Swallowing Fire

by ERIN BEDFORD

  “Dare I ask what’s in the pot? A curse or maybe poison to stop your enemies?” I climbed to my feet and stretched, happy to have the full range of my body back.

  Patrice glowered at me. “My dinner.”

  My face dropped, and I ducked my head. “Sorry, didn’t mean to offend.” I tapped my hands against my legs, glancing around the place as I tried to figure out how I was getting out of there. “Not that I’m not grateful for your healing me and all, but I think I had better get going.” I shuffled toward the door, but Patrice’s voice stopped me.

  “Don’t you want to know your future?”

  The age-old question, wasn’t it? Definitely not something I’d have expected to come from Patrice, but then again, why else would she choose to live out in the woods if not because she had some hidden power?

  After the way she healed my wounds in the blink of a painful eye, I was willing to buy into her words, especially with what I had been told about the gift of foresight the northern people were supposed to have.

  “What about my future?” I slowly walked back toward her, my interest more than a little piqued.

  “How about some dinner first? You must be hungry after all that fighting.” Patrice slopped some of the foul-smelling contents of the pot into a bowl and offered it to me with a grin.

  On its own accord, my nose scrunched up in disgust, but the prospect of learning my future made me force a smile on my lips. “Sure, I’d love to have dinner with you.”

  Patrice gestured for me to take a seat right where I had woken up, and with a reluctant sigh, I flopped back down on the fur-covered ground. Patrice handed me the bowl, no spoon of course, and as I stared down into it, bile rose. It looked to be a mixture of some kind of beef stew and rotten eggs. Cows didn’t roam this area of Waesigar, so the likelihood that it was actually beef was pretty low.

  “Eat, eat. It is good for the baby,” Patrice urged me with a wave of her hand.

  My eyes moved to her at the mention of my pregnancy. “How did you know I was pregnant?”

  Patrice shrugged a shoulder and scooped herself a bowl of slop. “How do I know you have three mates, all of whom have gained great powers by laying with you? Or that your cousin is hell-bent on taking the throne?” She paused for a moment before saying with a twinkle in her eyes, “I just know.”

  I watched her, my curiosity flaring the more she spoke. Sure, she might have heard about my guys through the grapevine, but the information about Ned? Only a few knew about his desire to take me out of the way so he could rule the Western Kingdom. That meant she was either a spy or psychic. Since she lacked the general qualities needed for a spy, I’d have to go with psychic.

  “So ...” I drew out as she sat down beside me. “What can you tell me about my future?”

  Ignoring my question, Patrice brought her bowl up to her mouth and began to slurp the contents. Taking as a hint, I let out a frustrated sigh and lifted my own bowl up. Nose scrunched up, I tried not to smell it as I took a hesitant gulp.

  While the stew might have smelled horrid, the taste wasn’t so bad, though the texture left a little to be desired. The slimy chunks were a bit hard to swallow.

  Patrice glanced at me with an expectant look as I swallowed thickly.

  “It could use a bit of salt,” was the best answer I could muster.

  Seemingly satisfied with my words, Patrice went back to her meal. I set my bowl aside. While the stew wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever eaten, I still couldn’t stomach the rest without throwing it back up.

  Clucking my tongue and rocking back on my hands, I asked, “So, why did you decide to live out here?” I scanned the cave that looked like it belonged on Extreme Hoarders Survival Style. I really didn’t know how she found anything in this place.

  “Didn’t have much choice in the matter,” Patrice informed me as she went back to the pot, scooping more into her bowl.

  Seconds? Really?

  Not voicing my inner disgust, I tried to keep the conversation going. Maybe if I showed interest in Patrice, she’d tell me what I wanted to know.

  “What happened?”

  Patrice sniffed. “The usual. Our people are known for having the foresight, some of us more than others. I happen to be in the small percentage of northerners who have far more control over their abilities than most.”

  “So, you can see whatever you want to see?” I cocked my head to the side, now truly interested in hearing about her.

  Shaking her head, she scoffed. “If only it were that easy.” Sitting back down next to me, Patrice didn’t start eating her second helping right away, instead staring down at it like it deep in thought. “I see what the gods let me see. Sometimes I can direct it with strong intentions, but even then, I don’t get the full picture.”

  “Can you see the past as well?”

  “Pfft. Who wants to see that?” Patrice snorted and chugged her bowl. Belching loudly, she tossed the bowl on the ground before her. “What’s done is done. Obsessing over it won’t do any good.”

  “Why stay out here though? Your powers have to be highly sought after. You could even charge people to see their future. Humans do it all the time, except those people are usually faking, just stealing people’s money. But you could have a nice house and not ...” I waved a hand to the mess around us. “… live in a cave.”

  “Bah!” Patrice cried. “I had that and more. Don’t you think I know how desired my abilities are, girl?” She spoke to me like I was soft in the head. “Dragons would come from all of Waesigar to beg a favor from me. Everyone and their mother wanted to know their future, no matter how bleak it was.”

  “Then what happened? Why live here?”

  Patrice sighed and shook her head. “Gifts come with a price, and that price was privacy.” Shuffling to her feet, she gathered up the bowls, setting them to the side. She grabbed a bottle filled with dark liquid and took a swig. I almost asked for one but thought better of it. More than likely it was alcohol, and I didn’t want to hurt my child any more than it had been from the freezing cold water.

  “Day in and day out, dragons would pour into my home, begging me to tell them their future. I couldn’t even walk down the street without being attacked by some future seeker. It got exhausting.”

  “I could imagine.”

  While being able to see the future might seem like something totally cool and enterprising, I could see how it could get tiring. Who wanted to be constantly pestered by customers? It had to be the way celebrities in the human world felt when fans and paparazzi followed them around.

  “Don’t get me started on those whose futures weren’t exactly bright,” Patrice growled, taking another gulp of the dark liquid. The sharp smell coming from her confirmed it was indeed some kind of alcohol. Dragon’s Tears was clear so what kind of booze that was, I couldn’t tell.

  “They come to find out if their true love will ask them to be their mate, and no matter how much I tell them they don’t want to know, they would beg and plead with me to tell them.” Patrice sighed dramatically. “Then they end up doing something horrible because their mate was leaving them for their sister, or some other such nonsense.”

  “That’s horrible.” I shook my head sadly. “I’d hate to be a bearer of such bad news.”

  “Tell me about it.” Patrice rolled her eyes. “So, I gave up the money and the fame to come out here. Sure, it gets lonely, but at least no one can blame me for their future.”

  “Hmmm.” I mused. I could see how solitude could be a better option, though I knew I wouldn’t have been able to handle it myself. I like my privacy as much as the next person, but I liked indoor plumbing and electricity. Not having a cell phone here was bad enough. I really needed to take a trip to Earth to check my messages. Also, I’d been dying for some video games.

  “Anyway, my personal misery aside.” Patrice finished the bottle off in a chug that would have made my friend Bianca proud. “Once I saw your predicament, I knew I had to make an exception. After all,
it’s not every day you meet someone as interesting at you.”

  I flushed at her words. “I’m not all that fascinating.”

  Patrice made a choking noise. “I’d have to disagree. You’ve been banished and then brought back and thrown at some of Waesigar’s more eligible dragons. Then in an amusing twist of fate, you not only pick both the men your father offers you but add one of your own to the mix. Not that I can blame you.” She gave me a mischievous grin followed by a wink. “If I were a few hundred years younger, I’d have done the exact same.”

  My face heated at her words. “I didn’t exactly choose them all on purpose. They just sort of happened.” Patrice gave me a disbelieving look. “Okay, okay. So, Firestar was an exception, but Jack and Raiden, you try picking just one of them.” I crossed my arms over my chest with a scowl. “Not as easy as it looks.”

  “I’m not judging, dearie.” Patrice laughed, making me glower all the more. “I just wonder how you handle all that delicious dragon flesh at once. It’ll be even more entertaining when the others come.”

  That had me straightening up. “Others? What others?”

  Patrice leered at me as she leaned forward as if to tell me a secret. “You know, the others.”

  “No, I don’t know.” I shook my head, refusing to acknowledge what she was implying. “I have my hands full enough with three guys. I don’t have any room for more, now or ever.”

  “You say that now,” - Patrice wagged a finger at me with a smirk - “but you will find your heart has more room in it than you realize.”

  I blew out a harsh breath. This old lady wasn’t going to let up. She might be an all-powerful seer, but I couldn’t accept it. Three was enough, more than enough. Sometimes even too much for me to handle. More than that would be ridiculous.

  “So, that’s all you see in my future?” I scoffed. “More men?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Patrice shrugged a shoulder with a mysterious curve of her lips.

  I shifted forward and put my hand on her arm. “Don’t hold out on me now. You’ve brought me here for this very reason after all, haven’t you?”

  Patrice glanced at me with a menacing grin. “The men in your life will be the least of your worries when the world learns of your child and what she will become.”

  “She?” I inched forward. “It’s going to be a girl.”

  “Of course!” she cried her face full of excitement. “Do you think a male would be able to handle all the powers she will inherit without becoming corrupt?” Patrice shook her head in disgust. “I think we’ve learned by now that the men of our world do not do well with too much power. Only she will be able to handle it all and join our world in the peace we long for.”

  “So, my daughter will be some all-powerful being?” My mouth dropped open, in awe of her predictions. I could hardly handle the powers I had, or rather the power to give others powers, let alone be the mother of someone with even greater powers.

  Patrice seemed to sense my worry and said, “Do not worry, you will not be alone in this. Your mates will be there to help you, but to keep her truly safe, you will need all of them, even if your head is telling you otherwise.”

  She didn’t say anything else after that, her eyes focused on the fire in front of us. That was fine by me. I couldn’t handle any more news. She had been right about knowing one’s future. The things we learn may not be what we want to know, even if that something would redefine your whole existence.

  19

  I’d never seen myself as someone who would rule one day, even now that I was the technical heir to the throne.

  Aeis had always been the one who was going to rule and, before that, my brother. But when he died in the last great dragon war, that burden fell on my sister. I never even thought I’d have a chance at it. Why my father thought I would even bother to try to usurp her was beyond me. Maybe someone was whispering little ideas in his ear, making him paranoid about his own family.

  To be honest, going to the human world was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. I got away from dragon politics and found out there was more to the world than fighting and procreation. Like seeing who could eat a large pizza with everything the fastest, or even staying up for twenty-four hours to see who can get the highest score on the latest first-person shooter.

  You know, the little stuff.

  Humans knew how to enjoy themselves without making it all about bloodshed. No, I wasn’t under any kind of delusions that they didn’t have their fair share of killing and wars. I’d read some of their histories, and it made some of our own wars seem benign. Still, they knew what it took to keep their people happy, even if it was with silly things like the latest video game or a fifty percent off shoe sale. That was better than playing with their love lives so their parents could prosper.

  God, I missed Ryan and Bianca. All the dragon politics was driving me mad, and if Patrice’s visions were true, they weren’t going to ease up anytime soon. They might even get worse when my daughter arrives. But I wouldn’t do to her why my father did to me. No, sir!

  My hand curled into a fist, and I pounded it against the ground. Patrice gave me a curious look but went back to staring at the fire without a word.

  My daughter wouldn’t be offered up like a broodmare. Sure, I had found my mates that way, but I’d already found one before that. Who was to say I wouldn’t have found Jack and Raiden on my own, without my father’s interference? Nevertheless, because of him, I had more danger in my life than ever before, with a lack of power to deal with it.

  Still, I got my wings because of it, something I’d wanted for longer than I could remember. And now we had a chance of joining the kingdoms together into a real peace, not this false one that my father pretends to desire.

  Why was he allowing so many raids to happen? Did he know that Ned was after me? If my father really was the great leader he claimed to be, he wouldn’t be letting these things happen right under his nose.

  “He doesn’t know.” Patrice’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

  “Doesn’t know what?” I asked, not believing for a moment that she had read my mind.

  “I didn’t. Read your mind that is.” Patrice’s lips turned up into a knowing grin, which made it hard to believe her. She waved a hand at my face. “Your thoughts are all over your face. You really should learn to control your emotions better.”

  Ignoring her dig, I asked again, “Who doesn’t know what?”

  “Your father, of course. Lord Dannon, like all the lords, only sees what he wants to see. Some of them have long ago stopped seeing the big picture. That war will do nothing but beget more war and not give them what they truly desire.”

  “And what’s that?”

  She gave me a knowing smile but kept her mouth closed.

  “Oh, come on,” I complained, throwing my hands up in the air. “You’ve told me so much already. What is this one more thing?”

  “Some things are better not known.” Patrice started to say something else, but her eyes went from me to the opening of the cave. Shifting in place, she nodded in my direction. “They will be here soon. You should get ready. You have much ahead of you still to face.”

  “They?” My eyes darted to where she looked, seeing nothing but the barren trees outside the door. “Who are they?”

  Patrice just smiled.

  That’s when I heard it, mixed voices and the rustling of feet. I jumped up, my hand going for my dagger before I realized I didn’t have it. Cursing, I turned back to Patrice, only to see she was gone. In fact, the entire cave was different. All the piles of junk, the pot of disgusting stew, all gone. Only the fire remained.

  “In here!” Raijin’s voice became more distinguishable. A few seconds later, his long hair came into view of the cave’s mouth, and I hurried forward.

  “Raijin?” I frowned. “What are you doing here?”

  Raijin rushed into the cave, his hands going to my arms as he looked me over. When I had passed his assessment, he
sighed. “Looking for you, of course. You’ve been missing for hours. Your guys are going out of their minds with worry.”

  “Well, sorry to disappoint, but I’m fine.” I smiled up at the twin just as his other half came barreling into the cave. “Fujin!”

  “Maya!” Fujin shoved his brother out of the way and spent his own time assessing me. “You’re alive and well.”

  “Yes, I am,” I answered, chuckling at their concern.

  Fujin released me suddenly, making me stumble. “Then why the hell are you still out here? Do you have any idea how crazed you have made us all?”

  “All?” I cocked a brow at the two of them who blanched at my question.

  “You know,” Fujin cleared his throat and waved a hand. “The whole of everyone. Even Lord Fafnir has called a search for you.”

  Since I was feeling charitable, I let the subject drop. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine. At least, as fine as I can be after having been attacked and then left for dead. So, if you could kindly lead the way, I’d like a hot bath and a large dessert. Something preferably in the chocolate department.”

  Fujin and Raijin smiled at me and offered me their arms as they led me from the cave. As we stepped out of it, a voice tickled my brain that had me pause.

  “To gain is to lose. Your biggest fight is yet to come.” Patrice’s voice rippled through my mind.

  How she was able to project into my head made me wonder if she had actually been able to read my mind. Or had she been a figment of my imagination all along? The guys hadn’t seen her, after all.

  “Maya?” Fujin asked, jarring me from my thoughts. “Are you, all right?”

  “Yeah, yes.” I quickly changed my answer, shaking my head. “Still a little shaken up by the whole thing.”

  Raijin patted my hand. “I’d imagine. When Firestar and the others saw your blood by the river, they were beside themselves with worry. But I knew you could take care of yourself.”