Chapter 2

Well, I suppose it would've been a pretty short story if we hadn't escaped, right? Depressing, too. Unless you think I should be killed, in which case… well, f**k you, too.
Anyway, we climbed out of the wreckage and got going. I had the sense to grab our confiscated stuff beforehand, though. The driver was… what's the polite way to say it? Livingly challenged.
Finally, we stopped, taking a short break to catch our breath.
“I assume this was your doing,” I said to the boy.
“I guess so.” He nodded.
“You guess so?” I frowned. "You don't know?"
“Yeah… my memory is kinda screwed up. I forget about half of everything that happens.”
“Really? That sounds like a pretty big problem...”
"It's not that bad once you get used to it. I write down everything that happens in my journel in case I forget.”
“Was that a bomb?” the girl asked, “Why was there a bomb?”
“To save our lives,” I said. “Well… actually I guess it kinda screwed yours up, huh?”
"Don't go anywhere, you two." The girl glared at us. "I'm gonna turn you in.”
“Yeah, right.” I laughed. “First of all, I doubt you could take on both of us. Second, you're a fugitive now, same as us. Even if you did turn us in, you'd still get in trouble for escaping. The way the system works, you'll lose your license straight away if someone gets to that crash you're not there. And if you go back and wait, you'll get in trouble for abandoning your duty and allowing two dark mages to escape.”
“What? No… that… that can't be right.”
“Don't blame me. Blame this lovely set of anti-magic laws we have.”
“No… I…”
“Sorry." The boy held his head in his hands. "If you don't want to travel with me, I understand. You're probably better off without me, anyway."
"Don't say that," I told him, "We need to stick together. There's no way we can make it on our own."
“I… I can't travel with dark mages,” the girl protested.
“Come on,” I pleaded, “We promise we don't do anything evil, right?”
The boy nodded slowly.
“But… you're dark mages.”
“So? Doesn't make us evil. And if you really think we're going to wreak havoc,” I reasoned, “Isn't it better that you're there to keep an eye on us?”
“Yeah… I guess so. Okay, I'll travel with you. But at the first sign of any Devil-summoning…”
I groaned. “To hell with the devil. You really think I'd do something that stupid? Like I said, I don't do anything evil. And I really don't appreciate the implications of devil-worship.” I glared. Which works quite well when you’re a dragon. Much easier to intimidate humans. Harder to not come across as demonic…
“Well, that's what everyone says you dark mages do, so…”
“Well, they're wrong. Prejudice isn't nice. That's what happened to all the thylacines."
"... the what?" Confused looks from both of them.
I sighed. "Forgot them already, huh?" I scoffed. "You'd probably have forgotten dragons, too, if we hadn't managed to blend in."
"Forget giant fire-breathing lizards? Yeah, right."
"We're not lizards," I corrected her, "we're therapods."
"Yeah, whatever."
Dragons almost went extinct several hundred years ago. We had a stable society for a long time, full of art and culture and technology and food, and then a bunch of apes started living on our land, with livestock fenced in. We figured they were offerings. We were living with the humans to the East, and they worshipped us. Unfortunately, these humans wanted us dead. And they outnumbered us. Started a genocide. We tried to flee, tried to make peace, tried to fight back, but nothing worked. Until a group of dragons, skilled in the art of mental illusion, managed to create a convincing human disguise and go largely unnoticed. They sought out other dragons, and taught them how to do the same thing. It worked for a while, until the humans caught on, and became suspicious of anyone with unusual body proportions. So, using a great deal of magic, the ancient dragons managed to influence their evolution, to make themselves have human body proportions, and even a more human way of thinking about things.
"Anyway, I got your bags for you." I set them down on the ground. "We should check our supplies, make sure we have everything we'll need." I opened up my bag, checking the contents. Wand. Check. Food. Check. Laptop. Check. Ritual robe? Check. 3D mouse? Check. Athame? Check. Bunch more stuff the reader probably has no idea what they are? Check. Everything was in there. Good.
"I have a tent," the boy said, "It's a small one, but it should be able to fit all three of us."
"Excellent. We have shelter. And I have enough food to last me about a week. I'll assume you've both got some, too."
They both nodded.
"And I can make us a fire if we need one," I said, "So... I guess that's all we need. Let's get away from the scene of the crime now, before someone comes looking for us."