Vika laughed again. “I be sorry to thwart your plans, Dougal, but you be right. As I get closer to birthing his babe, Evan grows more protective. Dragons can be stubborn, as well. It took all morning to convince your brother I could fly on your back, and wade in a fairy pool without dying.”
Her mate be a dragon?
Fiona was beside herself with worry for the female. She and the lad were humans. She had the ability to sense another otherworldly like herself. How could a human female carry a dragon’s bairn? All these questions were making her dizzy, so she crept toward the back of the cave. She crouched behind a rocky outcropping. No water flowed through the cave, but it was damp and dark.
In case the lad ventured through the falls, she was hidden well enough, yet she could still glimpse the odd trio. As she waited for them to leave, she thought about the dragon. Cliona had mentioned a male she had hoped to call her mate for the rest of her life, though he was not from their herd. She had referred to him as Dougal.
This Dougal?
Nay, not a dragon-shifter! Cliona must mean another stag, someone of another herd. Finding her and the other herd would improve Fiona’s life immeasurably. She certainly couldn’t do it hiding in a cave, but she had no wish to be a dragon’s noon meal.
A splash brought her attention back to the odd trio. The lad must have dove into the pool. Was he naked?
“Orin, do not dive so deeply. There could be loose rocks, and I be in no condition to save you,” the female shouted.
The dragon barked, his laugh so loud the cave walls shook.
“Dougal, do not bring boulders down upon us, if you please. I worry about me brother quite enough.”
“Vika, have no fear, though I be on the lookout for pirates.”
“Aye, Kera warned us those damnable brigands be near.”
“Vika, I shall protect you. Besides, should Orin drown, I will fly you back to Evan.”
Smack!
Fiona assumed Vika had responded by slapping the dragon, but she couldn’t tell. She wished they would hurry up and depart, leaving her to warm her human flesh before leaping from the pool. She would shift back into a warm fur-covered deer, continue her search, and possibly find Cliona in the nearest village.
The lad popped to the surface. She could see he still wore his white shirt. “Vika, don’t hit a dragon. It shall hurt your hand, and make him angry. We need him to carry us back to the caves, then on to Morbhan. You do still want to travel west, and visit the village?”
“Aye. I wish to see Mistress MacFingan again, and enjoy the feasts and entertainment at Beltane. The celebration of the coming of spring should not be missed. If the weather clears the trails, we can fly close to the village, and walk through the gates like normal folk.”
Fiona assumed Vika stared at the dragon as she spoke. If dragons shifted into humans, they could easily visit the village. But, what was this Beltane? A celebration? Feasts and entertainment? If an annual affair, like it sounded to be, Cliona might have planned to attend. This was her best chance to find her friend.
Where be this village they spoke of? Morbhan, they called it?
Her best bet was to follow them, but as the pair climbed on the dragon’s back and they leapt into the sky, how could she? No, it was up to her to search for the village in the direction the lad mentioned.
With luck, a dragon shall never cross me path again, she thought. Fiona exited the cave, slipped beneath the waterfall, and looked all around before lifting herself onto a ledge. When a gust knocked her off her ungainly legs, she cursed the bitter wind.
CHAPTER 2
A bitter gust of wind ruffled the scales along Dougal’s red tail. Having returned Vika to his brother, he waited to see if they needed a ride to the village. He hoped Evan took Vika by himself. Many humans would attend the annual celebration she mentioned, and he despised humans ever since a human hunter had killed his mate and their unborn babe. Vika and Orin had proved tolerable, but he had his limits.
The midday sun was making its way overhead, and had burned away the fog, hours earlier. A few puffs of white clouds hung over the hilltops, cooled by the snow that still littered each peak.
Sorrow weighed him down. Since autumn, memories of his mate and her savage death meant the future of their kind was in jeopardy. Where could he find another female dragon? How could he give his heart to one, if he did? The pain of their deaths remained deep inside his chest. Some days, he wished to die.
Vika and a shifter named Kera were their best hopes. Vika had fallen for Evan in his human form, and they had created a bairn. It was in her belly, growing and changing her. She was too pale, and she suffered severe stomach pains daily. She craved raw meat and bit Evan during lovemaking. The babe might be ripping her apart inside, but she never showed fear.
From the cave below, Evan roared, reminding him of rolling thunder, which was probably what villagers would assume caused the deep, stormy sound. Dougal and his remaining brothers, all that was left of their dragon clan on Skye, had hidden away in the stony perches and pitch-black caves of the Black Cuillin Hills. The dragon clan’s numbers had dwindled due to the weather, accidents, and the occasional hunter. To his knowledge, no humans knew that they lived so close to their villages, but they crossed paths when in their other forms.
The freedom to shape-shift into smaller forest animals meant a lot to his brothers. Evan had accomplished the task of shifting into a handsome copper-colored stallion. He met Vika in that form, and learned enough of the language and human customs to shift into a human, get closer to her, and make her his mate.
Dougal sighed. His brother was happier than he’d ever seen him, and he’d been envious ever since Vika came to live in their former cave. Wynn had found a mate in the middle of winter, when he’d accidentally injured a wolf-shifter. Wynn was partial to wolves, and his white wolf ran along with packs whose numbers had decreased as steadily as had their dragon clan. The environment was changing too fast, and they were tiptoeing toward the brink of extinction.
Dougal enjoyed shifting into a red stag and running though the forest. His mate had enjoyed doing the same, and they had spent hours running across the meadows, drinking from creeks, and making love beneath rowan trees. He could still smell the scent of her fur, and imagine the shape of her tail as she flicked it, as she ran. Sorrow made him hang his head.
Wynn landed beside him, his talons sliding through snow, to grip the rock surface hidden beneath. Dougal waited to see what his brother wanted, and ground his teeth while keeping his tail in check. Slapping the silly grin off Wynn’s face would prove to be a temporary thrill. The green and white dragon was in love, and his giddy grin made Dougal turn away.
“I hear you were less then pleasant to Vika this day,” Wynn said.
Dougal swung his head around, belching a throat full of smoldering ash. “What? I was nothing but nice. I gave her a ride, and did not drown her brother.”
Wynn chuckled. “I be teasing you, big brother. Me heart be filled with love, and me loins be quite content, and I wanted to see if I could rile you. I suspect you be less than happy.”
“News of Evan and Vika’s planned trip to the village of Morbhan has made me gut twist into knots. ‘Tis not safe, not in her condition, and certainly not with Toal MacMorgan on the loose.”
Toal was a thorn in all their sides. He had bothered Vika for years, tried to take her innocence, and force her to live in his hovel north of the village. When Evan thwarted his plans, Toal bartered with pirates, who had taken her to their ship. She had jumped into the shark-infested ocean to escape, and Evan had rescued her.
Wynn glanced down at the valley below. “Have we seen any sign of Toal or those foul-smelling pirates?”
“Nay, however the trails north and toward the village look passable. I fear they will do as Kera heard them threaten.”
“You mean, they shall attack the village? Vika and Orin will be heartbroken, should any of their friends die.”
“How do you plan to ke
ep Kera safe? She wants Toal dead for taking advantage of her when she was but a lass,” Dougal asked.
Kera had come into their lives, injured, but with a fierce determination to get well, and Wynn tried his best to keep her safe, while she recovered. She wanted to find Toal MacMorgan, and vowed to kill him, but Toal the toad, as Orin called him, was not the only threat.
The pirates had captured both Kera and Vika, but the lasses kept their wits about them, and escaped. Wynn and Kera’s relationship grew through twists and turns, while Kera searched for her former lover’s killer, who turned out to be Toal. Toal attacked Kera, but Wynn would not let the bastard win. Unfortunately, Toal had slithered away like a snake.
Kera already knew how to shift into a human, since she had grown up among them, never realizing she had the ability to choose any form she saw. When she shifted into a golden dragon during a battle, and saved both Orin and Wynn from pirates, how could she not stay?
“You have found a mate, and Kera carries your bairn. What does she think of this plan to head to the village?”
“Kera grew up in that village. After her short visit, while assisting Orin to gather food and supplies, she feels homesick, and wishes to enjoy the festival of Beltane with the other humans. She has been away many years, and has begged me to join her there.”
“You wish to strut about as a human? I thought you and Kera planned to stay here while Evan flew Vika and Orin there.”
“The more Vika describes the food and entertainment, the more I yearn to make Kera happy by spending a few days among humans. What could it hurt?”
If Toal or the pirates showed their faces, more than humans could die. Dragons were not immortal. They had the ability to heal quickly, and their scales were thick shields against most weapons, but in human form, they were more vulnerable. While in human form, a pirate had stabbed Wynn in the back. He had survived until he could shift, and heal.
“If we walk about the village as humans, how can we protect the females?”
Below them, Evan strode from his cave in his human form, with an arm over Orin’s shoulder. They were probably discussing their plans for the ill-fated trip. Dougal’s gut churned anew. Something bothered him. Could it be a premonition? Orin be the one with so-called visions.
“Evan owns a sword he purchased from the blacksmith, and I have the dirk I acquired from a pirate,” Wynn said, a hint of pride in his voice.
“A dead pirate.”
Wynn nodded his great horned head. “Aye. Do you think Evan be asking the lad if he thinks there be anything to worry over?”
Whether the lad could see the future or not, their trip to the village was doomed. Dougal felt it in his gut. “This I do not know, but I cannot in good faith let any of you out of me sight. I be the leader of our clan, aye?”
“Never in question, brother. It might be best if you joined us. We can cover the cave openings with boulders, in case any pirates return. Vika would hate to have strangers tear apart her home, looking for treasure. They did it once--”
“I remember. If Kera had not taken Vika by the hand and pulled her into the underground river, they could have died, or worse.” When the women had disappeared from the cave in the midst of a brutal winter storm, and pirates had left tracks, Dougal had thought all their plans to repopulate their species had died.
Wynn grew quiet.
Dougal flapped his wing toward him, sending snow up Wynn’s nose. “The women had saved themselves, and taken down a few pirates for good measure, but more might head here, or toward the village. Taking precautions ‘tis wise.”
Wynn chuckled. “Aye, the females did us proud, acting like warriors, but both carry offspring, now. The future of our clan. Evan and I wish them to be happy, but we would feel better with an actual warrior watching over us. Do you fancy walking about as a human?”
Dougal sighed. He knew what they expected of him, but that did not mean he liked it. “Do you plan to fly to the village as dragons? Your green scales and Evans purple ones might be easily spotted.”
“And your red scales will not? Nay, we shall fly as close as we can, then shift, but Orin wishes to ride Evan’s horse shape. However, Evan does not wish to leave Vika’s side. Kera be barely showing, but Vika be round with her babe, and cannot walk all that distance.”
“Hmm, maybe I could try shifting into a horse. I like running through the woods on four legs, but me stag could never carry a human, or our clothing.” Over the course of the winter, Dougal had assisted Orin by bringing bundles of clothing from Vika and Orin’s farm. Other bits they found in the forests where humans had left them behind, or had died. Their choices ranged from leather trews, which covered their human legs and backsides and proved most comfortable during the heavy snows of winter, or plaides. Evan and Wynn had worn the long lengths of woven wool after Dougal had told them how. He’d witnessed a human clothe himself.
The naked human had folded the plaide into pleats, laid on his back on the material, and wrapped the wool around his waist. Dougal had shared how to take wide leather strips to hold the heavy wool around their hips, then pull the excess up and over one of their shoulders.
Boots in the correct size were impossible to scavenge. When the sleet and snow had stopped hammering them nearly every day, they had sent Orin to the village to purchase the leather coverings. Since Evan had chosen the form of a human male he once saw die in battle, both Wynn and he had copied his form, with variations. Wynn gave himself his same green eyes, but had hair as golden as dried meadow grass. Dougal chose the color of his wings for his hair. Solid black. As black as his soul.
“Why don’t you shift into a stallion and carry Orin and our clothing? I be sure the lad would be overjoyed. We need you, brother. We need you to act the warrior, carry Evan’s sword, and watch our backs.”
Dougal puffed out his chest, whipping his wings behind him. His mate had died because he hadn’t taken the time to warn her of approaching hunters. His neglect caused her death. He would not let that happen again.
Never!
He would ride like the wind, change into a human, and guard his family. He would do his best to survive the festivities, return unscathed to the Black Cuillin Hills and to his lonely cave until Vika’s bairn was born.
***
Happy to find the others long gone, Fiona closed her human eyes and lifted her face to the sun. Waiting for her human skin to dry, a slight breeze carried a chill, probably from the nearby sea. Opening her mouth, she tasted the salty tang and could smell the ocean mist.
She’d seen the ocean only once. The herd’s elders shared stories of many strange beasts, crashing waves, and icy waters so dark and deep one might sink and never surface again.
“If I were a dragon, I would fear nothing. Certainly not the sea,” She could fly to the shore and enjoy a swim, and maybe eat a beast or two. Did she dare attempt to shift into such a form? She’d peeked through the waterfall at the flying brute, but hadn’t seen enough of the beasty to make sure she copied the wings perfectly. There was no use shifting into something other than a deer, if she couldn’t fly.
“Well, I cannot travel to the village as a naked female.” The humans who traveled with the dragon had worn garments that covered most of their flesh. She’d watched hunters pass through their forest months earlier, before the heavy snows made travel impossible, and they had covered their bodies as well. It made sense. Her white fur kept her warm in any weather, but her human skin was not so protective from the elements. Winter was still evident in the snowy crags and chilled air.
Fiona stood, stretching her human limbs. She liked this body, but it reminded her of her dear friend, Cliona. Finding her and sharing whatever adventure had taken her from their herd was what drove her to travel close to these hills. Finding a dragon living nearby did nothing to ease her mind.
Her cheeks slowly heated, and she enjoyed the peaceful solitude. Turning her face away from the sun’s rays, she opened her eyes. The skin above her female breasts had taken on a red
dish tone.
The sun be burning me skin!
Leaping into the shadow of a rowan tree, she called on the shift. Bright light flashed through the tree branches, and the snap of bones transforming made her shudder with exquisite pleasure. When the shift was completed, and she stood among the trees as a white deer, she shook herself. Her fur was dry and still thick with its winter coat. Her hooves clicked on the rocky path edging the pool, and the spray from the waterfall beaded on her snout. She felt better, stronger, and less apt to trip while running away on two spindly human legs.
She hastened down the trail in the opposite direction from where the dragon and its two riders flew. They headed east toward the base of the mountains, and she headed west toward the village they’d mentioned. A party intrigued her, and if Cliona had heard about such festivities, Fiona might find her there. Cliona shared so much about the oddities of village life, and what humans did with each other. She had described buildings, beds, and lovemaking.
Cliona had also shared a secret with her, just before she’d disappeared. She’d told Fiona she carried a babe. Could that be why she wished to travel to a distant village and enjoy the festivities? Once her bairn arrived, Cliona would need to care for her fawn until it could survive on its own. There would be no time to frolic with humans.
She paused and sniffed the ground. Green shoots of new grass beckoned from the damp earth, where the sun had melted the snow. Drifts of the white stuff still existed, mainly in the shadows of trees and boulders. Spring was around the corner, and the meadows would soon fill with tall grasses dotted with fragrant white heather. The edge of the peat bog would soon erupt with bog rosemary and purple thistle.
The crisp, clear water of the fairy pool had invigorated her. She hadn’t felt this good in ages. The waterfall was the best indication that the snow had melted in the deeper ridges of the mountains. If the villagers planned to celebrate the coming of better weather, she wanted to be part of that.
Smolder (Clan of Dragons Book 3) Page 2