by Rinelle Grey
Now wasn't the time. She broke eye contact with Gretchen and after a few moments the woman turned back to stacking the shelves. Karla did feel a little better knowing there was someone she knew nearby, even if she couldn't think of anything Gretchen could do to help.
Now that they were in the library, Karla wondered what they were going to do. She was far too agitated to read, and she couldn’t borrow books, her library card had expired long ago. Spying a board at the back of the room, an idea hit her. “Do you want to play a game of chess?”
Taurian stared at her, bemused.
Karla waved to the table at the back of the room, pointing to the tiled square in the centre. “It's a strategy game. I can teach you if you like.”
Since Taurian didn’t object, she pulled out a drawer in the side of the table and started to set out the pieces, explaining each as she went. The familiar motion helped calm her as she caught sight of the dragon as he stalked the rows, looking about as out of place as it was possible to be. A few of the other patrons stared at him, and Gretchen seemed to be stacking books even closer to where they were playing now. When the dragon saw that Karla was watching him, he gave her a smug look..
Damn that dragon. He just wasn't going to give up.
Taurian hadn’t seemed to notice him, just listened intently to Karla as she talked. She forced herself to keep explaining the rules.
Nodding impatiently, Taurian said, “I get it now, let’s play.”
Karla couldn’t help smiling at his confidence. “You’re white, you move first.”
Taurian played a bold game, but his impatience and single mindedness cost him. He was so busy going after her king, he forgot about defending his own. Karla checkmated his king in an embarrassingly short time.
He didn’t complain though or seemed embarrassed. He just helped her set the board out for a second game. This time, he played more slowly and carefully, succeeding in capturing her king. Only because she was distracted by the other dragon of course.
Karla eyes sought out Taurian’s enemy, pretending to flip through a magazine a few shelves away, disconcerted to see him staring at her. Her muscles tensed, and she quickly shifted her attention swiftly back to Taurian. “Good job,” she said with a smile. “You're a quick learner.”
Taurian smiled. “You are a good teacher,” he said graciously. “It's an interesting game. We should play again.”
“How about you give me a game?”
Karla looked up, startled, and stared straight into the dragon’s icy blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. How had he crossed the distance that quickly? Karla stared around them.
There were fewer people here now, but still enough that she hoped the dragon wouldn't risk making a scene.
Not that he wasn’t bothering them more than enough as it was. Who did he think he was, hounding Taurian? Following her? This was getting ridiculous. She was totally tempted to yell at him, but that would get them thrown out of the library.
There had to be a better way. Like maybe learning a little about him. Maybe she could find a weakness.
“I don’t even know your name?” she said, forcing her voice to sound teasing rather than angry.
Taurian’s eyes widened. Karla was glad his back was to the other dragon.
The dragon bowed. “Edtrima, at your service.”
“Edtrima, be my guest.” Karla waved to the seat where Taurian sat. It was hard to make the casual gesture seem natural when her body felt so taut.
Taurian didn’t move, just stared at her with a scowl on his face. Karla stared at him, willing him to trust her.
His expression shifted slightly, and he slid out of the seat and offered it to the dragon.
Their actions apparently surprised Edtrima. It took him a few moments to react. As he took a seat and began to set up his pieces, Taurian crossed around to stand behind Karla. He put his hands on her shoulder, and her strain eased a little.
Nothing bad was going to happen here, in the library. She needed to remember that.
Unlike Taurian, Edtrima already knew the rules of the game. He made swift, aggressive moves, taking a rook and a bishop in the first few turns. Just like Taurian, he was focused completely on attack. And he was good at it.
She wasn’t going to beat him so easily. Every worthwhile move, he countered. Getting anywhere near the other end of the board wasn’t going to happen
Not with a powerful piece anyway. Karla smiled. She didn’t need a knight or a bishop, all she needed was one little pawn.
She moved one forwards.
Edtrima moved his knight closer to her queen.
Karla retreated her queen, then as he followed, she moved the pawn forwards again.
A smile lit Edtrima’s face. He took her queen, almost jeering in satisfaction.
The temptation to go after the knight he had used was strong, but Taurian’s squeeze to her shoulders reminded her. Revenge was never the way to win this game. She had a plan, and she was going to stick to it.
Edtrima smirked and moved his queen closer to Karla's king.
Karla moved a rook up the other end of the board, blocking but not threatening his king.
Edtrima moved his rook down the board, taking one of the pawns protecting Karla's king.
Karla moved the same pawn forwards into the line where Edtrima’s king stood. Then she swapped it for a queen. “Checkmate.”
“What?” Edtrima demanded.
Karla waved to the board.
Both Taurian and Edtrima stared at the board. But there was no escape for Edtrima’s king, and all his own pieces were too far on the opposite side of the board to defend him.
After staring at the game for a few moments, Edtrima stood up. He bowed slightly to Karla and said flatly, “Well done, my dear, but don't let this victory go to your head. A game is just a game.” Then he turned to Taurian. “Take care of her. It would be a shame if she got hurt by playing in dragon business where she doesn't belong.”
Karla bristled. She didn’t belong? Who did he think she was? Dragons weren’t as different from people as they seemed to think they were.
She felt Taurian's hands clenched into fists, but he stayed silent as the lightning dragon turned and stalked off.
Somehow, she only felt slightly better. She knew he wasn’t going to go far. Not until he had what he wanted.
Chapter 8
“The library will be closing in fifteen minutes. Please make your final reading selections and head to the counter.”
Taurian stared at the bookshelves Edtrima had disappeared behind. He didn’t for a moment doubt that the dragon was still watching them. Edtrima had been annoyed by being beaten by Karla though, that was a small victory.
Taurian wasn’t surprised at being beaten himself, he hadn’t known how to play the game at all. But Edtrima seemed to know the rules and strategy, and he still hadn’t stood a chance against Karla. She was obviously a special human. Nearly up there with a dragon. He smiled down at Karla, squeezing her shoulders again.
She smiled back weakly. He could feel the thump of her sped up heartbeat under his fingers. She didn’t even object to his hands still touching her, and it took all Taurian’s willpower to break the connection with her. Better to break it himself than have her tell him to take his hands off her. That would feel far too final for his tastes.
Once the connection was broken, reality intruded. The library was closing. Where would they go now? Out the window, the shadows were lengthening. He didn’t have any idea what happened in the human village after dark.
Karla would come up with something. She was full of good ideas. He turned to her confidently. “Where are we going to go now?”
She stared at him blankly.
He was asking too much of her. The lines of exhaustion showed on her face. He needed to step up and solve this. It was his turn.
If only he knew how.
The expression on her face changed and she smiled. “I know just the place.”
The relief he
felt at her stepping in made him angry. He was tired of just following her blindly, but he didn’t even know where to begin in this world.
Not that he made any of the decisions before his long sleep. He was the youngest of six powerful dragons. He’d had a lot of practice at following others. This should feel no different. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
But right now, the important thing was evading the dragon and keeping Karla safe. He needed to do whatever it took to do that, even if it meant following her around. Until the Mesmer ritual was complete at least. It would only be another week and a bit, surely they could avoid being discovered for that long?
A pang of need that had been subdued by the chase, hit him without warning. It was all he could do not to grab Karla and kiss her. One little kiss and he would feel a thousand times better, he was sure of it.
“Let’s go.” Karla grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the exit.
The movement jolted him out of his thoughts, and her hand in his was enough to calm the need. Taurian pushed thoughts of completing the Mesmer ritual out of his mind. He already knew where that would lead.
Instead, he followed her out to the ute. She drove only a few blocks before parking in front of a building with a wide veranda. As Taurian followed her up the stairs, he could see some of the men, sitting on the veranda with glasses in their hands, staring at her. Their eyes were admiring, and even though Karla seemed to be ignoring them, their looks made Taurian angry.
Did they think she was just there for their amusement? He glared at them, and most of them looked away. Inside, there was low music playing, and people sat at tables, eating and talking. Taurian’s stomach rumbled.
“What’ll it be, love?” the man behind the counter asked, one eyebrow raised. He dried a glass with a tea towel, and appeared to be paying only casual attention to them, but there was something in his eyes that bothered Taurian. He was eyeing Karla with interest.
Why did everyone assume she was available? Did they have no respect? “She’s not your love, she has a lifemate.”
Karla frowned at him, but Taurian just stared back. He might be following her around and doing what she said, but he had his own honour to keep. And defending her from everyone, not just the dragon following them, was part of that.
The man looked taken aback, then he gave a short laugh. “Keep your shorts on, mate, I didn't mean to insult. What can I get you?”
Keep his shorts on? Taurian glanced down, but they were still fastened securely. What was the man on about?
“Do you have a room?” Karla asked quickly.
“Sure. A double?” Again, there was that curious look. What was bothering this man?
Karla’s shoulders straightened “Do you have…”
He wasn’t sure what a double was, but he could guess. She was trying to get out of being close to him. Before he could think, Taurian spoke over the top of her. “That is adequate.”
The bartender looked to them, an eyebrow raised. In the mirror behind him, Taurian saw Edtrima step into the room, his eyes finding them quickly in the not so crowded room.
Karla saw it too. Her face paled. “That's fine,” she said quickly. “Just make it fast.”
The man gave them a knowing look, but when Karla just stared back blankly, he lost interest. “Righto.”
It seemed to take forever. The bartender scanned her card on the machine waiting for ages before handing it back to her. He printed out a receipt, then wandered over to the counter behind him to search through a big pile of keys. Finally he handed them the key. “Up the stairs, second door on your left.”
Taurian felt Edtrima’s eyes on them as they went up the stairs near the bar and out of sight. Once they were on the upstairs landing, blessedly alone, Karla breathed a sigh of relief.
Taurian couldn’t feel any relief himself. The hallway would offer no protection from the other dragon. It was, in fact, completely empty. Not a good place for an encounter. His skin crawled.
Karla glanced back at the stairs too, as she slipped the key in the lock and opened the door.
“Hey, you can't go up there,” he heard the bartenders raised voice.
The hair rose on the back of Taurian’s neck. This was it. He was going to have no choice but to fight, weak as he was. His hand sought out Karla’s, though he wasn’t sure whether it was for comfort or strength. She didn’t pull back.
Chapter 9
Not waiting to see if the bartender allowed Edtrima through or not, Karla shoved the door open and rushed inside, almost tripping over in her haste. Taurian followed her at a more sedate pace as Karla slammed the door behind him. She flipped the lock, but only felt a small measure of relief. “It's not going to stop him if he's really determined, is it?”
Taurian shook his head grimly. “Nothing is going to stop them. They're going to keep following us until they catch us alone.”
His tone was grim, and Karla swallowed. “What… What do they want?”
Taurian's shrug was matter of fact. “To exterminate my family from existence.”
How could he be so calm about it? Chills ran up Karla's arms. “But why? Just because your sister didn't want to marry one of them? That seems a little extreme. Surely you can talk to them and explain the situation?”
“It's not that simple. Our refusal insulted their family, and the insult can only be negated by blood.”
“Seriously?”
Taurian shrugged again. “That is the way it is with dragons.”
It was hard to argue with that, even if she didn’t agree with dragon methods. It didn’t exactly go against all the legends and stories she’d heard about them all her life. She wondered how much of them were true and how much was made up?
A sound out in the hallway caught her attention, sending her heartbeat racing. Was it Edtrima?
Taurian’s eyes followed hers, staring at the closed door for a few moments. Then he turned back. “It’s not him.”
“How could you possibly know that? Do you have x-ray vision or something?”
He stared at her blankly. “Can you see through the door?” Karla clarified.
“No, but if he were near, I could smell him.”
Oh, of course. Karla allowed herself to relax a little. “So you’d know if he was sneaking up on us.”
Taurian just nodded.
That was a little bit of a relief, at least.
“But we cannot stay here hiding forever,” Taurian said.
Karla sighed. “Look, you can’t fight him right now, so isn’t hiding the best solution? Wasn’t it what we were doing before he found us at the shopping centre?”
“That was different.”
Raising an eyebrow, Karla asked, “How so?”
“Because he wasn’t sitting in the next room, knowing exactly where we were. I’m surprised he let the bartender deter him. But he has us cornered, and it’s only a matter of time before he figures out a way to come and get us without making a scene.”
Karla shivered. Taurian was right, finding a way to come up here was as simple as hiring his own room. How long would it take until Edtrima tried that? And even if he didn’t, they could only hide up here for so long.
Taurian must have been thinking the same thing. “We’re going to have to consider it eventually, Karla.”
Her name on his lips sent a shiver up her spine. She didn’t have to pretend to not understand what he was saying. She couldn’t deny that the possibility wasn’t constantly on her mind, making her edgy and jumpy.
He was dangerous, this dragon man. And not just because he had dangerous enemies. The way just his look made her blood sizzle scared her. The thought that her body just wanted to agree, without a moment’s thought, scared her.
Karla’s resolve wavered. Her scruples seemed stupid at a time like this. She was, according to Taurian, in physical danger. Surely sleeping with him could be justified under the circumstances? She wasn’t doing it just for pleasure, not that it would be unpleasant, but because
it could save their lives. Bruce couldn’t object to that, even if he hadn’t broken up with her.
When she didn’t respond, Taurian continued, “I respect your commitment to your lifemate. If there were any other way… But we’re talking about life and death now. Would your lifemate really want you to sacrifice yourself? If I were at full strength, we could just drive back to your home. If Edtrima tried to confront us, I could blast him, just like I did on the drive out here. It is the only way out of this, Karla. We’ve tried to evade him, but nothing is working.”
Even though his words were just what she had been thinking herself, they just added to her feeling of being backed into a corner. It was crazy, the thought that the only way to save them was to sleep with him. That sort of thing just didn’t happen.
There had to be some other way. Even if they had to call the police and make up some sort of story. The bartender would back them up even. The way Edtrima had tried to follow them up to their room would help.
“I know what we can do,” she told Taurian.
He raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“We can call the police.” She warmed up to the idea as she spoke. “We don't have to tell them about ancient dragon battles, they won't believe that, but if we tell them he's been following us around all day, they'll at least have to talk to him. And while they're doing that, we can slip outside and leave and he won't be able to follow us.”
The plan was flawless. Why hadn't she thought of it earlier?
“The police are your people’s warriors?” Taurian asked.
