by S. E. Smith
If she wasn’t so damn scared, she would have taken a closer look. Once again, horrific images amplified by her own vivid imagination of mutilation and people being devoured sent a wave of fight-or-flight through her. Since there was nowhere to run, her only recourse was to fight. She knew she could put them both on the ground. This time, though, she’d have to knock them out! With a growl of warning, she held the pot lid like a shield and jabbed at them with the aluminum frying pan.
“Get back,” she ordered, her eyes glittering with determination. “I know how to fence.”
Barrack frowned. “Our dragons will not harm you, Delilah,” he promised.
“You even stroked him. Mine wants to feel your hand on him too,” Brogan purred as his face started to change and a soft, rumbling sound emanated from his chest which made her start swinging at his head.
“No dragons in the house,” she snarled. “Do you have any idea of the damage they could do to my wood floors? Out! I want you both out of my house now! Take your gold things, your dragons, and your alien selves back to wherever you came from.”
Both men jumped back when she kept swinging the frying pan at them. They stumbled toward the back door that led out into the mudroom. Delilah saw them wince when she clanged the lid against the frying pan.
“Delilah…,” Barrack tried to reason with her as he felt behind himself for the doorknob.
“Don’t you ‘Delilah’ me! For all I know you ate my best friend! Maybe that is why no one can find Sara!” she said, her eyes filling with tears at the thought. “I want you out of my house!”
Her lower lip began to tremble. She gasped when Brogan reached out and grabbed both of her wrists. He slowly pulled her closer to him, his gaze locked on her face. She tilted her head back and looked at him with a fierce, watery look that was ruined when she sniffed. His gaze softened, melting some of her fear.
“We didn’t eat your friend, Delilah. We live by a code of honor, something that we have not always been very good at, but we try. We will leave you alone, but our symbiots will stay with you. They will protect you, even from us if necessary,” he gently explained.
Delilah could see the deep regret and sadness in his eyes. He looked lost and lonely. Her lips parted when he leaned toward her and pressed a brief kiss to her forehead, then released her.
“You captured my heart centuries ago, Delilah,” Brogan said.
Their eyes remained locked for several seconds before he turned and murmured to his brother that he would be outside.
She watched as he opened the door. A frigid blast of icy air swept into the room. Barrack looked at her with the same lost, lonely expression before he stepped forward, and ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. There was a surge of earnest intensity in his expression and he seemed on the verge of telling her something. For a moment Delilah had the dizzying certainty that he was going to profess his love just like his brother had, but then he turned and followed Brogan outside, closing the door firmly behind him.
Trembling, she walked over to the window and looked outside. Her arms fell to her side. In the swirling snowstorm, she saw a truly magical sight – twin dragons. They each turned in a circle, their feet tamping down a spot for them to sit down. Her hand rose to her mouth when Barrack tilted his head back, looked up at the sky, and released an anguished roar that tore at her heart.
Chapter Twelve
Brogan’s dragon pawed at the snow. The wind had died down a little, but he could sense it was merely a lull in the storm as it changed direction. Thick flakes continued to fall, but not like the blinding flurries of yesterday afternoon and throughout the night.
The snow was deep enough that in some places it rubbed against his belly. Hopping over the depressed section, he looked up at the roof. Long icicles hung from the eaves over Delilah’s bedroom window.
She is lucky she not die, his dragon muttered, kicking at the white fluff.
Yes, she is, he agreed.
His dragon swept a wide circle in the snow with his tail, smoothing the area around him. With a grunt, the large green and white dragon sat down in the center and irritably blew short blasts of fire at some flakes of snow that threatened to fall into his circle. Brogan sensed his dragon’s disappointment. What concerned him the most was his dragon’s acceptance of their failure.
We broken, his dragon mourned, drawing a claw through the snow.
No, this is simply an obstacle in the river’s path. We will find a way. Do not give up hope, he encouraged. Look what Delilah has done to her home. It is old like us, but her love is healing it. She can do the same for us, he said.
His dragon turned its head and looked at the house before returning its attention to blowing small flames at the falling snow. Brogan wanted to groan and shake his head. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they should be thinking of a way to get back in the house – this time with Delilah’s permission.
Barrack…, he softly called, trying to connect with his more level-headed brother.
Go away, Brogan, Barrack muttered.
Brogan forced his dragon to turn around and face Barrack. It had made a circle the same as his. He could tell from the droop of the dragon’s wings that it was feeling the same way, too.
What are we going to do? We can’t give up now, Brogan insisted.
We scared her, Brogan. I saw the fear in her eyes, just like…. Barrack’s dragon lifted its head and roared in anguish.
She is a fighter. You saw her, Brogan argued, growing desperate as his own doubts began to build.
He wanted to reach out to his symbiot, but was afraid to in case it was feeling the same way. Hell, he could still feel her shock and horror when she saw his dragon’s scales rippling across his skin.
Mate no like dragons, his dragon stated, spreading his wings and falling backwards to stare up at the sky.
The realization that Delilah might never accept his and Barrack’s dragon hit him hard. He’d thought they had a chance when she started teasing them. She hadn’t even been afraid of their symbiot once she realized it wouldn’t hurt her.
When she had screamed earlier, he’d sensed that she was more startled than scared, though that hadn’t stopped him from being scared himself that something more sinister was wrong. What he’d sensed had been confirmed when he and Barrack had walked in on her ordering the symbiot off of her side of the bed and away from her pillow.
What he’d felt from her in the kitchen was different. She had been terrified – and repulsed. He opened his mouth and blew out a burst of fire, melting the snow which fell on him like raindrops. The temperature was so cold that the water droplets froze on his scales, making them look like they were captured in glass.
What are we going to do, Barrack? Brogan murmured.
Did they come so far and wait so long, just to lose the one person in the universe who made the struggle worth it? This was a fight they had to win – not just for their lives, but for the life of their mate. Forcing his dragon to roll over onto its stomach, he lifted his head to growl in frustration at his brother when he didn’t answer. Instead, he ended up with a snowball between the eyes.
Delilah watched the dragons in fascination. They didn’t look anything like a lizard. Their scales shimmered against the falling snow and were quite lovely. Brogan turned in a circle, his tail creating a wide, deep rut, and sat down. She knew it was him by the scars on the left side of his face. How the dragon could have identical scars was beyond her.
“Heck, how they change into a dragon is beyond me,” she muttered, leaning against the window sill and hugging the frying pan and pot lid to her chest.
She turned her head when the symbiots came in. They were in the same shape as the Rottweilers. Biting her bottom lip, she looked outside then back to them.
“Can you change into anything you want to?” she asked.
One of the symbiots nodded while the other shimmered and changed. Her mouth fell open when she found herself staring at a humongous teddy bear, obviously patt
erned off of one of Rum’s squeaky toys. She snorted when the golden creature changed again into a miniature horse before shifting one last time into the big cat that had been on her bed.
“Wow! I saw some smaller ones earlier in the shape of dragons. Was that part of you or are there smaller ones around?” she asked, glancing out of the window once more before walking over to the two creatures.
She gasped when the other symbiot dissolved, and dozens of tiny dragons the size of a hummingbird swarmed around her. She couldn’t control her giggles when several of them lifted her hair up. She held out her hands, marveling when more landed on her.
“Oh, my goodness,” she breathed, watching them dissolve and form several more bracelets on her arms.
Her hand reached up to touch her ear when she felt them there, then moved to her throat. Looking down, she saw that she now wore a necklace in the shape of a bird of prey. Warmth filled her, wrapping around her as surely as if the creatures were casting a magical spell, and she could see images of Brogan and Barrack as children.
The vivid flashes of their lives swept through her as if she was watching a television documentary. Over time, she saw their parents’ joy and wonder turn to sadness. She didn’t understand until she saw the people around them. Everywhere she looked there was suspicion and fear as they stared at the two young boys who just wanted to fit in.
“Some people really need their asses kicked sometimes, don’t they?” she murmured, feeling the hurt and sadness in the creatures.
She reached down and hugged the symbiot when it reformed into the cat, minus the tiny bits of gold it left had on her wrists. A sense of calm washed through her and she turned and did the same thing to the other one. She was definitely a sucker for the underdog.
She heard a soft hiss in the kitchen when the symbiot she’d hugged last nudged her with its head. She followed their gazes to the window, and walked back to get a closer look at the scene in her backyard. Brogan was lying on his back, blowing small fireballs up at the snow while Barrack sat, with his back to his brother and the house, staring out at the desolate, snow-covered forest.
Their body language made it clear that the brothers were feeling pretty low. The symbiots came to stand next to her as her gaze moved to the sky. The snow was still falling heavily, but the winds had died down. It would still be ‘freeze-your-ass-off’ cold, but sometimes a girl had to suck it up and suffer through if she was going to set things right.
“Have you two ever played in the snow before?” she asked, smiling as she remembered her parents and grandparents playing in the snow when she was a child.
The symbiots pranced and shimmered with excitement. It took a moment to realize that the two symbiots could see what she was picturing in her head just like she could see what they showed her.
She blew out a loud breath. “I sure hope you guys really are the fun sci-fi type and not from the Twilight Zone,” she muttered. “Breakfast will have to wait. Let me get my jacket, gloves, and boots on. We’ll have to sneak up on them from the front. Are you two any good at sneaking around?”
The disgusted look they gave her made her laugh like crazy as she hurried to the front door. Grabbing one of her jackets hanging on the hall tree by the door, she slipped it on and zipped it up while sliding her feet into thick, lined rubber boots. She finished with a pair of gloves, a scarf, and a knitted black cap.
There was no way she would stay out long. She didn’t really know how to talk to a dragon, and she wasn’t sure exactly what she should say to the men – except, maybe, ‘I’m sorry for being terrified of alien dragon-shifting men’.
“You know, it isn’t like I’ve ever really met any aliens before, so I have a right to be a little nervous,” she informed the symbiots before she looked up and groaned. Standing in the doorway were Moonshine and Rum. It figured the two Rottweilers would wait until she was dressed to decide they needed to go out as well. “Come on.”
It took her an extra five minutes to dress each dog in their doggie sweaters and the padded booties she had picked up at Ofelia’s Boutique a few days before. She loved the fun stuff that she could find in town.
“You two don’t get lost. I’m not chasing you down,” she warned, opening the front door.
A frigid blast of arctic air almost had her doing a one hundred and eighty degree turn. If the two dogs and their new best friends hadn’t charged past her, she might have considered it. Trying to be brave, she closed the front door and tucked her hands under her armpits.
“Go do your business while you can, boys,” she ordered.
Freeing one hand, she made sure that the scarf covered her nose and mouth. In all her years living here, she couldn’t remember the weather ever being this freaking cold. Walking around the wraparound porch, she tried to step as quietly as she could when she reached the back side of the house. The porch narrowed where the entrance to the mudroom was before opening up again on the other side.
She felt so guilty. Ordering anyone out into this type of weather defied everything her mother and father had ever taught her about good manners and kindness to others. Since she was already feeling guilty and knew she would have to apologize for being a bad hostess, she decided she might as well make the apology worthwhile. The problem was – how did you get the attention of a dragon?
The solution came to her in the form of a little mischievous fun. If she wasn’t brave enough to tap them on the shoulder with her hand, she’d do it with a snowball. Scooping a large pile of snow off the railing, she pressed it together to form a nice, softball-size snowball. She had not only read books on softball, but had played it as well. Silently stepping back, she wound up as best she could in the many layers of clothing and released the compact missile just as Brogan rolled over onto his stomach.
“Oh dear! Sorry about that. I was trying to get your attention, but you turned and well… You have to admit that was a good hit,” she said with an apologetic smile when the snowball struck him right between the eyes.
She squealed in surprise when he flicked his tail and a small, bucket-sized amount of snow rained down around her. Her lips curved into a huge grin. She hadn’t had a good snowball fight in years!
Reaching out, she formed another and threw it, this time at Barrack who had turned around when he heard her voice. She giggled when the dragon looked down at the snowball slowly sliding and dissolving down his chest. The feeling of lightheartedness grew when Brogan shook his head and gave her a toothy grin as he realized that she was having fun and playing with the dragons.
In all honesty, the book Pete’s Dragon had always been one of her favorites. As a kid, she had wanted a dragon of her own. Well, now she had two! Scooping up more snow from the railing, she moved along the porch, firing snowballs at the two dragons.
Delighted snorts and rumbles echoed over the snow-covered mountain. Delilah ducked when Brogan tossed a tail full of snow at her. She squealed and took off as fast as she could along the porch. She was almost to the end when Brogan pounced out of his hole and landed near the steps.
Slapping at the snow on the railing, she sent a wave of the white fluffy mixture all over his face. Scooting by him, she made a dash around the house to the front steps. Behind her, she heard Brogan sneeze. A heated wave of air brushed past her, and she looked over her shoulder to make sure he hadn’t set her house on fire. That would be horrible in more ways than one. It was the only shelter for miles.
Relieved when she saw that there were no flames, she focused on her escape. She didn’t want to go inside yet. Besides, she needed to make sure the dogs were okay. She descended the stairs and had only taken two steps before she discovered that Moonshine and Rum were not only safe, they were joining in the fun – with a little help.
“Really?” she breathlessly demanded, watching the dogs standing on a golden symbiot sled pulled by the other symbiot.
A movement out of the corner of her eye made her squeal. Brogan was rounding the corner of the house with a devilish grin on his dragon
face. Turning, she tried to run. It was impossible in the snow. Her feet sunk in the knee-deep fluff. It didn’t help that her boots were a little big because she’d forgotten to put on a second pair of socks.
After a dozen steps, she was hopelessly winded and in deeper snow than she’d realized. Her right boot got stuck and her arms spun in a circle as she tried to keep her balance. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Brogan wasn’t having the same issues. He merely hopped to get where he wanted to go.
“Help!” she laughed, pulling on her boot.
She twisted and fell when her boot suddenly popped free. Lying on her back, she found herself staring up at the upside down face of Barrack. He had snuck around the other side. Her eyes softened when he spread his wings over her to protect her from the falling snow.
“I’m sorry,” she said, tears suddenly burning her eyes. “I shouldn’t have reacted like I did. I’ve never met an alien before and, well… I shouldn’t have acted that way.”
Her arms lifted when Barrack lowered his head and brushed his chin against her cheek. Delilah slid her fingers along his long jaw, amazed at how soft and warm his scales were. When he pulled back, careful to still keep her sheltered, she sat up, turning to shyly look at Brogan from under her lashes.
Barrack bent his head and nudged her toward his brother. She looked at Barrack uncertainly, then reached out and tentatively touched Brogan’s outstretched claw. She held onto it as he helped her stand. A shiver ran through her when a gust of frigid air swept through the valley and up the mountain, cutting through the layers of clothing she wore.
Barrack nudged her forward again at the same time as Brogan encouraged her to step closer. Understanding dawned when Brogan lifted his other front leg and curled it under her, lifting her into his arms. He drew his wings protectively around her.
A sense of awe swept through her when she peered at Barrack through the opening Brogan had left between his wings. Barrack stepped closer and lowered his head. With a puff of air, warmth filled the narrow, protected space they had formed with their bodies.