by Amber Kallyn
Wings flowed out of her back, the right tangling in a branch. But soon she reached the road. Freedom.
Flapping her wings, Calla lifted into the air, her senses telling her exactly where the darker, almost black, Other hovered.
She roared, instincts crashing full force. She must protect the fragile human below. With a push against the air, she hurtled through the sky.
The Other bellowed, shooting a blue flame at her head.
Calla dodged, twisting alongside him, slashing with claws, biting with dagger-like teeth. Flying past his bulk, she flicked her spiked tail, slamming it against his hip.
He roared in pain, trying to turn and twist.
Smaller, faster, she whipped beneath him and soared up, ramming her bony head against his soft underbelly. Calla wished for fire in her arsenal, but that would not come for some time yet. And not until her mating was almost complete.
Eric should not have fire either. But his was not a true dragon’s fire—instead, a perverted dark magic.
Chapter Six
Scott clenched the door handle as he stared into the sky. With his free hand, he slowly rubbed his eyes, then stared some more.
He’d lost it.
There couldn’t possibly be two dragons, flying above the Jasper Forest, fighting. He couldn’t possibly have seen the beautiful woman he’d made love to slip from the truck, tell him to run, then shapeshift into the red dragon roaring above his head.
Scott rubbed his eyes again, yet the dragons remained.
The wind whispered softly through the trees, carrying the scent of pine needles, sap, and a slight metallic burning from the truck. Birds chirped, a grasshopper nearby rubbed its legs.
Everything seemed like a normal sunny autumn day.
The red dragon roared as the black dove, raking claws across her back.
Unable to stop himself, Scott shouted, “Calla!”
The red dragon jerked her snout as if urging him to get into the truck and flee. Then, she rolled in the air and flew away.
Scott didn’t think. He leapt into the truck, cranked the engine, then sped through the trees, angling to meet the highway. He didn’t head to town, but north. Following the dragons.
* * *
Eric blew fire, arcing it through the air, the blue flames flickering in the sky. Calla ducked, but the fire caught her hind left foot.
Pain unlike any she’d ever known before raced up her leg. She screamed. Ignoring the panic urging her to flee, she flew closer to the Other, then flipped and dug her claws into his chest. She scrabbled, desperate. Finally, she knocked a few scales loose. Blood ran over her foot, dousing the flames.
Off to the north, she spotted the blue of a large body of water. She needed to draw him there, put out his flames.
Flying in circles, Calla scratched and bit at the Other, slamming her tail against his head twice in quick succession. Then she dodged away.
She flew slowly, taunting him to follow. With a roar of rage, Eric flapped his dark, shimmering wings and raced after her.
Fire swept near her side, but she bucked in the air, dipping beneath a wind current. The air was her friend, pushing the flames further from her body.
Trying to keep Eric enraged, preventing him from seeing her plan, Calla swooped higher and came down at his back. He twisted, meeting her claws with his own.
Eric struck her side, claws slashing through her scales and skin. She broke away, trying to fight through the pain spreading across her ribs, trying to get closer to the water.
Rising higher, she flicked her tail, slamming it into his side. He bellowed in pain as a rib cracked. Then she clawed at his face, hoping to get his eyes.
But he protected himself well, turning away and taking a deep breath. She was too close to avoid the flames. They spread along her neck, curling across her chest.
The agony made her left wing go limp. As she began her plummeting spiral, she grabbed his tail between her teeth and clamped hard, pulling him with her. Calla glanced down. Thank the gods, they were over the lake.
His back legs scrabbled at her to let go. He saw what lay beneath them and panic strengthened his efforts. For her, the water would put out the blaze devouring her body. For him, with his perverted dark magic, it would be crippling.
She held on, squeezing her eyes shut so her scales protected them. Eric roared, his kicking frenzied. A claw ripped into her nostril and she couldn’t stop her mouth from opening. Tail free, he flapped his wings, trying to rise.
Calla plunged into the water. A splash rose and from Eric’s bellow, at least some of the cool blue liquid hit.
The fire burrowing into her scales and her skin was doused, but the pain only roared louder. Calla sank deeper into darkness. The pain ate away her control, her strength.
Only one wing moved, and her front right leg didn’t seem to be working. Defenses rose, forcing the shift to start the healing process.
Then she was a fragile human once more. She tried to swim to the surface, but the edges of everything grew dark. Deep inside, something screamed to get her ass in gear. She could not die like this. She could not let Eric continue to wreak havoc on the world.
Or on her family.
And she certainly would not prove her father and brothers right about their smothering protection.
Adrenaline raced into her limbs and she weakly began pushing up through the water. Her lungs burned, their need for air clamoring for attention. The swim seemed to take forever, but suddenly she broke the surface and gasped deep breaths of fresh air.
She started to sink, but a strong, calloused hand pulled her from the water and into a small boat.
Calla looked up into Scott’s dazed, confused face and giggled hysterically. Then he touched her side and the pain forced her into unconsciousness.
* * *
Scott stared at the naked woman on the floor of his boat. Bloody cuts and rash-like scrapes covered a good portion of her body. An angry purple-red colored the skin on her left side, from armpit to hip.
Had he lost his mind? He didn’t know.
Following in his battered truck, speeding, recklessly dodging other cars in his way, he’d almost lost them until he realized they were heading to the lake. After taking a shorter back way, he screeched to a stop at the docks just as the dragons fell toward the water.
Scott pushed some old guy out of his boat and stole it, speeding out onto the lake.
The black dragon knocked her loose. She’d disappeared into the water and not resurfaced. Scott was about to dive in, still knowing he was crazy—dragons didn’t exist and if they did, how could he pull one up to the surface?—when she’d reappeared. But this time human.
Slowly, feeling as if he’d been jerked into some alternate form of reality, he started the motor and headed toward the bank. The question was, did he go to the hospital, or the nuthouse?
Her eyes fluttered open, bright blue peeking from between dark lashes.
Scott fell to his knees on the bottom of the boat, running his hands over her skin, checking for broken bones.
She moaned.
“Calla?” he asked, gently patting her cheek.
“Mmph.”
“Honey, I’m gonna get you to the hospital. Hang on.” As he beached the little boat, Calla jerked, moaning. Scott grabbed her and raced for his truck, trying to hold tight as she twisted in his arms.
“No…” she whispered.
“Honey, we’ll get you taken care of. We’ll make it. The hospital’s only a few minutes away.” He’d make damn sure of it.
As she continued to moan and writhe in his arms, panic caught up. She was so badly injured. His throat closed and his teeth clenched. He’d make it to the hospital in time.
“No…” she screamed.
Scott held her tighter to his chest as he dug behind the truck seat and drew out a blanket. Laying it on the seat, he laid Calla on top, then covered her body, hoping he was doing the right thing.
He slammed the door shut and raced to th
e driver’s side, jumping in and starting the engine.
Calla’s hand fell on his thigh, gripping tightly. Blue eyes wide open, pain twisting her lips, she said, “No hospital.”
Scott could do nothing but stare at her for a long second. “Honey, you’re hurt—”
“No hospital. I’ll be fine. Just need sleep.”
Scott shook his head, but her grip on his thigh became painfully tight.
“Promise. No hospital.”
She didn’t give him a chance to answer. Her eyes fluttered closed and her hand went limp, sliding from his thigh.
Now what the hell was he supposed to do?
* * *
Calla woke to softness. A familiar scent comforted her ragged emotions through the haze of pain.
“If you don’t say something, I’m going to take you to the hospital. I don’t care if you don’t want to go,” Scott’s voice demanded.
Her eyelids cracked open and she stared into his hovering face.
“Finally. God.”
The breeze, night cool and scented with some sweet flower, blew in through the open balcony doors. The curtains twisted and twined, letting moonlight fall over the bed in undulating waves.
The light spread over her skin, healing, but also finding the burning.
Without thought, without control, though she didn’t really want to deny it, she slipped her hands over Scott’s chest and up his neck, pulling his head down to meet her.
Kissing him with the intensity of the fight and the magic, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, scooting her body closer to his.
He jerked away, his breathing heavy. “You’re hurt.”
The hard dick pressing into her hip contradicted his words. And she wasn’t feeling any pain, only need. Desire.
But Scott sat up, running his hand through his short blond hair. “What’s happening to me? And what the hell was all that today? I don’t even know if I’m going crazy. Dragons?”
Calla slowly pushed herself up, the soreness absent during their kiss coming back full force. “W-where…” She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry.
Scott reached over, then put a straw to her lips. She sipped the cool water.
“Where are we?” finally escaped.
“My house. You were practically crazed, screaming about no hospitals. I didn’t know where else to take you.”
“No. This is fine.”
“How come you’re not dead?” he asked, his gaze wavering between concern and fear.
There were so many answers to that simple question. With a slow shrug, she replied, “Because I’m magic.”
He snorted, his jaw tight. “You’re a dragon?”
“Yes.”
“A real, honest to God, fire-breathing dragon?”
“Well, except for the fire-breathing part, yes.”
His eyes narrowed as he stiffened, drawing further away. “Dragons aren’t real.”
Calla couldn’t help but smile. She lifted higher, still slow in case anything was badly wounded. Nothing hurt beyond manageable, so she sat up and plumped a pillow, then slid it behind her to lean against the headboard. “Obviously, we are real.”
He stared at her.
“Yes. I am a dragon. I can shift my form between her and my human.”
He still just stared.
“The man behind the arson is also a dragon,” she said, her gaze unwavering.
Chapter Seven
Scott flinched. “I don’t believe in dragons. I…” He looked away, his tone softening. “I used to. A long time ago. But then I grew up.”
“Yeah, well, I’m grown and I still believe in dragons,” she said lightly.
“How?”
She shrugged, then tensed when pain spread through her chest. “Magic has always existed. But with time and technology, people no longer believe. We hide to protect ourselves, something our kind learned centuries ago.”
“So you’re not human,” he stated too calmly.
Unsure whether he was about to laugh like a loon or run screaming out into the night, Calla tensed, preparing to react however needed. “I’m as non-human as you.”
His hands drew into fists. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Calla rolled her eyes. “The sexual intensity between us. We call it the burning. It’s destiny’s mark—I couldn’t be so affected by you if you were completely human. So, why don’t you share? What are you?”
Instead of answering, he began another staring contest. This time, Calla stayed quiet.
“Nothing,” he finally replied, though without much confidence.
“So,” she said after another long minute of silence. “Would you like me to leave?”
“You’re injured and naked. Where do you want to go?” he said, sounding more like himself.
“To the bathroom, for starters. Then back to bed.”
He stood and helped her to her feet. She caught his glances at her body. Was he looking at her as a woman or a beast?
Either way, there was nothing she could do to change it. She finished in the bathroom, then headed back into the hall where Scott waited.
“I can use another room until I feel better.”
The corners of his lips twitched. “My bed is the only one in the house.”
“A couch then?”
He glanced at her as if she’d offended him. “You’re welcome to my bed as long as you need it.”
He probably hadn’t meant it sexually, but his words struck that chord. The heat inside her turned to a tingling lust.
When they got back to his room, she slipped beneath the covers and inhaled his spicy scent. The scent of them together. Sweetly sensual. She watched him with a hooded gaze, enjoying the play of his muscles across his back. Deciding to not have sex was like asking a fish to breathe out of water.
She wanted this man. From the arousal straining against his boxers, he wanted her too.
Maybe it was coming so close to her own mortality. It had been a fleeting thing, but the impact would linger for a long time.
Tiredness overcame her, forcing her eyes closed, though Scott’s face lingered in her mind.
* * *
Scott lay on the bed, stretching his legs out next to Calla. She stirred in her sleep, rubbing her cheek on his thigh. It felt right.
He’d sat beside her all night and now, with the pre-light of dawn highlighting her beauty, his mind was no longer scattered, but finally a puzzle put back together.
Examining her words was the hardest thing he’d ever done. But the more he’d thought, the more he remembered.
Small things from his childhood, before the accident took his parents’ lives. The recent call from his sister, living on a ranch in Montana. Amy was pregnant and going a little crazy. Some of the things she’d said…
He couldn’t deny it. There might be something non-human about him. He just didn’t know what.
She mumbled in her sleep, her hand sliding up his leg.
Scott realized no matter what, this woman was someone he wanted to know better. So she was a dragon, able to tear him into little pieces. He couldn’t find it in himself to be afraid. Or to even really care. She was just Calla.
He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. She’d almost died today. The feelings inside him expanded. Such a thing would be unbearable. Which didn’t make any sense. He’d only known her for a little over a day, and yet, she seemed a necessary part of his life.
* * *
Something brushed Calla’s cheek. A caress. She opened her eyes in the dim light to see Scott stretched out beside her, head propped up on one hand and staring with blank, unemotional eyes.
Growing uncomfortable at being unable to read him, she asked, “What time is it?”
“Don’t know. Too early.”
The silence stretched. Finally, he raised a hand and trailed his fingertips down her cheek, jaw. “I don’t know what I am,” he whispered.
Calla smiled, feeling something inside her unclench. He accepted h
er. She drew her fingertips in a small circle on his chest. He looked so lost, confused.
She’d known people driven crazy at finding out creatures like her existed. Others had run, screaming in fear. It was hard to have a relationship with anyone. She either hid the truth, or drove people away. But this man remained.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking,” he said softly. “There are things from my childhood I’ve never been able to explain. It’s easier to just not think about the way life was before my parents died in the car crash.”
With the realization he wasn’t human, came a question about that. Because when it came to mystical creatures, sometimes accidents weren’t just accidents.
“So how do I find out what I am?” Scott asked, his hand trailing over her arm.
“I’ll help you,” she replied.
“How long can you stay?”
She didn’t want to think about limiting their time together, even though it was going to come to a close soon. She couldn’t bring herself to investigate the pain creeping through her at the thought. “Until I catch Eric.”
“Days? A week?”
Calla glanced away, not sure why leaving didn’t sound as good as it should. “Hopefully days. The destruction he could do…”
The ache lodged in her chest. She wouldn’t be here longer than a few days. She was here to find Eric. To stop him. And once done, she would leave. Strange, soft emotions swirled within her, confusing everything.
Because when those few days were up, there might be a problem.
She might not want to leave.
Her breath caught and she bit her lip. This couldn’t… hell, she didn’t know.
“So let’s say I’m not crazy. How do we catch this bastard?” he asked.
She pushed the confusing stuff aside and concentrated on his question. “We need to figure out where he’s staying. The problem is it could be anywhere from a motel to a cave.” Calla rubbed her fingers across her temple, trying to think it through.
“Will he continue to follow the spiral we saw on the map?” Scott asked, taking her hand in his, warm and soothing.
