CHLOE HURRIED ACROSS THE MARSHLAND toward where she believed the figure had fallen. It was hard going, sloshing across the soggy peat, covered with scraggly bushes. The trees seemed to be ancient. They had a grey, scaly bark, broken limbs and were covered in moss that trailed down from the branches like enormous cobwebs. Yet despite appearing half-dead, most of the branches still had a smattering of leaves.

     There were so many dead branches and sticks on the ground that Chloe nearly tripped and fell several times. Finally, through the trunks of the trees she saw a large lake with moonlight reflecting off of it. As she approached, the water also reflected the final few blasts of lighting of the battle above. The two cloud realms in the sky diverged, floating back toward whence they came. She stared up into the sky and could see distant shadows of bats and dragons flying back toward their respective clouds. The battle had been indecisive, at least that's how she interpreted the events above.

     She was so intent upon reaching the lake where she might get a clearer view that she almost fell into a small depression and had to grab onto a tree trunk to keep her balance. At her feet was a small pit, filled with broken branches. And within the pit, a nude man lay splayed across the branches, pierced through numerous parts of his body.

     Remarkably, there was almost no blood coming from his wounds, and yet it appeared as if no one could ever survive such a plight. He had clearly fallen from above, but Clara couldn't help asking herself, Wasn't he a bat? If so, not anymore.

     It wasn't his nudity that shocked her so much as his pale skin, his beautiful physique and his perfect features. He had shoulder length hair and a belt around his waist with a small sack attached. Oddly, with the exception of the stubble on his chin, he seemed to lack any body hair, but this only accentuated the perfection of his muscular and lithe form. Despite his pitiable state, there was something powerful and proud about this being who had fallen from the sky. Chloe felt touched by the aura of this tortured figure—a perfect synthesis of beauty, agony and ecstasy. Then she remembered the illustration of Michelangelo's Pietà in the book Sandra had given her. She had found her own Pietà.

     As she hovered at the edge of the depression debating whether to examine the dead man, she heard the beating of wings. And from the corner of her eye, she spotted two enormous shadows approaching fast. These serpentine forms were coming straight toward her, and sensing danger, she fled without further hesitation.

     Stumbling through the dark marshy wood, she aimed to find a darker place where the trees and bushes grew close together. It wasn't easy dodging past drooping branches and hopping over tree limbs, but she rushed toward an area which appeared more heavily wooded.

     Once there, Chloe fell to her knees panting. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would burst from her ribcage. She heard the flapping of wings as two shadows passed overhead. She cowered against a tree trunk and tried to refrain from breathing loudly, all the while attempting to regain her composure.

     After a few minutes, it seemed like the shadows had flown off with no intention of returning. She decided not to take any chances, and instead of standing up to walk, she crawled and crept low to the ground. Traveling only a dozen yards from her hiding spot, she heard what sounded like a man's voice. Again, she cowered behind a tree trunk for cover. She thought she heard a conversation, but she couldn't make out the words, so she decided to peer around the edge of the trunk.

     Only a few dozen yards from her position, two men were engaged in a heated debate. Both were nude except for a belt equipped with a small pouch, which hung directly over their private parts. They were quite different than the man who had fallen to his death. Both were well over six feet tall, powerfully built with almost unnaturally muscled abdomens, arms and legs that rippled even as they stood in a relaxed position. The men had their hair nearly shaved on the sides, but with tufts on top. Most remarkably, their hair had a metallic sheen to it, one head colored like bronze, and the other, silver. Like the fallen man, they seemed to lack body hair with the exception of a sparse amount on their legs and forearms. These were incredible specimens of male beauty, but there was something fierce and powerful about them which frightened her.

     One was gesticulating with his arm toward the edge of the lake. As he spoke, Chloe realized that he wasn't speaking English. It was some unknown language with harsh consonants and long vowel sounds. The other man argued, pointing in the opposite direction. She realized that they were probably debating about where to search for the fallen man. For she was certain that these were the flying shadows—the dragons in the sky—who had done battle with him. If she was right, they were Cloud Lords, and it fascinated her to see them in human form, both handsome and fearsome at the same time.

     As she stared at them, one of the men suddenly raised his head and sniffed at the air. It was as if he had caught the scent of something. He grumbled something in his strange language. His companion nodded, and they separated, walking in different directions, peering through the trees.

     What did he smell? Chloe wondered. Realizing that it might've been her, she ducked back behind the trunk. If they were looking for her, she knew there would be little time to get away. She immediately began creeping back on her tracks.

     When she was sure she'd put enough distance between herself and the men, she stood to walk at a faster speed. At that moment, one of the Cloud Lords stepped out from behind the trees, directly in front of her. His eyes blazed with an intensity that she could not have imagined possible. It was as if his pupils were ringed by an orange fire. His metallic, silver hair reflected the moonlight. Up close, this being was godlike, and her heart palpitated from being in such close proximity.

     He growled something in his strange language.

     "I'm sorry," Chloe whimpered, "I don't understand."

     The man gave a whistle, and Chloe heard his partner tromping through the brush toward them.

     "Ah yes," the Cloud Lord said, "You folk don't learn our language until you're sent to serve us. I asked if you'd seen where the prince has fallen?"

     Before Chloe had an opportunity to answer, his bronze-haired partner arrived behind her and muttered something in their language.

     "She's an earth dweller, Karl," the silver-haired lord told his companion, "She can't understand a word of our language."

     "Aye Morgriss," the bronze-haired lord said, "I forgot. Did you question her about the fallen prince?"

     As they spoke to one another, Chloe couldn't help noticing that their language sounded vaguely Slavic. There was an eighty year old cobbler in Chloe's village who had been raised in Russia, and his inflections had a slight resemblance with the Cloud Lords' accent.

     "Earth dweller," Karl said to Chloe. "Tell us where he fell."

     "There," Chloe lied as she pointed out into the lake, "He went into the water."

      Given a moment to reflect, Chloe knew that she didn't want to reveal the location of the fallen man to his enemies. The battle in the sky had been brutal and for some reason giving up his location felt like a betrayal even though she technically owed fealty to these cloud lords.

     Morgriss stared out at the lake in obvious dismay and said, "It may be true. I can't sense the prince's Flux. Aegon delivered him right into our hands, and we let the Pillar slip through our talons."

     "She's lying," Karl said. He came forward and sniffed her neck as if he could smell whether she was telling the truth. "I didn't see a splash."

     Chloe trembled feeling the powerful lord's breath on her neck. She did her best to remain still and prove to them she wasn't meek. But she also felt blind-sided by her hormones, which now raged through her.

     "How could you have seen anything?" Morgriss replied, "We were side-swiped by two more of the Vampirii immediately after he fell, don't you remember? Moreover, he would've used his beacon if he were still alive."

      "Ah," Karl said, "Unless the prince knew we were coming after him. These earth dwellers are just as treacherous as the Night Flyers. First you trust their traitor, Aegon, and now this human female. Well, why don't you let me roast one or two of her limbs to see if she changes her tune?"

     "Save your flame," Morgriss said, "You're right, the Night Flyer may still be alive. And you'll need it if he is. Besides, it would be a shame to char such a pretty specimen. Why do the earth dwellers always send such scrawny slaves to us during the offering? This one here is as well built as any Drakonin female, if not better."

     Karl snarled. "You're too much of a human lover. Next, you'll be wanting to bring her back with us."

     "That I do," Morgriss replied, "But several Drakonin fell during the battle. Now that we know the fate of the prince, we have to seek out our casualties."

     They continued discussing Chloe as if she were an object to be possessed. Their discourse got under her skin, and she wanted to tell them off, but she remembered what Karl had said about charring her flesh with flame. Cloud Lords were capable of shifting into dragon form. If she had to choose between her pride and escaping dragon fire, she knew her pride would get over it, but her flesh would never heal.

     Finally, Morgriss looked her in the eye. "I'd like to see you again, human female. Ask your folk to put you into the balloon for the next Ascension. You will find the life of a slave above to be much more rewarding than having your freedom down here in the muck."

     "I will," Chloe stammered. "I'll ask them." She stared back wistfully to pretend that she was flattered and give the impression that she was telling the truth.

     Morgriss cupped Chloe's cheek in his hand and then did the most surprising thing of all. He kissed her full on the lips. Stunned, she forgot to breathe during the minute it happened, and she felt as if all of her wind was sucked from her lungs. She'd never been kissed before. The sudden rush of adrenaline and endorphins made her want to throw her body against the Cloud Lord to keep the rush of emotion from subsiding. When he pulled away, she felt her knees go weak.

     Morgriss stared at her and said softly, "Do as you promised, earth dweller. We have much to share when you join me on the firmament."

     As he pulled away, Chloe whispered her name.

     "What was that?" Morgriss asked.

     "Chloe," she said, "My name isn't earth dweller. It's Chloe."

     "And I shall not forget it," Morgriss said and winked. "But let's not give away all of our surprises."

     Karl let our a huge snorting laugh as if he found the entire scene to be ridiculous.

     "Shut up, Karl," Morgriss told him.

     As they turned and walked away, she heard Karl say, "Stricken by an earth dweller... what's my lord coming to?"

     Morgriss didn't bother responding. He had already started shifting. And Karl took that as a cue to follow. It happened remarkably fast. One minute they were muscular men, but within seconds, their skin turned to scales, their bodies elongated and expanded, growing larger and larger. Finally they sprouted wings and became full dragons. Chloe was too fascinated to be terrified by the sight of the dragons. The belts they'd worn stretched and now sat around their bellies just over the thighs of their hind legs. Morgriss had become a silver dragon, while Karl's scales were of polished bronze.

     With only a leap and two flaps of their wings, the two majestic creatures launched themselves high enough above the trees to take flight. As they flapped their enormous leathery wings and flew into the distance, Chloe stood entranced.

     If the Cloud Lords, weren't gods, they still ruled as if they were. And considering their powers, it wasn't surprising that some people were willing to worship them as such. Most of the older generation knew they weren't gods but were just playing along to save their own skins. But within a generation or two, that would change. Despite the emotion that Morgriss had planted inside of her, she resented his air of superiority. Slave? As if I would willingly be his slave, she thought. She was attracted to the Cloud Lord, but she wanted to be treated as an equal. She wished there was some way that mankind could find a way to throw off the shackles of subservience to these beings. After all, humans were not always beneath these creatures. We had our Old Faith. There must be a way to overcome them.

     Finally, when the flying dragons had become two specks in the distance, Chloe went to search for the fallen lord. Finding him took her another half hour, and by that time, the sun was already peeking over the horizon. He was certainly dead. He hadn't moved, and his pale body now had a blue tinge to it. But Chloe was curious to find out more about this fallen figure and learn what was in the pouch at his belt.

      As she stepped into the depression to take a closer look, the sound of a horse whinnying distracted her. She looked up to see Wayne coming toward her on horseback, the animal's hooves plopped into the mucky marsh making a splash with every step.

     As he rode up to her, he said loudly, "I followed your tracks in the mud. I can't believe you'd run away? Why did you do that?"

     She didn't have an answer—at least nothing that she could put into words—and she just stood there mute. On horseback, Wayne towered over her. His expression turned from dismay to surprise when he saw Chloe standing next to the fallen Cloud Lord.

     "That's a Night Flyer!"

     Chloe nodded. "He fell during the battle."

     "Yeah, I wonder what that battle will mean for us? That's never happened before," Wayne said. "Well, I'm glad he's dead. One less demon in the world. When I found your horse straying without you, I got worried sick. I'm not going to let you off on your own. Come on... if you follow me back to the bridge, you'll find your horse tied up and waiting for you."

     Wayne spurred his horse and headed back to the bridge, assuming that Chloe would follow. But she couldn't help noticing a thin, gold chain around the fallen Cloud Lord's neck, and an object at the end of it was tucked beneath his shoulder. She reached out for it, and suddenly the body convulsed. The cold hand of the Cloud Lord gripped her wrist. His eyes flashed open, and his mouth gaped wide. He had fangs like a predator, and the indigo irises of his eyes swirled with a light blue smoke.

     As he held Chloe's wrist, the Cloud Lord stared into her eyes as if questioning her. Why didn't he say anything?

     "Chloe... I'm Chloe," she said. "Who are you?"

     "Aethan," the Cloud Lord gasped. His eyes closed as if that brief moment had exhausted the last remaining light in his soul.

     Chloe yelled out to Wayne, "He's ALIVE!"

~~~ PLEASE VOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER ~~~