Awakening The Dragon (Exiled Dragons Book 9)

by Sarah J. Stone

  The men began to advance slowly, watching Kergot closely. It was apparent they knew she was no threat in her lessened state of being, but they had no idea what to expect from Kergot. As they moved menacingly forward, she saw him square himself off, preparing to shift. Then she heard words that she would have never thought possible coming from Peter’s lips.

  “Kill them both.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Everything seemed to happen way too fast after that. Kergot quickly shifted, his massive body pushing the front wall outward and then knocking it completely down as his powerful tail swung around, striking it down. Men ran screaming from the dragon that had suddenly appeared before them, some had already waited too long as they became pinned under the heavy stones that had fallen from the front wall.

  “I cast you out, Satan,” Peter began to chant in unison with the men that remained steadfast.

  Penelope felt an odd sensation as something seemed to be pushing into her thoughts, invading her in some sense. It was a voice, not one that she was hearing around her, but one that seemed to form in her head without origin beyond that point. It was Kergot’s voice, and she had to wonder if she was imagining it, but was quick to heed its word. Whether he was actually communicating with her somehow or it was her imagination, she knew she needed to do as it told her.

  As Kergot distracted the men, she ran forward, passing through them and into the recesses of the house, now teetering haphazardly on its own foundation as the mighty dragon within its walls tore it apart at the seams, along with the men inside. She hastily dug through every place she knew Peter liked to hide things until she came across what she presumed she was looking for.

  Holding the small vile upward against a flickering lantern nearby, she observed the dusty, brown bottle, corked and waxed shut. On the side was a writing that she couldn’t understand. Affixed to the neck of it was a small note, also written in an unknown hand and language. She remembered seeing similar bottles in the home of the witch on nearby shelves.

  Tucking the bottle into her pocket, she ran, but not before tossing the lantern against the far wall. It exploded in flames, the small one catching fire on the excess fuel that expanded along the wall and the covers of the bed nearby. Penelope ran back into the living room, only to find herself cornered by a large man with an axe in one hand.

  Just as quickly as he had appeared, he was removed by a mighty swish of Kergot’s tail. It sent him flying sideways, where he bounced against a wall and was covered by falling rocks from the outer shell of the home.

  Get out now, she heard Kergot say in her head, and she did just that, running for the opening that used to be the front wall of the home. Nearby, she could see Peter lying on the ground, his legs bent into an awkward angle. He stretched his hands out toward her as she ran past.

  “Help me, Penelope,” he begged of her.

  “I’m afraid it is much too late for that, Peter. You’ve brought yourself to this place, and you must now reap what you’ve sown. May God have mercy upon your misguided soul.”

  There was a mighty boom as something in the house exploded, and then the whole thing went up in flames. Penelope’s heart dropped into her stomach as she saw no signs of Kergot, but then, there he was, his heavy body exiting through the wall of flames that seemed to be all around him. He appeared untouched by the fire. She breathed a sigh of relief as his voice once again flooded her head.

  We have to go. Get on.

  If there was any doubt that it was him somehow communicating with her, it was laid to rest by his stretching his neck downward toward the ground for her to climb on. His large snout stopped just short of Peter, who lay glaring at him, even in his disadvantaged condition. Kergot said nothing, but now Penelope found that she could feel him, his heartbeat kept time with her own, and his anger flooded her thoughts.

  “Kergot, no. Please. Leave him. Let him live with what he has done to me, to these men.”

  “What I have done?” Peter spat back at her? “You are the one that has brought death upon these men. You and that thing you’ve brought with you. How many more like you must we find and extinguish?”

  “Is that what you had planned for me, Peter? You planned to kill me?”

  “No. I only planned to save you from what you were. The witch took your powers, didn’t she? We thought she had tricked us. Her death is upon you too.”

  “You killed her because you thought she gave you a bad potion? Then why did you take it from her, Peter?” Penelope retorted, pulling the bottle from her pocket and holding it up for him to see.

  His eyes narrowed, taking in the bottle, but Penelope wasn’t sure about his reaction beyond that. Instead, she became aware of a mob of people running down the street toward the commotion. Several screamed when they caught sight of Kergot, and others ran faster toward him. She hurried to get in place on his neck.

  Just as he was taking off, a shot rang out, causing Kergot to turn and release a ball of fire across the crowd of men that had gathered around with torches. Penelope could see that among the charred figures left in his wake was the one lying on the ground with mangled legs. She knew she should feel something for the loss of a man she had loved, but she did not.

  Kergot took to the skies, disappearing into the darkness as the people below shouted and screamed behind them. Penelope felt dizzy, but she clung to Kergot with all her might. Everything was blurry as they sailed through the waterfall and landed back on the ledge, with Kergot shifting back into his human form. He didn’t bother with clothes, this time. Instead, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her inside. Then, everything went black.

  CHAPTER 8

  Penelope awoke to darkness. She was lying on the bed and in pain. There was something on her arm and the pain seemed to seep from all around it. Attempting to move, she found Kergot’s hand on her shoulder to steady her.

  “Don’t move. You’ll cause the blood to rush into it and cause yourself more pain.”

  “What? What happened?”

  “The gunshot. Peter shot you with a small pistol from his pocket as we were taking off. It’s not bad, just a graze, but it is going to smart something terrible while it heals.”

  “I need to shift. My feet are hardly even better, and now I’ve been shot.”

  “You’ll be fine, even if you can’t.”

  “The potion!” she exclaimed. “It can fix me!”

  Penelope used her uninjured arm to reach down and stick her hand in her pocket, fishing for the small bottle she had retrieved from Peter’s house. She pulled it free and showed it to him.

  “You don’t know what that will do. It might help. It might make it more permanent. It might finish you completely.”

  “Then why did you tell me to look for it?”

  “Because maybe we can find someone who knows what it is.”

  “Then I didn’t just imagine it. You were talking to me, somehow.”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never done that before. I can read thoughts, but you are the first with which I’ve been able to communicate like that.”

  “Perhaps because I’m a dragon too?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never met another dragon before you came along. I thought I was alone here in Scotland.”

  “Growing up, your parents never introduced you to others of your kind?”

  “As far as they, or I, knew–there were no others here. My father has kin in Ireland. They left here when he was younger, to escape famine and persecution like we just experienced. They were hunted relentlessly.”

  Penelope considered this. Now that more people were aware of their presence, they would be hunted too. Would they remain safe in this crevice in the rocks, especially when one of them couldn’t shift at all?

  “Don’t worry about that right now. First, we must get you well.”

  “How will we survive in here? If we go out, we might be seen, and they will follow us. If we stay inside, we will starve.” />
  “We will be fine. I can fly out from the waterfall and across the waters to hunt and gather under the cover of darkness.”

  “And how long will we live here like fugitives? I’m sorry, Kergot. I’m the one that brought this one you. Once I get well enough to travel on my own, I will leave and let you try to restore your life to whatever normal order you can find.”

  “My life has never been normal. If it has ever achieved anything even near to normal, it has been while you were here by my side. I don’t want you to leave, not now–not ever.”

  “What are you saying, Kergot?”

  I’m saying that there is a reason you can hear me in your head without my saying a word.

  Penelope looked at him, wide-eyed. He had not spoken a word and yet, she had heard him just as clearly as if he had. His thoughts were as clear to her as hers were to him now. She wondered if she could read all his thoughts or only what he allowed.

  “I don’t know yet. This is new for me, as well,” he said.

  Kergot kissed her softly, his tongue once again exploring her own. His hand drifted down her side, careful to avoid the cloths he had wrapped around her arm to protect the wound left behind by Peter’s gunshot. She had to consider that it was the only visible wound, but it was not alone in the fact that Kergot has begun to heal every one her former had left in his wake.

  No more words were spoken between them as Penelope allowed Kergot to take her as his own. Their thoughts of pleasure mingled together just as their bodies pressed against one another in the quiet, cool cave that they shared. She could read Kergot’s thoughts of uncertainty about how righteous it was to give into such carnal pleasures.

  Don’t stop, her mind begged him.

  I just want you to be sure, came the silent reply.

  I am, her mind returned.

  “I’ve never done this before, Penelope,” he said, this time speaking aloud.

  “Neither have I,” she replied.

  “You were betrothed. You didn’t, with Peter? I mean, it is fine if you did. I won’t judge you for it,” he told her.

  “I didn’t. I wanted to save it for marriage. I wanted it to be special,” she said.

  “Then you shouldn’t betray that decision now, in the heat of the moment,” he told her, leaning down over her and brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes.

  “I’m betraying nothing. Things with you are entirely different. With him, it was a wifely duty that I wanted to save for being a wife. I don’t feel it is dutiful with you. I simply want to be with you. I want to know how it feels to have you inside of me and not just your thoughts,” she told him.

  “I guess we will find our way together then,” he told her.

  “We will,” she told him, putting her hand to his face and pulling him back down closer to her.

  Kergot resumed kissing her as their thoughts and fears fell away, giving way to their passion. He was gentle, careful to avoid her injured arm, though she could no longer feel the pain. It was completely lost as new sensations took over her body, flooding her with a warmth and longing she had never experienced before.

  Like that, nothing else existed in Penelope’s world except Kergot’s touch. His kiss. The touch of his rough hands. She ached down to her very center as he continued to explore every inch of her body with his mouth, his tongue, and his hands as he stripped away piece after piece of her clothing.

  Everything drifted away. The events of the days past faded, and fear of what might come tomorrow took a back seat. For the first time in her life, Penelope could think of nothing but how the man before her tasted and felt. Her body seemed to shatter into pieces and then push itself back together again, causing her to teeter on the brink of an ecstasy she had never known.

  She was unprepared for the unfamiliar sensations. The vibrations in her neck, arms, and hands sang to her. The tightness of her midriff, before a bolt of lightning disrupted the storm brewing beneath the surface was a delicious pain. Moisture flooded her thighs, saturating and swelling her precious, pink folds.

  Her passion was unrestrained, lending a sense of urgency, a desperation for relief, but Kergot forced her to yield to his slow pace, his tender touch. He brought her repeatedly to the edge of rapture, and then denied it to her until she thought she would surely drift off into some sort of depraved madness.

  There was no sign of letting up as his lips devoured hers. His tongue slowly searched every inch of her mouth, her neck, and her throat. His teeth found their way to her nipples, grazing them in the sweetest torment until she was reduced to inarticulate moaning and a willingness to beg him for release from his tortures.

  There was no doubt that he had become equally as aroused as he unexpectedly forced her legs open with strong arms, cupping the cheeks of her bottom in his hands and lifting her hips to meet his mouth. He breathed in her scent and spoke softly, his words reverberating across her already engorged womanhood.

  “I love the way you smell, your need for me is beautiful,” he told her, not waiting for a response as he found his way to her center with his tongue, causing her to gasp and dig her fingers into the furs on which they lay.

  With gentle, delicate flicks of his tongue, he brought her close to the edge so many times she lost count. She wondered how long this would go on, reaching the edge of some abyss, but not knowing what would happen if she finally stumbled over the edge. She could think of nothing other than relief as she reached for his head, pulling her closer into her folds.

  His hands finally opened her to him. His slow, gradual insistence pushed her apart, spreading her wide with his thumbs. His fingers spread her wetness, the moisture flooding outward to be eagerly lapped up by his tongue. She was surprised as he moved her own hand to her center, encouraging her to feel the portions of her body she had never dared to touch before.

  There are no limits with us, Pene. No rights or wrongs. No shame, his mind told hers as she touched herself in tandem with his tongue, milking the hard protrusion she had never known existed outside the opening to her womanly crevice.

  Kergot moved Penelope’s fingers to the soft head of his bulging staff, letting her explore it. She felt a bit frightened at the size of it, knowing that it would be inside her, pushing her apart. More than anything, though, was a fascination for how different he was from her. She continued to run her tiny hand over the thick, veiny skin that covered his throbbing protrusion.

  Penelope could feel herself blush, but prickles of unbridled pleasure moved through her as he grew even more erect in her hand. She squeezed instinctively, feeling the muscle throb and pulsate, causing her to tighten her grip. Her wetness only increased as she considered how he would feel inside of her.

  She didn’t have to wait very long as it seemed she wasn’t the only one who could no longer hold back. Positioning himself over her, Kergot slipped inside of her, pushing further into her as she moaned and dug her fingers into his back. It felt as if she was being ripped apart from the inside, but in a way that was so incredibly beautiful that she wanted to cry.

  Their breathing mingled together as they rock back and forth in perfect unison, intermittent groans of pleasure filling the cavern around them as they became one, not only in the carnal sense, but in heart, body, and soul. Instinctively, Penelope understood now that this is how it was meant to be between kindred spirits. Apart they were shells, but together they were one with everything in the heavens.

  “Oh, God. Something is happening,” she moaned, pulling him into her. “Don’t stop! It’s so close.”

  Penelope was afraid. She didn’t know what was happening to her body, but she didn’t try to stop it. It felt as if she might shatter into pieces as the pressure built and built until it could no longer be contained. Kergot buried his girth inside of her harder, faster, his panting echoing all around them as he too became consumed by their passion.

  Then, there was the explosion. Every part of her body felt as if it was suddenly free, escaping from the pressure that had built up inside of
her. It was the most amazing feeling as her body convulsed and suddenly released into a flood of moisture that slipped from her center and ran down her thighs, flooding him with wetness even as he tensed and blasted his own release deep inside of her. She could feel the heat as he gasped with the sudden expulsion into her and collapsed against her, still connected to her as he remained inside her walls.

  “Oh, Pene. I’ve never felt anything like that before,” he said, finally pulling himself free of her and rolling over onto his back.

  “Me either. It was amazing,” she managed to say, staring up at the ceiling.

  They lay there in the darkness, finally drifting off in one another’s arms as the night grew around them. This was what it felt like to be truly content, Penelope thought to herself as she faded away into the world where sleep takes you. No matter what might be happening in the world outside, in this place, with Kergot, nothing could bring them harm.

  CHAPTER 9

  Penelope awoke to find Kergot dressed and standing near where the entrance led into the large area in which they had shared one another’s bodies. He looked perplexed as he waited there, as if expecting something.

  “What is it, Kergot?” she asked, instinctively alert to any dangers.

  “Voices. I can hear voices. They are coming through the tunnels.”

  “How close are they?” she asked, jumping out of the bed to join him at the door, the covers wrapped around her naked form.

  “Right now, they seem to be headed away, as if they took one of the wrong tunnels, and it led them elsewhere.”

  “Will it continue to take them away?”

  “It depends on which one they have taken. Most of them go nowhere or they have been blocked off by falling rocks over time. One of them opens up into nothing, a hole in the cliff wall without a ledge. If they do not see that it drops away, they will simply fall into the abyss below it.”

  “What should we do?”

  “They are not nearby at the moment, and I don’t hear any others. Even if they stop and turn back, which they probably won’t before they reach the end and discover there is nowhere to go, the chances of them finding the right tunnel to lead here are slim. They will either give up after several wrong choices or get lucky and find the right one. The gate will protect us from entry, but it will also seal us into this place with no exit except to go through them, in human form, as my dragon is far too large for the tunnel.”