THRAX

by Bonnie Burrows

  He came over to where I stood and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. "Good morning. And sorry. Sorry I didn't bring up breakfast for us this morning. When I came down here to cook us something, Damien knocked and told me that Alexandria had just arrived, and I figured I should go out to greet her and show her to the cabin she'll be staying in for the next few days. So, I went back up and grabbed a quick shower, and...." Exhaling in a rush, Nick raked a hand through his thick, dark blond hair. "Sorry, sweetheart. I can cook something for us now if you'd like."

  I'd suddenly lost my appetite.

  "That's okay. I'm actually not super hungry, and Katie's going to be stopping by later this morning to talk about my plans for the children's museum and to help me figure everything out, so I should probably hop in the shower and get dressed."

  A few weeks after my arrival in Crystal Falls, once Nick and I had settled into a happy, love-filled daily routine, I'd realized that I didn't have a daily purpose or job, which was maybe one of the only things I missed about my hometown, where I'd worked at the museum. Nick had assured me that I didn't necessarily have to work, but after I'd assured him that I really wanted to, he'd tried to help me come up with a few ideas for jobs I might want to have. But none of the possible jobs really appealed to me. It was Katie who'd suggested that maybe Crystal Falls needed a museum of its own. I could run it, give tours, and even hold special events for kids. And then, the more we'd talked about it, I'd decided that I wanted to make the whole museum primarily geared toward kids. Nick had said the idea was wonderful, and he gave me a building to use right next to Katie's clothing boutique.

  Now, in response to me saying I should probably skip breakfast in order to be showered and dressed by the time Katie arrived, Nick searched my face, frowning just slightly. "You sure?"

  I nodded. "Positive. I'm really not even hungry. But if you are, I could make something for you."

  He gave his head a quick shake. "Thanks, but no. I'm not very hungry, either. And I should really get back to Alexandria. She's going to start the spell-work on me today, and believe it or not, she actually wants me to have a few sparring sessions while in dragon form while she does it. Says that if the spells are performed while a shifter is in mid-fight, even if it's not a true fight or a very serious one, it helps the magic to 'take,' so to speak. Helps it to 'set' and give the shifter increased strength for fighting if the spell is performed while that shifter is engaged in combat. Speaking of which, Damien's already volunteered to be my sparring partner, and I can't say I won't enjoy giving him a few swipes upside the head."

  After a few hasty gulps of coffee, Nick said he should really get going, gave me a quick kiss, and flew out the front door. When he'd spoken the words "I should really get back to Alexandria," it had bothered me, though not because I thought his reason for wanting to "get back to her" had to do with anything beyond wanting to start the spell-work. But still, something about hearing his words just hadn't felt great. Had even hurt just a tiny little bit for some reason.

  However, I knew I had no reason to dwell on the words he'd spoken. There was no point. And it would only get me worked up about nothing.

  An hour or so later, I'd showered and dressed, and had just finished tidying up a few rooms in the massive cabin when Katie knocked on the door. Over a brunch of toast, eggs, and fruit at the kitchen table, we talked about some of my plans and goals for the museum while I periodically put down my fork to pick up a pencil and jot things down on a piece of paper. And for a while, I managed to forget all about Nick and Alexandria. For a while, the bright September sunshine streaming in through the kitchen windows mirrored my mood.

  But once we'd finished eating and discussing most of my plans, my thoughts once again returned to my still-fairly-new boyfriend spending time with his ex-girlfriend.

  While Katie sipped the last of her tea, I set my pencil down with a sigh. "I guess maybe this is everything we need to figure out for right now, and thanks so much for helping me with all this. Doing all this planning has really helped take my mind off things for a bit.

  But now...." Pushing my plate away, I sighed again. "I just have a feeling I'm going to be a little distracted all day. And for the next several days, probably. I trust Nick, and I know there won't be any funny business going on between him and Alexandria, but I'm still just not feeling super thrilled about all this. Even though I know it's all for the cause. All so that I can stop looking over my shoulder, wondering how Ezra is going to try to kidnap me next, just because I happen to have a star-shaped birthmark on my hand."

  Katie set her mug down. "I know you trust Nick, and I think you're right to, but do you think it might make you feel better if you actually observed him and Alexandria together? If you could watch her doing the spells, just so you could see with your own eyes that nothing funny is going on?"

  Realizing that it might, I nodded. "Maybe. And actually, yes. I do think it might help if I could kind of just 'babysit' this situation a little. And in fact, if I do it today, it might even put my mind at ease enough that I won't even feel the need to do it for the rest of the days Alexandria is here. Maybe I just need to reassure myself that there are no romantic vibes between her and Nick or anything, and then I'll be fine."

  Katie pulled her long red curls over one shoulder. "I think that's entirely possible. So, why don't we get going? I heard Nick and Damien are going to be sparring out in the clearing behind the cabin, here, in a while, and I know there's going to be a little group that's coming to watch them. And just in case it's a big group...." She gave me a tiny wink, smiling. "We should go get good seats."

  Even though we left the cabin right away, Nick and Damien were already sparring in dragon form above the wide, quarter-mile-long clearing bordering the forest when we arrived. If sparring could even be considered the right word, that is. It honestly looked like they were really fighting.

  While Katie and I took seats on the grass next to a few dozen onlookers, she whispered to me. "Let's hope this doesn't get too wild. They already look like they're about ready to kill each other."

  CHAPTER 7

  Katie was right. Nick and Damien did look like they were about to kill each other. Several thousand feet in the air, they were now charging at each other, breathing jets of fire. The force of their collision made me cringe. Dragon shifters had increased strength and healing abilities, even had the ability to heal almost instantly, but I knew they weren't immune to pain.

  After a few more collisions and a few swipes at each other, their razor-sharp claws glinting in the sun, Nick and Damien separated briefly once again, each of them seeming to retreat to their own corners, except the corners were pieces of blue sky. And it was shortly after this that they both seemed to spot me. Being that they were both so far away, I couldn't be sure, but they both seemed to turn their scaly dragon faces toward me.

  After that, their "sparring match" intensified. They both swooped lower, as if wanting me to clearly see it. Damien actually stabbed Nick in the shoulder with one of his sword-like claws, making a large patch of Nick's dark green scales turn blood red.

  I gasped, a hand flying to my mouth. "Oh, no."

  Immediately after, I saw Alexandria. What had caught my attention was that she'd gasped, too. She was sitting right near the front of the few dozen onlookers that were sitting adjacent to Katie and me. And she looked just as concerned about Nick as I was.

  Katie had given me a description of her before we'd left the cabin, though her description didn't exactly do Alexandria justice. Katie had said she was "curvy and blonde, kind of pretty, I guess. Roundish face." But Alexandria wasn't just "kind of pretty." She was a knockout, to be sure. Her "roundish face" was beautiful, as was her pale, platinum blonde hair that cascaded over her back in glimmering waves. And even though she was sitting, I could tell that her long, full-figured frame was beautiful as well. With her legs tucked beneath her, she sat with perfect posture, making her full, high breasts even more noticeable than they might have been otherwis
e.

  The slight bit of anxiety about the time Nick would be spending with her returned. I grabbed an elastic band from my wrist and quickly swept my light brown hair up into a ponytail, a little self-conscious that my hair didn't cascade down my back in waves, glimmering or otherwise.

  Nick and Damien continued to fight, roaring, and Alexandria began reciting some sort of low, quiet chant, her lips barely moving. The little cluster of onlookers turned their attention from the fight to her, seemingly impressed to have a sorceress doing a spell in their midst.

  But not too long after she began, she stopped suddenly, frowning. After a few deeps breaths she resumed, but only to soon stop again, frowning even harder. She then stood and began waving her arms. "That's enough for now! I need to figure something out before we keep going!"

  Nick and Damien were surely out of hearing distance, and after a few more shouts, Alexandria soon seemed to realize this. And so, instead of more shouting, she extended a hand skyward and shot a great bright burst of golden light from one finger. A collective gasp arose from all the onlookers; even I gasped. I'd never seen anyone do magic before, outside of the sort of magic that was shifters shifting.

  The burst of golden light rose high in the sky until it was parallel to Nick and Damien, and at that point it seemed to burst, something like a firework. Which immediately caught their attention. Alexandria waved her arms again, and a few moments later, Nick and Damien began descending.

  Nick landed first, shifted into human form immediately, and approached Alexandria. "What's up?"

  She shook her head. "Not sure. But the spell isn't working right now for some reason; I can tell. My powers have honestly been a little out of whack since I fell and hit my head on that river rock last summer."

  Damien landed close to Nick and Alexandria, shifted in a blink, and surveyed the group of onlookers. "We could probably do without the gawker gallery, here. I don't think my brother trying to increase his pathetic amount of strength really needs an audience. Not that you can't all probably see the show from everywhere else in the town, anyway."

  People started to get up and leave, and Katie and I glanced at each other. I, for one, kind of thought we should be able to stay.

  And within a moment, Damien looked at me. "Of course, you two don't have to go anywhere." He actually winked at me, his full mouth curving in a grin. "I'd never ask a VIP to leave."

  Once everyone else had cleared out, Nick introduced me to Alexandria, shifting his feet, looking more than a little bit uncomfortable. She extended a hand, smiling, though the smile didn't reach all the way up to her sky blue eyes. And in fact, she actually seemed to be glaring slightly.

  "It's so wonderful to meet you, Daisy."

  I took her hand and shook it, murmuring the same, trying to not let myself be intimidated by her confident air and good looks.

  The moment Alexandria released my hand from her unusually tight grip, Nick cleared his throat. "Well, maybe this should be it for right now. Maybe this afternoon, we can pick up from here, and maybe we'll have better luck. Maybe we can-"

  "No, let's keep going." With her expression pleading, Alexandria took a tiny step closer to him. "I can do this; just give me a minute to try to get my head right."

  Nick took a deep breath. "Well, all right."

  I suddenly realized that when he and Damien went back up in the air, Katie and I would be left back down on the ground with Alexandria. And being alone with Alexandria, even if Katie was also present, was definitely not an experience I'd likely enjoy. Something just told me it would be an awkward time for all.

  And so, I quickly stepped over, rose to my tiptoes, and gave Nick a quick kiss. "Katie and I just wanted to stop by on our way to the museum space. Good luck. I'll see you at home later."

  After Nick had given me a quick squeeze, Katie and I really did begin heading over to the building where the museum would be, even though we hadn't previously planned on it.

  And once we were out of earshot, she glanced over at me. "Boy, oh, boy. If looks could kill."

  I snorted. "I thought I saw her giving me a kind of a nasty little look right after I kissed Nick."

  Katie snorted herself, glancing at me. "Oh, I had no idea about that. I was talking about Damien when Nick pulled you close."

  I looked at her, not knowing exactly how to respond. She looked back at me for a long moment, silently. And suddenly we both burst into laughter.

  The next few days dragged by. I tried to busy myself with museum-readying work as much as possible, letting some of the town children who wanted to help, help. I didn't visit any of Nick’s, Damien’s, and Alexandria's spell-sessions again. Though each night, Nick told me that probably because of the head injury she'd received just a little over a year earlier, Alexandria was still having trouble getting her shifter-strengthening spells to work. And on the fourth day of her stay in town, Nick told me that there would be a council meeting later that evening, after dinner, so that the failure of the plan could be discussed and other plans explored.

  But soon after the council meeting began, it became clear that Alexandria didn't yet think that the plan was a failure.

  She leaned forward in her seat, her gaze on Nick. "Please. Just give me a little more time. I know my powers were weakened by my head injury, but they're not gone. And just a little while ago, I actually thought of a way I might be able to get them back, and fast."

  With his arms folded across his hard chest, Nick looked at her, his expression unreadable. "I'm listening."

  Alexandria took a deep breath. "There are supposedly some special crystals in a cave in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. My mother, who, as you know, was a sorceress herself, told me the legend about them once. She said that when worn around the neck, they'll give any sorceress increased power. And if a sorceress' powers have been diminished, for any reason, they'll restore her power to the level that it once was. So maybe these crystals are just what I need. Maybe they'll work, and we can continue on with the plan and increase your own power once I get mine back."

  While the members of the council exchanged glances, Alexandria paused, her gaze on Nick, seeming to be expecting a response. But Nick remained silent, his expression still unreadable. Damien, who'd brought a paper bag of caramel popcorn to the meeting, threw a piece in the air, caught it in his mouth, and chewed while looking from Alexandria to Nick.

  With her big blue eyes looking like twin pools of pleading, Alexandria continued, her gaze on Nick. “Please. Don't abandon the plan when it could so easily work if we get the crystals. Flying in dragon form, it would only be a day trip to go down to Tennessee to get them. You and I could even go down tomorrow-"

  "No." Sitting up straighter in my seat, I stared her down, my pulse pounding. "No, I don't think so."

  She sighed. "I was going to say 'You and I could even go down tomorrow with a big group, including everyone here.'"

  More than a bit dubious whether that was what she'd actually been about to say, I continued staring her down for a long moment until Nick spoke.

  "Being leader and chief of this town, and being that the town is currently under constant threat of attack from the wolves, I don't think I could leave in good conscience, and so I won't. However, if any others of you would like to volunteer to-"

  "Yup." Damien tossed another piece of popcorn into the air and caught it in his mouth. "I'll go. Daisy and I will go."

  Nick spoke through gritted teeth. "Over my dead, rotting-"

  "But I want to." I turned from Damien to Nick. "I want to go. Everyone here in town has been so warm and welcoming to me, and I want to do my part to help keep the town safe, even in some small way. Probably the very least I can do is go on a short little mission to help get some crystals."

  I did want to help keep the town safe; that was true. Though also, I just had the urge to get out of town. I just wanted to get far away from Alexandria for a little while. I wanted to put hundreds of miles between us. I wanted to forget about how attractive she wa
s and how at one time, she'd enjoyed an intimate relationship with my boyfriend.

  "Just let me go, Nick. Please."

  He scowled, but before he could respond, Katie piped up.

  "Sam and I will go, too. I've honestly been needing some adventure lately, and I think this is just the ticket. I've never even been out of Michigan, let alone had the chance to visit the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. I've only seen pictures in old books."

  She paused briefly, studying Nick's scowl. "So, can we move ahead with this, then? With Damien, Daisy, Sam, and I going on the trip together? We can leave tomorrow morning at dawn and probably be back the following morning, if not tomorrow night."

  Sam, who sat next to Katie, holding her hand, spoke in a low voice, his gaze on Nick. "I guess I'd like to go, too. And I'll make sure everything goes...." He glanced at Damien for the briefest of moments. "Smoothly."

  With his expression still dark, Nick looked from Sam to Katie to me to Damien before returning his gaze to me. "This trip should take no longer than twenty-four hours, at the very most."