1 Chapter 1 - Returning Home (1/2)
I fell hard on the dirt and heard another thud not too far from me. When I could open my eyes, I found myself on the dirt road to a familiar, two-floored manor. My brother, Gustavo, was to my right, wiping the dirt off his face; he, without a doubt in my mind, had faceplanted when we were thrown out of the portal. The few times we are forced to travel, just the two of us, were always more chaotic since neither of us had an affinity with space-magic and our strength would destabilize any tunnel a trinket could create. We were both covered in a layer of blood and grime since we hadn't had the chance to bathe while we were in the Rift. It had been nearly three days of killing wave after wave of goblins and hobgoblin and we were both exhausted.
”I swear, the next time Alice drops us a goblin mine without telling us before... look at me, I'm filthy!” I complained.
”How many crystals did you get?” Gustavo asked.
I touched my ring with my thumb as I sunk my mind into the space within. I did a quick sweep of all of the crystals all the monster crystals and replied, ”Five thousand or so.”
”I need an exact number!” he complained.
”What? Must you compete with your poor, older sister in everything? You already won the manor,” I teased.
”How many?”
I sighed and tossed him the ring, ”Seven thousand, five hundred, forty-three.”
”God damnit!” he yelled, quickly scanning the contents of the ring then he tossed it back.
”My powers are perfect for swarms of enemies, you know that,” I said as I caught the ring.
Gustavo grumbled as he stood up, but he never actually said anything. I stood up as well and looked at my black scaled hands. I closed my eyes as I took a deep breathe in, trying to calm my blood. Unlike my brother who had awoken abilities and magics related to swords and shields, my powers came from the bloodline of a dragon corrupted by chaos energy.
I was currently in my first form which covered me, head to toe, in black scales that could block bullets. My two horns on my forehead were a foot long and looked like they were carved from polished obsidian. My eyes were slightly larger and pure gold in color with diamond shaped pupils. My hair had turned crimson and the tips of my fingers had sharp talons that would change color depending on what spell I was channeling.
It took a few minutes, but I was able to shift back to my ”human” form. I still had my horns, but they were only about three inches long. My skin was unnaturally pale, almost white, which was further accented by strange, black runes that wrapped around my muscular body. The only thing that was still the same before my bloodline awakened was my black hair and blue-green eyes.
”Alright, I'm good,” I said as I finished the shift.
”Then let's go!”
My brother and I walked up the dirt road and pushed open the doors to Dawn Manor, our home.As soon as we stepped in, we were stopped by a stone golem and we were each handed a cleansing scroll. With a chuckle, we both tore the scrolls and were bathed in a light sky-blue light. When the light had faded, both of us were completely clean.
”So, what are you going to do tonight?” Gustavo asked.
”Lounge around the onsen until I fully relax then bed,” I replied.
”You should come us to the movies!”
”Thanks, but no. I really just need to unwind.”
”Melissa and Terri will be disappointed,” he insisted.
”I'm not interested in being a third, or in your case, ninth wheel. Go, live out your harem fantasy that every straight man in America are dreaming of,” I said in mock exasperation.
He could only give me a wry smile as we walked into the main room where most of the residents were sitting, awaiting our return... well, more specifically, my brother's. I could only shake my head as every eye in the room focused on him. In the past three years, with all of the changes that had happened to me, from growing horns to being abducted by the government, I still couldn't understand the change in my brother's charm which effect nearly every woman to cross his path, especially those brought to the manor. For some reason, they all found him irresistible while I still found him the airheaded, yet lovable, little brother he had always been.