I sat on the couch, rubbing the back of the amulet with my sleeve. The red tint, which I now knew was my own blood, just wouldn't wash off. Still I scrubbed and scrubbed until the fabric of my shirt was worn down to almost nothing.

“Stop it!” The Dragon demanded, his voice booming in my skull.

“Fuck,” I replied, lifting a finger to catch a drop of blood that fell from my nose.

The Dragon flooded me with his presence, but lowered his voice as he said, “Your Blood. It is a sign of our kinship. Of our connection. Do not try to break it.”

I leaned back into the couch. “I’m not. But people tend to notice blood marks and I’d rather not have anyone ask any questions.” The Dragon seemed to understand, his presence lessening. “But, we haven’t talked yet. What happened at the motel? How are you back?”

“I was never gone; you merely couldn’t hear me. But, as you must already know, I could still influence you. You’d have died to those… machines. The ones that smell terrible. Like sulfur.”

“A gun,” I explained. “Firearms… they are tools of war. Of death.”

The Dragon fumed. “Fire… that is for Dragon’s, not humans. They should be destroyed.”

I laughed. “Don’t say that to the 2A crowd. You think Wererats are bad? You ain’t seen nothing like a raging yokel clamoring on about “2A” this, and “Constitution” that. Stupid… just another topic used to divide us. The elite don’t give a shit about those of us on the bottom.”

The Dragon seemed to consider my words for a time before replying, “I do not understand these human words. But… if you seek to rally against the natural order, I can be of assistance.”

I waved my hands to no one in particular. “My goals aren’t as lofty as that. I care about one thing right now: Rent money.”

“Rent… money?”

“I need a place to stay. To sleep. To keep my shit. You’re a Dragon, right? Didn’t you have like a cave or someone to hoard gold? Treasure? Well, I mean before you became like this.”

“Cave? Gold? Treasure? Your human mind is too small. Too weak. You cannot even imagine what I am.” Forcefully, the Dragon delved my skull, sending an awful pain, like an icepick, through my eyes and into my brain. Eventually, he retreated, leaving me breathless. “Bah! Human’s understanding of my kind is… insulting.” The Dragon growled with anger. “To think of us as mere lizards with wings… preposterous. You’ll see my young friend. You’ll see.”

“And what will I see,” I replied, rubbing at my temples.

“You’ll see what I truly am. What I will become when we complete my mission.”

“And what are you truly? What mission?”

“I… don’t remember. But that place… through the portal. The key to finding it lies there. Somewhere in that world.”

Barking a laugh, I reached down, lighting a cigarette. I took a long drag, exhaling slowly through my nose. “Well then, I suppose you want me to help you get your memory back?”

“Of course.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Taking a large drag on my cigarette, I said, “Can’t, sorry.”

“Can’t… you can’t?” The Dragon boomed. It lowered its voice as it added, “What possible reason could there be for you not to assist me?

“Rent money, remember? Treasure,” I said. “If I leave, then I’ll lose everything. I’ll have nothing to come back to. And, as interesting as it was to fight a Werewol—Wererat, I don’t think I could shit in a hole for the rest of my life.”

“If it’s treasure you seek, then there is sure to be plenty.”

I could tell that the Dragon lied to me, but its words did make sense. If the knife had earned me an easy hundred, then imagine if I came back with something truly rare. “And let’s say I did help you, then what? We part ways?”

I felt the Dragon’s excitement well up. “That’s the spirit, young human. As for what's to come, I could not say. But help me, and become more powerful than you could have ever possibly imagined.”

Then, I remembered something—something potentially disastrous. “Wait. Last time, I was only gone a few hours there, but it was days in my time. Weeks. I… can’t risk that happening again.” I sighed out, leaning back into the couch. “Guess I need to go get a real job after all.”

“That won’t be a problem,” The Dragon replied. “During our time, I’ve been able to weave together small bits from my fragmented past. I can now control the opening of the portals, although it takes a tremendous amount of energy. But, and this is most important, I believe I can connect the passage of time from your world to there.”

I ran my hand through my hair. “Wait… so like a sync? You can sync my world and the other world so that the passage of time remains the same?”

“Precisely!” The Dragon boomed excitedly.

“Well,” I said, calming my nerves with the inhalation of smoke. “That changes things.”

***

I grabbed the essentials: food, change of clothing, flashlight and some other items. The Dragon impatiently breathed in the back of my mind like the crackling of a fire.

"Are you ready?" The Dragon asked, booming into my head.

"Nearly," I replied, scribbling a note on a piece of paper on the kitchen counter. I set the pen down, lifting the amulet to eye level. "Finished!"

The Dragon pressed its discontent against me. "What did you write?"

Holding my head, I replied. "Just a note to Grant. I left him all the money I’d earned with a promise of more to return. Hopefully, we can find what you're looking for and I'll grab some good stuff on the way out. Few hours, tops." The Dragon sent a wave of uncertainty through me, but said nothing further. "By the way," I added, "How old are you? Are you male? Female? What even is your name?"

"I am ageless, genderless—at least in the terms you refer to. But, to make this simple, you can think of me as Male. As for a name…

"Can't remember?"

"Can't remember."

"Of course," I said, stuffing the last items into a backpack. "Well, maybe after this trip you will. You managed to piece together memories from your past, maybe after we find what you’re looking for you can again."

"We can only hope, young human. We can only hope."

Then, suddenly, I felt the Dragon do something; the amulet burning in my hand. Just as before, the air in the apartment shivered, rippling outward. A line of light broke from nothingness, becoming longer and longer until eventually it stood around my height in size. The air shook again, sending out a wave that struck me like sound waves at a concert. The line suddenly split in two, moving apart until it was just wide enough for me to walk through.

I breathed out, my nerves rattling with anticipation. "Well, here we fuckin’ go."

As I stepped through, I heard something behind me. Turning, I saw the front door open; the air pulsated as the portal began to close.

"Ike?" I heard Grant say as he stepped into my vision. As time turned, he became blurrier and blurrier. When his eyes met mine, he yelled, "Ike!"

I tried to speak, but the words—they just wouldn’t come. I felt my body getting pulled on its own now.

It was too late to go back.

With nothing left to do, I gave in. Shrugging my shoulders, I let myself be whisked back into that world.

A world of fantasy, wonder… and hopefully, riches.