Surrogate of the Sleeping Dragon

*Ember*

It burned. My hands burned as though I’d stuck them in fire.

I sobbed in pain, calling out for my mother. I pulled my hands back towards me, but that didn’t stop the pain. Looking down, I could see it was my hands that were the problem—they were glowing blindingly bright and burning themselves!

Screaming, I tried to find my mother, my hands the only light in the darkness. Finally, her smiling face appeared.

“Mama!” I cried. “Mama, it hurts! IT HURTS!!!”

At least I thought I was screaming it. I was trying to. But no sound was coming out.

My mother smiled. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. And her eyes had gone a milky white.

It frightened me.

“Mama!” I tried again. “Mama, HELP!!!”

No sound.

My mother kept smiling, even as she disappeared from view.

“Mama!” I sobbed soundlessly. “Mama… mama…”

***

“Mama!” I cried out into the room as I woke from the nightmare, covered in a cold sweat. My heart thundered in my chest as my ragged breathing returned to normal.

I sat up, the low light of a lava lamp beside my bed cast a faint glow around the room. A Figment blanket had fallen to my waist, and my white t-shirt was clinging to my wet body.

I took in several calming breaths. I was safe in my room above the bookstore where I worked.

Sighing, I pushed the lingering terror of my nightmare away by slowly grounding myself.

Red lava lamp with yellow lava bubbling within it. Check.

Small kitchenette sitting in all its peeling white paint glory, housing the microwave and fridge that were my two basic cooking utensils. Check.

Desk across from the bed with three large monitors and a gaming chair, all set up for what I called my social life. Check.

I looked down at my hands. Glowing hands. Check. Except, blessedly, they weren’t actually glowing. Not right now, anyway.

On my bedside table I had a pair of stylish leather gloves, crimson with dragons stitched into the leather. I considered pulling them on for comfort, but I was alone here, and there was no reason to. There was no one here I had to hide from.

Though, on that note, I did roll out of bed in my t-shirt and red lace panties and padded barefoot over to the door, checking all five locks. I was firmly bolted, chained, and barricaded in.

I ran a shaking hand through my long, deep red hair. Somewhere during the thrashing of another nightmare, the band had come off my ponytail and I had the annoying long locks in my face again. I could have gone to rummage in the sheets for it, but I decided not to. I needed a distraction. Desperately.

The computer screens lit up the moment I wiggled my wireless mouse. I leaned back in my black-and-red gaming chair and brought up the five forums where I spent most of my free time. I hunched, braless, over my desk, looking at who all was online in the middle of the night.

Like me, most of my online friends lurked at any and all hours.

There was a heated debate going on in one of the forums about dragons and hoarding. Some of my fellow dragon obsessives were convinced all dragons hoarded treasure. Gold, specifically.

I snorted. Plebs...

‘Dragons hoard lots of things.’ I typed authoritatively. ‘Heck, some might have a stamp collection. You never know.’

That stirred a flurry of debate I only half paid attention to because I was looking for him.

A few weeks ago, DracoK4u had joined the forums. All the forums. Not to say that was unusual, most of my friends were in all five forums. Dragon fanatics, all of us.

What had been different about DracoK4u is that he joined all the forums at once. Usually, a true dragon freak like me kind of organically migrated from one to the other over the course of weeks. Or at least days.

But this guy, he popped on all five in seconds. It had startled all of us super-nerd lurkers. I’m sure he received a flurry of DMs, but, another shocker, HE DM’d ME. I hadn’t said a word, but five minutes into the flood of ‘Hi, Hello!’, and welcome’s on the group chat, a private screen had popped up for me alone.

I still blushed every time I remembered his first message.

*Brains are sexy, you know.*

Me. Out of everyone, he’d said that to ME.

As the weeks went by, he flirted a bit more, but also shared his deep knowledge of dragon lore with me, and I shared mine with him.

Now where was he…

A private chat box popped up on my screen from the fourth forum.

*Hey, beautiful.*

DracoK4u was on, just as I’d hoped.

*Hey handsome,* I replied, feeling a bit bolder than I would have been with the distance and anonymity of the internet between us.

*Flameheart5694, what are you doing up so late? Another nightmare?*

He knew. He always knew. It was like he could read my mind sometimes.

*Yeah. Bad one. What are you doing up?*

*Does a true dragon lover ever sleep?* DracoK4u responded. *Especially when a girl as fine as yourself could come online?*

I giggled. *No, I suppose not.*

There was a short pause. *Any way I can help, Flameheart5694?*

*Just talking to you makes it better,* I admitted.

That got me a smile emoji.

*Speaking of talking…* DracoK4u began.

I groaned and quickly typed back. *No.*

*Aw, come on, could it really hurt so much for me to hear your lovely voice?*

Maybe it was the nightmare and the constant loneliness. Maybe it was the anonymity of the internet. Or maybe I lost my damned mind, but I couldn’t think of a reason today not to talk to him. He’d been asking for over a week for us to speak to each other. And besides, it wasn’t as though he could see me.

*Well… maybe,* I relented.

That got me a kiss emoji and I blushed.

Then the deepest, most sultry, smoothest voice I’d ever heard in my life came over my speakers.

*Hey, beautiful,” DracoK4u murmured.

I swear I wet my panties just at that voice. I put on my headset. “H-Hi,” I replied, knowing my own voice was less than impressive.