Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight by Daniel Fife Read Free Book Online Page A

rumbling growl, Sabrina planted her front claws
in the ground and thrashed the back of her body forward. The sudden
movement caused her elongated tail to whip behind her, catching the
creature in the torso, flinging it back through the air.
    The creature tumbled end over end before
colliding with the far fence. The chain link fence groaned and
warped before pitching the creature to the ground, where it
remained slumped forward.
    "Is it dead?"
    Sabrina returned her gaze to him and shook
her scaled head side-to-side, suggesting that the answer was
no.
    The fence jingled, drawing Danny's attention,
Sabrina followed his frightful gaze.
    The creature pulled itself upright, its thin
claws scraping across the metal fence, like fingernails screeching
against a chalkboard. The sound sent shudders down Danny's
spine.
    The creature of shadow stood up, squared its
stance and bounded forward, angling around for another head-on
attack.
    In response, Sabrina planted her front claws
deep into the ground and made ready.
    Panicking, Danny scanned the ground. He
picked up a palm-sized stone and hefted it in his right hand,
testing the weight. Hauling back, he chucked the rock with all his
might, sending the stone hurtling through the air.
    The creature didn't even attempt to dodge it
as it charged forward with an inhuman speed.
    Danny's aim remained true, but the stone
passed harmlessly through the creature's head, causing its smoky
skin to ripple where the rock had failed to touch it.
    "That's impossible."
    The stone sailed through the air, losing its
speed, tumbling across the ground.
    Once more, Sabrina squared her shoulders and
twisted her torso, causing her long tail to lash out a second
time.
    In response, the creature leapt into the air
in a shallow arc just above Sabrina's swift attack, causing her
tail to come in contact nothing but the wind. The creature twisted
in the air, completing one full rotation before thrashing out as it
fell within striking distance of Sabrina's back. The creature's
long silver claws raked against the pink scales of Sabrina's right
shoulder, shedding a bright display of sparks.
    With a roar of anger and anguish, Sabrina
swatted the creature with a wicked backhand, catching it full in
the face. The impact sent the shadow tumbling end over end, across
the ground, skidding to a stop a good twenty feet from where it had
started. Bounding into the air, Sabrina closed the distance in the
blink of an eye. Standing above the creature, she pinned it to the
ground with her front left claw. Her talons sank deep into the
soil, holding the shadow tight. With one final growl, she scraped
her right claw across the creature. Each individual talon left a
distinct line as it tore through the murky flesh.
    Torn into six separate pieces, the parts of
the creature began to hiss as they dissolved into a dark mist
before disappearing, carried away by the wind.
    "Is it… dead... now?"
    Sabrina turned and padded toward him, moving
with a subtle limp.
    Danny retreated from her, wary of her
size.
    Sabrina answered his question by bobbing her
head up and down.
    "Why didn't you tell me you were a
dragon?"
    Ignoring the question, Sabrina angled her
long, slender neck around to get a closer look at her right
shoulder. Four precise cuts ran down the base of her arm from
shoulder to elbow.
    "Are you okay?" worry evident in his
voice.
    Ignoring him, Sabrina licked at the wounds,
her tongue slender and forked like that of a snake.
    "Don't ignore me," Danny said, finding some
backbone.
    Sabrina angled her head back toward him,
growled softly and snorted forcefully in his face.
    Taken aback, Danny stumbled backward and
tripped over a small rock, landing on his rear.
    Taking a deep breath, Sabrina closed her eyes
and bowed her head. Her scales began to shimmer, her limbs
shortened, her neck compacted and her tail shriveled up behind her,
disappearing without a trace. Once the transformation was complete,
Sabrina opened her eyes and released her