Silver Knight

By Melony A Wagner

After experiencing a childhood full of fear and pain in the Magic Realm, Knight Adelaide must reinvent herself to survive the hardships that are thrown at her. In becoming the Silver Knight, she is able to push away her past and live a new life. But the past doesn’t stay in the past for long.
In being forced to confront her lost love head on, she must find the strength to continue on, building back the pieces of herself that she thought she left buried and gone. Her journey is fraught with magic and powers that must be overcome if she wants to survive.

About the Author
Melony A Wagner has been a lover of fantasy ever since she read her first “big book” in the fourth grade. After that, she started writing about worlds she wished that existed. Everywhere she went, she had a notebook and pen with her to jot down ideas or capture a vision that struck her. When she got to college, she used writing as a way to keep her mind organized and she managed to write a whole book.
With degrees in Equine Management and Equine Journalism, Melony now lives and works on a horse farm, which has been her biggest dream ever since she was a little girl. She teaches riding lessons, trains horses, and manages the stable during the day, writing in her free time. Having a degree in Equine Journalism, she was able to apply what she learned to take her writing to the next level. She has a wonderful family who has supported her all throughout her journey of achieving her dreams, and she is fortunate that they all still live very close. Melony’s sister is her biggest inspiration, and they are exceptionally close.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Apr 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891270435

Book preview

Chapter 1

Exhaustion overcame me as soon as I got into my apartment. I could hardly keep my eyes open, I was so tired. I kicked the door closed behind me, dropped my bag onto the floor, and flopped down onto the couch, not even bothering to take off my boots. Gallow flew to his perch next to the couch and settled into a comfortable position to sleep. He didn’t even want me to take off his traveling gear. The poor little guy was just as tired as I was. My head was pounding and I was about half sick to my stomach from this trip. Emotionally and physically, I was drained. This job had me so wiped out that I fell asleep as soon as I was horizontal. Usually, that didn’t happen. Sure, my jobs were all long and took quite a bit out of me, but it had been a long time since I had to showcase my skills to prove that I was worthy of everyone’s time. Once that was firmly established, I had the added challenge of procuring a coveted item and then traveling with it. Word always traveled quickly when it came to the particularly expensive items. Word seemed to travel particularly fast this trip, so I was constantly on the lookout for looters and other bandits the whole way back to this realm. I was so tired by the time I crossed the portal that I really didn’t remember how I got back to my apartment. It was just a fuzzy blur in my mind. Somehow I managed to get back without hurting myself or anyone else.

It felt so good to be home, like that fuzzy feeling all over your body kind of good. My apartment wasn’t much, just a one-bedroom, one-bathroom little deal, decorated in a washed-out blue decor. At one time, it was done up in a beautiful beach motif. I got to see pictures of the freshly decorated apartment before the previous tenants moved out. They had decorative shells on every surface, the furniture was all beige, and the walls were the unique color of the ocean. When I moved in, the walls were already beginning to fade and they took their beach paraphernalia with them, leaving me with an empty blue apartment. The walls had since faded much more and the tan wood flooring lost its shine. My furniture was all black, just generic pieces that I found at a discount place. All that I had to fill the apartment was a bed, a nightstand, a couch, a coffee table, and a tiny entertainment center. What, with me traveling so much, I hadn’t gotten around to redecorating and actually putting some money into the place, though it needed help badly. The borders on the walls were old and ugly and the appliances were all out of date, but it was home. I was only ever there for four or five days at a time with long stretches in between, not nearly long enough to get annoyed with the color scheme, or the old rattle of the stove on the rare occasion that I decided to use it. A few days was all that I needed to recuperate and prepare for my next excursion.

As I slept, my dreams were fraught with dark figures, though that was nothing new. My dreams were always filled with the dark shadows that haunted my mind. This was a little different than what I was used to, though. Usually, I was able to pick out the faces and scenes and place them somewhere in the real world. The figures and faces I was seeing now were mixed and muddled together, flashing behind my eyelids at alarming speeds. I couldn’t make sense of anything that I was seeing. It was as if my mind was retaliating after spending such a long time being cool and collected over the course of my trip. It had to race while I slept to restore the natural balance of things. My mind couldn’t stay on any one idea long enough to form a coherent thought in sleep. It bothered me, but not enough to bring me to wakefulness.

My cell phone buzzed from its place on the coffee table, effectively startling me from a very sound sleep. Gallow squealed, not appreciating the sudden noise that broke through the silence of the apartment. I jumped so badly that I fell off of the couch, taking the pillows with me to the floor. The hardwood was none too forgiving against my shoulder and hip where I fell, and I knew that there would be bruises blossoming over the skin in both places in the next few days.

The phone continued to vibrate against the wooden table, so I reached up and felt around for it across the polished surface. I found it and tapped the screen in the general direction of the answer button without opening my eyes.

Talk to me. Though I was still half asleep, I managed to sound somewhat professional.

I assume you got home alright.

Jade was fairly agitated and I could understand why. As my closest friend, and manager of my life, he worried about me incessantly. It was a rule that I was supposed to call him before I left on a trip and as soon as I returned home. Since it was going on three o’clock in the morning when I got back, I thought that the call could wait until a more reasonable hour. Apparently, I thought wrong. I should have known that Jade’s anxious nature would kick in when I didn’t call within the allotted timeframe. He was always imagining the terrible situations that I could get myself into in the other realm. Ever since I came home with a shattered ankle a few years ago, he liked to know that I was home in one piece.

My falcon hopped down onto the floor beside me, his talons clicking against the floor. He peered down at me with curious gray eyes. He was annoyed. I patted his head to try to placate him, then I cuddled up with one of the couch pillows and just let the phone rest against the side of my face. Since it was only Jade, I didn’t have to keep pretending like I was wide awake. He knew full well how exhausting this trip was.

I’m sorry, Jade. You know I didn’t mean to make you worry.

You have such a talent for it. I wish you would remember to call me.

It was hard to tell what kind of catastrophic event he was envisioning in that creative brain of his. He probably pictured me torn apart and strewn across the Magic Realm.

I’m fine. It didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked, but I promise that I am fine. I didn’t even get any cool scars to show for it. Trying to reassure Jade had always been a hard task, but I needed to do it or Jade would have an aneurism. At that point, I just wanted to get back to sleep.

You’re not lying just to make me feel better, are you?

I wouldn’t do that to you. Would you feel better if you came over for breakfast? Having him come over to see that I was truly okay was the only surefire way to ease his worry.

I’ll bring the food. Get some sleep. He sounded much happier with me, but still more anxious than he should have been. That was just Jade.

Thanks. Goodnight.

Restful sleep.

Jade hung up, but I didn’t bother. I was too exhausted to care much about my phone. So that was how I fell back asleep, curled up on the floor with my cell phone lying along my cheek and Gallow curled up next to me. It wasn’t the most comfortable place to be, but I still fell asleep quickly.

Something touched my forehead, slowly bringing me back to wakefulness. When I opened my eyes, Jade’s big brown eyes filled my field of vision. He was upside down, crouched down so he was hanging over me. He was trailing his fingers over my forehead to make me up gently. Gallow was sitting on his shoulder. I didn’t even notice him leaving my side. I didn’t hear the door opening either. I must have really been out.

Jade smiled that warm smile of his. Why are you on the floor? He sat back on his haunches slowly so that he wouldn’t jostle the bird on his shoulder.

I yawned and rubbed my face. I fell when my phone rang and I just didn’t bother getting up.

Jade offered me his hand and helped pull me onto the couch.

What time is it?

Gallow hopped down from Jade’s shoulder to sit in my lap.

Almost nine.

Nine? Holy cow. I never slept so late. More often than not, I was up with the sun or Gallow was up early and wanting something.

I set Gallow on the back of the couch and put the pillows back in their place on either end of the couch.

Jade stood up and put his hand on top of my head to ruffle my hair. He was dressed fairly casually in ripped jeans and a plaid green and yellow shirt. Hey, don’t get all bent out of shape. If I know you, you didn’t sleep the entire time that you were gone. You need to get your rest. You aren’t a robot.

He hit the nail on the head. I didn’t sleep at all while I was in the Magic Realm during this trip. Dragons didn’t need much sleep as a general rule. I tended to push my limits so much farther than they should ever go. A week and a half was the longest I had ever gone without sleep, but after that long I was fairly useless.

Go shower and I’ll start on breakfast. You look like a mess and you need to wake up some more. You’re mean when you are tired. Though he was calling me mean, his round face couldn’t have been sweeter.

I pretended to be offended. I am not.

He laughed. Just go shower.

I was gently pushed in the direction of the bathroom and there was no use protesting. Having Jade around was like having a big brother looking after me. We could almost pass as siblings with our light brown hair and similar build. The only thing that really threw us off was our eyes. His were a soft liquid brown and mine were an icy blue, almost gray. His face was much more round than mine but that was a little thing, just some baby fat that he had never gotten rid of.

Once in the bathroom, I kicked off my boots and stripped out of my uniform. Then I turned the hot water on all the way. The water felt fantastic on my aching body. It felt so good that I decided to let my scales slide to the surface of my skin so that I could clean them. My brilliant silver scales glinted in the fluorescent light of the bathroom, casting light the whole way around me like a disco ball. It was a shame that the human state of mind couldn’t handle such a beautiful display. I would have loved to keep my scales surfaced all of the time. However, humans would completely wig out if they saw a woman walking down the street covered in shiny dragon scales. Thus, my scales had to remain hidden under my skin. Because of the humans, the dragons in this realm had accepted hiding as a way of life. We were able to blend in flawlessly with the human population, an adaptation that has allowed dragons to remain among the humans for centuries without them ever knowing it.

Twenty minutes later, I was finished with my shower. With my fluffy black towel wrapped tightly around me, I peeked out the bathroom door. Jade was busy moving food around on the skillets on the stovetop.

Don’t look, okay?

He snorted. You are not shy.

Duh. But that doesn’t mean I want my guy friend looking at me. So don’t look.

Alright, alright. Get going.

I quickly moved from the bathroom to the bedroom and got dressed, putting on a pair of sweatpants and a loosely fitting long-sleeved shirt. With my hair still dripping wet, I pulled it all back into a sloppy pile on top of my head so that it would be out of my face. I had to pin the front back because my hair was layered and the shorter hair liked to escape from its rubber band prison.

Out in the kitchen, Jade had a buffet of food the whole way across the island counter. He handed me a plate. I made a little bit of everything, so eat up.

There were platters piled high with eggs, bacon, French toast, and even a plate with giant muffins from the local grocery store, amongst other delicious-looking food.

I had to laugh at him as I looked over the food. Jeez, Jade, you didn’t have to cook for an army. The two of us could hardly put a dent in all of this food.

Jade shrugged. I know you aren’t a fan of eating in the Magic Realm, so I figured you would be hungry for real food that you don’t have to hunt for. Plus, this way you will have leftovers for a while.

You’re the best. I gave him a one-armed hug. Already my shoulder was sore where I landed on the floor. Jade was the perfect height for me to put my arm around his shoulders.

I started digging into the food, scooping heaping spoonfuls onto my plate. Jade stuck a blueberry muffin on my plate before I ran out of room. There was so much more food than I would ever have been able to eat, but I didn’t care. Once my plate was sufficiently full, I took my mountain of food and went to the living room. I sat cross-legged on the couch with my plate in my lap. Gallow sat on the arm of the couch so that he could keep an eye on me. Jade sat on the other end, stretching his legs out to rest his feet on the coffee table.

So did you get it? he asked with a mouth full of eggs. He couldn’t wait to stuff his face to ask me the question.

I snorted. Did I get it.

I set my fork down and pulled up the sleeve of my right arm so that he could see the beautiful knife etched on the inside of my bicep like a tattoo. One of my most useful skills was that I could compress objects into my skin. The silver tattoos were a great way to assure that the items I carried were safe with me at all times.

He leaned in closely so that he could get a better look at the knife. It was hard to make out all of the details without actually seeing the knife in 3-D, but Jade had a very analytical eye.

Wow. It is as beautiful as all of the rumors say. I’ll bet Lady Lana didn’t want to give it up.

No, she did not. She made me compete for it, like I had to prove to her that I was skilled enough to earn it. She puts me through this almost every time I want something from her. I had to fight through forty men who were all the size of Zog. She held an entire event, centered on the knife as a prize. Which was completely ridiculous because I had already met the price she required.

Gallow’s feathers ruffled as he remembered how annoyed he had gotten with Lady Lana. The old woman did not want to part with this particular knife even though she had already agreed to give it to me. I paid a ridiculous price for it and ran myself ragged competing to officially have it in my possession. Even then, she said I was not worthy to carry such a knife. I was disgracing women everywhere by calling myself a knight. She finally had to be frightened out of her wits to put the knife in my hands. I could be very scary when I wanted to, and usually that worked to my advantage.

Eh, you’ll get that every once in a while. Most foreign diplomats still shy at the idea of a woman being a knight, even though you’ve done enough work for them. Despite your fame, the concept still isn’t accepted in some places. Just as long as you don’t come home horribly mangled, you’ll have to keep broadening everyone’s idea of the knight.

I rolled my sleeve back down. I’m not your typical knight.

Thank goodness for that, he said as he playfully nudged my arm. He set his plate on the coffee table and took off his button-up shirt, leaving him in just a white t-shirt. I always get so warm sitting next to you.

I rolled my eyes at him. Well, duh.

The fire in my body made me warm all of the time. It resided in my stomach but also lived in my bones. Any time I broke something, I got scorch marks on my skin because the fire was released. I exuded heat constantly as a result. I really couldn’t help it when the apartment started to feel warm to him. I never had to touch the thermostat and Jade was okay with that. He would just stick close to me to stay warm. The room went quiet except for the sound of us eagerly shoving food into our mouths.

When I couldn’t eat any more, I took my plate to the counter beside the sink. The food was amazing. Thank you.

No problem. I’ve got to take care of my girl. He came to the kitchen and pulled plastic wrap out of one of the grocery bags still on the counter. He set it by the platters of food, then turned his attention back to me. Do you feel better?

Much better. Thanks. I hugged him again.

Jade patted my back, then gently pushed me out of the way of the sink.

Jade took my plate and scraped what was left into the garbage disposal. Pick out some movies for us to watch. I’ll clean up. With a cheerful smile on his face, he ran some water and soap over our dishes.

You don’t have to do that. I tried to help him with the plastic wrap, but he shooed me out of his space. I leaned on the counter while he busied himself with the plates of food. Are we not doing any work today?

Jade was the type who liked to get right down to business sooner rather than later. His flamboyance toward me today was confusing. My Jade would have insisted on getting cleaned up and sitting down to work as soon as we finished eating.

Instead, he shook his head at me. You just got back from a huge assignment. Some down time is necessary, I’d say.

I knew better than to protest. He could get really insistent when he wanted to. So I went back to the living room. From the living room, I could hear dishes clattering together and the refrigerator opening and closing a few times.

I thought for a moment. There had to be a catch somewhere for him to be acting like this. Sometimes this was how he acted when he had a secret. He always told me everything, but every once in a while he would beat around the bush about it.

What are you keeping from me? I called toward the kitchen.

Nothing. I don’t need an excuse to spoil my girl. Pick out some movies or you will be stuck watching what I want to watch.

Ugh, Jade had the worst taste in movies. All he ever wanted to watch were zombie movies, really crappy zombie movies.

I set up the TV and lined up a few comedies for us to watch. Jade usually sat fairly still through comedies, more so than any of the other genres that I liked. I settled down on the couch with one of my couch pillows in my lap. Gallow hopped on the pillow and snuggled against my body. I put my arms around him and ran my fingers over his black-and-white feathers. He chirped once and closed his eyes. My falcon was happy to be home.

Jade shuffled into the living room, plopping himself down on the couch beside me. In that casual manner of his, he draped his arm across my shoulders. I snuggled closer to him to watch the movies but I was careful not to jostle Gallow too much. In general, I was not a touchy-snuggly person, but with Jade I was more on the cuddly side of life, especially when I was feeling so worn out.

The rest of the day followed in a very casual manner. We watched movie after movie, occasionally taking a break to eat some of the other food Jade brought. I never had any food in my kitchen, so he brought enough to keep us full for a while. Sometimes I kept a box of crackers in one of the cupboards, but even that was a rare occurrence. I was just not home enough to keep any food in the apartment. Jade got about a fourth of my commissions since he did such an excellent job at managing me and he usually used the money to buy me food when I was home, which kind of defeated the purpose of me paying him.

Once evening rolled around, I started to doze off. I was so comfortable all snuggled up against Jade. Being a Fire Fairy, he was always warm like me, but the heat stayed within his body. It didn’t radiate out the way my heat did. His heat was more centrally located. Either way, I enjoyed his warmth.

Jade shifted beside me. I mumbled and moved to get comfortable again.

Do you want to sleep? Jade asked quietly. I can go.

I grabbed a handful of his shirt. No, stay a little longer. It’s been such a long time since we have gotten to spend time together like this.

You’ll be home for almost a week before you have to leave again. He patted my head, which knocked some hair loose into my face. He brushed it back behind my ear. It will take a few days just to prepare for your trip to the Land of the Dead. It’s a long trip, especially by way of Nissil.

Just stay.

With his shirt in my hand, he really wasn’t going anywhere. His companionship was something I always missed when I was gone. Traveling got so lonely, and eighteen weeks was a long time to be away from my best friend.

Chapter 2

At some point, I really did fall asleep. During my sleep, Jade gathered me up in his arms and carried me back to my bed. I started waking up as he pulled the covers over me.

Sleep tight, Little Knight.

I sighed, curling up into a warm ball. As much as I didn’t want him to leave, I knew he probably wanted to get home. He kissed my forehead before leaving my room.

Sleep quickly overcame me. My dreams were all over the place again, this time with Jade’s face flashing here and there, his big grin and round face were a comfort to me amidst the chaos.

I rolled over and sunlight streamed across my face. The curtains were completely forgotten about when I was tucked into bed. With the sun shining brightly into my bedroom I was awake with no hope of finding sleep again, so I got up and put my robe on over my clothes from the day before. Tea. Tea was good. I yawned as I came into the kitchen. My teakettle was already sitting on the stove. A note was stuck to it, written in Jade’s messy handwriting.

Good morning, beautiful! I left a plate of food for you in the fridge ready to throw in the microwave. Try to take it easy today. Give me a call if you need anything.

Jaden

It cracked me up how he always signed his full name to all of his notes. It was just one of the little quirks that he had. The note made me smile. He knew I was going to want tea when I woke up. This was why he was my best friend and manager; he knew exactly what I needed even before I had it figured out.

My mood improved as the morning went on. I decided to do a little bit of cleaning, starting with putting my things away from the trip. If the landlord were to show up and see my weapons strewn across the apartment, he wasn’t going to know what to think. Gallow sat on my shoulder or my head while I worked around the apartment. In my bag, I had a few trinkets that I had picked up that went on the shelves in my bedroom. I liked to collect little things whenever I came across something that piqued my interest. My weapons got stowed in my closet, along with my traveling cloak. The clothes I had worn got taken down the hall to the washroom. Even though the washroom was never busy, I stayed with my things. If someone else were to pull my things out of the washer, they would wonder what type of convention I had just come back from. I waited until my laundry was done before I started to think about food.

I was practically flamboyant by lunchtime. It was amazing what this realm did for my mood. Not having to constantly look over my shoulder left me feeling so free. I felt like going out to enjoy the day. After a quick shower, I went through my dresser drawers, but I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to wear. After some serious debate, I settled on a pretty purple sweater dress with a thick brown belt, which I matched with a brown pair of ankle boots. A black strap loaded with five small knives got strapped to my thigh, where no one would see it. It was the total opposite of what I usually wore. My work uniform was comprised of a black V-neck shirt with short, loose sleeves to allow for freedom of motion, a pair of fitted black pants, and knee-high boots. The boots were my favorite component because I could hide all sorts of weapons and tools in them. They had a ton of pockets and hidden compartments. My hair got pulled back into a tight braid and wound around into a bun so that it didn’t get in my way. I decided to let my hair be free today, falling to my waist in soft mahogany waves. During the summer it lightened up to a deep honey color. The fall was when it usually started to get dark. It stayed a plain brown during the seasons in between.

I left my bedroom window open so that Gallow was free to wander around at his leisure. He liked to hunt around town because he could find all manner of rodents in the alleyways. Upon leaving my apartment I ran into one of the other tenants on my floor, who was taking her little brown dog for a walk. I gave the older woman a bright smile.

Good morning, Mrs. Tiers. How are you today?

She returned my smile with a soft one of her own, the skin around her eyes crinkling slightly. Her hair had really started to gray out since the last time I saw her. But she still had her ridiculously thin frame. Today it was dressed in a gray suit. She was the type that if she was wound any tighter, she would implode in on herself.

I am well, Adelaide. How about you? You’ve been gone for such a long time. These business trips must be wearing you out. She was a very well-read woman, so she always called me by my proper first name.

I shrugged. I’m used to them. They don’t really bother me much anymore. It was a total lie, but she had to believe what I was saying. She couldn’t know what I really did for a living, so my cover story was that I worked for an international company that had home bases in the States and in Europe.

The Yorkie at the end of the leash yipped at me and stood up against my leg.

I’m sorry, Winston. I didn’t mean to ignore you.

I crouched down so that I could scratch his ears. He jumped into my lap and bounced around trying to lick my face.

Mrs. Tiers pulled on the leash, but he completely ignored her. Winston, where are your manners? Goodness, I swear he forgets how well trained he is every time he sees you. I’m sorry, dear. She was always apologizing to me for his behavior. It was appalling to her that he acted like that.

I tried to contain the little ball of brown fuzz in my hands. I don’t mind, really. I love animals.

Come along, Winston. Good day, Adelaide. She pulled on the dog’s leash again, a bit more forcefully this time.

Winston hopped out of my arms and stood by his owner, his little tail wagging back and forth.

Have a good rest of the day, Mrs. Tiers.

She nodded and then continued down the hall with Winston trotting happily beside her. Those two were such a funny pair. He was still young and very energetic, which she had very little patience for. She treated him well, despite how much he got on her nerves.

I skipped down the two flights of stairs to the lobby, side-passed the doorman, and was finally outside. It was so glorious just to be outside without constantly having to worry about the possibility of bandits hiding around every turn. In the Magic Realm, anyone could be waiting to attack at any moment. You could never be sure about the types of magical abilities anyone possessed, though usually I could figure it out fairly quickly. Lately, there had been bands of magicians wandering around who dabbled in the Rogue Magics, which were the most volatile and dangerous. Here, I felt so free. Though the Human Realm still had its dangers, things were much more predictable. The people who used magic here were generally not nefarious and it was very small-scale stuff.

Lately, I had been away so much that I completely missed summer shifting into fall. One day I was home and the birds were singing and the flowers were in bloom, in the next the air had chilled and the leaves had all turned orange. Pennsylvania was known for its beautiful fall, with the changing colors and the gentle shift in the weather. Somehow I missed the change. But I guess I didn’t mind all that much. The flowers were still trying to bloom and the remaining buds were kind of cute. In a few weeks, they would be gone and the world would be absolutely covered in falling leaves.

The park that I liked to frequent was just a few blocks from my apartment building. On one side was a slow-moving creek that was shallow enough for the kids of the neighborhood to play in when the summer heat was too much for them to take. In late summer, children with small buckets could be seen hunting for the crawfish that lived under the big rocks of the creek bed. Just on the other side of the creek was a small mountain face that was dotted with a few young trees and some very large, sharp rocks. Just about every summer there was a group of high school boys who thought that they could climb to the top, but that excursion always ended with a trip to the hospital. What most of the public didn’t know was that if you walked upstream just a bit, there was a rock path across the creek and a sloping trail to follow up to the top. The trail was hard to see because of the vegetation that crowded it, but it wasn’t hard to find. But of course, no one ever wanted to take the easy way up.

My favorite place to sit while at the park was a bench by the creek. The area around this particular bench stayed cool because of its proximity to the water and the small canopy of trees that kept the space nice and shady. It was the most comfortable spot for enjoying the sounds of nature while also watching the children play. Despite the nip in the air, there were plenty of children playing on the jungle gym and running around inside the safety fence.

Kids of all ages liked to gather at this park. Young parents brought their children here because they themselves grew up on the playground. The older kids liked to hang from the monkey bars upside down because they were coordinated and balanced enough to show off to their friends. The benches around the play area were occupied by parents watching over their kids in that way that good parents did. Watching them, I couldn’t help but wonder what life would have been like had I gotten to experience a normal childhood.

If my father hadn’t become a greedy monster, my mother never would have left. She stole me away for my own protection. I tried to picture my father as a fun-loving, caring man, laughing and playing with me while my mother watched over us. It was a laughable thought. I never even had a chance at that life. Due to my immense abilities and the darkness that began to grow in my father’s heart when I was born, I was forced to grow up much too quickly. There was no childhood for me, not that I could have imagined myself with one anyway. My lack of childhood shaped me into a stronger adult, something I had to keep reminding myself of.

A cool breeze blew, bringing my mind back to the present and my surroundings. What was the matter with me? I knew better than to dwell on things of the past. Nothing could be changed. The breeze continued to blow, making my hair swirl around my shoulders. I should have been enjoying the day. The sun was shining, the sky was brilliantly blue, and the birds…were far too quiet for the time of day. Where were the birds? I listened closer to the wildlife around me. There were no squirrels, no chipmunks, and no rabbits. Where were all of the animals? Something wasn’t right. I left the park bench, making my way to where the pathway would lead me up the baby mountain. I made sure that no one was around before I skipped across the creek and headed up the overgrown path. It was imperative that I stayed alert, keeping an eye and ear out for anything unusual.

As I ventured farther upward on the mountain, and into where the trees got denser, I became more and more suspicious. There was absolutely no wildlife at all when the greenery should have been teeming with small animals and birds. It was completely silent around me. No wooded area should ever be so quiet. It could only mean that something big was hunting. I cast my mind around me to see if I could glean anything useful. The rabbits in their holes were huddled together closely, shaking in fear. Their heartbeats were so rapid that I was afraid their hearts would burst. It was the same with the squirrels and birds cowering in their nests in the trees. Something was definitely wrong, and I needed to figure out what it was as quickly as possible.

I took off my boots so that I could move more silently through the foliage. Treading carefully on the balls of my feet, I padded quietly among the brush. An eerie feeling crept over my skin, making me feel very uneasy. A sharp hiss reached my ears and my heart went cold in my chest. I knew that sound well. It was a victory hiss from a Viper. Those things were nasty, their tails getting as long as eight feet. From the waist up they were fairly humanoid looking, with extremely sharp teeth, glowing yellow eyes, and in place of hair they had a hood of leathery scales that covered their necks and heads. Their entire bodies were covered in a thin layer of scales, much different than my own. Viper scales were much easier to rip in to.

A chorus of hisses rang through the trees. A girl screamed, making my heart start up again. I pushed my body to move faster. I may not have been a Guardian anymore, but I wasn’t about to stand idly by and let innocent people get hurt. When Vipers killed, they did so by constricting their victims with their tails, usually breaking the spine, crushing ribs, and rupturing organs. That was after they bit and injected their paralytic venom into their victims.

The eerie feeling I had got stronger the closer I got to the nest. Gently, I pushed my mind out away from me to see if I could pinpoint where the Vipers were gathered. There, in the very heart of the woods, was where they had taken their meal. The group didn’t notice my mind around them. They were far too preoccupied by the three human girls cowering in the center of their group. As far as I could tell, they were younger, in their mid-teens or so, easy prey for a pit of Vipers.

I jumped up into the trees and continued quickly in the direction of the nest. The element of surprise would be helpful in a situation such as this. Vipers tended to not look up. It took me all of a few minutes to locate the nest. When I was right over the nest, I took a moment to survey the scene. The nest was huge, about thirty feet in diameter, and lined with bones—human bones. It was hard to tell how many victims had been brought here to be devoured. There were nine Vipers all together, but they were much bigger than any of the Vipers I have ever grappled with during my time as a Guardian. The scales on their bodies looked thicker too. They were a sickly, slick black. Most Vipers were a brown color to blend in with their surroundings better. These Vipers stuck out like a sore thumb. Was it possible that this group had adapted to being hunted somehow? This was something that needed to be reported as soon as possible. If more groups of this size existed, there was no telling what kind of damage they could do to the human population.

The Vipers were taking turns snapping at the girls with their malicious teeth, but they weren’t actually trying to bite. They were just playing with their food, making their prey scared to death. The girls were marked up with cuts all over their arms and faces. Dirt covered their running clothes and matted their hair. The Vipers must have found them on the old walking path on the other side of town and dragged them through the woods to their nest.

One of the female Vipers whipped her tail toward the shortest girl, catching her around the waist. The girl screamed and began to cry as the Viper pulled her closer. The Viper bared her fangs. She was done playing. I grabbed one of the knives that was strapped to my thigh under my dress and threw it toward the Viper with as much force as I could manage without knocking myself out of the tree. The knife went clean through the Viper’s neck, burying itself into the thick black scales of another’s tail. The Viper’s dying shriek was the kind of ear-piercing sound that grated against my eardrums. She bled out in a matter of seconds, releasing the girl as her body went limp and fell to the ground. With a cry of relief, the girl stumbled back into the arms of the other two girls. They huddled tightly together, still plenty terrified and looking up at me with terrified eyes.

All attention turned to me. I took on a strong stance, playing the part of Alpha.

Release the humans and crawl back to the hole you slithered out of, or suffer the consequences of capturing humans with the intent of consumption. Though it had been a long time since I had been a Guardian, I still retained what I had learned there. Everyone deserved the chance to do the right thing. If that choice was refused, however, they wouldn’t live to see tomorrow.

Deliver your justice, little girl, one of the males hissed. His yellow eyes narrowed as he gazed up at me. You will make a fine addition to our collection of bones.

I don’t think so.

I dropped down from the tree, landing by the Viper corpse. Bones crunched under my feet. I pulled another knife from its hiding place and went to reach for the one in the Viper’s tail. She squealed and lunged at me, almost catching my forearm with her nasty teeth. For that she lost her head, though it took much more force to cut through her body than I predicted. She fell across her dead nestmate, blood pouring from her decapitated body. My knives were little but very sharp. One by one I started cutting through the Vipers as they rushed at me, doing my best to keep their teeth away from the humans. A few times I had to jump in front of a set of fangs just so the humans wouldn’t suffer a bite. I could handle the venom a lot better than they could.

It would have been easy for me to fight with magic, simple even. But that was not something I believed in. If I couldn’t defend myself with a cunning mind and physical prowess, then I didn’t deserve the life I constructed for myself. My father killed mercilessly with his dark magic and even at a young age it left a bad taste in my mouth. I vowed to never be like that man. I fought with my weapons and the skills I had developed, never with magic. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Magic had its place, but not in fighting like this.

Through my trained eye, I was able to analyze the movements of the Vipers and cut them down, slashing throats and stabbing between ribs with my knives. There were several bitemarks on my arms. My dress was torn in so many places from their sharp teeth. The venom was starting to have an effect on me, making my arms become heavy. I pushed on. The humans had to be saved at all costs. I fought against the sluggishness until there was only one Viper left. It was a good thing because I had slowed considerably, my body becoming less reactive.

The last Viper slowly circled around me, eyeing me up with a vicious smile. She slithered over the ground, making the bones around her rattle. My weakness was very apparent to her.

You killed my sister quite gruesomely. That must have been the first Viper I caught in the throat with my knife. You will pay dearly for that.

She jumped at me. I tried to get out of the way, but she caught me around the waist with her tail as I was in mid-spring. My body just couldn’t move quickly enough. But there was no time to dwell on that. I needed to think quickly if I was going to get myself away from the Viper before she crushed me to death. The Viper brought me to her body with her tail. Her hand snaked around my neck, her nails scraping against the delicate skin under my ear.

Your death shall be painful. She was smiling, I could hear it in her voice. Something needed to happen or I was going to be crushed.

I threw myself down on the ground, hoping to land hard enough on my side to break some of the vertebrae in her tail. Her grip around me didn’t loosen even when we heard several sharp cracks come from her body. Despite the severity of the situation, I was not yet in a state of panic. My mind was still working somewhat quickly, even though my body was not. I twisted my knife around in my hand