Fire

by Helen Scott

  Even as I was overwhelmed with sensation I could still feel Griff moving within me, but as wave after wave of intense pleasure washed over me I felt his movements become jerky and uneven. He joined me in orgasmic bliss not long after with a yell which I thought might have been my name, but I wasn't sure.

  The haze of my second orgasm eventually cleared and as my eyes slowly blinked open once again I found myself staring at the most beautiful night sky I'd ever seen. Griff had flopped down next to me at some point, but I didn't remember when, and Finn was on my other side. The three of us rolled together so I was sandwiched between them like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  Griff was pressed against my back with an arm thrown over my waist, while Finn lay facing me, his hand resting on my ass as one of my legs was hooked over one of his thighs. If I was a cat I would have been purring, or if I was a dog my tail would have been wagging, since I was neither I just sighed in contentment and let my body relax into the pleasure of being held by two men who would try and move the stars for me if I asked them to.

  18

  Tessa

  I rolled toward the warmth and felt something shift underneath me. It took me a moment to remember where I was and what was happening, but when I did... My body heated at the images that were crossing my mind's eye at that moment and I reached down, only to find that I was still naked under the blanket that Finn had dug out of the pack last night. As my eyes flickered open, I saw that the warmth I'd felt a moment ago was from a rock that was sitting in the sunlight.

  "Morning, Dove," Griff said. There was something off about his tone. Did he regret what happened?

  I sat up, clutching the blanket to my chest. "Hey," I replied, my mouth feeling like I had been out on a bender last night instead of having a few sips, or gulps, of wine. As I glanced around, I realized the third member of our little trio was missing. "Where's Finn?"

  "You might want to put some clothes on for that," Griff said handing me my dress.

  I was grateful that it was still intact after last night. As I took it from him, I stood and carefully shimmied into it. Griff didn't take his eyes off me the whole time, and if I was honest, I didn't want him to. One of my biggest fears was that this was all temporary, that they would leave once the worlds were saved. The thought sent an ice pick through my heart and I had to look away. When I did my breath caught.

  Finn was standing at the edge of the ocean, but it was no longer blue. The purple shade that had been depicted in the mural now colored the water, only it wasn't as dark, but maybe that was just because I was seeing it up close. From where I was standing it looked almost like lavender; it was quite pretty if I didn't think too hard about what it meant.

  "What happened?" I whispered to no one in particular.

  "We don't know. We woke up and it was like this. There are bodies in the distance as well," Griff said before he began walking down to Finn, who was sitting on the shore where our shenanigans had started last night.

  I followed, being careful where I put my feet since I hadn't found my sandals yet. As Finn heard me approach, he stood from where he'd been kneeling on the ground and looked at me, his eyes devoid of emotion. I'd never seen him so closed off. My heart hurt at the way he looked at me. I knew he didn't mean anything by it, that he was just grieving the changes in his world, but that didn't lessen the sting.

  "We should get back," he said as he walked by me and began to gather up some of the things we had left lying around last night.

  It was a long, quiet walk back to the palace, one that felt much too awkward given what we'd been up to the night before. When we crossed the bridge from the outer ring to the farming ring, I felt a wave of dizziness pass over me and the sound of voices seemed to be echoing in my head. I stumbled and fell to my knees as it felt like needles were being pressed into my head, each one associated with a round of voices.

  As the wind picked up the voices got louder, almost as though it was carrying them to me. The voices faded fairly quickly but were replaced with roars and purrs and yips, like the dragon in the cave. I gripped my armband and yanked it off, forcing the dragon into existence.

  "Are you doing this?" I demanded.

  The dragon swooped around my head before flying over to the guys who were standing there staring open-mouthed at the creature as it got right up in their faces. It hissed at them and a puff of smoke came from its nose before it flew back to me.

  "Make this stop," I pleaded as the voices intensified. They were speaking in languages that I didn't understand and couldn't replicate for the guys to hear. There were no single words, nothing that I could pick up or differentiate from the others. The words were all just a big jumble in my head. It wasn't until I felt a hand land on my shoulder that I even knew Griff and Finn had moved.

  The baby dragon was flying around, clearly agitated and wanting me to do something or put the cuff back on, but I couldn't, not with all this noise in my head. When it flew into me but remained solid, I was surprised. As it bounced off my shoulder I stumbled backward. My eyes darted to Finn and Griff who were saying something, but I couldn't understand what it was. Their mouths were moving but the sound wasn't making it over the sea of voices.

  The dragon flew into me again and again until my heel caught on the edge of the bridge between the farming ring and the outer ring that the ancient temple was on. As soon as I was off the farming circle the voices began to quiet down. I did that weird yawn jaw stretch that people do when their ears have popped because the sudden drop in sound made me feel like I had just closed one imaginary door. There were still a couple open, but it wasn't as bad as before.

  "Why can't she hear us?" Griff said looking panicked as he turned to Finn. "We were never warned about this shit."

  My heart stung a little at his words. "I can hear you now," I said as I stood up from where I'd fallen. My voice sounded hurt even to my own ears, so I wasn't surprised when a flash of guilt crossed Griff's face. He knew I'd heard what he just said.

  "I wasn't meaning you, Dove. Besides, even if I had been warned about you, I would have run headlong into battle for you anyway." He said, walked swiftly over to me and kissed me on the forehead. "I'll always run into battle for you, or with you if that's what you want." His words eased the hurt I was feeling, and I wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug. He gave me a squeeze back before speaking again. "We really do need to figure out why you couldn't hear us though."

  "I know, but I think the dragon knows. At least I hope it does, otherwise the little jerk is giving me bruises for no reason." I rubbed the spot where he'd flown into me a few times knowing my body well enough to recognize when a bruise was going to show up. Add that to the gash that I still had on my other shoulder from the fight with the giant or troll or whatever it was, and I was starting to look like a mess.

  "He does seem to have a method to his madness," Finn mused.

  "He?" I asked.

  "Yep, didn't he tell you?"

  "We haven't exactly had a conversation since I don't speak dragon. Do you?" I wasn't sure exactly what the relationship between people and caretakers, or as I called them, dragons, was like in Atlantis, or any of the other worlds, for that matter. I didn't want to assume that no one could understand them when that might not be the case.

  "No, but some of the elders might," he said as though that would make complete sense.

  The elders, of course! Why didn't I think of that! My snark sounded off in my head. Before I could respond out loud the dragon flew into me again. "Fine! I'm going!" I said as I crossed the bridge.

  Immediately, the small creature flew ahead of us, circling a few times as we followed. He was leading us back toward the temple, that much I could tell from the few times I'd walked this path. The brush and strange trees were my guideposts from when I'd been stuck down here waiting before.

  I tried to remember exactly what the mural had shown when we were looking at it a few days ago. Had it really only been a few days? It felt like too much had
happened in such a short time, especially with Griff and Finn. I glanced sideways at each of them and saw the grim lines on their faces. Something in me told me this was going to get worse before it got better.

  By the time we reached the entrance to the temple I was worried. It wasn't just quiet it was silent. The birds that were usually cawing and singing weren't there, and their bright colors were missing from the branches making the trees look bare around us. The lavender water was visible from in front of us and at the sides, a constant reminder of the change that was happening.

  When the dragon ducked into the entrance of the temple I followed without hesitation. For some reason I couldn't explain, I trusted this dragon more than I trusted most things in my life. We were tied together, he and I, and I knew that he wouldn't hurt me because it would be like hurting himself. I also knew that, somehow, he'd chosen this and that the link between us was more than him just understanding when I spoke aloud.

  My dragon was sitting on top of the statue of the woman which was there just as before, along with the giant hole in the floor, the remnants of the glass throne, and smashed crystals. The four statues behind her seemed frozen in time. The fog, rocks, fire, and water were there, but they weren't flowing anymore. They looked more like a photograph than anything else. One of the woman's arms was different though. Instead of holding the spear up, it was held out as though waiting for something or defending against something.

  The metal work on the top of the spear was more visible at this level and there were four clear indents. My breath caught in my throat as I immediately reached for the stone that I had found yesterday. I had been storing it in one of the pockets of the dress, which seemed like a dangerous place for something so important, but where else was I going to put it. That had to be it, right? She wanted the stone and then that would stabilize Atlantis for the foreseeable future?

  "Should I do it?" I asked turning to face the guys and holding the stone in front of the spear top so they could see what I was talking about.

  "I don't see why not," Griff said before turning to look at Finn who just nodded.

  "Here goes nothing," I whispered to myself, trying to calm my nerves.

  The stone didn't fit in the first two recesses that I tried, but the third fit it perfectly. Blue and white sparks erupted from around the stone before it fell out of the dip in the spearhead and back into my palm.

  Purple filaments filled the room and I knew we were no longer alone. The baby dragon flew back to me, painfully landing on my shoulder as it latched on with its claws. In my peripheral vision I saw Griff and Finn drop to their knees. When I turned around, I realized why.

  The largest dragon I'd ever seen was standing in front of me, blocking the exit from the temple. It sniffed loudly, the nostrils on its long snout flaring as its reptilian eyes looked us over. I realized I was still standing and fell to my knees, taking my baby dragon with me as it was now hiding behind my hair.

  When I looked up all I saw was the swirl of blue and white scales as the large dragon walked over to me and nudged me with its snout. My heart raced in my chest and I wanted to be sick, while at the same time I wanted to reach out and pet its head like it was a dog, or rather an elephant, because that was about the size of it.

  You bring me the stone? Its voice echoed in my head like I was at a concert standing next to the speaker.

  "Am I supposed to give it to you?" I asked, unsure of what to do.

  That is up to you, child. It seemed to hum as it looked down at me, like it was deciding whether I would make a good lunch.

  "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. All I have is a prophecy and some paintings. I don't want these worlds to be destroyed, but I don't know how to fix it," I breathed, hoping for more answers.

  You do not have all the information you need to make this decision, and yet make it you must. Giving me the stone will give me power over Atlantis. I can save it, show the people here how to live in my world.

  "Your world? What does that even mean? Where did you come from? Where did any of you come from?" I asked, feeling as though I was going crazy.

  I heard a sharp intake of breath next to me, and I knew Finn was worried that I'd just put my foot in my mouth, but I wasn't going to make an uninformed decision. I couldn't. If I did it would be unfair to everyone in Atlantis and the other worlds, but from the way the dragon was looking at me, I felt like I'd just taken a giant leap closer to becoming its afternoon snack.

  19

  Tessa

  Fear radiated down my spine from where the baby dragon was sitting. I knew some demons wanted to combine all five worlds into one that they ruled over, but what if some of the dragons were involved as well? I mean there was a reason the quote about power corrupting people had stuck around for so long.

  You question me, Laelak, the keeper of Atlantis, and my intentions with this world? the dragon asked me as a tendril of smoke left one of its nostrils. I could practically see the disbelief in its eyes.

  I took a steadying breath and said, "I do. I don't know you, yet you seem to know about the stone and what's going on, so if you share with us then I will consider giving it to you, otherwise I'll hold onto it, thanks."

  You are bold, daughter of Eve. I like that. Your colleagues are not despite the fact that they are some of the strongest creatures created. Would you like me to eat them for you?

  "No, thank you. I quite like them as they are."

  As you wish. You may not trust me yet, but you will, given time. Once your dragon has matured and you have gained the others you'll come back and see me. I will be waiting. When it turned and walked away, fading into nothingness as it went, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

  "Why didn't you give him the stone?" Finn demanded.

  "Because my dragon is scared of him. Why would a baby dragon be scared of an elder?" I asked trying to keep calm while he vented his fear.

  "You don't know what you've done."

  "You're right. I have no idea what I've done other than trust my instincts. If I'm supposed to be this powerful Key, then surely my instincts are good for something. I know you're scared. I am too, but fear doesn't mean we should trust the first person who comes along, or dragon in this case." I pushed to my feet and began to wander back to the entrance of the temple. "I'm supposed to stabilize the four worlds, to make it so that you survive and don't all implode on one another or something, right? So, I think we need to get everything together. There is no point stabilizing one world when the other three are still unbalanced and could destroy you anyway."

  "I think what Finn was trying to say was thanks for not serving us up as snacks," Griff said as he walked over to meet me at the temple entrance.

  "I would never let someone eat you, unless it's me that is," I said as I grinned up at him.

  "I think I'm the one that's supposed to be doing the eating out of the two of us, don't you?" He smiled and flashed me his canines.

  Finn joined us a moment later. "Sorry, I'm just a little shaken up. I mean the ocean is fucking purple. The ecosystem is going to be thrown off with the deaths of the sea beasts and we aren't even sure if we caused whatever happened or if we can fix it."

  I snorted. "Welcome to my world. You think it was easy taking in what you were telling me when we were on earth and then showing up in the depths of some temple on Atlantis all by myself? At this point, I'm trusting my gut and you guys and that's about it."

  "It is a lot to take in." Finn nodded. "We should get back."

  I put my armband back on before I set off down the path. My baby dragon disappeared, and I held the stone tightly in my hand as we progressed. I couldn't lie, I was nervous about Laelak appearing again and demanding the stone in exchange for our freedom or something. It didn't happen though. We made it all the way to the bridge without incident, so I tucked it back into my pocket and hoped that the voices wouldn't come back.

  When I stepped off the bridge and nothing happened, I was relieved. What had happened before was
more than a little uncomfortable. By the time we had crossed the farm ring and made it to the city I was exhausted. Maybe that was why I didn't see it coming.

  One of the guards nodded to us as we crossed over and the market was still fairly busy. We wove through the crowd, sweaty bodies pressing in as we made our way between stalls. The scent of spices and cooking fish filled the air making my stomach growl loudly enough that a few people around us chuckled.

  "You should feed the girl, old man," one of the stall owners said as he held out a platter of some kind of cooked fish.

  "That's what I'm trying to do if I could get through this crowd," Finn joked.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I couldn't help but feel uneasy with this many people milling around.

  "Firesmith, why don't you give us a show!" the same man called.

  "You know that's against the law," Griff said, his voice barely above a snarl.

  "What if I threaten your girl?" the man demanded, the joking tone suddenly gone from his voice.

  I spun around trying to get a look at him and figure out what the hell was going on, but Griff and Finn both pushed me back behind them away from the merchant. When two sets of hands grabbed my arms I yelped, but they were dragging me away before my guys could even turn back around. I kicked back and let my body go limp; dead weight was much harder to haul anyway.

  Finn and Griff were pushing through the crowd that seemed to be actively trying to stall them. When my dead weight didn't seem to slow down the men carrying me I lunged, trying to grab onto anything within reach. My fingers slipped against a number of objects, but I couldn't gain any purchase against the smooth wood or loose fabrics that my fingers found.