Fireblood Dragon: Fire In His Blood Part 7

Maybe this isn't such a crackpot plan, after all. Maybe it's not certain death. I'm a big fan of uncertain death versus certain.

Using the blade of gla.s.s, I skin the goat leg as best I can. It's gross, b.l.o.o.d.y work, and I don't have anything to wipe my hands on. I'm naked, and the dress they left me with? It's around here somewhere, but I'm too dirty to put it on. I sure don't want to get goat blood on it, so I just wipe my hands on the hide as I go and hope I'm not spreading too many germs.

Eventually, it's mostly skinned and almost looks like regular meat. Almost. I straighten and admire my handiwork. Not too bad. Now if I can just convince him to cook it, it might not be a half-bad meal.

I glance up at Kael. "I don't suppose you're one of those fire-breathing dragons, are you? Or are those just the red ones?"

He watches me intently and then noses my hair.

I push his head away. "Not right now. I'm trying to concentrate." I glance back at him. "I don't suppose I could tell you to change back so we can chat?"

Nothing. Figures.

I pat the raw goat leg. "Cook this please." When that gets me nowhere, I go for charades. I gesture at my nose, then pantomime flames (or, okay, a really great sneeze) shooting out onto the goat leg. Then I point at him. "You cook it with fire. Please."

The great head tilts, and then he whuffs out a small gush of flame from his nostrils. It's so close to my head that I yelp and scurry backward, patting at my hair.

All right. That was a little alarming, but we're getting somewhere. I nod enthusiastically and gesture at the meat. "Yes! Cook!"

At my encouraging tone, he blows out a larger gush of flame, searing the leg. It crackles, and the fat sizzles on it, the smell of charring meat filling the air. The flames end as quickly as they erupted, and he looks expectantly over at me again, smoke trickling from his nostrils.

I move forward, putting a hand on his muzzle as a warning not to fry me, and check the meat. Still raw underneath the top layer. I move away again and gesture for him to 'cook' once more. He does, and after the second round, I check it again. Charred, but not bad at all. I dig my fingers into the meat and pull off a long strip, chewing thoughtfully. Juices rush into my mouth, and I close my eyes at the heavenly taste. This is the first real, fresh meat I've had in I don't know how long. It doesn't matter that it's goat. It doesn't matter that it's been dragon-broiled.

It's amazing.

I want to stuff my mouth full and eat until I get sick, because who knows when I'll get another chance to have this much fresh food? I give Kael a beaming smile and reach out to stroke his nose. "Thank you. This is perfect."

He noses my hair, and his tongue brushes against my neck. When I push him away, I see his eyes are black.

Eep. I know what that means. I grab the meat and step away, giving him a wary look. He blinks, and his eyes go back to gold. Good. He doesn't follow me to my new seat, either. Also good. It's like he knows that he needs to back off when he goes over the edge. That makes me relax a little. As long as I can recognize when he's about to cut loose, I can stop it from happening.

So I eat. Dragon-roasted goat is the best thing I've had in forever, so I eat as much as I can and then push it away. The moment I do, he wolfs the remainder down. Bones crunch, and then he looks at the rest of the goat's carca.s.s and then back to me.

I wave a hand at it and shake my head. "No more for Claudia."

He seems to grasp that and scarfs the remainder of the goat down in a single gulp.

Handy way to get rid of a mess, I suppose. I search for something to wipe my hands on, but there's nothing clean. I'm thirsty, too, but I suppose that's a problem that can be solved later. The sun is going down, and I'm starting to get cold. The wind's rising, and it bites into my bare skin. I find the flimsy white bit of fabric that made up my dress and wrap it around my shoulders, curling up in a corner. With food in my belly, I'm suddenly exhausted. I'm cras.h.i.+ng, I think. I've spent most of the day utterly terrified, and now I just feel drained.

Whatever Kael wants with me, he wants me alive. That much is obvious. I seem to be his prisoner, since I can't get down off this building on my own. I lean back against a broken bit of wall and sigh. I'm better off where I am, for now. A yawn escapes me, and I m.u.f.fle it with my hand.

The movement catches the dragon's attention, and Kael's big paw reaches out for me. I stiffen as it curls around me, but he only pulls me against his chest and settles down on the floor. He cradles me between his forelegs and lays his head down.

I still have the piece of gla.s.s that I'd used to butcher the goat. I can attack him. I can try to force an escape. The urge to fight hasn't left me.

But he's being gentle with me. His scaled chest is toasty like a furnace, and the terrible claws are oh-so-careful not to harm me. It's like he knows that I'm fragile and is taking extra care to make sure that I'm safe. And it's weird, but I feel a strange little thrill at how carefully, how closely, he holds me.

Man, I must really be starved for affection if I'm liking it that a dragon's cuddling me.

Then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised-life in the After is hard and unpleasant. No one's affectionate, because trusting someone can get you killed. Anyone that gives you attention likely has an angle. The last boyfriend I had stole all of the food I'd carefully h.o.a.rded, and after that, I never entertained another relations.h.i.+p. I have Amy and Sasha, but I admit that sometimes it's lonely. Sometimes it's hard being the one that's in charge, the one that everyone looks to in order to make things right again.

Maybe that's why I like the dragon's embrace, no matter how ridiculous it seems. The control's been taken away from me. All I have to do is sleep and let someone else handle things.

Even if it's a dragon.

After a moment's hesitation, I relax against him and close my eyes. At least he's warm. My arm brushes against an enormous claw, and I remember just how big and scary he is. How one wrong move can tear me limb from limb. Maybe dragon cuddles aren't such a good idea, after all. I'm a little tense as I settle into my 'bed.' I won't fall asleep, of course. I'll be too terrified. But at least I can be warm.

And yet the moment I close my eyes, I drift off.

KAEL.

I scarcely dare to breathe as Clau-dah relaxes against me and her breath evens out into sleep. It takes every bit of my inner strength not to bury my nose in the soft cloud of her hair and drink in her scent. Having her here, clutched against me, feels like the greatest gift. With her hand on my scales, my mind feels crisp and bright, not blurred by madness. It has been so very long, and I have her to thank.

My Clau-dah. My mate.

She has yet to take battle-for. I think she does not have one at all, confirming my suspicions. That makes her all the more fragile, and it means I must be vigilant in my task to keep her safe. She cannot speak to me with her mind, either. I have reached out to her several times, even as we stood close together, and gotten nothing in return. If she were drakoni, my mind could touch hers and we could communicate with a thought.

But if she were drakoni, she would be as crazed as the rest of my people. Her thoughts would be eaten up with the anger and the darkness. I am glad she is other.

More than anything, I ache to claim her, to take her as my own. I want nothing more than to transform into my two-legged form and curl around her as a mate would. To hold her close and sink my c.o.c.k into her warm, willing c.u.n.t. But I cannot. Not yet, not while she is yet frightened of me. I will not touch her until she welcomes it. Until then, I will take the small joys. The fact that she sleeps so peacefully against me is pleasing. I thought I would lose my sanity when she ran away, and in that moment, I nearly broke again. I nearly broke a second time when she dangled off the edge of the strange cliff, but I was able to bring her back safely. My claws tighten around her in remembered fear. So close to losing her just after I found her.

Clau-dah makes a soft noise in her sleep, protesting my grip.

I immediately relax my claws again. She s.h.i.+fts her weight and presses her cheek to my scales, tucking her small body against mine. A small, tired sigh escapes her, and I want to bite it out of the air and keep it. My heart feels full. Complete.

I will do anything to keep this. To keep her.

Anything.

9.

CLAUDIA.

I awaken to the faint sound of something stirring, and I'm surprised to see that the sun is bright and there are birds chirping in the distance. Did I sleep all night? Despite being naked, filthy, and cradled against a dragon? Guess so. Even now, my cheek is resting against the deliciously warm scales of his foreleg, and my arm and leg are thrown over him like he's a great big pillow. I'm not even embarra.s.sed. I slept far too well.

I straighten, pus.h.i.+ng my messy hair out of my eyes, and glance up at the dragon's face. Kael is alert, his head high and stiff, eyes flicking between gold and black. As I watch, a plume of steam rises from one nostril, and his long tail lashes somewhere far behind us, stirring debris. It must be the sound that woke me up.

But why is he so agitated?

I remain still, not wanting to startle him, and decide to wait for him to notice that I'm awake. He remains in a state of alert, though, and doesn't seem to be paying any attention to me. All right. I know what to do in dangerous situations-extract myself from said dangerous situation. I sit up and start to creep away, only to have one clawed paw reach out and immediately grab me, dragging me close to his chest again. I make a small noise of protest and push at one of the gigantic black talons, but instead of letting me go, he makes a cage with them.

I'm not going anywhere.

My heart starts to pound. This wasn't how he acted last night. "Um, Kael?" I put my hand on one scaly digit. "Remember me? Claudia? Your bestest human buddy?"

His eyes continue to whirl black, and his lips curl back, revealing the sword-like incisors. Well, c.r.a.p. I don't know what to do. How do you calm down a p.i.s.sed-off dragon when you have no idea why he's p.i.s.sed? I continue to stroke his scales, trying to soothe him. "Talk to me, Kael."

Because talking would require turning back to human form, and he feels a lot less scary in human form.

The big head leans down, and he nuzzles my hair, but the claws remain tight around me. I think he's trying to rea.s.sure me, but I'm not going to relax while he's got all that black whirling in his eyes.

The sound of human voices touches my ear. I stiffen, instantly alert. Hope hammers in my heart.

People! Militia, from the sounds of their voices, but I don't care. Fort Dallas sent people after me, and that's all that counts. They didn't leave me. Someone's come to save me. I haven't been completely abandoned. Joy and relief rush through me, and I push at Kael's claws, trying to squeeze my way free.

Kael doesn't let me go. He growls low in his throat, and his eyes are almost entirely black.

I go still again. s.h.i.+t. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.

I don't know what to do. I want to be rescued...but I don't want Kael to lose his s.h.i.+t and squeeze me into a pile of human goo.

"We just need to check on things," a voice says, hollow and echoing from across the way. I can barely make it out, but it's a man's voice. "You saw what the dragon did to this place. Something happened here yesterday, and the mayor wants answers."

My heart sinks at that. They're not here to rescue me. They're here to see what happened. Don't I matter at all?

"No one could have survived that," another voice grumbles. "We had to rappel up half the d.a.m.n building just trying to get here. He f.u.c.king tore the stairwell out."

"Yeah, but no corpse down on the streets. That's a good sign."

"Unless he ate her whole."

Well, gee. They almost sound disappointed that I'm not roadkill. Like it's inconvenient for them that I might still be alive and they have to check on me. I'm starting to side with the d.a.m.n dragon.

"Check if he's there. Look for signs of the dragon or the girl," one of the soldiers says.

"Won't be any signs of her left," the other comments. "She ain't more than two bites."

Kael blows another puff of smoke from his nostrils, his growling increasing. His tail lashes back and forth wildly, the dust and leaves stirring so loud it sounds like a windstorm. He's agitated as h.e.l.l, and as he nuzzles my hair with another steamy breath, I realize he's trying to comfort me. He's trying to tell me he's not mad at me.

But those other guys?

He's going to straight up roast them.

My skin p.r.i.c.kles. I know this as much as I know the nose on my face. He's going to defend me from them. I'm his toy now, and if they try to take me back, he's going to make them regret it. He's going to kill them, and their deaths will be on my head. I don't know what to do.

I eye the dragon, and then the stairwell across the room. The moment they come through that door, they're dead meat. I have to stop them before they come up. And Kael won't hurt me. I hope. So I take a risk and cup a hand to my mouth. "Don't come up here," I call out. "The dragon's still here and he's angry!"

Kael sucks in a breath, the intake so sharp my hair rustles. He lowers his head until his eye is even with my face, and it's whirling deep, deep black. Oh s.h.i.+t. "Sorry," I whisper, and give him a trembling pat on the nose. "Please don't be mad."

My warning seems to have the opposite desired effect, though. "h.e.l.lo?" one of the men calls out. "Claudia Jones? Is that you?"

I open my mouth to call out again, but Kael's eye is still staring me down, and the low growl is rumbling in his chest so loud I can feel it shaking my body. The words die in my throat.

"We're coming for you," another militia soldier calls out. "The mayor's changed his mind."

He has? I'm not exiled? I hold my breath, shocked and pleased. Then I see a shadow move in the stairwell. Oh no. "Don't come up!"

Kael lifts his head, pointing it at the sky, and trumpets a call. It's loud, blaring, and utterly furious. It's a warning. Even I know that.

"s.h.i.+t!" one of the men yells. I hear the sound of scrambling coming from the stairwell.

The dragon hefts to his feet, roaring again. I'm clutched fast in his talons, and they dig into my skin as he extends his wings. I bite back a yelp as we lift into the air, just as the men run onto the ruined floor that's been my home for the last day. We go higher and higher into the air, Kael roaring fury. I cling to him, terrified he'll drop me far below. We're up so high, and I've got nothing to hold on to except for a slippery dragon. All I can hope is that he won't drop me in one of his less lucid moments.

As we rise, the building below us gets smaller, and I see the men stop and raise their guns. What the h.e.l.l are they doing? Guns are useless against dragon-scale. That was one reason why humanity hadn't stood a chance against the draconic invasion.

Shots ring out, the quick rat-tat-tat-tat of automatic rifles.

I scream, ducking my head and trying to protect it with my hands. Something hot scorches a path on my arm - I've been hit.

Are they firing at me and not the dragon?

A terrible roar sounds through the air, so loud that I feel as if my ears might explode from the thunder of it. It rips out of Kael's throat, so forceful that I can feel it in his claws, and then we're turning suddenly in midair, diving back toward the men with guns.

Oh no. No no no no.

I squeeze my eyes closed as we dive, helpless. I can feel the wind s.h.i.+ft as Kael swoops low. More bullets ring out.

There's an awful scream and the crunch of bones, and then the air changes again. We're rising. More gunfire whizzes past. I squeeze an eye open just in time to see Kael spit out half of one of the soldiers, the body tumbling through the air. He begins to whirl around again, ready to dive on the remaining soldiers.

My stomach clenches in horror. "Oh no," I moan. "Please, no."

The dragon abruptly changes directions.

One moment, we're diving at the remaining soldiers. The next, Kael's wings are beating hard and we're soaring back up into the air. He gives another trumpeting warning and blasts fire at the building. Not enough to hit anyone, just a show of his wrath. I watch the building get smaller and smaller as we go up, and the soldiers turn into ants. The lone red banner flaps in the breeze, and I feel odd leaving it behind.

Kael stopped his attack. He heard me say no and he stopped.

I don't know how to react. I'm relieved, of course, but do I praise him? Thanks for only chomping one soldier in half? Talk as if it's nothing? Don't mention it at all? I stroke his scaly skin, a jumble of emotions tearing me up inside. He's just killed a man. Bit him in half. But he didn't attack first, either. He had just tried to leave with me, and he only lost his s.h.i.+t when they shot at us.