Aries

by Kim Faulks

  I shook my head. Something warm splattered my face and the scent of blood filled the air. The pressure built, climbing, clawing, reaching deeper. My stomach rolled, twisting inside out. I dropped to the ground, one hand cradling my head while the other splayed out on the icy stones under me.

  Dry heaves racked my body. Each movement tore pain through my head. Movement slipped around me. I didn't have to raise my head to know they were there. My Dragon couldn't help me. No one could help me.

  My hand slipped on stone. The sweet, frigid air rushed, smothering me for a second before my head hit the ground. I couldn’t breathe, one layer of agony overrode the next like waves on the ocean, where one ended, another began. Pain sliced and hacked, drilling deep down to the marrow of my soul. There was nothing for me now. I blinked and tried to stare into the darkness…tried to remember its name. Faded orange lights flickered through the cracked glass up ahead. Fire…flames…there was something she wanted me to see…something I had to know.

  That thought came like the rush of the sea, and in an instant, it was gone.

  And the sweet darkness came for me at last.

  Rough hands. Pulling my skin. Yanking my bones, twisting and bending until something crunched inside.

  A moan slipped from my lips.

  A chuckle—deep, cruel making my stomach roll. Making my hate roil. Not yet. Not now.

  "Throw him in there."

  Her voice…a familiar sickening sound pulled me toward the light. I cracked open my eyes. Shadows and darkness. The faint glow of a fire chased shadows into the stony corners. The tops of my feet scraped along the ground. Heavy breaths echoed in stereo on either side.

  "He's a heavy bastard."

  Fingers dug in the insides of my arms grinding bone against bone. A wounded sound slipped free. Don't let them know. Don't let them see me…weak.

  A piercing scream shattered the silence, steel on steel, gnawing, grinding. The howl tapered and then fell silent. I was shuffled from side to side, lifted, and then cast to the ground.

  My jaw took the brunt. I tried to lift my head. Pain lanced along my neck and churned the rotten feeling in my gut. I eased my lids closed. Something was wrong. My head was tender, thoughts slow. Pieces floated in the emptiness…the Wretched…he was there somewhere staring at me with blood-red eyes. I tried to focus on him, tried to see what he wanted me to see.

  White teeth glowed as his lips moved.

  I shook my head.

  Go away. Just go away.

  Joslyn!

  The roar cast aside the shroud of agony. Her name kicked and hissed and settled somewhere deep. Somewhere I couldn't reach…but I could feel.

  I cracked open my eyes and sucked in dirt and the fetid stench of piss. Tongues of fire licked the walls. I focused on the glow, giving it my all as the world around me sharpened.

  "Looky here, sleeping beauty's awake."

  My skull weighed a ton. I dragged my head from the ground and blinked into the light. Shadows moved, bending, flickering. I blinked and a face sharpened from the dim.

  I licked my lips…mumbled words and then sighed.

  "Whadyou say?"

  My eyes drifted closed. I needed to sleep. I needed to find my way back from…

  Joslyn.

  I snapped my eyes open. The world rushed in, and the Wretched's howl along with it. Where is she!

  A spike rammed through my head with the sway. I rammed my fingers into the cracks of the stone and dragged one knee under me.

  "Whadyou say to me?"

  The sonofabitch wouldn't leave me alone. His voice. His fucking voice scraped the inside of me, leaving me raw. I dragged my head up. The muscles in my neck twisted and knotted, sending hot shards of light through my head.

  "Whadyou say you gutless bastard?"

  I slapped one hand out and hit metal. My fingers curled. Rusted shards came away. My arms trembled as I pulled. The whites of his eyes stood out stark against the night. I wanted to see him, wanted to see the sonofabitch I'd gut the next time we met.

  I opened my mouth to say exactly that, until a sudden thought stilled me. "Wait… Stop…where is she?"

  The boom ripped through the cavern as the cell door slammed shut.

  A chuckle followed, laughing at my pain.

  I shoved my face between the bars.

  Shadows slunk against the wall as one by one the wolves turned.

  "Wait… Wait!" I strangled the metal and wrenched backwards. The rods sang under my palm as I slammed forward. "I said…wait! Give her back! Give her back to me!"

  The sickening chortle answered, leaving me stranded.

  I’d failed her.

  My hold slipped, palms burned, glistening red.

  I stumbled from the bars. I’d failed her…left her out there with those…

  A small voice came from nowhere. "If you mean me, I'm right here."

  I spun at the sound and stared into the gloom. My eyes watered. I saw nothing. I took a step, drawn to the cell next to mine. My voice husky and raw. "You're really there?"

  "I'm really here," she whispered.

  But something was different. The shadows never moved, not even to turn her head. I licked my lips and tasted blood. I neared cautiously. Where was the fire in her words? Where was the, I'm stronger than you think… My stomach tightened, questions rose to the surface too cruel to ask. But I had to know…I had to make sure she was… "Did they hurt you?"

  The rasp of plastic on stone filled the space. The sudden exhale dulled as though…she turned away from me. I clenched my jaw and waited for an answer, waited until my muscles popped with the strain.

  "No talking!" The guard roared at the other end of the cells.

  I jerked my head toward the sound and stared at the long row of empty cells. A growl slipped from my lips. His steps echoed, nearing. The sudden flare of a match cast away the shadows. I winced at the sudden glare and looked away to the cell next to me.

  She was a tiny ball in the corner of the room, just as she'd been on the mountain. I gripped the bars, and yanked, testing the strength.

  Rusted flakes bit into my fingers. I glanced at the guard and lowered my voice. "Joslyn."

  Her name resounded and not just in the cells. The chatter of teeth followed. I clenched the steel and walked myself closer. My words tasted like ash. What could I say?

  The gnash of teeth filled the space, growing and ebbing until I couldn't take the sound. She was too far away from me. Too far for me to see. "You're cold…" I reached through the bars. "Come closer to me."

  Silence, not even a whisper. Not even a breath. I could warm you…I could warm you, and keep you safe.

  You've done a bang up job so far dickhead.

  I flinched at the smug two-faced vermin and focused on her. Talk—talk all you damn well want. Her voice soothed me.

  She was alive—that was all that mattered.

  Her whimper was a lance to my heart.

  She was cold…she was freezing. Panic seized me.

  My fingers trembled, snagging the hem of my shirt. Cold kissed fresh skin as I dragged the fabric higher, sliding it over my body and my head. It reeked, splattered with blood and smeared with dirt…but it was all I had to give.

  "Here," I speared my hand through the bars. "It's not much, but it's big. It'll cover you."

  She made no movement. This couldn’t be it. I dragged my hand down. Balled the shirt in my fist and threw. The fabric whispered as it hit the ground not far from her back.

  Please. Just turn and take the damn thing.

  I watched and waited. Seconds felt like fucking hours. She shifted her head, just an inch. But it was enough. It was enough. She turned her head; one hand snaked out touching the fabric.

  "I'm sorry about the smell. But it'll keep you warm. It'll—"

  She caught the edge and flicked the shirt toward me. "I don't want it. Take it back."

  A nerve jumped near my eye. I scanned the cells. I could still hear the guard moving about. Don't want it?
I swallowed the air, trying to find the right words to say. "But I…"

  Plastic skimmed the ground. I could feel the heat of her gaze. "I don't want it. I don't want anything from you, don't you get that? Leave me the hell alone."

  A slap would've been kinder. Hell, a swift kick to the balls just as good. But the anger in her voice. The quiet desperation made me feel fucking sick. I stared at the mound inches from the bars and whispered. "Please."

  The thump of my heart was the only sound. She wasn't going to take it. Fucking stubborn little…human. The word wadded in the back of my throat. I wanted to spit the word, hurl the word. I wanted her to wake up to her damn self and take the help that was offered. The image of her curled and crying surfaced. She'd suffered, more than any person should. Couldn't she see I wasn't like them?

  No. She couldn't. And that was the problem.

  I sank to my knees, and kept my gaze on the movement outside. But my focus was on the woman in the cell next to mine. "I can already tell you're going to be a pain in my ass. Probably a bigger pain than your damn brother."

  Her sudden inhale gave me hope. She waited, not saying a damn word, leaving me to fumble like a damn buffoon.

  You are a buffoon. "Shut the hell up."

  "I didn't say anything." She answered, and I wanted to bite my damn tongue. "You were the one talking to me. Probably talking shit anyway. You don't know my brother."

  "The Deputy? Yeah, I know him all right. He drove up, started screaming in Marcus's face about some damn sister who was missing. Cocky little bastard. It's a wonder he didn't get himself killed, or worse…"

  Cloth rustled as she moved, pulling herself upright. "Worse? What's worse than that?"

  "Ever been chewed up and spat out by a pissed off Taurean Dragon?"

  A sound slipped from her lips. Was that a snigger? "Not lately, no."

  "Then take it from me—death would be easier."

  "Didn't know there were such things as Dragons," she murmured.

  Finally, something I could use, something I could hold onto. "Neither did anyone else. You could say we've been a little quiet of late…and by late I mean the last few thousand years."

  "Jesus, that's old. You don't look that old."

  "No?" An unspoken challenge slipped into my voice.

  "Nah, I mean. You look old, but not ancient."

  My lips cracked into a smile. Bullseye. “That’s the way to make a guy feel good about himself."

  "Do you? Do you need to feel good about yourself?"

  The smile on my lips died. Old wounds split and festered as my voice turned cold. "You could say I have plenty to atone for."

  "Y-you and me b-both." Her words were broken by the gnash of teeth.

  "Just take the damn shirt, will you? Put it on. Don't put it on. I don't want anything from you. Just wanted you…"

  Warm and safe.

  The darkness shifted, cloth slid on rocks. I caught movement, and then a sweet sigh of relief. My body shuddered, icy fingers speared deep. Still it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. Cold seeped into my skin and reached down. So if I felt the cold, then she'd be near to freezing.

  Think dammit.

  Footsteps echoed in the distance. Faint flickers of light bounced, shifting as the footsteps came closer. The guard strode past, stopped long enough to peer into Joslyn's cell and then into mine. His lips curved. He flicked one vicious glance toward Joslyn and gave me a wink. "Be back for that one a little later."

  The Wretched rose, this time without me begging. Flames licked the inside of his barrel chest and cast the cold aside. I slammed my palm on the ground and rose in one swift movement. The bastard's eyes widened. His head craned higher, holding my gaze as I covered the distance. "Come near her and I'll tear you apart."

  His smile twitched, satisfaction filled me as the gleam in his eyes dulled. He didn't look so confident now. Didn't feel so damn cocky. My shoulders itched and stung. These cells were no place for wings, but I’d welcome the Wretched with open fucking arms if it meant keeping her safe.

  No woman, no child would come to harm. Not if I could help it.

  He turned and took a step. This battle wasn't over—it'd only just begun. The darkness shifted, moving with him as he strode to the other end of the cells. I listened for the sound of his boots, waiting for his return and as the sound faded into nothing I realized this was a battle I couldn't win.

  Emptiness waited for me. I turned and made my way back to the far end of the cells. Joslyn shifted. The chatter softer, no longer the hard gnashing that fractured and maimed.

  I eased myself down and dragged my feet up higher, bracing myself against the wall.

  "You don't have to do that you know…defend me like that."

  I never turned my head, never gave her an answer. What did she know? She was just a damn kid. I was a Guardian. I was the protector. It was what I was born to do. My damn hands trembled. I splayed open my fingers and stared at them in the dark.

  "I've murdered people…men, women, anyone who bought and sold to the ones who've held you captive. I didn't care who they were, if they harmed, or conspired. I've burned them. I've broken them. I've crushed their bodies into the earth until there was nothing left… And I'd do it all again. I'd do it all again because that's what I do. I protect. I defend." I turned to find her in the dark. "I'm not telling you this to scare you. I'm telling you this because I want you to understand…"

  The sudden shake of her head was like ghostly flickers of fire. Gone was the glint in her eyes. Gone was the smile. She was back to the cold shell of a person. Harsh whispers reached through the bars. "Don't say it. Don't you dare say it."

  I scooted closer to the edge and reached through the wall toward her. "I won't let you down, Joslyn… I won't—"

  Tears glistened on her cheek as she shook her head. "Shut up. Just shut up. You can't protect me. You can't save me…" She turned her head severing our gaze. "No one can."

  A shudder raced, shaking her bones. She dragged her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tight. But I couldn't stop. I needed her to know. I needed her to understand. "I'm right here, Joslyn. I'm right here…I'm not going anywhere."

  She wrenched her head toward me. Hate and fear spilled down her cheeks. "You don't know that! They take everything…everything. Four days they've kept me…four days without seeing my family…four days locked in Hell and now…" She glanced around the filthy dark cell. Her words were a whisper that rubbed my heart raw. "Now I'm here. I know I'm not getting out of here. I know I'm not…"

  …going to survive.

  My fingers scraped the ground. Hope was nothing more than cold steel driving right through the center of my chest. "Wherever you go, I go. We're in this together. Whether we like it or not."

  "Why? Why are you here…with me?"

  The answer was so simple. I didn't even have to think. "Because you're the only one I heard."

  A tiny huff filled the air. She didn't understand. I wanted to explain…but how could I when I couldn't explain it to my damn self? I turned my hand, palm up on the ground and closed my eyes. The wall was cold against my bare scalp. Why, Dragon? Why this one?

  A dark chasm yawned somewhere in the depths of our soul. An unspoken desire waited, a need unfulfilled. I realized this need was the only thing that connected us. My Dragon snorted. Blazing eyes dulled to sparking orange embers.

  "You can't…she's just a child."

  The Wretched took a step and pawed the ground with those split hooves. My stomach trembled, fear slipped through the cracks. "You can't… I won't let you."

  A soft mumble filled with sleep came from my right. "Won't let you what?"

  I jerked my head toward her, finding the small curled body in the dark. "Nothing…everything is okay. Get some sleep. You need your rest."

  She mumbled something unintelligible and slid closer to the bars. I could smell my shirt on her—the thick male stench smothered her own faint sweet scent. The chattering started faint and grew
in tempo.

  I stared at the walls on the other side of the cells, watching the glow of the torch flicker and wane. A moan slipped from her lips. She moved on the cold hard ground, trying to ease her aching body.

  "Move closer. You can use my arm as a pillow,” I whispered and dropped to the ground.

  Scrape, whisper. Her fingers skimmed my arm as she settled her head into the groove. "So cold…just so cold."

  I curled as she slid her spine against the bars. Her soft sigh eased something inside me. Metal pressed into my chest. She butted her ass harder, searching for the only thing I had left to give.

  I reached through and curled my arm around her waist. Her back warmed my chest. My arm grew numb from her head. Still I never moved. The brutal gnash of her teeth eased. Long, deep breaths replaced the sound.

  The darkness beckoned. So tired, bone tired. I ached in places I'd never felt before…in the center of my chest, in that cold, hard, pulsing muscle that hadn't existed—until now.

  Soft snores slipped through the bars to lull me. My eyes drifted closed and then snapped open. Footsteps echoed in the distance. I turned my head and stared at her outline. Sleep Joslyn… I'll protect you…I'll guard you, for as long as I can.

  They came one after another, passing by the cells, stopping long enough to lift their torches high and peer into the gloom. I raised my head, my top lip curled without making a sound and stared into each damn gaze. I wouldn't make a sound, wouldn't wake her…not yet.

  I counted the seconds, for the timing of my heart was a little off. The throbs came a little faster, a little harder…with the feel of her through the bars.

  One hundred and nine…one hundred and ten…one hundred and eleven…

  A sigh. A shift, sweet murmurs I strained to hear. Was she dreaming? Was she dreaming of me?

  I shook the thought from my head. The numbers slipped from my hold…one…two…three…four… Footsteps echoed in the distance.

  I stared at the dark and waited.

  I waited for the inevitable to come.

  I waited for her…the blonde bitch who brought us here.

  Questions crowded my head, too many to answer and none would keep us alive. The sound of boots grew louder…two guards this time, scuffing the ground when they walked. These were smaller, younger. I could take them if I had to, crush their skulls and leave them behind.