A Plague of Dragons (A Dragon Anthology)

by Jason LaVelle

  On top of her head, flaming red hair had been tied up into a ball, like a horn that had never hardened. He admired the way it made her head look long, emphasizing the sharp angles of her cheeks and gentle curve at her chin.

  She was so dragon-like, and that thought stirred strange feelings within him – warmth that came not from the earth but settled just as deeply inside, a burning ember in his belly, the kind of spark that erupted into flames of lust. But that was out of the question. She was human.

  He put the thought from his mind and tore his eyes away from the serenity of her sleeping face.

  Unconscious, but still breathing. And with no signs of physical damage, at least to her head, he felt certain she was out of danger. He must find a way to get her back to her people, and then he could continue with his exploration. Alone.

  Mother Nature’s furious roar had quieted to a distant rumble. The beach around them was tranquil, with only the breaking of waves against shore to disrupt the calm. He could not have asked for a more perfect place to be, though the events that had brought him to this spot were less than ideal. But even with the insanity of this first meeting, he couldn’t suppress his excitement. He’d made it. He’d met a human.

  She groaned, and he turned to face her. Her bright green eyes fluttered open as she struggled to regain consciousness, and then widened in horror the moment she focused on him. “You,” she gasped.

  “Are you okay?” Dax spoke softly, hoping to put her at ease.

  Her eyes frantically darted around. “How did you… Where are we?” She gazed up, toward the distant crater still billowing smoke into the sky. “What happened?”

  “You took a pretty nasty fall out there.” With all the excitement, he’d failed to come up with a cover story for what had happened. Dax fumbled with his thoughts, trying quickly to form words and sentences in a convincing order.

  But before he could say anything, she snapped back at him. “I didn’t fall down a mountain. How the hell did I get down here?”

  He offered a toothy grin and shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Can we just leave it at thank you?”

  “No!”

  His shoulders slumped. “Of course not.”

  “Well?” she demanded, her expression transitioning from confusion to aggression.

  “I don’t have an answer to give you. But you’re safe now, and I should be going.” He turned to face the water, not really sure where he’d walk. Away. The only direction he could go at that point.

  “No,” she called after him. “Don’t leave.”

  He couldn’t really. It wasn’t the honorable thing to do. He let out a smoky breath before facing her again. “Do you have a way to contact your people?”

  “I do.”

  “Good. Then you don’t need me anymore.”

  “But I do need answers.”

  “Get used to disappointment. And stay away from volcanoes.”

  “No!” she barked back at him. “Volcanoes are my life.”

  “That shiny suit isn’t going to protect you from the fire,” Dax chuckled.

  “And what protected you?”

  He shrugged at yet another question that could not be answered truthfully. “Maybe I’m not real. Just a figment of your imagination. Too many sulfur fumes.”

  “If this is a dream, don’t wake me up.” She sounded almost pleading, and that stopped Dax before she could utter, “Please. Don’t go. Stay and talk to me.”

  “You ask too many questions.”

  “What are you, some kind of secret agent?” she said with a laugh.

  The sound of her laughter had an endearing quality to it that forced a smile across his face even as he tried to remain stoic. “See? More questions.”

  “It’s what I do. I’m a scientist.” She held her head proudly. “We get the facts.”

  He didn’t know what a secret agent was, but if it stopped her from demanding answers, he wouldn’t mind staying with her for a little while longer. “I’m secret, all right. And that is all I can say.”

  Her lips quirked in a smile as devious as it was appealing. “How about this? If I guess something right about you, then you have to answer truthfully.”

  “And if you guess wrong?”

  “Then I just keep guessing,” she offered.

  “Why don’t you tell me about you, and why you were in those tubes wearing that shiny suit?” Dax deflected with his own line of questioning.

  “Tit for tat?” she asked.

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Hmm. You sound foreign. Not from America, are you?”

  Her words confused him. America. Tit tat. He simply shrugged in response.

  “Okay… um… Visiting Hawaii on vacation?” she asked.

  “Is the shiny suit something all human… er… females wear?” Dax countered, with his own curiosity.

  “Definitely foreign. Okay. Well, your English is really good. I’m Jane, by the way.” She pulled off a shiny glove and reached her hand out to him.

  He’d seen this behavior before. Humans clasped hands and bounced them up and down as a greeting, so he mimicked the move, taking hers in a tight grip.

  “Damn. You’re strong.” She massaged her hand after pulling it from his iron grip.

  He mimicked her, rubbing his own hands together. “I’m Dax.”

  “Is that your code name?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

  “Sure.” He couldn’t help but feel he’d failed completely in acting like one of them, but at least she was still smiling at him. That had to count for something.

  “I’m not going to get any real answers from you, am I?”

  He snorted. “You haven’t answered any of mine. Why do you play in volcanoes when your skin is so weak?”

  “The suit helps protect my weak skin from the heat. It’s called a proximity suit.” She unsnapped some hidden buttons, and it split open in the front. “Of course, it’s like wearing an oven, just not as sting-y,” she laughed.

  “Not an ideal place for a female to visit,” Dax commented, becoming more curious about her with each moment they spent together.

  “Female,” she snickered. “This woman goes wherever she wants. And as for the mountain… It’s my job. I study volcanoes. Help to predict when she’ll blow her top.”

  “Mother nature has no schedule,” Dax snorted.

  “True, but we have tools that help us understand her patterns. Take today, for instance – she was not supposed to pop.”

  “That is arrogance.”

  “It’s science! We study the faults. We monitor the tubes and the magma chambers. But there must have been some sudden shift. A seismic event that caused that chamber to burst.”

  “Your words confuse me.”

  “What were you doing in there?” she asked.

  “Secret agent stuff,” he responded. She seemed to accept that with some measure of understanding.

  “But you had no suit. No shoes.”

  “Bad day.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t prepared.”

  “And yet somehow both you and I escaped from the crater and landed miles away, with not even a scratch to show for it?”

  “Yep. It’s a mystery.”

  “I don’t do mysteries. I deal in facts.”

  Dax shrugged again.

  “Speaking of, since I’m clearly not going to get anything from you, I need to get back to my office and check the readings on that eruption. Looks like a new vent burst through.”

  “Is your office far?”

  She dug into her suit and pulled out a small black device. “Just need to get a signal.” She waved it in the air and tapped the screen a few times. “Yeah, it’s far. GPS is telling me we’re miles away from my lab, but…” She took off running.

  Jane captivated him with her curious nature, and yet though she clearly wanted answers, she hadn’t pushed that hard for them. Hardly the act of a savage race. Her actions proved much more patient and thoughtful. But that went against a
ll he’d been taught.

  Captivated by her, Dax followed closely as she took off into the barren lands, still holding her little device like it was leading her.

  They headed along the rocky coast, following the water until Jane turned sharply and put the water behind her. After a few more moments, they came to a paved road. “Chain of Craters Road. We’re on the east rift zone. Kilauea likes to flow down this way. She didn’t pop her top, so that means over the next few hours, this is where any runoff will flow through the tubes.”

  “You enjoy this, don’t you? Following the fire.” Dax’s people did not have such technical terms for how the volcanos worked. His people had carved out their home from the roadways Mother Nature provided, widening them to fit their large forms and creating nesting spots and temples in the caves within the mountains. Her love for the place he called home was endearing, which took him by surprise.

  Perhaps his people had been wrong about humanity.

  “I’ve always been fascinated in how Mother Nature shapes and reshapes our world. It’s awe-inspiring and demands respect.”

  “That it does,” he agreed.

  “But it’s also deadly, and if my work can help save people from that destruction, then it’s my duty to do it.”

  “You’re very noble, Jane.”

  “You say that like it surprises you.”

  “I don’t know many… people… who seem to care so much for the land.”

  “There aren’t many. But the few of us who do try and make up for it.” She tapped on her little hand-held device a few times and grumbled in frustration. “Damn it. No bars. I lost my signal. Looks like we’re walking until I can call someone.”

  “I’ll accompany you until you’re safe with your people.”

  “How honorable,” she snorted.

  “It wouldn’t be right to leave you by yourself,” he responded with confusion to her laughter.

  “And where would you go?”

  “Secret agent places,” he offered again, hoping she’d accept it.

  “That excuse will only work for so long, mister.”

  She led and he followed down the paved path heading back toward the steaming crater that had just spat them out. Dax didn’t like the idea of them heading anywhere near the fire. She might say she knew the mountain, but no one, not even the dragons, could truly predict Mother Nature’s temperament. If the volcano was threatening fire, the smart thing would be to head the other way. But she seemed to know where they were heading, so he kept pace and walked along her side.

  ***

  “It’s magnificent. Just look at the size of that cloud.” Jane’s eyes fixed on the crater they’d just escaped from as it belched out a thick yellow column.

  “It’s poison gas,” Dax said, confused by her excitement.

  “A new vent must have been opened with that last explosion. Oh, man, if I could only get to the chopper! I bet we could see some excellent drainage out to sea.”

  “Chopper?” More strange and confusing words. He’d thought he had a good grasp on their language, but listening to her talk made him feel lost.

  “Oh, no… the helicopter! I hope it’s okay. Did you see it take off? I blacked out.” Panic stopped her in her tracks.

  “That flying mach...” He stopped himself and attempted to use the human word. “Chopper?”

  “Yeah. The helicopter. Did it get away?”

  It had all happened so fast. Dax’s memory failed him. He remembered seeing it lift into the air, but whether or not it had cleared all the debris was another story. But the look of fear in her eyes made him willing to say anything to comfort her. “I think so.”

  She exhaled a long breath and looked down at her little hand-held device again. “Still no signal. I need to get ahold of my people.”

  “How far are we from civilization?” Dax asked, mentally preparing himself to meet more humans.

  “We’re on a main park road. If we’re lucky, we might catch a tour bus,” she responded.

  “Humans really like volcanoes?” The idea of people susceptible to incineration being excited by the very thing that could burn them made Dax’s head spin. It was complete insanity to him. But that was the point of this visit, wasn’t it? To learn about the humans and why they stayed so far from them.

  “Humans?” Shock and confusion battled for control of her expression.

  “I mean… uh…” He quickly searched for the right word to use. “People.”

  “You’re not pulling this off very well, you know?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re foreign. That I get. But you’re clearly not a secret agent.”

  “Maybe not, but at least when I say it, you stop asking me things.” He’d thought he had prepared himself to visit the human world, but nothing had prepared him for this. Conversing with Jane was the hardest and most exciting thing he’d ever done. He was screwing it up royally, but still, the back and forth between them was teaching him so much he found himself hoping it wouldn’t end.

  She sighed and shook her head. “One thing I do believe is that you know something about this volcano.”

  “I like volcanoes. They remind me of home.”

  “And you’re fireproof. I’m going to go with alien,” Jane giggled.

  He liked the sound of that. Her laughter and the warmth that rose to her eyes made him smile in return.

  “Is that believable?” Dax asked curiously.

  “More than you being a secret agent.”

  “Okay. And will others believe it too?”

  “No. They’d expect a little green man.”

  “Blue.”

  “What?” She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. Dax caught the crinkle of her nose, and it reminded him again of how dragon-like she was. Maybe in another life she’d been a drake.

  “Blue is a nicer color.” He smiled innocently at her.

  She rolled her eyes and resumed walking. “Stick to being a secret agent, then.”

  “I’m not fireproof. Just fire resistant.”

  “Are you divulging secrets now?” She gasped exaggeratedly.

  “Only if you can keep them that way,” he replied, not even sure why he was willing to let her in on his secret identity. Being around her disarmed him in ways he couldn’t understand. Jane was human, but nothing like the people he’d seen on the Teevee. She had a love and respect for nature, intelligence, and beauty that came from within, as if she were one of his own kind, only trapped in a feeble form.

  Jane opened her mouth to answer, but before the words escaped her lips, the sound of beating wings stole their attention. She looked up and pointed. “They found us.”

  The large metal beast had returned. And now Dax had a name to put with it: helicopter.

  Its flimsy wings rotated, making the horrid drumming sound, scattering the dust and debris as it touched down with a gentle landing reminiscent of Ramos when he was showing off.

  A male emerged from the belly of the beast and came running toward them.

  “Jane! I was so worried.” He pulled her into an embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around Jane’s body as if he wanted to crush her.

  “Trevor, I’m fine.” She pushed against his chest, fighting to break his grip. “Don’t ask me how, but we’re safe.”

  Trevor turned his head and scrutinized Dax silently. Cobalt eyes narrowed with unveiled anger, but Dax couldn’t be too sure of it. Human faces were hard to read. His kind breathed fire when angry – a clear sign. These people, it seemed, just scrunched their faces, which made them look older and weirder than they should.

  “Oh, and this is… Sorry. What was your name again?” Jane asked.

  “Are you safe now?” Dax asked. “Is he a friend?”

  Jane’s face did that scrunching thing, but he saw a difference this time. She wasn’t mad; if anything, he felt she looked disappointed by his statement. Her eyes shifted from his face to Trevor’s. “Yes. He’s my partner.”

  “Why did he leave
you in danger?” Dax asked, his eyes locked on the furrowed brow of the male. There was something not quite right about him. Never having seen humans up close before he couldn’t be too sure, but there was something familiar in Trevor’s dark eyes and the odd ripple to his angry brow that made him stare that much longer.

  “He just made it to the chopper first,” Jane answered.

  Trevor broke eye contact with Dax. “I thought you were right behind me. I would have jumped out to get you, but they pulled me in before I could do anything.”

  “She should have been in front of you,” Dax said flatly. Maybe humans did not care much for their female counterparts, but in Dragonkin society, they were revered and cherished as the bringers of the next generation. To protect was duty; to love, an honor. To leave her behind was cowardly and worthy of ridicule.

  “She would have been if she hadn’t been chasing after your dumb ass,” Trevor replied, with a threatening tone.

  “What the hell is wrong with you both?” Jane asked.

  Dax snarled to himself, seeing the way Trevor’s hand glided down Jane’s back, a display of protectiveness or ownership. It was hard to tell with human body language, but if he’d cared so much for the woman, he shouldn’t have left her the way he did. And that, coupled with the way he’d greeted her, made Dax want to roast the pathetic male.

  He might not have been in his true form, but the flames that burned within threatened to break free.

  “He’s right. Jane, I am so sorry for not ensuring your safety.” Trevor’s tone softened as he looked at the woman. His hand clasped around her arm and he pulled her toward his chest. “Can you forgive me?”

  Pathetic. Dax nearly snorted a ring of smoke. He turned away, his chest burning with a mix of annoyance and desire to resume his natural form.

  “I’m fine.” Jane said. “And relieved to see you guys made it out okay too.”

  “Thank god for your tracking beacon, or we’d never have found you way out here.” Trevor turned his eyes back on Dax with a glare. “How the hell did you make it all the way out here?”

  “That’s a mystery. We both blacked out and woke up here.” Jane cut him off. “What matters is that we’re all safe.”