Chapter 5: Fire-Breathing Dragon (Part 2)

"You're a monster!"

"I am," he echoed, turning around to face. He tried to force her to shy away with hostility looming towards her. "However, it is not your place to give your opinion on something that does not concern you. Even more so when you remain ignorant to the entire story."

Sophia gazed up at the creature before her and a revelation glared back at him. The fear he desired lingered, but in the intense gaze, she gave defiance. Anger blazed in those deep jade pools. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and he observed her wipe them away with force. She didn’t take one step away.

"I'd do anything to have my parents back," she growled. "I can't believe I'm helping someone like you get out of here. You... you deserve it!"

"Perhaps," Eli answered, leveling his gaze with hers, "but that is irrelevant. You offered to help to save your life from your selfish will to live. If I am a monster why are you willing to set me free?"

Sophia opened her mouth to respond but had none.  She wasn't ready to die, so she tried to find a way out of losing her life. What was there to say? She still didn't want to die and unless she did what this dragon wanted; he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. While tossing and turning for that half-hour, Sophia realized she should have run for it. Catching her if she made a run for the exit would be like a toddler trying to escape a rabid dog.

If he slaughtered his entire family, there was no way her life meant anything. Eli, noting her sudden silence, moved away, caught two more fish for her, and laid them next to each other. He did not care if what he said hurt her feelings. She did not understand what happened, but she judged him like the many others that caught a smudged version of his life story.

The dragon turned his gaze to his guest. "Eat."

Sophia crinkled her nose. "It's not cooked, Eli. I don't want to risk food poisoning."

The dragon turned to her. "Food poisoning?"

The young woman tried to suppress a chuckle at his innocent question. Her answer concerning bacteria may confuse him further so she broke it down into academy terms. "It's when you eat something that is not clean and it gives you an upset stomach. Can't you smoke it or something? Aren't you a fire-breathing dragon?"

Eli remained silent for a moment. Did she think he played the role of a servant? Fresh fish may make her sick if her food wasn't cooked, but to ask him to cook it for her? It grated him that she was right again. The only way to prepare it included him. How irritating. 

"Move," he instructed.

Sophia obeyed, looking with curious eyes around his body. Eli inhaled, smoldering heat building in his chest. He emitted a soft exhale emitted a small fire. Sophia looked on in wonder. Her living arrangements with a dragon still hadn't set in until now. The radiating heat waves warmed her face further, causing more sweat to roll down her body. She would need a bath from the stickiness of her skin.

Eli finished cooking and turned to retreat to his nook in the cave wall. Sophia called her thanks after him, but he did not answer. Sophia shrugged her shoulders and sat down in front of the still-smoking fish. It diffused an inviting aroma, but with no seasonings, it may have the deliciousness of a shoe. The hungry woman pulled off a piece of flesh like a barbaric caveman after giving her food a moment to cool. She placed the fish up to her lips, warmth still emitting from it, but not hot enough to burn her mouth.

A rich smoky flavor filled her senses, a hint of spice encases in every bite. Her stomach kicked into high gear and she reached to tear off another piece.

"This is pretty good," Sophia murmured while she ate.

"You must also drink," Eli's powerful voice resounded. "You have lost fluids from being in this cave so replenish yourself."

Sophia finished her meal and moved over to the water's edge. She didn't want to drink gross warm water. Timid fingers reached up and moved through the cascading water. She smiled at the cool feel that inched from her palm to her wrist. Sophia cupped her hands, held them out, letting them fill with water and moving it to her lips, relishing the soothing liquid moving down her parched throat. She didn't realize the intensity of her thirst until she had something to drink.

Eli turned to watch her gather water and drink. Sophia's mood changed like the direction of the wind. Her dismay about the death of his family already dissipated. She mentioned she wished her parents were still alive. Sophia must have had a close relationship with them. Genuine hurt and rage crossed her soft features. It differed from those judgmental expressions he received openly and behind his back, since the moment he ended his family. He gazed at her in silence when she stuck her arm in the water and giggled like an amused child.

Why did Gaea allow this stranger entrance to this cave? The one-way invisible barrier at the mouth of the cave repelled those who Gaea chose. Each person, although Eli did not remember all of them, brought divulgement, foreshadowing, or guilt, none Sophia portrayed thus far. Whatever the reasoning, Gaea did it for entertainment. She relished in Eli's continuous suffering.

"Eli?"

The dragon blinked and shifted his tail around his body, waiting for her to speak. He watched with curiosity as the brunette moved over to him and looked up again, dark orbs copying gems in the earth.

"I'm sorry for the things I said. You're right, it isn't my place to judge you when I don't have the full story."

The black dragon remained silent, unsure how to respond to her apology. After a few moments, she gave him a weary smile then moved back over to where she had laid down earlier. His gaze remained trained on her as she closed her eyes and heard her breath even out. The outcome from meeting this girl eluded him. 

~O~O~O~

Sophia ran faster than she knew possible. The pitch-black area engulfed her, yet she ran on in a blind panic. Despite no floor underneath, her feet landed on a surface hard like concrete. Her heart was racing, pulse thundering in her ears, sweat trickling down her brow, and fear jolting through her body. The same presence that terrified her in the tunnel before she found the waterfall and Eli haunted her. The aura chasing her seemed powerful... unstoppable almost. It loomed behind her, making the hairs on her neck stand up as it inched closer. 

"Why do you try to escape me, Sophia?"

That eerie voice echoed around her, smooth but simultaneously cold and menacing. Terror gripped her like a noose around her neck. Sophia pressed on, not daring to look behind her. Her breaths came in forced gasps every time her foot landed on the blackened surface. Her legs turned to lead, moving like she tried sprinting through water, her strides slowing down to a crawl. Sophia tried to force her legs to move faster, but their pace weakened until she was no longer moving.

"Sophia..."

A pale hand rested on her shoulder and shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Sophia jolted awake, the reminiscence of the cold hand causing goosebumps to rise on her flesh. She sat up, willing her heart to stop its abnormal pace and studied her surroundings. The confused woman remained in the same dank cave she had the misfortune of discovering a few hours ago. Sophia viewed Eli's crimson orbs staring at her. The dragon gave her discouraging evidence of what she hoped was only a dream. Despite the creature and her making eye contact, the large dragon continued his fixed gaze.

"What?" she questioned, standing up on wobbly legs that fell asleep from the position she napped in.

"You were having a nightmare," Eli stated. "You screamed a few moments ago."

Her cheeks tinted a darker red than the soft flush they were from the warmth of the cave. "That's true," she admitted while moving over to the cool breeze the waterfall created. "It scared the hell out of me."

Eli did not respond; there was no need to. Something bothered her, and lack of mental soundness hindered progress with the magic control. His only concern included her ability to use magic, not what scared her. 

"Are you ready to begin your training?" he asked, moving to stand, muscular tail sliding along the cave floor.

His question reminded Sophia of her purpose here. The quicker she completed her task, the faster Eli achieved freedom and hers, too. The determination to finish this training early fueled her. She held onto that hope as she stood and ruffled her stringy hair. 

"Okay, what is the first step?"

"Come."

Sophia took a step forward, her heart thudding in her ears. She swallowed, not comfortable being close to him, but reminding herself Eli wouldn't kill her... she hoped. Standing beside a fifteen-foot dragon did something to one's nerves. She stopped in front of him and he lowered his head, the galaxy-like pupils spinning counterclockwise. A powerful force yanked Sophia into a black vortex. The gravitational force on her body pulled so strong, Sophia thought the pressure compressed her organs, halting her lung expansion. After what had to be only a few seconds, Sophia jolted to a halt, the sensation abrupt like hitting a brick wall. She sucked in a deep breath as her lungs re-inflated, sending a sharp pang through her chest. Sophia placed her hands on her knees. Sweat beaded down her forehead as she tried to inhale deeper.

"If you're stronger, coming to this world will not affect you."

"Is... that s-so?" Sophia responded, sarcasm lacing her voice as she struggled to get a grip on reality. Bile burned at the back of her throat and her hand covered her mouth, unsure if her stomach planned on emptying itself. Sophia's body soon relaxed and her breathing returned to normal. She stood slowly and watery green orbs turned upward to the sky. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Where are we?"

A deep crimson that matched the red of Eli's eyes bled across the skylines. Angry, black clouds billowed past at a speed that was unnatural, especially without wind to push them along.

"This is my magic’s dimension when I was still a Knight," Eli spoke, his voice surrounding her. "Here, you are at my mercy. My desires are a reality within this realm. It is a power that only my family possesses. A power that began their demise: VOID."

Void? Is there such a thing?

Sophia's face scrunched in confusion. What was Eli talking about? She sighed. Despite the seemingly impossible story he told her, after what she witnessed, anything was possible. The young woman figured that out the moment she stumbled into a cave harboring a mythical creature.

Sophia turned to find her captor. "Okay, so how do I..."

Her mouth closed from the sight before her. Who was this… unfamiliar man? Such creamy skin and smooth ebony hair were the first features to catch her attention. Sophia's eyes trailed over his form, clear lines of his muscles peeked through the black shirt he wore underneath the cloak seemingly made of shadows.

The male's slender fingers slid past his raven black hair. He momentarily closed his eyes as he did so. When he opened them, Sophia recognized those unique irises right away.

“Eli?”