by Lucy Fear
“I suppose,” Rhi grumbled. She stepped over and ran her fingers gently over a bite on Brendan’s hand. “But this whole situation really sucks.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more about that. Once we get him home, we’ll need to do something about training you right away. I hope he’s up to it, but if he needs to rest I’ll still be able to show you some of the fundamentals you’re going to need to know.”
“That’s good,” said Rhi as she sat in a chair near Brendan’s head and kissed his forehead. “I’m not letting some ancient dragon get the best of me. Not when for once in my life I’m finally happy.”
“Don’t forget my best friend and future brother is lying on that table,” Rory commented. “I’ve been very happy to work with him all this time. I don’t want to lose him any more than you.”
“Dammit!” Rhi gasped, hitting herself upside the head.
“What’s the matter?”
“We were so caught up in the seminar we forgot to call the doctor we picked out,” Rhi sighed. “I really wanted him at all of the appointments he could be.”
“Appointments?”
“Well, not very many, I’ll mostly just stay home and probably give birth there if there are no major complications going on,” she shrugged.
“You’re pregnant?” Rory gasped.
“Brendan said he told you everything,” she said with a confused frown.
“He must have left that part out. This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“I’m sorry, but the last few days have been really hectic,” she apologized. “Didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that. I thought you knew. And no, before you ask, that’s not why I agreed to marry him. That’s just a side-effect of one reason I want to.”
Rory smirked. “Understood.”
The nurse knocked on the door and stepped inside. “I’m not sure if it’s because he’s different and we don’t know about his exact physiology, but his brainwave patterns are suggesting that the sedation is no longer effectively keeping him asleep. I think we could bring him out of his nap long enough for him to open his eyes for a while. Who knows, maybe he can figure out how to heal himself.”
Rory smiled. “That’s a distinct possibility. He’s the most amazing person; who knows what he’s capable of, really?”
“Hold on, which one of you two is in love with him?” she teased.
“Don’t worry, ma’am, he’s like a brother to me,” he grinned. “But if you’d like, we could discuss the possibilities of an info exchange.”
“Behave yourself, sir,” she admonished. “This isn’t the time or place. Come see me at the desk before shift change.”
Rhi rolled her eyes at them. “Why don’t you just give her the damn number already so we can concentrate on the work at hand? It’s obvious you both want to meet again, so get on with it.”
“Sorry, Rhi, I’m being completely insensitive, but then again it wouldn’t be the first time.”
He pulled a card out of his wallet and slipped it neatly into the nurse’s shirt pocket. She gave him a wink and then began to prepare an injection, which she then administered through the IV. “This shouldn’t take too long to give him the boost he needs to finish waking up. It’s not even worth me stepping out of here or you’d only have to call me right in again.”
Even as she spoke, Brendan groaned softly and opened his eyes. He was clearly still too out of it to talk yet since his eyes were glazed over and he was more focused on taking a deep breath than anything else.
“You okay, slugger?” Laurie asked him. “Your fan club here would like a word or two before I knock you out again. So you know, you’ll probably be here a few days, so go ahead and take your time with whatever it is you woke up to say. I’ll be back at the desk if anybody needs me, all right?”
“Thanks, Laurie,” said Rory. “We’ll call you when we’re through.”
Rhi ruffled Brendan’s unruly hair out of his eyes. “You gave me quite the scare, mister,” she told him affectionately. “Seventeen bites, and me not even one. Rory tells me that if you were to shift, you might heal right away. Is that not something you’d rather do?”
“Only if you’re far away from here,” he rasped. “You’re not safe.”
“Why do you say so?” she asked, confused. “The snakes didn’t even try to attack me.”
“Not from them, from the dragons. Bax has visited my dreams. The Ancient One wants you for itself. You don’t have a whole lot of time to prepare before they’ll seek you out. Rory, take her home and start to prepare. I doubt she even has a week, and I’ll be damned if I allow her to be devoured.”
“Devoured?” Rhi gasped. “I was thinking I’d be enslaved, not eaten. God, this really sucks! What am I supposed to do?”
“Listen to everything your brother says,” Brendan whispered. “It’s up to him to take care of you until I can come home. And don’t forget to call the midwives and pick one out. I’d say somebody who works with Doctor Lourdes. He seemed like the best choice.”
“All of that can wait until the rest of this mess is resolved,” Rhi grumbled. “First, let’s get you home. I’ll spend this week training, and keep notes for the book too. Just in case.”
“Stubborn as ever, I see,” Brendan smiled. “Okay, I’m ready to sleep again. You two go home, and I’ll call you when I’m awake again. Go ahead and send the nurse in.”
Rhi bent down and gave him a kiss. “I love you so much. But maybe you loving me was ill advised.”
“Probably,” he agreed. “But danged if I didn’t do it anyway.”
*
“Most of the battle will be mental acuity, but you never know if the Ancient One might attack, just to see if you’re paying attention,” Rory was saying as he and Rhi sat together somewhere in an open portion of the castle’s back yard. They had made certain not to sit too near the caretaker’s home so they wouldn’t be as likely to be observed by Allen.
“Yes, I understand,” she grumbled. “I’ve been going over the lessons in that book you gave me for the last two days. Why don’t you just get on with it and tell me why we’re here?”
“There’s no way for you to overpower a creature like this. You’re only defense will be to outsmart it,” Rory explained. “During an attack, words won’t be much help to you. You’ll need to see where the attack is coming from, and immediately devise some way to dodge it. So, we’re out here so I can attack you.
Unfortunately, I have never desired to meld with a dragon personally, so our sessions will be quite limited in their scope, to say the least. What I’m really hoping to do here is train your mind to be alert, rather than devise escape scenarios that won’t work once you’re there anyway.”
“That makes sense,” she nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Rory started to walk around her in tight circles, seemingly looking for an opening. Instead of attacking, though, he asked, “What’s the square root of one hundred?”
Rhi was startled, but she easily said, “Ten.”
He poked her in the back and she shook her head to clear it, continuing to watch.
“Two hundred and twenty-five?”
“Fifteen.”
Two more jabs. She blocked the second. “Seven hundred and twenty-nine?”
Rhi blinked rapidly a couple of times. “Twenty-seven.”
“Very good,” he said. “Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. How likely is it that Jill survived the fall?”
Rhi looked at him like he was stupid. “Unable to know.”
“How come?”
“We have no data about the hill’s height, the degree of incline, or if there are harmful objects she could fall onto during the tumble. Nor do we know the distance she fell or the velocity or trajectory. We don’t know what body part she’d land on—ouch!”
“Tell me the formulas to use to determine probable trajectory, velocity, and bodily trauma that might be s
ustained with such a fall. Give the percentage number that represents the likelihood she’d die.”
“You do know how much I hate math, right?” Rhi complained.
“Do not hesitate,” Rory snapped. “Hesitation is a form of procrastination. Procrastination is known to lead to failure. And don’t close your eyes as you calculate.”
Rhi felt him hit her backside with a branch he must have picked up while she wasn’t looking. The impact stung, but it got its point across. She gave him the equation. He tried to hit her again while she was talking, but she sidestepped the blow.
“Good, I see you’re beginning to catch on,” said Rory with a smile. “Now it’s time to step this up some more. Are you ready for round two?”
Rhi groaned, but gave him a determined nod as well.
***
Rhi couldn’t help thinking it was a good thing she was so smart, or her body might sting even more than it did as they drove out to Fresno that evening to look in on Brendan, who had called them at last.
“If he keeps improving at this rate, we’ll probably send him back home tomorrow. He’s told us more than once he could convalesce at home just as well,” said the doctor. “I see no reason to keep him here as long as you hire a nurse to care for him a few days more. It’s mostly wound care we’re concerned about, so you know.”
“Do you have anyone in particular on staff who would be willing to come help?” Rory wanted to know.
“Nurse Laurie has expressed an interest,” he replied. “I told her she could have a week off from her duties at the hospital if she was selected to help out there.”
“How convenient,” Rhi smirked.
“Did I miss something?” the doctor asked.
“No, not at all,” she said. “I’m sure Laurie will do nicely.”
“Then it’s all settled,” he said with a nod. “My rounds will be completed by ten in the morning, and then I’ll leave you to getting him ready with Laurie’s help, and he’ll be able to go home. I’d like to stop over and check him Saturday before I begin my vacation, if that would be all right. I’d be fascinated to have a look at the place anyway.”
“It’s no problem,” Rhi agreed.
“Great, then go on in and see the patient,” the doctor grinned. “Impatient patients are never a good thing.”
“Thanks for all your help, sir,” Rhi said, shaking his hand. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“Hearing you say that is what makes it all worthwhile.”
***
“Thank goodness we’re home,” said Brendan with a heavy sigh as he sank down onto the living room couch. “Do me a favor and make sure there aren’t any snakes lurking about. I think I’ve had my fill of them for now.”
Rory chuckled. “If you want time alone with your woman, you could just say so. Come on, Laurie, let me show you around.”
“Don’t go too far,” Rhi said. “We’re going to need to get Brendan up to bed.”
With the others gone, Brendan gingerly pulled Rhi into his arms. “Did you miss me?”
“I really did,” she nodded. “Rory has been driving me crazy with math problems and jabbing me in the ribs. It’s totally annoying.”
“It’s part of the training,” Brendan shrugged. “If I was here, I’d have been doing the same.”
“In any case, I’ve gotten pretty good at predicting when he’s going to attack, so I suppose it’s been going well.”
“You need to spar with someone else,” he replied. “We mustn’t let you lose your edge. Alex has some skill at training for a dragon battle. Perhaps we ought to ask him.”
“What, that guy from school?” Rhi complained. “He wants to poke my body all right, but I don’t think this is the way he had in mind.”
Brendan chuckled. “Don’t worry, he won’t take advantage of the situation. But he’s more about fighting than he is about sharpening your mind. You may actually have to match blows. I’ll need to warn him about your condition, of course. I don’t want anybody to hurt our child.”
CHAPTER 13
Rhi and Brendan did not return to working on the book during the week that followed, feeling that they had more important issues to address. Firstly, the rattlesnakes in the study hallway continued to be a problem, and they had also begun to appear in the upstairs wing as well, lying in wait for family members there.
In reaction, Brendan wanted to make sure everyone was safe. Rory said he would see to Laurie’s safety, and she’d soon become a permanent fixture in his bedroom. As for his daughter, Brendan had been considering the notion of making Luna sleep elsewhere until the issue was resolved, but she had refused, insisting that she was more than capable of dealing with a bit of a snake problem and would far rather stay nearby.
“In fact, I’d like to help out even more,” she added with a nod in Rhi’s direction. “You know that she should train with a female as well as a male since the two genders don’t think in the same manner. If you’re trying to optimize her experience, I would be excellent in that capacity.”
“I hate to admit it, but she’s right,” Brendan told Rhi with a nod. “I’ve been teaching her things about this for years, just in case. She’ll be perfect to train you since I’m not quite ready to do it myself. You should trust her in this, Rhi.”
“If you think it would be helpful, then I’ll trust your judgment,” she said with a nod.
“Of course, I’m expected to go back to my mom’s house for the weekend, but maybe I could find a way to get out of it,” said Luna with a frown. “She just so—unenlightened. Nothing like you, Rhi.”
“Which is exactly why she’s not a member of my household,” Brendan added.
“What’s that mean?” Rhi asked curiously.
“I’m the byproduct of a one-night stand,” Luna explained.
“You make it sound so sordid,” Brendan complained. “Well, I suppose it is, but still. We coupled at a Beltane festival, back when I was trying that sort of thing on and decided it wasn’t really for me. I didn’t hear about Luna until she was almost seven years old when her mother was arrested with ten pounds of weed in her possession.”
“She got five years, and I got to come here,” Luna added. “Best trade ever, if you ask me. But when she got out a couple years ago, she demanded to be a part of my life. I made her promise not to do any of her drug-related crap while I was in her home, and so far, she’s complied. But I’m sure she’s still doing plenty of things of which I don’t approve. I would get divorced from her if I knew how.”
“That’s too bad,” Rhi sympathized.
“It’s no big deal.” Luna shrugged. “I’d much rather be with my dad in any case. Where else can I learn so much useful stuff, hang out with so many like-minded people, and experience adventures almost every single day? I really love it around here. I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, except the fact I’m still under legal age. That’s getting old.”
“Don’t rush through your childhood, Luna,” Rhi warned her. “You’ll end up wishing you hadn’t if you do.”
***
By the end of the second week of training, Rhi was feeling much more confident about her chances if a dragon should attempt to battle with her. In fact, she was more than ready for it to happen, pleased by the prospect of melding once she won. She had half a mind to ask Brendan to send her to the long, dark path, and see the thing done.
At this point, there was only one week left of her vacation, and she knew she would soon have to inform Margot of her decisions. She doubted the woman would be overly understanding of the new situation and her desire to relocate, so she was hesitant to tell her despite knowing that she should.
“You thinking again, woman?” Brendan teased her as they woke up for the day.
“Yeah, I’m thinking,” she sighed. “Reality outside of this place is creeping up on me pretty fast. I need to figure out how to extricate myself from it.”
“You mean your parents?” he asked. “You can just call them.”
“No, not those two,” she scoffed. “They’re easily dealt with, and they should be happy for us. I’m talking about my job. Something tells me that won’t be nearly as easy to deal with. There’s been several times I asked the boss, Margot, for a different assignment, and she never would let me go. With my luck, if I call and tell her I’m engaged, she’ll tell me I still have to come into work on Monday.”
“It’s really bad business to not show up or call,” Brendan admonished her. “You probably should tell her today.”
“What if they won’t let me out of my obligation?” Rhi sighed. “I don’t want to go back to Virginia. I want to stay here and train. I want to go and face the Ancient One and get it over with. If I was melded with a dragon, I’d have the power to defy Margot in the first place.”
“The power to defy Margot isn’t coming from a dragon meld,” he said. “That power resides in you already. It’s called using the word ‘no.’”
“You obviously haven’t met Margot.”
“It’s not Margot that has you worried,” Brendan commented. “It’s the thought that if you return you’ll have to tolerate being in the same room with Todd. But listen to me, Rhi, if you do have to return, I can easily come along for the ride. I’m up and walking around again, so there’s no reason I couldn’t continue my recovery in Virginia for a while. Once they learn that you are pregnant, at some point they will have to give you your way.”
“No, they won’t,” she sighed. “Have you never heard of a babysitter?”
“I still think you should call her today,” he said. “Let her know how you feel, and tell her about me, and allow the woman to have her say. It’s not like you have to do what she wants, once you know what it is, but knowing is half the battle, I always say.”
“Fine, I’ll call her,” Rhi sighed. “But don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
Brendan smiled and gave her a kiss. “Don’t be so worried. We’re a good team. We can handle anything this world throws our way. All right?”
“Yeah,” she grumbled as she pulled out her cell, pressing the number labeled “work”. Margot picked the phone up almost immediately.
