IDRIS

“What the fuck was that?!”

My anger stormed through my body, almost as strong as the flames I wanted to burst from my throat toward the bastard vampire standing in front of me.

The vampire was facing the door until he decided to turn his head to half-face me, and it was his feline grin that made my flames spark in a circle around me. The flames were small, as they were part of what little power I had left after what he had done, but they expressed enough to make Roland's eyes widen for a split second.

“Where did you learn such language, my friend?” he asked with a voice soft yet threatening.

I tried not to reflect my anger with my answer, “As I am to be stuck here, I took some time to learn some of their culture and way of speaking. Do you like it?” A smirk tugged at my lips, my voice coming out the calm I had hoped for, yet the surrounding flames remained.

His eyes drew from mine down to the sparks. His smile grew wider until a chuckle slipped his lips, his fangs sharp yet retracted, a sign of mockery as I saw it. My flames burned hotter in my veins.

I hated being around others. Humans, much less. And this vampire, far less than humans. After he had entered my cave 50 years ago, Roland sought my help to help cure his mother of an illness. As I had shaken his hand with a claw, he clasped on a cursed bracelet that now adorned my wrist. The very one that turned me to this form, also refraining me from being able to use my magic and return to my home in the forest.

I had been roaming this city ever since. Hiding but also learning whatever I could, though I learned very little considering my lack of knowing how to read and write in the human’s language. Though, the little I learned currently proved useful in a way against my so-called friend.

“Apologies, friend. I am proud that you learned something about this city.” His words triggered an unexpected reaction from me: My eyebrows tensed. “What seems to trouble you?”

“First off, you said you finally found an ingredient to the cure!”

The fanged boy tsked with a shake of his too-crushable head, “I said I found one, not that I had it. I still have to retrieve it from Amari’s forest.”

The Goddess of Nature. Her forest was three cities east of Semora. It was known for its protectors, or minions, as the vampire seemed to call them. The main one being my brother, who loved to eat his trespassing prey, and was also the dragon king's right hand. I lifted a hand to rub my chin and let my other hand hang on the crease of its elbow with my head slightly tilted towards the ground, my preferred posture to think.

“It would take weeks by horse,” I said after a few strokes of my chin. The cities were big, but they were definitely not the size of average-sized island. What would make the trip longer were the mountains between Amari’s forest, and its neighboring city, Elta. Besides that, I was not inclined to seeing my brother after all these years.

I lifted my head to see that the vampire's smile had turned into a conniving smirk. “By horse, my friend. But by dragon, it will only take a few hours.”

My face clenched from anger, and my surrounding flames grew in size. Not by much, but enough to show my anger toward the fool that knew how I felt about being ridden like some steed.

Stolen story; please report.

“I know what you are thinking. Remember, you are still to help me cure my mother. As part of our bargain.” after a small pause, he said, “Please.” His smile was now apologetic, and his voice was softer than usual to seem sincere.

“Explain who that mortal was and why she was here, then I shall think about letting you fiends touch my scales.” I let my flames disappear to show that I was willing to listen to whatever bullshit, as the short-lived creatures said, he was to spit out. I also turned my face into a reflection of calm, though my anger remained inside.

“That was Beatrice Lane, daughter of Brode Lane.” He held his hand up, with palm facing me, at my growl, one of the few traits I had left of my trapped part of myself. “I know. I know,” he frowned. “I saved her and her girlfriend from Darik at his event last night.” I raised a brow. “He was doing something that I was not very fond of. I offered to help her calm down here tonight,” his lips twitched into a half-smile “but, as you could see, it turned out differently from what I had planned.”

My eyes narrowed at the fanged boy. For one, I knew he was at Darik’s event. I was not sure why, and I was not sure that I wanted to ask. And why he had decided to save that dragon killer’s daughter? I was not sure if I wanted to know either. This man worked in mysterious ways.

“I would like us to leave for Amari’s forest by tomorrow night after I get our sick guest settled in. The sooner we have a cure, the better.” was the last thing he said before brushing past me toward the stairs.

“There is one thing you have not considered,” I said, my voice a warning. He stopped at the first step of the stairs and turned his head to half-face me, his eyes poised and relaxed. “Firstly, you trapped me in this form. I cannot access my wings. And secondly, if you were to free me of this damned bracelet, are you not afraid I would run away? And if I did go with you, are you not afraid that I will be attacked from below?”

He gave me a knowing smirk as he said, “I have a plan. Now go get your rest. We have a long road ahead of us, my scaled friend.” And with a single step forward, he was gone.

----

I had spent all morning listening to a sleepy vampire ramble on about how he was going to get through each and every monster in Amari’s forest, including my brother. He had wanted to go at destroying any creatures we came across in that forest without the dragon hunter’s daughter finding out he was a Meistec. The vampire had hidden his entire non-human identity from the world for hundreds of years, changing his name every few years or so to make him seem less suspicious.

I found myself stopping in front of a display window from a clothing store. I looked at mannequins posing in interesting ways as they showed off the most expensive men’s clothes the shop had, the glass glinting at the sun having risen at its highest today. The reflection of it slightly bothering my eyes but bringing some warmth to my face. I did not understand why clothes had to be a certain way to be considered… What was the word?

Fashionable.

“Idris?!”

A familiar voice shouted from my right. A little too loud for my liking, and I did not dare look, as I did not want to deal with the girl. It was embarrassing enough that she had almost made a laugh burst out of me at her pointing out the vampire’s horrible cooking. I was not ready to have my pride plummet more than it already has.

The closer she stepped, the more my flames wanted to burst out from inside me. But I did not falter from my relaxed expression, nor did I look down to the girl as she stepped right in front of me. I kept my focus on the mannequins on display.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, beside the fact I was trying to ignore her. I did not look to see the expression on her face.

This was supposed to be my last day alone before a trip that would likely take days, or even weeks, and now I was stuck having to deal with the girl.

She grimaced below me, a sign of irritation, I presumed, from the many times I've seen other humans do it as I watched from afar. That was not what finally brought my eyes down to her, though. It was the sound of paper being played with, of something being opened, releasing a sweet smell of dried meat. Something I have not had in quite some time.

Finally tilting my head to look her in the eye, I noticed she had the face of having accomplished something.

Well played, human. I thought as I narrowed my eyes.

“Do you want some?” she asked, holding the piece of dried meat up closer to me, making its sweet scent much stronger than I could handle.

“What is your price?”

Though my heart began to ache for the meat, the expression on my face remained.

Her smile grew after my question. It was as if she had just found something useful. I almost wanted to take my words back to not give her any ideas for my strict favor-for-a-favor moral. Almost. She was mortal, after all. I did not think she would make me do anything that would deplete my pride more than she already had.

“Can you help me get Mina to Roland’s place? She's too weak to walk now. If it isn't too much trouble?” Her smile became one that did not meet her eyes, like that of a human girl I once knew before she passed.

I had no interest in carrying a girl in public across the city, but I gave her a single nod nonetheless.