Once in the kitchen, I busied myself with making the coffee, glancing at Aer from the corner of my eye. He sat at the table, looking around at the much-changed kitchen. Mom had gone from blue paisley prints for the curtains to lighthouses on a green and white checkerboard. The island once separating the room into two halves was gone, and a small oak table served as the eating space.
I set up the coffee, flipped the switch on the side, turned, and leaned against the counter. I folded my arms across my chest and cocked my head to the side. Since he seemed unable to start the conversation I created an opening. “So..."
"So,” he echoed. “First, I think I owe you an apology. I never meant to hurt you, Phi."
I resisted a smile at that. He was the only person who ever called me Phi and the only person I would let get away with it. The fact that he used it now wiped away my earlier upset and told me he still thought of me as a friend even if I wanted more.
"Yeah, well you did a pretty good job of it. You just disappeared, Aer. I thought something had happened to you. Like you joined a witness protection program or got some chick pregnant and ran off with her.” Please don't let it be that. Anything but that.
He lowered his gaze, looking at his hand, which rested on the table playing with the tablecloth. I loved his hands. They weren't big, bulky hands. His fingers were long and slender. I glanced at his left hand. No ring. A tiny bit of hope flamed in me. At least it wasn't the “ran off and married some chick” scenario. He seemed sad now, or was it worried.
"Did something happen to you?” I asked, pushing off the counter and moving to sit in a chair across from him.
"No,” he replied. “Nothing happened to me, at least not then."
"Then why? Did I do something wrong?” I spoke haltingly, afraid of the answer. What if I had done something? What if he'd caught some hint of my hidden feelings and bolted? I waited, holding my breath.
He looked at me again, meeting my gaze now. I couldn't read the expression in his violet eyes. Strange, I'd thought his eyes were deep chocolate brown. How had I not noticed they were this striking violet? And his hair, it actually was blue, a very dark blue.
"Hell no,” he said forcefully, reaching to put a hand over mine. “Phi, you were, and I hope still are, my best friend."
I swallowed around the lump that had risen in my throat and nodded. Why did that sound like a preface to something awful? “Of course I am. I'm pretty pissed, but I'm still your friend, Aer.” Why did the word “friend” sound like a dirty word?
He gave me a quick smile and then sat back, removing his hand from mine. “I left because I was afraid."
I frowned. “Afraid of what?"
He didn't answer. The scent of coffee filled the room and with it anger returned. “Fine, if you aren't here to tell me why you ditched your best friend, then why are you here?"
I saw a flash of anger in his eyes, a hint of his quicksilver temper, which was good because I didn't like this quiet Aer. “Damn it, Phi, I'm trying here. This isn't easy for me."
"Whatever,” I grumbled, standing. “You still like it black?"
He snorted. “Yeah."
I poured two cups of coffee and returned to the table. We sat in silence again, each staring at our steaming cup of coffee. “Go on,” I prompted.
"I came for two reasons. I need your help and ... I needed to see you again."
One part of me, the logical part, latched onto the first reason, but my heart latched onto the second. My indecision only made me angrier.
"Aer, don't make me get the bat again. Tell me why you're here. Are you in trouble with the police or something?"
He laughed, a little nervously. “If only it were the police. No, it's something worse, and I'm not so sure you'll understand."
I took a careful drink of the still steaming coffee. “Try me."
He downed his coffee in one gulp, which made me wince, knowing how hot it was. He stood, and I followed his movements as he began to pace the kitchen. I'd never seen him like this. Angry yes, but never this nervousness. What had happened to him? I wanted more information but managed to keep my mouth shut. Whatever it was he wanted to tell me, it was obvious he was having a hard time with it, so I waited, sipping my coffee.
Finally, he stopped pacing and turned to face me. “Here goes. I have to warn you, showing you this can carry heavy consequences ... for both of us."
I stood, moving to stand in front of him, tilting my head to look into his eyes and touched his shoulder, comfortingly. “Hey, look, whatever it is you can tell me. If there are consequences, I'll deal with them."
"You might want to stand back,” he said.
Puzzled, I did as he said. He surprised me more by removing his shirt, not that I minded. His once flat stomach was now rippled with muscles, and I felt a sudden urge to run my fingers over them. His upper arms bulged just the right amount. I couldn't help it. I licked my lips, thinking about touching those muscles. Shoes came off next. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Muscles in his chest rippled. What I saw next was something you'd think only Hollywood could come up with.
His socks tore as his feet became clawed and reptilian, covered in dark blue scales, his jeans ripped and a tail slowly came into view along with a pair of large bat-like wings. The same dark blue scales covering the tail and wings spread to cover most of his stomach and chest. My knees became jelly, and I reached behind me for the chair before I fell.
I don't think it was seeing him change that shocked me. It was the fact that in my dream I'd seen creatures that looked exactly like he did now.
After the transformation was over, I sat there staring at him and he at me, with eyes that didn't have normal round pupils. His eyes now had vertical slits, like a cat's.
He closed his eyes again and returned to “normal."
"Freaked out yet?” he asked. “Ready to run screaming?"
"Um, just a little freaked out.” I shook my head. “Maybe you should pinch me, just so I know I'm not dreaming. I guess that explains the change in your hair and eye color?"
"Yeah, I used to dye my hair black and wear colored contacts.” He sat back down, putting his shirt back on. “I wish I could tell you it was a dream, but it's not."
"So, this trouble—have you been altered by some mad scientist, escaped and now he's after you?” I asked, trying to put some humor into the situation.
Aerandir didn't laugh. “I'm not human, Phi. I've never been human."
"So, what are you?"
"I'm Rikashi, dragon shifters is the best way to put it."
"Like a werewolf?"
"Not quite. We can shift whenever we want and being a Rikashi is not like your movie werewolves, it's not an infection, it's not something you can catch. We're hatched this way."
I drained my coffee and stood. “I think I need more coffee. How about you?"
He shook his head. “No.” He waited until I'd poured another cup and returned to the table before continuing. “Rikashi have been living among humans for a long time. People used to know about us, but something happened and we had to go into hiding. Now no one knows we exist. At least, no one knew we existed until recently."
I ran a hand through my hair. “This sounds like something out of a movie."
Now he did laugh. “Yes, it does, doesn't it? Hidden Dragons, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Harrison Ford, coming this Fall to a theater near you.” He had lowered his voice, speaking like a theater announcer. We both laughed and some of the tension melted away, but he quickly turned serious again. “But someone knows about us, and my people are disappearing."
"Being killed?"
He shook his head. “I don't know for sure, but I do know they aren't killed immediately after they're taken."
Everything was coming too fast. I couldn't wrap my brain around it. I held up a hand to stop him. “I need to process this. I mean, I could go to sleep right now and blame the whole ‘wings and tail’ thing on a dream,” I said, still not adding the fact that
I had dreamed it. “So, let's leave this Rikashi thing alone for a minute. You said you needed my help."
"You remember my brother?"
I nodded. I remembered hearing talk of Aer's brother but had never met him. In fact, I hadn't ever met Aer's parents. “The one who was always away at school?"
He nodded. “Yeah. He's been taken, and I want you to help me find him."
"Me? What could I possibly do to help?"
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate. There's a good chance you might get hurt, and gods above know I don't want that. Hell, if I had my way, you'd be completely oblivious to what I am and happily married."
I blinked in surprise. “Married? Married to who?"
He looked away from me, feigning interest in his empty cup. “I don't know. Whoever you're dating right now or the next guy."
I couldn't help but laugh, the thought was so absurd and out of place given the conversation. “What makes you think I'm dating someone?"
Aer shrugged. “I just figured you would be. You're too much of a looker not to be."
I stuck my tongue out at him, even as the blush returned to my cheeks. “Not that it's any of your business, but I'm single and have been since you left. Much to Karen's disappointment."
He was quiet again, and I could swear there was the hint of a smile on his lips. It felt like he was fishing, trying to find out if I was dating anyone without actually asking. No, I had to be imagining it. I shook my head to clear the thought. “Okay, so it's dangerous and you don't want me to do it, now how ‘bout telling me exactly what it is you need me to do?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but a huge yawn came out instead. “Sorry,” he said, giving me a sheepish grin. “I haven't slept much the last few days."
"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll have a shower, make something to eat and try to let what you've already told me sink in, and then you can finish telling me what's going on."
He thought a moment, seeming torn, but another yawn made him give in. I stood, leaving the mugs on the table for later. “Come on, you can use my room for now."
I led the way to my room, though he could have found it on his own. He'd been to my house often enough in our high school days. I grabbed a fresh set of clothes before turning to look at him. He was standing in the middle of the room, looking around.
"What?” I asked.
"Nothing. It just hasn't changed a bit. Still like dragons, huh?"
I scratched behind my ear, casting a look at the dragon pictures and statues decorating the walls and shelves around the room. I had left a lot of stuff behind when I moved out. My bedroom in my and Karen's apartment was decorated pretty much the same. “Yeah, kinda funny how that worked out, huh?"
He laughed. “Indeed."
Again that awkward silence descended upon us, but I broke it by clearing my throat. “I'll see you in a couple of hours."
Aerandir nodded, moving to sit on the bed as I headed for the door. Our shoulders brushed, and for a second we both paused, our eyes meeting briefly before I continued, feeling nervous again. I stopped in the doorway. “Aer?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry I hit you."
"I deserved it."
I laughed. “Yeah, you did, but I'm sorry anyway."
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Chapter 2
Aerandir Cirdan Gwindor
Coming here was a mistake. I'd known Phi would help me, I'd never doubted that, but I didn't know if I could help myself. There was a very good reason why I'd left the country, breaking off all contact with her five years ago. Now here I was again, and it was as if I'd never gone away. I had been hoping for absence makes the heart forgetful but, even halfway around the world, all I could think about was her.
I sat on the edge of the bed. I was tired and I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't. My mind was racing. Thinking about my brother, my family, my people, but mostly Phi.
I rubbed my chest, those punches had hurt, but I knew she could have hit a lot harder than she had—or she could have hit me with the bat—so I considered myself lucky. I knew I should sleep so I lay down and the sweet honeysuckle scent that was Phi tantalized and surrounded me. A part of me wanted to get up and leave. It was cowardly, but this was turning out to be a lot harder than I'd thought it would be.
I'd meant it when I'd told her I didn't want to involve her. I didn't want to put her in danger, but there was no one else I could turn to. And the fact that I couldn't stand being away from her any more had just as much to do with me being here as the fact that she was the only one I trusted to help.
"Aerandir Cirdan Gwindor, you are an idiot,” I whispered as I punched the pillow into submission only to have Phi's scent grow stronger.
I could hear the shower down the hall and a dozen different images flew through my mind. Her standing there, water running down her smooth, creamy white skin, golden blond hair plastered to her head. I wondered how hard she would hit me if she caught me peeking.
"Shit.” I put the pillow over my head, blocking out the sounds. I let the change overtake me, turning into my dragon form. Crawling out of my clothes and from under the pillow, I curled up on top of it, tucking my head under my wing. I commanded my brain to sleep, but it wouldn't listen. I began thinking instead about what would be the best way to finish telling Phi about my plan.
I probably should have contacted more Rikashi and enlisted their help. But being Elessar and Gwindor I didn't have the ability to know my brethren like the Tinuviel or the telepathy of a Tasartir, so finding another Rikashi was difficult. The other problem was that as far as I knew I was the only one in this area who had not been taken, and that was only thanks to my older brother.
Shirak hadn't contacted me in almost twenty-four hours, and I was starting to worry. What if he was dead?
No, I couldn't think that way.
The last thing he told me was that they were giving him some kind of drugs, so he probably couldn't use his telepathy. I had to take comfort in the fact that I knew exactly where he was. The only problem was I couldn't get in. Whoever these people were, they had some way of detecting Rikashi, but as far as I could tell their security was very minimal, which is where Phi came in.
Every fiber in my being was against asking Phi to sneak into the house he was being held at, but I knew she wouldn't object. Well, she might object, but in the end I knew she would and could do it. That girl—woman now—could do anything she set her mind to. I knew I hadn't made a mistake in revealing my true nature to her. She was the only person I'd ever met that would understand.
My elders would not see it like that. All they would see was that I'd broken the cardinal rule of the Erestor, a set of rules that had governed the silence of our nature and been in place for almost eight hundred years. I was going to be in major trouble once the Council found out, but then again, how much of the Council would be left after this was all over? If what my brother said was true then at least two of the Council were dead—the heads of Tinuviel and Surion—and the heads of both my clan and Carnesir were missing, along with the Head of Council. I couldn't worry about that, I had to concentrate on now. Get Shirak out, get out whatever other Rikashi were being held at the facility and get all of us to safety, Phi included.
Gods above, she was probably going to hate me for using her after this, and that's just what I was doing. There was no other way to look at it.
I didn't blame her for being angry over my disappearance. In fact, I'd half expected it. I think I got off lightly. Hell, she'd hit me harder for calling her Josie one time—that had left a bruise.
I pulled the pillow off my head, listening to see if the shower was still running. I couldn't hear the water, which meant she was done, probably drying herself. Naked. “Stop that, you ass,” I growled to myself, rolling onto my side.
I needed to sleep. I needed all my strength for the rescue and to keep myself from doing something both Phi and I would regret. It was bad enough I was breaking two rules of the Erestor. I didn't ne
ed to break a third, but if she looked at me again like she had in the living room, I didn't know if I could resist kissing her.
I could pinpoint the exact moment I'd realized my feelings for her were more than friends. We'd gone to the senior prom together, just for kicks and of course as friends. She'd worn a blue dress, simple and plain in comparison to the ones the other girls were wearing, but it had hugged her curves in all the right places. Her hair had been gathered up into a messy bun, strands of it escaping it to lie on her neck and shoulders. After the dance, as I'd walked her to the door, we'd been finishing up a conversation about soccer or something, and as we stood there on her porch, I just knew. I wanted to kiss her so badly, I almost did but somehow managed to find the strength to walk away.
Our goodbye that night had been the last time I'd spoken to her. I didn't even finish school, I just disappeared. I didn't answer the phone, didn't even read the letters that came from her over the next twelve months. I still had them in a locked box in my room at home. After a year, the letters stopped coming.
Only my brother knew about my feelings for this human girl, and hopefully he'd be the only one who ever knew. I didn't know what I was going to do after we rescued Shirak.
Could I stay and just be her friend again? Could I stand being near her without ever being able to share my true feelings for her? To be so close yet never able to touch her, kiss her? Or would I walk away and hurt her again?
I could feel sleep finally overtaking me, and I surrendered to the blackness.
The smell of bacon woke me, making my mouth water before I was even fully awake. I looked at the clock on the bedside table. Eight o'clock. Five hours of sleep, not too bad, although I was still tired. My muscles ached. I stretched, ignoring the protests of my body, shifting as I did. There was bacon cooking. I wasn't about to go back to sleep.
The Quickening Page 2