Licked by the Flame

by Serena Gilley

  It was like standing on an alien planet. She spun around and scanned for Nic, but there was no sign of him. Where could he be? He came out here to show her the remote sensors, yet he kept going off without her. What was he really up to?

  Surely when the equipment had been placed here it had been somewhere accessible. It wasn’t as if there were many hiding places, just crags and corners of rock, and who would put a sensor in such an out-of-the-way place? Nic had just vanished. Why couldn’t she see him?

  Her coat was secure, and she’d bought it specifically for her trip here, but still the wind cut right through it. No, not the wind…something else. Cold reached inside of her and wrapped itself around her bones, making her shiver. It was an unfamiliar cold, though. It didn’t seem to come from the wind, but from something in the wind. It was a cold that felt…dark.

  She shuddered. Maybe she was just imagining things; maybe little bits of sleep still clung to her mind. Maybe it was the tumor. Or maybe it was nothing more than being alone in such a strange, foreign landscape. She’d never truly been this alone in her life, this close to the endless breadth of forever.

  She would find Nic. As cold and conceited as he was, she’d no doubt feel considerably warmer if he were here. And not just because of the heat he generated within her body at the thought of his touch, either. She simply needed to know she was not the only human on this mountain. At least, that’s what she decided to tell herself.

  The black, ominous form loomed over her. Beyond, the stretch of wasteland was empty and unwelcoming. She glanced up at the stars, hoping the sight of familiar constellations might make her feel as if somehow she belonged here, but the friendly stars were beginning to disappear. The clouds were shifting, evolving. Right before her eyes a bank of dark, roiling cumulonimbus flowed toward her, blocking the sky.

  Lightning flashed in the distance, making the clouds flicker and glow as if they were alive. How on earth had a storm come up so suddenly? And where was Nic with this thing bearing down on them?

  She opened her lips to call out his name, but a gust of glacial wind took her breath away. No word came out. A low moan sounded all around her, the echo of the wind whisking over the rocks, humming with force and with fury. Thunder rolled overhead, surrounding her.

  Where was Nic? He was going to be caught in this. They both were. Instinctively she turned back for the vehicle, put her hand to open the door and find shelter from the increasing wind, but she paused. What if something was wrong?

  What if Nic had fallen into one of the many cracks and fissures? He could have slipped on the rugged terrain, could have knocked himself unconscious. He could be out there now, dying. She had to go find him.

  Again she tried to call out, but the wind howled and drowned out any sound she could make. She had no idea where the RGS was that they’d come to investigate, but it seemed logical that it wouldn’t be too far from the vehicle. Nic had driven them to the edge of a flat plane, boulders and rocks jutted up from here, creating the base of the mountain. They were probably right at the edge of the area allowed by their permit, so the equipment could not have been placed too far away.

  Unless Nic hadn’t been entirely in compliance with their permits. He’d already admitted to coming out here without proper authorization. Nothing about him led her to believe he was much of a rule follower. Hell, there were probably sensors placed all over this mountain, beyond their official zone. No wonder her official data was so confusing. Damn him, he was probably up there, in the shadows on the mountain itself, just out of sight. She had to go look.

  Bracing herself, she picked her way over the bumpy ground. The clouds were rapidly obscuring the moon, making things even darker and more terrifying than before. She just couldn’t rid her mind of that image of Nic lying helpless and broken, trapped in some volcanic crevasse. Damn it, she knew her time on earth was getting more limited as every hour ticked by, but she never expected she’d freeze to death in some freak storm on a mountain in Iceland.

  “Nic! Where the hell are you?” she called out, useless in the rumble and shriek of the storm.

  He didn’t answer, of course, so she moved farther upward, heading for the darkest, most forbidding area she could see. It was probably well out of their permit zone, but to hell with that. If something bad had happened out here, the shadowy, rocky cleft appeared to be the prime place for it. She’d start hunting him there.

  * * *

  Fairies. He knew there were fairies around here…somewhere. Eubryd had been right. Nic could feel them, feel their glittery, cheerful magic filtering through the air, even in the dead chill of the night. A breeze was whipping up, but he could still feel the magic. Damn, but he couldn’t quite locate the source of it.

  Where were they? Perhaps an even better question might be, what in the hell were they doing out here? Obviously tonight wasn’t the first time they’d been here. The modifications on the RGSs showed signs of weathering, though he still didn’t know what had caused the readings that set off the alarm. Obviously the little schemers had something to do with it. Nic just had to find out what that was.

  He thought he’d found them when he sensed something odd at that equipment shed. By the Fires, he hadn’t found fairies inside that, though. The shed had not been built by the team from Geo-Diagnostics. It had been put in more recently, and the machinery he’d found inside it infuriated him.

  Human technology coupled with magic. Who was responsible for such a thing? The machinery he found inside that shed could have easily controlled a myriad of those small devices like the one he’d seen attached to that broken sensor. It was not a part of the Geo-Diagnostics network, yet it was clearly hacked into that system. Someone would have to have intimate knowledge of the network to make that happen. Clearly someone on their jobsite was not who they pretended to be.

  Even more than this unexpected scheme, though, what really caused Nic’s blood to boil was the power source for that machinery. The equipment was built to draw magic directly from its surroundings, in this case the mountain, and use that magic to power itself as well as the small add-on devices attached to the RGSs he’d found. Technology like this could be immeasurably dangerous, and he was seriously pissed that he had never even heard of such a thing.

  Now here it was, trying to take over his mountain.

  The equipment was not functioning when he’d found it, which was strange considering that he’d been drawn to it by a powerful surge of magic. He’d been quick to destroy it once he found it, of course, but until he knew how to find his enemy, that would barely slow them down. He had to find out if the clutch was in danger. If, as Eubryd seemed to worry, fairies were out here watching him, entering the mountain would be risky. He could lead his adversaries right to their goal. If they hadn’t already breached his safeguards and gotten inside.

  From all appearances, the rocks around him looked as dark and as dead as ever. He knew fairies possessed magic enough for simple tricks to hide them from view, but his ancient dragon senses ought to be more than adequate to penetrate that. If these fairies were hidden from him tonight, he was going to find them. If he could not, that could only mean something darker and more ancient than fairy magic was at play. And that meant he could be facing his equal out here.

  The wind was getting increasingly stronger, catching him off guard. His hair blew into his face and he stumbled over a loose rock. The mountain was jagged and steep. He was forced to claw at it with his hands to keep his footing. Damn, but where had this storm come from? He glared at the clouds as they encroached on the sky.

  It wasn’t an ordinary storm. He paused, shutting his eyes to reach out into the wind with his senses. He’d been so focused on hunting those fairies that he hadn’t paid attention to the weather. How had he not noticed the change in air pressure, the bone-jarring cold that came blowing in from the fjords? He should have felt it approaching, recognized the heavy feel of magic inside it.

  It prickled inside him with malice and danger. He was instant
ly on high alert. No, this wasn’t just any ordinary storm. This storm was being used for a purpose—a purpose that targeted him. And Lianne.

  By the Fires, he’d left her alone! And now he’d become so distracted that he’d let his mind lose his hold over her. He had to send his senses back out into the night to search for her—but she was not where he’d left her. Damn! This storm was bearing down on them and he had no idea where Lianne was. He ignored everything else but the need to find her. Immediately.

  Thunder rolled and lightning flashed, lighting up the clouds from the inside out. Still, they brought thick, impenetrable darkness as they roiled closer and closer. Nic cursed his clumsy human feet. He needed to move, to cover more ground, but this fragile form was unable.

  It was forbidden, of course. He must never reveal his true form in the presence of a human, but he didn’t care. Lianne was in danger. He had to get to her now or it would be too late. He could feel the storm building in strength, focusing energy on the mountain, on the area where Lianne had been. There was only one thing he could do.

  A crack of lightning ripped through the sky above him. His body responded to the surge of electrified air. With a deep breath and a roar that erupted from deep within him, Nic let go the last of his ragged restraint and gave rein to parts of himself that had been tethered for so very long. The storm hit with full force, blasting him with gusts that literally blew him off the rocks he’d been clinging to. He embraced the wind, welcoming it and sucking it into his lungs.

  His body unfurled as his nature burst forth with all the power and urgency he contained. His muscles, his limbs, his sinews…every part of him extended and expanded. The creature inside him lurched into being, the feel of it after all of these years incredible. He spread his wings wide in the wind, catching it and commanding it as he soared up into the night, using the storm to propel him almost instantly toward the spot on the other side of the mountain where he had left Lianne.

  He could feel her now. Yes, she was awake, thinking of him and worrying in the storm. There was so much magic in the air, no wonder he hadn’t been able to feel her before. He felt her now, though. She was nearby.

  He swung around the mountain, his huge dragon wings beating through the pelting rain, and the fresh scales on his back enjoying the feel of it all. For so long he’d been pent up in that tiny human form, it had almost begun to feel normal. But now…now he was back. This is what he was bred to be: huge, powerful, all dragon.

  His clothing had shredded off him in the change, but the weather did not bother him. It would take more than a few gusts of wind and some raindrops to penetrate the steel-like skin of a dragon. He would find Lianne and protect her.

  But the storm did have some effect on him, after all. Not the wind or the elements, but something else. The darkness, the evil he’d felt inside it…that was clouding his senses, blocking him from finding her. He could feel her fear, he knew she was close, but where? He had to find her quickly.

  The vehicle. There, he could see it now. He’d left her sleeping in it; safe, he had thought, from the chill of the night and securely under his influence. He reached with his senses for her; yes, she was very near. Probably inside the vehicle, in fact. Surely she’d taken shelter there when this storm came up. He would go to her, get her off this mountain and away from whatever darkness was targeting them.

  But the fury inside the storm churned itself up. The force of the wind increased, throwing him off course and slamming him into the side of the mountain. He regained his course, but not before thunder cracked with a deafening boom and lightning shot past him. For a moment he felt a smug satisfaction that the fury had missed its mark, jolted past him to strike harmlessly on the vacant landscape below. In an instant, though, his gut contracted and another furious roar escaped him. The lightning did not strike harmlessly.

  The bolt hit its mark, slicing into the vehicle parked down there in the open. It exploded with a shower of sparks that rained over the mountainside. The pungent smell of burnt air and melted plastic filled the icy wind as the glow of flame licked at the underside of the vehicle. Lianne would be trapped in the inferno!

  He swooped low, barely dodging another sizzling bolt as it shot past. He reached the vehicle and covered it, his huge scaly body offering protection from the onslaught above, but he could do little to douse the fire that already burned. He clawed at the door handle, finding it fused. The heat and electricity from the lightning had melted the latch! He’d have to rip the vehicle apart to get Lianne to safety.

  But as the storm flashed around him, he could see inside the vehicle. Lianne was not there. Thank the Creator, she was not burning to death, not trapped in there, breathing the poisonous vapors released from the flames. If not inside the vehicle, though, where was she?

  He whirled around to begin searching. With another earsplitting crack, a bolt shot toward him and he surged up into the sky just in time to avoid being struck. He could not avoid the next one, though. It anticipated his movement and blasted directly for him, slamming him with enough force to plunge him back toward the earth. He could feel the powerful heat penetrate even his tough scales.

  He struggled to regain control, even as another bolt pierced him like a knife, cutting him deep. He deflected it with his wing, but his body was shaken. The explosion of power battered him against the rough rocks of the mountainside, pain nearly blinding him. All he could think was how Lianne could never withstand such onslaught. He had to find her, to shelter her.

  More lightning crackled toward him, but he was able to shift out of the way just in time. Pebbles sprayed around him where the bolt struck rock, shattering it into glowing, scalding-hot bits. Nic scanned his surroundings for any sign of Lianne.

  A tiny pink glow caught his attention. He blinked through the particles pelting him in the wind. What was that? He could barely make out a tiny form moving toward him. Was it…yes, it was a fairy. A tiny, misplaced fairy fluttering in the fierce gusts here on this mountain.

  Glaring, now he could see two of them. One glowed pink and one gave off a rich, summertime-gold aura. Were they causing this storm? He rumbled in the back of his throat, feeling the heat building up with fury and determination. With one halfhearted breath he could turn those damn fairies into char, let them blow away as nothing but ash in their malicious wind.

  He’d never known these little creatures to be so violent, though. They continued moving toward him at a remarkable pace, considering how they were clearly struggling in this weather. He could do away with them in a heartbeat, yet he held off. Something was not right…he simply couldn’t credit these fairies for such a grand display as this storm. Nothing made sense.

  Thunder roared and another bolt cracked out of the sky and shot toward him. He dodged, slamming his wing against a boulder as he struggled to get out of the way. Suddenly a mass of multicolored glitter surrounded him, billowing like a cloud but clinging to him even as the wind threatened to tear it away. He could feel the magic in this wispy mass. Fairy Dust. It had been years since he’d been touched by it, but he recognized it well. Instead of intending to harm him, the dust added an extra layer of protection as another flashing bolt slammed into him.

  The fairies were not targeting him. No, they were aiding him. He could make no more sense out of that than he could the rest of this bizarre event, but at least this was a welcome development.

  “The human female,” he shouted toward the fluttering creatures. “Where is she?”

  He could see the fairies better now. The pink one—a female—seemed especially terrified, but she pointed upward. The golden one with her nodded and called back to Nic over the crash of the storm.

  “Higher on the mountain. She went that way.” He gestured, pointing the same direction as the female.

  Nic glanced upward toward…oh, hell. When he craned his neck around a splintered outcropping, he could barely make out Lianne’s form. She was on the mountain, sure enough, clinging to whatever she could, pressed tightly against the
cold rocks, looking small and helpless.

  It was obvious where she had been headed, too. What had she been thinking? Clearly she’d been inching her way toward the one and only place on this mountain that was completely forbidden to her. She was mere feet away from the dark void that Nic had specifically constructed to keep humans out. If she reached that spot…well, he’d created security features that would make certain no human who ever went there lived to tell about it.

  * * *

  It really wasn’t surprising that Lianne wasn’t literally screaming for her life. Oh sure, she was terrified enough, clinging to the brittle rocks of this barren volcanic mountainside. But screaming was entirely out of the question. The wind sucked up all of her breath and she barely had enough to remain conscious, nothing at all left for screaming.

  Not that her screams would have done any good. There was no one around to hear her if she had been able to make more than a rasping gasp every now and then. The storm was so loud, anyone who might have been nearby would have been made deaf by it. All in all, she decided the best thing to do was to use the little energy she had left to hang on to her spot here, to keep from tumbling to her death.

  As miserable and frightened as she felt, and with her head pounding with stabbing pains, a small part of her wondered if maybe tumbling wasn’t actually the better option. At least then all this would be over. Although, she figured it would be her luck not to die from the fall, just end up horribly mangled and maimed. That thought kept her clutching the crumbling rocks and praying for a miracle.

  What she got instead were damn hallucinations. She cursed the tumor inside her head and blinked into the wind, amazed that no amount of blinking could chase away what her eyes thought they saw. Among all the wind and the lightning and the bits of dust blowing around her, two distinct glowing lights fluttered like butterflies along the base of the mountain, darting in and out of the shadows.