dragons breath 02 - dancing with flames

by Illene, Susan

  Even from this distance, I could see his eyes round in horror. “Behind you!”

  I scrambled around. The first dragon I’d fought had made its way to the roof. Pieces of its flesh hung from where I’d hacked away at its face, but that didn’t stop it from stalking toward me. As soon as our gazes met, it charged. I rose to my feet and began to run, but the beast was faster. It collided into me, sending me flying off the roof. The air zoomed past me, and I kicked my arms and legs as if that would somehow slow my descent.

  I hit the ground with the force of a freight train, and everything went dark. There was no telling how much time had passed, but it couldn’t have been long because when I came to, I still lay on the grassy patch where I’d landed, attempting to draw in a breath. The thin blades were cool beneath my fingertips. My head felt like it had been split open and I couldn’t see anything. I was also fairly certain my right leg was broken. It was numb and sitting at an odd angle from the left one.

  Another minute passed before I managed to get a full breath, and my hearing returned at the same time. I listened, expecting the dragon to come finish me off. Instead, the sounds of fighting came from nearby, maybe twenty feet or so? Surely Conrad hadn’t decided to take the beast on himself? I attempted to rise, and a fresh wave of pain washed over me. My stomach lurched and bile burned my throat.

  “Thank God, Bailey, you’re alive,” Conrad said, the sounds of his footsteps hurrying toward me.

  “What?” I barely managed to gurgle out. I’d bitten my tongue during my fall and blood filled my mouth.

  “Don’t talk.” He put a hand on my semi-good shoulder. “That strange guy we saw the other day is taking care of the dragon, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

  I wished I could see Conrad—and watch the strange man fight. I should have known he was a dragon slayer. There had been something about him, and that confidence he’d shown even when one of the beasts approached.

  “Oh, man,” Conrad said, his voice filled with awe. “He just took that dragon’s head clean off.”

  A moment later a thick, deep voice spoke, “We must get her to a healer.”

  “Danae,” I choked out.

  “Yeah, we know someone,” Conrad answered the man.

  “Get her truck and bring it here. I will handle her.”

  “Uh…” Conrad hesitated.

  My mind was growing foggy. It was all I could to hang on and listen to what they said.

  “Go!” the man ordered, clearly used to being obeyed.

  The next thing I knew, my body was being lifted and cradled in strong arms. Though he took care to avoid the worst of my injuries, a fresh wave of pain still ran through me. He didn’t move, giving me time to adjust. After a moment, I caught the fresh scent of him. There was a bit of spiciness in it, but mostly it just smelled comforting.

  “Hold on, girl. You’ll be okay soon enough.”

  Something in his voice eased me. I let the blackness take over and passed out.

  Chapter 20

  Bailey

  The grind of an old generator starting up woke me. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, relieved to find them familiar. There was the full-size bed I lay on with a blue quilt covering me. Off to my right, there was an antique dresser with a lamp on top of it, and to the left, there was a single window. Someone had pulled the curtain closed so that only a crack of sunlight filtered into the room. Conrad sat on a wooden chair in the corner. He had fallen asleep with his dark arms hugged around himself, and his head leaning against the wall.

  I couldn’t recall how I got here, but the pain running through numerous parts of my body triggered a few memories. There was the fight with the two dragons, and the fall from the office building roof. How had I survived that? Then there was the strange man—the one I’d seen once before. He’d finished that last dragon off and then picked me up in his arms. That was all I could remember, though. Everything beyond that was a blank.

  I took stock of my injuries and the soreness I still felt. My head was surprisingly fine, considering I was rather certain I’d busted it up pretty good during the fight and when I fell. On the other hand, my shoulder, ribs, and leg only felt marginally better than before. They’d hardly healed at all.

  How much time had passed since the battle? At least a few hours, considering someone had stripped off my camrium warrior outfit and put me in a tank and shorts. They’d also cleaned me up and splinted my leg. It better have been a woman who did the job, or a man was going to be dying soon—right after I could walk again and find my sword.

  Taking one of the spare pillows next to me, I used my good arm to throw it at Conrad and croaked at him. “Hey!”

  He leaped to his feet and looked around with a wild-eyed gaze before his eyes settled on me. “Oh, hey girl. It’s about time you woke up. I was beginning to think you were gonna sleep until next week.”

  “How long was I out?” I asked.

  He checked his watch. “About eighteen hours. It’s almost ten in the morning now.”

  I should have known it was morning, or Earl wouldn’t have started up the generator. “Who patched me up?”

  “Danae and Trish. They kicked the rest of us out until they were done.” Conrad came and sat on the corner of the bed. “How you feelin’?”

  “Like I got my butt kicked by dragons and thrown off a roof.”

  He shook his head. “Ain’t it sad that you aren’t exaggeratin’? If it was still possible to get a life insurance policy, you’d straight up be out of luck.”

  “No kidding.” I pulled myself up to a sitting position, wincing as a shot of pain went up my shoulder and another down my leg. “Alright, tell me everything that happened after I fell.”

  Guilt flooded his features. “That was my fault. If I hadn’t been calling your name, you wouldn’t have come close to the edge and that dragon wouldn’t have knocked you off. I’ve been feeling like shit about that.”

  It wasn’t entirely his fault. I knew that other dragon wasn’t dead and should have been watching for it. I’d just been too injured to think straight. Of course, it never hurt to give the guy a hard time for a bit before telling him that. “Do I get to smack you for it once I’m healed?”

  Conrad’s shoulders slumped. “Twice if you want.”

  Damn. He really was feeling bad. “Don’t worry about it. You couldn’t have known I hadn’t finished the other one off yet.”

  “Then why did you come to the edge?” he asked.

  “I’d wounded it pretty badly and left it on the floor below while I fought the other one. It was nowhere to be seen so…” I paused and sighed. “Anyway, I was already in a lot of pain and out of my mind. This past week has worn me out.”

  “No, shit. You should get a medal or something. I kept wondering how you were finding the energy to keep fightin’ so much.” He gave me a concerned look. “Even you gotta rest sometime, Bailey.”

  I dropped my gaze and fiddled with a loose thread on the quilt. “Every day I’m not out hunting is one more those kids have to suffer with that dragon. Even now, all I’m thinking about is that because I got hurt we lost the scales for two of them and I’ll have to make up for that. By the time I can fight again…”

  I swallowed, unable to finish. Because I hadn’t been paying close enough attention, I’d messed up. Those kids were depending on me, even if they didn’t know it, and I had to save them. No matter what it took and no matter the toll on my body.

  Conrad gave me a reproachful look. “You ain’t no good to them if you’re dead—or me, for that matter. If you leave me with these crazy people,” he paused and swept his arm out, “I’m gonna seriously be pissed.”

  He had a point, even if I didn’t want to admit it. “Well, I’m fine so it’s all good.”

  “Your f—,” he stopped and cleared his throat. “That dragon slayer guy said you’ve got to rest for a few days before you can fight again. He told us you had too many injuries, and it will take longer than usual to heal even
with Danae’s help.”

  I frowned and felt the back of my head. The spot where I was sure my skull had been cracked only had a drying scab over it now. “Did she fix this?”

  “Yeah. You were bleeding too much, and we worried if she didn’t take care of that first you might die. She was exhausted afterward, though, so she couldn’t do much else last night.” He glanced at my shoulder and my leg. “Trish was the one who bandaged and splinted you.”

  I sighed, imagining how freaked out my best friend must have been seeing me like that. It probably wasn’t good for her pregnancy, either. Then another thought occurred to me. “I shouldn’t be here. What if the dragons figure it out and attack?”

  The last thing I wanted was for everyone in the neighborhood to die because of me.

  “Don’t worry about that. Wayne’s got it covered until you’re back on your feet,” he said, patting my good leg.

  “Wayne?”

  “Oh, that’s your…rescuer. He’s the one who killed that other dragon and helped me get you back here.” An odd expression came over his face. “I told him the problem, and he promised to keep an eye out for the next couple of days.”

  “Did he happen to say where he came from?” I asked.

  Conrad shrugged. “You should probably talk to Earl about that. He spent a lot more time talking to Wayne than I did.”

  There was something very weird about all this. Like Conrad was holding something back, and I couldn’t figure out why. Sure, it was kind of strange for this Wayne guy to suddenly show up, but why act all funny about it?

  “Oh, by the way,” Conrad said, perking up as he changed the subject. “I did go back and get those scales, so you don’t have to worry about that. I’m thinking we only need one more dragon, and you’ll be done.”

  A weight lifted from my chest, though my ribs would have said otherwise. Damn, the longer I was awake, the more they hurt. I must have cracked or broken at least half of them the way the pain radiated out through most of my chest.

  “You went back there by yourself?”

  Conrad nodded. “The dragons who lived there were dead, and Justin came with me as backup. He was itchin’ to get out, and he knew it was for a good cause. The guy ain’t half bad when he’s not barking orders at everyone.”

  “You should have seen him before the dragons came. He was even nice back then,” I said, remembering the good old days. It seemed like ages ago now.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in,” I said.

  Trish poked her head inside, gave me a once-over and entered. Danae followed on her heels, checking me out as well. The two women came to hover over me like clucking hens. I was sorely tempted to pull the blanket over my head and pretend I couldn’t see the monsters. Conrad had the good sense to scurry back to his corner where they might not pay as much attention to him.

  “I brought you some soup,” Trish said, holding up a bowl.

  “Put it on the dresser,” Danae ordered. “She can eat after I’m done with her.”

  “You’ve come to torture me, haven’t you?” I asked, giving her a terrified look. “I swear I don’t know anything.”

  This was the way with us—always trying to keep the mood light.

  Danae wagged a finger at me. “That’s the problem. If you’d known better, you wouldn’t have gotten into a fight with two dragons, and you wouldn’t be falling off of three-story roofs. From what I understand, the only reason you’re not dead is because you’re…well, what you are.”

  “You try killing dragons every day and see how easy you find it,” I defended, though we both knew Danae was only giving me a hard time because she worried about me.

  Trish cleared her throat. “I, uh, cleaned up your clothes, but the shoulder strap was torn so you might ask Aidan if there’s a way to repair it. Any of the thread I use will just get burned.”

  I gave her a grateful look—both for taking care of my stuff and changing the subject. “Thanks. I’ve got a spare set back at his lair, so I’ll just have to hope I don’t get into a battle between here and there. It sucks fighting naked.”

  That had happened once, and no matter the danger involved, it was still awkward. Donar and Aidan had been there to get the full unobstructed view of me before taking over the fight so I could get away. That incident had occurred before I was a full slayer when I’d accidentally run into a different dragon nest with eggs. Considering what happened the day before, there seemed to be a pattern forming. I was going to have to be more careful and start avoiding nests altogether.

  “Okay,” Danae said, looking me up and down. “You’ve got a few choices. I can either heal your shoulder, your ribs, or your leg. It’s up to you. Verena says my powers will get stronger with time, but for now, I can’t heal more than one injury a day. Apparently, even being able to do that much this early into my training is supposedly impressive.”

  I mulled it over. “Do my leg. That way at least I won’t need help getting to the outhouse.”

  “I figured that’s what you’d say.” She gestured at Trish. “Give me some space.”

  Not knowing what to expect since I was unconscious the last time she worked on me, I braced myself. Danae leaned down, putting her hands over my right leg. A sort of warmth infused into my muscles. She knitted her brows, and my skin began to tingle, then she stopped.

  “What?” I asked.

  “That was just me examining you—sort of like an X-ray.” She beckoned at Conrad. “I need you to hold her down. Her leg is broken in two places, and it’s going to hurt while I set it.”

  Oh, damn. I took a pillow and stuffed it over my face. This was something I had experienced before when I broke an arm as a kid, and I had hoped to never go through that again. Conrad put a hand on my good shoulder and another on my hip. Though sound was muffled, I overheard Danae tell Trish something to do with my leg.

  A minute later, I felt the pull as they reset my bone. Everything had been semi-numb until that point as long as I didn’t move, but it was like they lit me on fire when they began to work. I tried really hard not to scream into my pillow and didn’t do a very good job of it. Maybe five minutes passed, maybe an hour, but eventually they stopped.

  Danae then went to work with her magic again, speeding up the healing process. That wasn’t nearly as bad. I could almost feel my bones knitting back together. By the time she finished, there was almost no pain.

  Conrad pulled the pillow off my head. “Alright, you weakling. She’s done.”

  “Thanks, Danae,” I rasped, wanting her to know I appreciated her efforts even if I didn’t find them particularly pleasant.

  “You’re welcome, but I still want you to stay off of that leg until tomorrow,” Danae said, her tone stern. “For the healing to take full effect, it needs time, and you can’t put too much weight on it.”

  “Then someone is going to have to help me to the outhouse.” I’d held out as long as I could, hoping I could take care of that issue myself.

  “I’ll help,” Trish offered.

  “Are you sure?” I glanced down at her tummy. It hadn’t gotten any bigger, but I couldn’t help picturing a baby inside there.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant—not broken.”

  I glanced at Danae for confirmation since I wasn’t an expert at these things. She nodded.

  “Alright,” I agreed.

  Trish kept a tight grip on me as we made our way through the house and out the back door. Since the semi-apocalypse, water was down and plumbing no longer worked. We’d been reduced to doing things the old-fashioned way. Earl built his outhouse months ago, and I’d gotten used to using it, though I dreamed of being able to flush a toilet again someday.

  Hopping along to the far corner of the backyard with Trish taking some of my weight, I managed to make it there without falling flat on my face. She guided me inside but left me alone to take care of business. I finished as quickly as I could, though it took longer since every little movement hurt. Trish was r
eady for me when I came back out, and she even had some moistened wipes so I could clean my hands. By the time we returned, Danae and Conrad were gone.

  “Where did they go?” I asked, confused.

  Earl came up behind us. “I asked them to step out. We need to talk.”

  That didn’t sound good. He had an unreadable expression on his face, but I got the sense he was about to tell me something I didn’t want to hear.

  “I’ll check in with you later,” Trish said after helping me settle back into the bed and bringing my bowl of soup to me from the dresser.

  Something in her eyes told me she knew what this was about, but she didn’t give away any clues. She just squeezed my hand once and left. Earl shut the door behind her and came to sit next to me on the bed.

  “You should eat a little first,” he said, gesturing at my soup.

  “Okay.” This wasn’t weird or anything.

  If I wasn’t suddenly feeling hungry, thanks to my slayer metabolism kicking in, I might have argued. Instead, I quickly ate the whole bowl of soup, finishing it in a few minutes.

  Earl took the dish away and set it back on the dresser. “Do you have any idea who the man is who brought you here yesterday evenin'?”

  I shook my head. “No, should I?”

  Earl pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, stared at them, and put them back. He had hoarded a ton of them, but even he knew they would eventually run out, especially if he smoked them too fast. “There’s no easy way to tell you this, Bailey, but that man is your father.”

  My jaw dropped. “What? How can you possibly know that? How can he know?”

  “Your mother already told him she was pregnant before he left,” Earl paused, scratching at his beard. “Well, it was more like he accidentally crossed over to the dragon dimension, so he didn’t get much of a choice in the matter. When he finally came back to Oklahoma a few months ago, he ended up in Tulsa. It wasn’t until about a week ago that he heard about a dragon slayer bein’ here—a young woman with a description that could fit his kid.”