He flew up to Shiloh’s waiting arm and perched, his dark, glinting eyes seeing everything at once. Ava couldn’t help the smile that threatened to sneak to her mouth. “Hello Rane.”
“Rane gives his greetings,” Shiloh interpreted. “And he apologizes for the rude entry.”
Rude? Cale was still stuck in the same position, staring at the bits of hanging drywall and the wooden beams that had once been the roof. His daze was broken by the whir of police sirens as the authorities hurried to see what damage had been done to the little apartment complex.
“What do you want?” Cale said, his voice gruff.
“I have come to request your aid in a matter most grave,” Shiloh answered.
“And you couldn’t have used the door?”
Shiloh shifted so that their bedroom door was in his line of sight.
“I was in a hurry. I suppose that option did not occur to me.”
Cale got to his feet, ashamed that he was a bit wobbly. He tried to shake it, to remind himself that every dragon—every dragon in the known world—was afraid of the no-ir. That was how their cores had been programmed. The fact that he could even talk to one without burying his face in the ground made him braver than most.
“Why would we do anything for you after you destroyed our place, Shiloh?” Ava gestured to the ceiling. They’ll throw us in jail. We can’t explain or pay for any of this.”
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘pay.’”
Ava blinked at him. “We’re not rich. We don’t have enough money to fix the roof. We don’t have enough money to fix breakfast.”
The black rider hummed as he thought, his vocal cords vibrating in his throat. “I have no time to aid in reassembling your home. But I can send food when I return. Only if you will agree to help me.”
Cale still held his dragonblade. He didn’t trust Shiloh. He never would. How could he ever let his guard down before someone who’d not only tried to murder him, but his rider as well? Who knew how many red dragons the greys had commanded him to kill?
Ava crossed her arms. “This doesn’t sound like a fair deal.”
Shiloh’s lips thinned, his features strained. If his grey skin could have paled, it might have. “You will not help because I was unwise in my entrance. I should have been more careful.” But he wasn’t talking to Ava or Cale. It was like he was scolding himself, his black eyes void of any white and filled with tumult.
Ava held up a stern hand. “Give me a minute.”
She went to Cale and pulled him into the closet, shutting the crooked door behind them. It was dark, but he could still see her face in the shadows. “We have two minutes before the police arrive, so we need to decide fast. Do we hear him out or tell him to get lost?”
Cale, just far enough from the no-ir and his rider, inhaled at last.
“I won’t trust him, Ava.”
She nodded. She was only inches from him, and he smelled like Cale. His skin moved against hers as they maneuvered in the crammed closet, his breath unnaturally warm against her. Yet she wanted him to back away, to talk to her from across a room. Concentrate, she told herself. Pull yourself together.
“He helped us. Remember?”
Cale groaned. “I know. But I don’t like him.”
“He wouldn’t have come if he didn’t need us. He’s very proud, Cale. Maybe he’s in trouble.”
“I don’t doubt that. Maybe he sat on someone else’s house before ours.”
Ava chuckled. “I’m not supposed to laugh. This is serious.”
“I can’t help it. Comedic genius.”
She laughed again and couldn’t believe that she was so close to him. It was like a gift. Like someone carved him and brought him to life and gave him to the person who least deserved him, to the one who wouldn’t mind them being apart, just for a little while. The combination of longing and guilt was about to make her sick, when the closet door flew off its already rickety hinges.
“Shiloh, our door!” Ava yelled in disbelief.
Shiloh frowned at them, dropping the door to the ground. “The human authorities have come. I must leave. Are you two procreating in here?”
“What?” Cale stepped away from Ava, his cheeks a flaming red. “No, we’re not having…we’re not doing….”
Ava rubbed her temples, suddenly aching. In fact, all of her hurt.
It was like she was allergic to her own skin. The ripple of gold across her arms and hands was beautiful, if not for the discomfort.
“Shiloh, tell us what you need.”
“I will bring it to you. Soon. Be vigilant. And for the sake of God above, tell no one I came to you.” And he took the fun-sized Rane and leapt through the open window. Rane changed back to his larger form mid-air, stretching impossible wings as Shiloh swung up onto his enormous back. A few flaps of his leathery wings and the no-ir pair vanished into the void.
Acknowledgements
Sole is a story about what it’s like to be alone. And I don’t mean in the cool, edgy, avant-garde way either. I mean what it’s like to be alone when you don’t want to be, when you wish someone would notice
you, when you wish they’d care enough to miss you when you’re gone.
Cameron and Myra tell a story of bravery. It takes courage not to give up, to learn how to make each day worth being alive. I hope their story gives you courage, too. I hope you don’t give up. I hope you find joy and hold on tight, even when it seems hard.
Thank you to everyone who thinks I’m worth noticing. Thank you to my God, who fills me with joy and has mercy on all my mistakes. Thank you to my parents who love me, even when I’m a weirdo. Thank you to my siblings for forgiving me again and again. Thank you to my best friends for making me laugh, even when I want to cry. Thank you to Victoria and KC for blessing me with your time. Thank you to my baby boy for bringing immeasurable happiness to every day I spend on this earth. And thank you to my Nate. My reason to stay. My kiss-me-again. My truest friend. I can’t wait to know you better.
Thank you to my wonderful, beautiful, hardcore fans. You make my job worth it. I hope you find some hope in Sole and some courage in my Core Series.
Look out for the second full length novel in the series, Vane. It will be released in November 2014. By reading Sole beforehand, you’ll have special insight into the tale.
Also, discover my other series, The System, on Amazon. If you liked this, you’ll enjoy Nick and Nessa’s story.
Meet me at teshellecombs.com
Sole: A Blue Novella (The Core Series Book 2) Page 8