Diamond Embers_The Beginning of Dragons_Jeweled Embers

by Jadyn Chase

  Cara found it wonderful to be with a man whom she trusted completely. Once inside that room with the door closed, she could stretch her arms over her head and know that Val would walk up behind her with a strong embrace, first holding her close and kissing her neck and then running his talented hands over her small, perky breasts.

  He would strip her down, leaving her clothes in a messy pile on the floor, eager to touch her naked skin, his hands warm and at once both so strong and so gentle. His hands would roam over her breasts, kneading the soft skin, his fingers toying with her nipples until they stood as sharp points against her dusky skin. His mouth would continue to move along the tender skin of her neck, leaving kisses and sharp little nips that claimed her for his own and turned her desire for him into a flame.

  By then his own desire for her would be pressing against her, becoming harder and stronger with every heartbeat. She might lean back against him, teasing him a little, but her own need would make her just as impatient.

  She would waste no time getting his clothes off, too, and he would certainly help. Then he might lift her up and carry her to the bed, where he would set her down and quickly move to cover her with the great strength and warmth of his body. He would kiss her, caress her, hold her tightly – and then smoothly press inside her.

  She would moan as he seated himself inside of her, reveling in the perfect way their bodies fit together, enjoying the way he moved and the way he held her so closely. She would wrap her legs tightly around him, rocking into his thrusts, both chasing waves of warmth and pleasure – until he was nearly there, his member hot and hard inside of her, bringing her to climax just before he reached his own.

  Once the waves of ecstasy had subsided, they would open their eyes, each smiling at the person they loved most in all the world . . . And even now, as Cara remembered the joy and sweetness of all of their times together, she still honestly felt that she would choose the short time she had had with Val over a lifetime with anyone else.

  But she couldn't help wishing they'd had just a little more time. How wonderful it would have been to come home to a life with Val every day, and then wake up again each morning knowing that he would always be hers.

  She didn't understand how people could say they were giving something up by "settling" for just one partner for the rest of their lives. What would she not give, now, to have that one man forever . . . there would never have been enough time to experience all of the world, all of the family, all of the lovemaking that she and Val could have had together.

  She had never even tried to describe the terrible emptiness that would always remain, deep in her chest like a gaping hole, at knowing that none of that would ever happen now.

  Cara opened her eyes. The Sapphire had moved very near the wall and regarded her with his very human, brilliant blue eyes. It was good to see him. He seemed to be her only friend now, though he could never take the place of what she had lost.

  #

  The next day, Cara again stood at the viewing window of the Fleet Dragon cavern, but this time, she was alone. The five new men, the ones she'd taken around yesterday, were all down at a lower level in front of their consoles, learning to pilot their dragons for the first time.

  The five had all been assigned Shinies. Each dragon could work with more than one pilot, of course, so that a pilot was always available, but the same pilots were always assigned to the same dragon whenever possible.

  Cara watched, captivated as she always was by the beauty and majesty of the creatures out in the almost unbearable brightness of the sun and ice and white-capped ocean. The brilliant, gleaming white Diamond dragons soared and wheeled and dove in perfect smoothness at the direction of the pilots in their minds.

  Afterwards, Cara went down to the control room to listen to their questions – and they had many.

  "How can these – creatures – really be better than a modern aircraft? Can a dragon go supersonic?"

  A couple of experienced pilots took the new guys' questions. "No. They can't fly faster than the speed of sound."

  "Then how – "

  "Can a plane hide in a cave and leap off the ledge once the coast is clear?" said another of the pilots. "Can it fly underwater for an hour until the radar's lost track of it, and then come up again in an entirely different spot?"

  The new men all glanced at each other.

  "Things like that are remarkably useful," the pilot went on. "They can make abilities like supersonic flight unnecessary for a successful mission."

  "The dragons won't entirely replace regular airplanes," said another pilot. "Dragons are for the toughest and most dangerous missions. And, of course, in addition to their little trick of breathing white-hot magnesium fire, they can carry bombs and missiles just like any plane. Those will be controlled from the ground, too, just like the dragons. By you."

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  Obsidian Embers Preview

  My name is Dr. Olivia Montgomery. As one of the lead scientists for the top secret “Reborn Fire” project, a big part of my job was to observe and study the Obsidian Dragon. I know, it sounds crazy right. Just a couple years ago nobody would have thought that dragon’s even existed, and here I was directly involved in their creation.

  When the ancients were first discovered deep below the ice-locked surface in Antarctica, our military was quick to act. Using the latest in genetic engineering, new hybrid dragons were created using human DNA. These new hybrids were stronger, smarter and easier for us to control. This allowed the military to quickly train and deploy their new weapons to maintain the peace in a world that was rapidly spinning out of control.

  I knew there was more to them though.

  I worked with the Obsidian day and night, I knew him better then I knew anyone else in that military base. A deep connection had grown between us, we couldn’t talk, but I could see in his eyes, he felt the same way.

  Before they turned, rumors were circulating that the dragons began to show strange chameleon-like abilities to change their appearance. No one knew for sure though, and it was quickly dismissed in the beginning. But it wasn't long before that all changed.

  Now, I knew there was more to these rumors, and when the dragons finally shifted into human form for all to see, my thoughts were confirmed.

  The Obsidian was a tall, dark and gorgeous man. With long flowing locks, a rock-solid body, and those all telling eyes, they never changed. There was an instant recognition between the two of us, and we were finally able to communicate with one another. His name was Kushanu, and he had so much to tell me. I was in heaven…for a while.

  Then in an instant, everything came to an end.

  The world as you and I knew it was over, and it quickly became everyone for themselves in a desperate fight for survival.

  Kushanu and his dragons saved me that day though, they saved many of us.

  Now he wants to claim me as his mate.

  Can I trust him?

  Would I survive if I didn’t?

  CHAPTER ONE

  May, 2030

  At a secret location in Antarctica

  On a quiet night deep below the ice-locked surface of Antarctica, Olivia Montgomery sat in the dimly lit Cavern of The Three Jewels and studied her dragon. His name was The Obsidian, and Olivia never thought of him as anything else.

  Two other women did the same with their dragons. Inside the enormous cavern were three huge caves with transparent, unbreakable windows covering the entire front opening. Watching The Sapphire was Dr. Cara Winborne, and gazing at The Diamond was Dr. Rose Morgan.

  At the shadowed center of the Cavern – which was larger than the largest airplane hangar – was a sprawling collection of tables, shelves, cabinets, and computer monitors. A number of men and women sat at those workstations, watching their screens and typing up their notes and calculations.

  All of them were well accustomed to the t
hree women who were so fond of watching their particular dragons. They paid no attention to anything but those screens.

  And likewise, Olivia had eyes for nothing else but the beautiful creature called The Obsidian.

  He was indeed a dragon, just like something out of the oldest legends . . . but he, like the other two in the cavern, as well as their many clones kept as Fleet Dragons in another cavern, had been genetically engineered to be perfect weapons. Weapons that could be sent out to rain fire and destruction on enemies who would never see them coming because they could fly at one foot as easily as they could at fifty thousand feet.

  Weapons that would keep any other men from dying in combat.

  But The Obsidian himself was safe from that, as were the other two dragons in this cavern. The task of The Three Jewels was solely to live: to occasionally fly outside for exercise and food, and to be observed and studied round the clock – and to provide cells for cloning more Fleet Dragons.

  And they all wore heavy collars around their necks enabling their remote operators to control them in any way they wished.

  Olivia had a small tablet with her for making notes if she wished, but it rested unnoticed beside her on the stone floor. She'd watched him for so long that she was certain she'd recognize the slightest change in him, no matter what it was.

  Right now he lay, as he so often did, curled up near the back of his large, high-ceilinged cave. It was difficult to tell since he was in the shadows, but The Obsidian – just like all the dragons – was easily the size of a very large fighter-bomber aircraft.

  The low lights, -dimmed to approximate a twelve-hour day-night schedule even here at the bottom of the world- gleamed softly on the dragon's glassy scales and gave them a deep green cast in some spots. His strongest feature was probably the long, black mane that grew down his neck and back.

  His eyes were closed. Olivia knew very well that those eyes were as black and gleaming as his scales were, yet still had a sharply human look to them.

  Olivia played with her own long, straight dark hair as she watched him sleep. She had always felt a bond with The Obsidian, as though she was one of his own kind and belonged with him more than she did with humans.

  She was not dragonkind, of course, but for now she would settle for being his closest observer. I would rather be here with you, like this, than with any other man, in any other way.

  "Still here?"

  Looking up, Olivia saw Zachary who was one of the technicians standing a few feet away. "Yes, Zach, I'm still here," she said, a little annoyed. "I am always here, in the Cavern of the Three Jewels. There is nowhere else that I'd rather be."

  "Yes, I know. Don't you think that's a little strange?"

  "Don't you think that's none of your concern?"

  He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But – still – "

  "Still what?"

  "Maybe you ought to spend a little time with the humans once in a while."

  She snorted. "I'm with them all the time."

  "That's not what I meant, Sheila."

  "I know it wasn't. And my name is Olivia."

  Zach frowned. "I've seen your name on plenty of emails. It's always listed as 'Sheila Montgomery.'"

  "It is. But – you see, a long time ago my little sister always called me 'Olivia'. I liked that better and I kept it."

  "Sure." Zach walked a few steps closer, and sat down facing the huge transparent wall. "I guess I'm not sure what you see in him."

  She turned back to the gazing at the dragon, and smiled faintly. I'm sure you don't.

  "Maybe it's his eyes," she said. "His eyes look human to me. Not birdlike, like The Sapphire's or The Diamond's."

  "They all look the same to me."

  I'm sure they do. "His eyes should look more human. The Obsidian is the only one with no falcon genes. He is entirely human and dragon."

  "But the majority of his genes are dragon. From the Lizards. He is – "

  Olivia glared at him. "They are mere animals. He is nothing like them."

  "But he is," Zach insisted. "Those 'Lizards' are so ancient that we can only guess at how old they really are, or how long they'd been hibernating in their Antarctic cave before we found them."

  She shook her head, knowing she was never going to be able to get him to see things from her perspective. "Doesn't matter. What does matter is that those ancient, primitive little dragons contributed their genes to create a real beauty like The Obsidian. He has the strength of a dragon and the wisdom of a human."

  "No. He doesn't,” Zach scoffed. “He's an animal, too. He's dangerous. They all are."

  "Of course he's dangerous! But I'm not afraid of him. I feel sorry for you, if you are."

  Zach sighed and shook his head. Far in the back of the cave, The Obsidian stirred, slowly raised his long neck, and then turned his head to look at them. As always, Olivia felt that his face was more like that of a man than that of a beast. And of course, his eyes . . . his deeply shining, black-as-night eyes . . .

  "Olivia, I know him as well as you do – "

  "No. You don't know him like I do! You know the others. The clones. The Fleet Dragons. You fly them by their implants. You don't know him."

  "Okay. I've never flown him. But he was never intended to be flown. He was the first of the Glassies and we keep him here to keep him safe. I sure do know the others, though. They're smart. They're fast. They're as clever as dinosaurs and just as treacherous."

  "The treachery is the human side of them."

  He made a noise of frustration. "Sure. Maybe it is. Maybe you're right about that. But whatever the reason, Olivia, I think you're – I think – "

  "You think what?"

  "Some of us are worried about you. You spend so much time here just hanging around outside his cave."

  "I'm studying him. It's part of my job."

  "There's studying, and there's obsessing."

  She sat up straight at that, and glared at him fiercely. From the corner of her eye she could see The Obsidian moving slowly across the cave towards the transparent wall. "Sure, I come down here. I study him, and I sit with him. But why not?"She glanced at the dragon again. "He's never allowed to be with his own kind. Or with anyone. I'm all the company he has."

  "Please promise me something," Zach said. "Please promise me you won't ever go in there with him."

  Olivia caught her breath at that, and involuntarily glanced up at the heavy door in the cave wall right beside her. "You know that's not allowed," she growled. How did he know she had thought about it? "It would be grounds to send me away from here for good if I ever did that. You know I won't risk it."

  "Okay," he said, sounding somewhat relieved. "I wouldn't want you to go away, either."

  "Besides – look at those two!" she hissed, waving her hand forward and backward towards the other two caves. "How are they any different from me? Dr. Winborne sits with The Sapphire all the time, even though he's more like a big blue parakeet than a dragon. He's so tame, he's got feathers on his wings."

  Zach shrugged. "He's got a lot of falcon genes, in addition to human and dragon. That makes him – "

  "And Dr. Morgan," she went on, nodding toward The Diamond's cave, "Morgan watches The Diamond almost as much as I watch The Obsidian. She thinks The Diamond is beautiful. I don't."

  Zach nodded. "I'll agree with you on that. I think he's even more dangerous than this one. He's just as hard and cold and unfeeling as he looks, with scales made of diamond sheets."

  "Exactly. I think he's just as transparent and empty as his name. He has no soul . . . so brilliant, but so cold. And Morgan doesn't see it."

  "Just as you don't see the flaws with your precious Obsidian."

  Her irritation continued to rise, but this time, Olivia kept silent.

  Then Zach suddenly stood up, startled, and took a step back. The Obsidian was right against the transparent wall with his head up, lifting his dark glassy wings.

  "You romanticize all of this, Olivia," Zach sai
d, keeping his eyes on the dragon. "This is not the 'cave of three jewels.' It's a blasted-out hole in the rock where we guard monsters, along with millions of dollars in computer equipment. Those creatures are not jewels. They're deadly weapons that we built. Nothing more."

  In one swift move Olivia leaped to her feet. The Obsidian raised his wings and opened his mouth.

  "These are miracles that we created! They are the future!" Olivia cried.

  "They are monsters that we keep as weapons! Olivia, please – come with me. Just get out of here and let's go and sit down and drink a coffee together. We'll talk about anything except this place – we'll talk about anything that's human!"

  "Human! The dragons were created so that no more humans would have to die in battle. Don't you think we owe them something for that?"

  "Olivia, please! Just – "

  Both of them jumped back as The Obsidian stood up tall and roared at the transparent wall. They could hear the muffled sound even through the supposedly soundproof barrier. Instantly the other two dragons became agitated as well and The Diamond began to roar, too.

  "If he was on magnesium, he'd have blasted fire right at us," whispered Zach, taking another step back.

  "That's why we don't allow them near seawater when they go out!” Olivia snapped, putting her hands on her hips. “Now, get out of here, Zach. He'll never calm down until you do!"

  Zach threw up his hands, turned around, and left. Olivia caught a glimpse of the men and women who'd been working at the desks in the dimly lit center of the cavern, all standing up and looking worried. She shot them a cold look as if daring them to approach, and was satisfied to see them sit down again before she turned back to The Obsidian.

  She placed her hand flat against the transparent wall, and leaned her head against the thick, cold surface. "He doesn't understand," she murmured, as though the creature could hear her. "None of them understand. But I do. I was there when you were first created. I was there when you first hatched. I'm like your mother. Or your sister. Or your – "