by Lisa Daniels
Calixto folded his arms across his chest, “You can’t expect to be given credit for not destroying the world.”
“Yet I can expect all of the blame if I put it at risk.”
“It’s the problem that everyone who has power faces. Doing the right thing should be expected, there is no praise in that. You know better what the consequences are, and you choose to do right or wrong. The fact that you continue to live is your reward for doing what is right.”
Bree let out a cold laugh, “I find it a poor payment considering I have to spend my entire life hiding what I am.” Her eyes flicked to the man’s mouth. They were so close.
His eyes watched her for a brief moment, but there was nothing he could say that would persuade her. Words were a type of weapon he did not wield well.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her. At first, Calixto’s actions did not register. Bree stood still for a moment, then her body began to move on its own. Her hands began to unfasten Calixto’s clothing. He picked her up and pressed her against the wall, his mouth completely covering her own. Bree sucked on his tongue as he slid it into her mouth, and he reacted by pressing his hips into her. Bree wrapped her legs around him and ran her hands through his hair. As soon as he drew back, Bree grasped his soft hair and pulled his head back. She began kissing his neck. Calixto slid his hands up her dress and pulled her against him.
Then as suddenly as he had started, Calixto stopped. He put her down quickly, his face slightly red.
“Your body will react on its own to every circumstance you face, just as you did now. It will react long before your mind does. Please, stop trying to push me away again when I can help you control your instincts.” Though the light was dim, she could see the sincerity in his eyes. “You have no one you trust, and you are losing control of yourself. I can help you, but you have to let me.”
Bree panted, her hands running down his stomach and trying to slip under his shirt. Calixto may have been able to stop without wanting more, but Bree was not accustomed to stopping. As her hands tried to explore his body, Calixto grabbed her wrists with one of his, then tilted her head up so that she was looking at him. “Promise me that you will let me help you.”
Staring into his eyes, Bree found it nearly impossible to refuse him. Not just because she wanted him, but because she knew that she was reaching the end of her endurance. Instead of offering a refusal though, she responded in a near whisper, “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I can handle it.”
“I am not talking about physical pain.”
“I can handle it.”
Bree closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at him one more time, “I don’t want to live and I don’t want you to die.”
He pressed her hands to his chest, “Then let me help you find a reason to live.”
“I don’t want anyone to die because of me.”
“Then act in a way that doesn’t risk others.”
She took a deep breath, “Do you understand what kind of power I have to control every day? Do you know how hard it is?”
“I understand how difficult immense power is to control. How there are days when it feels like it will swallow you whole. Pretending it isn’t there will not remove it. But others can help you carry the burden. It is why I am still here.”
“You must be terrifying in your other form,” she whispered.
He flashed a small smile, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
His hand went around her back and pulled her close. Hesitantly, he pulled her to him and leaned down. This time his kiss was gentle and comforting so that Bree felt that perhaps she would finally be safe. Instead of trying to remove his clothing, Bree forced her hands to slide over his shoulders and clasp behind his neck. The feel of his body against hers was warm and comforting, and for once she didn’t want anything else. When he pulled away, Calixto put his forehead on hers, “Please let me help you.”
Bree gave a little nod and opened her eyes to look into his. “Ok. I trust you, Calixto.”
The shifter said nothing as he took her hand and pulled her out of the cave.
Chapter 10
A Sudden Drop
As soon as they were outside, it was almost impossible to imagine that the exchange in the cave had been real. Calixto was back to his usual cold self. Bree looked around and saw that they were not at the base of the mountain as she had thought, but somewhat higher up.
She turned, “How did we get so far from the base?”
“I carried you.”
“Did you transform?”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then returned to scanning the mountain for a way up. “Would you be disappointed if I said yes?”
“I would be for two reasons – because we should not be using magic and because I missed it.”
He waved her to him and put a hand on her shoulder. Calixto’s face was near hers as he pointed toward a very narrow path. “We can go up that way.”
She turned to look at him “You still haven’t answered my question.”
His face turned to hers. A slight smile spread across his face and instead of answering, he leaned over and kissed her. His hand slid down her arm and grabbed her hand. “We need to move before they realize we are on the move.” He pulled her along behind him.
“Demons don’t have a lot of power around mountains.”
“What about volcanoes?”
“That would be a complete disaster for us.”
“Then we need to get moving.”
Bree squeezed his hand, “You don’t need to be paranoid. This area hasn’t been active for so long that they may as well just be mountains.”
“And you don’t think that demons can change that?” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“Ok, that was clearly sarcasm. You are getting down right feisty Calixto.” Bree beamed as she squeezed his hand. “But I get what you mean. More speed less talk.”
He turned and gave her a quick smile, “We don’t have to be quiet as long as we don’t allow conversation to slow us down.”
“That is rather magnanimous of you.”
“I’m trying.”
Bree couldn’t keep a light laugh from echoing around them. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she collected herself, “Sorry. I’m surprised you know how to be funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be.” He pressed ahead without looking at her.
“So how did you know that these used to be active? That knowledge was lost eons ago, back when there were a lot more of my kind roaming Letera.”
“I can feel the magma.”
“You what?” The pull of her hand reminded her to keep moving.
“I can feel it, but now is not the time to explain that.”
Bree watched the muscular back of her companion and she wondered just how much there was to learn about it. Practically everything, she thought. “I thought that changing form was the only magic a shifter could use.”
He turned his face toward her a little as he dodged a tree branch, “We have any innate abilities of our original form.”
“So a wolf shifter has a keen sense of smell, even in human form?”
He nodded.
“I’ve still never heard of any species having any magical a-Oh god’s!” Bree exclaimed as she realized there were plenty of species that could have two forms. “So if there is a fairy shifter, you could potentially have a person that could fly?”
She bumped into him as Calixto came to an abrupt stop. He turned and gave her a look of disbelief, “A fairy shifter? That’s ridiculous.” He pulled her hand and started back up the mountain. “Humanoids aren’t shifters. They have their own kind of magic.” He shook his head and Bree could hear him mutter, “Fairy shifter. Unbelievable.”
Bree smiled at his back. She had known about humanoids and shifters, but he was so closed when it came to talking about his abilities, she wanted to see if there was any way to get him to open up. Now she knew
that there was a way – a way that she knew well. All people loved to feel smart, so all she had to do was play dumb and he was bound to let it slip up. Otherwise, she might never find out what his real form was.
They were relatively close to the top of the mountain by that point and she thought it best to focus because down was usually a lot harder than up.
Calixto stopped and checked out the other side, “Alright, I think-”
Whatever he was thinking, he never got to say, the ground below them shifted and a large crack formed beneath their feet. Calixto immediately grabbed Bree and pulled her to him as the mountain crumbled. Bree put up a field around them as they slid into the yawning opening that went down for miles, well below the base of the mountain. As they tumbled down the mountain, she buried her face in Calixto’s chest.
They landed on a ledge some ways above the magma flowing under them.
Bree looked up into Calixto’s handsome face. His eyes were darting around, his attention clearly focused on finding a way out.
“I’m sorry Calixto, but getting out of here is not our biggest problem.”
His eyes looked down at her.
Bree pointed a finger to their left, “The demons are here.”
Chapter 11
The Words You Say
There was a hissing noise as they seemed to form words. “You failed us.” It accused Bree.
Calixto and Bree looked at the creatures. There were two of them and they did not have a definitive form. Instead, their outlines shifted and turned, making it nearly impossible to focus on them without getting a headache.
Bree stepped forward, “You are after me, not him. Let him go.”
The demons laughed, “Little witch, you have no room to negotiate.”
Bree slipped a hand into the folds of her dress and reached into another dimension where her chest was stored. She pulled her hand out of the dimension and stretched out her arm out. “I think I have all of the bargaining chips.”
The demons moved closer, “Give it to us!”
Bree pulled it back and dropped the object into the top of her dress. She felt it nestled between her breasts, “You must let him go first.”
“No!” Calixto and the demons all screamed at her. Calixto’s hand went around her wrist, “You promised!” His voice was firm and his red eyes looked as hot as the magma beneath them.
Bree gave him a smile and gently pulled her hand out of his, “Please, trust me.” He set his jaw but gave her an imperceptible nod.
“You will return this man to the top of the mountains, then we will begin negotiations.”
The demons hissed in response, “He himself has already expressed a desire to stay.”
Calixto stepped forward, “I consent to being returned to the top.”
The demons laughed, “What you will or will not allow has no place here.”
Calixto turned and looked at Bree. She winked at him and took several steps forward, “If you want your precious item, you will return him-”
The ledge under her cracked and fell away. Before she could fall, Calixto’s hands were around her waist, pulling her back to safety.
The demons cackled, “He is fast for a human.”
Bree was pleased when her companion did not answer the insult. Perhaps he was too angry by it. Hoping that was the case, Bree laughed. “You should have sent him back when you had the chance. My pet is not going to leave so easily now that he knows what you are trying to do.” She felt the air tense behind her, and Bree could imagine the angry look on Calixto’s face at her words. I’m sorry Calixto, she thought to him. Though she had not expected it, the air relaxed a little after her thought.
The demons moved forward, “We did not intend to drop you into the magma just yet, not until we retrieve what is ours.”
“Well, this is where we run into a bit of a problem, because the demons you had me steal this from seemed to have a very legitimate claim to it. I am curious to see which one of you is right so that I can determine who the real owners are.”
“It is us!” The demons swirled and shifted in agitation.
“But you have never produced any proof of that.”
“We do not need proof!”
“Are you sure? Because the Sentii had proof.”
“They are lying! It belongs to us.” One of the demons was doing little more than pitching a fit. The other one finally responded, “And what proof did they give you?”
Bree gave them a look of uncertainty, “I’m not sure if can tell you that.”
“It is ours!” The first demon shouted.
“Yes, yes, I have heard you say that several times, but saying it doesn’t make it yours. I mean, I could shout that right now, and you would dispute that it was mine.”
“You dare to mock us, little witch?” The second demon seemed far more attuned to what she was doing than the first.
She gave him a look of shock, “Mocking you? I am simply point out that one set of demons had proof, the others seemed to be lying to get something that they had no right to.”
The demons neared her, “What proof did they offer you?”
As soon as they were close, Bree stretched out her hand and wrapped them in a cold chill. The demons immediately started screaming and struggling against the web of cold, tightening it with every move they made. “The truth. You see, I'm not a little witch.” She squeezed the net, “I’m a sorceress.” The hissing and screams from the netting redoubled, causing the rocks on the walls of the volcano to come crashing down on all sides. An arm wrapped around her and Bree felt Calixto pressing her into his body. He was protecting her so that she would not lose focus.
Silently begging the gods to keep Calixto safe, Bree let out a loud laugh to make it look like she was not afraid. “The best proof they gave me was to let me borrow it. They told me to see for myself that it was theirs, and so I have.”
The yowls from the demons were unintelligible, but she pressed on. “Of course, this will not kill you, but by the time you recover, the true owners will be aware of your plans. So there is something for you to look forward to once you finish reforming.”
With that the demons disappeared. The instant they were gone, Bree turned and buried her face in Calixto’s chest. She pushed a field out several feet from his body so that he would not get further injured. As soon as the rock slide was done, she released the field and immediately began looking around them.
“And this is why I had not wanted to get caught away from their home.” The magma underneath them was rising. “I can’t fly.”
She turned to look at him, “I guess we can try climbing out of here, but I doubt that we will be able to get very far before this stuff over takes us. I am so sorry Calixto.” She wrapped her arms around him and felt his arms gently encircle her. “I am so sorry to drag you into this.”
“I don’t mind.” He stroked her hair.
She sighed, “I do. I mind very much.”
Calixto pulled away from her, “Do you mean that?”
She nodded, “I don’t mind dying, but I do not want that for you. I think it is even safe to say that I like you a bit.”
He smiled down at her as the heat from the magma began to reach them. She knew that meant they had a few minutes left. She wouldn’t exactly die happy, not knowing that he would parish too, but Bree could not imagine a better last view as she stared into his smiling face.
He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, apparently oblivious to the heat, “Do you like me enough to stay with me?”
Bree giggled, “I think that I can almost imagine a future like that. Almost.”
“Except…”
She pressed her face into his neck, “Except that we are going to die here and admitting that I could live such a life now might actually hurt.”
He squeezed her and whispered in her ear, “Say please.”
“What?” She pulled back and looked at his face to see if he was joking.
He was still smiling, but there was no
thing to suggest that he was joking, “Say please.”
“Are you trying to make me feel less guilty now?”
He squeezed her hips with his hands, “Stubborn sorceress, do you trust me or not?”
Bree tilted her mouth in a half grin to humor him, “Please Calixto.”
He patted her on the head, “Good girl. I promise to be gentle.”
With that, Calixto stepped back and began to transform. His toned body began to expand and change in ways that should have been impossible. Bree watched in awe, her eyes catching every detail of the change, yet she had a difficult time believing what she saw.
The magma was spitting and bubbling below them as a large red dragon unfurled its wings and gently wrapped its claws around Bree.
As he moved away from the ledge, Bree looked up at the nearly perfect body of the man who had chosen her. If she had thought his human form was gorgeous, it was nothing compared to the beauty of the creature that he was by nature. “You are right, I don’t think I would have believed you if you told me.”
The dragon looked down at her, and if dragons could smile Bree knew what that smile would look like as she watched Calixto. She laughed as they flew out of the volcano top and headed toward a clearing that would have taken several days to reach on foot. His wings opened and the shadow he cast would easily have covered a small village. Calixto was big as a human – as a dragon he was gigantic.
“Do you think you could land us over that way?” Bree pointed to a location far from the volcano, a distance that would have taken several days with a horse. Calixto rumbled as if question was an insult. With impossible speed, they headed toward the place where Bree had indicated.