Dragon Series: Dragon Heat

by Missy Lyons

  "Love, do not worry."

  "About dying? I mean flying?"

  She felt a yellow orange swirl in her mind, tickling her thoughts. If dragons could laugh, that is what it would look like. “I shall teach you everything there is to know."

  "Then, I would like to learn, yes."

  His hot breath raked her scales with his nearness. He spread his wings in example, and she spread hers, mimicking him. “Give your wings a flap.” The words were in her mind, in his deep voice. So she flapped her wings tentatively.

  "Do you feel the lift when you flap hard?"

  "Yes."

  "It's just like swimming, once you know how, you'll never forget."

  "I believe you."

  "When you want to soar or fly higher, just spread your wings to feel the most resistance. When you want to drop or land, cut through the air to feel less resistance. Do you want to give it a try?” He motioned to the edge of the cliff.

  Alyssa shuffled to the edge and peered over the precipice. A tremble went through her as she realized how far down it went. Hundreds and hundreds of feet below to finally end in the sand. But it was still hundreds of feet. A drop that could kill—no would kill someone that jumped off the edge. Fear made her back up a few steps.

  "Is there somewhere we can go that's less dangerous?"

  "You will always be safe with me, mate. I would never let you be in danger. If you feel like you are losing control, just change back to human and stop at the in between stage."

  The stage where her body was evaporated into mist and heat? “You can do that?"

  "Yes. It is what we will do during our mating flights."

  "Our what?"

  "The day we mate in the sky."

  Shivers met her skin at mating and becoming one in such an erotic fashion.

  Her eyes whirled with excitement. “Let's do it then.” She could feel a familiar heat rising. Her spirit tingled, sensitizing her flesh. Mating as a dragon in the sky, to her mate? The sexiest hunk of dragon she had ever seen. She was overwhelmed with the desire to mate. To fly. To be free.

  She moved to the cave edge, and gave a few tentative flaps before gaining enough air beneath her wings. Feeling more confident, she leaped off the edge, flapping hard.

  "I'm flying!” She held her position in mid-air and suddenly she felt the wind. It licked at her, pushing at her. She relaxed her body, stretching her wings taut, and let it take her, soaring into the heights.

  Xanther took off, following her closely, ever protective of his mate. He thrilled at her spirit, watching her in giddy happiness soar and plunge. She invited chase, playing and wheeling and Xanther welcomed the invitation, laying chase. She climbed instinctively, running fast, but Xanther was faster, stronger and bigger. They climbed into the heavens, higher and higher until the air grew too thin to breathe. Her breath came hard and fast and gravity pulled at their bodies, seeming to grow stronger the higher they went.

  Xanther caught her, wrapping his wings around her body in a sensual and dangerous embrace. Her body clung to his, welcoming his penetration with an appetite to challenge his. Such a heat, such a delicious hunger, waves of unmistakable pleasure and warmth spread them both as they began to plummet.

  Freefalling through space, catapulting toward the earth with a cataclysmic speed and fire. Behind the ecstasy she felt fear, triumph, but it was all needed, desperately wanted. She needed this. To mate. To become one with her mate.

  She felt like screaming. When she came she felt torn asunder. Roaring with happiness. There was pain but also pleasure. The end came with such mind numbing pleasure, she did not want to separate or to have it end, but it was that or death.

  The Earth came up to meet them, closer and closer, even as the dizzying effects of the orgasm forced her over the edge. In ecstasy her body released itself. She felt his emotions as he came. He too was flung into the heavens, burned by fire, and smoke. It was awesome to see, to feel the power of his climax, through his eyes. It fed her own pleasure. She peaked and her body slipped into the heat, becoming one with the heat. She dematerialized into heat and air. Xanther was flung from her. She saw his body mist, to be replaced by nothingness. A moment passed. It felt like eons, decades.

  "That was amazing."

  She forced herself to rise, to return to her dragon state. She rematerialized as a dragon, gently lapping the water with her wingtips. He followed, tipping his wings under hers.

  "That was our first of many mating flights I hope to take with you."

  "I can't wait to see what a mating heat is like."

  "And I can't wait for you to go in heat, my dear. It's a magical time for a dragon. You are too young yet for the real thing. Your first heat will come in about five years, but I look forward to it. A female in heat won't let her mate sleep, the need is so great it's almost painful, but it will mean our first child, and I look forward to it. Three days of breeding, debauchery and bed play."

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  Chapter 18

  Alyssa had one more question to ask, so she placed her hands on the Dragons’ Heart once more. She knew she could help the Elisaid if she could find out how to break the curse. If she knew how it began and how they were cursed, perhaps she could find a way to help them break it. This was the least she could do for her friends who had helped her so much.

  It was black as night, and disturbingly quiet. There were no birds, no animals, no humans anywhere. She was in the middle of a field, far from any castle walls, and not sure what she was waiting for. Until she saw a battle emerge. Men fought and died, the field was littered with bodies. It was a massacre of great proportions. Alyssa had never seen such death and destruction, such blood and gore.

  The vision drew her deeper, tugging at her spirit, pulling her compassion. What disturbed her most was that all the fallen had hair of the brightest red. At least those that still had their heads.

  They reminded her of her faithful and loving sisters of the Elisaid. She felt she could not turn her back on those before her, or in a way she would be turning her back on the Elisaid. Could they be kinsmen? Had anyone survived? The winners were still invading the castle. Men ransacked, burned, killed, and pillaged. But she did not see any rape, thank god. Where were the women and children? Alyssa was suddenly overcome with a desire to find them, to help them before they were killed. She could find them, she could make a difference.

  Two dark-haired soldiers came to her and she reached for her sword. There was no sword, no weapon. Indeed, the men came at her as if she were no threat, as if she were not even there. They did not see her as she saw them.

  Xanther stilled her hand within his. “It's only a memory of what once was—but I have never seen this memory before. This is one of the strongest memories I have ever relived. Something of great importance must have happened here."

  "I must see if anyone has survived.” Alyssa began her search, heading for the castle. There were no women's bodies, no rapes taking place before her eyes. That at least was a good sign. Perhaps they would have remained safe from harm. Perhaps they remained safe within the walls.

  Searching proved fruitless. The soldiers, too, seemed vexed, though they made due with the spoils of war, taking anything of value.

  Still, Xanther and Alyssa did not give up. Xanther pressed through a wall, and that is where they saw them. All the women and children. Old ones, young ones, from babes to the white-haired grandmothers, all of them huddled in this windowless room. One man of middle age was with them. It must be a secret compartment and thus far it had kept them safe.

  Even through the thick stone, the muffled voices of the soldiers could be heard. A single baby was crying. His mother held him tightly to her chest, bouncing him to help calm him.

  "Shhh ... Stop his crying. He will get us all killed.” The man spoke in a dangerous voice.

  The woman tried to calm the babe, patting his back, hushing him in a soothing whisper.

  "Stop him or I will, woman."

  The b
aby continued to cry. She shook her head in a silent plea to ask he not intervene.

  The druid responded violently, his delivery deep and low in a powerful voice. He spoke an ancient spell, silencing the voices of all. Paralyzing all the women's tongues from any speech, or any defiance.

  Alyssa noted his set face, his clamped mouth and fixed eyes. He had a crazed look about him, and his words confirmed it. “Shut him up, woman.” He continued to hear the baby's wailing, when no one else could.

  The woman shook her head in denial, the fear evident on her face. He was the only one who could hear the baby's cries, the piteous wails.

  Alyssa's hairs bristled on the back of her neck as a cold shiver of dread washed her body with goose bumps. She bit her lip, wanting to look away, helpless to stop or to change what was to come. She knew something terrible was about to happen and with the first words that left his lips, she knew it had.

  His words were dripping with evil intent, a spell so harsh, so dark, she had never attempted it herself, and never would. Never daring to bring on such death or needless destruction. She recognized the words were a mixture of Latin and Gaelic. Alyssa and Xanther watched in horror as the children, one by one dropped to the floor. Every child under the age of twenty was dead.

  Alyssa paled instantly knowing the spell had brought death. They took their last breath, their chests forever stopped in time. Their hearts forever frozen, they would beat no more life into these children.

  Alyssa wanted to scream. She wanted to cry, even though the pain was still too fresh to allow tears.

  These were supposed to be the survivors. They had already lost their husbands, and fathers, and sons. Now they lost their children, and not by an act of war, but by their own kinsman.

  There would have been wailing, cries of pain, mourning the fresh loss of their children, but the women were still bound by the spell, bound to silence.

  Minutes seemed to become hours. Time stood still. That was not the end of the horror that day. Most accepted their grief, but a few of the women drew weapons. Alyssa watched in horror as they mutilated the man beyond recognition, spilling his blood to the floor.

  Alyssa, who had become a warrior, who was no stranger to death, had to turn away from it, only to see a greater tragedy take place. The mother of the baby, the one whom the man first blamed and bespelled twice, slit her wrists, blinded by tears that no one saw, too engulfed were they in their own loss. Still bleeding, crying silently, she cut a star into the baby's chest.

  Alyssa heard a silent, pain-filled voice in her head; the mother was using midspeak, cursing the man, and all men who laid with the women. Future and past. Suddenly it was clear. This woman was the one who brought on the druid curse to the Elisaid. The woman welcomed the dark magic and in the end it claimed her own life.

  This was the day it all began? The day of the druid curse? The Elisaid were all descendants of these very women, cursed in their own tongue, sealed by blood. A dark magic that was forbidden now had been used here. That section of the library that contained such dark magic was banned to Alyssa. She didn't know of anyone who had the power to undo this.

  Alyssa watched in horror and fascination as all this took place. She could not change it. But now she knew the details of the curse. The very words that formed it. Even though it was nightmarishly powerful, sealed in blood, written in dirt, spoken in silence, it could be broken.

  Alyssa wasn't sure how yet, but it was like any spell—it could be countered and broken. It was a gift she wanted to give to her sisters, to break the curse. It would mean they would have one more choice in life. For themselves and their children. They would be able to choose to love with their hearts. They could choose to live with love in their lives.

  * * * *

  Alyssa couldn't wait to tell Elsbeth about the news. She now knew how to break the curse, if she could find the right way to counter it. Somehow they would have to get word to the Elisaid.

  Alyssa found Elsbeth sitting in a chair in the library, with her eyes rimmed red from tears. “What is wrong, sister?"

  "I did something horrible, Alyssa. I think I may have fallen in love."

  Startled, Alyssa asked, “What are you going to do?"

  "That's just it. I don't know what I can do. I can't stay with him, but he wants more from me. I have told him just be happy with what I offer. It's the only thing I can give and yet he refuses me still."

  "Any man would be a fool to refuse you. There are others who would have you. Why don't you—"

  "I don't want anyone else."

  Alyssa frowned, “Did he say why?” It was funny that she had the opposite problem with Xanther. The beast wouldn't leave her alone.

  Elsbeth turned. Was that embarrassment on her face? “He has said—he has said that if I cannot love him, he cannot have me. He wants to be a father to any child he sires, that he—damn it—why am I crying? It's not what I want—and yet it is.” Elsbeth wiped a tear away, trying not to hiccup when she spoke.

  "Did you tell him that you love him already?"

  "No, but he can't know, it would not help with that curse."

  "That curse rules our lives,” Alyssa whispered, knowing it was the true motivator of Elsbeth's actions. Alyssa was struck by the magnitude of what she had just heard her friend say. She wanted a life with love and yet she would deny herself because of this curse.

  "But I have to live by it. You understand if I don't, he would die? I can't live with that on my conscience.” Elsbeth sniffled and then broke into sobs again. “Lord, maybe it's too late. I think I love him already.” She hung her head in self-defeat.

  "That curse should not decide your life before you live it.” Alyssa moved to comfort Elsbeth. This felt awkward, not just that she was attempting to comfort Elsbeth but that she came to her for comfort. Elsbeth had never been a close friend, and Alyssa had never been an emotional person. Still she felt she should do something, say something comforting. So she patted Elsbeth on the back and listened to her sobbing.

  "Do you know what it's like?” Elsbeth's voice cracked with emotion. “It is so painful. To throw yourself at someone and still be refused."

  "Maybe you should try another man? There are many here in these halls."

  "He is the only one I want."

  Alyssa let the silence permeate the air. What could you say to that? How could she lessen the pain Elsbeth was feeling when she didn't know what that pain felt like?

  "What if there was a way?” Alyssa bit her lip. She didn't want to get Elsbeth's hopes up and yet what if it were true? What if there was a way to break the curse?

  She didn't really know the way to beak the curse, but she had hope. She knew how it all began.

  "What do you mean?” Elsbeth responded curiously, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

  Alyssa swallowed hard. “I saw how it all began. The day it happened."

  "What?"

  "I heard the words. I saw the blood, the deaths, and I saw the sealing. It's a terrible curse, one using the dark arts,” Alyssa said, shaking her head with regret. “There will have to be druid blood to undo this, and since I am not of druid blood, I can't do it. Someone will have to make a counter spell and then we will have to find someone who is experienced in the dark arts to do it."

  "Knowledge in the dark arts has been forbidden for centuries."

  "There has to be someone. Is there anyone who has access to the forbidden section in the library?"

  "No. The counselors do, but they know better than to use it or go there. It isn't safe to read the books. Even if we searched there personally it would take a lifetime to know and to learn everything so we don't accidentally kill ourselves with the counter curse. Dark arts are not for the inexperienced."

  "So there is no one at all who could help us?"

  "No one! There is no one."

  "Unbelievable. Are you absolutely positive? There is not a single scholar who spent their life studying within the library? No one who may have read all the books so they began
to read about the dark magic?"

  "Yes, I am sure."

  "So you are saying there is no hope? Even though we know half of what we need to know, we may never learn the rest?"

  Elsbeth was frustrated now, her voice growing impatient. “Yes, now you understand. There isn't anyone. No one is allowed to experiment with dark magic or see or read those texts but the librarian, the caretaker of our knowledge...” Elsbeth's voice drifted off on the last words; by her own admission, there might be one person with the knowledge they needed.

  That someone had been missing for centuries. She had in fact been gone so long, that she had been presumed dead by the Elisaid.

  "Who is this librarian you speak of?"

  "Autumn. It is Autumn—"

  "I never knew an Autumn."

  "That is because she was abducted at the same time as my mother. Only Autumn never returned."

  "Autumn?” Alyssa searched her memory of any mention of Autumn and was dumbfounded. She had been part of the reason the Elisaid had cloistered themselves away. She weighed her options. Opening the door to the dark arts could claim her life or one of her sister's just in learning its secrets.

  Or they could find someone who may already know them all. Autumn was probably their best hope. Then again, even if they could find Autumn, there was no guarantee that she could help to break the curse.

  They could spend years searching the tomes in the library for a book that may not give them all the answers they needed. They could also spend years searching in futility for Autumn and never find her. She could be living off the island somewhere in a distant land. Or worse, what if she was dead?

  "Do you think we can find her?” Alyssa asked.

  "No one else has been able to find her and they searched everywhere. What if the curse is never lifted?"

  "You can't let the curse rule your life and how you live it. We have to try. If not for yourself, then think of your children and their happiness."

  "It's hopeless, Alyssa."