by Tasha Black
Instead, they had left the Ironwoods’ Mansion on North Haverbrook Avenue, crossed Yale and headed into the north entrance of the college.
The winding lanes between the cedar shake and stone homes that housed the faculty and smaller department offices led to a mishmash of modern and historic architecture that made up the campus. Everything looked picturesque under drifts of snow.
It was odd to be at the college with no one around. But winter break meant the place was nearly empty.
At last, they passed the courtyard and the bell tower and found themselves at the edge of the college woods.
Normally, it was easy to see the path that led into the trees, but the thick snow on the ground was deceiving. Even Marie, who had grown up scrambling around in these woods, had to get her bearings among the frosted pines.
Dross held out his hand to her.
Marie took it, and even through his leather gloves and her cotton ones, she could feel the hum of electricity between them.
She looked down at their hands together, then up into his eyes.
“Come on, love, let’s get this done,” he said with a wink.
Wild happiness bubbled in her chest and she nodded.
They continued through the woods in silence, the trees forming a canopy above them.
At length they came to the stone monuments that told Marie they had reached their destination.
The amphitheater spread out below them.
The snow drifted like giant stairs over the terraced rows of granite benches. The amphitheater had always been a solemn place, but today under a sparkling white blanket, it looked positively whimsical.
Marie led Dross down the steps to the stage area below.
“This is a magical place,” he told her.
“Yes, I think it is,” she allowed.
“Good,” he nodded.
“I guess we should get started,” Marie said, suddenly feeling shy.
“Yes, let’s,” he agreed.
She pulled off the backpack carefully and unzipped it.
Instantly the clockwork dragon poked his head out, whirring and clicking madly at them.
“Sorry little guy,” Marie told him. “It was for your own good. We don’t want any more snow getting in your gears.”
He hissed half-heartedly, then fluttered into Dross’s arms.
“So, should I just…” she began to ask, pulling the chain with the key over her head.
“Marie, I… I haven’t had my dragon since before you were born,” he said. “I don’t know what I might do.”
“You can’t hurt anything out here,” she assured him.
“No, that’s not what I meant. You might not be safe… from me”
“I’ll be okay, I’ve got my magic now,” Marie said with a certainty she wasn’t sure she felt. In truth, she couldn’t picture Dross getting violent or forgetting himself, no matter how long it had been since he had shifted.
Harry gazed at her and she tried to memorize his gentle smile.
What if he wasn’t the same when the dragon and magic were back in him? Would he still be interested in a great big shy girl like Marie?
He reached out and stroked her cheek.
She met his gaze and leaned into his hand.
She wished the moment could last, but they had work to do.
“Hey buddy,” she said softly to the clockwork dragon, showing him the tiny key that matched his golden eyes. “Do you see this?”
The dragon puffed at her and clicked twice.
“Do you feel this?” she asked, rubbing the slot at the base of his neck.
He cocked his scaled head at her.
“I’m going to fit this key in there,” she told him. “That’s where it belongs.”
The little fellow rustled his wings and then settled down.
Marie brought the key up to the slot.
She took a deep breath, and slipped it in.
There was a click as it entered.
It turned smoothly.
Nothing happened.
She looked up at Dross.
“What’s wrong with it?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“Is it the wrong key?” she wondered out loud, removing it from the dragon and examining it.
“No, it’s the right key,” Harry said softly.
“So why didn’t it work?” she asked, looking to him. “Do you want to try?”
“I can’t,” he replied. “It can only be done by someone with real magic.”
Marie felt the wind go the rest of the way out of her sails. Hadn’t she done magic, finally? Would she never be a true Ironwood?
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking at the key in her hand.
“Why are you sorry? You have real magic - we saw that last night! I know you can do this.”
She studied his face. He meant what he said. Hope blossomed in her chest again.
“Should I try again?” she asked.
He nodded.
Marie slid the key back into the dragon, closed her eyes, and thought of her magic.
Then she turned the key.
Nothing.
Again…
Nothing.
Again…
“Marie,” Harry said softly.
She opened her eyes.
“Marie, your magic is still new. Don’t force it. When the time is right, you’ll know.”
“The time is tonight,” she stormed. “And if it doesn’t happen by then, I may as well have never had any magic at all.”
The clockwork dragon stiffened at her loud tone, then clicked reprovingly at her.
“You know, the community has survived worse leaders than Ratcliffe, right?” Dross asked.
At that, Marie thrust the key back into the dragon and twisted fiercely.
He hissed at her in surprise.
And nothing happened.
14
Fire
It began to snow again in earnest before they reached the top of the amphitheater.
At first Marie felt the weather was suited to her mood.
But by the time they reached the first twist in the path the wind was buffeting them and the snow practically filling their footsteps before they were out of sight.
Dross took her by the elbow.
“Is there somewhere on campus we can wait this out?” he asked, shouting over the wind.
Marie shook her head.
“The campus is closed for winter break.”
Then something occurred to her.
“Wait, there may be a place, it’s this way,” she led him off the path and into the woods.
“Are you sure?” Dross asked.
She nodded and put her head down into the wind.
Minutes later, they joined another path, this one lit by street lamps.
Marie was freezing through and through and she trembled, but she knew it was just around the next bend.
The path curved around a stand of snow covered pine trees, to their destination.
Thayer House looked even more like an enchanted cottage than usual with snow covering its high-peaked thatched roof and forming fine silt over its stone walls.
Marie headed into the side yard.
In high school Lia Crow had found out that a key was kept under a large rock next to the house, in case visiting professors arrived on campus after hours. The kids would sometimes sneak in there during breaks if no one was around and have quiet parties, playing board games, sneaking beer, and once Lia might or might not have “done it” with Sam Loveless in one of the beds.
Marie hoped the key was still where it had been a few years ago.
She found a lump in the snow that looked like it might be covering the stone. Digging into it with her gloved hands, Marie found the stone, and underneath, the key.
They climbed the snowy stone stairs carefully, and Marie unlocked the door.
At least she could work one key.
She flung open the door and welcomed the sensation of warmth and the
absence of wind.
Dross followed her and pushed the door shut behind him.
“Very nice,” he murmured, looking around.
Marie scanned the familiar space.
The ceiling was vaulted, soft light filtered through the leaded glass windows that encircled the room from above. Thick Oriental carpets covered the wood plank floor.
Marie looked longingly at the fireplace with its Inglenook benches. There was no fire, and she was beginning to notice that it wasn’t as warm inside as she had hoped. The heat must have been bumped down for the break.
“You’re shaking,” Dross said with concern.
“I’m f-fine,” she told him.
“Let’s get you out of these wet things. Are there clothes here you can change into? What is this place?” he asked.
“It’s Thayer House - visiting faculty stays here s-sometimes. I don’t think there would be clothes here. There might be b-b-blankets though,” she explained.
“Take off your clothes, I’ll find blankets,” Harry ordered.
He marched off in the direction of the bedroom.
Marie took off her backpack and opened the zipper with trembling fingers.
The clockwork dragon scrambled out onto her shoulder. He observed the room, then flapped down to the ground to investigate.
Marie began to slowly remove her coat. She didn’t really want to take off all her clothes. She would survive without doing that.
The draft from the windows felt like it was going through her bones. She hugged herself.
Dross’s light footsteps behind her alerted her to his presence.
“Damn it, Marie, I told you to take those clothes off,” he said, throwing the blankets onto the leather sofa.
“I d-don’t want to take them off,” she stammered in frustration.
“I won’t look, okay?” he offered more gently.
He bent to retrieve a blanket and held it up between them.
It looked so soft and warm.
Before she could change her mind, Marie began to peel off her wet things. When she was naked, she grabbed the top corners of the blanket and pulled it around herself.
“Good girl,” Dross praised her, wrapping his arms around her in the blanket.
Marie closed her eyes and luxuriated in the warmth of his embrace.
“The thermostat is locked and the power’s out, I can’t get the heat on. As soon as you stop shaking I’m going to let go of you to try and start a fire, okay?” he asked.
Before she had a chance to answer, the clockwork dragon spit a jet of flame into the fireplace, igniting the logs stacked there. Satisfied, it curled itself up on the hearth and went to sleep.
“Show off,” Harry said with a chuckle.
“It feels good,” Marie said, not sure if she meant the fire, or his embrace.
“It does,” he agreed. “When I was your age, this was the only way to heat the house.”
“That can’t be right,” Marie said doubtfully. “There was a furnace when Grandmother was a little girl.”
“But I was older than your grandmother,” Dross said, looking into the fire.
“That makes no sense,” Marie said, not sure why she was being so obstinate. “You don’t even look as old as my parents. You seem barely older than me. Besides, my great-grandfather had a furnace in the house too.”
She felt Dross begin to tremble against her.
“Excuse me,” he said, pulling away. “I’m going to get out of my wet things too.”
He was out of the room before she could ask another question.
Marie sat down on the Oriental rug and curled her arms around her knees, basking in the warmth of the fire.
At length, she heard Dross’s footsteps again.
She looked up. He was wrapped in a blanket too. His dark hair shone in the firelight, no trace of the sliver strands she’d sworn were there only yesterday. His arms were muscular, his pecs swelled above a lean stretch of muscled abs, and a small trail of dark hair led down to where the blanket hid the lower part of his body. His young body.
Marie focused on the fire to avoid staring. But she was suddenly feeling much warmer.
He seated himself next to her, and for a few minutes they simply watched the flames licking the wood.
“I’m older than your great-grandfather too, Marie,” Harry said, once more gazing into the flames. “And not a little bit, either. I know it doesn’t seem possible, but dragons age very slowly. In the years, after my dragon was taken from me, I finally began to age more like a human.”
“But that was 60 years ago,” Marie said, confused “And you seem even younger than you did when I met you.”
“It’s you,” he explained. “Your magic is what called me here. I know that now. And as soon as I felt the pull, the years began slipping away.”
“Me?” she asked incredulously. “But I didn’t even have my magic until last night.”
“Just because you didn’t know how to call on it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. Your magic has always been part of you. And you used it to bring me here, across an ocean of time.”
Marie’s head spun at the very thought. She had been using her magic, without even knowing it?
“I was alone for a thousand years before I was drawn to your grandmother. I thought she was my destiny. But she was so gifted. She could see what I never could. It wasn’t supposed to be her,” he said, tearing his gaze from the fire to meet her eyes. “It was always you.”
Before she could respond, he brushed her lips with his own, then pulled back slightly to look into her eyes again.
Marie’s body sprang to life at the gentle contact. Her lips tingled, her breasts ached.
She stared up at him in wonder, wordlessly begging him to do it again.
He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers again, then tugged at her lower lip with his teeth.
She gasped.
He took advantage of her open mouth, crushing her lips under his, thumbing her jaw open further, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to stroke and tease hers. Unsubtly telling her what the rest of his body could do to hers.
Just as Marie began to forget there was a world outside of Harry’s kiss, he pulled away.
“Is this what you want?” he asked her.
“Yes,” she gasped.
“Because if you want me to stop, I will. I will do whatever you ask,” he told her. “Forever.”
His tortured eyes said more than his words. He loved her. She knew it now.
Marie couldn’t speak, instead she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down to lie on the carpet with her.
He kissed her fiercely, tangling his fingers in the long, still-damp strands of her hair and pulling her closer, closer still.
Marie arched her back and felt the blanket loosen around her ribs.
Dross froze for an instant, then buried his face in her neck, breathing her in, and tickling her with his stubbly cheeks.
Marie moaned and sunk her nails into his shoulders.
Harry moved lower still and she felt his teeth on her clavicle.
Then suddenly, he pulled back again.
“Are you sure, Marie?” he whispered raggedly.
Terrified that he would stop, Marie decided to do something that she hoped would keep him from changing his mind.
She had spent her life believing that boys would not appreciate her physical charms.
Thank goodness she was with a man.
Bravely, she slipped a finger under the edge of her blanket and coaxed it open, revealing her naked body to his gaze.
She averted her eyes from his and felt the cool air stiffen her nipples.
Harry groaned, and she snuck a look back at his face.
He stared down at her in wonder, then eased himself onto his side next to her.
He stroked her hair with one hand, then slid it down her chest, between her breasts, to stroke her soft belly.
Marie froze.
What Harry did more than stoke
d the fever of her need. It comforted her soul.
The look of wonder on his face made her want to cry. It took away the old sadness of knowing the world saw her as big and awkward.
And it proved what she had known in her heart all along: she was beautiful, just as her grandmother had been.
She sighed without realizing it and Harry stopped petting her to cover her face with kisses. Not until he had kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, and her forehead did he stop and look at her again.
“Thank you, Marie,” he told her fervently.
She reached out to caress his cheek and he closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and began to stroke her again. When his hand reached her breasts, he circled one and then the other.
Just as Marie was ready to scream with frustration Harry took her left breast in his hand and molded it, allowing his thumb to graze the nipple.
Marie cried out.
Dross inhaled sharply and bent his head to lick her right nipple into his mouth.
The pleasure was so acute it was almost painful. Marie lifted her ribcage, begging for more.
Dross growled around her nipple, letting himself go to suck and nip at her savagely.
Marie twisted a hand in his hair.
Then she felt his hand leave her breast and stroke down her belly again.
He slid his hand further still, until she could feel him cup her opening.
Marie was nearly panting in anticipation. No man had ever touched her there.
Harry slid a finger against her to part her curls.
She was amazed to feel his finger move so smoothly against her. Her sex was swollen, sensitive and exuding a delicate moisture.
She cried out again at the incredible sensation.
Harry groaned and looked up at her, his eyes glazed with desire.
“Beautiful girl,” he breathed. “You’re so ready for me.”
“Ohh,” Marie moaned brokenly.
Dross growled and moved his hand against her again.
Marie felt her hips jerk up to meet his fingers.
“Little one, I’m going to make you fly,” he whispered and then took his hand away.
Marie nearly cried in frustration. Then she saw that he was crawling between her legs.
