by Susan Illene
“What the…?” My jaw dropped.
With his free hand, he rubbed the wound, smearing blood across his forehead. He hardly winced. How could he still be alive?
“Tough skull,” he answered.
I aimed at his chest and fired several more shots. Aidan jerked and grunted, but he didn’t fall or let go of Conrad. What the hell kind of clothing did the dragon shape-shifter have on? Other than some indents in the material it appeared unharmed.
“Are you finished?” he asked.
I glared at him.
“Put your gun away and I’ll let your friend go.”
“What if I don’t believe you?” I asked.
“He’s got minutes before I’ll burn through his neck. Are you willing to take that chance?”
I hesitated but lowered it.
His eyes narrowed. “I do not wish to see it at all.”
Gritting my teeth, I tucked it into the back of my pants. Aidan released his grip, letting Conrad fall to the floor. I rushed over and kneeled next to him as he crouched on his hands and knees, gasping for air. His throat hadn’t been burned through, but his normally dark skin was pink with pus from where Aidan had gripped him. The burns looked similar to touching a hot pan for too long. It took Conrad a minute to catch his breath. I rubbed his shoulder, not knowing what else to do.
“Was that really necessary?” I glowered up at Aidan. If only I could have shot daggers through my eyes and killed him where he stood.
“This was your first lesson,” he replied, digging into a black pouch hanging from his belt.
“My first what?”
Aidan withdrew a vial and held it out. I ignored it.
“Never hesitate to attack an enemy if he’s threatening you or your friends,” he said in a cold voice. “And bullets don’t work on dragons. Don’t waste your time shooting at them.”
“You couldn’t have just told me that?” I felt my temper rising and stood up. “He is my friend!”
“And you risked his life by hesitating.”
I poked a finger into Aidan’s chest. “If you ever touch him again, so help me God I will rip your balls off and shove them down your throat until you choke on them. See how that works out for you.”
He lifted his brows. “I’m a dragon. How can you be certain I have…balls?”
I took a step back and almost stumbled into a row of shopping carts. My mouth opened and shut as I searched for a response.
“Well, uh, you’re in a human body, so I’d assumed…”
He laughed. The asshole almost doubled over he laughed so hard. The sound of it echoed throughout the cavernous store, mocking me. Glad I could amuse a dragon at my expense.
“I’ll just leave you to wonder about that,” he said, after he regained his composure.
“I was being serious.”
“I’m certain you were,” he said, a hint of humor in his voice.
Note to self—come up with better threats for dragons.
“Your English has improved a lot in the last week,” I remarked.
“I’ve known your language for some time, but rarely used it until recently.” He shrugged. “And I’m a fast learner when I choose to be.”
“Remind me to give you a gold star the next time we meet. What is that?” I indicated the vial.
“A cream that will help your friend heal faster. We keep it around in case one of our humans gets burned.”
“Your humans?” I gave him accusatory look. What were they doing with humans?
“Do you want it or not?”
“This better not hurt him,” I said, swiping it from his hand. Poor Conrad was starting to get control of his wheezing, but he was still on all fours on the tile floor.
Aidan snorted, letting loose a puff of steam from his nose. “If I truly wanted to make him suffer I wouldn’t have let him go.”
Maybe, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I popped the cork and dabbed a bit of the gel-like substance onto my fingertips. It was thick and brownish with no discernible smell to it.
“What’s in this?” I asked.
“You don’t trust me?”
I lifted my brows. “What was your first clue?”
Conrad pushed off the floor while keeping one hand protectively over his throat. His legs wobbled and he grabbed a nearby checkout stand for balance. An almost unintelligible croak came from his mouth when he tried to speak, but I was fairly certain he’d meant to say “motherfucker.” He glared at Aidan as if he plotted the shape-shifter’s demise and it would involve something very painful.
Did I take the chance and put the cream on him? So far it hadn’t hurt my skin, but neither did Aidan’s touching me. Maybe the gel substance wouldn’t, either. What if I put it on Conrad and it made him worse?
“I do not have time for this.” Aidan jerked the vial from my grip and stepped in front of Conrad, barring pointed teeth. “Put the damn cream on your neck if you know what’s good for you.”
“—uck you,” came Conrad’s mangled response.
Aidan cocked his head. “Scared? I’m disappointed after your little show of bravery a few minutes ago.”
Conrad flipped out his hand. Aidan dropped the vial into his palm and took a step back. Keeping a watchful eye on the shape-shifter, Conrad popped the cork and put a dollop on his fingers. He muttered a few more garbled cuss words as he examined the cream.
He looked at me with a question in his eyes and I shrugged. Neither of us could know if it was a good idea or not. He let out a ragged sigh and dabbed a bit on his throat. His eyes widened in surprise. He started rubbing it all over the burns as fast as he possibly could, arching his neck to reach the hollows easier. His eyes closed with pleasure.
I moved closer, trying to spot any visible changes.
“Give it until tonight,” Aidan said next to me. “He’ll be fully healed.”
Conrad finished, the pain gone from his eyes, and let me take the vial from him.
“Will this work on other kinds of wounds?” I asked, examining the cream with renewed interest.
“No. Only burns.”
Damn. It would have been nice to have a miracle cure on hand.
“How are you feeling?” I addressed Conrad.
“Better,” he answered in a hoarse voice.
“I’m sorry about this.” I gave him an apologetic look. “Do you want to wait for me in the truck? I should be out there in a few minutes.”
He shook his head. “We got all these groceries. Might as well load them up.”
“Are you sure you’re up for it?” I asked.
The burns on his neck were starting to lose their redness, proving the gel really did work, but I hated to let him do anything strenuous right away.
“I can handle it. Just be careful around him.” Conrad jerked his chin at Aidan.
He might be talking like he’d smoked for fifty years, but least the fight hadn’t gone out of him. That had to be a good sign.
“I will,” I promised. “If all else fails I’ll smack him in the nose. That hurt him the last time I saw him.”
Hesitating for a moment, Conrad headed toward the carts we’d filled earlier. More than once he looked back at us as if he thought Aidan would attack me without anyone around to stop him. Finally, he grabbed the first cart and wheeled it out of the store. I had to hope no more people or dragons showed up while he was out there. I moved closer to the windows to keep an eye on him.
“Why are you here, Aidan?” I asked, keeping my gaze trained outside.
“I’d hoped you’d survive this long. When I caught your scent I came here to speak with you,” he replied.
He caught my scent? I resisted the urge to sniff at my armpits. I’d just taken a sponge bath that morning and couldn’t have smelled that bad. “What do you want?”
He brushed up next to me. Together we watched Conrad slowly load the groceries onto the back of my truck. I really needed to go out there and help him, but until I got rid of Aidan that wasn’t going to be
possible.
“I wish to train you.”
“Train me?” I cast him a sideways glance. “For what?”
“You’re a dragon slayer. You’re unskilled, but you have the potential to become a great fighter.”
I backed away a couple of steps, laughing. “Have you looked at me? There’s no way someone my size can take on a dragon. I’m not any kind of slayer.”
Aidan turned to face me. From beneath lowered lashes, he ran his gaze slowly down my body in a way that made me think he saw past my t-shirt and jeans to what was hidden beneath. I crossed my arms, pretending to be cold despite the rising heat from the afternoon sun pouring through the windows. If his undivided attention happened to have sent a thrill through me, I would have died before admitting it.
“Yes, you are a slayer, and size isn’t everything,” he said in a husky tone. “It’s how you use what you have.”
“That’s what she said.”
A few seconds of silence passed, then his lips twitched. “At least you won’t be boring.”
Yeah, because my secret goal in life was to amuse him. “I still don’t see how I could possibly take on a dragon.”
His expression turned serious. “Allow me to teach you and you’ll find it’s quite possible.”
“Why would you want to teach me?” I threw my hands up. “Wouldn’t that mean you’d have to give away the secrets for how to kill you, too?”
Aidan turned his head to stare out the window. “Our coming here has changed things. There are power struggles among the dragon clans you don’t understand, but they will affect humans as well. If you allow me to train you, then you’ll learn about them and learn why it would be wise to work with me.”
“Give me an example,” I suggested. Might as well get a few tidbits of information out of him. It could be useful on the chance we never got rid of the dragons.
“You just witnessed what Mirrikh did with those people out there. He is among the worst of the pure dragons, but there are others who enjoy humans as well. The only clan you do not have to fear eating humans is mine. Shape-shifters would never do such a thing since we can take your form as well. We are meat-eaters, but we are not…” he paused, brows furrowed as if in thought, “cannibals.”
I mulled that over. “What you’re saying is you want a dragon slayer who can side with your clan against the others?”
“More specifically, I want you to ally with me, but we can get into the reasons for that later. The important thing to remember is I can help you in ways you cannot help yourself.”
I studied the ceiling and tapped my chin. “And how would this work? Would your clan just allow me to come stay with them while I train?”
He cleared his throat. “No. Other than my cousin who you saw at our first meeting, none of my people will know we are working together. We will train you away from anyone who may see us.”
I frowned. What was he up to if he didn’t want his clan knowing about me?
“And Conrad?” I indicated the man wheeling out the second grocery cart.
“You must swear him to secrecy if you wish him to live. Neither humans nor dragons can know about our alliance for now.” He paused. “It is too dangerous.”
“And where will we train?”
I caught the faint outline of a green dragon flying through the clear sky. It was too far away to worry about yet, but Aidan’s shoulders tensed when he saw him.
“This road here…it is called Lindsey Street?” he asked, waiting for my nod before he continued. “Follow it east. There will be a point where it ends, veering to the north, but it begins again along 84th Avenue. Keep going east toward the lake until the road ends with a red sign. Wait for me there. I will check each day around mid-afternoon to see if you’ve come.”
“You can read English, too? Did you learn that from your humans as well?” I asked.
“Yes. They live and work amongst my clan.”
I put my hands on my hips. “And where did they come from?”
“We did not steal them if that’s what you are worried about,” he said, his yellow eyes narrowing. “They began crossing into our world more than two decades ago. We merely offered them sanctuary from the pure dragons.”
Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. I had no way to disprove anything he said—for now.
I decided it was best to get back on topic. “You do realize the place you want to meet has got to be at least nine or ten miles from here. Even driving, there’s a chance I could be attacked along the way.”
“My clan has claimed that section of the lake and the area around it. There is still some risk until you reach our territory, I admit, but that is the safest place for us to train. I suggest you go by foot so that you might stay under cover as much as possible. You’ll need the exercise to get stronger, anyway.”
“Uh, no, forget it.” I shook my head. “I don’t know you or trust you. There’s no way I’m going to a secluded place outside of town to train alone with you.” He was crazy to even think I’d go along with the idea.
A look came over his eyes, almost like he pitied me. “It is your choice, of course. The amount of training you require means I need you willing, but I hope you will consider it. Every day the pure dragons will continue to destroy this city and kill its human inhabitants. There is nothing that can stop them except my clan and born slayers such as yourself.”
I studied the tile floor with its dried mud footprints covering it. Some people must have looted the store soon after the last big storm. There weren’t employees around to clean it up anymore—probably never again.
“There’s no way I can make that big of a difference,” I whispered
Aidan clasped his fingers around my arm. His touch was hot, but it didn’t burn me like it did Conrad. “I’m not saying my plan will be easy. In fact, it could take a long time to execute fully, but it will work if you follow me.” He let go and stepped away. “I’ll give you time to think about it, but don’t wait too long.”
He turned and left, exiting the store without a backward glance. As soon as he made it out to the parking lot he lit up on fire. In another minute, the flames died down to reveal a solid red dragon with wings spanning eight to ten feet on either side of him. He took off into the air, veering west. I watched him leave not knowing what to think of him.
“So that guy really is a dragon,” Conrad said in disbelief, coming up behind me. “How in the hell did you get mixed up with him? They’ve been here for what? A minute—and you’re already friends with one?”
His voice wasn’t hoarse anymore. I glanced back at him and noticed his neck burn was hardly noticeable. Guilt still ate at me for him getting hurt in the first place, but I needed to impress on him that he had to keep this incident to himself.
“He’s not a friend and nobody can know about this.”
“Oh, I ain’t trying to tell anybody what I just saw.” Conrad shook his head. “Can they all shift between being a dragon or human?”
“No—only the red ones. The green dragons can’t change.”
We started walking toward my truck.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” he asked.
“For one, I wasn’t sure if anyone would believe me. And even if they did, they might freak out and think I was in league with them or something. Second, I didn’t want the attention because it’s more complicated than you know.”
We reached the truck and settled inside.
Conrad was silent until I pulled onto the road. “What are you not telling me?”
“Aidan says I’m a born dragon slayer.”
He laughed, looked at me, then laughed some more. It had been funny when I’d first heard it too, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it was true. The willingness to take on dragons when they first invaded and again when the man-eater showed up in the parking lot were indicators Aidan didn’t lie. For the last two weeks, I’d been trying to figure out why all my self-preservation went out the window when I saw
one. Now I had an answer—if I chose to accept it.
Conrad finally calmed down. “What made him think you’re a dragon slayer?”
“Their fire doesn’t burn me.”
His eyes widened. “No, shit?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s what really happened to your pants that first day, isn’t it?” He paused. “Was Aidan the one who tried to burn you?”
“It was a green dragon that tried to burn me. Aidan came along and killed it,” I explained. “That’s when I first met him.”
“I think you’re gonna have to start this story from the beginning.”
This was going to be a long drive back to the library.
Chapter 12
Aidan
“How did it go?” Donar asked, flying toward Aidan.
“She’s not ready yet, but she will be.” Mirrikh’s timely display would leave an impression on her. Not that Aidan condoned eating humans, but if anything could convince Bailey to join his cause, a cannibalistic dragon would be it.
Donar angled his head. “She doesn’t trust you yet, does she?”
“We have met twice. That’s hardly enough to inspire confidence.” His tone came out disgruntled. The dragon spirit inside him stirred, joining in Aidan’s displeasure.
He dropped down low to skim above the trees. It required more concentration than flying in the open, giving him an excuse not to speak to his cousin. He’d known bringing Bailey to his side wasn’t going to be easy, but with each day that passed the danger grew. At best, his father had a year left. After that, chaos would reign within his family. He needed time to train Bailey and push out the pure dragon clans before that happened.
The clan Taugud fortress came into view up ahead. It had crossed over from the other world a week ago during one of the ground tremors, most of his missing brethren coming with it. The castle arrived intact, but the outer walls and a few small structures inside were damaged during the transition. The stone masons had been working day and night to make the necessary repairs. Already, Aidan could see an improvement.