by Amelia Jade
It was contagious, and seconds later she joined him, tears streaming down her face. It wasn’t that funny of a joke, but she had timed it well enough that it worked, and both of them let off a lot of stress as the laughter overtook them.
“Okay, good point,” Asher said after a few minutes, regaining his composure. “But in general, the dog would have no idea what the hell to do, correct?”
Quinn nodded. “Correct. They aren’t used to flying or walking on two legs. If it was a permanent change, they’d eventually adapt to a degree, but it would never be second nature like it is to those born to do it.”
The big shifter snapped his fingers and again pointed at her. “Now you know. So it is with most of the shifter species. We grow up in human form, until we’re in our teenage years. The mind of the animal is with us the entire time, but it’s too weak to do anything. Then, with puberty and all the fun that entails, the animal inside grows with us and becomes powerful enough to manifest. So, just when we’re learning all the other fun things we can do as we turn into adults, we also have to learn how to move about as an animal.”
He shrugged, leaning back and crossing one leg over his knee easily. “It’s not something that comes naturally. Especially for those of us from flying species. But,” he said, pointing at her again, “there are some who mastered the skills. And occasionally those skills are passed down to a select few.”
She watched as his face grew serious once more, and he sat up straighter, his voice filled with reverence. Whatever it was he was talking about, it meant a great deal to him in more ways than one.
“I, after doing something rather stupid, was lucky enough to receive an invite to train with those who have knowledge. Their animal forms come as easy to them as the human form does to all of us.”
She blinked. “Asher, that’s amazing! I obviously don’t completely grasp what you’re saying, but from the sounds of it, that’s an incredible honor that was bestowed upon you.”
He nodded. “It was. Er, is,” he corrected. “But there’s a problem that I did not foresee until you came tumbling into my life.
“What problem? Nobody knows I’m here, do they? They can’t hold that against you!” She felt her anger rise at the thought they would hold her against him.
“No, not like that. Much simpler. You see, I’m supposed to live on the training grounds for the duration.”
She nodded. “How long is that?”
“Months. Years maybe. I have no idea. I’ve already made a lot of progress and I was only there for a day. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have people around to help you, to make you push harder than you’ve ever done trying to learn it on your own. It will take me years to get to where my instructors are now, but to become a graduate? Probably six months at least of intense daily training. Maybe double that.”
Quinn frowned. “That is a problem. More so for me than for you.”
He nodded unhappily.
“Maybe you should just take me back to where you found me then,” she suggested. Quinn wasn’t thrilled with leaving him behind, but she had what she came for now. She could go.
Asher looked unhappy. “No. You need to find your mother. That’s just as important. I will help you. I’m just not sure how much help I’m going to be now, that’s all.”
Quinn smiled externally, partially relieved that she wouldn’t have to leave, but also disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to get out that easily.
What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter Five
Asher
He blinked, trying to keep himself awake. The first two days of training had been more intense and grueling than anything he had ever experienced before. The instructors demanded perfection, and when the bumbling recruits didn’t deliver, they were punished with physical exercise, both in human and dragon form.
Never before had Asher felt so completely and utterly humbled. In his day-to-day life he was a strong, proud, and powerful dragon shifter. Although he did his best never to let that rule his personality, it was an inescapable reality. The other shifters, while they didn’t bow before him, rarely gave him trouble either. Only the other flyers, the gryphons and the Pegasi, were a nuisance, and even they wouldn’t brawl with him without either surprise or numbers—or both—on their side.
He was the ultimate predator. Bigger, stronger, and faster than the others in either form.
And yet here, on the Top Scale grounds, he was bombarded with a constant barrage of reinforcement on just how awkward, useless, and downright clumsy he truly was. It was mentally exhausting, which fit right in to his physical exhaustion.
Can’t allow myself to be tired. Not today. Quinn is relying on me.
Asher had come to a decision. It wasn’t one that he liked, but he just knew he couldn’t continue sneaking out of the Academy like he was about to do now. The flight there and back, the constant fear that the instructors might check in and see that he was gone, resulting in even more punishment… it was weighing on him heavily, and this was only his second time sneaking out!
He had to take her back. To get her back where she could sneak through the mountains and into human civilization once more. It was the only way. She could not continue to live closeted away at his house, doing nothing except for the brief period of time where he was there. That was ridiculous. Asher knew she wouldn’t be pleased, because it would effectively end her search for her mother, but he didn’t want her losing her life over this. There had to be a better way!
The digital clock on the bedside table flickered, and he glanced at it. One hour until midnight. It was time. Easing himself to a sitting position, he swung his feet off the bed and gently placed them down on the floor one at a time. Thankfully, it was tiled for easy cleaning, which meant it barely made a sound as he heaved himself to his feet.
Padding to the window, he repeated his steps from the night before. The screen popped out easily and he slipped outside, sitting on the ledge that was only a few inches wide as he pulled the screen in behind him.
With it in place, he closed his eyes and jumped the three stories to the ground, landing on all fours to spread the weight of his impact, both to ease the pain and to try and stay quiet. Going up wasn’t any easier on his return trip, but he’d figured it out.
Now he just had to get to Quinn. Moving to the farthest-most stone circle, he called upon his dragon, hoping that the shower of hail that always accompanied it wouldn’t awaken anyone. After a pause, he launched himself into the air, trying to do so with the power and grace his instructors wanted from him.
***
He opened the door and then paused, waiting before he went inside.
“Quinn, it’s me,” he called into the darkened house.”
Lights came on and she came out of hiding, the knife falling by the wayside.
“You know, you’re starting to worry me with that,” he said, nodding his head at the weapon.
“I’m here illegally,” she said with a shrug. “I’m going to protect myself as best I can.”
Asher decided against reminding her that no shifter worth their salt would be overly troubled by her. She was strong-willed and smart, more than any number of shifters he knew. But the basic, innate strength advantages meant she’d need a better weapon than a knife to stand a chance.
“How was your day?” she asked as he came inside, flopping across the couch, though her eyes remained on him.
Always on him. Like his were on her.
“Exhausting,” he said, slumping into one of the chairs around the television in his common area. “I should be fast asleep right now.”
She grinned. “And yet you came to see me? How kind of you!”
Asher grimaced. “Yes, I did.”
Quinn sat upright. “What?” There was no preamble, no further words. Just a simple acknowledgment that something was up, and she wanted to know.
“I’m taking you back,” he told her. “I have to. I can’t keep this up. I’m sorry,” he rus
hed to add, “but I’ll get your information, and we’ll find another way. Perhaps I can get them to give you permission from the inside, so you don’t have to enter illegally.”
The beautiful woman seemed to consider his words. “No.”
“No?” he asked in surprise.
“No,” she affirmed. “I don’t want to go.”
He saw something like surprise flash across her face. Had Quinn not realized that’s what she was going to say?
Part of Asher liked the fact that she might stay. That he would get to see her more, even if it wouldn’t be very often. His brief time spent with her so far had been…interesting. She made him feel so very alive when she was near. Even when she wasn’t, he found himself pushing harder in his training, because he knew that’s what she would expect of him.
How is it that a woman can have such an effect on me like this? Her talons have dug deep, and we barely know anything about each other. By all rights I should have tossed her out the day I found her. So why didn’t I?
Because you know this isn’t the end.
Asher wasn’t so sure. But maybe if he took her back after he graduated from Top Scale, he could look her up and visit her. Or have her come visit him legally. He would be allowed to request entry for a human into Cadia at that point, and no one would bat an eye at it.
But for now…
“I appreciate you wanting to stay,” he said firmly. “But if you were to be found here, things would go incredibly wrong. They could kill you.”
Quinn nodded. “I knew that coming in here, Asher. I’m well aware of how things are. That’s my choice to make though, not yours.”
He frowned. “Perhaps it is, Quinn. Perhaps it is. But what about what will happen to me? What about all the trouble I’ll get in for harboring you? I’ll lose my place in the Academy. I’ll lose this. I’ll quite possibly be put in prison for a long, long time. I’ve broken the rules here too, and if you get caught, it’s not just your ass on the line. So you’re putting me in a bad spot as well.”
Asher hadn’t wanted to throw that at her, but he needed her to see that though he did not want her to leave either, she had to. It wasn’t just for her, but for him as well.
Her expression fell as he hammered home the reality of what they were both facing. That she couldn’t be a tough act all by herself. She was dragging him deeper with her, and right then neither of them were prepared for it.
“What about my mother?” Quinn asked awkwardly.
“I will look for her,” he vowed solemnly. There is downtime when I’m at the Academy. Not enough to come all the way out here, but enough that I can make some calls, begin some inquiries into her disappearance, and hopefully turn up enough to continue the search.”
Quinn looked at him, her cheeks turning a little darker under her tan. He wondered what she had to be embarrassed about. Asher had thought it was a nice offer. He wasn’t obliged to do anything, but he had just offered her his help.
“Thank you,” she got out a moment later. “I would appreciate that, since it looks like I won’t be able to search for her myself.”
Asher nodded slowly. “It is the least I can do. Now, pack up your things, and we’ll be on our way, okay?”
Quinn nodded and set to cleaning up her few meager possessions under his watchful eye, stuffing them into the green rucksack she’d been carrying when he’d first found her. Shrugging that over her back, shoes on her feet, she gave him a look indicating she was ready.
Holding the door to the rear, he made his way to the middle of the stone circle in his backyard. Turning to face the house, he saw Quinn waiting patiently next to him.
“Ah,” he said awkwardly. “You’ll want to stay back by the house for this first bit,” he warned.
Quinn looked around in the darkness, trying to figure out why. When he didn’t explain, she shrugged in mild annoyance and retreated to the house.
“When it’s done, climb on and we’ll go swiftly,” he explained.
“I’m still confused,” came the reply.
“You won’t be,” he said as white fog swirled up from his feet, the air thick with moisture that froze as it cooled rapidly, encasing him in an icy cocoon that expanded as quickly as his body, shrouding him from view as he shifted from human to dragon.
With a slight pop his cocoon expanded outward and showered the nearby area with icicles, sending Quinn ducking out of the way. She stood up after a moment though, staring at him in shock.
“What?” he asked through his elongated snout.
“You’re a dragon,” she said after another moment, only the slightest hint of a tremor in her voice.
“Did I not mention that?” he asked, legitimately confused. “I swear I did.”
Quinn shook her head rapidly.
“Oh, my apologies,” he said, dropping his head closer to her level, his words slurred slightly by the non-human mouth forming them. “Well, I am.”
She snorted. “So I can see. Where do I climb on?”
Asher extended a taloned paw, and she walked forward, stepping carefully on the layer of frost. She climbed into his paw, allowing him to lift her up to his neck, where her legs slid around until the backs of them rested against his legs. It wasn’t going to be the most comfortable position for her, but with a grip on his scales, and squeezing her legs, she should be just fine.
“This is amazing,” Quinn said as he turned away, preparing for takeoff.
“Okay, hold on tight with your legs, and onto one of my scales. Dig your fingers around its edge,” he commanded. “This part is the roughest part.”
“What is—”
Quinn yelped as he jumped, flapping his wings in the process and beginning the less than vertical takeoff.
I really hope I can learn how to do this more gracefully, and soon. So embarrassing.
Thankfully Quinn didn’t say a word as he hopped and ran forward until he was able to leap into the sky and carry them upward with rapid beats of the membranes. It wasn’t much harder to do with her on his back, which was an interesting thing to note. This was the first time Asher had ever carried a human, and he had expected it to tire him out more than it seemed it was.
They winged westward, toward the mountains where he had found her. His plan was to set down near the hot springs and walk her out toward the border. His senses should be able to detect any of the Guardians before they got too close.
Hopefully.
It was all a big risk, but if she pretended to be lost, having been stranded and wandering around, the Guardian should hopefully point her in the right direction with nothing more than a scare.
As it happened, none of that mattered.
“Asher, I think I see something behind us,” Quinn said a bit nervously.
He craned his head around, and his eyes went wide.
A piercing screech split the sky as he passed over the hot springs, feeling the difference in air temperature in his wings.
“What was that?” Quinn asked.
Asher was already reacting, allowing the upward heat of the pools to act as a drag, pulling himself to the right.
The gryphon shot through the space he had just occupied, claws extended. It shrieked its anger and flapped mightily, struggling to regain ground as Asher’s brain snapped into combat mode. He pumped his own wings, the thermal air from the springs making his climb fast and effortless.
The gryphon was smaller though, and it rose even easier, angling for another dive on him.
“Hang on!” he shouted, hoping she heard him.
When the other shifter darted at him Asher charged head-on at it, ignoring the razor-sharp talons aiming for his head.
At the last second he dipped his head and brought his wings in closer. His body turned downward into a dive, avoiding the attack. His opponent, however, couldn’t react in time, and flew straight into the whip-motion path of Asher’s tail. The scale-covered appendage slammed against the gryphon’s head and the bird-like creature wailed its cry of pain, though
it didn’t give up.
Brave of you, attacking me one on—
The second gryphon’s claws tore across his midsection as he leveled out, hitting him from nowhere.
Asher bellowed, the noise a mixture of pain and anger. He had known there was going to be at least a second one. Gryphons would never take on a dragon one on one. That was suicide. Two or more, however, suddenly made it a dangerous fight. Especially as he had Quinn on his back. The gryphons would never know she was a human, unless he landed. Dragons transporting other shifters was not unknown, and Asher knew he could pass it off as having been escorting a guardian out to the perimeter. That happened more frequently than anything.
But first he had to win this fight.
Aerial combat was not something one chose to engage in willingly. Even these gryphons must be extra pissed to come after him. All it would take is one mistake, or one good shot, and a combatant would tumble hundreds of feet to their death.
Asher gained height again, watching the two shifters as they eyed him warily. The tail to the face trick had to have hurt. Asher wasn’t sure where he’d come up with such an idea, but he was glad it worked. But his efforts of the past two days were starting to wear on him, and he could feel fatigue setting in already.
If only these buffoons didn’t have such an inbred hatred of us. I have no wish to fight them.
He knew that wasn’t his fault, however. The entire gryphon culture seemed to be centered around proving they were better than dragons. They didn’t seem to realize that such a singularly focused mindset effectively proved that they weren’t better. But that sort of logic wouldn’t work to stop the fight now. If the two of them brought him down, they would be endlessly lauded by their peers.
And he would both be dead and ridiculed.
Quinn would be dead too.
Asher’s vision suddenly snapped into an even sharper focus as that bomb exploded in his mind. There was no way he was letting these fools harm her.
Dragon lips peeled back into a tooth-filled visage that promised pain and death as he banked hard toward the gryphons. The smaller animals split to the sides, forcing him to pick one. Asher went after the trailer, the newcomer to the fight. His sudden change of stance, from defensive to offense, had caught them by surprise. The gryphon now dove frantically, the bigger, angrier, and faster-in-a-dive dragon on his tail.