by Bonnie Vanak
Daring to risk another bolt of energy, he snorted with laughter. “You sound like those New Age Skins who rhapsodize about positive energy. I’ve read better copy on cereal boxes.”
“I did not write this. Ariel did. She penned it and sent it to the four winds shortly after your escape from her father.”
His jaw nearly dropped. “Why? What does the rest say? Who does she love?”
“That information you will have to obtain from her.” Drust snapped his fingers and the paper vanished. “Ariel is a complex woman who learned to embrace the vortex energy in Sedona. She is not what you think. Even she does not know the truth. But in time, all will be revealed.”
With those words, the wizard vanished.
Drust’s cryptic warning gave Justin pause. He didn’t want the guilt inside him to grow larger and derail his purpose with Ariel.
Once a bastard, always a bastard. A dragon can’t change the color of his scales.
After shifting into his dragon form, he flew away.
Justin returned to Ariel’s house. Inside, he opened her bedroom door and stared at her, curled up on the bed. Fast asleep.
Hunger rose inside him, the hunger of a man for a woman’s body. But he would not disturb her rest.
Tomorrow, she would pay the price of her contract.
11
Despite being a creature of magick, Justin never embraced the whole concept of transformational energy and renewal. He passed through Sedona, staying a day or two because it was dry, sunny and satisfied his dragon’s need for warmth.
Skins could have the earth energy mumbo jumbo that others raved about.
So when Ariel announced she wanted to take him to a famous vortex energy spot after breakfast the following day, he had to rein in his equally famous cynicism. He agreed to take her there because of his mysterious conversation last night with Drust.
Ariel could not have referenced him in that odd paper Drust claimed she wrote. He wasn’t the loving type.
Justin drained his coffee and wiped his mouth with the paper napkin. “How do we get there?”
She blinked as she turned from loading the dishwasher. “Drive.”
Taking a gamble, he risked it. “Want to try flying instead?”
The joy sparking her gaze made his heart leap. Justin steeled himself against the thrill. It wasn’t a big deal. Women liked him. He liked them and this wasn’t any different.
But it was.
“Really? You’ll shift into a dragon and I can ride you?” She beamed at him.
And you can ride me later if you want, when I’m naked in Skin. Though he didn’t voice that wicked thought, Ariel flushed. A pulse beat wildly in her throat.
Made no sense. She couldn’t read his thoughts. Or could she?
Ariel can’t be my lifelong mate. She’s Mage.
“Yes, you can ride on my back. Wear jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. And take a jacket. It’ll be windy and cool.”
When they were ready, he took the key and tucked it into Ariel’s backpack.
“What’s that?” she peered at the key.
“Something we’ll need later.”
He went out onto the deck. Wide enough, he supposed. Ariel hovered in the opened doorway, staring at him.
“Now what?” she asked.
“I’ll shift into a dragon and you climb on and hold tight, sweetheart. My magick will shield us from view.”
Justin inhaled the fresh morning air, the scent of dry earth and sage. A few clouds overhead scuttled by, but otherwise, the day promised sunshine and warmth. In the distance, the majestic red sandstone cliffs beckoned to him, inviting him to explore.
He needed warmth. It was critical to his well-being, and his magick, especially since Leo had altered his chemistry last year.
Justin removed his clothing. Ariel gasped. “You have to get naked to shift?”
He winked. “No, but I thought I’d treat you to a show.”
The pot she threw at him missed by a yard as he ducked. Grinning, he stretched out his arms, enjoying the hungry way her gaze roved over his nude body.
The shifting didn’t pain him, for he transformed too quickly. One minute he stood as a six-foot two-inch man.
The next he was black dragon. Fully aware, alive, his senses exploding as he caught the scent of Ariel’s arousal. He turned, grinning at her. Paling, she backed away.
Ok, no displays of teeth. Justin spread out his wings and lowered his head, waiting. He could wait forever for her to lose her fear of him.
Jeans hugged every inch of Ariel’s delectable curves and round hips. The long-sleeved red pullover complimented her skin tone. She strapped on a backpack and stepped onto the deck staring at him.
Though he’d chosen to take on the size of a large SUV, Justin knew he must look intimidating.
With tentative steps, she approached and climbed onto his back. Ariel gripped the spikes rising from his neck. He, who never allowed riders, liked the feeling of her on his back.
The liftoff was slow and deliberate, pulled with power. He did it more to accustom her to riding him than to show off his strength.
Like a helicopter, he rose vertically and then headed off for the red cliffs.
Ariel laughed, the sound filled with delight as he flapped his wings and sailed through the air. “This is fun!”
He followed her directions to an outcropping of red rock. Below, he saw a parking lot crowded with vehicles.
“Careful with the landing,” she called out. “Don’t squish the tourists. Sedona needs their income.”
Amused, he chose a flat boulder and blew a stream of mist from his mouth. Another trick Leo endowed him with after the Mage tampered with his DNA. The mist descended and shrouded the rock. No one could see them, but he didn’t want to flatten a hiker who decided the rock made a nice picnic spot.
After he shifted back to Skin, clothing himself in jeans, a black and white baseball shirt and sturdy hiking boots, pPain immediately slammed into him. Justin took a deep breath and relaxed, letting the powerful vortex energy flow through him as Drust had instructed. He glanced at Ariel, whose eyes sparked with joy.
“That was fun!”
Enchanted, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her laughter was worth the nasty tingles of energy bouncing off his skin like electrical shocks. “Saves on the parking fees.”
He took her heavy pack and shouldered it, ignoring her protests that she could carry it. Soon he and Ariel were hiking the Bell Rock formation. Skins passed them as they trudged up the red dirt path leading up the mountain.
He could save them time and fly them both to the mountain’s top, but Ariel had a specific destination in mind. Justin wasn’t surprised when she led him to a spot he’d already visited – the rocks where he’d talked with Drust last night.
She led him over to a large flat rock and patted it. Nearby, five Skins wearing shorts, T-shirts and wide-brimmed hats sat crossed-legged, palms open to the sky.
Ariel noticed his interest. “Students learning Reiki. It’s a great place to practice.”
She waved at them. A bearded man about her age waved back. Justin growled at him. Flushing, the man turned away and shut his eyes.
Ariel rolled her eyes. “Justin, don’t disrupt the positive energy.”
“Sorry,” he muttered. But it was hard not to feel possessive and protective of Ariel in this place that swarmed with so much power that it screwed up his senses while he was in Skin.
Justin set down her backpack. They sat on the red rock, cross-legged as the Skins did.
“The red rocks are famous for their energy. These vortexes connect to the earth’s natural energy. They’re popular with Skins who seek spiritual healing and transformation.” Ariel rubbed the red sandstone. “With Others, too. Sometimes I come here to meditate.”
Interesting. He was learning more and more about this fascinating Mage who captivated him from the moment he saw her stranded on the roadside.
Don’t forget she’s the r
eason Leo captured you. But for today, he wanted to simply enjoy her company and not brood on the past.
“I once tried meditating.” Justin looked around at the jutting rocks and the twisted, knobby trees. “Didn’t work. I don’t have that type of focus when it comes to staying still and doing nothing.”
“It’s opening your mind, not doing nothing.” Ariel jumped off the rock, bent down and scooped up a handful of red earth. She opened her palm and let it spill through her fingers. “Calming down all that noise in your head and soothing the soul. I came here a lot after the accident. I needed to derail the self-pity train because I was headed for destruction.”
She’d only been fourteen years old. Admiration filled him for her initiative and determination to heal herself. Then his temper flared. Leo had neglected his only child at a time when she needed him most. “You sought healing on your own? What about your father? Didn’t he get you the help you needed?”
Her mouth turned down as she resumed her seat. “My father was too wounded to notice. My mother was his entire life. When we lost her he wanted his life to end, too. When he finally came out of his depression a year later, he became obsessed with finding dragons and experimenting with their magick.”
For a few minutes they sat in silence, Justin absorbed in his thoughts. Ariel endured a childhood much like his own. Maybe her father had lived, but he hadn’t been a parent, either.
“Let’s try meditating. Close your eyes and absorb the energy of the vortex. Feel nothing but the power of this place,” she instructed.
Doubtful, but what the hell. Justin closed his eyes.
After ten minutes, he opened them.
She regarded him with those amazing green eyes. “Did you feel anything?”
“Yeah. This rock is hard and my ass hurts.”
Her mouth twitched and then she burst into laughter. “Justin, you have to concentrate. Give it a chance.”
To hear her enchanting laugh again, he would.
He closed his eyes.
“Breathe in and out.”
“Sweetheart, if I breathe in and out I spew flames.”
She giggled again. “Stop it! Now focus.”
Ok, I’m trying.
“Breathe in and out slowly. Ignore everything except the sound of my voice,” she told him.
As she kept talking, Justin shut out the sounds of Skins hiking nearby, the prayer flags flapping in the breeze. The smell of juniper and sage swirled around him, and Ariel’s fragrance of wildflowers and honey. He licked his lips, tasting dryness.
Think of nothing but her. Ariel.
Slowly, his shoulders lost their tension. He felt himself moving deeper inside him.
Visions spiked in his mind. Not peaceful skies or fluffy clouds, but sharp red. Blood, flowing in a sluggish stream. Ariel, screaming. Crying out, begging him to stop.
His eyes flew open. Justin gasped, panic overtaking him.
He yelled, slamming his fists upon the rock.
A soft hand set upon his trembling arm, the smell of wildflowers and sage overriding the panic. Ariel’s eyes widened as she murmured to him. He could not understand what she said, but it calmed him. Justin gulped down a breath.
“Easy,” she soothed. “Just breathe.”
After a moment, he regained his lost composure. Justin shook off her hand and wiped sweat off his brow with the back of one hand. He glanced around.
The Skins meditating nearby stared at him, mouths agape. Damn. Drawing attention to himself was the last thing he needed.
He already felt like a damn freak.
“Time to leave.” Justin took a long swig from the water bottle she offered him from her pack. He glanced down at the rock, flinched at the long crack.
Such power in his fists.
“You probably had bad memories surface. It happens a lot with Others when they first get deep in touch with themselves.” Ariel offered a reassuring smile.
She took his hand as they walked off. But deep inside Justin knew it wasn’t a bad memory.
But the darkness inside him, clamoring to get out.
And hurt Ariel….
12
After Justin’s bad experience with meditation, Ariel only wanted to leave Bell Rock. His panic attack frightened her.
Not because she feared he would lash out at her, but it terrified her to imagine what her father had done to him in the basement.
But Justin insisted on continuing the hike. They began to climb up the rock, Justin as sturdy on the slippery surface as a mountain goat. He pulled her up easily.
At the end of the climb, they mingled with Skins who had summited. He glanced upward, not down. She shivered at the distance they’d climbed. Ariel drank from the water bottle, handing him a spare one. Fascinated, she watched his throat muscles work as he drank the entire bottle. Justin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
A network of thick scars ran along the inside of his arm. She traced one, her stomach turning.
“My father did this.”
Rhetorical question. Justin gave a brief nod.
Her stomach clenched at the thought of the torture he’d endured. “No wonder you want revenge.”
“Justice. Not revenge. There’s a difference.” He tucked the empty bottle back into her pack.
She didn’t want to discuss it. “What now? Go down?”
“Up.”
She craned her neck. “You want to rock climb?”
He shook his head.
“What’s up there?” It made no sense. Justin could see the view from much higher in the sky.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Something I need to check out. Something…magical.”
A sense of excitement consumed her. Was it the rumored den of dragons her people had talked about for years? “Bell Rock is almost five thousand feet tall. Lots of Skins climb it, but not many reach the summit of the different towers.”
“We’re not headed to where Skins can climb.” He glanced down at her left foot. “Can you handle it?”
She’d crawl on hands and knees on broken glass to see dragons, if that was where Justin headed. Ariel nodded.
They waited until the Skins left and they were alone, and then Justin shifted and she climbed onto his back. Such trust in this black dragon. She sensed he would not hurt her, not intentionally. He’d fascinated her from the moment she’d seen him riding his motorcycle on the highway.
Near the top of the rock formation, far from the hiking trail Skins used, was a mini tower that made up part of the Bell Rock formation. A few Skins rock climbed up other towers, but not this one. Justin landed upon the red sandstone. Bits of green brush peppered the sandstone. Ariel climbed off his back. He shifted back into Skin as she glanced downward.
“We’re really high!”
“Whoa.” He caught her arm. “Easy, sweetheart. That’s a long drop down and you can’t fly.”
“Won’t anyone see us?”
“This section is warded with magick. Skins never come up here and they can’t see us, or anything else magick.”
“What’s up here?”
“Dragon babies. Real dragons.”
Ariel could barely contain her excitement. So it was true. “I heard rumors about this! My father knew a community of Mages in the area and they said there are baby dragons that live in a cave in the rock.”
Justin’s dark gaze searched her face. “They knew? Which Mages? Did they try to get to them? And what the hell did they want with them?”
Cold dread snaked down her spine. Justin was a black dragon, and different. Dangerous. Her first loyalty was to her people. How many times had Leo taught her that?
You are Mage, my daughter. Never forget that. Never break the code of honor and secrecy of our people.
Ariel shrugged. “It was just a rumor.”
His gaze narrowed, as if he didn’t believe her. Justin rubbed his chin. “Maybe I should do this alone.”
“And leave me out here? Do you have a rope so at least if I fa
ll, I won’t break my neck?”
It worked. Justin glanced around. “All right. Follow me and do as I say.”
A narrow ledge ran parallel to the wall. Wide enough for one person to walk abreast, but Ariel tried to prevent looking down. If she fell, she’d die. She wasn’t Justin, able to sprout wings and fly away.
Every two feet, Justin searched the rock wall, running his hands over it.
“I was told the babies live below the rock, in a cave that Skins can’t see. Or access. There’s a rock wall and a keyhole that key you carried is supposed to fit.” Justin frowned as he studied the surface he examined.
“Then how are you supposed to get inside if you can’t find the keyhole? Call on a wizard of the Brehon?”
“I doubt they’re on anyone’s speed dial.”
They rounded a corner to another flat surface, this one much wider. Like a landing strip. Surely this was the entrance. Ariel’s pulse raced. She was about to see dragons, real dragons, the source of much magick in these vortexes.
Other Mages would kill to have this opportunity.
Suddenly he stopped. “Oh damn. I think we found the door.”
She ground to a halt, staring, her heart racing.
In front of them stood the most malevolent creature she’d ever seen. The creature breathed a stench fouler than raw sewage, and pure evil. Its mandible jaws clicked together as it paced in front of the rock wall. The same wall with a keyhole.
Justin motioned for Ariel to slowly back away. Not that she needed direction.
The creature stood well over seven feet tall, with fangs like a spider’s. Covered in white fur, it looked like a hybrid spider and Skin. It opened its mouth, showing dual rows of triangular teeth. Eight legs in the creature’s middle moved in different directions, but the arms and legs on the creature resembled a Skin’s arms, much like the rest of the creature. Flat openings in the face served as nostrils, and the red slash of a mouth pulled back in a scream that made her clap hands over her ears.