by Julie Wetzel
Once she was sure of her surroundings, Kara focused solely on the dragon. The fact that it hadn’t immediately attacked her when she had come in made her glad she hadn’t changed into the Eternity uniform. “Hello,” she said softly.
The dragon dropped into a protective stance and pulled its wings in tight against its body.
Kara watched his body language very closely as she took her first slow step into the room. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
Letting out a soft growl, the dragon’s back end wiggled like a cat getting ready to pounce.
“My name is Kara, and I just want to talk.” She spoke softly as she continued into the room.
After two more small steps, the dragon attacked, but Kara was ready for him. Raising the shoe, she bashed him in the side of the head, knocking his sharp teeth away. Once he was off balance, she grabbed the edge of the crest at the back of his head and twisted it over so he landed on his back with a yelp of surprise. Taking full advantage of his astonishment, she spun him around so his head was towards her and dropped down on his nose so her knee held his mouth shut in case he decided to bite. Leaning her full weight on his frill, she pinned him to the floor. One eye, wide with surprise, stared up at her as they came to rest on the floor together.
“Enough of this!” she snapped as the dragon flailed. When his sharp claws got near her, she swatted them away again. “Enough!” Taking the shoe, she smacked him hard in the chest, knocking the wind from him. When he gasped, she dropped the shoe and bent her forehead to the bottom of his chin. She rubbed against him as he panted for breath.
It was a dirty trick, using a courtship gesture in his time of distress, but she needed him calm and it was one of the few things she knew that would take the fight out of a worked-up dragon. She drew in a long breath from his skin as she rubbed her cheek and face against him. A whole mess of scent hit her, making her reel. No wonder he’s attacking everything. He’s so far out of balance it’s amazing he’s conscious at all. Shaking her thoughts away, she continued to nuzzle him until the tension in his muscles eased.
Once he was calm, Kara sat up and looked at him. He was beautiful—or he would be, once he was cleaned up. The spray from the broken toilet had done some good, removing part of the dirt and blood coating his scales, but he was in desperate need of a real bath. There was some form of band around his neck, but she would have to get closer to inspect it fully. That could wait until later.
He lay there, limp under her steady hold. The tip of his tail flipping back and forth was the only suggestion he might still be upset. “If I turn you lose, will you behave yourself?”
The dragon rumbled softly.
“Words,” Kara insisted. “You have them, use them. I will understand.”
It took the dragon a moment, but it rumbled a very guttural yes.
“Very well.” Slowly, Kara eased off the dragon’s chin and frill.
It lay there for a moment before carefully rolling over, catching Kara in one big, glassy eye to study her.
“I’m sorry about that,” Kara said as she shifted around to sit more comfortably on the damp floor. She tugged at her skirt, trying to get it into a more decent position. When she saw it wasn’t going to go, she gave up and turned her attention fully to her new patient. “You want to try this again from the beginning?” she asked, giving him a soft smile.
The dragon just stared at her.
Amusement curled up the corner of her mouth, and she let out a soft laugh. “Well, I think we should.” She cleared her throat, trying to make herself seem more professional. “My name is Kara Rose, and Daniel called me to come help. I’m a counselor.”
A doubtful look crossed the dragon’s face.
Kara smiled at him. “I’m not going to claim to know what you’ve been through or try to understand your situation.” She paused and studied the dragon for a moment before continuing. “Daniel has given me an idea of what happened, and I don’t think anyone could really understand what you’ve gone through. But I’m here to help you connect with your human half.”
The dragon rumbled softly.
Kara snickered in reply. “Well, I’m here to help you connect with Noah.”
“Mine!” the dragon growled and recoiled from her.
“Easy there,” Kara said as she held out her hands, trying to soothe the beast. “No one’s going to take him away from you.”
The dragon relaxed back into his resting position.
“Noah’s got a lot of friends who are worried about him. They just want to make sure he’s all right,” Kara explained. She considered the dragon’s posture for a moment. He was relaxed and showing no signs of the aggression he’d had a few moments ago. That was a good sign. “He is all right, isn’t he?”
The dragon blinked but didn’t answer.
A note of dread crept into Kara’s heart. She didn’t like the fact that the dragon couldn’t tell her if Noah was okay. “Can I speak with him?”
Pain colored the dragon’s dark eyes. “Lost!” it moaned and rolled its head away from Kara.
The note of despair in the creature’s voice broke Kara’s heart. She shifted over so she was right next to his head. “Come here.” She pulled his head into her lap. “If Noah were truly lost, you wouldn’t be here.” She ran her fingers over his warm scales, comforting him. “It’s a proven fact that it takes two parts for a dragon to survive. He’s in there—we just have to find him.”
The dragon blinked, considering her words. “Truly?”
“Truly,” Kara answered back. “And we will find him. Together.”
The dragon rolled his head over and pressed it into her middle.
Letting out a sigh, Kara held his head. Usually, she didn’t let her patients get this physical, but this was by far the worst case of separation she had ever seen. Normally, it only took a little convincing to get the dragon to back down and let the human half out. She had never seen a case where the dragon couldn’t reach their other side at all.
“Scared,” he rumbled.
Kara squeezed him tighter. “It will be all right,” she soothed him. After a moment, she released him and pushed him back so she could look in his face. “But first we have to figure out what to call you. You aren’t Raven anymore, and you aren’t Noah.” She paused as she thought about it. “What would you like to be called?”
The dragon blinked at her, unsure.
After a moment of indecision, Kara smiled at him. “Why don’t we call you Byrd, since Raven’s last name was Nightingale and Noah’s last name is Dove? Sound good?”
The dragon snickered and nodded its head. “Byrd,” he chirped.
“All right, Byrd. What say you and I blow this popsicle stand and go find something to eat?” Kara suggested. “I don’t know about you, but I could really use a good steak about now.”
Byrd nodded again and moved back so Kara could get up.
Pushing up from the floor, Kara straightened out her suit and looked down at her new patient. His wings hung low under the weight of his situation. Letting out a deep sigh, Kara shifted over and rubbed her fingers over Byrd’s shoulders.
The little dragon leaned into her side, accepting her touch.
She scratched a little harder as they turned towards the door.
Laurence eyed the quiet dragon but opened the door leading to the hall where the rest of the men were waiting.
Byrd growled softly until Kara patted him on the back.
“These men are your friends,” she reminded him.
He quieted down but watched the men warily as she guided him out of the room.
Daniel stood against the far wall with a smile on his face. “That was surprisingly easy. So when can I have my man back?”
Kara laughed. He had no idea the scale of the task they had in front of them. And it was going to be hell if facing down a feral dragon with a broken shoe was the easy part.
***
The ebb and flow of a heated conversation was the first thing Noah recognized as
he floated on the edge of awareness. Memories toyed with his brain, but he couldn’t quite grasp them. Something significant had happened, but he couldn’t recall what it had been. He didn’t really hurt, just felt a little disconnected from his body. Like that time when he’d been playing with a volatile spell and had ended up in the hospital for a week. The out-of-body experience that had caused was very similar to how he felt now, but this was the other way around. Instead of being trapped outside his body looking down, he was stuck inside looking out with someone else in control.
He listened to the conversation, not really understanding what the voices were saying. From the timber, he could tell it was a male and a female talking passionately about something. But what eluded him.
As they went on, Noah slowly caught the gist of their argument. The girl wanted to do something, and the guy was refusing. The male’s voice was familiar, and Noah raised his head to look at the man. The world looked weird. Colors were overly bright, and the edges of everything were too sharp. He blinked a few times, trying to focus on the man. It took Noah a moment to identify him. Daniel. Noah looked over at the animated woman arguing with him. She was a mess. Her long hair hung loose around her shoulders in damp tendrils, and her well-cut suit was smudged with dirt and soaked beyond repair. Noah stared at the pair, wondering why they were arguing.
“She wants us to go with her.”
Noah looked around for the source of the new voice but couldn’t find anyone else. He tried to call out to ask, but nothing came out. “Who?” he asked in his head.
A soft snicker washed over him. “We are one.”
Noah paused as he recognized the voice. “Dragon?”
The dragon rumbled in response.
Noah felt the unusual sensation vibrate up from his own chest. The argument between Daniel and the woman paused in response to the sound.
“How about we ask him?” she snapped at Daniel.
Daniel looked at the woman, considering her request. “Sure.” He turned his attention to Noah. “Byrd, if I let you go with Miss Rose, will you behave and work to get my man back to me?”
Noah wanted to answer him, to tell Daniel he was there, but the dragon took control.
“Yes, we be good,” it chirped.
Daniel considered him. “And Noah?”
“We find him,” Byrd answered.
Noah wanted to scream. He pushed and pulled with all his might, but nothing he did made a difference. He was stuck at the mercy of the dragon, forced to watch as the woman turned back to Daniel.
“See, he’ll behave,” she argued. “I’ll make sure he’s all right.” She paused as Daniel mulled over the decision. “He isn’t doing you any good as he is, and I can’t help him here. He needs a quiet place to recover, not a cell.”
Daniel let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Take him. Keep him with you at all times. He’s your responsibility and top priority. I want him back safe and whole as soon as possible. Do I make myself clear?”
The woman looked ready to snap at Daniel, but she clenched her teeth and nodded. “Crystal.” Without another word, she turned from Daniel to face Noah. There was a hint of irritation in her eyes, but she smiled warmly at him. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get out of here.”
Noah felt his head nod as the dragon agreed. “We’re going to go with her?” he questioned. A hint of fear echoed through him. The last time he had gone with a woman he didn’t know, it hadn’t ended well.
“She’s nice,” the dragon answered as he turned and followed the woman out.
If it had been possible, Noah would have let out a deep sigh of frustration as he sat back and hung on for the ride. It was weird not being in control of his body.
4
Sitting in her driveway, Kara stared out the front window of her car at her house. I can’t believe I’m doing this! As a therapist, she lived by two rules: never get physical with your patients, and never bring them into your personal life. Two very important boundaries when dealing with creatures that put a lot more emphasis on physical touch and personal space than humans did.
It was never a good idea to put yourself into a situation where an emotionally distressed dragon might start to depend on you. That was the way unintentional bonds were formed. Such situations usually ended badly. Kara had broken her physical contact rule on occasions when her patients needed that extra support, but she never let it go too far.
The second rule had never been broken. She refused to cross the line between professional and personal for any reason. Yet, here she was, sitting in her driveway with the most distressed dragon she had ever met—one she’d already broken her first rule with—getting ready to break her most sacred, second rule.
She glanced over at the small dragon next to her. He looked so forlorn with his chin up on the dashboard, staring out the windshield at her home. The sight softened her resistance and made the corner of her mouth turn up in a gentle smile. “Come on,” she said as she gathered up her things and got out of the car, holding the door open for the little dragon.
Byrd blinked up at her for a moment before climbing across the seats and out her side of the car.
“Please excuse the mess,” Kara said as she led the way to the house and unlocked the door. “I’m still in the process of moving in.” She pushed the door wide for Byrd to pass.
Byrd stopped on the threshold and glanced up at her as if he were unsure about entering her home.
“Go on,” she urged. “Daniel said you have to stay with me for a while.”
After another long moment of slow blinks, Byrd nodded his head and slipped through the door.
Kara let out a long sigh. So much for rules. Shaking off her irritation, she followed Byrd through the door and nearly ran over him. He’d stopped just inside the living room and was staring at the row of boxes piled against the wall. “I told you it was a mess,” she said as she shifted past him and dropped her things on the end of the couch. “I actually just moved in yesterday.” She turned and looked at the pensive dragon. “Come on and I’ll show you around.”
Byrd nodded and followed her.
“This is the living room.” She held her hand out to show off the room before stepping into the connected kitchen. “And the kitchen.” This room was also stacked with boxes. “I’m a pretty good cook, but we’ll have to order out until I get my dishes unpacked.” She pointed to an area stacked with more boxes. “The table will be over here eventually.” She smiled back at Byrd. “I haven’t picked it out yet.”
The dragon nodded again.
“This place is bigger than my last apartment,” she explained as she led the way out of the kitchen to a narrow set of stairs. “I was so excited to find it at such an amazing steal.” Kara rambled on as she led the way up to the second floor. “There’s a half bath downstairs, but the bedrooms are up here.” Pushing open the first door, she showed off a room stuffed with boxes. “Here’s the library—or will be, when I get it sorted.” Continuing down the hall, she led him to another door. “This is my office and the guest room.” Holding the door open, she let him go in.
After a few steps into the room, Byrd stopped and glanced around.
The way he sat back on his haunches and wrapped his tail around his feet irritated Kara. She looked around the modest room. On one wall were her desk and the filing cabinets holding her work. On the other wall was a perfectly nice daybed. The mattress, however, was leaned against the wall, and the pillows were still in plastic. Kara let out a sigh. At least the white iron frame had been put together. Forcing a smile on her face, she turned to the little dragon. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting company so soon. If you give me five minutes to get cleaned up, I’ll get this made up for you.”
Biting back the anger riding her, she turned and left the little dragon alone. Pushing into her room, she ripped the ruined shirt off and threw it on the floor. This whole day was getting to her. Stopping in front of her closet, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep, calming breath. She had to get a
handle on herself before she snapped and said something she would regret. It wasn’t Byrd’s fault he was here. She needed him to trust her so she could help him. Snapping at him would only put space between them and delay her ability to sort him out.
Opening her eyes, she looked into the closet to find something suitable to wear. Pulling out jeans and a T-shirt, she grabbed some clean underwear from a box and took them into her bathroom to change. A quick glance in the mirror made her change her mind about her course of action. She had planned on just washing her face and changing clothes, but she was more of a mess than she’d realized. Dropping her clothing on the counter, she turned and cranked on the water. It would have to be a fast shower, but there was no way she was going to deal with clean linens when she was covered in mud and soot. Stripping the rest of the way out of her clothing, she stepped into the water. Being clean would go a long way towards settling her world down so she could work.
***
Noah looked around the room Kara had left him in.
“Looks nice,” he told Byrd. He could feel the dragon’s reluctance to agree. “Now don’t be snobby,” he warned, “she wasn’t expecting guests. There’s a lot of potential here.”
Byrd shrugged and got up to investigate the room. Together, they poked through some of the boxes. A few held pillows and linens that Noah thought would look nice on the iron daybed. Others held books or knickknacks. A well-executed picture of some English countryside leaned against the wall opposite the undressed window.
Noah nodded his approval. “This place will look splendid once she gets it put together.”
Byrd shrugged again.
Noah would have let out a deep sigh if he could have.
Heading for the door, Byrd stuck his head out into the hall. He could hear water running from the end of the hall Kara hadn’t shown them. Following the sound, he stuck his head into an open door. There was a large bed against one wall and more boxes piled around.