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Part 17:

It was another world.

Alisha remembered the pictures she had seen of dragon times that had been carefully transcribed from the scrolls by Daybreak's artists. Meticulous, delicate drawings of stick like figures and dark shaded cartoon dragons that looked more likely to roll over and beg than to eat you alive. Ringed by dull orange tones of fire and carefully defined lines. As though the original artists had seen the reality and taken out of it all the verve and danger, wrapping it in a safe neat package that wouldn't strike fear into anyone.

She saw now how wrong that image was.

It was a loud world; the noise was constant. The hiss of fire twining around the cracking of earth and sky. Jets of water bursting through the surface in steaming gouts. Cruel screaming winds that ground sand and dust into the skin.

The elements collided and reformed all around her. It was a complex place, gritty and bright. Filled with sinuous shapes that arched against a red sky. No friendly dragons, these; but all colours with hooked claws and slitted eyes as big as her head.

"Goddess," she breathed, turning around and around in the maelstrom. Heat assailed her from all sides, as grazing that raked sand against her face, as steam from the geysers and as sparks that floated from burning wood. She was lost in the sheer destruction.

"And with the dragons, was born fire; for fifteen moons the world was aflame and the sun was white and the moon was red and the earth itself trembled at their touch."

Bhari stepped forward, her voice dying away. She looked less formidable here. And in her own mind, Bhari had none of her dragon powers. For once, Alisha was on equal footing with her. "Of course, after that, we had ten thousand years of relative peace, but few historians ever mention that," she said coolly. Her smile was brittle. "Welcome to my memories."

She wasn't quite sure what to say. 'They're very nice,' didn't really seem to be an option.

Bhari looked around, eyes fixing on a gold dragon that was slinking along the skyline. The eyes were mere lines, and evil radiated from it like a beacon warning the world away. It reminded Alisha of her old cat, Jerry, hunting. Only he had been a lot smaller. And less liable to imitate a nuclear warhead when he got mad.

"That's me," Bhari said impersonally. "Hunting your ancestors. Before they got smart and got witches." She sighed. "I do detest going through this sordid little practice. Why you can see my mind is beyond me." Fleetingly, she scowled, the face taking on a more human cast for the first time. "That idiot David had better be reading the spell right."

"Who's that?" Alisha said out of curiosity. A new dragon had appeared; this one huge and black with wings that blocked out the sky. Where it trod, the earth cracked. It was the most malevolent thing she had ever seen, the head swinging on an elongated neck in rapid snaking movements that sent shivers crawling down her spine.

Bhari looked at it and almost smiled. "I believe your legends called him a great many things. Devil eyes was the most well- known. That is the dragon king. Kheoussan"

"Why are you being so equable suddenly?" Alisha demanded. She had been watching the Oriental woman closely and this strange honesty was...unnerving.

One eyebrow lifted. "I'm going to be human, aren't I?" Bhari replied. "I'll have to get used to talking to people normally. Being weak. I won't be able to sense emotions or read minds." Her mouth curled in a shadow of the old contempt. "Though I certainly won't be using you for a role model."

"Why would a dragon want to be human?"

"Why wouldn't a human want to be a dragon?" the woman said coolly, but the question had evoked an inner response. In your own mind, nothing was hidden. Around them, the landscape began to change, spinning so everything became of funnel of brown that slowed and separated into bright colours. Modern colours.

There was Bhari, circling around a man slumped against a wall, her face a blank mask. He couldn't have been more than thirty, maybe a few years older but it was hard to tell under all the bruises. The room was small and empty of anything except them.

"You will tell me," she said pleasantly. He wouldn't meet her eyes. "My soulmate you may be, but even you cannot resist dragon powers for long. Don't think that this inconvenient link gives you any sort of advantage."

Slowly, he raised hating eyes. Defiant eyes that were ordinary human brown, but from someone this Bhari regarded as quite extraordinary; the woman next to her was staring raptly, a yearning on her face that Alisha knew. There was a pride in the man's face that was unusual; he had features like a hawk, and the imperious quiet voice to match, but the fearlessness there was inspiring.

"I will tell you nothing," he said with utter calm. "And you will not hurt me, because any of your amazing powers you use on me will be reflected back into your mind with double the strength. I've no doubt you can take physical pain," he gestured to his arm which hung at a grotesque angle, "but I don't think you can live through one of your dragon torture sessions." He smiled, matching the dragon's coldness. "And don't bother calling one of your friends to help. That sort of power cuts through any link, whether you are touching or not. The same goes for killing me." The quiet triumph in his tone made Alisha smile.

The dragon-Bhari stood agape, clearly stunned by such insubordination. "You....you..." Lost for words, she fell silent.

The man closed his eyes for a moment and his lips moved in hushed prayer.

But he's lying, Alisha thought and didn't realise she had said it aloud until Bhari of the present turned to stare at her.

"What?"

"Of course you could kill him. And that sort of thing doesn't break through a link; not in the way he's saying. Sure, a soulmate will feel some pain but they won't die." Her admiration for the unknown human rose. "Might kill themselves though. For most, to lose the other half of their soul is to lose everything." The words were heartfelt.

The scene cracked into pieces as the full extent of Bhari's shock sank in. "But..."

"What happened?" Alisha asked. "What did you do with him?"

Bhari's eyes were evasive. "I let him go," she answered. "But not before slicing his arteries open." There was no pride in her voice at that. "He's recovering at Daybreak." Alisha was willing to bet the dragon could name the room and floor, too. But it explained a lot. Why a dragon would want to be human; ironically enough, for the same reason a human would let herself become a dragon.

The dragon began to waver as Alisha felt a wave of energy sweep her body. "What's happening?" she gasped.

"The change," Bhari replied flatly, her slitted eyes curiously faded. "It's done."

A tidal wave of power hit Alisha and the dragon vanished.

* * * *

David watched them both, the last incantations of the spell leaving his lips as he felt the air charge around him. Bhari stumbled backwards, pale and without the authority surrounding her that had been given by the power she had. She looked different; her eyes hiding less, her face less haughty and without the easy predator's grace.

She looked like prey.

"David," she said quietly. Lost her power perhaps, but not her dignity. "I wonder if you would be kind enough to fly me down?" It was a hard climb for a human, though Circle Strange had managed it easily enough. Laziness, he decided, and far too used to her every command being answered. No longer.

"Of course," he lied unconvincingly, walking towards her with such menace that she stepped away, until her heels were at the cliff edge. He wasted none of his charm on Bhari. She wasn't worth the effort. Her eyes were huge with fear as she realised what he was about to do.

"We had a deal," she said desperately. "She has my powers. You owe me."

Wrong choice of words. "I do, don't I?" David said. "Very well, I'll fly you." He saw the emphatic relief on her face before, faster than her mortal eyes could see, he moved forwards, pushing her effortlessly. Her mouth opened in a silent shriek as she fell. "All the way to the ground."

He turned back, Bhari already forgotten. Talisa was lying there very still, though her eyelids were beginning to flutter. The wounds were healed; even in sleep she exuded power. The speed at which she sat up disconcerted him a little. There was no disorientation at all; completely unlike what he had experienced. Her eyes were clear, a deeper shade of blue that glittered like there were stars trapped within. And he could see tiny horns on her forehead, half-hidden by her disarrayed windblown hair and he stared in mild horror. Five of them. Alisha was more powerful than he had thought.

David's teeth gritted. Bhari had lied to him about her strength, though he had always wondered how she managed to stop him so easily. Age, he had assumed. That was wrong.

"Tali?" he said quietly, stepping to help her, but she was abruptly standing on her feet with a speed that astounded him. He had been right to do this, David decided with a smile.

"David." The words were warm; her eyes were not. Something in his mind began to tingle slightly. Suddenly Tali didn't seem so sweet. "Where's Bhari gone?"

David glanced pointedly over to the edge. Her eyes widened fractionally, but she said nothing.

He smiled cautiously, refusing to admit that already she seemed to have adapted better than he. "I have a small job to do," he said soothingly. "Why don't you stay here and get used to dragon- form?" There was still the problem of that shapeshifter. Not however, a problem for much longer.

"What job?" The words were fired at him.

"Nothing important," he answered casually, slightly startled by the ease with which she seemed to have adapted. But he was beginning to think he had underestimated her intelligence.

An eyebrow lifted. "I'm sure. Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain shapeshifter, would it David? Because you know I won't let you do that."

* * * *

The phone rang. Dragon picked it up after the first ring, her voice fervent. "Yes?" She listened carefully for a moment, then put the phone down. Her eyes met Matt's and he saw perplexity there. Whatever Aradia had said, it was obviously a little odder than usual.

"We have to get over to Jepar's - right now - and leave afterwards. With a dragon. Aradia says she doesn't know which one yet; the outcome's still uncertain."

Matt sighed. "Well, it makes about as much sense as anything we've been told so far."

* * * *

"Won't?" David's smile was ingratiating. Confidence oozed from him, like it always had with that aristocratic arrogance that set Alisha's teeth on edge. "Tali, you're weak. You couldn't fight me if you wanted to. Take it from me, you'll take several days to adapt. So why don't you just stay here, and it will all be far more painless than you think."

"Why don't you just go to hell," she snarled back. If it took so long to adapt, how come she felt like she could move mountains? And already she could read his mind...just strong thoughts that got out from the shielding there, but thoughts all the same. Every sense was heightened, and there was something dark coiled at the back of her mind. The dragon fire, she thought.

"I don't want to fight you, Tali." His voice was quiet, dangerously so. "But I will. And I'll win." Quick reptilian grin. "I don't think I need to do that, though."

The lightning bolt of mental power hit her with pressure clamping around her mind. It hurt, but not much. Still, Alisha let him believe he was doing damage and staggered back moaning. Another bolt started to cause serious pain, but she collapsed, letting her eyes fall shut and her breathing even out. She sensed his shadow fall over her; a prod at her mind to see if she was unconscious; she thought of black and nothing else. There was a rush of cold air on her face, and he had gone.

"Still the idiot, David," she said to the air. She knew where he was headed; straight to the source. It didn't matter if all Circle Strange was gathered at Jepar's house - there wasn't much would stop David on the rampage. Except another dragon. She wasn't sure how to change.

She thought of a hawk, fast and light with hunt sharp eyes. That was what she needed to be right now. She concentrated on it, then walked to the edge. If this didn't work, she would end up just like Bhari. Except alive. Alisha didn't hang around to wonder; but just jumped, and felt air rush past her. She drew on the power in the back of her mind, and with delight and a lot of relief, felt her body crackle into hawk form. The hurt was minimal, more a discomfort than true pain.

You were wrong, David, she muttered mentally. I've adapted.

He had made the same mistake every time so far. Thinking that she wasn't any changed from Talisa Alfaso with her innocence and stupidity. And this time, it would cost him.

Alisha didn't know what she would do if she could defeat him. She wasn't a killer, but then, she supposed, no one in the Nightworld had been until they became shapeshifters or vampires.

I'll fight him first, she thought to herself. And if I win...then I'll start worrying.

* * * *

"What's wrong?" was the first thing Jepar said to Dragon and Matt. They pushed past him into the lounge, Matt quiet, Dragon pale and fidgety. Very worried, Chatoya thought. In a way she hadn't seen the dragon girl since last year, when she had sent Matt to become bait for a plan that had nearly gone wrong.

Behind them, Jepar shrugged, the green eyes baffled. Chatoya was still having trouble getting her head around the idea that he was an Old Soul. Idiot Soul might be more accurate right now. How he couldn't figure out Shar was in love with him, she didn't know. But then, as Cougar the unusually perceptive had pointed out, they had never touched.

"I don't know yet," Dragon answered, starting to pace. "But we will soon."

"You know," Jepar said calmly, "you might want to stop pacing. So many people have been walking that route that there'll be a track in the carpet soon."

Dragon stopped, but it was clear to see it took conscious effort. "Where's everyone?"

Chatoya began ticking off people on her fingers. "Cern and Thom - gone to see how the repairs on the house is going. Ria..." She looked over at Cougar with sympathy, "...you can guess. Lisa and Ruby - gone on a shopping spree for a few days in Vegas in the minute hope Ruby will stop sulking and trying to kill Jepar."

"Whoa," Matt held up a hand. "Kill?"

Jepar smiled, despite the worry in the air. "Nothing I can't handle. Just, you know, wiring up my TV so I get an electric shock when I turn it on, rigging the roof to fall in, putting a bomb in the car, leaving the gas on..."

"Well," Dragon muttered sarcastically, "it's a good job she's not a real psychopath or she might try to actually *hurt* you."

Matt chuckled, the topaz eyes looking less worried already. "Hey, you could always-"

His words were cut off as the door exploded.

* * * *

Alisha heard the explosion from a hundred metres away, had seen the black fire streaking towards the house as a tiny spark from the air. Alarmed, she dropped to the road, back in human shape with considerable pain that she ignored in her haste, and ran to the house.

David was waiting quite calmly, his back to her, but undoubtedly smirking at the furious people who strode out. Who stopped short, bar one who clearly had neither the sense nor the fear to keep quiet.

"What is it with you people?" Jepar shouted. He was raging mad, with a fire in his eyes that Alisha had never seen. And tense, his voice a snarl that was unintelligible in places. Don't do anything stupid Alisha prayed. "That's my *house* you're wrecking. Do you *know* what the insurance rates are like round here?" She blinked at the slightly irrational edge to his voice. As though there was more than mere anger...like Jepar *hated* David.

She couldn't see his face but heard the triumph in David's voice. "I have a score to settle, Ieran."

"Who the hell's Ieran?" Jepar demanded. Though now more than ever, he looked like Ieran. Grim-faced with the elegant features defined in rage. Fierce eyed and radiating menace better than a Mafia lurker.

David snorted. "Don't pretend. You must know." He was talking abstractedly, and Alisha felt the power leap from his mind, ready to hit the shapeshifter. She was barely a few metres away; moving in a swift blur to stand right behind David. Dragon Tiamat had a gleeful grin on her face, and the delight that they all felt at her appearance caused David to stop short.

He knew, she thought suddenly, just as she sensed the dragon fire humming through the air, ready to launch at the shapeshifter. He knew she had arrived, from the brief shock that slipped from his mind before it was replaced by determination. She drew on the energy in her own mind. She didn't know if it could be used to protect. But she hoped so. As the energy arced towards Jepar, she somehow - without even knowing how she did it, only that she *had* to - flung her own power around the cheetah 'shifter, trying to imagine a cocoon.

The two fires clashed, black with black and dissipated. She felt drained at the impact. A lot drained; she didn't have the power for more than a few changes. This fight would be tougher than she had thought. But the look on her friends' faces made up for anything she might have suffered. Alisha closed her eyes in relief. She had been right to do this.

They were stunned though; even Dragon Tiamat's eyes widened. Cougar smiled savagely; his mind was bloodthirsty oranges and gold - he liked these odds. Chatoya seemed more shocked, her mind a riot of grey-green swirls. She didn't dare touch Jepar's mind. Not now, of all times.

"You dare stop me?" an infuriated David demanded. Face contorted with wrath. He was *hurt*, she understood suddenly. Felt that she had betrayed him.

"Oh I dare all right," she answered, amused by his apparently boundless inanity. "You should know that by now. But you still haven't got it figured, have you, David? *I'm not Talisa*. I've changed."

* * * *

Chatoya was trying to work out just *what* had changed. Alisha still looked the same; maybe the eyes were a little wiser, a touch darker, like a winter evening sky, maybe it was the way her hair had been whipped around her face like a hurricane had been blowing, but there was something different. Something defiant and savage.

No, Chatoya thought quietly, it had been there all along. Alisha was a fighter; she just chose her battles more carefully than most. When she had shut Cougar up. When she fought those Nightworld assassins. Winning over Iry Lupine. Stopping David, not by strength, but by wits. And fighting the hardest battle of all: not to fight against Bhari and David.

And now she had the feeling David was in a lot deeper than he could handle.

"I gave you your power," he was raging. "I did it because I love you, Talisa. Doesn't that mean anything? What's one death for that? Nothing. You just don't appreciate what it means to be a dragon yet, but soon you'll earn and then you'll understand-"

He was halfway through his speech when Chatoya realised Alisha wasn't listening. Her eyes were faraway - then in an instant became decided - and she had walked up to David without anyone noticing.

"Oh for god's sake, David, shut *up*," she said and her body swivelled in an elegant, fluid motion, one foot flashing out to strike him hard enough that he flew back a few feet. Chatoya inhaled in surprise; Alisha was a lot stronger. Frighteningly so. The witch had seen Dragon Tiamat get mad before, an experience she never wanted to repeat and she was a half-breed. Shar was a five-horned dragon and the power that must be underneath that almost calm face...she couldn't imagine it.

He landed on his feet, straightening up. His expression was neutral; not an iota of emotion showed. And when he spoke his voice was detached. As though something had switched on inside. As though the killer had risen to the surface. "I didn't want to fight you, Tali," he said. "But you leave me no choice."

Razor teeth showed. "But tell you what," he murmured confidentially. "Seeing as you're an old friend, I'll make it quick."