Email:
Lespion@msn.com
Episode
I The Corsair
Melissa flexed her powerful wings, gaining
altitude effortlessly.
“Wings,” she thought, “I have
wings!”
It seemed so natural to her to have the body
of a dragon, but at the same time, she marveled at her strength and
grace. She remembered little
of the transformation. One minute
she had been chained to the wheel and the next she stood immense and powerful
on the floor of the dungeon. She
could only remember the terrible rage that surged through her as she watched
the Duke prepare to rape Shasara.
Her hatred for the Duke had consumed her with an intense white
heat. There had been a strange
feeling of disorientation. And
then she had become the dragon.
She flexed her long neck so that she could
see the three girls holding onto her.
She was barely conscious of their weight although she knew they were
there. Her scaly hide was amazingly
sensitive. She could feel their
legs pressed against her. They
were riding more easily now, enjoying the spectacle of the landscape
below.
It all looked so
peaceful. She had never imagined
what the world would look like from the viewpoint of a
bird. Below her were neat farms
and towns, interspersed with patches of forest and lakes that reflected the
colour of the sky. She was so
high that animals and people were reduced to tiny dots on the landscape,
but her keen dragon sight saw them all.
She twisted her sinuous neck again and looked
at the three girls. They gave
her a cheery wave, gaining confidence.
They had flown long enough now that they trusted her not to drop them
and were enjoying the experience as much as she
was.
It was most enjoyable being a
dragon. It seemed that she had
always been in this form. She
wondered if there were other dragons
somewhere. Dragons that she could
meet and converse with, perhaps even taking one as a
mate. That was an experience
she had seldom enjoyed as a women.
Being raped was not the same as being
loved. If only Vandar had
waited…
But that was behind her
now. She was almost back to the
ship. Soon she would have to
land, and she knew that when she did, she would be a dragon no
longer. She did not know how
she knew this, but she knew it as certainly as she
breathed. She understood now
what the red dragon tattoo meant.
The significance of the rituals surrounding the carving of the dragon
into her skin had been lost on her.
Only now did she recognize the magic of the words that had been
spoken.
A powerful spell had been bound into the tattoo,
one that would awaken for the right person and under the right
conditions. She had felt the
spell growing within her when Rey had tortured her, but she had not recognized
it.
It had taken the capture
and threatened violation of her companions to finally trigger the spell and
quicken the dragon. Che Sha,
steeped more fully in the rituals of the Shang culture had recognized it
before she had. She glanced back
at the girls again and gave them a dragon
smile. She turned
back. She could see the ship
now. Tilting her body, she swept
into a long lazy spiral as swooped toward the small sheltered
bay.
She landed on the rocky
beach. On the deck of the
Peregrine she saw the pirate crew scrambling frantically
around. Clearly her arrival had
created pandemonium. She smiled
to herself. In a few seconds
she expected to create an even greater
sensation.
Her three comrades slid down her wing to the
ground. Melissa felt a tremor
pass through her body. Suddenly
she felt very disoriented. Her
senses swam and the ground seemed to be rushing up to meet
her. She swayed and stumbled,
catching herself on her hands.
Hands, not claws.
Tentatively she staggered to her
feet. Che Sha rushed to steady
her, as did Vayasha. Melissa
realized with a start, that she was completely naked, and exposed to the
stares of her crew only a hundred yards
offshore.
Shasara pushed a bundle into her arms and
stood in front of her, shielding her from the amazed stares of the pirate
crew. It was the clothing that
she had worn before Rey had stripped her.
Hastily, she dressed, reddening in
embarrassment. Her companions
sheltered her, small smiles on their
faces. Melissa noted as she dressed
that all traces of the ordeal she had been put through, including the nipple
rings, had disappeared from her body.
Apparently the dragon had repelled such objects as she had
metamorphosed.
By the time she finished pulling on her boots
a small boat had put out from the
Peregrine
and was pulling strongly for the shore.
The bow of the boat pushed into the beach
shale. Chance Brown stepped
out. He approached Melissa somewhat
hesitantly. Stopping just short
of her he went down on one knee.
“My lady,” he said, “please forgive
me.”
Melissa raised one elegant eyebrow in
surprise. Brown had never bowed
to her before, and his words confused
her. “What is there to forgive,
Master Brown?” asked Melissa, continuing the
formality.
“I should not have doubted you, my
lady. I should have helped your
companions to rescue you.”
“Be thankful that you did not, Chance,”
she said. “You would probably
be dead. Your only wrong was
allowing these three warriors to come after
me. They could easily have been
killed or worse.” Her eyes
went to Che Sha and the two Silvani
girls. “But I suspect that
they did not ask for your permission before
leaving.” She
smiled.
“Come. Let us return
to the
Peregrine. “I have one more voyage
to make.”
On the deck of the ship Melissa smiled as
the wind filled the sails.
“Where to, captain?” asked
Brown.
“Take us to the Black Isles,” she
answered. “It is as good
a place as any. Go there by the
fastest route.”
“Aye aye, captain, Brown
replied.
“Do we look for prey?” asked Che
Sha moving next to Melissa.
Melissa shook her head, sending her unbound
hair swirling about her.
“No. After being
a dragon I could not be a pirate again.
This will be my last voyage on the
Peregrine. I will give it to
Brown.”
“What then?” asked the Shang
princess.
“I’m not sure,” said
Melissa. “My adventures
have just begun. I have heard
of strange lands far beyond the horizon.
I will seek them out.
Somewhere I have heard there are lands with
dragons.”
As she and Che Sha had spoken, Shasara and Vayasha had come close. Stretching her arms wide, Melissa embraced them all. “Yes,” she thought, “my life is just beginning. Others will soon learn of the Red Dragon.”
PREVIOUS
CHAPTER WIZARD'S
LAIR MAIN PAGE
L'ESPION'S
STORY
PAGE