by Kim Faulks
The demon stumbled under the impact and yanked its bony hands from her head. Odessa shuddered, curling her body to grip her knees. Black wisps danced between her lips. She was holding on…dear God, she was holding on.
Tortured and in pain, she still had hold of her beast.
The strength it must take…
The wolf stepped closer, blocking my view. “She’s mine.”
Those words slipped across my mind and burrowed deep. I clutched them tight, as my right leg buckled. The snap of bone was sickening. Pain pierced flesh, searching for the deepest part of me—the part where I had no barriers—and where the dragon waited.
A trapped scream welled in the center of my chest, spearing talons into my throat as it climbed. I dug my fingers into the snow as my body crystalized, turning pliable muscle to snap-hardened flesh.
The ground shifted under my hands as my body swelled. My skin darkened, pink flesh turned blue. The dragon pushed at my mind, driving me against the edges until he slipped over me like a second skin, taking control.
He lifted my wings, forcing weak tendons to strain from the weight, and dragged one hulking foot under my body.
She’s mine… The bastard’s words burned like the ice in my veins.
She’s mine… The biting cold retreated, as I forced my other foot under me and climbed to my feet.
“No,” the guttural sound slipped from my lips as I towered over the wolf. “She’s mine.”
The wolf’s eyes widened. I lowered my head to the man as I stretched and filled. My haunches hunkered, wings carved through the air.
Power ripped through my body and was echoed in the sky above as a peal of thunder tore overhead. Thunder ripped through the sky. I felt the call from the clouds above. The male wolf in front of me flinched at the deafening sound. I shuffled closer with thick, heavy movements. A deep rumble replaced my voice as I snarled, “Say that again.”
The wolf looked to the demon. I turned toward the blur as the beast wrestled with the blade embedded in the middle of his back. My lips parted, black smoke danced from my mouth.
Kill them all, dragon, and then let me run free.
I stilled at the graveled snarl and turned to the shadowed wolf.
Let me run free!
I reached out with my mind and found Odessa. She was hurt…tormented.
I’ll take care of her! The shadowed wolf snarled inside my head, its growl softening. But first…we hunt…we kill.
The demon swirled and tap-danced, trying in vain to grasp the handle in its back. I cast my wings into the air and stumbled. “Here, let me help.”
I clenched my claws around the handle and yanked it free. Bones crunched, falling in a cascade of ash to litter the ground. I gripped the axe and raised my arm. My muscles trembled, desperate for revenge as I bought the steel down in the middle of the beast’s skull.
The steel sank deep and stayed. For a second nothing happened. There were no howls of pain, no crumbling of bones, until the demon raised its head. The fires of Hell echoed in its gaze—burning bright with orange and red—until with a panic driven rage, the beast lunged.
Its black cloak fluttered. The movement so fast I never saw the end coming. Long nails raked my sides. Pain flared hot along my flank, buckling my knee. I drove my wings down, fighting the wind, scattering the sleet as the demon lunged. Nails sank deep, fangs followed. A howl tore from my mouth.
Inside the shadowed wolf raged.
We hunt… We kill…
The pain ebbed. Sadistic desires shoved aside agony. The need to tear and shred was choking. Darkness burned. I wanted to hunt. I wanted to smother this world like a babe in my arms. My claws slipped from the axe. The demon turned, reaching for me with skeletal fingers. A bloodthirsty need spewed from my belly and punched through my chest.
I opened my mouth, black flames spilled like mist from my lips, swallowing the demon. I was too far gone…too far gone to care…too far gone to stop. The world melted away. I lunged, tearing at cloth. I was hungry. Oh, God. I was so hungry. I dropped my mouth—to taste, to feed—and clenched my jaw. The darkness spilled from me, the shadowed wolf filled my mind. I felt her desires, her strength…her need was my need. Her hate…my hate.
The demon broke apart, falling in a mess of old, dried bones to scatter at my feet. The world looked so different from here, so…small. I could reach out. I could run free.
Wolf and dragon.
“Yes,” I whispered, turning to the shadowed wolf inside my head
The male wolf gripped Odessa. His hand across her breasts, the other pulled her hair taut, snapping her head backwards, exposing her throat.
“Come closer and I’ll snap her fucking neck.”
I dropped the remnants of the demon. Odessa’s eyes were wide.
She’s mine.
My body shivered with need. I swung, staring at my heart…my soul. We were together now. Where she went, so did I…even if it was Hell itself.
The wolf dragged her backward, edging along the same path. She would take no more steps with this monster.
Fire. The shadowed wolf whispered through my mind.
Inky flames leapt, twisting and swirling, eating the air in greedy gulps. The blast hit her in the middle and lapped the sides.
More. My world became Odessa. She stiffened. The air was filled with howls…but it was no longer the wind. The male wolf dropped to his knees. My wolf—my heart—stumbled. Muscles tensed and trembled. Her knees gave way; she crumbled like a broken doll. I whipped my wings through the air, capturing her body.
The blue scales were gone, turning black like the night.
Yes, whispered the shadowed wolf as I searched Odessa’s skin.
She was unhurt, barely a mark on her pale skin. I cradled her with one wing, clutching her tight against my chest. She was so cold…trembling like a child in my arm.
The bad man is coming!
Those words came to life as I lifted my head. The wolf flailed, battering his arms with feeble blows. The bad man was no demon…he was a wolf.
Yes, the shadowed wolf whispered.
The talon of my wing sliced through the snow. I gripped her tight, sheltering her face with the other and charged.
My limb sliced the air. The spike pierced his belly and rammed through. The mongrel stopped pummeling his blistering skin. His arms flapped to his side, exposing blackened skin. The black flames of the shadowed wolf ate more than cloth and flesh—it consumed bone as well. His cheek was missing; blackened bone fell away as he flinched. Scorched skin slid like a melting mask. Gone was the excitement in his eyes…gone was the power.
I held him high, letting him see me for the last time as I snarled, “No, Odessa is mine.”
Blood leaked around the edges of my spear. I rammed harder, driving the wolf into the air. His eyes were wide, mouth open in a soundless scream. I wanted him to scream… I wanted to hear him beg.
His head flopped forward, silver strands of hair mingled with the mess of his face. She moved against my body. Her hands trailed along my chest. I tilted my wing, exposing her face to me. Her brown eyes were black. A tiny trail of black mist danced from between her lips and lingered over my scales.
We were one. Demon wolf and water dragon.
I cast the corpse aside and let his blood cool on my skin. His body hit the ground with a thud and stilled. There was no more screaming, no more life—not for him. I stared into her darkness and heaved my body forward. I wanted to fly, to send her soaring through the air with me. We could run forever.
Our pack of two.
The trees melted into one, with each step I felt the dragon leave me, melting into the darkness of my mind. My wings curled against my back, my arms lengthened, cradling her against my chest. Bones snapped into place, straightening my spine. Haunches became legs as I strode through the snow.
The dragon lingered at the edges of my mind and fueled my body. Our connection pulsed like a new vein, driving need and desire through him and into me. Odessa tr
embled and wound her arms around my neck. Her cold skin warmed. Her hardened nipples softened. I dropped my head to nuzzle her neck. “You’re safe with me. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
She lifted her head; lips scraped the edge of my jaw. Her breath was warm. I felt every soft word as she spoke. “I could let her go.”
There were no words needed. I knew the battle that raged inside her—I had a taste and it was more than enough. My dragon bled with her wolf, now its blood mingled with mine. I felt its need…and it was enough to bring me to my knees.
I craned my neck, pressing my lips to her forehead and murmured, “You were amazing…more than amazing. You’re strong and powerful. You did everything right.”
The cold air nipped at my bare ass, hurrying my steps. I gripped her tight as the cabin came into view.
“I found him.”
Her words stilled my steps; momentum took me. I stumbled, regained my footing and shifted my gaze to hers. “Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief flooded me like the first rays of sun after winter had gone. I closed my eyes, my lips moved in prayer. Thank you Goddess…thank you.
A smile curled the edges of her lips as I climbed the stairs and strode through the open door.
“There’s more.” She clenched her arms tight. “Lots more.”
My arms wouldn’t move. I forced my fingers to release and lowered her to the floor. “Then, I’ll get a fire going and you can tell me everything.”
She clutched the blankets against her chest as I scurried toward the fire. My hands shook, so did her words.
“I saw him…he’s alive. B-but I can’t get to him. I-I was g-going to torture the demon. M-make him tell me how t-to get him. But…couldn’t.”
I piled kindling onto sodden wood and prayed. “He’s alive. That’s all the hope we need. We’ll find him and bring him home.”
“And the w-woman.”
The flames bit into the starter block. I turned to her. “Woman?”
She nodded, and breathed under the blankets. “The deputy’s sister, Joslyn.”
The kindling caught. White smoke billowed. I piled more kindling. The fresh wood darkened, and then caught alight. I waited for the flames to smother the wood before adding another log.
“Come over here.” I motioned her toward me.
She moved fast, knocking against me. Opening the comforter. I glanced at her breasts and felt pain cut deep. I lifted my gaze to hers. “They didn’t… I mean…he didn’t…” The words swelled inside my throat, choking me.
Her words were a whisper, urging me to tread lightly. “Did he rape me? No…not this time.”
I opened my arms and gathered her, blanket and all. She dropped her head and for that second I felt my resolve weaken. I closed my eyes, hiding my pain and whispered. “He’ll never touch you again. No one will touch you.”
“Only you.”
I opened my eyes and found her gaze. “Not even me, if you don’t want. You belong to no man, Odessa. I’ll fight till my last breath for you to keep that right.”
Her amber eyes danced from the flames. I searched for answers, for secrets, for anything the woman would care to share. I needed her like I needed no other. I craved her, desired her.
I lowered my head, brushing my lips across hers and whispered against her mouth. “God, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
My lips burned from the cold. I pressed them to her cool cheek, then leaned back and reached for more wood.
She leaned and stilled my hand with hers. “There’s no time, Victor. We need to get warm and we need to get back home.”
“This is our home.”
The ends of her blonde hair stuck against her neck as she shook her head. “No, this is an escape. We need to make plans to find your brother—and the others deserve to know.”
Anger spilled from my lips. “The others deserve nothing.”
She snuggled against me. My arm closed around her, tempering the fire in my belly. “You’re right. They should know.”
The silence lingered. There were so many questions…so many secrets. They welled inside me like a poisoned balloon and my chest was a cave of thorns.
“I remember everything…standing with my dragon, battling your shadowed wolf.”
She stiffened and lifted her head. “Did she hurt you?”
No. The lie lingered on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to ease her guilt and protect her from the truth. But this love was pure…this love was strong and I wouldn’t keep anything from her, no matter the cost.
“Yes. But something happened. Something I can’t quite explain. The more she hurt us, the stronger we became. It was as though our power counteracted hers. We bled and she bled and somehow our blood became tainted with her…with you.”
Her eyes widened. She inhaled with a shudder and lifted her hand. “You and me? How is that even possible?”
I brushed my cheek against her palm. “I don’t know. But I feel her now. I feel you. You’re under my skin and inside my veins.”
“The prophecy…” She hissed. She mouthed the words, but there was no sound, until she tried again. “I’m supposed to self-destruct and somehow end the world. This… This changes everything.”
The old woman’s words bounced around inside my head.
I’ve seen the way you look at her. I pray to the Gods I’m right, that somehow you change her from our biggest enemy, to our greatest ally.
“Yes, it changes everything.”
“She’s really in there?”
I nodded. “A tiny part…when she wants to be, and that’s more than enough.”
Relief swept like a current through her gaze. “I’m so sorry, Victor. It’s cruel to think part of me is glad, because I don’t feel so alone anymore. I have part of you…and now you have part of me.”
“What do you mean, part of me?”
She smiled, turning those knowing eyes on me. “I have your tear in my heart. A dragon’s tear. You’re with me always.”
“Friend from foe. That’s how…that’s how I could find you. That’s how we’re connected.”
She nodded as a piercing sound filled my head. The high keen reverberated. The dragon called to her…he sang to her. Her hand slid along my cheek and along my jaw, tilting my mouth to hers.
“Forever,” she whispered into my mouth.
My lips melted into hers. I needed more time, more of her. She was the deepest ocean and I was Aquarius.
I pulled back, staring into the depths of her gaze. “There was a name you called, when I was fighting your wolf. A woman’s name…Abby. Who is she?”
She stilled, frozen for a second as her tongue skirted her lips. “She was a doll.”
“A doll? Abby was a doll.”
Her brow narrowed, something passed across her gaze. Something painful.
“I’m sorry.” I reached out to draw her closer.
“Abby… Abby,” she whispered as her focus slipped, staring at something other than me. “Victor…there’s something coming. Witch…powerful witch. I can’t get through. I can’t quite see. The others…they need us there.”
She dropped her hand from my face. Stars sparkled, sharpening as she came crashing back to this moment. “There’s something not right, Victor. Something has changed…too much has changed. We shouldn’t have left. We shouldn’t have left.”
She shrugged the comforter from her shoulders. The covering hit the floor, and then she was rising, climbing to her feet. “We need to hurry.”
I followed her lead, taking one last look at the roaring fire before standing. “How long do we have?”
“I don’t know. A few hours, maybe a day. It’ll take us longer to get there in the snow.”
Did you hear her, Dragon?
Silence lingered inside me. I stumbled for the bedroom, yanked clothes from the cupboard, and grasped hiking boots. “There are warmer clothes here. They’ll be big, but they’ll do.”
She stepped in
to the doorway, pulling a shirt over her bra and moved closer. “Thank you. We need to leave.”
I grasped my pack from the doorway, loading three out-of-date chocolate bars into the sack before striding to the door. I hurried down the stairs and dropped to my knee, scooping snow from the ground.
I tracked her movements as I raced inside, dumping the icy slush onto the flames. The fire hissed—yellow turned black. She was already gone before I turned, waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The door thundered behind me and for a second I felt a sense of loss. This place was more than an escape. This was our sanctuary—our home.
She turned and surged forward, moving as fast as the thick snow would allow. We hurried, leaving the cabin behind. The heavy mist lightened. Flakes floated slowly, and then stopped. The terrain was slick and slippery, every mountain turned into a never-ending battle of wills.
I grasped her hand as she slowed. Hours after hours, we skirted rocks and rivers. The sun cut through the clouds, turning white fog into yellow. The terrain turned savage. Sharp rocks sliced my hands. Odessa fared no better, leaving fresh blood in her wake.
I swiped the sweat from my brow and blinked into the glare as thick clouds parted overhead. The waning sun had lost its warmth, stealing the small comfort from our grasp. Night would soon be here.
“Rest,” I yelled, catching sight of her slow, and then turn.
I sucked in gasps of air and dropped one strap, yanking my backpack to the front of my body. My fingers were stiff and numb. I pierced through clothes and dragged the bars free. “It’s not much, but they’ll give us energy.”
Her teeth chattered as she moved to my side and stared at the food in my hands. Her flushed cheeks were glowing. Her chest heaved, sucking in the air. “I’d rather a big juicy rabbit. But, I’ll take it.”
The wrapper was gone, dark morsels bowed her cheeks, filling her mouth. She chewed and swallowed, then glanced at the remaining two. I held out another, clenching my stomach tight as it churned. “I’m not hungry.”
She cocked her head. “You sure?”
I smiled, nodding. “You need your strength.”
The second bar was gone just as fast as the first. I peeled open the wrapper, and broke the chocolate into two. Shifting into the dragon had left me weak…weaker than I wanted to admit. But it was nothing compared to the exhaustion I found at battling her shadowed wolf. No wonder the woman was skin and bones.
