I was walking along the street, doing some window-shopping while I thought about what I’d done to get myself disowned. “What right did they have to call me a monster? Just because I’m autistic doesn’t mean I’m a freak. One day I’ll prove to them that I’m more than they’ll ever be, and when they come to me demanding attention I’ll slam the door in their faces.”

“Excuse me, young man. If you’re looking to get back at someone you might try that new occult store. I’ve heard they have ways to get revenge for a respectable price.” I looked to my left and saw an older gentleman sitting on a curbside bench. He had thin, graying hair, wrinkles like a road map on his face and hands, and he was wearing a fairly nice outfit.

I nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’ll check right away. Can you tell me where it is?”

He got up from his seat on a bench and walked over to me. “I’ll do you one better and take you there. I need to open up shop anyway.”

I gave him a questioning glance. “You own an occult store?”

“Yes. I haven’t had many customers, though. If I may ask, what kind of revenge are you looking for?”

“My family disowned me for being mildly autistic, said that a monster didn’t deserve to live under their roof. I want them to pay for throwing me out like that, I want to unleash the monster within my soul to destroy them and everything they hold dear.” I had no idea where that came from, but imagining the destruction I had described made me feel... good.

“I see. Well, we’re here.” He took out a key and unlocked the door. “Welcome to Arcane, Occult and Obscene, home of the strange and mysterious. Look around, see if you find anything you like, or something that likes you.”

“Thanks.” I entered behind him, looking around, noting various items of interest including dragon pendants, snake bracelets, glowing feathers, and many other objects besides. But the thing that caught my eye was a small statuette, a creature that looked positively terrifying to anything smaller than it. It appeared to be part Naga, but it had four wings and a dragon’s head, along with massive talons for its size. The figure felt strangely warm when I picked it up, and when I carried it up to the counter the old man was there with a smile. 

“Ah, I see you found something. I thought that Dracaena statue might catch your eye.”

“How much?”

“As my first customer, it’s on the house.” He took the statue from me and put it in a brown paper bag. “Be sure to look at it outside, natural light brings out the details.”

“I’ll do that, thanks. Have a good day, sir.”

“And you, my young friend. Be sure to tell your friends about my store!”

I smiled. “I’ll be sure to, if I ever get any.”

I left, and went to my home, a small cave in the forest outside town I’d furnished with some minor comforts. I stepped outside and pulled the statue out of the bag, letting the light hit it to bring out the detail. That’s when things went to hell but good. The statue twitched, snarled, and lunged at me, biting me and drawing blood. I dropped it in shock, but it was too late for me. I saw black scales spreading from around the wound as it healed, my fingernails stretching into massive, three-foot talons. Once the scales reached my elbow, they fused into a solid mass, forming a sort of gauntlet that extended a short distance past my elbow, more scales growing up my arm and onto my face and torso. I ripped my shirt off as soon as the scales reached my shoulder, leaving me half naked, and also revealing that charcoal gray scales were growing on my chest and belly.

Throughout that, one thought was going through my mind: What. The. Hell. Then, a host of foreign thoughts began to enter my mind: thoughts of killing, of chaos, of death and destruction. Thoughts of feeding on warm flesh, thoughts of drinking fresh blood. The thoughts of a demon, and of a predator.

I could feel my body bulking up as my face shattered, pushing out like a fist in putty, reforming into a draconic muzzle. My human teeth fell out of my gums as razor sharp fangs filled my maw, the first four in my top jaw much longer than the others, showing over my lower jaw when I closed my mouth. My tongue stretched and split at the tip, becoming more snake-like. I flicked it out instinctively and was overloaded by sensation when it brushed the roof of my mouth on the recoil. Then I felt a series of sharp pains coming from the back of my skull, horns sprouting from the back of my skull. I reached up to feel them and estimated their length at two-thirds that of my skull, and the pair below at half the size of the first pair, the third pair half the size of the second.

My other arm soon met the same fate as the first one, then I felt an immense feeling of pressure building up in my back. Soon enough I felt the pressure release as four scaled arms tore through my reptilian hide, fanning out into draconic wings before the change progressed to my legs. There was no pain throughout all of this, just a feeling of numbness, as if all the nerves in my body were on standby.

I could feel the bones in my legs dissolve into liquid and my legs fuse together, my pants and underwear dissolving when some of my venom dripped onto them, before my fused legs stretched to a monstrous length, I’d guess roughly fifty feet. I felt my liquid bones reform into new vertebrae in my tail, and my body began to bulk up, layers of muscle piling on top of one another, making me complete. I now stood nine feet tall and very nearly fifty feet long, far larger than any human. Then a huge amount of foreign knowledge and instinct poured into my mind, showing me just how narrow-minded humans really were. I flicked my serpentine tongue again, spread my wings, and took off for my parents’ house, where I would wait for them to meet their destroyer. I was looking forward to showing them how right they were about me.

It took me a couple of days to get to their house, since I was travelling only by night to avoid drawing attention. It was time I used to adjust fully to my new form. I had also proven to be a talented hunter, not once going hungry on my journey. When I finally arrived, I waited on the blind side of the house, out of sight of the road and anyone pulling into the driveway. My father arrived first, but I stayed out of sight until my mother and sister had arrived. That’s when I made my move.

I waited until they came outside before I slammed my fist down, startling them badly. Then they saw me. “W...what are you?!”

“I’m not surprised you don’t recognize me, mom. After all, you never did care enough to give me the time of day.”

“How dare you speak to -”

“And you, old man. The one who cast me out into the world, the one who labelled me a monster. Well, you were right about me: I am a monster!” I lunged at him and swiftly wrapped my coils around him, squeezing his body with enough strength to crush a car. I opened my maw and snarled before bringing it down over his head, biting down and feeling his skull explode with a satisfying pop and a delicious gout of blood and brains.

I lifted my head to swallow and loosened my coils, letting the decapitated corpse fall with a loud thump. “Delicious... I believe you were next on the menu, mother...” She tried to run but a quick swipe of my talons gutted her like a common fish, the life draining from her eyes as she dropped to the floor holding her intestines. Then I noticed my sister, the only one who tried to defend me that fateful day.

“Briana...”

“Stay away from me!” She had a baseball bat in her hands. I reached out slowly and gripped the bat, holding it gently enough not to cause her to hurt herself but firmly enough to keep her from breaking my grip.

“I’m not going to hurt you, dear sister. I wish to offer you a choice: Join me, as a Dracaena, or go on your way. You will not be harmed either way.”

She looked into my eyes, a single, overwhelming question present in hers. “Why, Anthony?”

I looked over my shoulder at the carnage I’d caused, and found that for some reason I could no longer meet her gaze. “Vengeance... I ask you once more, will you join me, or will you doom me to spend eternity alone?”

“I... I can’t...”

I put my hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. In that moment, she saw the true depth of my need for companionship. “Please.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “For you.”

I picked her up gently, carrying her as a mother would a newborn child. “Let's go outside.”

I went outside, my sister in my arms, and I set her on the grass in the same blind spot I’d used. I took her hand in my own, and bent down to bite her arm, just barely breaking the skin to deliver my venom.

“Ah! What was that for?”

“To begin the change. My venom can dissolve nearly anything, and it can transform the willing into Dracaenae.”

She groaned as the change began to take hold. “I’d suggest taking your clothes off. The change will be less cumbersome that way.”

“I’m not getting naked in front of my brother.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll see it all in a few moments anyway.”

She groaned as she began to change, her skin forming scales the same way mine had, the only difference being her scales were a deep, emerald green. She gasped as her lower arm scales formed a solid gauntlet and her fingernails extended into massive talons. The scales progressed to her shoulder, then up her neck, her head beginning to change much as mine had, only her muzzle was slightly narrower than mine, and her horns weren’t quite as long. As the change progressed downward I ripped her shirt and bra off to keep them from interfering with the change, and her breasts grew to match her growing size, becoming decently sized mounds without being overly large. I dripped some of my venom onto her pants, dissolving them and her panties as the scales spread farther downward. Her legs began to fuse and I was forced to catch her as she lost her balance, and once her tail had finished growing I helped her find her balance again. Once her wings grew in and her intellect was sharpened, she was complete.

“What now, Tony?”

“Not Tony. Call me... Ophion.”

“Ophion...” She tossed the name around in her head, and from how long she was taking, she was choosing one of her own. “I like it, brother. Call me... Sylith.”

“Very nice. Now what?”

“Now we find a place to live, where humans won’t disturb us.”

She nodded, and we flew off into the unknown. Maybe, someday, you’ll find us. When you do, I promise you won’t be disappointed by what happens.