Soultrade

by Arizona Tape

  “Exactly.” A thought popped in my head and I asked Ayra to wait a moment. She frowned in confusion as I ran back into the living room. Sitting by the door, I found the bag I brought with me. I forgot about it as we passed out, but I actually had the perfect shirt for Ayra.

  Sian and Devon threw me a weird look as I rummaged through the overnight bags. My bottle of perfume clattered as I pushed it out of the bag and the long scarf coiled on the wooden floor. “Not this, not this, not this. Aha!”

  With the fabric clutched in my hand, I ran back to the bedroom and found Ayra waiting for me.

  “Here. I know it’s not your own, but I thought you’d like it.” I smiled as I handed her the oversized shirt I brought with me.

  Ayra’s eyes softened as she accepted the clothing piece. “One of Devon’s shirts?”

  “Yes, he brought a couple because we weren’t sure how long we’d be staying. I figured it would be nice and non-constrictive for you.”

  “Thank you, Tate. That’s really considerate of you.”

  I waved her gratitude away and sat down on the bed. “No problem.”

  “I’m guessing you want to get out of that dress too?”

  “You bet. I don’t like dresses and this one in particular is very… To put it nicely, it feels like being hugged by a boa constrictor.”

  Ayra laughed out loud, and weirdly enough, it sounded nothing like my own. “I’d have put on something else, but this was the only thing in reach when I found myself in bed rather… Umm…”

  “Naked.”

  “Yes, that.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to swap back.”

  She shrugged and pulled my Realms&Rebels shirt over her head. Gently, she rested her hand on her stomach and I could see the affection in her eyes. She really loved that egg and I was glad to have someone like her with Devon. I always knew he’d make a great father, I just wasn’t the right mother for his children. Ayra was.

  “It’s weird looking at myself and not seeing myself,” I noted, watching her throw Devon’s shirt over her head.

  “It really is.”

  The bed veered as I got up and sprung back to its original shape. The closet shrieked as I pushed the panels back to open my side. Unlike Ayra, I just needed a drawer or two. Since Ayra hadn’t acted weird or different in taking off her shirt, I decided I didn’t need to worry either.

  Relieved, I let the dress fall off my shoulders and stepped out of it. Since Ayra was right next to me, I hung it on a clothing hanger instead of discarding it on the floor like I usually did. Ayra pulled her sweatpants down and handed them to me.

  They were still warm as I put them on, yet it didn’t feel weird. They were my pants and they’d been on my body. I fished the shirt from the floor and immediately felt a lot more like me wearing the insignia of my clan.

  “Better,” I sighed happily, glad to have my old clothes on me. The new shirts and pants Sian bought for me just weren’t the same.

  “Yes, you look a lot better in those clothes than I do.” Ayra tugged on Devon’s shirt, looking rather smug that it covered her almost to her knees.

  Devon and Sian’s eyes lit up as we exited the bedroom. Ayra curled up into Devon and his hand immediately found her stomach. Even though it was my body, the two of them looked much better together than we ever did.

  “Hi,” Sian smiled, her eyes traveling over me. She had this special way of looking at me that both made me feel appreciated and attractive. It was something in her eyes. There was a glint she only had when she looked at me and it made me feel like the only woman in the world. Which was a very special feeling, given that there was an identical copy of me in the same room. And that the person in that body was Sian’s ex-girlfriend and someone she still loved dearly.

  “Hey,” I grinned back, cuddling up into her. Apart from the weird switching and swapping we did in the beginning, I actually felt more settled with Ayra here. A part of me felt calmer than ever. Maybe having Ayra so close to me made our weird bond less twitchy? Or maybe it was knowing that even if we swapped bodies, I was still close to Sian. Maybe both. It didn’t really matter, I just liked having her here.

  “You two are cute together,” Ayra said, snuggled deep into Devon’s embrace. They were curled up so intimately in a way only dragons could.

  “Thanks, so are you two,” Sian replied, exchanging a smile with her that showed a lot of history. And oddly enough, I didn’t feel intimidated by it. Because that was just it. Ayra and Sian were history.

  “So…” Devon started, looking at me. His left eye twitched slightly and I could tell he was uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame him, it really was a weird situation. I gave him a reassuring smile and decided to put him out of his misery.

  “So, what now?” I asked, earning a grateful look from him.

  “This swapping needs to stop,” Ayra said, rubbing her tummy. “Devon told me you are in excruciating pain because of the egg?”

  I bit my lip and hummed. “Ummm… I wouldn’t say excruciating,” I said, trying to downplay the torture it’d been.

  “I’d say excruciating,” Devon quipped in. “Don’t think I didn’t notice in how much pain you were.”

  “Fine, it hurt. A lot. I can’t be in the dragon body when the egg is ready. But we don’t seem to be in control of the swaps anymore.”

  “Surely, your body won’t swap you in during delivery?” Sian argued, but I could hear she wasn’t very certain.

  “Usually, dragons stay in their dragon form during the whole term. Carrying an egg in human form is exceptionally unusual.”

  I laughed dryly. “Almost as unusual as swapping bodies with a complete stranger?”

  Devon coughed, his ears turning a little red. “Sorry, you’re right. Nothing about this situation is usual.”

  “So what do we do?” Ayra asked, worry flashing over her face. She hiccuped and I just knew it meant she was in pain. My body reacted weirdly to pain. But it was no use pointing it out. We were far away from our dragon community and the secluded lake. If she shifted here she would rip Sian’s house apart and expose the dragons to the outside world. She’d get shunned before she could say the word ‘dragon’.

  “Devon mentioned a pilgrimage?” Sian weaved her fingers into my hair and massaged my scalp. Soft tingles ran over my spine as I curled into her. Having her with me made me feel far more relaxed than I should be for someone in my predicament. It was just nice to have someone with me that had my best interests at heart.

  A glint of sunlight fell into the house and cast a warm hue over Devon and Ayra. The golden bands on their fingers almost lit up and for a moment, I felt humbled. The way he looked at her was so doting and so pure, it was beautiful to watch. I’d have felt jealous if I didn’t have my own blondie who looked at me in that exact same way.

  “He said something about a sacred lake? What kind of sacred lake is this?” Sian asked, brushing her fingers along my nape. It left me with shivers running up and down my spine and I curled deeper into her.

  “It’s an ancient lake that is said to be made from the tears of our ancestors. It has healing properties.”

  “And would it stop the swapping?”

  Our heads turned to Devon. Even though I’d been schooled about our history just like him, it never managed to stick in my brain.

  “I’m not sure, but there’s a myth that one of the Elders’ spirit dwells there. If anyone knows something about this situation, it’s him. It’s a long shot, but really, what else can we do?”

  I scratched the side of my face. “I guess you’re right?” I admitted, knowing we had no other option but to gamble on this myth being real. “And Google was no help,” I added under my breath, miffed that nobody else seemed to have a solution for our problem.

  Ayra chuckled. “Did you Google body-swapping too?”

  “Yes, I did. There was a terrifying article from a guy named Ralph or something?”

  “Oh yes, I read that one as well! Very bizarre, but not close to what
we’re going through.”

  “It was a great read though.”

  “Totally! So scary, but so interesting.”

  “Oh, did you see the—”

  “Ladies? Can we focus on this body-swapping issue?” Devon interrupted, looking slightly appalled at how well Ayra and I were getting along. Poor guy, he probably found it terrifying that his wife and ex-fiancé were playing nicely.

  “Right, back to us. So… Pilgrimage?”

  I turned to look at Sian, wondering what she thought. “I think it’s worth a try. We can’t stay in the city, not if you need to take on your dragon form.”

  “As long as we have enough blood with us, we can travel with them, right?” I asked, wetting my lips as I thought about blood. Had Ayra not fed since I left? Maybe I should get myself a pouch so I didn’t grow too weak. If we were doing a long trip, I needed my strength.

  “We should be okay, yes. Summer holiday is right around the corner, so I could take a couple of extra days off,” Sian nodded, rummaging through her purse to check her calendar. “Yes, I should be able to.”

  “So can I,” Devon added, pointing at Ayra. “Sick dragon wifey, my boss will understand.”

  “I’ll have to quit my job anyway, so I can take the trip,” Ayra added. Three heads turned to me. I shrugged and leant back into Sian’s embrace.

  “I don’t have a job so I can go wherever.”

  Ayra smiled, her blue eyes lighting up. “Great. So… Looks like we’re traveling together?”

  I looked from her to my ex-fiance, and from him to my current girlfriend who was afore mentioned her’s ex-girlfriend. Oh and afore mentioned her was now inhabiting my body. All four of us in a car together, to a deserted place with no witnesses.

  What could go wrong?

  Chapter 6

  I needed to shift. It was the only thought going around my head. I could feel it with every breath I was taking, and every slight movement of my body.

  And every second of pain. I could be pregnant in my human body without too much pain. And it was still nothing like what I suspected Tate felt when she was in this form. But I needed to shift before it became too much. I was riding the edge as it was, and I didn’t think anyone would appreciate me bursting out of the car we were all in.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Devon whispered, placing a hand on my knee.

  It was weird being in this car and neither of us driving. But as the three of them had pointed out pretty damn fast, me driving wasn’t an option. And then Devon had gone into all out protective-daddy-dragon mode, and insisted on being in the back with me. Leaving Tate driving.

  I wasn’t sure how okay I was with that. I could see her hands shaking, and she’d already asked Sian for blood. She’d been given some, though from her face, not as much as she’d have liked.

  “I know,” I replied to him through gritted teeth. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew how much every breath was costing me.

  We lapsed back into silence, there not being much else to say. Not with the tension in the car being so high. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but the situation was adding to it. It was always going to be weird watching my own body doing things while I wasn’t in it.

  Okay, maybe I should be focused on the fact it was strange I wasn’t even in my body. This went beyond an out of body experience, that was for sure. There was only one other person who could remotely understand what I was feeling, and she was driving the car.

  And shaking.

  Oh no. That wasn’t good.

  “Tate?” I asked softly.

  She didn’t answer, but I could almost swear her shaking intensified. I really hoped it was the withdrawal and not a swap coming on.

  Erm...maybe not the best idea for us to let her drive then.

  “Stop the car,” I said loudly.

  “Why? Are you okay?” Sian asked, twisting around in her seat so she could see me.

  Devon was also looking worried, but I’d deal with him in a second. After I’d told him to do the one thing he didn’t really want to right now.

  “Tate shouldn’t be driving.”

  “She’s perfectly fine, Ayra,” Devon assured me. “She’s driven this car plenty of times.”

  “Plenty of times when she could pass out from swapping bodies any second?”

  The car was scarily silent. Beyond scarily actually.

  “Pull over, Tate,” Sian spoke quietly to the other woman, and to my surprise, Tate actually nodded in response.

  The five minutes it took for her to find a lay-by were excruciating, especially as I managed to almost work myself up about the possibility of a switch. At least the vampire body was the stronger of the two. I’d wake up faster if I did end up in the driver’s seat.

  “Ayra?” Devon sounded worried. I glanced in his direction. Oh. Oops. He looked worried too.

  “Sorry, in a world of my own.” A world of worry more like. Hopefully this wasn’t going to be my life now. Then again, baby dragon on the way. I might as well get used to being in a constant state of anxiety.

  “Are you feeling a swap coming?” His eyebrows creased inwards as he studied my face intently.

  I shook my head. “No. Just thinking.” I gave him a weak smile, but he didn’t look convinced. To be honest, neither was I, really.

  There was a large part of me that was worrying about visiting this lake. Would it actually be everything we wanted it to be? Or would it just dash our hopes. And if it did, then what would we do then? Tate wouldn’t survive the egging, if that was what it was called. And if Tate didn’t, then would the baby?

  And without the baby, where would Devon and I be? I wasn’t sure I could survive that. Never mind what it would do to Sian.

  I swiped away the tear that had started to fall down my face. This baby really was making me an emotional wreck.

  “Are you in pain?” Devon asked instantly.

  “No,” I half-lied. I was achy, and if I moved wrong, I knew about it. But it was nothing compared to what I could be feeling, and I knew it.

  “Okay....” he drew out the word as if he didn’t believe me. Which I supposed was within his right. He was a doctor, he probably knew better than I did what was wrong with me. But he was also a smart man, and said nothing. Likely he’d figured out that my emotions weren’t actually linked to my physical well being right now.

  The car drew to a halt, and Tate jumped out, swiftly followed by Sian, who followed her to the side of the road. There was something about the way my ex was standing that seemed familiar. Like she was angry or something.

  Tate began to wave her hands in the air frantically, in a gesture I’d never have done in that body, but looked so right.

  To my side, Devon pulled the handle on the door.

  “No.” I placed my hand on his arm to labour my point. “Not a good time.”

  I tried not to watch the two women, but couldn’t help it. Something was really wrong there. Though the fact neither of them had walked away said volumes about how they actually felt. They loved each other. Far more than Sian and I ever had. Funny how these things worked out.

  “Tell me more about the Blessing?” I asked Devon, trying to give the other two some privacy. It wasn’t up to us to watch their argument.

  “What about it?” He settled back into his seat and gave me a look that made me feel like the only woman in the world.

  “Anything about it. How long after having our baby will it be, what do I need to do for it? What does our little one need to do for it?” I was full of questions. But I hadn’t been brought up as a dragon like he had.

  “Our little one will be an egg still.”

  “What?” I blurted. “But I thought I’d be giving birth to it soon?”

  “You will. But it’ll be another eighteen months or so until he or she hatches.”

  “Eighteen months?!” I didn’t want to believe it. How could it still be that long until I met my baby? That was just beyond wrong.

  “Yes? Aren’t vampires pregnant that long?
”

  “No. Just the normal nine.” How on earth was I going to last. “So let me get this straight. In a week or so, I give birth to an egg?”

  “Yes.”

  “And then...”

  “We keep it in a nest.”

  “A nest? You think I’m leaving my baby in a nest?” I was almost yelling. But I couldn’t believe this. What kind of mother leaves her child in a nest.

  “You have to, Ayra. But we can visit every day.”

  “Wait, the nest isn’t even in our home?”

  “No, it’s in the lake...”

  “Fine. Then I’m moving to the lake for eighteen months.”

  “Ayra...”

  “Don’t ‘Ayra’ me. I am not living away from my egg for that long, Devon James. Tradition or not.”

  “Fine, there’s a hut I can renovate for you.”

  “Thank you. Good dragon.” I patted his head, and he looked at me in complete disbelief.

  “Did you just pet me?”

  A giggle escaped from my lips. Okay, that was a weird thing to do. I ignored his question, and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. It took him mere seconds to respond. Which was unsurprising. We hadn’t actually kissed properly since Tate and I became ourselves again. Kissing in front of exes was just tacky.

  His hand cupped my face, and he deepened the kiss. Not in the crazy sex way, more in the by-all-the-gods-that-exist-what-did-I-do-to-deserve-you way. I reminded myself not to think that phrase again, far too long winded. Especially while kissing someone. But it was how Devon made me feel. And I didn’t even believe in any gods.

  We broke apart and stared at each other, the connection between us stronger than ever.

  “You can pet me anytime you want, Ayra,” he whispered, causing me to giggle again.

  “Good, I have some petting ideas you might like,” I replied, waggling my eyebrows at him. He grinned widely. Good. I knew he’d like that. “You still haven’t told me about the Blessing.”

  “There’s not much to tell really.” He sighed. “It’s another archaic and ridiculous tradition which I’d rather not go through.”

  “Okay there, tell me how you truly feel, Devon.” I clutched my hands to my chest dramatically, causing a low chuckle from him.