should have just given up.” I stood there unable to speak. My tongue felt like sandpaper. Nothing made sense anymore. “You need to leave, Armani. Now.”

Clay grabbed my hand. “Armani, we have to go.”

I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, could barely breathe.

Alexi's voice came again, “Dragons, kill them!”

Clay pulled my hand. “Armani, come on!”

And we were running again.