“Just let me get out my flashlight, and then we can go in,” Adam said, clearly just as relieved to be there as she was.
She followed him into the cave. “Are you sure there’s nothing living in here?” she asked.
But as soon as they stepped inside, Molly felt a sense of comfort spread through her, and she relaxed. “People have been using this cave for so long, animals don’t like the way it smells, so it’s all ours,” he said, pulling her deeper inside the cave.
He led her over to a firepit at the back. “There should be some lanterns around here somewhere,” Adam said. “You should have a flashlight in your bag as well; help me look.”
A few minutes later, the cave was lit by the warm glow of two hissing kerosene lanterns, and Molly was sure she’d never been so glad to have light. As comforting as the cave was, she was still nervous being there with Adam, and even though it was no protection, the light helped.
“Let’s get a fire started; it’s going to get cold tonight,” he said, pointing to a pile of wood. “And then we can make something to eat.”
Molly’s stomach began to growl, and she realized that she’d skipped lunch and thrown up all her breakfast. “Didn’t we leave all the food in the truck?” she asked.
Adam nodded. “We did, but there are emergency meals in our backpacks; you can never be too well prepared out here,” he said. “I have to warn you, though, they’re not exactly the most appealing foods you’ve ever eaten, but if you’re hungry enough, you won’t notice.”
“I might just be there,” she said, unable to suppress the smile that spread across her face.
Their eyes met, and Adam smiled back at her. “Well then, we’d better get this fire going,” he said.
She wasn’t much help with the fire, but she managed to reconstitute the dehydrated meals in their packs without spilling them, and they sat down to hot food. After they’d eaten, Adam heated some more water on the fire, made them both a cup of hot chocolate, then heaped more wood on the fire and sat down across from her again. Part of her longed to feel his arms around her, but she fought the urge and sipped her drink, searching for the right question to ask.
Chapter Sixteen
***Adam***
Adam sat watching the flames consume the new wood he’d just put on the fire, the last of his hot chocolate growing cold in the bottom of his cup, waiting for Molly to speak. She was sitting on a sleeping bag across the fire from him, staring into the flames, but he knew that she was thinking deeply, and it scared him. It wouldn’t be long before she asked a question he couldn’t avoid or answer with a single word, and that was when things would get tricky.
He wondered just how much of her memory had come back but felt certain she still didn’t remember the accident or him carrying her through the air. He wasn’t sure which would be better: telling her about being a shifter and the demons haunting the mountains around them would be hard enough, but her memories would be terrifying, and he wasn’t sure how to cushion that blow when it came.
Knowing he was in an impossible position, he waited, hoping that Molly would let it go for the night and go to sleep. But only a few minutes later, she broke the silence. “Why were you so desperate to make me fall in love with you? There must be plenty of women out there who would have been more than thrilled to have you.”
Adam looked into her eyes. “Because I didn’t want any of them; I wanted you,” he said, then winced, realizing how that sounded.
“Don’t feed me lines, Adam. I think we’re way past the point where sweet talk is going to work,” she said.
“I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right,” he said. “There have been other women in my life, Molly, but none of them ever had the same effect on me that you did. That’s what I was trying to say.”
She sighed. “Adam, that still doesn’t explain why you were so desperate that you lied to me,” she said.
“It’s complicated,” he said, still looking for a way out.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a fairly intelligent woman. I think I can handle it,” she said. “Stop playing games with me, Adam, and tell me the truth.”
He sighed. “Okay, but I want you to keep an open mind; just listen to what I have to say before you interrupt,” he said. “I know that you’re an intelligent woman but there are things in this world that not everyone can see.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “What kinds of things?” she asked.
The thought of just blurting it out popped into his mind, but he realized that was exactly what he shouldn’t do. “Maybe that wasn’t the right way to start,” he said. “Let me try again.”
The suspicion was still on her face, but she nodded. “Okay, but you’re scaring me a little so just get on with it,” she said, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
He threw a couple more logs on the fire, then took a deep breath. “When I told you about my family, there were a few things I left out,” he said. “Unlike most of the settlers who came to America for a better life, we were called here. You see, in the old country, we had a very specific role, and when it became clear that someone had to fill that role here as well, my family was called upon and answered that call. Since that time, someone from my family has lived here and carried on the traditions of the family, protecting the people who live in Prospect Falls and the valley.”
“Protecting them from what?” she asked.
“Do you believe in good and evil?” he asked, avoiding her question for the moment.
Molly thought about that for a second. “You mean like God and the devil?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Kind of, that’s a pretty black and white way to look at it, but I guess that’s what I mean,” he said.
She was silent for a few minutes, then said, “I guess. I mean, there are good and bad people in the world. I wish I could figure out which one you are.”
“I’m one of the good guys, Molly, I promise,” he said. “But back to what I was trying to explain. Evil comes in many forms and if you’re lucky, you never see it. Here in Prospect Falls, we have our own kind evil, an evil that followed people here and will never leave. That’s why what my family does is so important; we keep that evil at bay.”
All the blood drained from Molly’s face. “Adam, this sounds like crazy talk,” she said, then put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t nice, but you can’t be serious.”
“I wish I weren’t, but it’s the truth,” he said. “What you saw attack me last night wasn’t a bear; it was a demon. A demon that came through a portal high in the mountains looking for a human soul to absorb.”
Molly jumped to her feet. “Are you telling me that you were fighting with a demon?” she asked, backing away from the fire. “How exactly do you fight a demon?”
Adam could see that she was becoming slightly hysterical and searched desperately for a way to calm her down. “I’m sorry, Molly, I know this must be difficult to believe but it’s the truth,” he said.
“Now I suppose you’re going to tell me that you’re a witch or a warlock or something,” she said.
He shook his head. “No, I’m a shifter; a dragon shifter,” he said, getting slowly to his feet.
“Now I know for sure that one of us has lost their mind,” she said, backing away from him a few more steps.
“Just think about it, Molly,” he pleaded, “try to have an open mind.”
She shook her head. “I can’t, Adam, it’s too crazy,” she said, then turned and ran for the opening of the cave.
***Molly***
Molly stood in the mouth of the cave, taking huge gulps of air, afraid she was going to throw up for the second time that day. She could hear Adam calling to her from inside the cave but blocked out his voice, her brain too overloaded to process anything more. The man she’d fallen in love with was crazy, there was no other way to put it, and she was stuck with him alone in the middle of the woods.
Fear made her heart pound, and she
began to sweat as her options spun through her mind. Her instinct was to run, to put as much distance between her and Adam as she could, but looking out into the dark night, she knew that she’d never make it to the road even with a flashlight. That left only one choice: go back into the cave, pretend she believed him, and hope that she was still alive in the morning. But deep down, she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her, and that thought helped to calm her.
Looking up into the starlit sky, ignoring Adam’s pleas to come back inside, she closed her eyes and tried to shut down some of the churning thoughts in her brain. The night was chilly, and she soon felt goosebumps forming on her arms but let the cold air wash over her, welcoming the feeling. Her heart began to slow as she concentrated on just taking one breath after another, her shock beginning to fade.
“Molly,” Adam called from only a few feet away. “I need you to come back inside where it’s safe. Please come in. We don’t have to talk anymore; we can just go to sleep.”
She looked back at him, then out at the forest around the cave. “Adam, there’s nothing out here,” she said, but just then, the smell of sulfur came floating to her on a breeze, and she froze.
The smell got stronger, and she knew that she needed to move, needed to get back inside the cave, but she couldn’t make her legs move. All at once, the night she’d crashed her car came rushing back at her: the crunch of metal, the airbag exploding in her face, and then the smell of rotten eggs. She saw herself stumbling out of the car, the rancid smell making her gag, and then the monster that appeared out of nowhere grabbing her by the arms.
A scream trapped in her throat, she tried to move, the memory of the sound the monster made as it got closer to her face making her breath come in short gasps. Then a cold gust of wind snapped her out of the memory and back to the present, and it faded back into her mind. She sighed, telling herself it was only a memory, but a massive wave of putrid air surrounded her, and she heard the snorting shuffling sound again.
Right in front of her, the air began to shimmer, and the sound grew louder, the smell nearly choking her. A warm blast of air hit her just seconds before a shadow began to form, its outstretched arms reaching for her. The scream she’d been holding in finally escaped her open mouth, and she was able to move. But she only got a few steps before she felt something pulling her toward the shadow, which had turned into a creature so horrible, she screamed again.
Adam came barreling out of the cave, and crashed into the monster, sending it flying through the air, landing in a heap. Molly stood staring at the demon, frozen again as it stared at her with glowing orange eyes, then its greenish scales glinting in the moonlight it got to its feet.
“Get back inside the cave,” Adam yelled at her, but she still couldn’t move.
He closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Look at me, Molly,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the demon. “That thing is going to come after you and keep coming after you unless I kill it. You have to go back inside and stay there. Do you hear me?”
Molly finally managed to look away from the demon, Adam’s words penetrating her fear, and she nodded. “But what about you?” she asked, looking up at him. “What if you get hurt?”
A huge smile spread across his face, “This is what I was born to do,” he said. “I’ll be fine, now get inside.”
He turned her around and gave her a shove. “Get inside, all the way inside, and don’t come back out,” he said.
She stumbled to the back of the cave, her mind spinning, her heart still pounding with fear, and collapsed in front of the fire. But when a pain-filled scream split the air, she jumped back up and began to pace back and forth across the cave, her steps bringing her closer to the entrance. Finally, she stood staring at the opening, sure that the screams were Adam’s, her body telling her to go help him, her mind remembering his warning and the terrible creature he was fighting.
Finally, after several more horrible cries filled the night, Adam came stumbling back into the cave covered in blood. She rushed to his side, so relieved to see him alive, tears began to stream down her face. “How bad are you hurt?” she asked, afraid to touch him.
“I’m okay,” he said, trying to smile at her. “Just a few scratches.”
“Let me help you over to fire so I can take a look at you,” she said, ducking under his arm.
He leaned on her, and that worried her more than anything; it was her fault that he was hurt; if she hadn’t been so stubborn and come back into the cave, he wouldn’t have had to fight the demon. Tears of frustration threatened, but she knew that Adam needed her, so she pushed them away and put one foot in front of the other. When she finally had Adam down on the ground by the fire, she threw on more wood and put on water to heat.
Chapter Seventeen
***Adam***
Adam lay on the sleeping bag, gritting his teeth against the pain, trying to pinpoint his injuries, and felt something deep inside him throbbing the worst. Molly was gently removing his clothes, gasping with shock each time she uncovered another festering scratch and mumbling to herself. He knew that if he tried hard enough, he’d be able to understand what she was saying, but the pain had him in its grip and it was too much effort to untangle himself.
Trying his best not to let it take him under, afraid that he might shift and scare Molly, he kept his eyes on her. “Adam, I don’t know how to help you,” she said, her words finally penetrating the fog of pain. “I’ve never seen wounds like these.”
She was gently cleaning his wounds, her soft hands brushing across his heated skin, and a single tear fell on his cheek. “Adam, you have to tell me how to help,” she said, again, another tear falling.
To his relief, the pain faded to a dull pounding. “In my backpack, there’s a salve; put it on the wounds,” he ground out between clenched teeth.
Molly jumped to her feet and ran over to his bag, turned it upside down, and shook it. Everything came tumbling out in a heap, and she dug through it frantically, then with an excited cry, held up a jar. “Is this it?”
He nodded and closed his eyes, the pain coming on stronger with each breath he took. Her fingers trembling, Molly applied the salve to each wound, making him hiss with pain, but eventually, the salve began to help, and his skin stopped burning. His relief didn’t last long. Deep inside, a dull throbbing began to replace the pain, and his heart sank. The wounds on the outside would heal with the salve, but what was happening inside was much worse.
When Molly was finished with the salve, she covered him, sat down next to him, and took his hand in hers. “How does that feel?” she asked, looking down at him.
“Better,” he said, his voice still weak.
She watched him for a second, then a confused look appeared on her face. “There’s something else wrong, isn’t there?” she asked, making the same face. “I can feel it,” she said.
This time, she looked like she was going to panic. “What’s wrong, Adam? What is that I’m feeling?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure what you’re feeling, but there’s something wrong inside me, Molly. The demon got to me a few times,” he said.
“We have to get you some help,” she said, starting to get up. “I’ll have to go...”
He didn’t let her finish. “You can’t go out there,” he said. “And you don’t need to.”
“But you’re hurt,” she said.
“I can heal myself,” he said. “I just have to shift.”
“You mean you’re going to become a dragon,” she said, her eyes huge, her hand beginning to tremble in his.
He nodded his head again. “If I shift, the wounds will all heal in a few hours,” he said. “I know how scary this must be, but I promise I won’t hurt you; it’s still me when I shift.”
Molly seemed to zone out for a second, and he wondered if he’d pushed her too far, but then she looked down at him, her eyes full of amazement. “You carried me through the air; that wasn’t a dream,” she said. “The ni
ght I crashed my car and the demon almost got me; you were there.”
“I didn’t know what else to do; you were hurt, and I wasn’t sure how badly,” he said. “I couldn’t take you to the hospital, couldn’t explain what happened, so I took you home with me.”
“You saved me, Adam. I remember all of it now,” she said, pulling away from him. “What should I do? Get out of the way?”
When he didn’t answer, she said, “Adam, I can’t help you; you have to help yourself.”
“But I’m afraid it will scare you,” he said. “I’m afraid you won’t want anything to do with me when you see what I become.”
She reached down and stroked his cheek. “If I haven’t run away from you yet, I think it's safe to say I can handle it,” she said. “I don’t want to lose you, Adam; I haven’t finished being mad at you for lying to me.”
He managed a smile, but the pain was beginning to pound at him again. “Help me to the back of the cave,” he said.
She helped him to the back of the cave and down onto the hard dirt floor. “I should get you a sleeping bag,” Molly said, her face full of concern. “That blanket isn’t very warm.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, a teasing smile on his face, but more nervous than he’d ever been in his life. “Dragons don’t get cold.”
Molly kissed him on the forehead, then stood up and stepped back. “I’ll just stand over here,” she said, as nervous as he was.
He knew that he couldn’t wait much longer; the wound in his gut was draining his strength. “I love you, Molly,” he said, then let his power flare and felt the sweet relief of his other form and the healing magic it carried.
The sound of Molly gasping made him close his eyes, afraid of what he’d see in hers when he looked. But the silence that followed was more than he could take, and he opened his eyes, not to Molly’s eyes filled with fear, but instead filled with a look of amazement and wonder. Their eyes locked across the cave, and he hoped that she understood that it was still him inside the dragon’s body.
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