Playing With Fire

by C. J. Hill

  “Lower your head.”

  Khan did, bringing his snout nearly to the ground. He didn’t struggle against Dirk’s commands, but he also didn’t look at him expectantly the way dogs did while performing tricks for their owners.

  “Now give us a bit of mood lighting,” Dirk said.

  The dragon opened his mouth, and a tiny flame twirled around his tongue. The sight would have been funny if Tori hadn’t known from experience how dangerous beasts like this actually were. By the light from Khan’s flame, his scales looked as black as obsidian and threw glints of reflected light, tiny stars that lay here on earth.

  “That’s enough,” Dirk said. The dragon lowered his foot, shut his mouth, and lifted his head off the ground, bringing it to the level of the trees again.

  “I don’t have to speak the commands,” Dirk said. “I did that for your benefit. Believe me, Khan knows not to hurt you.”

  Dirk tugged her hand, pulling her over to the dragon until they stood inches from his chest. One lunge, and he could rip her in half, just like Overdrake said. Why had she thought this was a good idea?

  Khan peered down at her, his breath spilling around her shoulders. Dirk reached out and ran his free hand along the scales on the dragon’s chest. Khan shut his eyes as though he enjoyed the touch or at least was so used to it that it wasn’t worth objecting to.

  Dirk kept moving his hand along the dragon’s chest, petting him. “See? He won’t hurt us. Your turn. Touch him.”

  Tori didn’t move. She both dreaded and was fascinated by the idea of running her fingers along the dragon’s scales. Mostly dreaded.

  “Go ahead,” Dirk said softly. “He’s perfectly safe.”

  All that bridled power was sitting in front of her. A living myth. How many people ever got to touch one? She had the chance.

  Dirk lifted her hand and placed it onto the dragon’s scales. They were smooth and warm, moving slightly with each of Khan’s breaths. She meant to drop her hand after a few seconds, but she left it there. She liked the feel of those breaths underneath her fingertips. There was something ancient about them, about the dragon. Touching him reminded her of the times she’d hiked through caves and wondered at the stalactites and stalagmites—beautiful dark things growing hidden away for millennia.

  Khan bent his head, lazily sniffed her, then blinked, looking bored, and gazed into the distance. She didn’t move her hand, just stared at the dragon, let her eyes drift over his long neck and folded wings, amazed at how docile he was.

  “Are dragons always this tame around you?”

  “Not hatchlings. Dragons, like horses, have to be broken. Khan is used to me. He doesn’t even resist when I take control of his mind.”

  Tori ran her hand along the scales, fingering the edges where they overlapped. Even though the only light around was the moonlight, the scales still glittered in places. “Did you have control of him while you brought Brindy back to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “How far away can you be before you lose the link?”

  “Miles.”

  A purposely vague answer. He wasn’t going to give her any information that could be useful for fighting.

  Her hand moved from one scale to its neighbor. “He’s different than I imagined.”

  Dirk glanced at her hand, and smiled in satisfaction. “Admit it, you think he’s beautiful.”

  “Beautiful isn’t the word I’d use.”

  “You’re right. He’s like living thunder.”

  And still Tori didn’t move her hand away. Some sort of attraction held her there, as though if she touched the dragon long enough, she’d be able to understand his secrets—and control him.

  Maybe she could. She could at least try to go into his dragon’s mind and experiment. She thought of Bianca’s description of the process. Let the doorway of your connection expand until you can walk through it.

  Tori wasn’t sure how to walk through a sound, metaphorically or otherwise. When fighting Kiha, Tori had tried to give the dragon commands, but that hadn’t worked, not until she’d shouted one in desperation. And then, suddenly, she’d been there in the dragon’s mind. She didn’t know how to repeat that feat.

  She let the noise in her mind—the part that heard with the dragon’s ears—grow louder. It seemed to expand in a circle around her. She didn’t have to walk through a doorway. The circle swallowed her and pulled her forward. And suddenly, there she was, inside Khan’s mind.

  She still stood in front of the dragon with Dirk, yet part of her could also see with Khan’s eyes—trees stretching across the island, branches raised to the sky as if in an offering. She smelled decaying leaves at their feet and the river water tumbling over itself not far away. She even smelled the scent of the shampoo she’d used that morning.

  When Tori had gone inside Kiha’s mind, Overdrake had immediately known. It wouldn’t take Dirk long to order her out. Could she find the dragon’s control center before then? Where should she look?

  Instead of yelling at Tori, Dirk took a step closer so he stood directly behind her. He slid his arms casually around her waist. “See? It’s easy for you to step inside. Natural.”

  Dirk knew and wasn’t stopping her? Good. Whatever his reasons, he was giving her time to experiment. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to navigate Khan’s mind. She could sense the dragon’s thoughts but didn’t know how to influence them.

  Tori ignored the feel of Dirk’s hands on her waist. She was concentrating too hard on the dragon to think about the familiar way he was holding her. She couldn’t afford to let her thoughts wander in that direction.

  Khan was relaxed, enjoying his rest among the trees. He liked the smells of outdoors and was in no hurry to return to the enclosure.

  Where is the enclosure? she asked with her thoughts. Where do you live?

  A pattern of stars flashed into her mind.

  Dirk chuckled into her ear. “Did you catch that? Khan showed you what the stars above his home look like.” His hands circled her waist, pulling her closer. “Hope it was useful.”

  And then without speaking out loud, Dirk’s voice echoed in Khan’s mind. “Don’t show Tori anymore locations.” He didn’t sound angry, just amused. He seemed willing to let her ask questions as long as they weren’t the wrong kind.

  What could she ask that would seem harmless but would actually help the Slayers?

  Dirk rested his face against her hair. “I’ve missed you.” It was too intimate a gesture, just like wrapping his arms around her waist. Any moment now, he would try to kiss her.

  She ought to push him away for Jesse’s sake, but she didn’t. She needed more time in the dragon’s mind. When Overdrake attacked last summer, Dirk had wrested control of the dragon from his father long enough to push it away from Tori. He’d told her that. Which meant there was a way to break a dragon lord’s control, at least for a little while.

  Knowing how could be the key to defeating Overdrake.

  “What have you missed about me?” she asked absently. She’d stumbled into one of Khan’s memories, a flight over a sea. Gulls scattered away from him. He dove at one and ate it whole. One bite. The bird was hardly counted as food, but Khan always enjoyed the chase. Now he smelled birds on the island and wanted to startle them from their hiding spots. He couldn’t, though. He’d been ordered to lie here.

  Dirk brushed his lips across Tori’s neck. A small kiss. An invitation to turn around and kiss him back.

  She didn’t, but didn’t pull away from him either. As long as he was busy trying to kiss her, she could stay inside Khan’s mind, searching for his control center.

  She focused on Khan’s thought—that he’d been ordered to stay. She attempted to follow the order like it was a trail that would lead to its origin. She bumped into more bird memories, nothing else. Birds were the only things that were fast enough, nimble enough, to have a chance at escaping a dragon. That made them a challenge. Good sport.

  Do you resent being caged up so much?
Tori asked Khan.

  No answer came, no image flashed in her mind.

  Dirk dropped another light kiss on Tori’s neck, feather soft and distracting. “You can’t ask the question that way. Resentment is a complicated emotion. Dragons don’t understand it.”

  Do you like your home? Tori asked.

  Khan misunderstood the question and wondered if it was time to leave.

  “What you’re really asking,” Dirk murmured, “is whether he’s happy, but he’s not self-aware enough to know the answer.”

  Do you want to be free? she asked.

  In response she felt the dragon’s hopeful anticipation of being allowed to chase birds. Khan knew a flock was near, keeping a wary distance in the trees. Hiding. Huddling. Cowardly little birds.

  Dirk chuckled again. “Would your dog understand the concept of freedom? If dragons were smart enough to think like humans, they would have wiped us out long ago. They’d be ruling the world, investing in stocks, and making pharmaceutical companies.”

  So dragons only had the intelligence of animals. This pronouncement was both a disappointment and a relief. Having a telepathic connection with something that had a high IQ would have been interesting, but at the same time, the smarter the dragons were, the harder they would be to defeat.

  “Khan seemed so intelligent when he showed me a star map,” Tori said. “I couldn’t tell you what the stars look like above my house.”

  “Dragons are amazing navigators. It’s a different type of intelligence.”

  “How far can he fly in a night?”

  “Far enough.” Another vague answer. Dirk bent toward her throat again, kissing the spot her jaw met her neck. The touch sent tingles down her back, which she did her best to ignore.

  Tori returned to Khan’s mind, rummaging through his thoughts. She couldn’t think of any useful questions the dragon might actually be able to answer, and she needed to find his control center.

  As Dirk’s lips left a trail on her neck, it was getting harder to concentrate on that task. Her breathing was going a little jagged. She pushed through different areas of Khan’s mind and ran into more memories. Eating. Preening. Eating. Lots of eating. Most of the dragon’s memories involved either catching or ripping apart his prey. Catching it was the fun part.

  “Wouldn’t you rather think about something else?” Dirk asked. “Why do you keep sifting through images of half-eaten animals?”

  She was tired of seeing them, but she couldn’t admit she was searching for a way to control the dragon. “Khan is so bloodthirsty,” she said. “You compared him to a dog. Well, sometimes dogs yank the leashes from their owners’ hands. How do you know one day Khan won’t break free and kill you?”

  “I don’t. That’s why I’m always careful.” Dirk turned Tori around to face him, then bent down to kiss her. This was too close.

  She put her hands to his chest, stopping him. “We shouldn’t.”

  He dropped his hands from her waist, and his expression hardened. “Because of Jesse?”

  “Because we’re fighting for different things.”

  Dirk’s jaw tightened, and he breathed out through his teeth.

  And she had ruined her chances of learning anything more about dragons by rebuffing him. He wouldn’t tell her anything if he was upset with her. “Because,” she added more gently, “how can I fight you later if I kiss you now?”

  The words weren’t a lie. She still had feelings for Dirk, an empty, aching spot in her heart where he’d once been. She thought of the day last summer when Jesse had broken up with her, remembered the way Dirk had comforted her. She held his gaze, let him see those emotions vibrating through her.

  His expression softened. “Then don’t fight me.” He put his hands on her shoulders, lowered his head, and kissed her. She lifted her hands to his chest again. This time, instead of pushing him away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

  Chapter 35

  Guilt pinged inside Tori. She ignored it. This was for the best, the way her lips were pressed to Dirk’s. Only she shouldn’t be enjoying it so much. She ignored that thought too. She locked her fingers behind his neck and kissed him, perhaps longer and more thoroughly than was strictly necessary to prove her attraction. But that was because she wanted to be convincing, not because she wanted to keep kissing him.

  Behind them, Khan shifted restlessly and grumbled. Tori had somehow drifted out of his mind, but entering it again wasn’t hard. She slipped back in and found herself surrounded by Khan’s agitation. She couldn’t tell the cause of it.

  She pulled away from Dirk to ask, “What’s wrong with him?”

  “I’ve kept him pinned here too long.” Dirk slid his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers. His smile reminded her of the way he’d been at camp—confident, happy, and trusting. He pulled her over to the dragon’s side. “Come on. I told you I’d take you for a ride.”

  The dragon’s saddle wasn’t like a horse’s. Khan was too wide to straddle. A bench was strapped to his back, surrounded by railings. When Overdrake had ridden Kiha, his chair was smaller, swiveled around, and had compartments for ammunition.

  This saddle looked like it was designed for sightseeing, not battle. It had no ladders or other way to climb to the bench. Dirk took Tori’s hand, and they flew to the seat.

  “Here’s your first dragon lord lesson,” he said. “Always mount from the side. Flying in front of a dragon activates its predatory instincts. You don’t want him to snap at you.”

  Tori sat down and scooted as far forward as possible. “I thought Khan couldn’t snap when you have control of him.”

  Dirk settled onto the bench behind her. “Dragons are like guns. You should be careful even when the safety is on.”

  “Dragons are like dogs, and now they’re like guns. Anything else?”

  “Hang on, and you’ll see.”

  She barely had time to take hold of the rails before Khan rose to his feet and leaped into the sky. With wings unfurled, he pushed upward, making the remaining leaves on the trees flutter in distress. He needed no room to take off, no clear path for a running leap. She tucked that bit of information away. She’d fought two dragons, but both were already airborne.

  Khan soared upwards with every beat of his long wings. They looked bat-like but worked like birds’ wings, sweeping up and down through the air. The ground below them disappeared, and the river became a small, dark thread.

  The ride wasn’t as smooth as flying under her own power. With each wingbeat, Khan dipped and rose in a comfortable rhythm. It was relaxing to fly without expending her own energy.

  “Hold on,” Dirk said, then spoke in Khan’s mind. Show her what you can do.

  The dragon dove downward. Tori only had time to gasp before Khan pulled up again, thrusting her back against Dirk’s chest. The dragon regained height, spun several times, then plunged downward again. He leaned on his left side and flew that way, then rolled to the right and did a figure eight.

  Most people would have screamed at being turned, flipped, and plunged a thousand feet over the ground. Tori laughed and let her head loll back against Dirk’s chest. It felt like an amusement park ride.

  Dirk’s voice came near her ear. “You’re never bored when you’re with a dragon.”

  “As though that’s a problem for me: I don’t have enough excitement in my life.”

  Khan leveled off and glided away from the river. She sensed the dragon’s satisfaction at performing every action Dirk asked of him, perfectly and powerfully. He liked maneuvering in the sky.

  A golf course came into view, a sea of grass broken by the occasional clump of trees. Dirk wrapped his hands loosely around Tori’s waist. “Isn’t this awesome?”

  “It’s nice.” She was purposely understating the event. There was something magical about riding around the night sky on a dragon. No wonder Bianca had fallen for Overdrake. He’d probably made a dragon bow to her, then taken her for a ride in the starlight.


  Tori didn’t mean to ask Khan about Bianca. Questions just ran through her mind while she was inside his. Had he known Bianca? Had he flown with her?

  And then Khan brought a memory forward: A scene of a dark-haired man, not much older than Dirk, helping a young blonde woman onto a seat like this one. She looked breathless and beautiful—eyes shining and cheeks flushed as she smiled at him.

  Dirk saw the memory and extinguished it. “Why are you asking about that?”

  “I didn’t mean to pry. I just wondered if your dad used to do this with girls when he was young. A dragon ride is the ultimate way to impress a date.”

  “Are you impressed?”

  “Very. Are you going to teach me how to make Khan fly like that? It felt like a rollercoaster.”

  She made the request innocently, but it wasn’t innocent. And he knew it.

  “I’d be happy to teach you,” he said, his voice all purr and possibility. “Right after you promise to leave the Slayers and join me.”

  “All I have to do is promise?”

  “No,” he said moving closer. “You have to help me disable the Slayers. That’s how I’ll know you’re really on my side.”

  She let out a discouraged huff. “You know I can’t do that. I can’t hurt the others—”

  He didn’t let her finish. “You won’t be hurting them; you’ll be keeping them from getting hurt. Fighting dragons is how they’ll get hurt and killed.” He sighed unhappily. “I know what I’m asking is hard, but think about what’s best for them.”

  She was. And stopping Overdrake was best for everyone, including Dirk.

  Before she could speak, Dirk did. “The country needs changes. You and I have the opportunity to help solve problems.”

  “There are nonviolent ways to do that.”

  “Yeah, and we’ve seen how well those methods work: we’re trillions of dollars in debt, the government is weighed down by bureaucracy, and neither party is capable of solving any real problems—let alone easy ones like fixing crumbling bridges and dams.”

  Somehow the fact that Dirk knew the state of America’s bridges and dams seemed like a bad omen.