“I strained my back late yesterday, and didn’t feel the effects until I hit my bunk.”
“Whatever you say, sir.” The man muttered something else, not as encouraging, and disappeared down the far end’s stair tower.
Shaw hated to lie. However, if he had blamed his lack of sleep on lust-filled dreams and darker faerie tales, no one would understand. He loved Dru.
That’s a given. But, can I love all of her?
Accepting a dragon for a life mate did not seem a sensible thing for a military man. Certainly not now. Marrying, while at war, was impossible. “But, we are not at war.”
“Ye soon will be,” growled a low voice in the distance.
Shaw glanced at the sky. Shadows played games with him, as did his ears. He turned and headed for the stairs even as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
CHAPTER 13
Dru had observed Shaw’s movements for a quarter of an hour. Unluckily for Shaw, the Black Dragon also watched him from afar. Before the creature could take his revenge on Shaw, she quietly dove, raked a talon across the creature’s temple, then flew away.
The stupid creature forgot about Shaw and gave chase. Centuries had given her agility, and her small stature out-flew the beast. She streaked across the sky, then dove beneath the sea. After she traversed the harbor, Dru discovered she’d escaped. She returned her gaze down upon the fort.
Shaw leaned against the wall closest to Charleston, talking with another officer. The sun, still high above the western marshes, proved too bright to approach him as the Black Dragon had, the idiot. What if the soldier had seen him?
She'd flown high above the sea, and had followed a line of pelicans as they fished farther out, snatching the last one for her dinner. She preferred Maggie’s biscuits drenched in rich, creamy butter. She also adored her friend’s warm lemon tarts. In her dragon form, she could easily eat the tavern’s entire day’s worth of southern fried chicken and never feel full.
Dru continued to fly high in the darkening sky until the sun set in the west. She watched until Shaw walked alone, then sniffed the air.
No Black Dragon within several nautical miles. Good.
When Shaw reached the wall that overlooked the sea, clasped his hands behind his back, and closed his eyes, she sighed with relief. He looked well.
She sneezed, and unwittingly emitted smoke from her snout. The sun’s last rays melted away, and she laughed when he spotted her. She drew her wings close to her body and dove.
“Ye seem surprised to see me.” Her unladylike tone erupted in a snarl. She rarely spoke in dragon form.
“Shift and hide!” Shaw nearly shouted, but the message, fueled by the glare he gave her, was loud and clear.
Dru shimmered into her human form. Shaw snatched her from the edge, pulled her into his chest, spun them both, until shadows enveloped them in the corner near the stair tower. Feeling mischievous, Dru squirmed and pressed her arse to his groin. Evidence of his attraction for her, even after witnessing her true shape, nudged her back. She spun, then kissed him before he could speak, and before she gained the courage to tell him of the opposing army’s devious plans.
What about the danger she put him in, because of the Black Dragon’s jealousy? Jealousy? She hardly knew the creature, but with few dragons left in the world, the bastard had a point.
“Yer in danger, and I am taking you with me. Tonight,” Dru said. She stepped towards the edge, but Shaw pulled her back into the shadows.
“Tell me what you’ve heard. I must warn my commander.”
“The supply ship’s approach is no secret.”
“The Star of the West?”
“Nay, but a ship that will not make berth without an attack.”
“Without those supplies and extra men…”
Dru understood. His thoughts were for his men, but her only concern was for him. “General Beauregard has ordered the gunners at Fort Johnson, on James Island, to make ready. They plan to bombard the fort if you do not surrender.”
“Surrender.” He uttered the despicable word as a statement, not a question. Soldiers would not bandy about such a term, without understanding the implications. She learned that from Scottish Highlanders.
“Aye. General Beauregard wants to provide safe passage home. At least northward.”
“Ha! As if Major Anderson would comply.”
“Others want you all shot dead.”
She could barely read Shaw's expression inside the shadowy corner. His breathing hitched, and he laid a hand on her shoulder. Heat, and his obvious concern made her giddy. But, she stiffened when he said nothing
Does he not understand the danger?
“Relay the news and return to me, Shaw. We must leave soon.”
“Leave? I can’t leave. I told you this earlier. My place is with my men.”
“You might die!” Dru glanced over his shoulder, searching for the Black Dragon. Time was of the essence. Either the war would soon start, or a jealous creature would catch him, kill him, and end everything.
Her terror must have concerned him, because Shaw quieted her with a kiss. Her outburst was dangerous, but the remedy was heavenly.
“No,” she cried, pushing him away. “There is more at stake here than you could ever perceive.”
“Dru,” he said, stroking a few loose curls from her face. “I love you, lass. You are my life, no matter your origins. However, I am a soldier. I have a duty to my men, to my country, and to you. Trust me.”
“ ‘Tis someone else I cannot trust. He is vile, and wants you dead.” Dru broke out of his grasp and ran to the edge, searching the skies with her Dragon vision. She sniffed the air. No, he is not near. We have a chance.
“Who are you talking about, Dru?” Shaw grabbed her, turned her into his chest, and kissed her with such force, she moaned. Dru opened her mouth under his assault and their tongues tangled in a dance of love, heat, and promise.
“Mast on the horizon,” a soldier shouted nearby.
“I'm serious, my love. Heed my words, and leave this place,” Shaw said.
Dru reached up and kissed his cheek then turned towards the sea.
“Go!” Shaw smacked her on the arse and a sense of relief swept over his face.
Her transformation into her natural form hurt. For the very first time, her heart and soul felt human.
She hurtled higher and higher than searched out the ship. If she discovered an enemy vessel, the crew would soon feel her Dragon breath. She'd burn it and sink it beneath the waves. If she identified it as a federal supply ship, Shaw was still in grave danger.
Dru's Dragon eyesight recognized the uniforms, similar to Shaw's. A Federal supply ship. If it made it safely to the fort, maybe the hostilities would stop. “I pray the end is near.”
“ ‘Tis closer than you think, wench.”
“You! Stay away!”
“Dare you threaten me?” The Black Dragon grinned hideously, exposing his fangs. His wings beat the air, tossing her comparatively small body toward the sea.
She would never win a fight with him, but she needed his attention in order to keep Shaw safe. Dru regained her balance and rose toward the moon. Under the cover of darkness, she could easily outmaneuver him. However, the Black Dragon laughed, or made a sound that she assumed was a laugh. He did not follow her, instead he swooped lower and headed for Fort Johnson.
“Nay!” He'd seen the ship, and he flew off to alert the enemy. Before Dru could return to Fort Sumter, cannon fire exploded.
* * * * *
Shaw tensed, then stared in awe as smoke and flames erupted from the ship. Cannon after cannon discharged, their smoke and flame hailing from the shore batteries. From this distance, there was little he could do to save the ship, but he ordered his men to make ready. The gunners loaded the cannons in silence. Everyone looked on edge and they all had reason to worry. If the supply ship sank, they were in trouble. And where was Dru?
A small skiff approached the fort’s landing whar
f, and a contingent of men went out to meet its occupants. Shaw stood beside Major Anderson, just inside the door. A message was relayed and even at the ungodly hour, both men feared the words it contained.
Major Anderson accepted the missive and tore it open. He scowled. “Beauregard is a man of his word. The bombardment will begin within the hour.”
“Orders sir?” Shaw straightened his back and laid a hand on his sidearm. The war was on and he still had no idea where Dru had gone. Was she safe? Major Anderson muttered something, and Shaw snapped to attention.
This is not the time, nor place to forget my duty.
“Sir?”
“Tell the men to hunker down. Let the secessionist forces attack, but be prepared to retaliate at dawn. No sense shooting at shadows.”
“May I remind the major that we have no fuses? All we can do is hit them with non-explosive cannon balls.”
“Hit them with bricks and potatoes if you have to.”
“Yes sir.” Shaw looked at the sky, searching for a familiar shadow. Dru in her dragon form was at risk once the cannons fired.
Shaw spoke to each gunman, then relayed the major’s orders to the rest of the enlisted men, instructing them to batten down the hatches, protect the food stores, and get to safety as best they could. Fort Sumter sat surrounded by dozens of armed fortresses, less than a mile away. Built to protect Charleston Harbor from seafaring forces, no one ever expected a civil war.
CHAPTER 14
Dru raced across the sky, as dawn approached. Hundreds of cannons along the shore around Charleston Harbor had bombarded the Fort for hours. The federal soldiers on Fort Sumter's battlements, had not fired one gun in retaliation. What were Shaw and his men doing? She'd seen the walls when they crumbled. She'd watch the enemy soldiers clap and yell in triumph when shells hit their mark.
How long will this last?
What if the attack injured Shaw? Or worse. Another question rolled through her like an itch. Where had the Black Dragon gone? He must have warned the southern batteries at the harbor entrance since they quickly turned the ship away with cannon fire. The current fate of Shaw and his soldiers loomed as an unknown that Dru wanted to rectify at once. Without federal reinforcements, Shaw and his men were all alone.
“Not alone. I will help them.”
“Not while I am here.”
Dru’s wings wavered, and she tumbled toward the sea. In her moment of despair, the Black Dragon had surprised her, but she gained her balance and returned to face the aggressor.
“Still here?” she asked while gathering her balance. “I assumed the loud noises had scared ye off, ye coward.”
Flames erupted from his mouth, and he bared his fangs.
“Shouldn't you be on your way home? To Scotland?” she teased. “ ‘Tis lovely on the moors in spring, as I remember.”
“Return with me, now, and I will spare him.” His eyes glared and smoke seeped from his nostrils. Glossy black scales reflected the morning sun, as the enemy guns continued their battering of Fort Sumter, and Shaw.
Time was running out.
An idea popped into her head. If she eliminated the black bastard, and his threats against the man she loved, the humans would continue toward a natural end; an end not aided by a creature as mean, vile, and deranged as the Black Dragon.
Humans were, for the most part, intelligent creatures. Their caring souls must fight their own battles. Had Shaw not told her in his own words that he had a duty to his men and his country, as well as her?
She would do her best to give the humans a chance to fight, surrender, or find peace. To do so, meant she had to eliminate the Black Dragon and his threats. As one of her own kind, she cringed at the reality of aiding in his death. Their race neared extinction. However, Dru had decided quite recently to end her days in Shaw's arms.
As a human.
“Answer me, dragon. Or, I shall personally rip out his throat.”
Revulsion, fueled by a sudden hate for the despicable creature hovering before her, drove Dru to dive toward Fort Johnson and its cannons.
“Stop! Come back.”
Dru prayed the Black Dragon would choose to follow her. Unfortunately, her death loomed as well. The trick was to manage to outrun her tormentor while avoiding the secessionist’s cannon bursts.
Flames singed her tail. The bastard had taken the bait. She flapped her wings faster, then dipped and rose through the rising smoke.
Dru called on her dragon senses to avoid the whistling balls flying by her head. She hovered and waited, listening. She hadn’t waited long when her ears rang with a sickening thud, followed by a horrific scream. Scales, blood, and flames rained down on her, yet a grin pulled at her scaly lips. Dru folded her wings and plummeted into the harbor before the smoke cleared.
* * * * *
Shaw stood behind his gunners, as they finally fired Fort Sumter’s cannons. Even as wall after wall crumbled around them, the men stayed at their posts. The order to retaliate, anticipated ever since the enemy bombardments began before dawn, brought cheers from the men.
We are at war, but not licked. Not yet.
Supplies had dwindled, and the Fort was not as protected as Major Anderson had hoped. The three story high walls were built to withstand low flying cannons aboard enemy vessels. The batteries on the shore were able to lob their shells high, sending burning shrapnel inside the fort. Fires burned in several areas spewed flames and smoke. Their food-stores, sleeping quarters, and most of their ammunition were at risk. Morale was low ever since the soldiers learned that Major Anderson wanted the gunners to wait.
The wait was over.
At one desperate moment, while Shaw rescued a man overcome by smoke, cannon shells crumbled the floor above. He pushed the man to safety as bricks, mortar, and thick, black smoke rained down. Slammed against a wall, all breath whooshed from his lungs.
In complete darkness, struggling to breathe, his thoughts drifted to Dru and their love. His chest ached, not from injury, but from one last chance to explain to her why they could not be together. She wouldn’t understand his need to stay with his regiment. Hadn’t she tried to press him to fly away with her? His men looked to him for guidance. How could he turn his back on them in their time of need?
If I die defending Fort Sumter, so be it.
Shaw prayed for Dru’s safety and long life, even as something warm and wet trickled down his face. The pain radiating down his back and hip could not compete with the sorrow piercing his heart. He would miss her. A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. She was a joyful handful. His quiet life as a soldier certainly changed for the better once he’d kissed her in an alley.
A kiss I shall never forget.
Shaking dirt from his hair, he grabbed his hat from the rubble, and gazed around his makeshift tomb. Would anyone realize falling walls had trapped him? The thunderous roar of shells battered the fortress and sent more debris raining down, choking him in the dark cave.
Before he could shout for assistance, the rocks and debris tumbled away. A shaft of sunlight warmed his face. He lunged toward the light, and freedom.
“I'm here. I'm coming out.”
As Shaw stepped into the light, a small hand pulled him under another shadow-filled archway. The guns in this area of the fort faced the sea, and were not in use. The eerie silence confused him until he noticed that he and his savior were alone.
“Yer a mess, soldier.”
Shaw, suddenly wrapped in a familiar embrace, breathed in a recognizable scent. His heart raced. “Dru?”
Dru’s silky lips kissed his, and he drank in her heady taste. Inhaling her earthy fragrance, his lungs filled to bursting. She kissed him thoroughly, and he kissed her back with abandon before he pulled away, and coughed.
“Are ye well, love?” she asked.
Her face was barely visible, but fire blazed in her eyes. “Is it really you, lass?”
“Aye. Blazes! When the wall collapsed, I thought ye were dead.”
“
Me, too. Thanks.”
“Thanks? ‘Tis all I get for saving ye, ye wretch? And, what’s this?” She rubbed three fingers across his forehead. They came away wet with his blood.
“Blast it! I'm bleeding.”
She pulled him closer, then swept the hair from his face. Pulling him near a cannon hole in the wall, he saw the concern etched on her face. Her brow furrowed as she leaned in closer.
“ ‘Tis a scratch,” she said.
Shaw shook his head, and regretted the action immediately. “Blast it! My head aches.”
“Then stop a’shakin yer head, silly.”
He turned serious, and glared down at her innocent smile. “Why are you here? You could get hurt as well.”
“Not me. I’m a dragon, remember? I am fast and tough-skinned.”
He grabbed her upper arm and headed for the stairs. Not one corner inside the Fort was safe, not with shells constantly bombarding the disintegrating fortress’ walls. She wasn’t immortal, was she?
“Can you die?”
“Aye, but I doubt—”
“You will leave. Now.” He pulled her up the stairs leading to the battlements, above. She’d leave even if he had to push her off the wall.
At the top of the stairs, Shaw verified the area stood clear, then pulled her to the edge facing the sea. Cannon fire blasted the walls facing the coastal batteries, on the opposite side of the fort. Some landed inside and debris flew too close.
“The only way I can assure your safety is to get you off this rock. Go!”
“Wait,” she said, pulling back from the edge.
“You have something to add before I toss you off?”
Dru grinned, flashing a pair of fangs. “You’re worried about me?”
The surprise in her expression made him hesitate. Had he not told her how much she meant to him? Her origins made no matter, he suddenly realized. He no longer thought of her as a mythical creature.
A dragon from the isles of faraway Scotland.
He’d grown up with the tales his parents brought from their homeland, yet here she stood. In the flesh, so to speak.
Southern Fried Dragon Page 9
