Flame of a Dragon

“Agatha’s Herbs and Spices,” Nawala muttered, scanning the dark red letters on the glass door and windows. The building stood at three storeys, with the ground floor serving as the shop. Just as they’d been told. Moon, her tiny companion, gazed at her with bright blue eyes, his blonde hair draping down on his back, while his pale skin glistened in the summer morning sun.

Moon folded his hands and smirked at Nawala. “What?”

Nawala chuckled. “Nothing. Still getting used to this shape, I guess.” Her warrior mage had taken many forms throughout the years. There was even this one time he turned into a jaguar to scare off a group of hoodlums who had come to pick a fight with them. But this was the first time Moon had taken the shape of a little girl. Only a few inches until his full height reached Nawala’s waist, the girl couldn’t be more than nine years old.

“I kinda like it.” Moon shrugged, staring at his reflection... or her reflection in the glass door. He narrowed his eyes, then opened them wide. “Damn, so fucking blue.”

“This must be the place.” Nawala’s attention fell back on the shop. “Are you ready, Moon?”

“Hell yes.” Moon’s real voice, soft and masculine, reverberated in Nawala’s head. “Let’s do this.”

Upon entering the shop, Nawala’s senses were instantly assaulted by a wide assortment of herbs and spices.

“Holy shit.” Moon gaped at the rows and rows of neatly arranged shelves displaying an obscene number of transparent containers filled with substances of various colours. Another shelf housed numerous potted plants. Some red. Some purple. But most of them green. He ran to one of the shelves, tracing his fingers on each label. “Blue jade essence. Moonrose. Oh my god, blackfire elm. I have been looking for this shit everywhere. Wala, we’ve got to get this. I need it for a new recipe I’m working on.”

“Sure. But first things first.”

“Oh. Right.” Moon ran his fingers through his long hair. “Sorry. I forgot. Got way too excited.” He chuckled.

“Did you two find what you were looking for?” A woman’s voice interrupted them.

That was when Nawala noticed a dark-skinned middle-aged woman standing behind a counter, grinding something in a wooden mortar.

“That must be Agatha,” Moon syraspoke inside Nawala’s head as they both slowly approached the counter.

“I hope so,” Nawala replied. Leaning on the counter, she said out loud to the woman, “Are you Agatha?”

“The one and only.” Agatha kept grinding, not once looking at them. “What do you need? I have herbs and potions for all kinds of ailments. Corabane, white oak... blackfire elm.” Finally, she stopped grinding and looked up at them before flashing a small smile. “I don’t do hexes or love spells.”

Nawala resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Moon, however, chuckled. “We’re not here for hexes or love spells.”

Agatha nodded. “Good. So–”

“Holy fuck.” Moon’s eyes widened. He stood on tiptoes, leaning over the counter to get a better look at the glass shelf behind Agatha. “Is that a dragon scale?”

“Wait, what?” Nawala’s eyes almost fell out of her head at the sight of the golden speck, roughly the size of an adult human’s thumb, proudly sitting on a blue and white porcelain plate.

It was only a tiny speck, but there was no doubt it was the scale of a flameborn dragon. Deep within Nawala, the sheer power of the scale pulsated through her as though recognising her as kindred.

“How the hell do you have a dragon scale?” Moon asked.

“It was a gift.” Agatha resumed grinding her herbs sounding bored, as if she’d had to answer this question too many times.

Nawala and Moon exchanged glances. Who the hell went about giving dragon scales as gifts? They were a highly coveted energy source for scribing some of the most powerful spells. Anyone would be a fool to simply give it out for free. For a flameborn dragon, however, gifting their scale was a symbol of protection. It warned others that one was under the protection of the dragon, and, as was often the case, the entire clan of that dragon. This was not something done on a mere whim. Whoever Agatha was, she was no ordinary person, Nawala thought.

“Are you a warrior mage?” Moon asked. That was the only thing that made sense. The only person a flameborn dragon would endow with their scale without a second thought was their warrior mage.

Not even Nawala had done that for Moon, one whom she loved above all. Well, since her first and only transformation eleven years ago, she’d never gone into the full dragon state again. Someday, she would definitely gift Moon one of her scales, no question about that.

“No, that can’t be right,” said Moon, staring at the woman’s hands. “I don’t see a syra on your wrist.”

Agatha chuckled. “I’m not a warrior mage, little one.”

“Moon Yong-sun. But you can call me Moon.”

Agatha paused for a moment, her brows raised. She carefully scrutinised Moon with curious brown eyes. Finally, she smiled. “Ah, I see. Moon. It’s not for sale. The dragon scale, I mean.”

“He... she doesn’t need it,” Nawala countered almost too quickly.

For the first time, Agatha’s gaze pierced right through Nawala, the amusement in her eyes darkening into a frown... or was it confusion? Nawala clenched her jaw, intensely staring right back at the older woman who was now looking at her like she was some kind of rare specimen.

Not for a second taking her eyes off Nawala, Agatha whispered, “What the hell are you supposed to be?”

“Excuse me?”

Perhaps sensing the anger slowly burning within Nawala, Moon suddenly interrupted, “We just need your help to find someone. Can you do that?”

They’d arrived in the city of Havengrove only yesterday, and so far, they only knew of two people. The first was Big C, the man they were here working for. The second was Agatha, a mage who ran the biggest herbal and supernatural shop in the city. They only knew of the mage because Big C had casually mentioned that he bought corabane from her shop. And since Moon didn’t know any tracking spells, they figured Agatha might be able to help. Using a mage would be faster anyway. The quicker they finished the job, the earlier they could return home.

Nawala had not wanted to take this job in the first place. But Khan, their benefactor, insisted that he owed Big C a favour and begged them to take this job. Seeing how important it was for Khan, they agreed to take the job. So here they were, thousands of kilometres away from home, on a bounty hunting job.

Agatha sighed. “Who are you looking for?”

“Aren’t you a psychic or something?” asked Moon. “I mean, that’s what everyone says.”

“Not a psychic,” she said. “An empath. But I let people believe what they want. Keeps me mysterious.” She laughed.

“Your innate gift?” asked Moon, to which Agatha nodded. “Super cool. So, what can you do as an empath?”

Nawala rolled her eyes. Once her warrior mage learned something ‘cool’ about someone, he would probe and probe and probe. Normally, she didn’t mind. But today, they didn’t have the time. Something about this job made her feel uneasy, and she really wanted to get through it as quickly as possible.

“First of all,” said Agatha with a laugh, “As calm as your friend looks, I can tell that she’s fucking pissed. She has quite the temper, doesn’t she?”

Moon looked at Nawala, then slowly nodded. “Well, shit. You really are an empath.”

“Are you two quite done?” Nawala glared at the woman.

“No. Not really,” said Agatha. “I also know that Moon is a warrior mage... and a shapeshifter, right?”

Nawala froze. Not many mages could see through Moon’s shifting. But even if Agatha had deduced that Moon was not really a little white girl based on her obviously Korean name—which he often used no matter what he looked like—how could she have known that Moon was a warrior mage? His syra was always invisible whenever he took on a shape other than his own.

“How did you know that?” asked Moon.

“Empath, remember? I can sense people’s true nature no matter how hidden.... which is why I still don’t understand how the hell I can’t sense what you are.” Agatha’s look of confusion was back as she peered at Nawala. “I can’t tell if you’re an ordinary human, a mage, an akumon or a dragon.”

Nawala raised a brow, exchanging glances with Moon. Was this woman making fun of her? But she seemed pretty serious.

After a momentary pause, Moon finally said, “What are you talking about? Wala is a flameborn dragon.”

“Wait, really?” Agatha paused for a moment, intensely staring at Nawala. “That’s odd. I would have known. Are you sure about that?”

Moon nodded vigorously. “We’re syrabonds. So yes, Wala is a dragon.”

“Yeah, I see the syra,” said Agatha, her gaze fixated on Nawala’s hand. “But still–”

“Look,” Nawala interrupted, “I didn’t come here for a reading or whatever the hell you’re into. You’re clearly wasting our time. And I’m this close to breaking your legs.”

“Hmm,” Agatha shook her head, “she’s a dragon indeed. So, fucking hot-tempered when they’re young.”

Moon grinned. “You don’t seem intimidated by a flameborn.”

“Ah...” Agatha scoffed. “I’ve met scarier ones.”

Then Moon laughed heartily. But in an instant, the amusement was gone from his eyes. “Believe me when I tell you this, Agatha, but you have not.”

That made Agatha pause for a moment. But then she sighed and shook her head, as though dismissing a childish opinion.

“Moon, this woman is annoying.”

“I like her,” Moon’s voice reverberated in Nawala’s head. “I can also sense her mana. It’s pretty strong. I think she can help us.”

“Well, she’d better hurry.”

“And you really need to learn some patience, Wala.”

“What are you talking about? I’m patient.”

Moon laughed. “Yeah, in your fucking dreams.”

“Yeah, well–”

“You two syraspeaking?” Agatha interrupted their telepathic conversation, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Wow... you really are syrabonds. So, tell me, Wala–”

“It’s Nawala.”

“Right... Nawala and Moon. Who are you looking for?”

“Some guy called Dino Bell,” said Moon. “But everyone calls him Bullet.”

“Bullet?” Agatha cocked her head. “Why is a flameborn dragon and a warrior mage looking for a human? What do you want with him?”

“No questions. Just find him.”

“Oh, but I must ask questions, Nawala.” Then, directing her gaze at Moon, Agatha asked, “And why can’t you track him yourself? You’re a warrior mage. Aren’t you people like crazy powerful?”

“If I knew how to scribe a locator spell, I wouldn’t be here.”

Agatha burst into hysterical laughter. But then after a while, she stopped smiling, her eyes widening in shock. “Wait... you’re serious.”

“I am.”

“Did you learn nothing at AMF?”

Moon shrugged. “We were home-schooled.”

He said that as though that was some great excuse that explained everything. It was not. Back when they lived on Ring Island as children, they were educated by excellent teachers in all manner of subjects, from Ancient Dragon History to Magic Theory. Science, mathematics, world history, and way too many languages. Even if they didn’t go to the prestigious Academy of Mana and Flame, highly coveted by dragons and mages the world over, they still had some of the best education in the world.

So that certainly didn’t explain why Moon couldn’t scribe a locator spell, or a lot of simple spells for that matter.

Moon’s training in magic was by no means mediocre. He loved magic and dedicated a lot of time to learning Magic Theory. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, he simply couldn’t be bothered with learning existing spells when he could actually create new ones. That was why he loved Magic Theory so much, because it helped him come up with ideas for new spells. He’d been creating several powerful spells since he was thirteen, many of which were too impractical to use in everyday life. He usually only focused on learning combat spells, like a proper warrior mage.

Things like locator spells were ironically too simple for him to waste time learning. Besides, they could easily track anyone they wanted by activating their syrabond. However, fifteen years ago, Nawala had promised someone dear to her that she’d never activate it no matter what. Not once had she broken that promise, and she had no intention of doing so.

“Clearly you’re not an Unbound,” said Agatha. “So how come you never went to AMF?” This time, none of them said anything. Agatha sighed. “Look, sorry if I’m asking too many questions. But I need to take precautions.”

“Precautions for what exactly?” Nawala was trying so hard to keep calm. “We just want you to find one man.”

“You two are obviously new in town, so I don’t blame you for not knowing what Havengrove is like. This city has rules. Very strict rules. I can’t be the reason why a human gets in danger. Gabriel will not let me hear the fucking end of it.”

“I’m not going to ask who the fuck Gabriel is,” said Moon. “But I promise you that we’re not trying to harm Bullet.” Then after a brief pause, he added, “Not us anyway.”

“Well, that is comforting to hear, Moon.” Agatha rolled her eyes.

“We’re looking for him on behalf of another human... It’s a human affair, actually.”

“Oh? And who’s this human?”

“We can’t tell you.” Nawala snapped.

Agatha shrugged. “Then I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

“No?” Nawala laughed mirthlessly. “What if I break every bone in your body? Will you help us then?”

“That would literally make me helpless.” Agatha’s lips twitched for a moment, but her eyes didn’t lose that calm resolve. “I told you, young dragon. You don’t fucking scare me.”

“What, because you have the scale of a flameborn? Do you really think that can protect you from me?”

The two stared at each other intensely, neither of them ready to back down. Hearing the steady beating of Agatha’s heart, one thing was clear—the woman had zero fear of Nawala. Impressive.

“No. I don’t think it can.” Agatha finally broke the silence. “And sure, maybe Moon is right about how scary you can be. But right now, I know that despite all your intimidation tactics, you have no intention of harming me, Nawala.”

Nawala clenched her jaw, feeling a bit miffed by how this woman could see right through her. Other than Moon, who could literally feel her emotions, everyone else found her unpredictable. Usually, her calm façade never matched the burning rage inside her, nor does her outer storm match her absolute inner calm. They say she was a walking contradiction. But this woman could see right through the contradiction. She really was the empath she claimed to be.

Realising she wasn’t intimidating Agatha at all, Nawala finally sighed. “Big C sent us.”

“Big C?” Agatha narrowed her eyes. It seemed she had not expected to hear that the wealthiest man in Havengrove was somehow involved in this. But from the things Nawala had heard about the man, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. Rumours had it that Big C’s fingers were dipped in all sorts of shady businesses all over North and South America. But of course, no one really had any proof. As far as the public was concerned, he was an upstanding citizen. None of that mattered to Nawala anyway as long as they got paid.

“He’s looking for Bullet?” Agatha asked. “That’s odd.”

“Why?” Nawala asked.

“Bullet works for Big C.”

“Really?” Moon said. “Big C said Bullet owes him money. So maybe the man ran away or something.”

“Maybe.” Agatha nodded. Then she froze, the intensity in her eyes deepening. “He didn’t pay you to kill the man, did he?”

“I don’t kill for money.” The words flowed out of Nawala’s mouth without missing a beat. “I kill when it’s personal. This is not personal. We’re just looking for him.”

“Not exactly helpful. But it’s a start.” Agatha sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you. Only because I feel I can trust you.”

Agatha asked them for something belonging to Bullet so she could use it as an anchor to scribe a tracking spell. Moon retrieved from his backpack the ruby ring Big C had given to them. He handed it to Agatha, who then placed it on the counter.

Deep red mana seeped out of the mage’s index finger like fine silk. And with her mana, Agatha slowly scribed a spell with mere three strokes—a pretty simple spell powered by a small amount of mana compared to all those complicated ones Nawala had seen Moon scribe. A mage had to be careful how much mana they expended. It was their very life force, and using too much could leave them dry and empty, not too far from the jaws of death. No wonder most mages opted for the simplest spells out there.

As Agatha’s spell enveloped the ring like a blanket, her fluid mana morphed into a red globe, levitating a few inches over the counter. On the globe, a black dot blinked on the North American continent, specifically in the northeastern US.

“At least he’s in the country,” said Agatha.

“That doesn’t tell us anything,” said Nawala.

“Patience, young dragon.”

Nawala resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Moon smirked at her with an I told you so look. Fine, maybe she was impatient. But she really couldn’t stand being called a young dragon... no matter how factual it was. For creatures that could live for several thousand years, being twenty-seven meant she was literally a child in dragon years. Still, that didn’t make her any less immature on a mental level in human years. It was why she loathed being treated like a child by anyone.

Before Nawala could protest, however, the globe came apart, unfolding atop the glass counter like a holographic three-dimensional map. The landmass of the United States zoomed in on a location labelled in large black letters as Havengrove. Then it zoomed further to a forest reserve named...

“The Darklands,” Agatha whispered in an icy tone. “What the hell?”

“What?” Nawala said with impatience.

“The man you’re looking for is in the Darklands.”

“I can see that. But we’ll need an exact location. And perhaps a map to show us the way.”

“I-I can’t do that.”

That made Nawala pause. “You don’t need to worry about the money.”

“It’s not about money.” Agatha snapped, her eyes darkening. Then, in a much softer voice, she added. “Look, I’m sorry. But you can’t go to the Darklands.”

“Why the fuck not?” Moon interjected. “And what’s up with that dramatic ass name anyway?”

“Moon, I’m serious. I’m guessing Bullet is still alive since my spell worked. But it’s only a matter of time until...” Agatha rubbed her temples before sighing in exasperation. “Fuck. Why will he go to the Darklands? No one in their right mind goes there.”

“What’s in the Darklands?” asked Nawala.

“It’s... infested.”

“Infested?” Nawala and Moon said simultaneously. “With what?”

“Akumons. The Darklands is their territory.”

Nawala paused, waiting for an elaboration. But seeing that none was coming, she shrugged. “Okay. So, what’s the problem?”

Agatha gaped, staring at Nawala as though she had just grown two heads. Slowly, the shock cleared on her face like a fog. “Right. Obviously, you two can handle yourselves. That’s all the more reason why you shouldn’t go.”

“You’re not making any sense, mage.”

“You have no idea how things work here in this city.”

“You keep saying that. Do you not see that I have no intention of knowing? Just give me a map to track the bastard down.”

“My god, you’re stubborn.” Turning her attention to Moon, Agatha said, “You’re clearly the rational one here. Talk to your syrabond.”

After pausing thoughtfully for a moment, Moon asked, “Why can’t we go to the Darklands?”

“I told you. There are rules in Havengrove.”

“And one of those rules stops people from going to a whole part of the city?” Moon raised a brow. “Granted, it’s full of akumons, but still. Shit doesn’t add up.”

“It’s not that simple... Look, all you need to know is that it’s part of the pact that the Four Factions have to obey.”

“Pact? Four Factions?” Nawala scoffed. What utter nonsense? All she wanted was to find the bloody bastard, get paid, and return home. Learning about the bloody history and mythology of Havengrove was not on that list. “What’s that go to do with me?”

“Everything, if you intend to break the pact. The Four Factions take it seriously. And you should, too. If they find out you’re trying to break it, they’ll do everything in their power to stop you.”

“Break what pact exactly?” Moon asked. “We’re just going to find someone who might as well be in danger, if you’re right about the akumons. How are we breaking a pact?”

Agatha gulped, her heartbeat spiking ever slightly. This woman was not even in the least bit intimidated by Nawala despite knowing she was a flameborn dragon. And yet, something had clearly spooked her. Was it the Four Factions she feared or the consequence of breaking the so-called pact?

Nawala’s mind reeled with endless thoughts about the strangeness of Havengrove. The bad feeling she had about the job since the very beginning plagued her even more. Yet, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the problem was. Was she perhaps being paranoid?

“Akumons used to run wild in these parts. But that’s no longer the case,” said Agatha. “The pact forbids them from feeding on humans outside the Darklands, and everyone else is forbidden from hunting akumons in the Darklands. There will be dire consequences if it’s broken.”

“Wait,” Moon said, “are you saying the feeding patterns of those monsters are under control here in this city?”

“Yes.” Agatha nodded. “That’s how it’s been for more than a century. There are no akumon attacks here. Well, only in the Darklands, of course.”

“No fucking way.”

Nawala was just as impressed and shocked as Moon. Most places they’d visited had serious akumon attacks. In Shanghai, for example, akumons owned the city, backed by a few depraved mage allies. It was always open season on human hearts. Occasionally, the scaleborn dragons would clash with the akumons and their mage allies, not because they gave a damn about the plight of the humans, but because the scaleborns believed Shanghai to be their territory.

“Most of the locals think akumons are a myth. But no one takes that chance anyway. Wolf attacks. Coyotes. Whatever sounds most dangerous. Anyone who goes there never comes back. Or when they do, they are never the same. Even if Bullet is still alive, he’s likely been turned.”

“I understand your concern,” said Moon. “But believe me, we’re only going to bring him back, nothing more. We’re not interested in hunting akumons.”

“Not unless they attack us first. Then we’ll be forced to defend ourselves,” Nawala added. “Does that break the pact?”

Agatha frowned, pausing for a rather long time. But she shook her head finally. “It doesn’t... Just be careful.”

“We will,” Moon said, smiling.

Managing a small smile, Agatha nodded. Then, using two fingers doused with her mana, she scribed three overlapping circles, with several strokes inside them. The holographic map morphed into a two-dimensional topographical map on real paper.

“This will lead you directly to Bullet.” Agatha gave the map to Moon. “He’s confined to one place. But once he’s on the move, you’ll know.”

Moon nodded, staring at the map with awe. “Thank you. Damn, this is one impressive locator spell. You should teach me sometime.”

Agatha paused. “You want me to teach you a spell?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, you’re serious. Okay. But I mostly deal with healing magic. You’ll have to check out La Sangre Sagrada if you want to learn more impressive spells.”

“I’m sorry, La what in the hell?”

Agatha chuckled. “La Sangre Sagrada. Order of the Sacred Blood. It’s the largest mage order in the city. But they don’t entertain mages outside their order. I’m afraid they might not give you what you want.”

Moon grinned. “You know what they say, the hotness of a warrior mage melts the coldest of hearts.”

“No one says that.”

“I do.” Moon laughed. Agatha shook her head, chuckling along. “Trust me,” he said, “I’m quite the charmer. They won’t know what hit them.”

“Right.” Agatha laughed some more.

Nawala asked Agatha how much they owed her for her service, and she took out two crisp hundred-dollar bills to pay. When their hands touched briefly, Agatha froze, stuck in a daze.

“What?” Nawala asked, withdrawing her hands.

Agatha frowned. “I just had the strangest feeling. I’m not sure what it means.”

“She’s so weird.” Nawala syraspoke to Moon.

“She’s an empath, Wala.”

“Doesn’t make her any less weird.”

Moon chuckled out loud. This idiot was going to blow their cover.

Agatha smiled. “What did she say to you?”

“Nothing,” Nawala said quickly before Moon could open his mouth. “Thanks for your service. You can keep the change... We’ll be on our way now.”

Agatha nodded. “Of course. Thanks.” In a more serious tone, she said, “You two be careful, alright? The Darklands is a dangerous, dangerous place.”

Nawala had seen more dangerous things than a mere akumon infestation, so why was this mage being so dramatic? She wanted to roll her eyes. However, sensing that Agatha was genuinely worried about them, she smiled politely instead. “We’ll be fine.”

They always have been.