The dark Dragon sits in the middle of the crowd, staring down at us, growling and snarling. The Black Knights aim their swords and spears at him. The peasants stare in fear. Some of them are angry at the Dark Dragon.

General Boris seems angrier than before. He lifts his sword and points it at the dark Dragon, panting in anger. “You...” he whispers.

The dark Dragon grins evilly and chuckles. His dark blue tongue hangs out of his mouth, dripping hot saliva on the ground.

General Boris shakes his sword with rage. “You did it! You killed my child!” he shouts.

The dark Dragon slurps his tongue back inside his mouth. He shakes his head.

He points at General Boris. “No, it was you who killed your daughter. You couldn’t save her from me. Not even when you tried. It was your fault she died,” he says.

“But you killed her!” shouts General Boris.

The dark Dragon slowly lowers his head, stares at General Boris, and chuckles. General Boris screams in anger and charges at the dark Dragon’s head. He aims for the dark Dragon’s right eye. The dark Dragon grabs the tip of the sword with his mighty tail. General Boris struggles to free the sword, but the Dragon is too strong. The dark Dragon lifts the sword. General Boris holds on tight to the sword and is lifted off the ground. General Boris looks down at his black Knights with the crossbows.

“Knights, fire your crossbows!” he shouts.

The black Knights aim for the dark dragon's head. The dark Dragon turns to the knights. The knights fire their crossbows. Dark blue fire bursts from the dark Dragon's mouth and burns all the arrows into ashes. The knights are terrified of the power of the Dark Dragon. Most of them back away from the dark Dragon. General Boris screams in anger. He continues to struggle and hangs onto his sword.

“Let go of my sword!” shouts General Boris.

The dark Dragon shakes the sword. Boris does not lose his grip. The dark Dragon stops shaking and lifts the sword in the air. The dark Dragon opens his mouth and lets go of the sword. General Boris is falling towards the dark Dragons mouth. He sees the dark Dragon's throat, he aims for his sword, ready to slice the throat.

I gasp and fly towards General Boris. I grab him before the dark Dragon chomps him. I fly to the ground and put General Boris down.

General Boris sighs in anger. “I could have slit his throat,” he says.

“You could have died!” I shout.

“A sacrifice of honor to end this suffering,” says General Boris.

The dark Dragon laughs and stares at Boris and then at me.

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

The dark Dragon grabs me with his claw and flies up into the sky. General Boris swings his sword at the dark Dragon's tail but misses.

General Boris lifts his sword. “Get back here!” he shouts.

The dark Dragon continues flying higher in the sky. I struggle to get free, but it is no use. I bite the talons that hold me and that does not work either. The dark Dragon flies into the dark clouds. He flaps his wings to hover in the sky. I stare into his creepy red eyes. I am not afraid and I clench my fists in anger.

“Why did you kill all of those innocent women?” I ask.

The dark Dragon gently grabs my neck with his talons.

I pant in anger. “Why were you trying to kill Megan!?” I shout.

The dark Dragon chuckles.

“I killed all of those women because I knew that it would make the people angry at Dragons, all Dragons!” he explains.

My eyes widen. “Why did you want to make the people angry at all Dragons? Did you want them to think all Dragons are evil like you? The only evil Dragon that I’ve seen is you!” I shout.

The dark Dragon removes his talons from my neck and covers my eyes. I see nothing but blackness. I struggle and try to push his talons away, but they are too strong for me. I hear the dark Dragon whispering to me.

“You see kid, I knew that you would be coming to the Kingdom of Malvalora. I knew that your female friend would be injured in the Scorpiono Tunnels and that you would bring her here,” whispers the Dark Dragon.

I am shocked by what he is saying. I continue to grunt and try to push his talons off of my eyes.

“How could you have known I was going to come here? It’s impossible. I’ve only been here for a few days,” I say.

The dark Dragon scoffs. “The master told me that you and your girlfriend would come here for help. He also told me that you would be in the form of a Dragon,” he whispers.

“Who is your master? Is it Siberionman?” I ask.

“Ha! Siberionman. He can’t foretell the future! It’s not him, foolish boy, or should I say foolish Dragon. I cannot tell you. Even I haven’t seen my master. I hear him whispering in my mind when I am asleep. He tells me things that will come, clues, and glimpses of the future. My master can not be found. His whispers and glimpses of the future are all that I have of him. I call him my master because so far he’s been right about everything.” growls the Dark Dragon.

I’ve had enough of his answers. “Let go! I just want to find the old man from the real world so I can go home! Let go!” I shout.

I can still feel the dark Dragon’s talons on my head. They do not squeeze or hurt me.

Back on the ground with General Boris and the rest of the black knights, Boris looks up in the sky as he searches for the dark Dragon and me. He cannot find us because of the dark and terrible storm over the kingdom.

Boris points at a knight. “You there,” says Boris.

The knight walks to General Boris. “Yes sir?” he asks.

“I want you to gather all of the men and boys and take them down to the cellar for safety,” says Boris.

The knight nods and then gathers all of the men and boys.

“Follow me to the cellar for safety!” the knight leads the way.

All of them follow the knight and run to a tower. A boy opens the cellar door and runs down the dark steps. Some men villagers are pushing and shoving to get into the cellar underground. One boy is having trouble trying to get past the men. The knight that led the men and boys tried to calm the crowd.

“Little boys first and stop pushing and shoving!” the knight shouts.

The crowd slowly goes quiet. All of the boys enter the cellar and the men enter last. The knight runs back to the other knights. The knights surround General Boris. General Boris is not emotional. The look in his eyes shows his courage.

“We have all been deceived by a lie! Our protector is not the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer is our enemy! He has been all this time! Now we can start a new future by destroying the very thing that caused us misery! I do not fear Dragons anymore! Not all are evil like the one that killed our wives, our sisters, and…” General Boris gulps and lets out his breath, “and our daughters too. I know that we’ve all lost so many, but that doesn’t mean we choose to stop living! ” he shouts.

One knight raises his right hand in the air for attention. General Boris notices his hand. “Yes?” he asks.

The knight puts his hand down. “How do we kill the dark Dragon? Nothing can harm him,” he asks.

“Make a fire! We will heat the tip of our swords and the tip of the arrows!” answers General Boris.

Another knight raises his right hand. “How will that work?” he asks.

General Boris pulls his sword out of its sheath and stares at it. “On the day that I lost my daughter, I heated the tip of my sword to see if it would harm the dark Dragon,” he answers.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Boris puts his sword back in its sheath. “I noticed that the Sorcerer, who is also the dark Dragon, never goes near our blacksmith’s hut,” explains General Boris.

General Boris sighs. “Anyway, I was able to harm the dark Dragon with a hot sword. Now, I want all of you to heat your swords and the tip of your arrows!” General Boris points at the blacksmith’s hut.

“Hurry!” orders General Boris.

The knights run to the blacksmith’s hut. The blacksmith lights up his furnace with a blazing fire. They have coal and wood to make as much fire as they can. One by one, the knights heat the tip of their arrows and their swords. They run to the top of the towers. General Boris stands on the ground in the middle of the towers. He puts on his black knight helmet to cover his head and draws out his sword.

“Aim for the sky!” he shouts.

The knights aim for the sky. They are ready to fire on General Boris’s orders.

I continue to grunt and try to get the dark Dragon’s talons off of me. The dark Dragon sighs and moves his talon from my head to my throat.

“I promise you that it will be a quick death. Don’t worry,” says the dark Dragon.

“Let me go!” I shout.

“Ha!” laughs the Dark Dragon. “You’re pathetic, just like your grandfather!” he shouts.

I gasp. “What?” I whisper.

I wait for the end to come. I close my eyes and hold my breath.

Suddenly I hear something flying. I open my eyes and see many flaming arrows flying toward us. They all miss me and hit the Dark Dragon. One arrow strikes him on the arm that is holding me. They strike his tail and his wings. The dark Dragon roars in pain and releases me.

I dive down into the clouds. I can hear the dark Dragon wailing as he falls from the sky. I turn around and see him gaining on me. I fly to the right and the dark Dragon falls past me. I watch as he falls onto the ground in the middle of the kingdom. Dust flies into the air as he hits the ground. The dark Dragon lands on his back and growls in pain. I fly down and land on the ground.

“Wow,” I say to myself.

The black Knights notice the dark Dragon lying on the ground with many arrows in him.

“It worked!” shouts a knight.

The knights cheer with joy. General Boris runs to me carrying a torch. “Are you all right kid, I mean, Dragon?” he asks me.

I nod. “I’m fine, but how does the dark Dragon know about my grandfather?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” Boris pulls his sword out. “But I will make him talk,” he says.

General Boris walks towards the dark Dragon. The dark Dragon pants in pain. He tries to pull the arrows out of his belly with his tail, but as he touches them it only makes his pain worse. Black blood drips from his wounds. He lowers his head to the ground. He turns towards General Boris. The dark Dragon tries to move but growls in pain.

General Boris sighs. “Hurts, doesn’t it?” he asks.

The dark Dragon starts to choke. “H-how?” he asks.

General Boris climbs onto the dark Dragon's chest. He heats the tip of his sword with the torch. The tip of his turns bright orange. The dark Dragon shuts his eyes and growls. General Boris gently touches the middle of the dark Dragon’s chest with the tip of his hot sword. The dark Dragon’s chest starts to burn.

“The last time you came, the blacksmith was working on my sword. When I saw you grabbing my daughter with your talons, I knew I had to do something quickly. I grabbed my sword from the blacksmith, even though he wasn’t finished, and ran to rescue my daughter. The sword was still hot from being in the fire. I stabbed your hand with my hot sword and it burned you. But I wasn’t able to stop you and you flew away with my daughter,” shouted General Boris.

General Boris raises his hot sword to stab the dark Dragon’s heart. The dark Dragon stares at me. A tear flows down his face.

I quietly gasp. “A tear, why?” I whisper.

General Boris pauses.

The dark Dragon’s red eyes change to yellow. I hear a whispering voice in my head as I stare at the dark Dragon’s yellow eyes. The voice sounds like an angry man as it growls.

“You have failed me for the last time. You are useless, you are weak, and you are done!” whispers the angry voice.

I shake my head and the voice stops. Why did the dark Dragon's eyes turn yellow right when I heard the voice? Is it the same voice that spoke to the dark Dragon? The dark Dragon blinks his eyes a couple of times and shakes his head. He looks around as if he is confused. He starts to speak with a gentle voice.

“Where am I?” he asks.

I am confused at the sudden change of the Dragon’s tone as well as his question. I wonder if when the dark Dragon had red eyes something was controlling him, like a puppet. I suddenly feel that General Boris should not kill him. I hover in front of General Boris and grab the handle of his sword.

“Wait!” I shout.

General Boris sighs angrily at me. “What are you doing?” he asks.

I hold on to his sword with my left hand and point at the dark Dragons eyes with my right.

“Just look at his eyes,” I answer.

General Boris looks at the dark Dragons eyes. I let go of the sword.

General Boris gently lowers his sword. “His eyes, what happen to them?” he asks.

I turn back to look at the dark Dragon’s eyes. “I have a hunch,” I answer.

“And what is it?” asks General Boris.

I continue to stare into the dark Dragons eyes. “When I saw his eyes changing into yellow I heard a voice in my head. I think it was the voice that the dark Dragon mentioned before he tried to kill me,” I answer.

General Boris raises his left eyebrow. “And what did this voice says?” he asks.

I slowly turn my head back to General Boris. “It said, You have failed me for the last time. I think it might have been controlling the dark Dragon,” I answer.

General Boris looks at me and then shakes his head. “No! It’s a trick!” he shouts.

I shake my hands. “No, no, no, no it’s not! I heard the voice in my head. I think that this dark Dragon was being controlled by something or someone!” I shout.

General Boris raises his sword and I grab it again.

“You’re crazy. Let go of my sword,” whispers General Boris.

I shake my head. “I need him to tell me about my grandfather!” I shout.

General Boris grunts and shakes his sword. “I need to protect my kingdom! My home! My people!” he shouts.

I hold on to his sword as tight as I can.

General Boris glares at me. “If you don’t move then I will have no choice but to make you move,” he threatens.

I gulp. General Boris swings his sword and tries to stab me. I dodge his every move. We are fighting on top of the dark Dragon. General Boris is very angry.

“I don’t want to hurt you! So move!” shouts General Boris.

I keep dodging his sword. “No! I need to know about my grandfather!” I shout.

“My kingdom is at stake!” shouts General Boris.

Something catches my eye. I turn my head to the right and see Megan. She seems fine. Her skin is no longer pale. I hover over the dark Dragon’s chest while I stare at Megan.

“Daniel,” she whispers.

“Megan,” I whisper back.

I smile at her. She smiles back at me. I feel a sword cut my left hip. I grunt in pain. I put my right hand on the cut. I turn around and see a bit of blood on General Boris’s sword. He is breathing heavily. He swallows and drops his sword.

“I-I didn’t mean to,” he apologizes.

I don’t say anything. I slip off of the dark Dragon and start to fall over. Megan tries to catch me in her arms. I am too heavy for her. We both fall to the ground. Megan lands on her back and I land on her legs. Megan grunts and so do I. She sees the cut on my left hip. Blood is dripping out of the cut.

General Boris lifts his sword over the dark Dragon again. He turns to look at Megan and me. Megan gently moves me off of her legs. She takes off her robe and wraps it over the cut and around my Dragon body. She tightens it up to stop the bleeding. I grunt loudly as she tightens it. I am feeling weak and dizzy. I lay my head on Megan’s lap. I press my left hand on my wound. Megan sniffs.

“Keep p-pressure here.” She holds my right hand.

General Boris notices Megan quietly crying. He drops his sword and it falls to the ground. He slides off of the dark Dragon. He pants as he walks towards Megan and me. Megan notices General Boris walking towards us. “Get away from him!” she shouts.

Boris gasps. “I-I’m s-sorry,” he stutters.

Megan ignores him and sniffs again. She holds my Dragon head.

“Megan,” I say.

Megan stops sniffing and looks into my eyes. “My backpack, get the Magic Potion,” I say.

Megan nods takes off my backpack, opens it up, and grabs the Magic Potion. She holds on to it and stares at it. She does not know what to do. “How does this work?” she asks.

I have no idea how it works either. “Let me drink it.” I open my mouth.

Megan opens the magic potion and I take a sip of it. I gasp. The Magic Potion tastes like lemon-lime soda. Megan closes the Magic Potion and waits. I wait too.

Spotty and Timmy come out of General Boris’s house.

“Look! It’s Megan and Daniel!” shouts Spotty.

Suddenly my wings and my tail start to shrink, my talons start to change into human fingers, my teeth start to turn flat, and my long Dragon face starts to go back to normal. My blue scales start to turn into tan skin. General Boris watches in amazement as I change back into my human form.

“He’s changing into a human. He’s a shapeshifter just like the evil Sorcerer,” says General Boris.

Megan gasps as she watches me changing back into myself. She laughs and wipes off a tear.

“He’s changing back into his normal self,” she chuckles.

Megan takes her robe off of me to look at my injury. The cut is disappearing. My dragon parts are all gone and I’m wearing my clothes. I pant and slowly stand up. I lift my shirt to look for the cut and it is gone. I feel the joy and the relief of being human again. “I’m back!” I shout with excitement.

Megan laughs and hugs me. I hug her back.

Spotty and Timmy both run to Megan and me. We all hug. “You’ve got your skin back,” says Spotty.

Timmy looks at me and chuckles. “But you’ve got to admit it, it was cool to be a Dragon, wasn’t it?” he asks.

“I have to be honest, yes it was. I learned not to be afraid of high places. I feel confident as a Dragon. I still do,” I answer.

General Boris walks up to me and raises his right hand in front of me.

I noticed General Boris trying to get my attention. He lowers his hand. “You were right and I was wrong. And I’m sorry,” he apologizes.

I shake General Boris’s right hand to accept his apology.

I smile at him. “It’s all right. You were afraid and confused about Dragons,” I say.

I turn and run up to the Dark Dragon. Its eyes are shut. I can’t hear a heartbeat and he has stopped breathing. I’m afraid that he is dead. I touch his right hand.

“It’s too late, he’s gone,” I sadly say.

Megan walks up and stands by me. She puts her hand gently on my right shoulder to comfort me.

“Was he a good Dragon or an evil Dragon?” she asks.

I sigh. “I think he might have been good at the start until something was controlling him. When I looked into his eyes, I saw his red eyes turning yellow. When that happened he looked lost and confused. He even knew about my grandfather,” I answer.

I feel sad. I walk away from the dark Dragon, sit on a rock, and take out my cell phone. I try to call my mom but my phone is dead.

“It’s no use. My phone is dead,” I complain.

I put my cell phone back in my backpack.

General Boris seems angry. “It’s all my fault,” he says.

I look at General Boris. “You were just doing what you thought was best for your Kingdom. And besides, maybe there will be others that know about my grandfather, maybe,” I say.

“Yeah.” General Boris sighs. “Maybe,” he says.

Megan pats General Boris’s shoulder.

General Boris turns to Megan. “I was never going to sacrifice you,” he says.

“I know,” says Megan.

“And I’m sorry for what I put you through, same with Daniel,” says General Boris.

I shake General Boris’s right hand. “It’s all right. People act out of fear when they do not know what to do,” I say.

Megan smiles at me. “Let’s head back to Azent Kingdom,” she says.

I nod and agree.