by Caris Roane
During flight, his neck would level out as he shoved air with his massive black wings, then she’d have a perfect view.
Liam was what was known as a purebred, those dragons who bore a single solid color on their scales and were at least ninety-five percent dragon.
He rose into the air then flew off to the left side of the caravan as he headed south to take the lead. As he did, each dragon gave him a salute of some kind or other. Most opened their maws and let loose with a serious and often ferocious roar.
Those tourists, who had paid a fortune to make the trip, shouted and screamed their pleasure. The more dragon antics, the better.
Emma loved it almost as much as they did. If you were only one-percent dragon, you revered and adored those who could shift.
The moment of departure became a new thrill. She could feel Liam’s special energy emerge from his body. For a moment, she had to resist the urge to overlay her mind with his and capture the battling sync-up.
She shifted her leg so that she could twist far enough in her seat to watch his energy flow and basically encapsulate the entire caravan. Given that it was miles long, she couldn’t see the tail end.
But she could feel it. Whatever her companion-gifts were to Liam’s fierce dragon, she knew the exact moment when his energy had reached the final security detail and he closed the circuit tight.
Amazing. Pure and simple.
Liam began to rise in the air, very slowly at first, no doubt allowing all the dragons to gain their wind-legs. One after the other, the dragons used their flexible wings to lift almost vertically into the air. The sound that followed, of so many dragons gathered together and moving their wings, was like hearing the wind in staccato.
That’s the most beautiful music I could have imagined.
I’ve always loved it.
She didn’t repress the sigh that followed. She knew, in the deepest part of her heart, that Liam was a fellow traveler. It was part of the reason she had to keep steeling herself against him. She knew there could be something magical between them if they were ever given a chance. But knowing the grief and guilt he bore about his family, an intimate relationship with Liam wasn’t going to happen.
When the forward motion began, she shifted her leg back to secure her seat with her knees. Her long braid bounced down the middle of her back then finally settled down as Liam’s forward movement became a very fluid flight. His wings did half the work while his energy performed the other half. The motion of both together kept his body in a perfectly level trajectory.
She hadn’t been in the air but a few minutes when the first thing she noticed was the verdant growth along the flight path. Somehow, I expected the land below to be barren.
It is in places, but at the tail end of a flight, there’s quite a bit of, um, caravan rain, as you might say.
It took her a moment to figure out what he meant, then she laughed. I guess I’d never thought about how dragons relieved themselves on these long flights.
It’s forbidden at the loading zones.
Right. As it should be. She couldn’t imagine the clean-up of dragon refuse on a paved loading path if it was a free-for-all.
The land opened up and this part of her world she knew well. On the vast mesa above the lake were hundreds of small farms. More than one river that fed Blue Lake travelled at least one-hundred-and-eighty miles from the distant snow-capped Hom Frieze Mountains over which they’d eventually be passing.
The rivers split more than once and two of the offshoots formed beautiful, deep gorges, one entering on the southeast side of the lake, the other the southwest.
She’d visited wealthy dragons who had exclusive properties in the gorges. The homes were amazing. She was pretty sure Liam owned a place on the southeast side in Dragonslip Gorge. He ought to be wealthy for all the caravans he drove.
A series of low hills led to a verdant valley that went on for miles and miles, occasionally punctuated with more low hills. The winds of Dusane tended to keep the hills trimmed back to bare rock. But occasionally swathes of green trees, called ironwood and aptly named, lent a forested appearance to long stretches of the land.
Farms came and went, each protected with mountainous walls of piled rock. The inventiveness of humans and dragons never ceased to amaze her, in this case the ways farmers produced food and cared for their animals despite the erratic, powerful winds of their world.
About the time she was able to see the Hom Frieze Mountain range, Liam began a slow climb in preparation for crossing the pass. The numerous jagged peaks were magnificent, tall, snow-capped and rose to about nine-thousand feet above sea level.
First, however, the farms gave way to a dense forest of Dusane pines. The trees climbed up to the altitude they could tolerate until the thinning air forced them to stop. The appearance of a natural treeline always surprised her.
The pass between two central peaks was broad enough to allow all the dragons to maneuver through easily. Each, as well as the tourists, would have a view of the snow-crested peaks on either side.
Emma could hardly wait.
Stop jumping around. Liam’s voice had a teasing edge, so she knew he wasn’t serious.
The view is so beautiful. It’s chilly up here though.
I can warm things up if you need me to.
Dragons had all kinds of ways to make fire, heat, and smoke. She had no doubt he meant what he said.
I’m fine for now. I’ll let you know. Oh, Liam. No wonder you warriors come back from caravan runs in an exhilarated state. I would, too.
He snorted, which sent some puffs of steam into the air. They crystalized instantly and made a tinkling sound as they fell to earth. We come back exhausted, nothing more.
But there’s always that light in your eyes. I see it in Logan. I’ve seen it in you, that is the few times you’d stay in the same room with me long enough to get a look.
Since working with him exclusively for over three weeks now, she’d gotten into the habit of teasing him about his former brusque behavior. They’d finally made peace over their one-nighter. He’d apologized but said it was the only way he could handle the situation given their chemistry.
That much he admitted: He desired her.
There was no question they were getting along better. He was almost relaxed around her. She also sensed he’d come to trust that she wasn’t going to go all giddy-female and throw herself at his head.
Her biggest problem was that the more she was around him, the more she wanted the man. It wasn’t just that he was physically gorgeous, because he was. It was the way he treated everyone he worked with that tended to get to her. He was kind, just and never raised his voice unless an element of danger was involved.
She liked him way too much.
She worked hard, though, to keep a damper on all that desire. She wanted him to know that above all she was a professional and wouldn’t let anything get in the way of doing her job.
When the pass grew close, her mind fell quiet. She turned her attention to the deep blue sky and the exquisite, snowy peaks. They were so beautiful and almost close enough to touch. Far above the treeline, they ruled the skies.
When she shivered, she didn’t have to ask. Liam just turned up the heat along his neck and she was soon toasty as anything.
Thank you.
It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?
She sighed. More beautiful than I ever imagined. And peaceful. These mountains look like nothing could ever affect them, ever bring them down. It wasn’t reality of course, but the elements like wind, storms and the melting of snow as the seasons passed would gradually, over a long stretch of time, bring even the tallest mountain down to rubble.
The pass itself was a full two miles long. From the maps she’d studied, she knew it led to a lower part of the range, also snow-capped, that extended another fifty miles south to the next valley-river system. The Hom Frieze Range ran east and west and covered three-thousand miles of central Arranfar terrain.
After an hour or so, when Liam left the mountains behind, valleys, rivers and thousands of small homesteads dotted the land once more. Hundreds of towns traversed the region and were serviced by east-west caravans.
Another hundred miles saw the valleys give way to a wide beige desert with nothing but small shrubs and the occasional tall cactus to look at.
This is the less-interesting part of the journey, I’m afraid. We’ve got two-hundred miles of barren wilderness to cover.
I think it’s beautiful in its way.
The desert was broken up by dozens of smaller mountain ranges as well as the occasional sand dune region.
She saw camels and donkeys below though rarely far from scattered clumps of trees that would indicate an oasis and a watering hole.
You’ve grown quiet.
I’m mesmerized. Do you mind if I attach to your energy so I can stretch out on you neck and head? Just say no if you don’t like the idea or if you think it would disturb the flow of the caravan.
It won’t make a difference at all. Please yourself. I can take it. She could feel his body shake which meant he was laughing at her. She probably weighed the size of pea against his massive size.
As long as this won’t affect the rest of the dragons.
He snorted again, more puffs of steam that vanished quickly in the dry desert air. About as much as a raindrop on the windshield of bulletproof glass.
This time she laughed. Good. Got it.
She and Liam had been practicing this strange aspect of their symbiotic battling relationship, as she mentally aligned herself with his energy. It took her half-a-second to make the shift and complete the attachment. When she did, she simply levitated up the rest of his long, black neck, then stretched out to lay her body on the scales at the top of his head between the silver horns.
As she watched the beauty of the desert, beneath the earth-like sun, she sighed repeatedly.
She didn’t realize she had hold of one of the horns on the right side of his head until his telepathic voice whispered, You should stop doing that.
Doing what?
My fore-horn.
She glanced at it and realized she’d been fondling and stroking the entire length of the silver, sleek horn. Oh, God, I’m so sorry. Was I hurting you?
His telepathic voice went deeper. That wasn’t the problem.
Her cheeks grew fiery hot and she was glad he couldn’t see her embarrassment. She’d been stroking one of his horns. Apologies.
His body bounced a few more times and again, she knew he was laughing at her. Not a bad thing.
She smiled as well. She supposed this wouldn’t be the last time her deepest desires made an unwelcome and very sub-conscious appearance.
The hours wore on and as the desert landscape grew monotonous, it was no surprise she fell into a doze. She was very comfortable, attached as she was to his energy.
~ ~ ~
Liam knew when Emma had fallen asleep. He wasn’t surprised. The journey had been very smooth with only slight buffets of crosswinds to enliven the run. The desert had a sameness that would have evoked a nap for himself if he hadn’t been working as hard as he was.
As he felt her breathing even out and the gentle weight of her body settle against his, he could only smile. She was a restless sort, and this was the stillest he’d ever known her to be.
After a half hour, he sniffed the air. He could smell sand coming from the west. He nudged Emma awake. Hey, sorry to wake you, but we’re in for some chop.
Huh?
Wake up. We’ve got some serious crosswinds brewing.
Okay. Okay. I don’t remember falling asleep.
He felt her lift to her knees, and he smiled to himself. Dragons didn’t really have the facial muscles or bone structure to offer a smile. His laughter usually belched fire so he kept his chuckles small and inward.
Her voice reached into his head. Is there anything I can do?
I’ve alerted the caravan and strengthened my flow of energy but hang on. Things can get dicey.
The first gust hit the side of the caravan along the entire four-mile line. Almost as one, they rose a few feet into the air. He drew a deep breath and send a wave of energy down the full length. The line evened out and he settled the dragons and himself back into the preferred altitude.
When the second gust came, he had more of a handle on what kind of wind was blowing and what he could expect. This time, the blow did little more than buffet the sides of his energy. Sometimes the crosswinds were miles wide, like this one, which meant he made continual adjustments with each buffet. From experience, he suspected the caravan would endure twenty minutes of pummeling.
I can feel the strength of the wind. Her voice had an edge now, the one he’d come to know as her essential excitement about life. How hard are we being hit? I mean it’s difficult to tell because of the protection you’re providing.
I’d say we’re at one-hundred-and-twenty. Not too bad.
Wow. You know what, she added, you’re amazing, Liam. Just amazing.
The compliment hit him in the gut then shot up through his sternum and grabbed his heart. Hard. He generally ignored the praise he received for what he considered to be his natural abilities. But because his dragon responded with a fiery desire to shift back to human and drag her into his arms, he understood something critical about his relationship with Emma: He was in serious trouble with this woman, more than he understood.
Thank you. He wondered if he’d spoken in a way she could hear.
You’re welcome, fearless leader.
If he could have cleared his throat, he would have. The dragon scales on his cheeks felt extra hot. We’ll be clearing a final set of low mountains in about forty minutes then we’ll be in vampire-land. Should be smooth sailing from here on out. He communicated the same telepathically to all the dragons in the train.
Vampires had lived in Dusane for thousands of years before the first dragons arrived and had survived mainly on the blood of animals they kept as stock. The taste for both human and dragon blood had come much later.
He wondered how Emma would take to being in a city where the men she met would lust after her blood.
That was an unfortunate thought, since his jealousy was never far away where Emma was concerned. If any vampire made a move on Emma, he wasn’t sure he could control himself.
Landing at Kochwick, he brought the caravan in without a hitch. But he was tired after the long flight and the continual release of his energy shield.
He saw Emma to her hotel room door and left her there with an offer the next day to take her sightseeing. She seemed oddly reluctant, then suggested he call her mid-morning to see if she was up to it.
He headed to his own room curious as to why a woman of Emma’s usually vibrant energy would need to sleep in the day after a relatively peaceful caravan run.
She’d even napped during the run.
Odd.
~ ~ ~
Two hours after making herself at home in her hotel room, Emma looked at herself in the mirror. “Not half bad.”
She was glad Liam hadn’t asked her to dinner. She really didn’t want him to know that she already had plans for the evening and she definitely wanted him completely ignorant about exactly where she was headed.
She’d curled her long hair and wore a silver club dress that was cut almost to the waist in back. Logan had told her to go shorter, but she drew the line at revealing that much leg. As it was, she felt almost naked without a bra.
Excitement, however, had her in a fever pitch.
She was going out for the first time in a long time. Despite that her preference was for Liam, she’d made the decision to get back in the game and tonight was the night.
Liam had issues that she understood perfectly. Fine. And being battle partners had made it worse than ever. She kept waking up in the middle of wild sex dreams, with Liam mounting her like a wild boar.
She had to get on with her dating life or she would go insane.
So tonight, if she felt like it, if she felt safe enough, she was going home with a vampire.
Despite that she truly needed to create some distance between herself and the dragon she craved, that it would be for the best to start seeing other men, maybe even a lot of other men, somehow, it felt disloyal and wrong.
Still, Logan had set her up with a warrior vampire he knew and trusted. He’d also encouraged her to spread her wings a bit. She’d be in a new city, no strings attached, and she deserved to have some fun.
Over the years, she’d had many conversations with girlfriends who’d vacationed in the south at Kochwick and how they had enjoyed the company of vampires. It was all about the nightlife. She’d also heard detailed accounts of what it was like to be with a vampire, have him sink his fangs while in the throes of sex.
Emma knew – she knew – that if she didn’t start getting laid properly, she would do something terrible with Liam that she could never take back. She’d end up wrecking their excellent working relationship and her heart would be torn into a thousand pieces.
So, clubbing in Kochwick it was and maybe even sharing a bed with a man with fangs.
She turned to look at her ass in the mirror as well. Running everyday had made her damn fit. She could even smile.
But when she met her gaze in the mirror once more, she felt fear and something else.
Deep, soul-crunching guilt.
But why?
On a social level, she didn’t owe Liam anything. He couldn’t be with her for his own reasons and she needed to move on. So why did it feel wrong to go on a date with another man?
She uttered a disgusted grunt.
She got up close to the mirror and stared straight into her eyes. “Just do what Logan said. Go out and have some fun. Maybe you’ll sleep with a vampire. Maybe you won’t. But you’ve got to start putting yourself out there or you’ll go crazy.”