by Kailin Gow
Yet they managed to pul back from the brink both times. The inn was big enough to let the two of them put distance between themselves when they needed to. That Kevin was wil ing to do so despite obviously wanting to take things further only made Briony care about him al the more. It made things a little tense at times in the inn, but it kept them simple.
They were a lot more complicated once she got to school. Briony would go there thinking only of Kevin, but the moment she actual y got there, the moment she saw Fal on, things would change completely. Just being close to him made her skin tingle with excitement. Looking at him made her ache. And as for any time that they happened to touch…
It was almost like magic, except that Briony was fairly sure that Fal on was not in her head. She was wearing her cross, and in any case, she could not believe that he would use that kind of tactic to win her heart. No, it was something else that seemed to be creating a connection between them, whether they wanted it or not. It made Briony feel like they were meant for one another, and if Fal on’s behavior was anything to go by, he felt exactly the same way. He spent much of his time trying to track down the dragon, as though that would be the thing that final y persuaded Briony to leave him alone.
The things that Briony felt meant that, in the minutes after she got back from school, when Kevin kissed her by way of a welcome home, she always felt guilt rising up in her. Guilt that she could spend the day feeling like that when she loved Kevin so much. Guilt at kissing him when part of her could stil remember how intense the connection to Fal on had been. Briony knew that she couldn’t go on like that. Not without doing something that would feel like a betrayal of at least one of them.
By the third night of Kevin’s stay at the inn, Briony knew that she couldn’t leave things as they were any longer.
They were sitting together on the couch, close enough that Briony could smel the sweet scent of Kevin’s skin, doing nothing more than talking, and yet Briony found herself more tense than she might have been if a vampire had walked through the door.
Even Kevin picked up on it. “Briony? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
How could she tel him? How could Briony say that she spent her time with him thinking about Fal on, or at least about the strangely intense feelings that she had for him whenever they were close?
“It’s not nothing.” Kevin’s hands drifted up to Briony’s shoulders. “Your muscles are so knotted that they feel like iron. Here, let me help.”
Slowly, gently his fingers started to knead away the tension. It felt so good. Too good, when Briony couldn’t tel him the reason behind the stress she felt. Too good, when they were supposed to be keeping apart.
Far too good, when an image of Fal on jumped into her mind.
“No, wait.” Briony practical y leapt away from Kevin.
“Briony, what is it?”
Briony stood, sliding the promise ring Kevin had given her from her finger. “I can’t wear this, Kevin.”
Kevin looked dumbfounded. “Why not? I thought we were exclusive.”
Briony knew that she ought to explain. That she ought to tel him how she had kissed Fal on the other day, and explain that as much as part of her loved him, she did not want to be exclusive. The trouble was, she simply couldn’t do it. Briony grabbed for the next obvious excuse, one that wasn’t untrue, but which wasn’t the real reason, either.
“I just can’t wear it. Putting on your ring feels like the next step towards giving in to you. We’ve come so close to giving in to temptation again in the last few days, and I’m sure that the ring isn’t helping. It’s like it makes it… okay, somehow, when it isn’t. It real y isn’t what I want” She held the ring out to him.
Kevin’s face couldn’t hide the hurt he obviously felt at that. He stood. “I didn’t mean it like that when I gave it to you, Briony.”
“I know you didn’t, but that is how I feel. Take it back, please.”
Thankful y, Kevin did. It hurt Briony to lie to him like this, but she suspected that the truth would be far worse. To her surprise, she did actual y feel a lot better without the ring on too. It was like a weight had been lifted from her.
“I’l keep this,” Kevin said, holding the ring up. “One day you wil want it again, Briony. I know it. One day, you’l be ready, and we won’t have to be so careful with one another. I can wait.”
From the seriousness of his tone, Briony knew that Kevin meant it. He would wait for her, no matter how long it took. Right then, she suspected that it was more than she deserved. The rest of the evening passed quietly, with Kevin keeping a distance between them that obviously said how much the move had pained him, but Briony couldn’t close it. She knew that she couldn’t be just his. Not with the way she stil felt about Fal on.
Those feelings were there waiting for her the next day at school, rising up in Briony as she spotted him by the hal lockers. Seeing him like that, feeling the sudden connection that blazed between them the way it always did, Briony knew that she had done the right thing. She couldn’t wear Kevin’s ring when Fal on was waiting for her each day, and she was beginning to feel more and more attracted to hi
Fal on turned, saw her, and smiled. He made his way over, and Briony stopped to admire the almost delicate grace of him as he did it. She didn’t get enough opportunities to just watch him. Briony waited until he got close.
“Fal on, I have something important to tel you… ”
“Me first,” he said, reaching for her and pul ing her to him. He kissed her on her lips softly.
“But this is… ”
“I’ve found your dragon.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. They had been looking around for the past few days, but there had been no sign of the strange looking young man.
“You have?”
Fal on nodded. “He’s been hanging around the school, and I managed to track him down in one of the music rooms. Apparently, he’s been giving lessons as an excuse to be here.”
Briony thought back to the playing she had heard in the theater. She could easily imagine the dragon shifter managing to convince the school, while the disguise probably meant that he didn’t have to spend al his time there, the way he would have to if he pretended to be a student.
“What did he say?” Briony asked.
Fal on shook his head. “Not a lot. He told me that he had no business with me, and that he would talk to you when it was time to, not to anyone else.”
“Wel , that wasn’t very friendly.” Although Briony wasn’t sure why she should be surprised by that. After al , the last time the dragon shifter and Fal on had met, they had been fighting.
“At least he didn’t knock me sprawling this time,”
Fal on pointed out with a smile. Now, what was your news?”
Briony held up her right hand. It took Fal on a moment to get it.
“You took it off? Oh, Briony…”
He kissed her, and it had days of pent up passion in it. Fal on’s mouth was almost bruising on Briony’s, but right then, she didn’t care. She kissed him back with just as much ardor, and kept at it, running her hands through his hair. The memory of Fal on and her behind the diner when they were carried away with passion, came back to her, and instead of fighting it, she was giving in, kissing Fal on with as much passion as she can… feeling an unquenchable hunger for him. As far as Briony was concerned they could kiss al day…
“Ouch!” Fal on pul ed back from her sharply, and Briony could see that his fangs were extended. A few drops of blood showed on his lips. Had he accidental y cut her, or bitten himself?
Gently, so gently, Fal on reached out and pul ed back Briony’s top lip.
“Um… you aren’t going to believe this, Briony, but you seem to have… wel , fangs.”
“Don’t joke about it, Fal on.”
“I’m not joking.”
Briony ran her tongue around her teeth, then pul ed it back sharply.
“I do. Are they like… r
eal vampire fangs?”
Fal on shook his head. “They’re smal er. They’re actual y kind of cute.”
“This isn’t funny, Fal on.” Briony turned and practical y ran for the nearest girl’s bathroom. There, she stood in front of a mirror, opened her mouth, and recoiled in shock. The fangs were indeed smal er than a vampire’s, but they were there. They were definitely there.
Briony forced herself not to panic. Forced herself to take deep breaths. She hadn’t been turned. The fangs weren’t the right size, and in any case, there was no way it could have happened. This was something else. Gradual y, as her heart rate returned to normal, the fangs receded.
That was good. At least Briony wouldn’t be stuck with them al the time. Of course, that stil left the question of what was going on.
This was whatever Aunt Sophie had been al uding to al those times without ever actual y saying it. Briony was certain of it. More than that, she was sure that it was related to whatever Aunt Sophie was.
Which meant, of course, that there was one obvious place to go for more information. As much as he had scared her before, as dangerous as he was, Briony was going to have to have another talk with Pietre. Only this time, she doubted that he would make things simple for her by showing up at the inn uninvited.
Chapter 18
“You said that you had found the dragon?” Briony asked.
Fal on nodded. “He’s in the school. He shouldn’t be hard to track down.”
“Good, because I bet that if anyone knows why I suddenly have fangs, it wil be him.”
They set off looking for him, scouring the school corridors, checking the library, and working their way through the music rooms one by one. The strange young man with the amber-gold eyes wasn’t in any of them. Briony was just about to give up and go to class when they passed the cafeteria. There, sitting close to the doors that led outside and eating a sandwich, was a familiar, golden skinned figure.
“There he is! Hel o. No, wait!”
Almost from the first words, the dragon shifter was on his feet, walking briskly for the doors. Briony knew that she couldn’t afford to lose him. Not only was he her best chance of finding out what was going on, he was also the only way that she was going to be able to open the gate Aunt Sophie had gone through. She ran after him.
The moment Briony ran, the dragon shifter ran too, barreling out through the cafeteria doors and into the yard.
He ran on, heading for the playing fields. He was quick, but Briony was determined, and Fal on was running alongside her. Briony was sure that he could catch up to the dragon any time he chose.
“Fal on,” Briony yel ed, “don’t wait for me. Just catch him.”
Fal on nodded and streaked ahead with that unnatural speed he had. It was too late though. Briony had waited too long before tel ing him to do it, and the dragon shifter was already out on the fields. Stil running, he started to shift, gaining bulk, great wings sprouting from his back, claws springing from his hands and feet. Between one stride and the next, he went from a man young enough looking to hang around the school without comment to the great golden beast Briony had been so in awe of. Two beats of its massive wings later, and the creature was airborne.
Fal on was back to her in a flash, but Briony knew even he couldn’t do anything from there.
“We’ve lost him,” she said.
“Not necessarily. Put your arms around my neck, Briony.”
“What? Why?” She did it anyway.
“I’ve been practicing something that might help. You know Jake can levitate a little?” Suddenly, Fal on was aloft, above the level of the school buildings and travel ing at tremendous speed. “Wel , I seem to be able to take it a bit further.”
“You… you can fly?” Briony asked.
Fal on smiled. “Since we’re currently about thirty feet up, you’d better hope so. Actual y, it’s more like jumping, except that I get a lot of hang time.”
Even as he said it, they started to angle down towards the ground. They barely touched it before Fal on was airborne once again, and Briony with him. Briony squirmed at the sensation of bounding along like that, but Fal on pul ed her closer.
“Try not to move about too much. I’ve never done this with a passenger before.”
“I didn’t know that you had ever done it before,”
Briony pointed out.
She felt Fal on shrug, more than seeing it.
“Vampires only acquire their talents with time, as their body stabilizes after the change. Different vampires have…” he paused to make another leap “…different abilities. This is a new one for me.”
Briony tried not to think about what that meant for the amount of practice Fal on had probably had. If it let them keep up with the dragon, then she wasn’t going to complain. Not that Briony could s e e whether they were keeping up with the dragon, of course. She was pressed tightly to Fal on, which meant that she was facing away from the direction at which they were travel ing at such speed.
Briony turned her head, craning her neck in an effort to catch a glimpse of the creature ahead of them.
She saw it, only a little way ahead, though further up.
It was heading for the woods, a golden flash against the blue sky. The rush of the oncoming wind was too much for Briony, though, and she had to turn her head back towards Fal on.
Scenery flashed past below them, and then around them as each leap from Fal on came to its end. The houses of the town were there only briefly, which was probably a good thing. Briony didn’t want to know what the people of Wicked would make of a chase between a dragon and a flying vampire holding onto a young woman.
Next came trees. Fal on skimmed the tops of these, springing off them and leaping from treetop to treetop in a way that scared flocks of birds from them. Briony risked another glance forwards. The dragon was stil there. Better yet, they seemed to be gaining on it.
yet, they seemed to be gaining on it.
They half flew, half leaped their way onward, over trees and woodland paths, past streams and over smal clearings. Once or twice, Briony thought that she saw people looking up at them, but right then, it didn’t matter so much. They had to catch up to this shifter if Briony was going to get some answers.
It was almost a shock when they stopped. They had been travel ing for long enough that Briony had become used to the rhythm of it, to the rush of air past her head, and the brief sense of explosive force that came every time Fal on touched down. When it stopped, it took Briony a second to disentangle herself from Fal on’s neck and look around.
She recognized the clearing they were in instantly.
Even though there were other clearings with streams and wildflowers spread around the area, this was definitely the one that held the gate. The stream was too large for it to be anywhere else. Somehow, Briony had known that they would end up here.
The dragon was back in his human form, the young man standing over by where the gate had formed when Aunt Sophie had gone through it, leaning on one of the trees that blossomed throughout the clearing.
Briony moved forward, her palms out in a placating gesture. “Please don’t fly off again. I real y need to talk to you.”
The dragon shifter cocked his head to one side. “I have no problem with talking to you. We should not talk with the vampire here, however.”
“Fal on is my friend,” Briony said. She looked back at Fal on, and couldn’t help a smile. “A very good friend.
You don’t have to worry about him.”
“Ah, I see.” The dragon shifter moved between her and Fal on, lowering his voice. “Let me guess. You feel an inexplicable attraction to him that you cannot shake. You feel as though being with him is the most natural thing in the world.”
Briony nodded.
The dragon shifter sighed. “It is inevitable. Your kind and his, you are like reflections of one another. What you feel comes from that.”
Briony started to shake her head. She wouldn’t believe that what she and
Fal on felt was no more than an artificial connection between two not quite human creatures. Yet she couldn’t quite say it aloud. After al , hadn’t her attraction to the vampire seemed more than natural on occasion? Hadn’t it cut through what she felt for Kevin, even when Briony was determined to be committed to only him?
And it raised one obvious question. “You know what I am, then?”
The young man nodded. “Of course. Do you have your fangs yet?”
“You knew about those?” Briony wasn’t sure whether to be happy that he did or annoyed that he hadn’t said anything in the brief moments when they had met before.
“What do they mean? Am I…” she had to ask it “…am I some kind of vampire?”
The dragon shifter took hold of Briony’s shoulders, suddenly earnest. “You are something far, far better than one of those abominations. They are no more than twisted parodies of what you are, turned by their own violence into demons that can never enter our land.”
“Right. Um…”
“Archer. They cal me Archer.”
“Would you mind letting go of me, Archer? Only the last time we were here, you spent a lot of time throwing me and my friends around.”
Archer’s hands left her, and he leant back against the tree once again. “Forgive me for that, but I could not al ow them through the gate. I could not even let you through, until I was sure you were ready.”
“Ready? Ready for what?” Briony had the feeling that, left to his own devices, Archer would dance around the subject al day. “You say I shouldn’t trust Fal on, Archer, but you haven’t given me any reason to trust you. You show up from nowhere. You fight me and my friends. You appear on the edges of crowds. Just tel me. What is going on?”
Archer’s eyes sparkled in the sun, and Briony couldn’t help finding the effect intriguing. As a dragon, he had been huge and awe-inspiring. As a young man who appeared only a little older than her, he was less threatening, but there was stil a suggestion to him of hidden depths.
Then Archer did the one thing Briony hadn’t been expecting. He bowed to her. “I first came here weeks ago, with the intention of finding out more about you, milady.”