I struggled to free my tail, but it was firmly caught in the rock. I could feel the grate of broken bone on stone and knew I would require the help of a healer before I could swim home. That is why I sent Manyara away – not false courage or a desire to die. I knew I could not swim as fast as she but I could provide a distraction that might save her life.
"Now, you've hurt your tail. Let me assist you, child." Dark claws clutched at my tail. I struggled more, but to no avail. With a painful wrench, the claws pulled my tail from the rock cleft that held it.
The pain was shocking, but I was my mother's daughter and I knew how to behave. "Thank you," I managed to say with the proper degree of respect.
"You will need more assistance than that, child. The bones in your left fluke are broken. You cannot swim far."
I drew myself up. "I am not a child and I have a name."
The voice laughed. "Oh, I heard you shout your name, child, and I know from the way you hold yourself that you are a child still. You are no mother, not yet."
I could not see him in the darkness, but as he approached I began to discern his shape more clearly. I backed away.
He shook his head, as dark as his clawed hands, so that it was hard to see him in the inky depths of the cave. "I have trained as a healer. I can help you, and it will be easier if you do not try to swim." His claws closed over my hand and I found they were more like my own hands than true claws, with nails that were longer and sharper than mine.
He pulled me through the water, deeper into his cave, at a greater speed than I could swim.
"Who are you?" I asked bluntly as we headed into the dark.
He laughed. "You ask for a proper introduction, Aurelia of the Gold line? I played with a girl of the Gold line in the shallows as a child, but she was too high-born to join with me, the youngest and the lowest of the Black. She chose the oldest and most powerful of the Silver, to give her a strong child. She damn near killed him, too, though perhaps that was her intention. She would have done better to choose someone younger and stronger, but her choice was made and did not include me."
I was mystified more than ever. "Who are you?"
"You are a true child of the Gold line, Aurelia – you do not give up. I am Dubhan, the last of the dragons and after me there will be no more."
I almost choked on my laughter. "There are no dragons. They all died out, hunted to extinction by humans, whilst the women retreated to the deeps and hid from them. Only we remain."
"My father and many others were hunted to their deaths by humans, though some said it was the desires of our women that were our end. I would choose death by desire, had I a choice. I found there is no honour in killing a human or even a hundred humans. They are weak without the ocean's gift. Whereas death by the hands or the tail of a woman of the ocean's gift…ah, there is honour and more besides in being conquered by one of our own. Use your eyes, child, and see that what your Elders have told you is wrong. I am the last dragon and I have not died yet." He pulled me into a cavern where daylight shone through, turning black water to glowing blue.
The only darkness remaining was – him. His dark, iridescent skin covered him from top to tail, colouring his face almost black. Yet, as I watched, he changed his colour, from black to dark blue to an almost icy silver.
"How do you do that?" I blurted out, staring at him in fascination. I stretched out my hand, unable to resist my desire to touch his smooth skin. I touched his chest, running my hand down his stomach. Beneath my fingers, his colour began to change again, to the dark colour I had first seen. He gave a shiver and showed me his legs – and more besides.
He removed my hand from his body and laughed. "You are indeed a child, Aurelia of the Gold. How old are you?"
"I am one and twenty," I returned, my eyes still on his body though my hands were not.
"And you have never seen a human, or a man, so you stare at the last man of your kind, who is more than ten times your age." His smile was broad, as he closed his eyes and shifted his skin to show me his tail once more.
"I will be ordered to do my duty at the Council meeting on the morrow," I replied defensively, then realised the truth. "I will not be able to attend the meeting…"
"Until you are healed, you will not be travelling far," Dubhan said gently. "You may share my island and its reefs, if you wish. I have enough fish for two, for a little while, at least."
I thanked the kind dragon-man, but he dismissed this as unnecessary.
He bound my tail with kelp and cautioned me against shifting my skin until I had healed. I agreed to his condition, for shifting my tail flukes caused me great pain. I would not wish to put pressure on those broken bones by attempting to walk on land.
My tail took weeks to heal, but I did not go hungry. I raised my voice to sing my meals to me, and the fish came, as I knew they would. Dubhan was impressed by my voice, but he did no more than smile as I sang.
One evening, as he unwrapped the kelp from my tail and together we tested my flukes, I found the pain had lessened. With Dubhan's help, I swam to one of the island's tiny beaches, where we lay on the sand beneath the stars.
I let out a big sigh as I relaxed, which made Dubhan sit up. "Do you miss your sisters so much?" he asked.
I reflected before I replied. "No, but if I had gone home as I was supposed to, then perhaps I would be closer to being an adult than I am now. Who knows how long it will be before they see fit to send me to land?"
His hand stroked my tail. "You are in a hurry to bed a human?"
I shrugged. "I am in a hurry to take control of my life, which I cannot do until I have borne a child. Until then, I am a slave to the Council, like every other child." I took a deep breath. "When I am my own, I can choose my calling, where I live and whether I take a partner. I can refuse a task they give me, or request one. One day, I will take my grandmother's place on the Council."
His hand felt warm and pleasant, as the warm water lapped at my tail flukes. "You are no one's slave here. The Council think you are dead."
I felt sadness for my family and my friends who would mourn me, but there was little I could do. I could not return home until I had healed. "But when I am healed I must return home to do my duty, or I will never be an Elder."
"If you returned carrying a child, or already a mother, they could not send you anywhere against your will." His words came softly, his hand settling on my hip as he ceased stroking. "I could give you a strong child, stronger than the spawn of any human."
I brightened. "You could?"
His hand felt hotter as he resumed stroking my tail, harder this time. "It would be my pleasure."
"As soon as my tail is healed, then?" I asked hopefully.
Dubhan laughed. "Why wait?"
I hesitated. "I shouldn't change my skin until I am healed and I thought…"
"Did your Elders tell you that you could only join with a human in human form? But we are not human, Aurelia, and you have such a beautiful tail…"
I gasped as I felt his hand inside my tail – I know not how – in an intimate caress that tantalised as he touched me.
"Join with me, Aurelia of the Gold," Dubhan whispered as he pressed his body close to mine.
I was close to losing control in a way the Elders had not warned me about. "Yes," I whispered, so softly he did not hear.
The sensations he provoked all but took my breath away, yet I was panting.
"Will you join with me now, Aurelia?" he asked.
"Yes!" I gasped out. "How?"
"Turn your body so your eyes are on the sand and not the stars," he directed. "Lift your hips – like this." With one hand still inside me and the other beneath me, he lifted, leaving me breathless. I could feel the heat of him close behind me as he hesitated. "You know that your first time may cause some pain?"
I did and I felt a frisson of fear, but I did not permit it to show. I was Aurelia of the Gold and I was to join with the last of the dragons, to produce a more powerful child than any I had
known. I would do my duty and do it well. "I do," I breathed, as calmly as I could.
I heard him sigh in relief. "I will be quick for your first time, for I would not prolong your pain. The next time will be better."
I concentrated on my breathing, trying not to tense up as he withdrew his hand. I would not shed tears like a weak human. There was pain, yes, sharp at first and then just an ache, as Dubhan ebbed and flowed like waves pounding a cliff inside me. And my duty was done.
We lay on the sand, the waves lapping at our tails, and I thanked a dragon for allowing me to do my duty among my own kind.
A week later, Dubhan kept his promise. The next time was better, longer and far more satisfying, with no pain. As was every night following.
A year later, I delivered our child into his waiting arms. We called her Sephira, for the way her tail caught the sun like the brightness of a blue surgeonfish. I had never seen him so happy – he lightened his skin to match hers every time he saw her.
One night, as Sephira slept in her seagrass cradle, swaying softly in the light current, we made love slowly for what may have been the thousandth time. I had not kept count, though perhaps I should have, for this time was to be our last.
I felt him reach his peak, but he stiffened with a groan that did not sound like enjoyment. Frightened, I asked him what was wrong.
He had difficulty speaking, or even drawing breath. "Thank you…Aurelia… Sephira…"
They were the last words of the last dragon, Dubhan of the Black. My Dubhan died and I took his body into the dark depths of the cave where we had met. I carried our dragon-child home to my people, ready to take my place in the Elder Council that one day Sephira would rule.
Recklessness is not rewarded in the ocean. Since my childhood, I have taken calculated risks for the honour of my line and the good of my people. Sephira and Sirena, when you succeed me, remember this. You are of the Gold line, but you carry the blood of the last and most powerful dragon of the Black line. Make my Dubhan proud. He deserves no less.
"That makes me his descendant, too. Do you think Sirena knows she is descended from dragons?" Estella almost bubbled in her excitement.
I shrugged. It made little difference to me, for it was common knowledge that dragons did not exist, if they ever had. The Atlantic sisters believed in myths, legends and misinformation that I did not subscribe to. This sounded like more of the same, for it even used the same name. "Elder Sirena said that many of these books are stories written by humans which have little basis in fact. This could be one of those."
Estella shook her head slowly. "I have read the human stories. The letters are printed, not written like these, and the writing in both of the stories about Aurelia is the same. No human would know enough about our people to write this…" She stopped abruptly and her eyes grew wide. "Grandmother Sirena!"
Elder Sirena entered the room. How long she had waited in the doorway I did not know.
"Did you know we are descended from dragons, Grandmother?" Estella asked breathlessly.
The Elder smiled. "They were not really dragons. That was what the humans called the rare males among our kind, as they called us mermaids. My grandfather Dubhan was the last of them, but now he is gone." When she spoke the dragon's name, she made it rhyme with gone.
"Why did Du…Du-vawn…why did he die so suddenly?" Estella looked sad as she said it.
"Aurelia was not a healer, so she did not know, but my mother believed his heart simply failed, for it was the end of his life. Aurelia was a powerful woman and the energy she possessed in her youth was formidable. It is likely that his happiness with Aurelia shortened his life, though he did not appear to regret it." Elder Sirena crossed the room and took the books from Estella's hands.
"My line has less human blood than most and perhaps that is why I lead as I do. Aurelia did not wish it widely known that she had joined with a dragon. She returned to her people with a child and the truth that the child's father no longer lived. As an adult, she was not asked for more detail." She raised the books. "But she wrote an account of her time with Dubhan, for those who would come after her. She infused our blood with his strength, but I believe she did love him." Sirena's smile was soft.
"Why do you say that, Elder?" I asked.
"She knew that we would need to be strong in the times to come, yet she bade my mother and I to honour his memory and not her own. She was the most powerful leader in living memory and a legend in her own right, but she attributes our strength to him. He was a man I would have liked to meet." The Elder's eyes appeared wistful, but still she smiled.
I did not speak the words aloud, but I wondered. The most powerful leader now was unarguably Sirena, who eclipsed Aurelia even in the stories told to children. This could have come from her grandmother or her grandfather. I wondered what else her dragon blood meant for her and our people. I did not know, so I did not ask, for there are questions best left unsaid and, perhaps, unanswered.
63. Joe
Vanessa was in the garage, lovingly running a chamois over her Harley. She barely noticed me come in, she was so intent on the machine.
"You prefer him to me?" I asked, after a while. I admit I was happy enough watching, because her stroking the metal was a hell of a turn-on, but there's a point where a man wants his parts stroked, too.
Nessa looked up from her motorcycle. "No, though I haven't been riding for a while."
Now I felt uncomfortable and not just because my jeans were feeling a little tight in places. "I'm up for a ride with you any time you want."
She smiled. "Have you ever ridden a Harley, or any other motorcycle?"
I shook my head. "No. I had a go on my sister's scooter once, but that was like a bike that buzzed a bit. Then she kind of took a wall with it and it got damaged, so she got a car instead."
Nessa unlocked the lockboxes on the back and pulled out a couple of helmets. "Go get a heavy jacket and some boots on. I'll take you for a ride."
I headed back into the house and returned with the coat and boots. While I'd been gone, she'd changed into a clinging leather suit that looked so sexy, I was ready to beg her to take it off. Well, maybe after a minute or ten of watching her move around in it.
I turned my attention to the motorcycle and sat on it, my hands on the handlebars. "So, how do I drive one of these?"
Nessa laughed and handed me a helmet. "You don't drive one of these." She squeezed between me and the bike, using her arse to push me further toward the back. "You stick real close behind me and hang on tight while I drive this baby."
The leather clung to her like her own skin and I made a point of keeping close to her so she couldn't miss mine. She rubbed her arse against me with a wicked laugh before she started walking the Harley out of the garage.
"Ready, Joe?" she asked, without looking at me.
"Shit yeah," I replied. I was ready for anything she wanted.
"Helmets on and we'll go. I'll take it slow for you, Joe, as it's your first time. Hold on!"
I jammed my helmet on as she did and held on as ordered. Then she opened up the throttle and took off.
Fuck, it was like flying. Only better.
64. Laila
I sat in the sun on the grass outside, as Marina played on the metal structures she called a playground. I had agreed to care for her whilst Elder Sirena and her consort were out of the house and Estella was spending time with the hairy human.
I angrily hoped that the hairy human would finally give her a child today. If he was not fertile, she should choose a better human who could give her a stronger child. Or perhaps artificial insemination, as her mother had, so no further joining with a human would be necessary. Then she would be mine alone. I thought on this with considerable satisfaction.
An animal approached me across the grass, perhaps as large as the biggest lobsters, though that is where its similarity to a crustacean ended. It had pointed ears atop its head and a pointed nose, too. The creature stood on four legs, with a long tail like
that of a bosunbird. It had fur like a sea lion, though its colour was that of the underside of a storm cloud. It made a sound not dissimilar to the vehicle the Elder drove.
It had no fear of me, butting its face against my hand. I lifted my hand away, only for it to rub its face against my foot instead.
I looked askance at it, before asking Marina, "What is this creature and what do I do with it?"
Marina giggled, a tinkly version of my Estella's laughter. "That's Fluffy the cat from next door. She's really stupid but she's really friendly, too. Look, you can pat her." Marina raced over to me and proceeded to stroke the animal's fur, from her head to her tail. The animal closed her eyes and increased the noise volume.
"You try it," Marina coaxed, pulling my hand toward the animal's fur.
I knew it was soft, so I lightly ran my fingers down its spine, feeling the animal shiver a little, still making the sound. I smiled at it.
"You can pick her up, round the middle, go on," Marina said in excitement.
I placed my hands around the midsection of the cat and lifted her up. She was surprisingly light – her fur must have been very fine, not thick like that of a sea lion. She brought her face up to mine and touched my nose with hers. She licked my face, too. Her breath smelt of fish, just like a sea lion.
"I like this creature," I told Marina, smiling, as I put the cat down on the grass once more.
Marina smiled back, then ran back to the playground to continue with her activities. The animal curled up beside me and went to sleep.
65. Joe
By the time we were back in the garage and climbing off Vanessa's Harley, I felt like I was going to break the zip on my jeans and split the leather on her pants. I couldn't take my helmet off quickly enough to get my lips on hers.
I dropped my coat on the ground and started on her zip. Hers was a much more snug fit than mine, but as the zip came down I realised there was nothing between me and her boobs – she had nothing on beneath the leather.
Ocean's Infiltrator Page 17
