by S. E. Smith
“Listen, I have a better idea. Why don’t you two go back to wherever you came from and we can just forget all of this?” she said in a loud voice, hoping the sound would cover her opening the window.
“Ah, elila, I fear we cannot do that,” Barrack responded.
“We do not have much time, Delilah. If you do not open the door, I will be forced to open it for you,” Brogan said.
“I… Please, just give me a few minutes to think. I… I need… just… a few… minutes,” she loudly pleaded, grinning as she slid first one leg, then the other out the window.
“We will wait,” Barrack reluctantly agreed.
“Thank you,” she said, leaning down and grabbing her jacket and the shovel. “Ten minutes. I just need ten minutes. If you… wait right there, I’ll open the door in ten.”
“Five...,” Brogan countered before she heard a grunt.
“We can give her ten minutes! We have waited centuries, what is ten minutes more if it makes our mate happy?” Barrack argued.
“She could do just as much thinking in five minutes,” Brogan countered. “I need my symbiot. My nose and groin are killing me. You could use yours as well. You have a large knot on your forehead and I think your eyelids are turning colors.”
Chapter Eight
Delilah didn’t wait to hear any more. Pushing off against the house, she half-scooted and half-slid down the snow-covered roof. She had to grit her teeth against the cold. This literally gave new meaning to having a frozen ass, but it was better than being tortured and killed by two madmen!
Her feet dug in when she reached the edge of the roof. Looking down, she could barely see the snow-covered ground. She swore that her eyelashes were beginning to freeze in the intense cold. The wind, snow, and sub-zero temperatures stung her cheeks and she was afraid if she opened her mouth, her teeth might freeze!
Refusing to think of all the things that could go wrong, she scooted forward until her feet were dangling off the edge of the roof. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of icy air before she opened her eyes again and pushed off the edge. Her stomach dropped to her feet before ricocheting back up into her throat as she fell. She bent her knees as she hit the soft snow. She reached out to stop her forward momentum but did a face-plant when her feet sank and stuck into the snow.
She lay there a second to make sure nothing was broken before she popped her head up and gasped. It was freaking cold! She clumsily crawled to her feet. She moaned when her muscles protested. She was going to be sore as hell later.
Reaching for her jacket that lay on the snow next to her, she put it on. Even wearing five shirts and a set of heavy thermal underwear, she was still cold. Zipping up her jacket, she grabbed the shovel.
Now all she needed to do was rescue the dogs. She didn’t know if it was the smartest thing to do, but she’d be damned if she’d let some crazy lunatics hurt them. She calculated that she had about eight minutes to sneak in, get the dogs, and run like hell.
Hurrying around to the front door as fast as she could in the blinding snow, she made sure she kept the house to her left. She stumbled when she reached the front steps. The timer was counting down faster than she liked. She estimated five minutes max before they started to break into the bedroom.
Holding onto the handrail with one hand and her trusty shovel with the other, she climbed the steps and crossed the front porch which had snow all the way to the door. She pulled the screen door open and gripped the doorknob before she remembered that it was locked. She was about to pull her hand away when she heard the slight click and the door moved inward.
“Duh!” she muttered under her breath. “Of course, it is open! How do you think Alien Lunatic 1 and 2 got in, Delilah?”
She pushed the door open and slipped inside, quietly pulling the screen door behind her so it wouldn’t bang. She grinned when she heard the men quietly talking upstairs. She partially closed the front door behind her, promising herself that she would remember to thank Bubba Joe Wright for installing it and making sure that it didn’t squeak when it opened.
Each step she took made a small crunching noise that was loud to her sensitive ears as the snow clinging to her boots fell off onto the throw rug in the foyer. The sitting room on her right opened into the dining room which then opened into the kitchen. She could grab the dogs and cut through the back rooms to reach the back door. She would have to take a chance that the old truck could make it through the snow.
If she had known she was going to have company, she could have attached her granddad’s old snowplow to the front bumper. At least she had four-wheel drive! That would help a little.
Confident with her plan, she deduced that she had three minutes and counting until discovery, maybe a little more considering they would have to break into the room first. Of course, leaving the window open would probably give them a clue that she was no longer there, but what the heck. She could only do so much and jumping off the roof had been the limit of her thought processes at the time.
She rounded the corner and stepped into the front parlor. A scowl darkened her face when she saw both dogs sound asleep as if nothing unusual were going on. Hell, they weren’t even in the golden cage that had been in here earlier.
“Fine lot of protection you two are,” she hissed in a soft voice. “Come.”
Both dogs came alert the moment she spoke. With a hand signal, they both came to heel beside her. Once again, she thanked the stars that as the local librarian in a small town, she had access to tons of resources and plenty of time to read them. All those hours of watching dog videos and reading training books were paying off.
With renewed determination, she cut a path through the dining room, passed through the kitchen, and was out the back door with her dogs and her trusty shovel with a minute to spare. She held onto the rope leading to the Model-T shed, and struggled through the nearly thigh-deep snow to the shed. She gripped the wooden board that kept it closed and pulled with all her might. It would not budge. There was too much snow and ice; it was frozen in place.
Frustrated, she pulled the scarf up around her nose and mouth. Running a hand alongside the shed, she made her way to the side door near the back. It opened inward, so she hadn’t needed to bar it. She groaned when she realized that it had a brand new lock on it. There were three keys for it. One key was in the house, the other was hanging on a nail in the shed, and the last one was on a key ring – also in the shed because, of course, that is where you leave your keys during a snow storm – in the truck, under the driver’s seat.
Glancing around, she realized the only place where she and the dogs could hide now was an old smokehouse that her granddad had used. It was in piss-poor condition and on her list to be torn down so she could reuse the wood for something else. The problem would be finding it in a blizzard.
She reached down when she heard Rum whine. Both dogs were shivering in the mind-numbingly intense cold. Hitting the door with her shoulder, she groaned when it didn’t move. Rubbing her arm, she decided it would be better to conserve her energy and focus on finding the smokehouse.
“Come on, boys. We can do this,” she muttered, turning in the snow and struggling to take a step in what she hoped was the right direction.
“Should I have my symbiot heal my old scars?” Brogan asked, lifting his lip to test if the tenderness around it was gone.
Barrack looked at his brother and shook his head. “Do you think it will improve your personality?” he dryly asked.
Brogan chuckled and shook his head. “No,” he admitted.
“If she is truly our mate, she will see beyond the scars. If they frighten her, then you can see if your symbiot can lighten them. You know that it will not be able to completely erase them,” Barrack stated, lifting a hand to rub his forehead. “That feels much better.”
The symbiots looked at each other and snorted. Barrack knew that they were procrastinating, in part to give Delilah the time she needed to finally open the door. They had decided that her
seeing them bruised and bloody wouldn’t be a good idea, even if she was the reason behind it.
“Delilah, we have given you the time you requested. Are you ready to open the door now?” Barrack asked.
He frowned when there was no answer. He looked at Brogan with a raised eyebrow. Brogan leaned forward and knocked on the door.
“Delilah, time is up. Open the door,” Brogan said. “I am really getting tired of saying that,” he added under his breath.
“I am as well,” Barrack responded. Turning to his symbiot, he motioned to the door. “Unlock the door and open it.”
His symbiot shook as it rose to its feet. A thin thread of gold flowed out of its body and into the keyhole. He heard the sound of the metal key falling out of the lock and hitting the floor on the other side. With a twist, the symbiot unlocked the door.
He reached for the door once the symbiot withdrew. He paused when he felt the flow of frigid air through the narrow keyhole. A growl of warning echoed in the hallway as he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door inward.
He placed his shoulder to the door when it was stopped by something. Delilah had blocked the door. Brogan’s voice ordering his symbiot to move the object registered at the same time as the blast of cold air.
The symbiot easily squeezed through the gap. A moment later, the dresser was moved. Opening the door completely, he stared at the open window across the room. Snow, blown in from the wind, slowly melted on the area rug thanks to the fire in the fireplace.
“Ten minutes…. She is smart. I believed her,” Brogan grudgingly conceded, walking to the window.
Barrack’s lips tightened. “In this weather, she will be dead,” he bit out. Turning to their symbiots, he waved his hand at them. “Find her.”
The symbiots shifted, their bodies becoming fluid as they flowed through the open window. Once outside, one shifted into a bird of prey while the other shifted back into the form of a Werecat. Barrack touched the gold wrapped around his wrists.
We find mate. She in danger, his dragon growled, clawing to be released so it could go after Delilah as well.
Yes, we find mate, Barrack agreed.
Barrack watched as Brogan climbed through the window. A moment later, he followed, closing the window behind them. Delilah would die in this weather if they didn’t find her soon.
Sliding down the roof, his gaze narrowed on the depression in the snow that was quickly filling in. Brogan jumped off the roof, landing next to the spot and shifted into his dragon. Barrack glanced around. The thick swirling snow made it impossible to see very far, even for him.
He jumped off the roof, shape-shifting before he landed. His dragon, fueled by fear for its mate, rose into the air in record time. He connected with his symbiot. They had tracked her to the shed, but she wasn’t still there. Circling above, he glanced over at Brogan when his brother flew up to join him.
They both received images from the symbiots as they raced after her trail.
She headed into the woods, Barrack said, his voice sharp with worry.
We will find her and when we do…, Brogan’s voice faded.
Images of Delilah locked in a golden cage, covered in their symbiots, and a myriad of other ways to protect her flowed through Barrack’s mind. He could feel his dragon adding to the list. His head turned at the same time as Brogan’s when the image of a small wooden shack appeared in their minds. Brogan’s symbiot in the shape of a bird of prey had spotted the snow-covered roof of the old smokehouse in a stand of trees not far away.
Barrack turned his head against the driving force of the wind and snow as he flew as fast as he could. Ice crystals formed on his eyelashes. The cold did not bother his dragon. It was more of an irritation because it separated him from his target – Delilah.
Brogan flew ahead of him, forging through the trees. All branches in his brother’s way were either incinerated or snapped off and tossed aside. Brogan’s symbiot swooped down and landed on a branch above the roof of the structure that looked like it was about to collapse.
He dropped down and shifted back into his two-legged form while Brogan landed near him and remained a dragon. There were tracks in the snow leading to the structure. Waving a hand to his symbiot, he moved forward to the door.
She there, his dragon said. I hear her beasts.
I know, Barrack replied, trying to remain calm.
He looked up at the metal roof. Rows of sharp icicles hung from the thin corrugated metal like jagged teeth. The shed was creaking and bowing under the onslaught of the wind and the weight of the snow-laden roof. The structure wouldn’t last much longer.
Pushing the door open, his gaze searched the small, dark shed. In the corner, Delilah huddled with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around each of the shivering dogs. Their soft whining told him that the two animals would not be a problem this time.
“Delilah, little fighter, what are you doing?” Barrack chided, his heart melting when he saw her trembling uncontrollably from the cold. “What are we going to do with you?”
She slowly lifted her head. All he could see were her eyes. He smiled when he saw her look of defiance.
“G… go… a… way,” she stuttered through chattering teeth.
Barrack walked forward and knelt in front of her. He laughed outright when she growled and snapped her teeth at him. She couldn’t do much damage as her mouth was covered with a black scarf.
“You’ll freeze, elila. This structure is very unsafe and very, very cold,” Barrack observed, not wanting to frighten her, but needing her to understand the danger that she was in.
“I… wou… wouldn’t… be… be… here… if… you… had left,” she mumbled, pulling her arms in and tucking them against her chest.
Barrack, the structure won’t remain standing much longer. You must get her out of there, Brogan said, his words whispering through his mind.
I know. We are leaving in a moment, Barrack replied.
“Let us take you back to your home. It will be warm there,” he encouraged, glancing up when he felt a whoosh of cold air sweep blowing snow in through the ceiling. “Delilah, the structure is about to collapse. You and your beasts are in danger.”
She shook her head and buried her face in her knees. He motioned for his symbiot to enter and care for the dogs. The symbiot split into two and covered the dogs, sheltering each one in a warm cocoon.
He reached out and gently touched Delilah’s hunched shoulder. The trembling in her body became worse, and he began to worry when she didn’t look up. He wrapped his arm around her, and a smothered moan reached him at the same time that she turned into him. By nature, his body temperature was warm due to his dragon. He hissed when she placed her icy hands against his shirt.
Barrack, get out now! Brogan warned just as Barrack heard the snap. His dragon sensed the danger as a nearby dead tree snapped under the freezing temperatures and the increasing winds. He stood up, shifting as he did. His wings wrapped around Delilah to protect her as the tree hit the roof of the building and the structure collapsed around them, burying them in several feet of snow and metal. The tree landed across his shoulder. He tucked his head and held Delilah safely against his body.
Barrack! Brogan roared.
Get the tree and debris off of us. I will carry Delilah back to the house once I am free. You and your symbiot take care of her beasts, Barrack replied.
He bent his head when he felt a small hand run up and down his chest. He tilted his head, and his ear twitched as he tried to make out Delilah’s softly mumbled words. A sense of calm swept through him, and he could feel its warmth filling the empty void that had haunted him and Brogan for as long as he could remember.
“I’m… just… dreaming, that’s all,” she mumbled as she stroked him. “Dragons… don’t really… exist. It was supposed to be a dream.”
Rubbing his chin against the top of her hooded head, he kept her shielded until Brogan and his symbiot cleared enough debris away that he could safely lift off. Th
e storm was increasing in intensity. His dragon struggled against the wind to keep from crashing into the trees. He quickly realized that they were all in peril when several more trees snapped in half and fell, barely missing him.
I cannot protect her from the elements in this form, he said, trying to hold Delilah’s shaking body against his chest and protect her from the driving winds and frigid temperatures.
Form a shielded transport, Brogan ordered, reaching out to the symbiots for help.
Brogan’s symbiot brought the dogs inside the ship that Barrack’s symbiot was forming, then dissolved and melded with Barrack’s symbiot until a sleek capsule-shaped golden ship was formed. Barrack swept down, disappearing into the ship when a section opened for him. He shifted, his arms still tightly wrapped around Delilah.
Brogan entered and shifted. Within seconds, they were all sealed inside the symbiot ship, protected from the outside elements. He stumbled when a blast of wind came down the mountain and buffeted the ship. Brogan reached out and steadied him.
“We need to get out of this,” Brogan commented.
Barrack looked down when Delilah slowly raised her head. She looked at him, then turned her gaze to Brogan. Her eyes widened when she saw the inside of the symbiot ship. Her lips parted and she took a deep, loud breath before her eyes rolled back, and she went limp in his arms.
“Does this mean we frightened her?” Brogan asked.
Chapter Nine
Delilah woke in stages. The first stage began with a loud sigh. It felt good to be warm. Hell, she felt downright toasty. She hadn’t thought she would ever feel her fingers and toes again. In fact, she felt so comfy that she decided to roll over and sleep some more.