Woman In Red

Dragana POV

I was running as fast as my legs could carry me, my chest burning up from the pressure, the wind whipping up against me, but I did not stop. There will be nothing to stop me from getting to Cybela. I focused my magic further and engulfed myself in blue flames of magic, radiating electricity from my very being, killing our enemies in the process. “Let me out!!! We need to shift. We are faster as a Lycan”, Vasilla urged me. “I must be able to channel the magic, Vasilla, I must help Cybela! She is being attacked by dark magic”, I screamed. “We can do that, that is our power, you can use your powers while shifted!! You are a Tribrid.”, she reminded me. She was right and she was going to be faster. I had to get to Cybela as quickly as possible, I had to save her! The injuries from the bows were getting darker by the minute and I knew those were not ordinary weapons. I needed to put a shield over her. Mid-run, I shifted and Vasilla gave haste, running directly towards Cybela. Lord Cazima and his warriors were making progress. I noticed his goal too was to protect Cybela, as his warriors were inching in closer to her, forming a human shield around her. Art was keeping up with me, shifted in his wolf, attacking anyone who dared come close to me, his silver fur stained by blood. I only prayed those were not his injuries, not his blood. Jasmine and the warriors were holding their own even though we were outnumbered. I just needed to get to Cybela.



Right then a very strange sensation came over me. I heard a voice, a voice I did not know, a voice that was now speaking above all the chaos directly to me, a voice melodic, yet somehow strangely familiar. “Come to me, and this blood shed stops. You can save them all. Come to me, and your dragon will live!” At first, I tried to ignore it. Closer I got to Cybela, the stronger the voice became. I was in the process of forming the shield around my dragon, the flickering of gold had started appearing and a dome of sorts was beginning to emerge. The voice spoke again. “They will all die if you do not listen to me. Do not be a fool. Do you want their blood on your hands? You cannot win, I have you surrounded. Come to me Dragana”, it continued. It was almost as if the voice was spelling me somehow. I found my mind wondering about it, looking for it, looking for the owner of the said voice. The more it spoke, the more mesmerized I was. “Come to me.” At this point, I found myself entranced by the voice and started walking toward it, shifting my direction and walking in its direction, disregarding everything else.



Cybela was roaring in the background but somehow her screams, the noise of the battle, all faded. All I heard was the voice. “Come to me child”, the voice now said softly.I felt as if I were in a daze, an invisible cord tying me to the owner of the voice. Art saw me walking in that direction and tried to block me, but all of a sudden, he was attacked by a horrendous looking creature. Standing close to 7ft, walking like a man, this creature with black scales and a black slithering body, claws for hands, an elongated head that housed three rows of teeth, and a large scaly tail was something I never saw before. This did not look like any shifter in our realm. It looked like a humanoid dragon, yet I could not make out its eyes, as they looked like those of a snake, simple slits. It moved at incredible speed, and had zeroed in on Art, going for a kill. I did not know what came over me – I could not do anything! I felt frozen. I could not use my magic, I could not even shift back! “Come to me and he will live”, the voice said again.



This time I saw her. The owner of the voice, a slender tall woman, with long dark red hair cascading to the ground almost, with pale skin that had an iridescent blue hue, and her red eyes, surrounded by a horde of creatures identical to one attacking Art. She stood there; her hands outstretched to me, a cruel smile on her face. Her energy was powerful, she radiated an aura of absolute authority and absolute power. The creatures were at her feet, snarling, waiting for her to release them. She just stood there, her dark aura all around her, pulsating with palpable dread and death. She beckoned me and I found myself unable to resist. My mind was trying to fight me. I heard Vasilla screaming and Aisha warning me not to get any closer, but I could not resist. “Your puppies will understand. Come to me”, the voice spoke again. Aisha and Vasilla’s voices became the background noise, just like everything else. I no longer heard the battle raging, screams of injuries, the smell of blood. I did not hear Art calling to me, Cybela roaring and screaming. I heard nothing but the voice of a woman in red.



Just as I was about to reach her, I saw the spark of silver to my left. I turned to see, only to find the Silver Gate open, and a flash of light. I recognized Jasmine, but had no time to react - and for a moment I snapped out of whatever enchantment the voice was causing and saw Jasmine run up like a bolt of lightning and push Art and me simultaneously, throwing us through the gate itself. Before I realized what had happened or could react or even say anything, the gate closed behind us, and I found myself under the familiar blue-blooming tree by the shores of the lake at Rising Moon.