She reached the house and looked for the boy there, calling out his name, but he was nowhere to be seen. She figured he had run into the woods, too scared to stay in the house or worse, trying to find his mother. He had no other family, and he had to be grieving the loss of his mother. That would make him crazy enough to follow the demons.
She jumped on her horse and rode around the village, calling out the boy’s name, with no luck. The sun was coming up in the sky, and she was starting to feel desperate.
In a slow pace, she headed back to the woods, always calling his name, still hoping he would be hiding there.
“Rhiannon, what happened?” Kael’s voice startled her, and she looked up, just in time to see him flying over her.
“I can’t find Joshua. I think he followed the demons,” she told him, letting a single tear to roll down her face.
He landed a few steps away from her, trying not to startle her horse too much. “Your grandmother wasn’t able to tell me what had happened. Why would Joshua want to follow the demons?” he asked, in a stern tone.
“They took his mother, they took Esther,” she sobbed, jumping down from her horse and running into his arms, craving his comfort.
But she couldn’t reach him. Right in front of her eyes, she saw him roar his anger, fly over the trees and turn into a creature she had never seen before.
His face elongated until it turned into a snout, with huge, sharp fangs, his clothes were torn into a million pieces, and his body was covered with scales. His claws grew until they became deadly weapons, as well as the ones on his wings.
She knew he could shift, he had warned her about it, but what really surprised her was the way he burst into flames. His whole body changed as if he was made of fire. She could still distinguish his features, but now they were made of the most potent fire she had ever seen. He roared once more, and for a tiny moment she felt sorry for the demons, they didn’t stand a chance against his wrath.
He sniffed the area and flew away before she was able to utter a word. Taking a deep breath, she looked around, still trying to find Joshua, hoping he hadn't done anything so stupid like going after the demons.
But she reached her grandmother’s house with no signs of the little boy.
“What happened? Where’s Kael?” she asked her, the minute she jumped down from the horse.
“He went looking for the demons and Joshua,” she explained, feeling too tired all of a sudden.
“What? That’s too dangerous,” Gwendolyn started saying.
“Yes, for the demons,” she assured the old woman. “Now I’m sure Kael is the one behind the ash people found in Esther’s village,” she explained.
Gwendolyn opened her mouth as if to say something and then closed it, just to open it a few moments later. “Do I want to know this?” she asked, breathing hard.
Rhiannon shook her head. “Probably not. We’ll have to wait and see if he can find them or at least, find Joshua.”
“Yes, yes.”
They spent the rest of the morning putting away the gold he had brought, trying to keep themselves busy and sane. Rhiannon was so worried, she felt she could almost climb the walls and crawl around the ceiling.
At midafternoon, they finally heard the flapping sound of his wings as he landed in front of the cabin.
They rushed to the door just in time to see him retreat his wings and walk to the cabin with Joshua in his arms.
“What happened?” Rhiannon asked, running to meet them.
Kael flew away, pursuing the faint scent of the little boy, too worried, too enraged to notice the change in his body. All he could think of was of the poor woman he had saved and her little boy. He couldn’t allow the demons to take them away, not if he could do anything about it.
He had never felt a rage so violent like the one rushing through his body, and he was sure he would destroy every single demon he found in his way. With their latest abduction, the demons had just turned the villagers’ fight into his fight and he wouldn’t rest until he had destroyed them all.
It didn’t take him long to find Joshua, hiding behind a tree, a few miles away from his village, scared and exhausted. The poor child was unconscious, and Kael decided to leave him there, while he tried to follow the faint scent of the demons before it faded away.
He flew as fast as he could, but the beasts had too much advantage and soon he had lost their track. Cursing the universe, he roared and turned away to return to where he had left Joshua.
It was only then when he realized he had changed.
Startled, he landed and looked at his own body. His whole body was transformed into a fire creature. He had never heard his people could shift into one of them. Yes, they had an inner fire, called the fire of life, and blowing fire was one of their most powerful weapons, but he had never heard they could shift the way he had. Not even their legends talked about anything like it.
Sighing and wishing he was home so that he could show his family what was happening, he changed into his humanoid form, and the fire disappeared. Curious, he changed back to his full drogon form, but this time, he didn’t change into the fire creature, making him conclude the fire was associated with the wrath, and that he probably would be able to conjure it when he needed it. It would just take some training.
Pleased with his new weapon, he turned back to normal, just leaving his wings displayed and went looking for Joshua to take him to Gwendolyn’s place.
He needed to talk to the women and see if they had any idea where he could find the demons.
The child was still unconscious when he picked him up in his arms and took him away. Both Rhiannon and Gwendolyn came out of the cabin waiting for him, and he was able to see the surprise on Gwendolyn’s face when she saw his wings. But fortunately, there was no fear.
“What happened?” Rhiannon asked him.
“I found him passed out, behind a tree. I guess it was too much for him,” he explained.
“Were you able to find the demons?” she asked him, anxious.
“No, I lost their track not far from where I found Joshua,” he replied, oozing all his frustration in each word.
He carried the child into the house and laid him down on one of the couches.
“You shouldn’t have gone after them all alone. It’s too dangerous,” Gwendolyn protested, closing the door behind them.
“No, it’s not. Besides, I don’t think I would find anyone here to help me. So far, I haven’t seen a single person trying to fight these creatures,” he replied, furious. “All they do is hide away the minute they hear they’re approaching. Not even the desperate cries of a child drag them out of their safe houses.”
Gwendolyn nodded, ashamed of her fellow villagers. Kael was right. People were so scared of the demons no one would even try to fight them, not anymore, anyway. Her husband had died in one of the first battles against the demons.
“They are too afraid,” she said, not trying to excuse the villagers, just stating things as they were.
“I understand, but there is a time when you have to face your fears and put up a fight. Otherwise, life loses its meaning. You stop living and start surviving,” he retorted.
“I know, and I’ve tried to convince them of that, but there’s no use.”
“Only a small group of women were willing to fight, after all, they only abduct young women, but their families don’t let them out at the first sign of danger,” Rhiannon added. “My father included.”
“Believe me, I do understand their need to protect their loved ones, but it’s time to do more,” he stated, in a firm tone.
“There are a few men that I’m sure would want to help you,” Gwendolyn told him. “Men that have lost everyone, their wives, their sons, and daughters, they will want to join you in this battle.”
“Can you contact them? I want to go after the demons as soon as possible,” he asked.
“Yes, of course, but no one knows where they hide,” Gwendolyn explained.
“Then, we’ll have to wait for their next attack, and I’ll follow them.”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” Rhiannon said, with a faint smile. She planned to be among those that would help him. She was tired of watching how the demons decimated her people and doing nothing.
“Mama!” The painful moan came from the couch, and they turned to look at Joshua. “They took away my mom,” he cried out, as he ran into Kael’s arms. “You have to find her Kael, please,” he begged.
Kael picked him in his arms and comforted the small child as best as he could. “I’ll do my best, little man, I promise you.”
“You’re the only one that can, I know,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Kael’s muscular neck.
“I’ll do all I can to bring her back to you, I promise,” he assured the sobbing child. “But right now, I need you to be strong. Will you?” The child nodded, and he smiled. “Good. Go with Rhiannon, she will give you some food and a something to drink, alright?” He handed the child to Rhiannon and waited until they left the room to turn to look at Gwendolyn. “Bring those men to me, it’s time we start preparing ourselves for the demons’ attack.”
The old woman nodded, grabbed her shawl, and she left the house immediately.
Kael followed Rhiannon into the kitchen and watched her as she fed the young boy.
“You must be hungry too. Why don’t you take a seat while I prepare some food for you?” she asked, with a smile.
“I’m alright,”
“I never said you weren’t. But I’m sure you haven’t had a proper meal ever since I left the mountains.” She pulled a chair and waited for him to take a seat. “I’ll have a breakfast worthy of gods in just a few minutes.”
He smiled and took a seat next to Joshua, who was already eating some kind of porridge. “Thank you, that would be nice of you.”