Replacement

by Wojciech Cram

  them.

  "If you don't mind," he ventured cautiously, "I can show you how to shield your mind from any unwanted telepathic suggestions. You can preset them to accept people you work or

  live with."

  A bit like setting a home security system, huh? He looked confused, so she quickly explained. It makes sense. The brain is just a big bundle of nerves, like an organic bundle of wires.

  "Yes," he agreed. The dragon showed her the shields and how to set them, carefully and patiently explaining the process to her. She listened attentively, until she was fairly certain

  that she would be able to do it herself. "You need to guard your mind more. You have been lucky thus far. No one has taken advantage of it."

  He missed the way the guilt swam over her face as she recalled the way Mackenzie had entered her mind to sever the connection between her body and her mind. The dragon did

  hear, however, the underlying note of hope in her voice. He prayed he wasn't imagining it. Even from you?

  The dragon broke the connection, physically pulling away from Beth. Her scent traveled with him and he had to fight to ignore it. His eyes lingered on her lips, feeling the bond

  between them tug at his heart. Everything in him wanted to do nothing but give this pitiable creature the best life he could, protecting her and loving her and making her happy.

  "Especially from me."

  He stood up. Beth watched him pace. "I still don't even know your name."

  The dragon glanced over his shoulder. "Kaneonuskatew."

  She didn't think she could pronounce it. "I'm Bethany. People usually call me Beth."

  Kaneonuskatew arched an eyebrow. He tried her name experimentally. "Beethahnknee. I will call you by your full name. I enjoy it. It feels strange and exotic on my tongue."

  Pressing a finger to his lips he motioned for her to fall silent. She could hear something moving around. LouisEtienne pushed through the thick British Columbian underbrush. He

  spotted the tall dragon first and then Bethany. Her blush began to subside when he didn't even acknowledge her nudity. Beth mentally thanked the werewolf's undying sense of

  loyalty.

  "You untied her," he noted.

  Kaneonuskatew nodded. "Beethahnknee and I have reached an understanding. She will not try to run away, and so I have left her the freedom of movement and power of walking

  on her own."

  "Whatever. Come on, you two. Fala's done feeding. If you are too then we're going to head out. We've got a bit of a trek back home."

  He nodded. He offered to help Beth up but she avoided touching him. When she looked at him she could feel their connection drawing them closer. She didn't want to touch him

  again. She didn't want him in her mind again. She didn't want him to leave her again. She wanted to pretend that her mind didn't feel lonely without the comfort of his surprisingly

  soothing thoughts brushing hers, like crests of the ocean lapping at the shoreline...

  Instead, she watched him pick up her jacket and brush off the dirt for her before handing it to her so that she could hide her body. Beth appreciated the gesture. For the first time

  Kaneonuskatew was beginning to understand why clothes were designed. He didn't want to know that other men saw her body and lusted for it, or even that they admired it. She

  was his Soulmate, and no one else had the right to admire her.

  He wore clothes. They felt strange, but he was slowly becoming accustomed to them. The sandals kept his feet from becoming cold, dirty and sore. The jeans kept the brambles and

  nettles and pines from scratching him. They reminded him of the leather he used to wear before he had been put to sleep. The shirt he simply could not fathom. It itched and he

  didn't like it. He rolled up the sleeves to his forearms, and he preferred that, but it still itched.

  Eventually they stopped for supper. Zhi Niao unrolled the bedrolls she had been carrying; LouisEtienne went off to dig a latrine and Emile began to build a fireplace while Mac

  gather firewood. Fala went off to hunt, and he stayed to watch Beth. She was curled up on one of the bedrolls, still wearing her jacket. She looked so helpless when she slept. Where did the defensiveness and the ferocity go when she slept?

  Her hands were gently curled, her thumb just brushing her lips. Her arms were held close to her body for warmth. Her legs were slightly bent. They were surprisingly shapely and

  he wished the others were not paying such great attention to him so he could fondly watch her more.

  The men returned and took over the camp. Gawain crawled into a sleeping bag. Kaneonuskatew could tell from the sweat emanating from the young boy that he had pushed himself

  to keep up with the adults. He didn't want to appear weak. The women went off to hunt and the men held down the camp. When the dragon picked up on Gawain's breathing

  becoming deep and even, Kaneonuskatew realized his opportunity had arrived.

  "LouisEtienne, I'm sure you wish to hunt with your lover. Why don't you go and hunt with her? I'm here to watch the prisoner and Mackenzie is here as well. The camp will be more

  than adequately protected. Besides, I wish to talk to Mackenzie privately."

  The werewolf turned to his boss, his pale eyes glowing with a yellow tinge in the firelight. "Can I, Mac?"

  Mackenzie shrugged. "Sure. I think we'll be all right. You know Beth. She waits until she has the chance to win when she fights. Beth has patience when it comes to that. She doesn't

  have the chance right now, so long as we have the dragons on our side. Besides, she's asleep. You go and join Niao. I'm eager to hear wait Cain has to say."

  He grinned excitedly. There was little he liked more than hunting with Zhi Niao. The only thing he liked more than that was fighting with Zhi Niao and having sex with her, which mostly seemed to overlap in the first place. His smile kept pulling back as his jaw changed. Dark fur spread over his body, replacing his clothes. In mere moments he raced off,

  howling joyously for his mate to join him in the hunt.

  "You've made him a happy man, Cain."

  He shrugged. "I'm glad I was able to please him."

  "You've gotten the hang of using contractions, I see." The dragon nodded. Mac was sitting crosslegged on the ground. He bent one knee, leaning his chin on it as he stared over the

  fire pit. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

  Kaneonuskatew gestured over to Beth with his gaze. "Her, and her world. To be able to fight for control over the world, I must understand her world. I wish training to understand

  your technologies and your history."

  The vampire thought about it, rubbing his chin. "You're a little too old for school in that body. Can you give yourself a younger body, around Beth's age? I'm sorry if it's impolite for

  asking, but I'm not exactly sure how your shifting ability works—I actually doubt that anyone knows."

  The dragon smiled. "Understandable. I am able to take another human form, a Native American boy of Beth's age."

  "Great. Gawain can hack into the school computers. We'll send you to a place where you can learn and study your opponents and socialize. You'll be able to start in two days. If Fala

  would like to join you, we can arrange for her to attend as well." He paused, judging the dragon's reaction. "As Fala doesn't like you very much, I'll run the idea by her. If you ask

  her I worry she'll pick a fight with you."

  He didn't want Fala to accompany him. This was his project. Fala would do nothing but complain about how stupid the humans were, or about the smell. However, he decided it was

  best to let the subject go. He hoped Fala wouldn't want to go in favor of the other thing he wanted to discuss. "I also would like to talk about Bethany."

  For a long time Mackenzie had been wondering about his sister's name. Beth had made it clear to him no one called her by her full name and yet Cain had been using it for several

  days with
out any sign of retaliation from the young girl. His voice was stern, the streak of protectiveness he had spent the last few days denying and hating. "She likes to be called

  Beth."

  "She has not complained to me. I will continue to call her Bethany until she asks me to stop. I wish for you to free Bethany from her captivity when we return home."

  "You want me to do what?"

  "Free Bethany. You don't need her right now. Why keep her? Why cause her family stress? Let her go. We can still keep tabs on her so that we know where she is. I'm a good

  hunter, Mackenzie. Trust me, I could find her anywhere. She doesn't know our plan. Let her go."

  Mackenzie frowned as he thought about it. He wanted to say yes, but he had other people to think about as well. What would Emile say? Or Zhi Niao? He didn't want to keep Beth

  locked up in the basement. They were kin, after all. Daybreaker or not, he was aware that Beth should be allowed to enjoy life to the fullest extent possible.

  "You will be responsible for taking her home," he said, "as it is your wish that set her free. I'll explain it to my people, but if Fala argues, it will be your job to keep her from going

  ballistic."

  He nodded. "I have already taken that into consideration."

  Cain left when he felt Fala drawing close. Sleep had made her careless. She was returning to the camp from upwind, her scent filtering into the camp. Cain was not so careless. He

  always made sure to keep his scent hidden from Fala, knowing fully well that though they had peace at the moment, Fala would surely one day break it. Red dragons were

  treacherous like that. Centuries of sleep could not break the centuries of animosity that stretched between them.

  "Fala," he interrupted her, surprising her. Hatred hardened her eyes as soon as she realized it was him. He kept his voice hard and stern. "We need to talk."

  Her dark brown eyes narrowed and her lip curled upwards in a sneer of disgust. He had grabbed her shoulder as she walked by him, pulling her to a stop, and her gaze was locked

  on the way his fingers were defiling her clothes. "What is it, greenone? Speak quickly. Our treaty does not mean you need to retain your hand."

  Cain was surprised by how different Fala was from Beth. They had the same face shape and hair, and when she hit puberty, he was certain that Beth would have the same kind of

  figure Fala did, and yet the anger they both reacted with to his presence manifested itself so differently. Fala's anger was disfiguring, a disgusting emotion that twisted her face.

  Beth's he saw as honest and made her face become flushed, her eyes shining brilliantly with the ferocity and depth of her anger. He was actually a little jealous that Beth was able

  to feel her emotion so completely and still show such little of it on her face. In contrast, he felt little and showed nothing.

  "I don't want to awaken the other dragons."

  "What?"

  Cain was laying the foundation for his web. He wanted to ensure that no harm would come to Bethany. The first step had been to make sure she was set free. He couldn't stand the

  idea of thinking of her held up, locked up in some dark basement. The second step was to make sure that Fala wouldn't have a reason to harm Beth. Fala hated humans; that was

  the way of her tribe. They ate humans without remorse or justification.

  Fala had made it perfectly clear she wanted to wipe out Bethany from existence. Their tribe believed that no dragon should ever mate with a human. Even shapeshifters were too

  weak for their tastes. He knew, even if the others didn't, that Fala had agreed to their plan because they alone knew a way to awake the other dragons. As soon as she had that

  power herself she'd turn on them.

  He had to make sure that Fala would not want to bring back the other dragons.

  He brushed his hand against her cheek lovingly. She glared at his touch, but he could smell the subtle changes around her body as it leaked hormones. Hate him as she may, Fala

  was still well aware that, to the best of their knowledge, he was the only male dragon awake and therefore, the only potential mate. He let tones of seduction creep into his voice,

  the slightest hint of fondness removing the crisp edge of authority.

  "We have been given a great opportunity here, Fala. The world can be ours if we only wish to take it. Time has made these mortals weak and foolish. They will be easy prey for us

  if we work together."

  "I?" she sneered. "I, work with a dragon like you? Don't insult me, Kaneonuskatew! What could you possibly offer me that would tempt me to turn my back on my family, on our morals and side with my enemy?"

  "Power." Immediately she froze. Yes, Fala wanted power. "I can offer you as much as you would like. Together, we could rule from the mountains to the ocean. We could do

  whatever we liked, whenever we liked. You would be Queen of all you see here, Fala. We wouldn't have to share it with anybody." He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms

  loosely around her waist and holding her close. His long hair brushed her face as she stiffly subjected to being held in the crook of his arms. "And there would be me. You know I

  would produce fine children with you."

  "Mate with a green dragon? I hate you all. Humanloving scum…"

  "I hate you too. In the bedroom I have scarcely been able to tell the difference between hate and love. You will hate me more for what I will make you do and feel and say when I mate with you, Fala. I will have liaisons with others, yes, but you will bear my children. When they grow up, we will send them to the other side of the mountains and we will regain more of this land, our two bloodlines intermingled." He paused for effect. "The red dragons would, in time, rule the whole continent. It is just as your family dreamed of all those

  years ago."

  She didn't have a witty response. Fala was giving his plan consideration. "What do you get out of it?"

  He let himself smile, exactly the type of smile that Fala wanted to see when she looked up at him. It was predatory and a little cruel. Cain always made sure that he wore his masks well. "You. And, of course, my children will also have this continent, just as my family as always wanted."

  She was still wavering with indecision. He leaned down and kissed her soundly on the lips, the types of kisses he had learned in his youth that made girls fawn on him. If only Beth

  had let him kiss her! No, he corrected himself. He could never kiss Beth like this, so hard and full of need, not as a first kiss. She needed pleasant, languid kisses that made her mind feel numb and warm.

  Fala licked her lips, tasting him. He could taste the blood on her lips from her kill. It reminded him that he needed to feed, but business came first. She smiled, but her eyes

  remained disturbingly withheld from the smile. "I accept your offer, Kaneonuskatew."

  With a pang of sadness, he kissed Fala again, knowing that no mask he wore was good enough to hide the pang of guilt which wrenched his heart when he thought of Beth.

  When they got home, Beth was pulled aside by Cain. Her jacket kept the Soulmate connection from starting up, but even being that close to him was enough to make her feel offcentered.

  When he was around she sometimes doubted she could tell left from right or up from down. She gave him a tired look, not quite having the energy to glare at him. He

  was holding a bag of clothes in his other hand, which he extended to her.

  "These are the smallestsized vestments Emile owns," he told her. "She has told me they should fit you well enough. Get in the bathroom and change, please."

  "Why?" Not that Beth didn't appreciate the idea of clothes. She was tired and hungry and whenever she thought of how she was wearing nothing but a jacket she felt as if she

  blushed so hard her ears were burning. What she really wanted was a warm bubble bath followed by a warm shower and then hot chocolate and the biggest, fluffiest sweaters she

  could find followed by h
er bed. She simply didn't understand Kaneonuskatew. Why was he giving her clothes?

  The others hadn't seemed to overhear what they were saying. They were ignoring the two of them, standing in the kitchen and glaring at each other. Beth cursed herself. Had she

  been less tired and paid more attention she would have seen that four seconds ago, before he had grabbed her arm, she had the perfect opportunity to escape. His voice was low to

  keep from drawing attention to them.

  "I know you don't trust me. I'm not asking you to start trusting me. I encourage you to think of me as your enemy, and I will do the same for you, but I would be doing myself a

  great dishonor if I failed to abide by my promise and keep you safe, and the safest place for you is away from Fala. I'm giving you an order as your captor, Bethany. Go and

  change." She didn't move, stubbornly staring at him, as if that could help her understand him. His dark eyes were like mirrors, hiding his true thoughts from her. "Now."

  She went off to change. Shutting and locking the bathroom door behind her, she pulled out the clothes from the bag. Wrinkling her nose at the idea of putting on someone else's

  underwear—however clean they were—she put them on regardless. The idea of wearing jeans without underwear was even less appealing to Beth. The jeans were an inch too long,

  but she rolled them up. They fit fine around the waist, however. The shirt was baggy in all the wrong places, and it itched a little without a bra. Beth knew that nothing the lamia

  owned would have fit anyway. Lastly, there was a sweater. She put that on with gusto, wrapping it around herself and trying to bury herself in the warmth of the wool, even if it did

  itch.

  She folded the paper bag back up only to realize that there was another door out of the washroom. Pressing her ear against it, she didn't hear anyone and wanted to have a peek

  where it went. The bathroom turned out to be linked to Emile and Mackenzie's bedroom. The décor was maroon, decorated with gold here and there to lighten the room and add

  accents to it. She wanted to shut the door, but there was such a feeling of normalcy that she couldn't help but step into it, just for a moment, to remind herself that there were still