Rancher Dragon

by Terry Bolryder

  Deep inside, he knew he was still holding back. After so much time being at odds with his dragon, it was hard to not do so.

  If he went all out, if he really accessed the monster inside him, Beck feared he wouldn’t be able to control what happened, even though in his heart, he knew he could never do his mate ill, not for any reason, not for a million years.

  But as the basilisk advanced and TJ’s laughter got louder and closer, Beck braced himself for the worst, ready to fight to the end.

  He said he’d die defending his mate.

  Maybe he really would.

  23

  Sierra was shaking from head to toe as she watched the terrifying, gargantuan fight before her.

  But in spite of the rain, the elements, and the ground shaking like the earth was going to split in two at any moment, she wasn’t going to run from Beck’s side no matter what.

  She was grateful that TJ wasn’t touching her anymore. But now the coward was attacking Beck in the back while he had to fight that colossal… thing that had sprouted from the ground like some horned, spiked daisy out for murder.

  Sierra frowned, noting the blood covering Beck’s hide, the way he was limping on one leg. The basilisk seemed to note this, and it was taking its time closing in for the kill. Either out of hesitation or desire to enjoy itself, she had no clue.

  “You have no idea how much fun I’m having right now.” TJ appeared, ducking out of the clouds before spreading his wings and flying back up into them again. The rain was still pouring, but she didn’t care.

  Her whole world was fighting for his life right now. And even though she wished she could turn into some big beast and join his side, she was just human.

  But that didn’t mean she had to stand back and simply let Beck take a beating from a backstabber like TJ. Someone who had been pretending to be Beck’s friend while breaking him down his entire life and making him feel guilty for something that was never his fault.

  “Don’t listen to that butthead, Beck!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, praying he could hear her over the rain.

  Beck glanced over at her, worry in his beautiful silver eyes. His dragon was so cool, so big, the colors of granite and sandstone glittering across his scales. She wished she had more time to tell him that, tell him all the things she wanted to say since their argument, but she couldn’t.

  “You know why that guy hates you?” She cupped her hands to her mouth even as the wind blew so hard it nearly bowled her over. “Because you’re powerful. Because you’re strong. So much stronger than he’ll ever be.”

  “Shut up and watch while I bury this fool once and for all, pathetic human.” TJ’s voice was unhinged, but he stayed concealed in the clouds, probably waiting for the basilisk to attack so he could hit Beck in the back like a bully.

  But she didn’t stop even though forces much older, much stronger, much deadlier surrounded her on all sides. “You see? He wants you to be afraid of your power and not use it. Because he knows he could never win in a fair fight. So he’s had to cheat all these years. Lied to your face and made you feel like you didn’t have control when you really did.”

  The basilisk’s red eyes darted between the sky, Beck, and her, pausing as if confused by all the sudden talking. But even though the thing was clearly a horrible beast that had no business walking the face of the earth, Sierra wondered if there wasn’t something almost human about the way it looked down at her.

  Lightning cracked, close enough the rumble of it shook her to her toes, but she didn’t back down from a fight. It was something her grandpa had always taught her, and it was a lesson she didn’t aim to forget, especially now.

  “You can win. You can beat him. And not just because you’re a mountain dragon—which honestly sounds like the coolest dragon in the world—but because you’re all the things he isn’t, Beck.”

  Beck’s eyes looked over at her again, widening slightly as if surprised at her words.

  “You’re honest, kind, loyal—”

  “Shut up. Shut up!” TJ screeched as she saw his dragon darting between clouds, getting closer.

  She ignored him and focused on Beck. “Thoughtful, a good friend, an even better lover. You stood up for me when no one else would. You’ve never ever hurt a person unless they were going to hurt someone you loved first. Since the moment I met you, I’ve just been amazed at your strength and integrity. And if we make it out of this alive, I’m going to make sure you know I feel this way about you every day.”

  Beck finally smiled at her, and she saw resoluteness in his eyes she’d never seen before. A determined, peaceful look that made her sad for how long Beck had had to carry all these burdens alone.

  No longer.

  “So fight, Beck. Fight him! Fight for us.” She took in a breath so she could say the last part loudest. “Kick. His. Ass!”

  Beck’s grin was everything as she swore for the first time, and he turned to face the basilisk, who was starting to charge again, this time looking like it was ready to finish the job.

  But to Sierra’s utter surprise, Beck raised his head high in the air and roared so loud she clapped her hands over her ears as the earth shook.

  And then, by some unknown magic, she watched as his dragon started to get bigger. Taller. Out of his back, huge plates of stone started to grow like armor, covering his sides and legs and tail. More horns grew from his forehead until there were six long, gnarled spikes where there had been two. Meanwhile, his tail got larger and heavier, the end of it growing into the shape of a spiky wrecking ball made out of granite that was bigger than her house.

  In the back of her head, this somehow felt right. Like Beck’s dragon had been held back all along, hidden by the shame and doubt that TJ had planted there.

  Now his dragon was humongous, standing practically shoulder to shoulder with the basilisk. Not just larger, but better.

  “A giga dragon,” TJ uttered from somewhere, his voice lost on the wind.

  Now Beck was huge, ferocious, and looked like he was utterly unstoppable.

  Her Beck.

  Beck growled, the rumbling from his throat reaching her toes as he charged the basilisk head on. The basilisk, wary for a moment, answered the call and rushed forward as well, the earth shaking so hard as the two titans collided it almost knocked Sierra over on her butt.

  But she kept her eyes focused, unable to take her gaze off Beck as his horns rattled against the basilisk’s. For a moment, they struggled, then Beck twisted his head and pushed down, ramming the basilisk’s face into the mud as it bellowed in anger.

  “No, this can’t be happening!” TJ swooped down from the clouds, and Sierra cried out to warn Beck.

  But it wasn’t even needed. The rain dragon, much, much smaller by comparison now, hit Beck’s side like a fly hitting the windshield of a truck, not even moving Beck as he raked his claws over the back of the basilisk, tearing huge scales and caked earth off the beast’s back as blood oozed down its sides.

  TJ attacked again, hovering over Beck and swiping at him with his talons, but they didn’t even penetrate his hide, scraping and scratching wildly but doing no actual harm.

  Finally, Beck’s tail lifted, and the heavy boulder at the end slammed TJ with a thunderous whap, sending the blue and gray dragon careening back into the clouds from where he’d come like a baseball from the business end of a ten-ton bat.

  The basilisk, which had wriggled free from beneath Beck in the moment of respite, shook itself off and lunged at Beck with its horrible teeth. Beck, to her surprise, reared back, then slammed his forehead into the basilisk in a bone-shaking headbutt, the crack of their two heads resounding with a flash of bright lightning off in the distance.

  Stunned, the basilisk reeled back. Beck pressed his advantage, and he turned as his tail whipped around in a wide arc, slamming into the basilisk’s side, crashing through its spikes and splintering its thick scales. It hissed, growling in pain as it got knocked to one side then the other as Beck hit it again a
nd again until it was stumbling away, trying to avoid the flurry of blows from Beck’s huge tail.

  Sierra watched as the basilisk’s tail rose, and three huge spikes flew directly toward Beck. But Beck didn’t even flinch as the spikes ricocheted off his rocky exterior like arrows trying to pierce a concrete wall, and the basilisk’s eyes seemed to narrow in realization.

  “You get your ass back to where you came from before I end you,” Beck’s dragon bellowed, and the basilisk took another step back, hunched forward like a cornered lion.

  Then, with a roar, it turned tail and began to burrow into the earth, using its huge feet and long claws to move an unbelievable amount of earth and mud as it began to disappear into the ground. In moments, it was already half buried. And in even less time than that, its scaled, spiked back slid into the mud, disappearing entirely from sight.

  Sierra let out a long sigh of relief, making a note in her head to wonder if that basilisk was still going to be there later or if they ever showed up in the same place twice.

  But she didn’t have much time to think on it, as there was an angry, desperate screech from the sky.

  “If I can’t hurt your dragon, I can think of something much smaller and more vulnerable to hurt instead!”

  Beck just stood in front of Sierra like Lasso when guarding the front porch, watching the sky. A split second later, the rain dragon came diving down, headed directly for Sierra, and all her nerves clenched with the speed at which TJ moved.

  But Beck just raised his head to the sky and blew an arc of flame that filled the air above them, burning TJ and sending him falling to the earth. He tried to stay up, but he lost too much altitude, and he crashed into the ground, rolling and kicking up dirt before finally stopping, then disappearing from view completely.

  Immediately, the rain began to clear. The clouds began to dissipate, drifting away, and the deluge that had begun in mere moments dwindled to a light trickle.

  No more basilisks today, she thought hopefully.

  Unable to stand in one place anymore, her feet bolted toward Beck, carrying her as fast as she could go over the mushy ground. Beck, who’d watched TJ’s crash landing, turned to face her, looking exhausted and victorious and immediately happier as his eyes met hers.

  Shimmering sparkles of brown and gray filled the air as the dragon dissipated, leaving only Beck running toward her, hands outstretched.

  Her foot caught a particularly slippery spot, and she nearly tripped. But Beck’s arms were there in an instant, holding her close to him, his warmth making the cold of the rain and fear instantly melt into relief that they’d somehow made it.

  “You fought like a real beast out there. That was amazing,” she said, trying to catch her breath as the scent of Beck filled her nostrils.

  “You mean a monster?” he asked hesitantly, grey eyes still worried.

  She looked up seriously and placed both her hands on his face, his beard tickling her fingers and palms. “A monster who loves me and would do anything to protect me. A monster who I love with all my heart. A monster with the desire to protect the people he cares about. If that makes you a monster, then count me one as well!”

  He smiled at that, and he hugged her close. Sierra just relaxed into the feel of him. Above them, rays of light were beaming down through the opening clouds, causing bright rainbows to form ahead of them in the distance.

  Then there was a choked, pained sound off to their left, and they both looked to see TJ a short distance away, body half buried in mud, bloodied and beaten.

  “Speaking of actual monsters,” Sierra said, and Beck stood in front of her as they both moved forward to see his condition.

  His dragon gone, TJ just looked like the spiteful, angry, defeated person he always should have been if not for Beck’s kind heart and the fact that he’d trusted someone else rather than himself.

  Now that Beck had her, Sierra was never going to let Beck doubt himself again.

  TJ tried to stand, but his shaky arm slipped, causing him to fall on his back. His cold dark-blue eyes were full of rage still, moving from Beck to her before settling again on Beck.

  “Do it. Just finish me off,” TJ said.

  “You’re going to the proper authorities. They’ll deal with you,” Beck said calmly.

  “Ha!” TJ spat. “That’s just because you can’t. I know you can’t kill me.” He swiped at a bloody spot at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Because you’re weak. You’ve always been a weakling, and you’ll always be a weakling.”

  “He’s strong because he shows mercy. Because he protects rather than stabs people in the back.” Sierra spoke up.

  TJ grimaced sourly. “All that strength, and you didn’t want to rule. Or dominate. Or use your strength for anything more than helping stupid humans and tending your stupid, stupid ranch in the middle of nowhere. You people disgust me.”

  “You’re the one that’s disgusting,” Sierra said, but Beck’s arm around her calmed her a bit.

  Beck just gave TJ a sad, serious look. “So this is all you are in the end?”

  He just laughed, a dour, cynical sound. “Ha-ha-ha. Whatever happens to you, you have it coming because you’re so weak and pathetic. I’ll just come back as many times as it takes until I see you and your mate buried like I buried your friends under the mountain. I just need more time. More basilisks. Fancy fighting a dozen next time?”

  Beck frowned, and Sierra could see that whatever friendship he still had held out for TJ, whatever goodwill there had been between them, it was dead right then and there.

  TJ just kept ranting, pushing himself weakly to his feet. “You and your friends will never be safe. You’ll never be happy. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Beck called over to Sierra. “Sweetheart, look away. Just face toward the house and don’t look back here.”

  “You’re not a killer, Beck,” TJ said. “Even if I made you think you were.”

  Sierra could only hear him now as she turned away, but her heart was beating hard and painfully.

  Beck, the man she loved, the gentlest man she knew, was being placed in a horrible position.

  But if TJ lived, he’d bring the rain and more of those horrible creatures…

  “Even like this, I can kill everyone you love. I’ll never stop coming back. Never stop hating you. I can still make it rain—”

  Suddenly, there was a whizz of something sudden flying toward Beck and Sierra, followed immediately by a loud pop that sounded like a firework or a gunshot.

  Sierra froze in place, then slowly turned as shock flooded through her.

  Had someone just been shot?

  24

  For a moment, Beck thought he’d been shot as the bullet had whizzed into the clearing.

  He thought he’d fought that entire battle, survived the basilisk and TJ together, just to die from some stray bullet.

  But then he looked down at himself and saw that he was fine.

  Then he looked over at TJ, who was now facedown in a crumpled heap. Blood was pooling from his head, and Beck noticed a shot to the temple.

  He knew only one person who could make a shot like that from a range where no one could see him.

  The crazy bastard probably hadn’t even used a sight.

  “Clancy, get out here if that’s you!”

  Clancy strolled out from the tree line on the boundary that separated her from Dragonclaw Ranch, easily a few hundred feet away. Just a distant figure with a white Stetson, a lever-action rifle slung over his shoulder.

  Beck sighed in relief, glad to confirm it was his friend and not some other ridiculously accurate gunman out wandering the area.

  Clancy set his rifle in the grass and jogged to Beck, clearing the distance in record time.

  He reached Beck at the same time Sierra did. Beck quickly wrapped her in his arms and kept turned her away from the carnage.

  “Don’t look,” he said.

  Beck heard Clancy walk to TJ, and the grass rustled as Cla
ncy knelt down, probably to check that everything was final.

  In truth, Beck knew he should grieve his old friend, but his heart was cold. It had lost all love he might have had for TJ when he attacked his mate and threatened his friends.

  And when he found out that TJ had killed innocents. All as part of his obsessive plan to make Beck miserable.

  As Beck held Sierra, he knew TJ had almost succeeded. And that thought haunted him to the bone.

  But then he stroked her hair back and kissed her, and warmth filled him, making him realize he hadn’t failed this time.

  He had protected the people he cared about.

  All because she believed in him.

  “Thank you, sweetheart,” he said. “You knew just what to say to me.”

  She rubbed his back, burying her face in his chest and holding on tight. “I had to help however I could. I think I’d die if you died.”

  He tilted her chin gently so he could stroke away the tears that had welled up on her cheeks. “It’s okay, honey. It’s all going to be okay now.”

  “Your friend,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I would have killed him if I had to,” Beck said, brushing her hair back and just treasuring her face in the bright moonlight now that the rain had passed.

  Now that everything could heal.

  Beck looked over to see Clancy had covered TJ’s body with his jacket and was looking down at him, shaking his head.

  “I never liked the guy, but never thought I’d have to kill him,” Clancy said solemnly. He gave Beck a half-smile. “Still, I never hesitate to put down what needs puttin’ down.”

  Beck nodded gratefully to Clancy. “He needed it. What were you doing out here?”

  Clancy cocked his head. “Harrison said to keep an eye on you since you didn’t come back after your talk. I figured you’d just be out drunk flying, but when I got here, you were already finishing the fight. I woulda helped, but I didn’t want to risk your mate, bringing my dragon out.”