“There’s a red line now, in between the two slashes.” I elbowed Ralph in the side. “Show her.”
He rolled his eyes, but lifted his T-shirt. I noticed that her eyes skated along his abs before settling on the tattoo. I didn’t have time to gouge out her eyeballs, though. Her eyes widened and she smirked at us.
“Shit. I don’t believe it.” She patted our shoulders. “Congratulations. It’s a girl.”
“What?” Ralph and I shouted at the same time. We looked at each other, stunned.
“You mean she’s pregnant?” He put his hand on my belly, like he could figure out if there was a baby growing there. “Really?” His voice had gone soft.
“Uh, no,” I said. “I was a virgin. And he’s dead.”
“He’s also a dragon.” She held up her hands. “Don’t ask me how the hell he managed to get his swimmers to work. I’m not a biologist. Dragons are lucky if they get any kids out of a mating. It’s one of the reasons they’re so rare these days.” She nodded toward my still-flat stomach. “The one growing inside you will probably be the first dragon born in . . . oh, about five hundred years.”
“Libby’s pregnant?” asked Patsy. She had just entered the room and was less than a foot away from us. “How is that possible?”
“Not a biologist,” said Ash.
“Shit.” Patsy grimaced. “I mean, congrats.” She looked at Gabriel, who stood next to her, and then she looked at Ash. “This changes everything. We can’t ask her to draw out Synd now.”
“What?” snapped Ralph. “I already told you she wasn’t going to be used as bait!”
“C’mon, Ralph! We weren’t going to douse her in barbecue sauce and throw her in his cave.”
Ralph turned his gaze to Gabriel. “Would you let your pregnant wife do something like this?”
“Not in a million years.”
Patsy turned and glared at her husband.
“That is, I’m not the boss of her and I always support her choices.”
She smiled and faced us again. I saw Gabriel look at Ralph and shake his head slightly. Patsy thought she had the upper hand in that relationship. But it was obvious that Gabriel would go to extreme measures to protect her—whether she liked it or not. And by gauging Ralph’s reaction, he probably felt the same way.
I was with Patsy. I should have a choice. And my choice was . . . not to do it. I didn’t want to be dragon bait. I heard the boys giggle and looked over my shoulder. But I would do it for them. Synd would keep striking at us, at everyone in Broken Heart, until he got what he wanted.
Even though Ash was the only one who could stop him, I was probably the only one who could get her close enough to draw him in.
“I don’t see why we can’t use her,” said Ash. “He won’t go for Ralph because he doesn’t know that Ralph has part of his sister’s soul.”
The debate raged, but I drifted away mentally. There was a baby growing inside me. A little girl. Would she have scales? Or look human? Was there a Raising Dragons for Dummies book out there? We’d have to fireproof the nursery. And her brothers. Yowzer. Ralph had given me one hell of a wedding present. I pressed a hand against my belly and grinned like an idiot.
“Right, Libby?”
Ralph’s strident question pierced through my pink cloud of thoughts. I blinked at him, taken aback by his fierce gaze. “What?”
“You’re not going. I don’t care how much backup they have. I won’t risk you.” His gaze dropped to my stomach and I saw equal measures of worry and wonderment. He hadn’t had time to absorb the idea. “I won’t risk our baby, either.” He gulped, then glared at Ash. “You’re sure about this?”
“Christ! I’m not a biologist or a fucking doctor. I just know what the dragon symbols mean.”
“Hey, boss, I got the shields ready.” We had been joined by a short brunette who had sparkling green eyes and a dimpled smile. She wore denim overalls, hiking boots, and a thick coat. Her hair was braided into pigtails, which stuck out from under a ball cap she wore backward. She smelled like gasoline. Oil smudged one pristine cheek.
“Hey! I’m Simone Sweet.” She pumped my hand enthusiastically. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
She nodded toward Patsy and headed back out the door. “What shields?” asked Ralph.
“Simone runs the garage, but she’s also a whiz with metallurgy. She made some metal shields for the more flammable people to hide behind,” said Patsy.
I knew someone who could trump metal shields.
“We could bring in Brady,” I said. “If I used one of the force fields, it would give me extra protection.”
“Libby.” Ralph gathered me into his arms. “Please, tell me that you’re not considering this crazy plan.”
“We won’t be safe from Synd. Not ever. Not the boys, not you, and not me or our baby.” I broke away and looked at Ash. “Can you get him?”
“Yeah,” she said. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was respect that glimmered in her diamond eyes. “You’re damned right I can get that bastard.”
February sucked.
The wind blew hard, slicing at my face like razors. I put my head down and kept going. The air was bitter cold. Without streetlights or moon to offer light, the darkness seemed as thick and black as tar.
Four of us crept along in the woods. Ash was the assassin in charge. Lorcan had the happy task of cultivating dragon saliva. Ralph refused to stay behind. He held my hand like I planned to float away any second.
Ash had turned down the opportunity to use the surprisingly light metal shields created by Simone. But Lorcan and Ralph each had one.
Brady had agreed to come in, but refused to bring in his team. Before we left on what he called a suicide mission, he clipped a small black device on my coat. All I had to do was push the button and the shield would appear. It would not only make me invisible, but offer protection against fire, claws, and teeth.
Ash led the way, since she’d figured out which cave the dragon used. Lorcan was behind her. Then me and Ralph.
Maybe we should’ve been looking up.
Hands gripped my shoulders and, before I could take a breath to scream, I was being yanked up into the air. I saw Ralph’s horrified expression, and then Synd wrapped an arm around my waist and took off like a shot. I realized he was in human form except for his big, iridescent wings.
I couldn’t reach the button to enact the shield. I fought like a madwoman. I wasn’t going to die, damn it. I kept kicking at his legs and tried to bite his scaly arms.
I bashed the back of my head against his face. He screamed in agony and dropped me. I managed to push the shield button.
An electric hum filled my ears and a bubble appeared around me. I bounced along the ground and rolled to a stop. My heart stuttered and sweat dotted my brow. I was so scared, but I fought the urge to throw up.
Synd floated to the ground and stalked around, obviously looking for me.
No one else was in sight. How far had we gone from the dragon’s lair? Several yards away I saw the grave of Therese Genessa. Talk about coming full circle. This was where it had all begun. And where it would all end.
I needed Synd to be able to find me so Ash could find him. With shaking fingers, I punched the button again.
He stepped toward me and raised one hand. I watched in horror as his fingers morphed into deadly, sharp claws. “I have no desire to bargain with stubborn females.”
“Too bad, asshole,” said Ash as she just . . . popped out of thin air. I stumbled backward as Synd whirled to face his nemesis.
Ash advanced on him. She held a wicked-looking sword with practiced ease. My thought was that an Uzi would get the job done faster.
“Burning down my hotel didn’t kill me, stupid,” she said, swinging the sword with an incredible grace. “But you did manage to torch my favorite shirt, and that pisses me off.”
I had no intention of watching the two of them battle. Ash scared me nearly as much a
s Synd did.
I scrambled to my feet, ready to hightail it the hell out of there. Before I could take a step, Synd waved his hand at me, and I found myself a living statue. I couldn’t move, though it didn’t stop me from trying. Sweat dripped off my temples, but no amount of mentally demanding that my muscles move got them to do the job.
Synd and Ash didn’t talk much, just tried to kill each other. The dragon turned both hands into claws and used them as effectively as ten tiny daggers. Every time he made contact with Ash’s clothing, his claws bounced off. He didn’t leave a mark.
The same could not be said for Ash’s neck and left cheek. She never cried out, never got angry. She was a machine of efficiency. Synd had an ego the size of Canada. He had bulk and he had the ability to shift into a very dangerous creature.
But Ash was the better fighter.
Synd couldn’t accept defeat. He went after Ash again and again, getting more and more desperate. At one point Ash took a tiny blade from . . . well, somewhere, but I had no idea where she could possibly store anything in that outfit.
She tossed it at Synd’s neck. The blade seemed to be alive; it burrowed into his skin. The dragon slapped at the spot where it had entered, screaming.
All of Synd’s dragon manifestations reverted. “No!” He clawed at his neck as if doing so could make whatever the object was come out again.
“Don’t worry,” said Ash. “You’re still a dragon. You just can’t go all scales and fire on me.”
Completely naked, his skin gleaming with sweat, Synd sank to his knees.
“You haven’t won,” he said savagely. “I’ve lived more than two thousand years!”
“That’s long enough, don’t you think?”
Ash swung her blade toward his neck.
Chapter 27
“Ash!” Lorcan appeared in a shower of gold sparkles and he was clutching Ralph. “Damnú air!”
“Fuck.” Ash kept her blade against Synd’s throat. He snarled and tried to stand. She kicked him in the balls. He wailed and fell to his side, clutching his genitals.
My husband ran toward me and grabbed my shoulders. Relief shuddered through me.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t speak or move. I couldn’t even feel the beat of my own heart.
“Don’t worry,” he soothed. “I’m right here. It’s okay.”
“The change is coming,” Ash said through gritted teeth. “Get what you need and then get the hell out of here.”
Lorcan kneeled down and pried open Synd’s jaw. I heard a popping sound that made my stomach lurch. I didn’t see what Lorcan took. I was grateful that his sample was tucked into an opaque container.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
Ralph nodded. “Go. Get the cure for Patrick and Jess. We’ll be all right.”
Lorcan disappeared and Ralph stood in front of me, putting his arms around me awkwardly. He pressed his shoulder against my face.
I couldn’t see. But I could hear just fine.
The sound of Ash’s blade sliding through Synd’s flesh reminded me of the butcher’s knife hacking off a hunk of beef. If I wasn’t already a vegan, I’d commit to the lifestyle immediately. The whole thing sickened me.
The magic binding me dissipated and I fell to the ground, my limbs shaking. I kept my eyes shut tight, but I felt the light beating against my eyelids and felt a wave of heat roll over me.
I pushed out of Ralph’s embrace and, despite the warning bells clanging in my mind, looked.
The headless body of Synd lay on the ground. Ash stood before it, at least a dozen long blue lights circling her body like electric eels.
Hollowly, she looked at us. “No. Soul.”
She sounded as if the words had been torn out of her mouth. She walked toward us jerkily, like her body was moving her along without permission. “Need. Soul.”
Realization was sudden and terrifying. Synd didn’t have a soul. Ash had initiated the process of absorption. She couldn’t stop it.
She needed a soul.
Oh, God. I hated the idea of losing my life, and the life of my child. It was so goddamned unfair. But those two little boys were alive and well and had already lost their mother. I couldn’t let their father sacrifice him for me.
I pulled the force field device off my jacket and stuck it onto Ralph’s shirt. Then I pushed the button.
He went invisible. I shoved him away, as hard I as could. I forgot I had dragon strength. A few yards away I saw a neatly trimmed hedgerow part. Safe. Ralph was safe.
Ash reached me in mere seconds. She grabbed my hands, and held on to me. The blue lights crawled onto me. I started to burn from the inside. I felt pulled and twisted. My feet went numb first, then the numbness climbed into my calves and inched up my thighs.
My vision started to gray. I was dying.
“Libby!”
Ralph’s voice. Damn it. Couldn’t the man take a hint? My vision swam, but I recognized his blurry face.
“What are you doing?” Ralph yelled at Ash. “You’re killing her! Stop!”
No one could touch me, especially not Ralph. I knew he wanted to, and I wished he could. I really wanted him to hold my hand. I wanted to feel loved . . . one last time.
Then, suddenly, I was free.
Without Ash trying to suck the soul out of me, I could breathe again. My whole body burned and ached. I’d never been in so much pain before.
“Ralph?”
He was gone. I staggered to my feet and turned around.
Ash was standing face-to-face with Ralph. Her hands gripped his shoulders as the blue worms of light wiggled onto him.
I saw the moment his soul popped free. The orange-red ball of pure energy floated into the center of Ash’s chest.
Then the lights solidified and Ralph’s body was encased in the pulsing blue. Ash’s eyes were empty, and I knew that she had no control over what was happening.
A mist formed around Ralph that was sucked into Ash’s opened mouth.
Then it was all over.
Ash woke up from her trance. She stumbled away, weaving like a woman who’d drunk too much tequila, and then she bent over and vomited.
Tears crowded my throat and seeped from my eyes. Ralph lay on the ground. I hurried toward him and fell to my knees. I collapsed on top of his chest and sobbed.
He’d given more than his life for me. He’d given his very soul.
“Ralph,” I cried. “Oh, Ralph.”
“What . . . happened?”
I jolted upward and stared down at him. His eyes were open and his gaze was on me. “You’re alive.”
“Undead,” he said. He grimaced. “I feel like I’ve been put through a wood chipper.”
“I know the feeling.”
“C’mere.” He kissed me, then pulled back. “By the way, never, ever do anything like that again.”
“I love you, too.”
“You’re not off the hook,” he grumbled. “I still don’t get why I’m not dust.”
We looked at Ash, who was sitting down with her head between her knees.
“I got your half of Sybina’s dragon soul,” she said in a raspy voice. “You’re all vampire again.”
“I thought you killed the people whose souls you take,” I said.
“I do. Don’t ask me why your man is still able to walk around.” She looked up at us, her lips tugged into a half smile. “I’m not a biologist.”
We returned to the rec room. Ralph hadn’t let go of my hand, not once. I felt protected and safe. We sat on the blue sofa amid a bunch of paranormal folks who were very glad to see us alive. Stephen sat on my lap sucking on his fist. Michael squirmed on his father’s, plucking at his T-shirt.
“You know what would be really great?” said Patsy from her spot on the yellow couch. “If we could live in this town without some kind of asshole trying to off us every couple of months. I’d like to raise my kids without fearing for their lives every day.”
&n
bsp; “We could build a shield for the town,” said Brady. He leaned against the wall, his eyes on all the exits. Ash was doing the same thing, but on the other side of the room. She hadn’t said much since we’d gotten back.
“I can manipulate fire, make water dance, send demons back to hell, fly around the sky, bend metal, talk to ghosts, shift into a wolf, and glamour others,” said Patsy. “But I still can’t make a whole town invisible.”
“I could do it,” said Brady.
All eyes turned to him.
“Dora says we’re staying. So, we’re staying.”
“Okay,” said Patsy. She looked at me, my parents, and Brady. “Welcome to Broken Heart.”
Chapter 28
Three months later ...
“Everything’s normal,” said Dr. Merrick as she stared at the monitor.
I lay on the examining table, my shirt pushed up to reveal my rounded tummy. Gel was smeared all over it, and Dr. Merrick merrily pushed her little wand all over my abdomen. Ralph stood next to me, holding my hand.
“Scales?” I asked. “Is there smoke in there? Or is she covered in fire?”
“No,” she said, chuckling. “Most shifters deliver their babies in human form. I can’t say what’s going to happen once the baby arrives. I’ve never dealt with dragons.”
I had already been imagining fire-filled burps and dragon gas that would set off fire alarms. Ralph and I were building a new house where the old one had stood. It wouldn’t be finished until the summer, but it would be bigger: five bedrooms and two and half bathrooms. We had also made plans for a swimming pool and a fort for the boys. Everything would be fireproof, including our clothes. Like Dr. Merrick said, no one had dealt with a baby dragon in a long time. Five hundred years, if Ash was right. The idea of raising our dragon daughter was both terrifying and exhilarating.
I never thought of Ash as the sentimental type, but she’d been the first to send along gifts for the baby. Her fashion wizard had created some very cute flame-retardant baby clothes. And even Brady had offered to make us some useful items from his strange techno-whatsits.
Dr. Merrick turned the monitor so it faced me and Ralph. We both peered at the image. I could make out the teeny tiny form of a baby. Oh my God. I squeezed Ralph’s hand as excitement did hand-stands through me.
Wait Till Your Vampire Gets Home Page 18