“I got her for ya,” a man’s voice came from behind.
The other men laughed and moved in closer to her, but Margaret wasn’t about to let them get the better of her. She raised her foot and stomped heavily, bringing the heel of her boot down heavily on the toes of the man holding her. He let out a howl and then began cursing as she tore away from him, running down the street toward her room.
“Hey, that ain’t no way to be!” one of the men called after her, but she never broke stride. She made her way back to her room and pushed the bolt inside shut, leaning against the door to catch her breath now that she was safe. She found it odd that she could come so many miles through prairies and wilderness only to be threatened with harm in the biggest city she had encountered since New York.
Margaret headed out at first light, eager to get to Galveston, as far away from the broken heart and bad memories of Billings as she could. Perhaps one day she would be happy again, but it wasn’t likely. What man was going to want a woman who was running from killers and had a husband she had abandoned. It was all just too overwhelming to comprehend. Whether it was something she had eaten or just the stress of traveling, she wasn’t sure but she had to stop just outside of Dallas to rest. She felt so exhausted, even after a full night’s sleep in a bed. The worst was the nausea that had begun to plague her a few days ago. It was almost unbearable as she pulled a few of the crackers she had managed in Dallas from her saddle bag and munched on them to calm her stomach.
As soon as she was able, she climbed back onto the horse and headed south again, galloping at full pace. It wouldn’t be long now until she was in Galveston. With a little luck, she should be there by nightfall. Turned out that luck wasn’t something she was having much of that day, though. She found herself suddenly being thrown from the horse as he stepped in a hole and stumbled. Bruised and frightened, she slowly got up from the ground and dusted herself off, relieved that nothing seemed broken. The horse didn’t seem to have fared as well. He was limping badly.
“Looks like this is the end of the trip for you, boy,” she said with a sigh. His leg wasn’t broken, but he was in no shape to continue with a rider. Margaret unpacked what she could carry from his saddle bags and pulled off his saddle and reigns. She hid what she couldn’t carry in some brush just off the trail. Perhaps when she got into Galveston, she could find another horse and come back for her things. For now, it seemed she’d be walking in with just enough supplies to get her there. Looked like she would be spending one more night in the woods, after all.
Walking along the trail, she was offered rides by several men passing in wagons, but she declined. She kept hoping for one that also contained a woman, a family perhaps, but it didn’t seem that would happen as she walked along. She just didn’t feel she could trust men who were traveling alone, and would rather make the long walk by herself than take any chances. It began to get dark and she started looking around for shelter for the night, finally wandering just off the trail to a small wooded area that looked like it would provide a bit of protection from the wind blowing through the heavy tree coverage.
She had just drifted off to sleep when she heard voices near her. She recognized them, but in her sleepy haze, couldn’t decide quite from where. They were growing closer and she was suddenly wide awake, looking for a hiding place. She scampered into the trees, hiding behind them as the footsteps grew closer. In the darkness, she could barely make out the faces but the voices began to register. It was the men that had accosted her in Dallas. Her heart bat wildly as she continued to cower behind the tree.
“How about that little filly in Dallas?” one of them laughed.
“I think she broke my toes,” the one she had injured replied.
“Spirited little thing, she was,” another added.
“Yeah, too bad she thought she was too good for us,” the first observed. “Maybe the women in Galveston will be more accommodating. We’ll hole up here for the night instead of paying for a room and then ride in come sun up.”
They were talking about her! And they were making camp! Plus, they were headed to Galveston, too. This was not good, not good at all. Maybe she could just stay where she was until they fell asleep and then quietly sneak away. It took them hours to fall asleep as she stood plastered against the back of the tree, exhausted and frightened. Then, all was quiet. She peered around the edge of the tree and toward where they had bedded down, seeing no signs that any of them were still awake.
The very first step resulted in a loud crunch of the branches and leaves on the ground. Margaret froze, waiting for one of them to stir, but none did. She slowly took a few more steps, hesitating after each one to listen for movement. When none came, she hastened her pace, quickly making her way through the woods along what she hoped was the edge of the trail she had come off of. She was moving so quickly that she never heard the footsteps behind her until it was too late.
“Well, lookie what we have here,” the man she had injured said as he grabbed her around the waist, hauling her backwards toward camp.
“Put me down!” she yelled at him as he carried her effortlessly back the way she had come and into the small area where he had been camped for the night.
“Bad idea for a little woman to be alone out in the woods,” one of the others said to her as she struggled against the one holding her. He was careful not to give her a chance to hurt anymore toes as he held onto her waist and tilted her sideways so that her boots were angled away
“Looks like we got ourselves a little entertainment for the evening, boys,” another said.
“Sure does,” another replied, taking a step closer to her.
“I said put me down. I’m not entertainment for anyone, you bunch of filthy heathens!” she screamed at them. They only laughed and continued toward her. Margaret began to scream at the top of her lungs in hopes that someone would come. One of the men clamped a hand over her mouth and she bit him, causing him to jump backward for a moment. She prayed for help as he cursed her and started toward her again.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he growled.
Suddenly, the moon was blotted out as something large and dark swooped down from overhead. Margaret was tossed aside and scampered behind a nearby tree to safety. She could hear the men’s screams as whatever was attacking them let out a loud screech and ripped through their camp. Terrified, she finally turned and peered out from the behind the tree, unable to believe her eyes.
The creature was huge. It looked like some sort of bat, but hundreds of times larger and with a long snout. It seized one of the men beneath a powerful talon and flung him sideways. Margaret let out a scream as his body crunched against the side of the tree and fell to the ground, broken and lifeless. Clamping her hand over her mouth so as not to scream again and garner the attention of this demonic beast before her, she watched in horror as the men were torn apart one by one. Shots rang out as one of them took aim and fired, but his bullets merely glanced off the heavy scales that covered the hideous things body.
Margaret couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was she dreaming? Perhaps she had fallen asleep waiting for the men to do the same and this was just some horrible nightmare. She tried to will herself awake, but realized that she already was as the creature let out a powerful stream of fire, reducing the last of the men to mere char and bone. The heated smell of burning flesh filled the air around her, making her sick to her stomach once again. She turned away, leaning against the tree for support as she struggled to understand what she had just witnessed. Then, she heard a familiar voice.
“Margaret? Where are you?” Angus said, sounding a little breathless.
“Angus!”
Margaret shot out from behind the tree, running toward him. She noticed immediately that he was naked. Why was he here? How was he here? The creature was gone and here he stood, naked in the woods. She considered again whether this might be just a dream.
“Are you okay?” he asked as if nothing was amiss.
; “Angus, how did you…” she began to say, but he held his hand up.
“I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to get away from here before anyone comes asking questions,” he replied.
“Where are your clothes? Where did that thing go?” she replied.
“Later, Margaret. We need to get moving,” he told her.
Margaret watched as he fished around in the men’s wagon, pulling out some clothes that were a bit too big, but at least covered his nudity. He slipped into a pair of their boots and seemed to stop to think for a moment. Finally, he helped her onto the back of one of the horses that had belonged to the men and climbed on in front of her, telling her to hold on. They galloped away, headed back into the heavily populated city of Dallas. When they arrived, Angus gave a man some money for a place to stay and they went inside.
“How did you find me?” Margaret asked once they were inside.
“I’ve been following you since I figured out you were gone,” he said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t find you and then I heard you scream.”
“How did you know which direction I would go?” she asked.
“Let’s just say, I relied heavily on the good Lord for some guidance and hoped he was steering me right,” he said.
“I’m glad he did. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along,” she said.
“I’m afraid I do. Margaret, why would you take off alone like that? And on horseback? I found your horse limping around days ago,” he said.
“I couldn’t afford the train and wasn’t expecting the horse to go lame on me,” she replied.
“But why leave at all? Do you not love me?” he asked ].
“Angus, of course, I love you. That is why I had to leave. I could see how much it pained you that I lied and that you had to kill a man because of it. I knew more would come. I couldn’t stay there and wait for men to come after me and hurt you too,” she said.
“Margaret, I love you. Do you not understand that I would do anything for you?” he asked.
“You were so angry with me,” she said.
“I was hurt to know that you lied. I was hurt that you didn’t feel you could trust me enough to come to me with the truth before you were forced to do so. And yes, I’ve never had to kill a man before. It’s a hard thing, not something I took lightly. I’ve had a lot of thinking to do, a lot of praying to do,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Angus,” she said, not knowing what else to say.
“Nothing, none of that, hurt nearly as much as walking in from the fields and finding you gone. I looked everywhere. I feared the worst. Then, I found that you had taken some things and a horse. So, I did the same. I was so afraid something would happen to you before I could get to you,” he said.
“I’m glad that you did,” she told him.
“Oh, here is something for you. I don’t know if it’s everything, but I got back what I could,” he told her, handing her a small burlap bag from his pocket.
Margaret emptied it into her hand to find that it was the jewelry she had traded along the way for food and supplies. Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at it.
“Angus, how did you get this back?” she asked.
“I had some money put back for seeds. I used some of it. We should have enough to get us back home if we are careful,” he told her.
“What will we do for seeds then?” she asked, now feeling even worse about the mess she had made of things.
“We will worry about that when we get back home safely,” he told her.
“And the men, what if more of them come?’ she asked.
“I have a plan for that, too. We can talk about it on the way home,” he told her.
“Angus, that thing…” she said.
“I am sorry, Margaret. I should have told you what I am.”
“What you are?” she repeated, not understanding.
“I was so hard on you for lying to me and it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all when it pales in comparison to the secret I have kept from you, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid that if I did, you would run away from me or think I was something demonic.”
“Oh, my God,” she replied, beginning to understand.
“That thing you saw. It’s me. It’s called a dragon. Not a lot of people here have ever heard of one and those who have don’t believe they exist or think they no longer exist.”
“A dragon?”
“Yes. I am a dragon shifter. I have the ability to shift my form from that of a man to that of the creature you saw in the woods.”
“It was horrible. Why would you want to be that?”
“It’s not always horrible, Margaret. There is a great beauty in being a dragon. I can fly and I heal so much faster in that form. Remember the bite from the coyotes? And look…” he told her, pulling up a sleeve to show her his arm.
The gunshot that had grazed him was all but gone only after a few days. Margaret remembered that the bite had healed quite quickly, as well. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, as he had kept it concealed. It was only after a couple of weeks that she saw his bare arm and noted there was not even a scar where it had been, but she had chalked it up to his just having a great ability to heal. The truth truly was stranger than fiction.
“You were so distraught about shooting the man in our house, and yet you just destroyed several men so violently,” she said, incredibly confused still.
“I know. I was upset because I came here to get away from what I am. I came from a brutal place, where it was common for dragons to fight to the death just to achieve status or power. I thought I could come here and put that behind me by just becoming a simple farmer.”
“But you couldn’t.”
“No. The desire to shift, to fly is too great. I’ve learned to keep my flights low and only under the cover of night.”
“You are what I was seeing at night – the dark figure that I sometimes witnessed when I rose, looking for you when you disappeared in the darkness.”
“I didn’t know that you had, but yes. I used the dragon to help clean up the storm debris after the tornado last year, to retrieve the tin and get it back into place. I couldn’t do that in the daytime, but with the distance in farms and the cover of night, it is easier to stretch my wings and do some of the heavy lifting.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would you have believed me? Would you have understood?”
“I don’t know, but you could have shown me. You were so angry with me for not telling you about my perils and yet, your secret is so much more than mine.”
“Is it? Secrets are secrets, aren’t they? If you are keeping them from the one you love, then aren’t they equal in the damage that is done? I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”
“You are a hypocrite.”
“I am. I’m sorry. I realized that once I found you gone. I knew that I was no better than what I accused you of being. My anger was more about fearing for your safety than about the secret itself.”
“I don’t know what to say about any of this, Angus. It’s a lot.”
“Let’s just get some sleep. We have a long ride to get back home and plenty of time to talk about it more on the way.”
Margaret nodded and got undressed for bed. Though she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about all of this, she knew she loved Angus and nothing could change that. In the morning, they readied themselves for the ride home and began making their way back to Montana.
“I can’t believe you managed to get so far before I found you,” he marveled.
“I was determined to make sure I was far away where people wouldn’t hurt you because of me,” she replied.
“Very determined, it seems.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t find me sooner, given your abilities.”
“I had made the trip by horse until it got so exhausted and I had to let it go. I didn’t want to risk the dragon being seen and have some mob hunting me down, but
then I heard you scream and had no choice.”
“Wait? You heard me scream from where? Weren’t you already nearby?”
“No. My hearing is quite amplified. I heard you from miles away and shifted to get to you quickly. Luckily, it was dark enough for no one to see me, especially the men that I needed to surprise.”
“I’d say they were quite surprised. I know I certainly was.”
“Does this change how you feel about me?” he asked.
Margaret studied his face, the sadness that seemed to envelope it at the thought that she might not be able to accept him for what he truly was. She would be lying to herself if she couldn’t admit that she found it a bit disturbing, but he was still him. He was still the man she had somehow fallen in love with despite the reasons she had come here and wasn’t the same true of him? He had merely needed a wife who could help him on his farm and it had become so much more.
“No. Knowing that my husband can change into some sort of mythical beast is going to take some getting used to, but I will learn to deal with it.”
“Aren’t we a pair? I’m a beast and you are a wanted woman.”
“More like an exhausted woman,” she replied.
“I know. I am pretty weary myself.”
They lapsed into silence for a while, traveling quietly along the dusty roads leading them home. As nightfall began to fall, Margaret broached the subject of stopping for the night.
“I’m so tired, Angus. Perhaps we should consider bedding down somewhere for the night.”
“I’ve a better idea. How about we speed up this trip and make it home tonight?”
“What? How?”
“Ditch the horse, roll up the things we have in your blanket and fly.”
“Fly?”
“Yes. I can shift and you can ride on my back.”
“Oh, God. I don’t know. That sounds terrifying,” she replied.
“Up to you. It’s just the difference in two more days on this trail and camping out in the woods, as opposed as getting home tonight and sleeping in our own bed.”
“Our own bed does sound tempting, but is it safe?”
Dragon of the Prairie (Exiled Dragons Book 13) Page 7