Celine brought the meat skewers that everyone had been waiting for, followed by Ochria who held the plate with the other meats.

Asur served the drinks and put the sauces on the table.

The room was rustic, an old farmhouse dating from the early fifteenth century, surrounded by equally old farmhouses, villas and second homes.

In the meadows, cows could be heard bellowing, and in the distance, in an old, unused sawmill, a farmer was cutting his wood to dry for the coming years.

Although everyone had central heating, nothing matched the gentle warmth of a fire in a hearth.

The large table could easily seat 16 people, but the extensions were folded underneath.

But, by tradition or habit, Luc's place setting, on celine's right, was always set.

Emilie also prayed that Luc would be happy where he was, or at least that his soul would be at peace. Emilie loved him very much. Everyone loved her.

And Emilie occasionally blamed herself. If she didn't exist, her parents might still be alive and Luc certainly would.

Celine had to give her a stern look to get her to stop.

Some friends came to the barbecue and Chardon arrived a little late.

Céline insisted he stay in the guest room, but Emilie insisted he move into her den instead.

Her den was the old restored barn, the beams re-varnished and the stones repointed. There was also a hearth and a raised mezzanine with a pretty staircase made of small fir beams in imitation of a scout structure but in hardwood. There were all the comforts of a young girl... dragon, Tv, internet, swimming pool-bath in local stone. All built and designed by Luc when Emilie outgrew the house.

A large arch with sliding panel separated the dining room from her den. In the past, when she hadn't yet learned how to reduce her size, she was kept in the company of the family, neither excluded nor isolated.

The meal went off without a hitch, but Emilie wasn't at ease. Something was bothering her.

Nightmares, perhaps.

She relived the explosion and her tail shot on the activated plutonium core and then the huge explosion, everything collapsing and terrible flames that managed to burn her despite her immunity to fire due to her nature.

The meal came to an end, but Emilie no longer had the same appetite as before.

She was still a dragon child, but with the spirit of a responsible adult human.

She was much more mature and serious than Asur and Ochria, who only thought of having fun and doing stupid things. Although her little sister stuck by her and tried to be like her.

Emilie also realized that it was hard for them, because while she had been human before she was reincarnated as a dragon because of Rudia, who was a real monster and tyrant at the time, it wasn't easy for Asur or Ochria, who were and still are dragons at heart.

Their terrible punishment in Egypt taught them empathy and respect for life and others. This enabled them to see the monster in themselves and all the evil they had done. But now it was a distant memory, and every time a dragon instinct called, they remembered the consequences...

Ochria put her scaly paw on Emilie, "Emi... you look worried... It's Erich, isn't it?"

Emilie: "Yes...I shouldn't, but I'm worried and Grandmère is still haunting me".

Ochria: "Yes...Emmi.. She haunts me too... I still have nightmares.

Then, as evening fell, Emile left Chardon to settle in, and she was joined by Ochria.

Her breath instantly ignited the fire in the hearth, and she returned to her normal dragon size, some ten feet tall, curled up in the middle of the large barn.

Ochria transformed herself into a 7-meter-long dragon and coiled herself between Emilie's paws. Azur didn't give a damn about magic... his online pals mattered more. He wanted to join his scout friends in Houffalize, at the "Cercle", and drink beer with them despite Céline and Emilie's prohibition. At least he knew how to have fun and had so many friends that only Celine knew who was who. Emilie had given up. Finally, he always had fun with the same people.

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He loved basketball and became the main striker. The problem was that he was often fouled because he jumped too far, too hard and with his dragon strength, he made mistakes like knocking others down and had to come off the bench. Then he'd slow down and it was a technical foul...but the coach was nice and reminded him to tone it down so as not to be fined...which made Emilie lose her temper!

Asur and Ochria adored Emilie but also feared her tantrums (with Céline's support or at her request).

"Ochria, I'm going to cast a Divination spell. I remind you that the use of the mage must remain framed and secret. If Mom were to use it at will, I've sworn an oath to the order of Leopod and the hunters. Whether I silk a dragon or not makes no difference! Magic is forbidden! And can only be used under supervision."

She turned her head towards the mezzanine where the professor stood, admiring the dragoness teaching Ochria her culture.

"But, Emi, why can't I do divination like I do my human transformations? Besides, I'd like to be a doctor and heal people!"

"Ochria, people were persecuted for witchcraft not so long ago and even though it hasn't been a crime for 1 century, people are still lynched for having the "evil eye" or for having "bewitched" someone . It's pure stupidity, but it's dangerous.

You must realize that being accepted as a human or human-dragon is and remains a challenge. All it takes is one bad judge, even a well-meaning policeman. Our freedom hangs by a thread, and many countries still regard us as either dangerous animals or demons. Magic would only give them reason and arguments to destroy us. You already know all this. And even your transformation, apart from modesty and the fact that you're doing it out of sight, could even disgust or frighten idiots or children.

And magic makes people jealous, and the military would be interested or worried enough to lock us up. Hero or not..."

The teacher smiled and nodded for Emilie to begin the magic lesson.

She traced a circle with chalk on the bluestone floor made of large flagstones.

"This is to concentrate the mana and light the spell."

Then she traced an evocation triangle

"So the answers to your questions will manifest themselves on the physical plane in this area".

Ochria: "But why these symbols all around? What do they mean?"

"We live on earth in the solar system. Each circle represents the rotation of each planet. And each planet has energy sectors positioned in relation to the zodiac.

There are 12 official signs, but that's to fool the inquisitors. There are 13 in fact, and the thirteenth represents you.

Before, we had to calculate the position of the planets and observe them, but now with the internet and computers, we know where the planets are.

So it's like an astronomical clock, and the texts are used to calibrate your mana circle, which acts like a satellite dish.

This is how spirits can communicate between different planes of reality, different months, different times.

It's like finding the right radio frequency".

So Emilie asked a simple question.

"Is Reich arriving at the airport?"

No answer.

Emilie had her eyes closed and her paw in Ochria's paw as she felt the mana transferring into the circle.

Then, all of a sudden, the roof creaked, as if a dragon were walking on the barn tiles, but it was only an ominous, frightening sound, and the footsteps were reminiscent of Tiamat.

Yes, it was Tiamat walking on the roof!

The hundred-year-old beams creaked and twisted without breaking, as if it were the space that was twisting but not the beams.

Reality was twisting.

It was like a drop falling into a puddle. Reality was changing.

Then Emilie had a vision of horror.

Tiamat was holding Reich in one paw, her claws piercing his legs and belly, and she was licking the human in the palm of her paw, looking with 4 mischievous faces at Emilie.

Then, in one fell swoop, she tore him open between her 4 monstrous heads. "Grandmère is waiting for you in Hell, Emilie," followed by Luc's howls, also being devoured by the infernal Archduchess Tiamat."

Emilie vomited on the circle, Ochria having fled outside and Chardon's white hair standing on end as if he'd just experimented with static electricity.

The fuses had blown and only the firelight and Emilie's golden eyes lit up the room.

Céline arrived with a flashlight and went to the meter to read the fuses.

"Are you okay? Where's Ochria?"

But no one answered.

Chardon looked at Emilie with surprise and concern.

Then he spoke.

"Emilie... you see... magic is dangerous!! even for you!"

But she wasn't listening.

She was crying. "Reich... please!!! No!!! don't!!"... "no!!"