Danny followed her, but instead of climbing he slipped between the bars and eyed Sabrina from beneath.

"Can I ask you a question, Danny?" she asked, staring down at him.

At that moment, she could've asked him anything and he would've answered without hesitation. "Sure."

"Do you believe in dragons?"

Danny looked down in confusion. The question left him dumbstruck. He did believe in dragons-now more than ever; he had seen one with his own eyes. However, he wondered if she would think he was odd or dumb if he answered her truthfully. This day was beyond amazing, Danny didn't want to ruin it by sounding stupid.

"Well?" said Sabrina softly.

Her musical voice yanked him from his trance. Danny gazed up at her.

"Yes, I believe in dragons."

Sabrina's mouth parted in a slight smile that quickly vanished as she hunkered down, her facial expression turning serious. "Do you believe in the Dark?"

Again, the question stirred memories of the night before, the dark creature with red eyes had haunted his nightmares. "What do you mean?"

Sabrina leaned down farther, "True darkness, a malevolent force whose only goal is to destroy all life as we know it."

The statement, so bold and imposing, caused Danny to shudder. He'd seen just such determination in the gaze of the dark creature the night before. "Why are you asking me this?"

The sky rumbled as if answering Danny's question. The once-white clouds turned dark, blotching out the comforting amber rays of the setting sun. The gloomy clouds began to swirl, producing a wind tunnel.

"What's happening?" Danny asked. A jagged bolt of lightning jutted out from within the whirling storm, perhaps a warning.

Before Sabrina could answer Danny's question, something shadowy and sinister fell from within the tempest, leaving a trail of billowing black smoke through the sky. Landing soundlessly on the ground, the dark smolder swelled outward in a wave.

Peering into the ominous haze, Danny came out from under the bars of the jungle gym. Taking two bars at a time, Sabrina climbed down and stood beside him.

The wind picked up, its strong breeze dissipated the murky mist, revealing a slender silhouette beneath. Thin red eyes flashed within the gloom as the creature took a silent step forward. The thing smiled, revealing a wicked array of sharp, silvery teeth.

Danny's breath caught in his chest. He knew this creature. It looked exactly like the monster he had seen the night before. However, this time there was no dragon to protect him. "Get behind me!" Danny yelled, pushing Sabrina behind him with his right hand, while he stepped in front of her.

In the distance, the shadowed creature stalked beyond the veil of black smoke. Its hands twitched with anticipation as a set of razor-sharp fingernails extended to the length of daggers.

"No, you get behind me!" Sabrina yelled, her voice lost its melodic timbre, it turned deep and throaty. Stepping beside him, she pressed her left palm to his chest, she pushed him backward with a sudden surge of strength that Danny would've never thought her capable of.

Danny landed roughly on his rump ten feet behind her. However, before he could comment, his eyes were drawn to Sabrina, her body began to glow.

Taking on the characteristics of the sun itself, Sabrina emanated a brilliant amber light. A pair of beautiful wings sprouted from her back. Her arms and legs extended to impossible lengths, bulging with masses of lithe muscle. Her neck stretched and a nimble tail blossomed from the base of her back. Rosy red scales completed the transformation.

Danny looked at the fully-formed dragon that stood where Sabrina had been only an instant before.

"It was you," he said after stepping back to what he thought would be a safe distance. "You're... you're the dragon," jabbing his finger in her general direction.

The dragon angled its snake-like neck in Danny's direction and eyed him, unblinking. Sabrina's soft brown eyes, now larger, with a slit pupil like that of a lizard, narrowed, as if in warning.

Seeing its chance, the dark creature took two quick lunges forward and bounded into the air.

"Look out!" Danny yelled, seeing the creature's movements in his peripheral vision, pointing.

Lightning-fast, the dragon swiveled its head. Letting out a low, 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 breath.

Danny stared at her in disbelief.

"I wasn't ignoring you." Sabrina walked toward her book bag, picked it up and put on her shoulder. "I am unable to talk when I am in that form."

"You're a dragon," Danny said, watching in wide-eyed amazement as she walked over and plopped down beside him.

"I am not a dragon," rifling through her pack, pulling out her phone. "I am a Drake."

"What's the difference?"

Sabrina held up her hand and depressed a button on the phone, a low-toned beep followed. Holding the phone to her ear, she kept her hand in the air, silently asking for continued silence.

"Father, there was another one... yes, he is with me."

"Is that..."

Before Danny could finish his question, Sabrina silenced him with a definitive look. "Yes, Father, we are okay," she said into the phone. "We are still at school, behind the elementary building in the playground area."

Danny had no choice but to wait, as he tapped his foot impatiently.

"Okay, my father is coming to pick us up."

"What's happening? What was that thing? What are you?" Danny asked in a rush, losing his cool.

"Just calm down."

"Calm down? How can I calm down when..."

"I am a Drake."

Danny took a breath and calmed himself a little. "...A Drake?"

"A pureblood Dragonic is born from the union of two pureblood dragons, I am the daughter of a pureblood Dragonic, my father, and a Human, my mother. Therefore, I am a Drake and not a dragon. Drake is the name given to those of half-Dragonic blood."

"So... your last name?"

"...Was chosen by my father. Dragonic society, unlike Human society, does not use last names. So, he chose the obvious in order for me to blend in with your race."

"...And that thing you just killed?"

"It's a Shadow," she probed her right shoulder with her left hand. "...A creature from the darkest void." When she pulled her hand away from her shoulder, it was slick with blood.

"You're still hurt!" Danny said, getting up, kneeling beside her. Tearing off a piece of his shirt, he wrapped the makeshift bandage around her wounds as best he could. "You mean a Shadow, like in the game of Knights?" Danny asked, tying the wrap tightly over her right shoulder, under her armpit.

"Yes," said Sabrina, wincing as Danny knotted the bandage tight with one final tug.

"Done."

Sabrina turned to inspect his work. "Thank you," she said with an approving smile.

Danny slumped back down. "So... the cards in the game are real?"

"Yes. The order of the Light believes that the card game allows those with the gift of sight to be more accepting of the knowledge of the Dark."

"Gift of sight?"

"Normal Humans are not able to see Shadows," explained Sabrina, looking off into the sunset. "You have the gift, Danny, or a curse, depending on how you look at it."

"How could this be a curse?"

Sabrina looked down, her eyes growing distant. After a moment, she spoke. "There is a saying, 'When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.' What you have seen, Danny, you cannot un-see. You have seen them, and they have seen you."

"But you killed it, didn't you?"

"What you saw this day and the night before was merely the puppet of a larger foe."

"What should I do now?"

"Well, that is for you to decide for yourself, but you can start by helping me up," said Sabrina, extending her left hand.

Danny stood up and obliged, pulling Sabrina to her feet.

"Get your book bag, Father will be here soon. As a knight of the order, he will be able to answer your questions far better than I ever could."

"Really?" Danny asked. His voice jumped an octave in his excitement. "What's his name?"

"His name is Tyramear," said Sabrina with a smile.

Chapter 5 - Into the Light.