Emma (Dark Fire)

by Cooper, Jodie B.

  Pausing, he tilted his head in thought and studied the evidence left behind. The signs of a struggle, strewn across the bloody ground, was impossible to miss, but it was the blood covered thorn that held his attention. His burning rage calmed and his racing thoughts took a new track.

  The girl had fought Lester, hurting the filthy vampire even though she had been terrified. From the amount of blood - none of it hers - he realized she must have escaped before Lester had time to bite her.

  Her fierce actions pleased him as nothing had in a long time.

  Yes, fierce, his dragon soul murmured, echoing his pleasure.

  Clenching his hands into a fist, he knew the girl’s brave actions kept him from shifting into full dragon and destroying the meadow.

  “Hi, Tyler!” a voice squealed in his ear.

  Jumping, he glared at the little pixie hovering in the air less than a hand-span away from his face.

  Twirling in the air, Mari giggled.

  He sighed, knowing he’d never hear the end of it. A pixie making a wér-dragon jump would be gossip fodder for the entire summer semester.

  “I got a new language,” the little pixie said excitedly. “You want a new bite?”

  “No time, Mari,” he said quickly, glancing toward the forest.

  Her face fell.

  Regret pricked his conscious. Pixies brimmed with laughter and mischief. Younger pixies attached themselves to certain households, workings as messenger and all-around flying nuisance. Mari had attached herself to Tyler’s clan five years before.

  “Sorry, Mari, I’m on a hunt.”

  The little pixie grinned, clapping her hands. “You mean the girl or Lester?”

  “Girl?” His eyes snapped to her glowing face. “You saw her? Was she hurt?”

  “You want a bite?” Mari asked with a grin, ignoring his urgent questions.

  Tyler muttered in frustration, and shifted to human. Holding his index finger up, he waited. Letting her bite him would be faster than arguing with the small pest.

  Mari’s teeth flashed.

  After the small, stinging bite, his head filled with odd words, and even weirder images.

  “The girl?” Tyler questioned, frowning at the little pixie.

  “Humph!” She harrumphed, putting her hands on her hips. “You aren’t any fun.”

  He glared at her. “Am I ever?”

  She blinked at him and grinned again. “Nope, guess not.”

  Ready to give up, he turned to go, but she surprised him. “She fell for Lester’s glamour, but I bit her.” Mari’s chest puffed-out and her wings began buzzing as they beat ever faster. She giggled, pointing toward the forest. “She ran that way. After that thorn she hit him with, there might not be another generation of Quarklin vampires, at least not from Lester.”

  Her hysterical giggles followed him into the trees.

  After a few feet of searching, he found the girl’s trail. Realizing she ran southwest, straight toward home, he sighed in relief.

  Following her scent through the tangle of trees, he wondered what she was like. He shook his head, firmly putting his curiosity behind him.

  Eyes glancing from one side to the other, he never stopped searching the forest for his enemies. He hadn’t caught the scent of zombies or vampires for nearly a candle-mark, but he needed to confirm what his nose told him was true. With a wizard running about, it didn’t hurt to be extra cautious.

  The pursuit gave him time to think. He still couldn’t figure out what had happened to the forest around him. It seemed as if the world had turned upside-down. He recognized the occasional plant and animal, but for every one he recognized three popped up that he had never seen.

  In the wide shroum meadow, he had briefly noticed the sky’s color. It was a deep blue, the blue color of a fall sky, not the dust tinted sky of spring. Spring was the time of year that brought roaring southern winds. They dominated the sky, creating huge storms that dumped needed water and faerie dust across the land.

  Everyone knew the southern breeze, filled with faerie dust, created the slightly purple haze. It happened every spring. From the look of the current sky, it was as if the spring sky and fall sky had switched places.

  He abruptly ceased his internal rambling, but honestly, if the color of the sky wasn’t enough to freak him out, he didn’t know what was.

  He took a steadying breath and focused on finding the girl. He remembered the smell of her fear in the meadow. If all the weird stuff had him freaked out, the girl had to be petrified, especially after the vampire attack. Not that he considered her weak; anyone who fought off a vampire with nothing more than a shroum thorn was tough.

  He jumped a shallow ditch. It was an understatement to say the terrain was rough. Rocks, trees, and hill after hill filled the area around Fire Lake. Stopping at the edge of a creek bed, he looked up. A small patch of brilliant blue sky peeked through the limbs. He really wanted to surge into the air, but he didn’t give in to temptation. He knew he could cover more ground if he took to the air, but he’d never be able to see her or follow her scent from above the trees.

  Halfway across the dry creek bed he lost her scent. He jerked to a stop, and inhaled the breeze. Her scent stopped, no lingering fragrance on the gentle breeze, nothing. Frowning, he slowly turned around, seeking her.

  She was nearby. He could feel her watching him. Tiny goose bumps of excitement flitted across his skin in anticipation. Just a few more moments and he would see her. He didn’t understand the drive to find her, or why her scent was so mouth-watering, but like an elf-hound on a hunt, she was all he could think of.

  He grumbled to himself. Crap, he was acting like an infatuated pup presented with its first bone. What was he thinking? He knew how girls reacted to him. Most took one look and froze. He’d seen happier expressions on deer the instant before he chomped them in half.

  He gritted his teeth, hoping the girl didn’t react with fear. The bitter smell of fear drove him nuts. Of every girl he knew, he prayed she’d be different. If his formidable looks frightened her she’d be miserable, because he had a sinking feeling his fascination with her was not going to go away. Every moment he hunted for her, his interest increased.

  “You’re safe now. I’m Tyler McQuinn,” he said reassuringly, trying to keep his voice gentle.

  He waited, but there was no answer. A bit concerned, he frowned. He hadn’t smelled her blood, only Lester’s blood, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt.

  For the first time in several years, he hated how intimidating his appearance was to most people. His dark, brooding looks usually proved an advantage, and didn’t bother him. Well, not much, anyway.

  He had really hoped she’d be different. Shoving his disappointment away, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, ruffling the short spikes into an unmanageable mess. Even if his appearance frightened her, the McQuinn family name should have brought her out of hiding.

  Listening, he concentrated on hearing everything from the wind easing through the trees to animals scurrying in the underbrush.

  He weeded out the sounds he didn’t want, listening for her breathing. Sifting, waiting, and patiently seeking until he found what he searched. Ah, there it was. Soft, gasping, she struggled to catch her breath, while trying to be quiet. He homed in on the sound, letting it caress his ears.

  Turning, he looked up and immediately spotted her. Wedged against a thick trunk, about ten feet up, she was perched above his line of sight. Dressed in blue cut-off pants and pink shirt, she splashed color amid the green leaves.

  She watched him with a wary expression. Her slender body trembled as she pressed it harder against the tree. Silky, dark hair swirled around her chin and shoulders, framing a heart-shaped face. Her wide eyes drilled into him, fearful yet defiant at the same time.

  For the first time in his life, he was stunned speechless. His breath caught. Literally, he forgot to breathe. His thoughts halted, screeching to a complete standstill.

  A strand of deep,
rich brown hair slid across her cheekbone, slipping around the edge of her jaw until the slight breeze blew it behind her. She didn’t seem to notice.

  She straightened away from the trunk and her body trembled even harder. Her slender hands stayed firmly clenched on the gray bark. Her tiny waist and delicate bone structure was in direct contrast to her bold gaze. Moment by moment, her eyes lost their look of fear, filling with something entirely different.

  She appeared so dainty. Yet, she was bold enough to glare at the Wér-Dragon’s eldest son and heir.

  Want, his dragon whispered in his mind.

  He agreed. He could easily drown in her eyes. The deep brown reminded him of the rich chocolate candies the candy guild produced.

  Her satiny smooth skin flushed under his slow assessment.

  He chuckled to himself. Regretfully, she was perfectly beautiful.

  He couldn’t be happier. A few words from her sweet lips and he’d be clay in her hands, most willing putty at that. For the first time in his life, he prayed for a girl to like him. Not for any girl, he prayed this tiny slip of a girl to be his.

  ___________

  Emma glared at the guy, staring him right in the eye. She was so tired of being scared witless.

  The most incredible blue eyes she’d ever seen in her entire life stared back at her. His eyes weren’t murky or pale. They were a brilliant, shocking blue like that of a heat-enhanced gem, sparkling sapphire eyes that were too perfect. They had to be contacts. Only contacts could give such an impression of perfection.

  Her eyes skimmed down his body and she sucked in a sharp hiss.

  Wow. The insufficient word was the only description she could come-up with. Shell-shocked, she jerked her eyes back to his intense gaze. The teen was totally hot without considering his eyes.

  Thankfully, she didn’t feel any kind of alien hand in her brain, making her think he was too hot for words. Just to be sure, she searched her brain for that icky cold breeze. She sensed nothing, except her own confusion at finding a gorgeous hunk walking around her uncle’s five-hundred acre ranch.

  He didn’t have basic, run-of-the-mill movie star good looks. Rugged and formidable, he gave off an alarming dangerous aura. The type of danger clinging to him would make most people think twice or even three times before approaching. Under his penetrating gaze, her stomach fluttered.

  He smiled. A simple thing, really no more than the curling of his full lips and he totally captivated her.

  A soft gasp parted her lips as she tried to loosen her death grip on the tree trunk. Her fluttering stomach burst into a thousand rippling waves, increasing her flush tenfold. She felt like a mouse targeted by a hunting hawk. A spark of delighted curiosity touched her eyes. For once in her life, she might like being the little brown mouse.

  From his smile, she guessed, he must be trying to put her at ease. She had news for him it would take more than a simple smile, even from Mr. Gorgeous, to calm her down.

  Hello? The world had dropped her into the Twilight Zone. She’d gone from a normal spring day to insanity, leapfrogging from giant mushrooms and pretty pixies to deadly vampires and roaring monsters. On her race through the forest, she even saw a tiny critter that looked like a green rabbit, but had fangs.

  Now, she sat stuck in a tree watching a young man - who dripped with a dangerous aura of a chain gang - smile at her. No, his smile was not comforting, not even when his dimple made her heart flutter at an oddly increased pace.

  Thick black hair touched his shoulders. On the top, unruly, short spikes emphasized his bad-boy image. A strong face with high cheekbones, striking eyes, and a deep golden tan combined with a hard muscled body, completed the picture. He was pure male. The kind of guy a girl dreamed about but rarely took home to meet her parents, or in her case, her uncle.

  A slight smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Uncle Keith, her guardian, would flip a switch over someone like Tyler.

  Seeing this macho male and her uncle in the same room would be interesting. The testosterone and muscle flexing would keep her tied in knots of worry.

  She snorted to herself, bursting her own bubble. No need to worry, guys like Tyler never dated the class mouse. She’d gone down that road before when the hunky captain of the football team asked her out just to score points with Ginger, her oh-so-perfect stepsister. No way would she fall for that crap again.

  “Hello,” he said, folding his arms across his wide chest, sleek and muscular. His deep voice matched his dangerous aura like a tight leather glove.

  She sighed again. Of all guys to run into – in the middle of a forest with no one for miles around – she had to meet wretched perfection.

  It dawned on her he was speaking a lyrical sounding language, an alien language she understood. That really shook her world. She shivered at the implications. She hadn’t thought about understanding a different language when the vampire spoke to her, she’d been too frightened.

  The pixie must’ve told her the truth. The little creature really did give Emma a different language. A complete language with one bite, talk about lowering the language barrier.

  “Why don’t you come down?” he asked, smiling again. His smile revealed slightly sharp canines. They were not anywhere near as sharp as the vampire’s teeth, but they were bad enough.

  Her thoughts stuttered to a stop.

  His smile turned strained, widening in his attempt to enchant her. All it did was provide a better view of his funky teeth.

  A shiver of dread rippled through her. No, his teeth were not normal. Slightly longer – and sharper – upper and lower canines flashed again, giving her a glimpse of bone jarring reality. Fangs, he had fangs like a wolf!

  Her eyes widened and she considered running. Clenching her hands against the bark, she welcomed the slight pain, hoping it would erase the hysterics hovering at the edge of her mind.

  “You act terrified of me, but I assure you, I’m quite harmless and completely stunned by your beauty.”

  Refusing to give in to girly-girl hysterics and scream like a five-year-old, she opened her mouth to snap at him when the meaning of his words sank into her head.

  Her eyes narrowed and she ground her teeth together in anger. He might as well have dumped a bucket of ice water on her. Her fear forgotten, she glared at him.

  She would’ve preferred ice water to obvious lies. She knew what she looked like. Beautiful was not an applicable term, not in her wildest dreams. As her mom said, Emma was kind-of pretty in an odd sort of way when she really put effort into her appearance. Thank goodness, she didn’t live with her mother. She could do without her mother’s daily reminders of what she looked like and how perfect Ginger was.

  It wasn’t as if she needed reminding. Every morning, Emma looked in the mirror. She wasn’t ugly. No, she was plain, boring, and forgettable. As much as she hated it, Emma agreed with her mom’s description: brown hair, brown eyes, decent boobs, skinny legs, and bony hips. She didn’t even have a nice tan yet.

  Her lack of a pretty face was part of reality that sucked, but that wasn’t what got her temper up. Her temper bubbled because Tyler was the second person in one day who blatantly lied to her, a lie just to get something from her. His sexy mouth made the words sound even uglier than the vampire’s had been.

  “Very funny,” she said snappishly, slapping the tree trunk. “First the vampire and now you, I’m sick of people calling me beautiful.” Just to get their hands on me and possibly suck all my blood. “There’s no way on Earth I’m coming down until I’m sure another vampire or that wretched wild animal aren’t still following me.”

  “Are you trying to be funny?” Tyler demanded. From the muscle ticking in his clenched his jaw, he was obviously attempting to reign in what she bet was a fearsome temper.

  “No,” she denied his accusation with a shake of her head, “I’m not. I know what I saw. He was a vampire. His teeth grew into long, sharp fangs while I watched. After I stabbed him, I heard something roaring. I’m animal crazy
, but I’ve never heard any animal with that kind of a roar. Surely, you had to have heard it,” she argued. “The vampire was trying to mesmerize me a second time when I heard the beast roar. The whole wretched forest seemed to shake. I guess I should be thankful to the monster, because the roar broke the vampire’s hold on me and I ran.”

  Emma watched several emotions flicker across his face. He finally shook his head in apparent frustration.

  “Are you Silva?” he asked. His voice came out strangled. He looked nearly afraid.

  “Silva? No, my name’s Emma,” she said with a shake of her head.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he snapped, obviously losing his patience. “Not Silva, but silvá. What race are you, dragon or silvá?”

  “Race? What do you mean race? I don’t even know what a silvá is. Do you mean human? What kind of warped question is that?” Emma asked in rapid succession, trying to figure out his weird question.

  He growled. “Of course you’re human. We’re all human. I meant…”

  “Dragon? Did you ask if I was a dragon? Was that thing I heard a dragon?” With every word, her voice rose in volume. She adamantly shook her head. “No, I’m not going to fall for this nonsense. There’s no such thing as dragons! Anyway, even if there were, how could you think I was a dragon? Do I look scaly with wings and a big snout full of teeth?”

  Emma thumped her head against the tree, scrunching her eyes closed against the temptation to sit down and cry.

  The wacked-out world had dumped her into a nightmare, a living nightmare.

  Warm, moist air caressed her arm. A spicy, delicious scent flowed around her as the warm breeze ruffled her hair. She sighed and inhaled the heavenly scent, dangerous and forbidden, a scent that somehow reminded her of red-hot candy on a sizzling summer day and – unrealistically – of the gorgeous young man standing below her. She lifted her head and stared straight into the face of a dragon, a big black dragon.