“This is my island. You are trespassing,” the rogue drake called back to him.
“I’m here for a visit only. I don’t intend to stay.”
“Then take your leave now.”
“I would, but I see you’re nesting in a very populated area. Lots of humans around.” Dax attempted diplomacy as he coasted around the inner edge of cloud.
“They won’t be for long,” the drake answered back.
“You don’t like them, do you?” Dax asked. He beat his wings again and rose higher up into the cloud, hoping to catch sight of the other drake.
“I don’t have to. They’re vermin.” The voice came from deeper within the cloud ring.
Dax would have to dive into the center if he hoped to catch sight of him. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“You’re not from here. Nor are you welcome. Go home to your colony while you still can.”
The threat in the rogue’s voice was very real, but Dax had no fear and continued with his line of questioning. “Where is your colony?”
A blast of dragon fire shot across the cloud.
Dax swerved, maneuvering just in time to avoid a direct hit. “That’s no way to treat one of your own.”
“You’ve been warned. Leave my island.”
“You’re nesting in the middle of a human settlement. You’re going to be seen, and then what?”
“Anyone close enough to see me will burn.”
“You can’t kill them all.” Dax twisted his head around, searching for the mad dragon.
“Watch me.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Dax shouted, still unable to locate the rogue. “Where is your respect for life?”
“Where is the humans’ respect for nature? They have this paradise, and they do what with it?”
“We’re not the guardians of humanity. What they do with their land is none of our business,” Dax responded.
“Except that humans drove us from all of our lands. Or have you forgotten?” the drake answered back.
“I have not. Nor have I forgotten the lesson we learned from it. That’s why we leave the humans alone.” Dax dove deeper into the cloud, finding a clear eye in the center, but no sign of the rogue.
“So they can pollute our world? So they can rape and destroy what Mother Nature has given them?” He had a point, though his reasoning led toward a path of mutual destruction.
“Not all humans are bad.”
“The bad far outnumber the good.”
“And you think burning them all is the answer?”
“I would burn them all if I could.”
Another stream of fire narrowly missed Dax. He cut sharply and dove down toward the crater floor. “Then you would condemn us all to burn.”
“We can withstand fire.”
“But not steel.” Dax landed with a loud rumble of earth below. “If they learn of us, they’ll hunt us.”
“Then they’ll all die.”
“You’re a fool if you think that.”
“Let me guess.” The drake landed in front of him, a massive towering red dragon. Horns like daggers jutted out all around his massive jaw. Crimson scales shimmered like wildfire, glowing the brightest just below his long neck, revealing the core of his inner flame. “Your Elders warned you of the dangerous little humans rising up against us?”
“It’s our history. And from what I’ve seen, they’re more deadly now than they ever were back in the days they drove our kind away.”
“Fear and propaganda. I could reduce this island to ash myself if I desired, and the humans couldn’t do a thing about it.”
“And yet you hide here in the volcano?” Dax taunted, rising to his full height. He had always been big, but this drake before him had him by at least a head. He was easily the largest of his kind Dax had ever seen.
“I’m making my home.”
“And letting the volcano do the work for you? For someone so willing to rise up and destroy the pesky humans, you’re going about it like a coward.”
His enemy reared back. His throat turned molten, scales glowing with inner fire, before he released a spray of flames at Dax.
Dax took to the sky, avoiding the heat of dragon flame. “It’s no wonder you’re here alone. No colony would want you. You’re insane.”
“I don’t need a colony. I have my island.”
“This isn’t your island. It belongs to the humans.” Dax angled himself, letting the current in the air guide him as he circled above his enemy.
“And who will defend it for them? You?”
“If I must.” Dax summoned the heat of his own fire, sucked in a deep breath, and ignited it. He reared back, and as he flung his head forward, blew a mighty spray of flames sure to scorch anything below him.
He didn’t wait to see if his opponent had dodged the fire. Dax swooped forward, claws out, ready to strike at any target he could latch onto.
He struck hard, but rather than finding flesh, his claws scraped against rock. The other drake was fast.
Beating wings above gave Dax an idea of where to look, but amid the cloud of volcanic steam, visibility was only a few feet in front of him.
“I hope that wasn’t your best try.” A roar, more amused than threatening, echoed all around him. “You’re no match for me. Go home. Consider this your final warning.”
Flames engulfed him. Dax wrapped his wings around his head, cloaking himself against the sting.
When he looked up, he found only smoke and scorched rocks. The drake had gone.
***
With his wings badly burned, Dax struggled to fly back to where he’d left his satchel. When he finally made it, it took all his remaining strength to force his body to shift, internalizing all the damage under the thin skin of his other form.
He hiked the distance back toward Jane’s lab, and reached it just as the sun began to set.
“You look like shit.” Jane rushed him inside. “What the hell were you doing out there?”
“The volcano,” he panted, out of breath and exhausted.
“And you told me not to go. Did you walk all the way here? You great big idiot.” She directed him toward a communal kitchen and began to dig through cabinets.
“It’s going to erupt.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now hold still.” She applied a wet rag to his face and began to wipe away the grime.
Returning to his human form had hidden most of his injuries, but the pain remained. Dragon fire burned with its own special magic, taking longer to heal from than other wounds.
“How about we order in for dinner, and you can tell me all about your adventure in the mountains?” she asked.
How could he? Where would he begin? “I had to investigate. When she blows all her tops, it will destroy the island.”
“And this is based on what scientific data?” She speared him with a knowing look.
“You’ve seen the data. You know the mountain’s vent systems are being systematically blocked. Once all the tunnels are stoppered, pressure in just the right points will cause a massive eruption.”
“True. But that’s what I told you this morning.”
“Has it changed?”
“No.”
“And it’s getting worse. Isn’t it?”
The look on her face was answer enough. Though she didn’t seem eager to admit his feeling was correct, her data had to back it up.
In all his years, Dax had seen his people employ these methods to guide the lava where they wanted rather than onto their temples. Dragons might be made to withstand the heat, but rocks would melt and buildings crumble. Centuries of perfecting this very method while establishing colonies had shaped his island home. And that drake, alone or not, knew what he was doing.
“If what you’re saying is true, and I don’t know how it could be, that would mean someone is orchestrating this. And that’s impossible. No one could go down there and stop the flow.”
“I can’t say what’s causing it. I’m just telling y
ou what I saw. Those random new vents popping up are Mother Nature’s way of releasing the additional pressure. And it isn’t enough.”
She let the cold rag fall to the floor. “I need to send out warnings.”
“Do what you must. Your news people should be warned.”
“Not that they’ll listen,” Jane sighed.
“The smart ones will,” Dax offered.
“You stay here and clean yourself up. I need to get on the phone and send out some alerts.” Jane rushed from the room.
***
“I’ve done all I can do from my end. So long as the volcano doesn’t decide to erupt tonight, I’m calling it a day.”
“You should be thinking about leaving the island,” Dax warned her.
“I’ll make those plans tomorrow. My team and I are the ones who feed the information to the powers that be.”
“Speaking of team, where is Trevor?”
“He went off earlier to inspect the shoreline. To see if anything was trickling out.”
“And did he report back in?”
“Hours ago. He’s probably sleeping now.”
“I would think he’d be just as interested in the data as you are,” Dax commented suspiciously.
“He’s more the action guy. Kind of like you. He enjoys being up close and personal with the volcano. I prefer to data mine the info.”
“You make an interesting team,” Dax said.
“Do I detect a note of jealousy in your voice?” Jane laughed, the sound like music to his ears.
“What should I be jealous of?”
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you have some kind of alpha male thing going on with him.” She leaned in close. “But if you must know, I like you better.”
Her words coupled with the gentle breeze of her voice against his ear sent a shiver through his body.
Dax stood silent for a moment, not quite knowing how to react to the strange sensation, cold and hot all at the same time. Even though it was unfamiliar, he wanted her to do it again so he could extend that experience.
“Are you blushing?” Jane giggled. “I didn’t think great big guys like you did that.”
She pulled him by the arm and they headed out to her car. “C’mon. Let’s grab some takeout. I’m starving.”
The ride in the helicopter had been unnerving, but not nearly as much as riding in her car. She drove dangerously fast over the narrow roads and slammed her feet on the pedals as if she were kicking the beast into submission. When they finally made it to their destination, it was all Dax could do not to jump out and run screaming.
She’d ordered them something called burgers. Beef and lots of it, that was all Dax cared about, and he scarfed down four of them as if they were his last meal.
Jane sat and watched in horror as bite after bite, he tore into the meaty patties like a ravenous dog.
“Hungry much?” she asked, when he finished the last one.
“Sorry. Yes. Hiking all day.” He hunted for a drink of water to wash down the food.
“I don’t normally do this – inviting guys back to my place – but since it’s so close to the lab, I thought it’d be good.”
“You’re going to leave in the morning?” Dax confirmed.
“I’ll make plans.”
“I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Why are you so concerned? You only just met me.”
“Should I have no concern when life is at stake?” he countered.
She opened her mouth but no words came out.
“I’m concerned for all in the fire’s path, but yes, you most of all. You have a good heart. I have seen it in this short time I’ve known you. So yes, I do want to make sure you, most of all, are out of harm’s way.”
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” A tear glistened in the corner of her eye.
“That is a tragedy.”
“What?”
“That a single compliment could bring you to tears. You must not hear them often enough,” Dax answered.
“Well, you know.” She shrugged. “Work. Always busy. I don’t have time for dating and stuff.”
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said.
“I’m not. I’m fine.”
All evidence to the contrary. He’d flustered her with his words, and though he hadn’t meant to, seeing her response made him that much more upset that she wasn’t fully appreciated by her own kind.
“Are you going to eat that?” he asked to change the subject, and snatched a box of fried potato sticks from between them.
“Gotta keep up your strength.” She giggled.
Her laughter made him smile. He couldn’t imagine why she was alone; why no one was lavishing affection on her. Had she been a dragon, there would be many males lining up to gain her favor.
That brought his mind back to home, and he remembered that he’d soon be returning there. Back to his people. Never again to see this land… or Jane.
How had he come to feel for her in such a short time that the thought of parting made him ache?
He shouldn’t have these feelings for anyone, least of all a human.
But he couldn’t deny it, as he glanced across the table. She had awoken something within him.
“I should be going. Let you get back to work.” Dax stood to make his exit.
She walked with him to the door, and before he could open it, threw her arms around him, a hug that screamed, Don’t go.
***
How did we end up here? Dax thought to himself, while at the same time enjoying the sensation of smoothing his hand down her back. As buttery as the finest silk and flawless in its perfection, her skin was a point of pure fascination with which he could indulge his tactile obsession for hours without exhausting his infatuation. Jane was so unlike his own kind.
His people were made of tougher materials: strength outside defending the tenderness within. Humans wore no such armor. And Jane was such a beautiful paradox of fragility masking itself as strength that Dax couldn’t help himself appreciating both her smoothness and the heat that radiated from within.
“You are so unbelievably soft,” he whispered in her ear, as he held her tighter. He’d only meant it to be a hug, but neither of them had moved to part, and the more they lingered in this position, the more he wanted that moment to last forever.
She giggled at his comment. With their bodies so close, he absorbed the vibrations of her joy, experiencing echoes of her happiness becoming his own. Jane lifted her face and met his eyes. Jewels sparkled to reflect the light catching their facets, but hers were emeralds mined from the very depths of a pure soul that glowed with the light of true beauty. He’d never thought it possible that a human could stir such desire. But there she was, within his grasp. How had he gotten so lucky?
She stared for a moment, as if confused. “What are you?”
Caught off guard, Dax couldn’t summon his voice to answer.
“I’ve never met a man like you.” She planted a kiss on his mouth before he could respond.
Actions spoke with a far louder voice than either of them possessed, and he understood clearly the direction of her desire. Her lips struck like a match, igniting flames of passion and need that burned so brightly they threatened to consume them both.
Words failed him. Even if he could have spoken at that moment, nothing needed to be said. Mutual attraction had them both in thrall, burning away reason and inhibition.
Dax took hold of her tiny waist and lifted her. In sync with him, she wrapped her legs around his body and took hold of his neck, never breaking from the kiss that had set them in motion.
Their lips moved but no words were uttered as they shared secrets of their sensual cravings with each flick of a tongue or nip of teeth. The language of lust was universal, and they both spoke it fluently.
Jane captured his bottom lip and playfully tugged, a little show of dominance that added to the excitement of their connection. Everything she
did reverberated through his body, each wave of sensation manifested in an aching to be even closer to her. If he could meld into her completely, it might still not be close enough.
The weight of his lust settled heavily in the center of his body. And just as he had two forms—both man and beast—so did his need. The armor of his swollen flesh filled with the anger of his burning desire. Together, they threatened to destroy the moment.
Dax hunted for a spot where they might both be comfortable, and as he broke from their kiss, Jane breathed the words, “Couch. Please.”
He carried her the few feet across the room, enduring the excruciating pleasure of her heat grinding against his own, and set her down gently on the cushions, falling to his knees before her, in utter reverence to the altar of her body. Suddenly humble in the face of her glory, Dax gazed up at his goddess. In that moment she embodied all that he wished to worship and adore. Rosy lips, plump and glistening, begged for him to return. Such forbidden fruit was dangerous, and he’d already damned himself with the first taste. They were the instrument of his undoing, unlocking his most wanton desires, burning away reason and leaving only the promise of pleasure.
Tempting as her lips were, it was the serenity of Jane’s smile that was truly diabolical, offering absolution for what they were about to do. The love of a female ranked up with the most glittering of treasures. He dared not hope for such a prize, knowing the differences between them were too great. But this evening, with her permission, they would burn in the flames of lust.
“You look lost. Aren’t secret agents supposed to be the ultimate ladies’ men?”
A Plague of Dragons (A Dragon Anthology) Page 11