Dragon Blood 1: Pliethin

by Avril Sabine

  “I was beginning to wonder when you were going to call it a night.”

  “Sorry, Mum. I forgot to ring you before we left. I’m already at Maira’s house.”

  “Did you have a good time?”

  Yeah, I was nearly eaten by a wyvern. She could just imagine what her mother would say if she said that. “I didn’t know anyone there.”

  “Amber-”

  “It was a waste of time.” But now I can throw fireballs. Yet something else she was going to have to keep from her mother.

  Donna sighed heavily. “Well, don’t stay up all night talking. You know how cranky you get when you don’t have enough sleep.”

  She doubted that would have been what her mother would have said if she’d told the truth. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be home some time tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Ring me when you wake up.”

  “Don’t go ringing me early to check on me. I’m not getting up before lunch.”

  There was silence for a moment. “If you’d give this place a chance-”

  She’d done that and look where it had gotten her. “Night, Mum.”

  Another sigh. “Goodnight, Amber.”

  Amber left her phone on the bench top of the cupboards that ran from the door to the laundry tub and stepped into the cool night air. She crossed her arms, wishing she had her jacket.

  “Will you be right while I have a shower?”

  Amber ignored Kade, listening as he moved towards the bathroom, after a moment, and closed the door. She stepped further into the yard. Large trees were scattered around creating deeper shadows. Breathing in, a scent caught her attention.

  Her head came up and her eyes narrowed. Anticipation raced through her and she slowly stalked forward, her feet sure and quiet. Her muscles tightened and she forced herself to keep moving slowly. The wind teased her with the scent and her mouth watered. Ever closer she came to the tantalising aroma. The shadows seemed to give up their secrets, lightening as if the moon had come out of hiding. She didn’t bother to glance up and see, all her senses where focused on one thing. Then she saw him.

  Head down, nibbling on the grass, the reddish brown coat sleek, the antlers rising from his head that suddenly lifted. He tensed, his head moved. Then he relaxed and went back to grazing. Amber, who had frozen at his movement, began to inch forward again. The stag continued to remain unaware.

  “Amber!”

  The stag leapt forward, tail up. Amber swore. She rounded on Kade to yell at him for scaring off her meal. Her jaw dropped as she realised exactly what she’d been thinking. Her hands came up to cover her mouth. “Oh my god! Oh no! Please no.” Her voice trailed off to a whisper.

  Kade reached her side in seconds, draping an arm around her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

  Amber could only shake her head, trying to understand what had happened. She let Kade guide her inside, dropping onto the kitchen chair he pulled out for her.

  “Do you want a drink? Something to eat?”

  Amber shook her head. Her eyes widened as her stomach did somersaults. Clapping a hand to her mouth, she focused on breathing. She wasn’t going to throw up. And she wasn’t going to think about the stag.

  “Amber…”

  Holding up her hand, she shook her head, still unable to speak. She dropped her head onto the table and waited for her stomach to settle. As soon as it had, she looked up at Kade who hovered beside her. “I was stalking that stag. I wanted to eat him.” Hysteria bubbled up and she forced it down. It tinged her last words.

  Kade dropped into the chair beside her. “Stalk?”

  Amber nodded. “I could smell him. I didn’t even think. Just reacted. I felt like I could tear him apart with my bare hands. Tell me I’m not going mad.”

  “Stalk.”

  “Will you stop saying that?” Amber hit the table with her open hand.

  “What animal?”

  “Stag.”

  “No, what animal did you remind yourself of?”

  “I don’t know. Pounce! I was tensed to pounce. A cat. A large cat. Tiger, panther, jaguar. Something like that.”

  Kade swore. He pushed away from the table and paced.

  Amber stepped in front of him, her chair nearly falling with how quickly she rose. “What’s happening? Tell me!” She grabbed his upper arms.

  “Panther.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Those cat hairs?” When Amber nodded, Kade glanced away. “It wasn’t Maira’s pet. It was a panther.”

  “What!”

  “They’re returning it. Flinn thought it’d make a good meal. Maira argued with him about it. She won.”

  “You had panther hairs on your shirt?”

  Kade nodded. “I’m sorry-”

  “You stupid-” her fist aimed for his jaw.

  Kade moved out of the way, catching her hand. “Enough! It wasn’t deliberate. You were told to follow orders.”

  “Follow orders! I had Flinn and a wyvern coming straight for me. It was instinct to grab the Pliethin. I was scared out of my mind. I was stuck in a tree with a red-eyed beast whose claws were ready to tear me apart. I don’t know what I was thinking. Or even if I was capable of thinking. I know I had a fleeting thought that I was going to die. But that might have been later. It’s all a muddle. Tell me what this means.”

  “I don’t know! Why do you think I’m suddenly going to have the answers to this when I keep telling you I wouldn’t have a clue? You can’t tell anyone about this. Do you understand? No one. Especially not Flinn.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’ll kill you if he thinks you’re a threat to our people. I was going to bunk in Maira and Brann’s room and let you have mine. But not now. I don’t know when Flinn and his warriors will be home, but I won’t leave you alone. He’ll know something happened.”

  “And how could he know that?”

  “He flew off and left the wyvern there to kill us. Any Gold Warrior who holds a Pliethin is not aware of their surroundings. At all. We shouldn’t have survived the wyvern attack. You have to tell him you kept the wyvern occupied until I was myself again. That you kept running and dodging like you did the first time.”

  “He wanted us to die?” Her words were little more than a whisper. They echoed in her mind.

  “We believe in survival of the fittest. I should have had Maira and Brann with me, but I didn’t think Flinn would desert us like that. I shouldn’t have let Maira get squeamish over a panther. Flinn had his people with him.”

  “I didn’t see any other dragons.”

  “They were there. Keeping their distance, but ready in case they were needed.”

  “Where are they now?”

  Kade shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably with Flinn. And before you ask, I don’t know where he is either.”

  Amber turned away. Exhaustion washed over her. “This is all such a mess.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, sure you are. But only because you’re worried about what your old people will say.”

  Kade laughed softly. “Elders. And they’re not all old. Well, not in the dragon sense. It’s their title.”

  “Oh, who cares?” She turned abruptly so she could face him. She wanted to stop thinking about all this. “Where am I sleeping?”

  “My room.” He stepped back into the hallway and this time turned to his right. There were two doors at the end, one ahead, one on the right. Kade opened the door in front of him, turning on the light. He stepped out of the way so Amber could enter.

  She stared at the king-sized bed before she turned to face Kade. “You better not be expecting me to share that with you.”

  “You mean to tell me that wasn’t what you were angling for earlier tonight?” When Amber only glared at him, Kade laughed and gestured towards the bed. “Don’t worry, you’ll be the only human in it tonight.”

  Was she still human? She didn’t know. She took a hesitant step towards the bed, sending a cautious glance towards Kade. W
hen he remained by the doorway, she threw back the covers and dropped onto the bed. “You can turn the light out now.”

  Kade rested his hand on the switch. “No invading my thoughts in your dreams.” He smiled, turning out the light.

  She blinked at the sudden darkness. When she blinked again she was surprised to find the room wasn’t as dark as she’d first thought. She searched for the source of light. There was none. Rolling over so her back was to the door, she quickly closed her eyes, not wanting to think what it meant. But she couldn’t help the thought, ‘cats see in the dark’, from invading her mind. Squashing it, she focused instead on reconstructing her own room, in her own home, in her mind. She wished she was there right now. Her grandmother’s house would never be home.

  Chapter Nine

  Amber’s eyes popped open and she glanced around. Nothing. Whatever sound had woken her had stopped. She rolled onto her back and sat up. She was completely silent. Her movements didn’t disturb the dragon curled on the bed with her, taking up most of the space. She felt like pushing him onto the floor. No other human! Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood up, quietly crossing the room and letting herself out. Closing the door behind her, she wandered to the bathroom, returning to the kitchen once she’d finished in there.

  Noise caught her attention and she stepped back into the laundry. Movement at the window drew her forward. Her eyes narrowed and she saw a bird jump from branch to branch in one of the trees outside. She could see each feather, the eyes that checked for danger and the way its head turned towards each sound. Easing the back door open, she stalked towards the tree. She leapt and grabbed one of the lower branches, swinging herself up. She paused. When the bird remained unaware of her, she pulled herself higher.

  Crouching on the branch, she waited. The bird came near. It darted away. Closer. It paused to trill. Then it landed near her. Amber leapt up onto the next branch and her hand streaked out, grabbing the bird as it tried to fly away. She could feel its heart beat fast as it tried to struggle out of her grip. She could smell it. The tantalising smell of her prey filled her senses.

  “Amber! What are you doing up there?”

  Startled by Maira’s words, Amber nearly fell from the tree, opening her hand to grab a branch. The bird darted away. She looked around, half dazed. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “Trying to see how quickly I can be committed.” She shakily descended the tree. Twice she almost fell.

  “Committed to what?”

  Flinn stepped out the back door. “What’s she doing here?”

  “I invited her. It’s not like I can invite other females over. Not without a lot of preparation and planning and making sure everything looks normal. Do you think I enjoying being stuck in a house full of males all the time? Five to one are pretty bad odds.”

  “Then keep her out of my way.” Flinn spun, striding back inside.

  “Isn’t he cheerful.” Amber strode towards Maira. “Why did you tell him I’m here to even up the odds?”

  “I didn’t.” Maira grinned. “Not once did I actually come out and say that. What he chooses to take from my words is his business.”

  Amber shook her head. “What have you got for breakfast?” She glanced in the direction the bird had flown, forcing herself not to think about it. Although today her stomach didn’t rebel at the thought of eating a live animal. Horror rushed through her and she missed Maira’s words. “Do you have breakfast cereal and milk?” When Maira looked at her in concern, she demanded, “What?”

  “I said we often catch our own. There might be some bread in the fridge for when I make sandwiches for school lunches.”

  Kade appeared in the doorway, wearing only leather pants. “I wondered where you’d gotten to.”

  “Trying to catch a bird.” Amber glared at Kade.

  He laughed. When Maira opened her mouth to ask a question, he waved her away. She went without comment. “Walk with me.” He dropped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her away from the house.

  Wanting to talk to him, Amber remained at his side. “How do I stop this? I can’t get up and leave the classroom when I notice prey outside.”

  “Maybe you need to take a few days off while you sort it out.”

  Amber pulled away from him. “Sort it out! And how the hell am I meant to do that? I wish I’d never met you.” She spun away, striding towards the gum trees that stood on the other side of the open paddock they were in.

  “Amber!”

  She ignored Kade, breaking into a run when she heard him follow. He came closer. She could hear him. Smell him. He smelled like predator. She ran faster, a long easy stride without effort. He ran beside her. She forced herself to move faster. Suddenly she loped across the ground, the grass rising up around her body, her paws silent. A rumble started in the back of her throat. She roared as she turned to face Kade. He stopped abruptly. Amber’s eyes narrowed as she watched him. He took a step back.

  He smelt like predator, acted like prey. She sprung, powerful limbs throwing her forward. He shot off the ground, a dragon taking flight.

  “Amber! You’re human. Remember you’re human.”

  Amber howled in rage as she looked up at him. An image pushed into her mind. Herself prowling back and forth, a panther with tattered cotton flapping around her. Shock shuddered through her. She felt herself change. It was like a shiver going through her body. Kade landed in front of her, human the moment he touched the earth. Amber rose from the ground, trying to pull the tatters of her dress around her, very few of the seams still intact.

  “Maira’s bringing you something to wear.”

  “I don’t want this. Please. There has to be some way to make it go away.”

  “Amber, I’m-”

  “If you say you’re sorry, I’m going to turn into a panther and rip your limbs from your body.”

  Kade grinned. “Do you think you can turn into a panther at will?”

  She glared at Kade, wanting to tell him she could change whenever she wanted, but she knew that wasn’t true. She didn’t have a clue how to change. Or how to throw fireballs. Or even what other surprises she had to look forward to. She stopped that train of thought immediately. What did it matter? She didn’t want to be able to do any of those things. She wanted her life back. Unchanged. There had to be a way to fix this.

  “Heads up.”

  At Maira’s warning, Amber looked up. As soon as she did, the black and silver dragon dropped the clothes she carried, wheeled in the sky and flew towards the house. Amber caught the black leather, turned her back to Kade and quickly pulled on the long pants. Removing the tattered clothes, she slipped on the leather vest. Once she’d done up the buttons of the vest, she frowned when she notice the vest gapped a little. Maira filled it much better than she did.

  She turned back to face Kade. “I want my clothes.”

  “Sure, if you don’t mind ending up naked every time you shape shift.”

  “Why don’t these become tatters? Or even look like clothes when you become a dragon? They’re made of the same material as your pants, aren’t they?” She gestured towards his legs.

  Kade nodded. “Yeah, they are. It’s because they’re dragon skin.”

  “It’s-” Amber shook her head. Surely she’d misheard. “What?”

  “Dragon skin. Don’t worry, you’re not wearing the skin of my family.” He grinned. “Renegades. At least they become useful in death.”

  Amber opened her mouth to speak. Closing her mouth when words wouldn’t form, she turned away. Her eyes closed as she tried to gather scattered thoughts. Just like cow hide, she tried to tell herself. Except cows didn’t become human and hold conversations with you. She wore the skin of a dead person. Her eyes flew open. She had to get them off. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons. She pushed Kade away when he stepped in front of her, trying to grab her hands.

  “No! Leave me be. I can’t wear this.”

  “Amber-”

  “No!”

  “Don
’t be stupid.”

  “Stupid! Don’t-”

  “Stop it!” He captured her hands. “You’re becoming hysterical. I think I liked you better as a panther.”

  “Let go of me.” Her voice dropped, her teeth clenched together. She stared at him. Anger filled her.

  “Amber, be realistic.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m not one of your warriors. Leave me alone. I’m going back to my grandmother’s and I never want to see you again. You talk to me at school and I’ll pretend you don’t exist.” She didn’t try to pull her hands away. She waited. Anger coursed through her body like energy waiting to be used. She held it in check. What the emotion might unleash terrified her. Fear had brought fireballs. Hunger called forth a panther. She didn’t need any more complications.

  “I’ll have Brann make you a vest that fits better. And Maira can give you a pair of her leather shorts to wear under your school uniform.”

  “I’m not wearing the same clothes every day.”

  “I’ll organise several for you. Any preference to colour or will black do?”

  Amber’s lips tightened. What choice did she have? Ending up naked in front of an entire school would have to be one of the worst things possible. Nearly as lethal as being hunted by a wyvern since she’d probably die of embarrassment. Her lips curved into a mocking smile. “The colour of your skin.”

  Kade laughed. “Light brown it is then.”

  The smile evaporated when Kade didn’t take offence at her comment. “I want to go.”

  “I won’t tell you I’m sorry since you don’t want to hear that, but if you can think of anything I can do to make this easier for you, tell me.”

  Amber almost said there was nothing he could do. Yesterday’s conversation with Maira came to mind. “I want you to take me home.”

  Kade nodded. “I know. You’ve already asked, but if-”

  “No. My home. Not my grandmother’s home. I want you to fly me there. Maira said you could do it in about ninety minutes.”