Vixen

by Finley Aaron

  “You’re injured—” Ion starts.

  “No.” I cut him off before he can make the erroneous claim again. “I was injured because of choices I made—choices that flew in the face of every wise warning I’d heard. My injury is my own fault, a result of my own choices. You saved my life. In my eyes, you’re not a failure. You’re a hero. I want you to see yourself the way I see you.” I step closer to him, willing him to look me in the eye, to understand how sincerely I mean what I’ve said.

  But he doesn’t. Ion flicks a burning ember from the fire onto the patio, where its light slowly dims. He changes the subject. “Your father said this is going to be a reconnaissance mission. I don’t know what we’ll find, but I fully intend to destroy the yagi operation as soon as I can, if not on this trip, then shortly thereafter.”

  “Eudora said I’m the one most likely—”

  “I won’t endanger you.”

  “I endanger myself.” I’m not keen on the way he refuses to acknowledge everything I’ve said.

  “Can you change into a dragon? Can you fly?”

  “No.”

  “Then you cannot go without my help, and I will not take you.”

  I pace toward another fire pit and beat at the coals with my stick, frustrated with everything. And not just what we’ve been discussing, either. While Ion has been gone, I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’s craziness, but when he kissed me that day in Madagascar, I felt revived. I’d been utterly weak up until that point, but the moment our lips touched, my strength returned to me.

  It’s occurred to me that since Ion is a dragon, maybe if he kisses me, I’ll get my skills back, too.

  But considering that right now he doesn’t want me to be able to turn into a dragon (so I won’t be able to follow him into danger) I don’t dare tell him my theory, or he’ll refuse to kiss me.

  So I stop beating the coals, and I glance around to make sure no one’s looking.

  We’re alone. Better than that, we’re at the fire pit farthest from the house, which is all but out of sight from any of the windows. I reach for the lapels of Ion’s jacket and tug him after me to the corner of the garden, out of sight.

  “I missed you,” I tell him, looking into his eyes, and I mean it. Maybe Mom doesn’t know if Ion is trustworthy, but I don’t share her doubts. If Ion and Eudora are playing us, or outsmarting us, or whatever, then they’re doing a dazzling job of it because I am completely blind to whatever they might be after.

  Besides, as Ion looks into my eyes, it’s like he’s communicating to me without words. And he’s saying that all this mess and everything he’s suffered since the moment I showed up at his doorstep, has all been worth it.

  This is my chance. I rise up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his.

  For half a blissful second, I feel certain my theory is going to work. Feelings course through me with fiery zeal. I feel more alive than I have since before I was injured.

  Then Ion pulls back from me and looks in the direction of the kitchen, as though he fears someone will come stomping out to chide us any second.

  “I need my rest. I’m weak and you are far too tempting.” He hurries away into the house.

  Stunned, and still mentally mostly in the midst of the kiss, I watch him go. Should I go after him?

  No, he’s right. He needs his sleep.

  And I need to see if the kiss worked. I try turning into a dragon.

  I try really, really hard.

  My fingernails lengthen almost to talons.

  Almost.

  I redouble my efforts.

  Now I have a headache. A very human headache, and nothing else to show for my efforts.

  I look at my hands. They look like human hands. Did I only imagine my nails turned almost to talons? Maybe my kiss theory is right, but it’s going to take a longer kiss to get the full effect.

  Or maybe it’s all just wishful thinking on my part, and I should go ahead and share a bottle of wine with Eudora.

  I spend some more time with the embers, making sure they won’t be stirred to life by an errant breeze. Then I return to the kitchen, where I find my mom wiping up the last of the dinner mess, alone.

  “Can I help you?” I ask.

  “I’ve about got everything taken care of. I sent Felix off to bed. He looked exhausted. You could brew us some fresh tea.”

  I set the water on to heat and putter a bit until Mom looks around the room and sighs a satisfied sigh.

  “Long day?” I ask.

  “Weird day. I could have sworn when I saw Eudora, that she was here to kill me for revenge. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried it yet.” Mom pulls a couple of mugs from the cupboard and we rifle through an assortment of tea bags.

  But my mind is not on the tea. “So, Mom,” I begin with a deliberately casual tone, “I remember, in the story of how you and Dad met, you couldn’t turn into a dragon for a long time.”

  “I didn’t know how to turn into a dragon.”

  “What changed? I mean, how did you…learn?”

  Mom pours hot water into her mug and dunks her tea bag, watching it bob repeatedly while she scowls a thoughtful scowl. “I hadn’t accepted that I wanted to be a dragon until then. I was scared of them, scared of embracing that which I’d always considered to be my enemy. But then I realized I loved your father, and since he was a dragon, that meant I could love a dragon. That broke the wall, I guess.”

  I dunk my tea bag repeatedly, too.

  To my knowledge, I don’t have any walls against becoming a dragon. I want it desperately. And unlike my mom, who didn’t know how to make the change, I’ve transformed countless times throughout my life. I know what to do.

  I just can’t do it.

  Maybe this is a pointless conversation. Still I feel like it’s worth pursuing, like there’s something there, some useful clue. I only need to shine the light in just the right spot. “So, how did you finally do it? You just tried really hard?”

  “No.” Mom laughs. “Haven’t I told you this story? We were on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea. The yagi had us surrounded. I tried to leap free of them, but I couldn’t see because of them, and I ended up leaping off the cliff. It was a high cliff, thankfully. Your father caught me, and then I caught the wind. I don’t know if I could have done it otherwise. I had to leap first and let the wind catch my wings.” Mom laughs again, maybe a bit self-consciously. “If that makes any sense.”

  “It does.”

  “I’m going to go check on your father. He needs his sleep, but knowing him, he might well be up plotting something.” Mom carries her tea away.

  I take my tea to the library. There aren’t many books on dragon history. Those that exist are old and hand-written in archaic tongues. It’s heavy reading, but I don’t know where else to turn. Somewhere there’s got to be a clue.

  The hour is late when I finally close the book I’m nodding over and head to bed. Sure, the reading was interesting, but I don’t know if I gleaned anything that will help me. Those old books predate the yagi. None of them knew about my problem, so they don’t offer any direct help in solving it.

  When I wake up in the morning, I shower, dress, and head for the kitchen. I can hear raised voices echoing down the hall, and I’m just starting to walk faster when Ion grabs my arm as I pass the library. “Don’t go in there right now.”

  “But I—”

  “Here. Food.” He hands me a bowl of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, while pulling me deeper into the library.

  “What about coffee?”

  “I brought a pot.” He nods toward a marble-topped side table.

  “Mmm, where’d we get the smoked salmon?”

  “Felix made it from the salmon he found in my freezer.” Ion pours me a mug of coffee.

  “Why was he looking in your freezer?” I swallow a bite of the yummy stuff before asking.

  “He and your parents and sister searched all through my castle for you after Jala called them.”

  “Felix looked
for me in your freezer?”

  “It would seem your family does not have a high opinion of me.”

  But I’m hardly able to hear him over the raised voices in the kitchen. Whatever they’re arguing about sounds interesting, though I can’t quite hear everyone. “Why can’t I go in there?”

  “It’s a bad time. Your brother threatened to kill Eudora—”

  “Felix?”

  Ion nods. “Your father stopped him in time, but Eudora still has red finger marks on her neck. They might leave a bruise.”

  I swallow a bite of eggs and try not to cough in my surprise. “So, by threatened, you mean—”

  “Attempted. Murder. That’s her version of it, anyway. Felix contends he was only trying to get information out of her. In his defense, he hadn’t had any coffee yet.”

  “I’m sure most courts would give him a pass, then,” I note sarcastically, and reach to top off my mug before I commit any similar crimes.

  Eudora’s distinctive accent zings down the hallway, her shouted words almost a scream. “Life for life! If I hadn’t told Ion the secret to saving her, Zilpha would be dead right now.”

  “You created the creatures that almost killed her!” My father shouts back.

  And on the heels of his words, my mom adds, “Those creatures killed my mother. So by my count, you’re still down one.”

  As I shovel eggs into my mouth, Ion puts his hand on my back and explains in a hushed voice (as though anyone could possibly hear us over the din in the kitchen), “I want to leave as soon as possible. The sooner we depart from here, the greater the chances your household will emerge from this challenge unscathed.”

  “Great idea.” I gulp coffee. “I can be ready to go in—”

  “Can you fly?”

  “Well, no, someone’s going to have to carry—”

  “You still can’t change into a dragon? You’re quite sure?”

  “I’m sure. I tried again yesterday, but—”

  “You’re not coming with.”

  “Because I can’t fly?”

  “No, you’re not coming because I love you and I don’t want you to get hurt. I merely asked if you could fly because I don’t want you attempting to follow us. Your father suggested we ought to put you in shackles to keep you home. I told him that probably wasn’t necessary.”

  I set down my bowl of eggs and cup of coffee, and grip Ion’s shirt front in my fists. “Listen, what you’re doing is dangerous—”

  “Which is precisely why I don’t want you anywhere near there. In fact, I’m going to do my best to make sure your father isn’t endangered, either. He can come as a witness. If, by some miracle, I manage to destroy the yagi operation, I want him to see that I did it, to know that I was always on your side, to know that I did it for you, for love. But I don’t want him close enough to get hurt.”

  “Look, Ion, I started this—”

  To my surprise, Ion cuts off my words with a kiss.

  But it’s a quick kiss, barely brushing my lips.

  Then he presses his forehead to mine and whispers, “You have given me hope. When you first came to my castle, I assumed your family had sent you to kill me, and I was ready to die. I had nothing left to live for. But you’ve given me a reason to live, to care, to fight. I can think of no greater gift to leave you than to make this world a safer place for the next generation of dragons. I will destroy the yagi, or die trying.”

  His words speak to my heart with such intensity, I close my eyes.

  Okay, to be honest, I expect him to kiss me again. He’s so close and warm and strong, and it just feels right being close to him.

  But then he’s suddenly gone. I don’t even think he walked away, probably because he knew I would follow him. An instant later I hear his murmured voice echoing back from the kitchen, asking my dad if he’s ready to leave.

  That’s it?

  One quick kiss, and then he’s off on a suicide mission from which I might expect him never to return alive?

  I’m stunned. I give the salmon and eggs a longing look, but there’s no time to finish them. I grab my coffee cup and head for the kitchen.

  Has the hallway always been this long? If I ever get my dragon powers back, I’m going to make Ion teach me how to teleport.

  Speaking of Ion, I can hear his voice more clearly now. I’m nearly to the kitchen when he says, “We need to leave immediately if we want to get away without Zilpha trying to join us.”

  I enter the kitchen just as everyone else goes out the back door. Dad’s armed to the teeth with his usual weapons—swords, daggers, and an enormous beard that serves as both disguise and feinting lure.

  By the time I get outside, Ion has changed into a dragon, and Eudora hops on his back. Dad gives Mom a quick kiss, and then he changes, too.

  Felix grabs my arm. “Don’t try to go with them. I don’t want to have to fight you.”

  It would seem Felix does not know of my inability to change into a dragon.

  It’s a tiny consolation.

  “Are they really leaving?”

  “Yes.”

  “For Switzerland?”

  “The clouds are favorable for daytime flight. Dad wanted to go an hour ago, but Ion insisted on waiting to tell you goodbye. It wasn’t an easy wait—Eudora kept trying to convince them to let you come along.”

  Ion’s silvery green form is the first to disappear into the clouds, followed quickly by Dad’s true blue.

  Mom turns to face us. “Thank you for staying. I’m not in favor of this mission, but since it’s only reconnaissance, and your father promised not to go inside…”

  “Only reconnaissance.” I purse my lips together. “Right. Where’s Rilla?”

  “She wanted to study and said we were being too noisy. She might be in the library.” Mom offers.

  “I was just there—it was dark.”

  “You might try the den.” Mom heads back inside.

  I follow, but leave Mom in the kitchen while I grab my coffee and eggs from the library, and dart to the den. My sister was eager to join the mission when we discussed it at dinner last night. I can only hope she hasn’t changed her mind.

  Rilla’s got a huge book open on her lap.

  “Rilla? I need your help.”

  “With what?”

  “Dad and Ion just left with Eudora. For their safety, I think we need to follow them, but I need someone to go with me.”

  “How long is this going to take?” Rilla marks the page and closes her book. “I’ve got a summer school course starting in two weeks, and I want to be back in Montana in time to get a jump start on the required reading.”

  “If all goes well, this should only take a few days. Less than a week. Please?”

  “I’m in. What’s the plan?”

  “I’ll explain while we pack.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  To say Rilla is concerned for my safety would be an understatement. However, when I reveal that the yagi stole my ability to change into a dragon, she starts to feel sincerely bad for me, and even gets a little choked up. There is a bond between us sisters that is stronger even than the bond between the rest of our family, and with Wren married and off to Scotland, Rilla feels a little bereft and therefore more supportive of me.

  Under the circumstances, I’m not above using that to my advantage.

  And then I might have sort of implied that if we destroy the yagi, that will help me get my skills back.

  Hey, for all I know, it might work.

  Anyway, against her better judgment or not, Rilla agrees to fly me on her back to Switzerland. Since I’m not able to turn into a dragon, I dress in warm, protective clothes, mostly leather, including a pair of boots and a snug-fitting cap with flaps that cover my ears and buckle under my chin.

  I load up my swords on my back, hips and thighs, plus knives at my ankles—all weapons I wish I would have had when the yagi attacked me two weeks ago. And we slip quietly through the house. No one follows us. The dogs look up as we
walk past, but they’re snoozing on sunbeams and don’t even bark.

  I can hear Mom, still busy in the kitchen, so we make a break for my parents’ bedroom, and take off from their balcony.

  With any luck, no one will even realize we’ve left until several hours have passed. Rilla left a note saying we just needed to get away for a few days, and not to worry about us. I’m not saying my mom won’t be suspicious, but what’s she going to do?

  The clouds are thick. Hardly has Rilla taken off than we are enveloped inside their misty veil. We can’t see much of anything, save for the distant yellow glow of the sun, which guides our journey.

  Fortunately, the cloud cover holds, breaking up a bit over the Black Sea. I half expect to see Dad and Ion ahead of us when the clouds give way to blue sky, but they got a huge head start and there are more clouds far ahead. They’re probably in the clouds.

  Besides, even though I don’t know where we’re going, beyond that it’s in Switzerland, I don’t want to follow them too closely—not yet. If they see me, they’ll surely try to stop me or abort the mission, or both. I don’t want that to happen.

  By the time we reach the Romanian coast, it’s getting dark out—which is a good thing, because the cloud cover is pretty patchy. Fortunately, there’s an abandoned castle in Romania, a safe place we’ve stayed in countless times over the years. It’s in a remote spot with no roads leading to it, but Rilla loves the place and finds it easily in the dark.

  We land quietly in the courtyard.

  “Do you think Dad and Ion are staying here?” I whisper as Rilla turns back into a human.

  “I should think Dad would want to keep this place a secret from Ion and Eudora. You might trust Ion, but Dad still doesn’t. And I don’t think anyone should trust Eudora.”

  Though I’m sure Rilla is right, I’m still quiet as we drink from the well and head to one of our favorite bedrooms to sleep.

  I awake just before dawn. Poor Rilla is zonked out after carrying me all through the day and into the night yesterday. Once she wakes up, she’ll surely be hungry.