by R. A. Gates
she panicked. She was a decent
swimmer, in tepid swimming pools with
lifeguards nearby, but the Pacific Ocean
was a whole other monster. Would her
heavy boots pull her to the bottom?
Would she freeze to death before
swimming to shore?
Garren broke away from her. She
flailed her arms, desperate to reach the
surface.
Time
slowed
down,
emphasizing every second she held her
breath. Her lungs burned. When she
broke though the surface and gulped in
air, a wave pounded her in the face.
Amazingly, she didn't have to
struggle to stay afloat. Other than her
head, she wasn't wet or cold. The suit
was once again doing its job.
If I make it to shore alive, I'll
never say another bad word about
magic, again.
She whipped her head around,
searching for Garren. He was swimming
as best he could over the waves a few
yards to her left. His mouth was moving
as if talking to her, but she couldn't
understand what he said. Her ears were
clogged, muting all sounds. She tried to
yawn to relive the pressure in her ear
canal, but every time she opened her
mouth, ocean water spilled in. So, she
kept her mouth shut and followed
Garren. He seemed to know what to do.
One of their packs bobbed on the
waves about ten feet away. Beyond that,
Thane swam toward land. Making a
detour, she grabbed the bag and used it
as a floatie to kick to shore.
She glanced over her shoulder to
see if any dragons were still around. A
green mass bobbed on the water about
fifty feet behind. Her heart skipped a
beat. Was it the Momma dragon coming
back for revenge like at the end of a
low-budget horror flick?
Jason? She kicked faster.
They reached the beach about an
hour later. She staggered out of the water
and collapsed. Wet, sticky sand on her
face never felt so good.
I'm never going swimming
again in my life. Her nose stung from
inhaling sea water and her legs felt as if
her bones were replaced with pudding.
Garren sat next to her, leaning
back on his hands as he looked out
where their plane went down. “I wonder
where we are,” he panted.
Thane plopped down on her
other side and helped remove the
remains of her parachute still strapped to
her back. “I think we're in Washington.
Almost positive. Yeah, definitely in
Washington.” Thane surveyed the forest
behind them and the rocky coastline they
sat on. “Or Canada.”
She groaned as she rolled over.
The sun was already half-way down the
sky, shining brightly in her eyes. For at
least ten minutes, nobody moved from
their spot. Not that she could if she
wanted to. Every cell in her body felt
twenty pounds heavier. The weight of
what they had narrowly escaped sank
into her heart. Someone was looking out
for them, because by all rights, they
should be dead right now. Never in her
life had she been so scared, not that
she’d ever let the guys know.
“I am a total badass. Did you see
how I took out that giant dragon?” she
tried to flex her arm but it still ached
from holding the slingshot steady for so
long.
“Yeah, and then you broke the
plane,” Garren said. He fell back and
stretched his body out like he was going
to make sand angels. “Good going.”
She grabbed a handful of wet
sand and tossed it at him. “Not my fault.”
“Hey.” Garren sat up and wiped
off his pants. “So your fault.”
“I can’t believe we defeated a
pack of dragons on our own,” Thane
said, as if trying to convince himself the
whole thing wasn’t a bad dream.
She was tempted to mention that
Thane hadn’t actually taken out any
dragons, but decided to let it pass.
“Awesome flying, by the way,” she said
instead.
The corner of his mouth tipped
up in a thankful smile as he sat in the
sand, water dripping off strands of his
blond hair. He flexed his hands open and
shut. The imprint of the leather steering
column was imbedded in his palm.
He must’ve had a death grip on
the controls the whole time.
After a few more minutes of
quiet contemplation, Thane stood. “Don't
get too comfortable. The sun's going
down in a few hours and we need fire
and water.”
She couldn't keep her eyes open
as she listened to him. “Why do we need
fire? Our suits will keep us warm.” Just
don't make me get up.
“True,” he said. “But they won't
keep predators away or give us light,
will they?”
That got her attention. “What
predators?”
“You know. Coyotes, wolves,
bears…”
Oh my.
She didn't like the idea of being a
snack for a coyote. She glanced over at
the sprawled-out Garren and smiled.
“Isn't that why we brought him along,
protection? Let him start a fire while I
rest my lips.”
Garren didn't move, except to
raise his middle finger in a crude
gesture.
A shadow fell across her face.
Thane hovered over her, his hand out to
help her up. “Unless you want to spend
the rest of the night picking sand fleas
out of your hair, I'd get up now and
help.”
“What?” She suddenly found a
burst of energy as she jumped off the
ground and frantically ran her fingers
through her hair, shaking it out. “I better
not have fleas.”
She only stopped when Garren
laughed. “He was joking, Ivy.” He
rolled to his side and slowly stood, still
chuckling. “But it's good to know you're
afraid of bugs.”
Thane attempted to hide his
amused smile, but failed miserably.
“Sorry, Ivy. But you wouldn't have
gotten up otherwise.”
She snatched up the pack she
held onto in the water. “You know
what? Screw you both.” She tried to
stomp away but only managed a limp
because her injured hip throbbed with
pain.
“Lighten up,” Garren called out
to her retreating back.
The beach was fairly narrow
with a lot of large boulders and rocks at
the edge of the thick forest that loomed
over them. She stumbled a few times in
the bulky boots, not used to walking in
wet sand.
So much for a graceful exit.
She peeked over her shoulder to
see if they were following and ignored
the pang of disappointment when she
saw that they weren't. A large gray
boulder sat by the tree line, calling to
her. Hopping up on the rock hurt her
aching muscles, but sitting down felt so
good. She gazed out at the water,
wondering exactly where the pieces of
the plane went down. Did anyone see it?
Would they be invaded by rescuers and
the Red Cross at any moment? She drew
in a big, shaky breath. She survived.
Again. How many close calls could one
person have during one lifetime?
She was tired. Not just her body,
but her soul. Always running, always
fighting for her life. Would it ever end?
All she wanted was to do was become a
better person and put her past behind
her. She hoped Thane might be the one
person she could open up to, being
family and all, but she wasn’t sure if her
past would be too much for him to deal
with. She couldn’t take the risk, not yet.
Maybe when their quest was over, she
could sit him down and tell him
everything. Maybe.
She shrugged out of the bulky
jacket and set it next to her on the rock.
The salty sea air whipped stray curls in
her face as she inhaled deeply. The
squawks of seagulls and the bickering of
two stepbrothers drifted on the wind.
After a moment of just being, she opened
the pack she brought with her to see if
anyone bothered to pack something to
eat. Almost getting killed—multiple
times in one afternoon— created quite
the appetite.
The good news was that it was
her bag. She had a change of clothes and
some shampoo. The bad news, no food.
Of course. She tossed it down to
the ground and sulked. Her gaze swept
along the edge of the water, watching the
tide roll up and slink back. White foam
lingered on the sand. The roar of the
waves as they crashed on the shore
reminded her too much of the battle they
just fought. She half expected to see a
dragon swoop down from the sky and
flame-broil her.
Out of the corner of her eye,
something moved under a glob of
seaweed that washed ashore. At least
she thought it was seaweed.
She hopped off the rock and
meandered her way to the mysterious
pile. Long, slimy leaves curled in a large
knot. She stood over it, waiting to see if
it would move again. Maybe she was
seeing things. She picked up a branch
and poked the green mass.
The top leaves moved and she
stumbled back. Get a grip. It’s probably
just a crab.
Taking a step forward, she used
the stick to lift off the top layer of
seaweed to reveal what was hiding.
Two beady, red eyes stared back at her.
She gasped and held back a
scream.
It shook off the rest of the weeds
and stretched out its wings. A leaf still
clung to the top of its head, but when she
stepped forward to help remove it, the
little dragon growled at her. At least,
that’s what she assumed it did. It
sounded more like it was gargling.
She backed away with her hands
up in surrender. “All right, little guy. I’m
not going to hurt you.” She squatted
down, watching the dragon as it
observed her. Its body was the size of
the annoying Chihuahua her neighbors
had that kept barking at her whenever
she left the house. The wings were a
couple feet across from tip to tip.
Neither made a move for at least five
minutes. The sky held no sign of its
mom, or any other dragon.
The image of the big, green
dragon she turned to a partial statue
flashed in her mind. It had a baby on its
back. Maybe the one she was currently
staring at. Guilt hit her big time. She was
responsible for orphaning this poor little
creature.
“What the hell is that?” Garren’s
voice boomed from behind her.
She glanced back to see him
pointing to the baby dragon not five feet
away from her. Why was he so upset?
The poor thing wasn't bothering anyone.
“It's a mermaid, of course,” she
said dryly. She straightened up and faced
him with her arms firmly crossed over
her chest.
Garren searched the evening sky.
Seemingly satisfied they weren’t going
to be attacked, he finally looked at her.
“If the momma comes back and catches
us near her baby, we’re toast.”
“Its mom is at the bottom of the
ocean, remember? It needs us.”
He bent down and picked up a
fist-sized rock. “It needs to go as far
away from us as possible.”
Chapter 8
“What are you doing?” Ivy fell in
front of the baby dragon. “You harm one
scale on his little head and I will never
forgive you.” Her heart pounded as she
locked eyes with Garren, daring him to
defy her.
The baby dragon growled louder
and backed away from her. She didn’t
care. She wasn’t moving until Garren
left.
“I don’t want to hurt it, Ivy. But it
can’t stay here.”
“Why not? The beach is big
enough for all of us.” Her knees were
sinking in the sand. If he didn’t hurry up
and leave so she could move, she’d be
stuck.
Finally, his eyes shifted from her
to the dragon and back to her again.
“Fine. Just keep that thing away from
me.”
“Count on it,” she said to his
retreating back. After he was half-way
down the beach, her whole body sagged
as she sat down. She and Garren had just
started to get along and now he was
pissed at her again. Maybe they were
destined to be on opposite sides of every
argument.
The little dragon stood in a
defensive stance. His eyes narrowed and
his tail twitched behind him.
“You’re safe, now.” She held out
her hand for it to sniff like she usually
did when meeting a dog, but it jumped
back and opened it mouth, spitting out a
tiny spark.
“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you
alone.” She stood and brushed the sand
off her pants. “I’ll be right over there if
you need me.” She ambled over to
where Thane hunched over a pile of
branches.
I must’ve swallowed too much
sea water if I’m talking to a dragon
like it understands me.
�
�I'm starving. Do we have any
food?” she asked Thane.
He was attempting to start a fire
by rubbing two sticks together. It wasn't
going to well. He threw the sticks down
and fell back on his butt, rubbing his
eyes with the palms of his hands. “This
isn’t working.”
“That’s because making fire with
twigs only works in the movies. Can’t
you just use your magic to get it
started?” she asked.
“No. I can only use my magic to
meld ingredients together to create
potions. Besides, I already tried.”
“Oh.” She sat on the log across
from him and rested her chin in her
hands. “So, do we?”
“Do we what?” He grabbed the
sticks and rubbed them together again,
not giving up.
“Have anything to eat?” Couldn’t
he stop and pay attention to her for one
second?
“You mean you don’t have
anything?”
She
swallowed
down
the
sarcastic jibe that almost tumbled from
her lips. Instead, she answered in a low,
controlled tone. “Would I be asking you
for food if I did?”
He shrugged his shoulders and
went back to his fire-making activity. If
he was purposely trying to annoy her, he
was doing a great job.
“So, what were you and Garren
arguing about over there?” He tilted his
head toward the other end of the beach.
She was tempted to ignore his
question since he probably wasn’t
paying any attention to her anyway, but
thought better of it. Maybe he would side
with her.
“A baby dragon. Garren wants to
scare it away. I say let it be. What do
you think?”
His head snapped up and
excitement lit his eyes. “A dragon?
Here, on our beach?”
She eyed him warily. Was he one
of those kids that collected dragon toys
and slept on dragon-printed bed sheets?
“Yeah.”
He dropped his sticks and
squinted down the shoreline. “Is it a
Canadian Serpentine or a Black Zmaj?”
His enthusiasm pulsed in the air around
them. He struggled to keep himself still,
obviously wanting to run down the beach
to investigate.
The dragon was cool and all, but
he was getting way too carried away. “I
don’t know. It’s green and about so big.”
She held her hands about a foot apart.
Did it really matter what kind it was?
He nodded and went back to
work trying to make a fire. Every few
seconds he snuck a peek at the little
green creature sniffing around the rocks.
