by J. S. Wilder
“Call me immediately if any of see a storm approaching.” Xilon marched away. “Hope you both have many fine sons.”
Evening colored the sky in purple and orange as the second sun faded into the horizon. Xilon spread his wings and careened through the air. All he needed was one of his planet’s lightning storms to form, then he'd take some of Taurian’s blood and travel a bolt to Earth. If he went through a transformation like his brother had, then that would tell them if Taurian's blood was now like Kohl's and could transform a Renjerian into a human.
A hint of Renjerian blood whispered on the wind. What the—
No one should be out of the caves this early. There was still enough sun for Tryns to spot someone and he was the only one who risked his life like this on a regular basis.
He inhaled again, trying to follow the faint scent. A mix of Tryn blood flooded his senses. Who was attacking the enemy? He'd thought everyone else in the caves still slept.
Banking to the left, he lowered closer to the ground. A valley was up ahead and the order was stronger there. Tryn blood choked the air.
Night crawled along the sky, but Xilon slowed his wings, gliding along with the air current and letting his Renjerian night vision open. The colors of his world muted, turning everything into a thousand different greys. Below him, the treeline faded to a sloping meadow.
Then black bodies littered across the grass. Shock radiated him and he dipped a bit too low, his wing digging along the ground.
He righted himself and hovered down to a better landing.
Around him lay dozens of Tryn. Dead.
How was this possible? No firebreath wiped them out. Then what? They didn't have bite marks or even claw marks. Instead clean, straight cuts to their torsos. Some had been decapitated. Others missing a limb or two.
Up ahead, a few more Tryn whimpered in pain.
Xilon crept forward. This could be a trap. Damn Tryns had almost captured his father and Kohl in an ambush. Kohl had sacrificed his life to save the others. Then his human brought Kohl and more Tryns to their doorstep. For weeks, Xilon and others had fought constantly to keep the Tryns away from their last sanctuary. Guards had been tripled and everyone slept on high alert. Maybe Kohl and Taurian were right. They needed to evacuate their home. Keep the warriors here to fight as many as they could.
And the Renjerians that fled could use Taurian and Kohl's shifting blood to become human and blend in with the Earthlings. If the transfusion even worked again. And how much blood was needed? And Taurian acted like the change to shifter was permanent, but what if it was temporary? Once a storm rolled in, Xilon would test Kohl and Taurian’s theories in hopes that it wasn’t a weird coincidence and that only Taurian was able to become human.
He scratched his chin. On Earth, they could hunt for quassicrystals to power their weapons. With those working again, and their firebreath, they had a chance to destroy the Tryns and cleanse this planet of the bastards.
A rustle behind him sounded. His instinct took over and he spun with a roar.
“Holy shit! You're a…a dragon?” she asked.
Standing before him was a woman, blood clinging to her hair and clothes. A human.
Impossible. He snorted. Then rage locked in his heart. The Renjerian scent he smelled early was mingled with hers. Was she a shifter like his two brothers? Or the witch that tricked them all and made his brothers human? Humans had betrayed his kind and hired dragon-hunters, as they called them to attack his kind.
Chapter 5
Ash tightened her hand on the hilt of her sword. As amazing as it was to see a real-life dragon in this crazy place, the animal’s emerald scales shifting with each movement. Its brow furrowed and with an inhale, it blew her hair back. The creature snarled. Yep, someone wasn’t happy.
Did dragons eat humans?
Then it would have to roast her first, if it could catch her. She'd tightened her grip on the sword, ready to battle until death even though she was bone-weary from fighting the damn demons earlier. The devils had burst into the forest, chasing her. Guess they thought she'd be an easy meal.
They thought wrong. And so did this dragon if it believed she'd make a tasty snack.
“Are you responsible for all of this?” a baritone voice echoed in her head.
Shit! I must be more tired than I thought or this was one hell of a dream.
But it felt more real than any fantasy. Her arm shook as she raised her sword higher between her and the dragon as it stomped closer.
“Tell me, human, are there others with you? Did you see what befell these Tryns?” the voice rang in her again, this time louder, almost sounding irritated.
Why was the dragon upset? Were these demons friends of it? She shook her head. No, that was impossible. Her Grams had said dragons used to fight demons alongside mankind during medieval times.
“Are you incapable of answering?” he asked.
“Wha—no.” She lifted her chin. “I killed these monsters.”
The dragon looked behind it to the carnage spread across the bright yellow grass. His head swung back to her and his emerald eyes narrowed. “You? Bah, a helpless human female? I'd believe in zbouks before I believed your tale.”
Arrogant bastard. She shrugged. “Think whatever you like, but they are dead just the same. My blade coated in their vile blood.” She marched past him. On the back of her coat was an insignia or sigil: a black painted skull. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to clean my sword and find my way back home.”
His tail flopped in front of her, blocking her path. “I've not finished with you, human.”
“Look,” she moved her sword where the flat of the blade rested across one shoulder, “my name is Ash.”
He snorted and a trail of smoke puffed out his nostrils. “What a bizarre human name.”
“It's short for Ashley.” She nodded her chin to him. “And you are…?”
“Xilon D'Kohralx Vorian Churgo.”
“Wow, that's a mouthful and you're making fun of my name?” As much as excitement coursed through her that a dragon would be here in this different world or dream or whatever, she was too tired to care. Fighting the demons had sapped her energy. Almost like the time she had altitude sickness when she went skiing with her parents in the mountains the winter before their death.
Xilon lowered his head, if he did breathe fire like the stories said, she'd be extra-crispy in a second.
“Tell me what happened with these Tryns.” His voice sounded in her head as if he were gritting his teeth.
She moved her sword off her shoulder and swung it to the nearest corpse. “I killed them all. Now will you stop glaring at me? If these creatures are friends if yours, then I guess that makes us enemies.” Narrowing her eyes, she widened her stance, ready to fight.
“With Tryns? What do you take me for, a traitor to my kind?” He shook his wings, stirring up the dust and dirt, and forcing her hair back.
God, he is a magnificent species. She relaxed her stance and relief flooded her that he wasn’t buddy-buddy with demons. Really hated the idea of having to kill him if he was. Wait ‘til Grams heard about this. She'd be so envious. Damn, if this wasn't a dream, Ash owed her an apology for never believing her. Too bad she couldn't take this bad boy back with her. Dragon’s fire breath could kill demons. With his power, she could eradicate the demons on Earth. No one else would become possessed or die because of the monsters.
“Maybe we could make a deal.” She wiped the edge of her sword across the grass. “You get me out of wherever we are and come back to Earth with me. There, you'll find more of these demon-Tryns as you call them.”
He smiled or as well as a dragon can, showing his teeth that were bigger than her arm. Or was it a smirk?
“Are you telling me that you did all of this?” He shook his head. Laughter filling her mind. “A puny human...and a woman killed these Tryns here? Impossible.”
“Believe it or not, it’s true.”
“How did you get here?” Hi
s scaled brow furrowed. “Did a Tryn kidnap you like they did Kohl’s mate?”
“I don’t even know where here is.” She scratched her cheek with the sleeve of her leather jacket. “For the longest time, I thought I was stuck in some amazing nightmare. Great landscape, but shitty inhabitants. Until you swooped in on the scene.”
“And you’re sure a Tryn didn’t bring you here?”
“No.” She pushed back her hair off her face. Tiredness crawled through her along with hunger and a bit of nerves. She was on another planet. Had to be, no dream had ever been this real.
“This is Renjer. And a human can’t get here without aid or—” he paused, “—or magic.”
Renjer? Where in the galaxy was that? “Sorry, can’t help you there. If I had magic, I’d have led a different life and saved my loved ones. We’d all be in Cancun downing Tequila shots and dancing all night.”
“What do you remember last?” His tail twitched across the grass and she blinked not to get hypnotized.
Maybe she was more exhausted than she realized. How many hours had she been here? The demons had swarmed her and she fought her way past them. More came. Her sword arm cramped up and she had to switch to her non-dominate hand. At least she was somewhat ambidextrous when it came to fighting.
“I was hunting a demon outside my Grams’ house. Then I was here.”
He circled her. His emerald scales picking up the last light from the sunset. Would he be offended if she touched him? Was he cold or hot?
“There has to be something else. Was it lightning when you were outside on Earth?”
What did that have to do with anything? “Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged. “It was pouring and suddenly I was in the forest and it was bone-dry.”
He paused in his pacing around her, his wings folding down to hug his back. “How is it a mere human can ride lightning? That had to be what happened.”
“Whoa, what? No, no, no way did I ride a bolt of lightning especially to another freaking planet.” But as she said the words, the memory of scalding heat and blinding light flashed in her mind.
He snorted, then stomped a foot closer to her, his nostrils flaring. “Unless you’ve taken Renjerian blood and used dark magic to travel through space, then that would explain your presence.”
“As I told you before, I don’t have any magic.” She sighed. “I’ve no spells or incantations to be able to do anything like that. Nor do I have any dragon blo—” Wait, could he be talking about her Grams’ remedy when Ash was in the hospital and declared dead? Was the bottle of Castor Oil more than what she thought? Would Xilon be happy or angry that she and her Grams had Renjerian blood, as he called it?
He roared, his tail thumped on the ground, rocks soared in the air at the impact. Charging her, he snapped his teeth. Not wanting to hurt him, she leaped away, her back striking a boulder.
“Lies! I smell the blood on you!”
Fuck, now she was going to have to fight a freaking dragon.
Chapter 6
Xilon pinned the human woman against a boulder, his teeth barred. Still couldn't decipher whose blood was on her, but he knew without a doubt that it was Renjerian. So she had lied. He couldn't trust anything she had said and she was probably a sorceress trying to trick him. The only reason he didn't burn her to cinders was because of her bravery.
Most human women he'd encountered would have screamed or fainted by now. This one lifted her chin, raised her sword toward him as though she would cut him if he tried anything.
He recognized a warrior's stance in her posture. And her sword, Renjerian didn't have tiny weapons like that. How had she come here and did she truly kill all these Tryns with that puny blade? She could've used magic to blast the enemy, but there would be more damage instead of slash marks and wounds that correlated to a sword. Unless this was an elaborate trick. One that caused her magic to slash like a blade would.
His roar rumbled in his chest. But instead of backing up at his warning, she poked the tip of her sword at his nostril.
“Back off, Godzilla.”
What did she call me? Is that an insult? Didn't matter.
“Answer my question,” he grated into her mind, “why do you smell like a Renjerian? Speak before I fry you.”
“And I told you to back off.” She strode forward.
“Last chance, human,” he mindspoke to her. Thankfully, he’d visited Earth many times in the ancient past and still remembered their primitive language.
“You wouldn't believe me if I told you.” She rolled her shoulders back, but kept her weapon raised. “Hell, I grew up listening to the stories and thought they were fantasies until you showed up.”
“Explain.” Did she think Renjerians were mere fables? What were humans teaching their young about the dark ages? Renjerians had helped humans against the Tryns. Soon after though, humans called the Renjerians devils and blamed them for the Tryns. Now that centuries had passed, what wild tales did humans spout about his kind?
“My Grams told me one of our ancestors was a dragon. At first, when I was little, I believed her. Even collected dragons and told everyone I could about our supposed heritage.” She held up a hand and open and curled two fingers on one hand at the last words. “Got picked on at school and beat up because of it. Once I hit middle school, I finally learned my lesson and dropped the whole dragon talk. Then I discovered monsters were real and I've trained since then to fight and kill demons.”
A Renjerian mated with a human and this woman was their descent? Not impossible, but why would a Renjerian leave them behind when their race fled Earth and persecution? Unless it never left the planet or died.
He leaned back on his haunches, not letting the woman out of his sight. Darkness was falling and he wasn't going to leave her alone until he found out the truth. But he wasn't going to take her to his home either until he was certain he could trust her.
“Even if that is the case,” he held up a talon, “that doesn't explain why you smell of Renjerian blood. You've got two vaoors to tell me why or I will turn you into your namesake.”
“I was in an accident after chasing a demon.” She never took her eyes from him as though waiting for him to attack and she'd counter. “Grams said I died and gave me the last of her magic ancestor dragon blood. How was I to know it was real or that you'd smell it after so many hours?”
“How do I know you speak the truth?” he growled, thinking to intimidate her, but she didn't flinch. “That you're not some blood-sucker who is here to replenish her stock.”
She made a face like she'd eaten sour berries. “No offense, but your kind’s blood tastes like Castor oil.”
A whistle sounded overhead. The other Tryns would be hunting for their meal now. It was too dangerous even in the dark to fly, but it concealed them from the Tryns better. The bastards would discover their fallen soon and bring reinforcements to attack. He couldn't leave the human here as she looked like she'd pass out if she had to fight more than a few Tryns.
Besides, he still didn't believe her story entirely. How could a mere human…a woman kill this many?
For now, he had to get the human to safety and find out the truth. If humans had a new weapon, a magical one to teleport here, he needed to know. But he wasn't going to endanger his family and people either by bringing her to their hideout.
“Come with me.” He turned away from her. “I will provide food and shelter for you until we can send you back home.”
“So you believe me?” She trailed beside him.
“I didn't say that.”
“Well, at least it's progress and you're not considering eating me any longer.”
He huffed. “I didn't say that either.”
Normally, Renjerians didn't eat humans unless there was a famine and no other choice. Even then, many would load up on berries and other fruits before resorting to the puny humans. He, himself, never cared for the selfish mortals.
Except if what this female said was true, then she was superior to any other
he'd met. At that thought, he let out a stream of smoke. It had to be her so-called dragon ancestry that made her so. Yes! If a Renjerian did mate with a human then any offspring for countless generations would have some advantage over mere humans.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, taking quick steps to keep up with him.
“Nothing.” He stopped at the edge of the forest.
“Really?” She crossed her arms, her sword was tucked through a loop on her pants. The movement caused her shirt to ride up, exposing her dark, flat stomach. “Cause you smirked like a cat that ate a mouse.”
Was that a good or bad thing? Cats, mouse…which one was better? He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of asking and letting her know he'd forgotten Earth's animals…or at least those two. And she'd mentioned Godzilla earlier and he couldn't for the life of him remember what animal that was. One with the bushy tail and orange fur or one of the small flying mammals?
“Get on.” He lowered his body down so she could climb up his side to his back. They'd make better time in the skies and it was safer than the ground. His bulk was too big to travel through the woods. He'd knock down trees and alert any Tryns to their presence. An old shelter of his lay a few miles from here. He'd drop her off there and then return home. His father, the king, would want to know about the human and decide what to do with her. A tinge of guilt swamped his gut. What if his father ordered her death for partaking in Renjerian blood? It was forbidden to humans, regardless if the dragon in question was related to her or not.
When she didn't climb onto his back, he glanced over his lowered wing at her. “Well?”
“First tell me where we are going. I don't accept rides from dragons so easily.”
Smart. “I'm taking you somewhere safe for the night.”
She arched an eyebrow, but didn't move any closer. Stubbornness. Good to see she had one human trait he remembered.