The Raising Dragons In Our Midst

Prologue

"Stop, you vile dragon!"

Kyle locked his gaze on the towering man, who was dressed in dark chain mail like a ghost. He appeared to be some sort of knight, like a toy box action figure brought to life. But why was he so enraged? Is it possible that he's yelling at me?

In his right hand, the knight swung a sword. Its dazzling blade shone in the sunlight, and his chain mail jingled all over his body, mimicking his quick, deft movements. He shouted a challenge with a wave of his shield. "I have no fear of you, monster, or your infernal fire! Come fight with us, and we'll see who the Creator will defend!"

Kyle opened his mouth to respond, but he was unable to speak. Acid gushed up from his hot gut, and his throat burnt like a burning sidewalk. He belched a plume of hot, steamy gases, searing his tongue and scorching his lips, with a convulsive shiver. A blazing river of fire exploded, through his gaping jaws a split second later, hurting toward the knight.

The warrior hid his body beneath his shield's protective armour and yanked his shield up. The engulfing blaze engulfed the shield's edges, ripping the blade from his grip and devouring his sleeve. The knight waved his burning arm and shook his palm. "You are cursed, lizard!"

Kyle cupped his hand over his lips and sucked cool air between his fingers to relieve the pain in his swollen tongue. What exactly is going on? Is it possible that the fire started by me? Is he convinced I'm the dragon? Kyle examined his hands. They had eight fingers and two thumbs, and no scales or claws. But something wasn't quite right. On his right index finger, a ring glistened. It appeared to be...familiar in some way.

A bleeding glowing eye, the prophetic eye of a mysterious old man, a deep cauldron of swirling scarlet, peered at him from the middle of the ring. Kyle's mind swam in a dizzying whirlpool as the cyclonic vision drew him closer and closer. Everything around him was mirrored in the stone, including his troubled expression. Kyle's appearance changed as the red glow of the eye grew brighter. His ears were longer and more pointed, while his mouth became wider and more toothy. The transition was completed in a matter of seconds. He exclaimed, "I am a dragon!"

From behind the shield, the knight reappeared, his exposed arm held away from his body. His sleeve was charred to a crisp. Like the rising smoke of a cattle brand, a furious reddish brown welt on his forearm poured curling strings of smoke.

He yelled, "Of course you're a dragon! Do you think I'm a knucklehead?" He drew his sword once again. The knight tightened his jaw with increased strength as it cast a laser-like beam through its point, shooting high into the heavens. "I still have no fear of you, neither your hellfire nor your demon wings!"

Wings? Did he just said 'wings'? Kyle swung his head back and forth. Wings! He experimented with fluttering them. They were successful! He pushed harder on the flaps, and he felt his body lift off the ground. The distance is ten feet. The distance is twenty feet. He saw the diminutive knight wave his sword, but he couldn't hear what he was saying; as he squeaked like an outraged mouse, and his words dispersed in the wind, generating a ringing sound that sounded more like an alarm clock than a roaring knight. It gradually went away, like the sound of a sleepy player's tambourine.

Kyle ascended higher and higher until the light faded and he was left floating through a black canopy of serenity. His wings fluttered against emptiness, finding no air to catch to keep his body afloat as the air thinned to a biting cold vacuum. They folded and shriveled to the size of butterfly wings without warning. Kyle sank into the vacuum like a sock full of marbles, feeling like an airborne penguin, frozen and flightless. He flailed his arms in an attempt to grab anything, anything to stop himself from falling. He tried to yell, but his voice was drowned out by the empty space. Is there anyone who can help him. He'd crash onto tress or rocks below at any moment, breaking every bone in his body.