Pieces

by Shannon Pemrick

  I nodded and the two of us followed the soldier to the entrance of the park. We waited as he filled out two passes and I thanked him before the two of us went on our way.

  The two of us were quiet for several blocks until Raikidan determined we were in the clear. “How are you feeling?”

  “Don’t tell him.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Stay away from him.”

  I shook my head. “There’s an advanced healing ability that allows one person to transfer spiritual energy to another to help with their low spiritual store, but I don’t know it, nor do I know how to teach it to someone. Just means I’m going to have to recover it slowly,”

  “How long will that take?”

  I shrugged. “Couple hours. A day. I’ve never depleted my spiritual energy store this bad before, so I don’t know.”

  “You shouldn’t have pushed yourself so hard.”

  “Don’t let him scold you. He’s not your father.”

  I shrugged again. “I did what needed to be done.”

  He shook his head. “You’re insane.”

  I smirked. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  My smile faded when Xye caressed the back of my shoulder with the back of his finger.

  I sighed and pulled away. “Xye, don’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  I looked at him. “You know why.”

  He sighed. “Laz, just give me a chance.”

  “I told you I’m not interested.”

  “Why not? I care about you, Laz. You know I do. You know I’d never hurt you. Why can’t you give me a chance?”

  “Xye…” I looked away. “I can’t. I can’t see you as more than a friend.”

  Raikidan chuckled. “With you, it’s hard to tell.” He then held out his hand. “Let me carry your bow.”

  “I got it.”

  “Eira, let me help.”

  “You don’t need help,” the voice said.

  “Raikidan, it’s fine.”

  He stopped walking. “Hop on my back then. I’ll carry you.”

  “Don’t be pathetic,” the voice said.

  “I don’t need to be carried.”

  “I either carry the bow or you. Your choice.”

  I snorted. “I’m choosing neither.”

  He grinned and then grabbed me by the waist. “Then I’ll choose.”

  I tried not to laugh as he hauled me over his shoulder. “Rai, stop!”

  “Nope, I’m choosing and I’m going to carry you.”

  “Not like this!”

  “Then how?”

  My face burned when I realized I had just partially agreed to this. “Carry me on your back or something like a civilized intellectual being. Not in a way that a caveman would.”

  Raikidan grinned. “So in my arms?”

  I lifted up the bow as best I could. “I will hit you.”

  He chuckled and put me down before kneeling lower. “Hop on my back then.”

  I sighed and complied. When I was securely situated on his back, Raikidan stood back up and continued on.

  “Better?” he asked.

  “You’re pathetic,” the voice insulted.

  “No,” I muttered. I then rested my head on his shoulder when fatigue flooded over me. “Maybe… thank you.”

  He chuckled. “You should learn to lean on others when you need it.”

  I kept running. It’s what I knew best. It’s what I knew that kept everybody safe. I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Not for me. Not for anyone else. This was the only way for me to live now. Never again would I live alongside others. Never again would I hurt another. Never again would I let my guard down even for a second. Never again would I let someone in. Never again would I allow someone to hurt me.

  “The way I do things is fine.”

  “Eira, you can lean on me when you need to,” he said. I eyed him suspiciously and he glanced at me. “Trust me, and ask for my help when you need it.”

  “You can’t trust him.”

  I let my bow slide down my hand a little and then pointed the tip at his throat. “Don’t get weird and sappy on me.”

  “I’m being genuine, Eira. Trust me more.”

  I looked away. “Let’s get home so I can rest.”

  He sighed and continued on, leaving me to think on whether I could actually start trusting him or not. A part of me wanted to. It wanted to be able to be able to rely on someone again. The other part, it knew better. It had learned from the past.

  Chapter 5

  Iglanced up from where I was reading and watched the boys. The three of them were spread out across the living room, tossing a football around. None of us could convince them to go outside or down stairs to play, and with the limited seating in the kitchen, I had to read standing up.

  I could read in my room, but today I didn’t want to seclude myself. Raikidan, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit thrilled by the idea of possibly being hit by the leather ball, and chose to hide.

  Keeping my eye on them, I went back to reading, though it was more like learning than anything. I hadn’t been able to find anything more on dragons like I had hoped I would. And although I couldn’t admit it to Raikidan, I was curious about his kind. Everything he had told me about them perked my interest more and more, even though I knew I should ignore all that.

  Sadly, I had been unable to find anything, so I settled with brushing up on the Elvish language for no real reason at all.

  Air rushed past me as Argus dove for the football. I wanted to roll my eyes and sigh. Boys were so weird. I couldn’t see how they got enjoyment from throwing a ball around, especially if they ended up getting hurt in some way while doing so. It was like each ounce of pain made it that much more fun to do.

  I glanced up as Raikidan walked past me and made his way into the kitchen. He came back out, an apple in hand, and headed for my bedroom again, but he didn’t go that far. Instead he stopped when he was in front of me and turned to face me. “I don’t understand why you’re insisting on standing and reading when there are plenty of places to sit in safer locations from your friends’ strange choice of fun.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Maybe I enjoy standing and reading.”

  He grasped the book and took it from me. “Maybe you should choose a more normal activity.”

  I stomped my foot. “Raikidan, give that back!”

  He chuckled. “Why should I? Maybe I want to read now.”

  I reached for the book, but he pushed me back and placed one hand on the wall beside me, partially boxing me in, while holding my book just out of my reach with his other hand. “Raikidan…”

  “Can’t you learn—”

  “Watch out!” Blaze exclaimed.

  Raikidan’s body crashed into mine and my eyes widened in shock. His lips were warm and soft as they touched mine and my cheeks and ears burned. His eyes were as wide as mine as I was forced to stare into them.

  “Oh, shit…” Argus stated as he moved away. “I didn’t mean to crash into you guys.”

  “Did you make them kiss?” Blaze asked, too interested in the idea.

  Raikidan, now free of Argus’ weight, slowly pulled away. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to feel angry or embarrassed. In the end I chose the first emotion. Regaining some composure and the ability to move, I grabbed Raikidan by the shirt and threw him to the side. I let my angry gaze rest on Blaze.

  “Shit. You might want to start running, Blaze,” Rylan advised.

  “Why me?” he exclaimed.

  “Either because of your comment or, more realistically, she knows you were the one who threw the ball,” Rylan said.

 
“How would she know I did it?”

  “You’re the one who yelled out and you’re the one at the exact angle Argus would need to be at to run into Raikidan!” I seethed. I yanked out a dagger from its sheath and spun it in my fingers.

  Blaze backed up a little. “Now, now, Eira. Let’s not get rash. It was an accident. I swear it!”

  “I don’t give a damn!”

  “Eira, it’s not that bad. It was just a small kiss. No harm to it.” I snarled and he backed up more. “You can’t seriously tell me you didn’t like it even a little.”

  “I’m going to cut you into pieces while you’re still alive. Then I’ll feed you piece by piece to the crows.”

  Blaze gulped and bolted to the staircase of the front door. Not wasting any time following him that way, I jumped over the couch and slipped through the open window. As I propelled myself over the railing of the small balcony, I watched Blaze bolt out the front door and hang a right to avoid running into me. Once my feet hit the ground, I was running after him. I’d make him regret this.

  I slammed the front door shut and stormed up the stairs. I had almost caught Blaze, but he managed to escape and then disappear into a huge crowd of people. I tried to find him by his scent, but there were too many mingling scents to find him. It didn’t help that Blaze’s own scent was constantly masked by the lingering scents of multiple women, making it hard to find him on his own in the first place.

  Once I reached the top step, I was met with several pairs of eyes. No one spoke to me, but since I didn’t have blood on me, they more than likely assumed I hadn’t caught Blaze. Raikidan looked up at me from where he sat at the bar but lowered his gaze back down to look at his bowl of cereal. I averted my gaze from him as well. At least we were on the same page of awkwardness, but that didn’t make me feel better. It actually made me feel worse. I didn’t want this feeling. I didn’t like it. I wasn’t even sure if it was a real feeling, or just me being unsure about how to react to such a situation.

  I headed to my room and slammed the door shut. I needed to be alone. I couldn’t be around anyone who would be a risk of asking unwanted questions or be around Raikidan. I needed to calm down first before I could be around him again.

  I jumped onto my bed and snuggled into my pillows. They were so soft and comfortable I couldn’t resist. Snuggling into them always made me feel a little better. I growled when the front door opened and closed. If I hadn’t been so comfortable, I would have thundered out there and tried to go after Blaze a second time.

  “Don’t worry, Blaze. Laz is in her room,” Rylan informed him.

  “All right good,” he replied. “If she’s comfortable, she won’t come out and chase me again.”

  “And here I thought you liked women chasing you,” Ryoko teased.

  “That’s a different kind of chase, Ryoko,” Blaze shot back. “Eira’s chase was the crazy-killer chase that I definitely hate.”

  Ryoko laughed at him. “Serves you right, though. You should have been more careful. And you should have been smarter about choosing your words.”

  “Whatever.” He brushed off her words without a moment’s hesitation. “So, Raikidan, how does it feel to be the only guy to ever kiss her?”

  The only reply he received was the barstool screeching as Raikidan pushed back and a ceramic bowl lifting off the granite counter. The door to the roof opened and slammed shut soon after, and Raikidan stomped up the stairs. At least I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to deal with Blaze or want the topic to continue.

  I sighed and buried my face deeper into the pillows. Day, will you just end, please? I want to not have to deal with these strange feelings anymore. I don’t want to remember this happened.

  I knew I’d remember. No matter how much I wanted to forget, I would never be able to. Although what had happened shocked me, I was also shaken by the rush of feelings that came with it. I didn’t like any of them, and all I wanted was for them to go away. I groaned.

  Just go away already and let me be the lonely, emotionless freak I am!

  It was dark, damp, and hard to see where I was walking, but I followed him. He wanted to show me something. He told me to follow him, so I was.

  “Raikidan, where are we going?” I asked.

  He looked back at me. Even in the darkness, I could tell he was giving me his famous cocky grin. “I told you, you’ll see when we get there. Now keep following me.”

  I groaned. “I can barely see where I’m walking in this stupid cave. How do I know you’re not lost?”

  He chuckled. “Because you trust me, and you trust me to know where I’m going.”

  I smiled. I did trust him. He gently tugged me closer with the light grip he had on my wrist, and I didn’t fight him as he led me through the tunnel.

  The more we walked, the lighter the tunnel became, allowing me to make out the smoothness of the carved stone and Raikidan’s face, creased with determination. His grip was strong but tender and almost felt protective. My heart skipped a beat but I didn’t understand why.

  The tunnel became even brighter, and I noticed a bright light ahead of us. Raikidan flashed a grin my way and quickened his pace but I struggled to keep up. Whatever that light was, it was what he had been wanting to show me this whole time. It was the reason I had been following him so blindly.

  He turned and faced me just before we walked into the light. He smirked and let his grip on my wrist loosen until he held my hand. He grasped my other and pulled me into the light. The light was bright, and I had to close my eyes to protect them.

  “Open your eyes,” he encouraged. I hesitated. I didn’t want to be blinded. “It’s all right. Open them.”

  Slowly I did as he instructed. I stared in awe at the sight before me. I stood on a ledge at the lip of the cave that looked over the most amazing landscape I had ever seen. But what made it the most beautiful was the sunset. Its red and orange rays blanketed the sky and turned the clouds pink.

  “What do you think?” he whispered in my ear.

  I turned to look at him. “You brought me here to see this?” He grinned and I looked out across the landscape once more. “It’s beautiful.”

  He chuckled. “Just like you.”

  I spun around to look at him and my eyes widened when his hand cupped my chin and his lips claimed mine. Soft, warm, and inviting, my body warmed from the contact and I could find no part of me that wanted to push him away. I kissed him back.

  Suddenly, his lips parted into a grin and then a sharp pain shot through my back. Blood rushed into my throat, and my body became stiff and unresponsive.

  Raikidan chuckled. “You’re such a fool.”

  I swallowed some blood. “W–why? Why… would you—”

  “Why would you trust me? What type of fool trusts a dragon?”

  I watched him pull away from me, and I watch helplessly as my body fell and hit the ground with a sickening thud. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel.

  He chuckled again. “Any attempt to get up will be futile. While you were so distracted with the trivial scenery, I stole your dagger, which is now in your back.”

  I gulped. “Why?”

  “Why not?” He snickered. “I have no attachments to you or your friends. I’m sick of helping you without getting anything in return. Zarda was right to want to throw you away. You really are a worthless failure.”

  The sound of ripping clothing enveloped my ears, and his breath become stronger and deeper. I watched as his dragon body wrapped around me in the tiny space. He looked me in the eye. I saw no sadness—no regret. I could only see my reflection and the hurt and betrayal that reflected in my eyes. Then, in a blink of an eye, he took to the skies. He didn’t look back. He didn’t speak in his tongue—just left me to die.

  I was alone with a great emptiness aching in my chest as the sun bec
ame a mere sliver. I wanted to yell—to scream out in frustration. But worst of all, I wanted to cry.

  The coldness from the stone floor seeped into my skin and my blood trickled out of my back and mouth. With the sun now gone, it would be only a matter of time before I’d be dead. I really was a fool. How could I have been so stupid to believe he could be one of us? That I could trust him? Where did I go wrong?

  All I had ever wanted was to have my freedom. All I wanted was to be able to live a normal life like everyone else. Why did he have to do this? He had the choice to let me die before. He had the choice to not offer to help. He could have left whenever he wanted if he no longer wished to help. What did he gain from doing this to me?

  Slow, steady footsteps approached me. My eyes darted about, but the darkness prevented me from seeing anything. “Such a shame.”

  The voice belonged to a woman. Her voice was as smooth as silk, but I could taste the venom on the tip of her tongue. I knew who this woman was.

  “You thought you could trust him? I thought you learned that men weren’t to be trusted. I thought you were smart enough to learn from the past.”

  I spat out some blood. “Have you come here to mock me?”

  “Did you honestly think you could have your greatest desire?” she hissed as she walked around me—her warmth teasing my cold skin. “Are you that much of a fool to think we can have such a heaven?”

  I saw a small ember spark in the darkness that soon became a flame. The woman held it close to her face, illuminating her features. She was me, but she also wasn’t. Her eyes were cold and filled with hatred and mistrust. But most of all, they were filled with pain.

  “Did you really think he could give us what we wanted? Did you honestly think life would allow us to have that?” She spat on the ground. “We were not made to be happy. We were made to kill. We cannot be happy. We cannot feel. We cannot be like everyone else. There is no one we can trust. We are no more than tools, and once our use is over, we are worthless. No one wants us and no amount of hoping will ever change that.”

  “You’re… lying,” I breathed.