Soultrade

by Arizona Tape

  At least, I hoped it was from the blood she’d just drunk, and not something more serious. It’d be more worrying if that was the case.

  “Why didn’t it work?” she half-snarled, half-sobbed.

  “I don’t know,” Sian said softly. It must be her teacher training that kept her this calm in the face of an angry vampire. Even if I wasn’t in love with her, I certainly admired her for being that way.

  “Because your body really isn’t made for blood,” I interrupted. “Pass me one of the blood bags?” I asked Sian.

  “Ayra, are you sure?” A worried look crossed her face.

  “No, I’m not. But if this helps, then it’s worth it, right?”

  Devon rubbed my back soothingly, but said nothing. Hopefully that meant I had his full support. Or that he was willing to rub my back when it was my turn to puke up my guts.

  “Want me to rip it?” Sian asked.

  “It’s okay, I got it.” It wasn’t like it was the first time I’d done this. Even while I didn’t like it, I’d drunk blood plenty of times before.

  I took it from Sian, apprehension filling me as blood sloshed around the bag. Hopefully this would be the last ever time I’d have to drink the stuff. As much as Devon said he’d be able to deal with me being a vampire anymore, I didn’t want to have to deal with that.

  Taking a deep breath, I brought the blood to my mouth, but didn’t break through the plastic. This was going to take some psyching myself up to do.

  “You don’t need to do this,” Devon whispered to me.

  I shook my head. “I do.” There was no choice about this at all. It was about Tate’s well being, and mine, and the baby’s. Too many people were affected by this for me to chicken out over a little blood.

  Trying not to think about it, I ripped open the packet and brought it to my lips. Slowly, I began to suck, almost losing it the moment the metallic taste hit my tongue. How anyone could enjoy this was completely beyond me. It was just disgusting.

  Never mind. I had to do this. Even it was my sheer determination that got this blood down, it was going to end up in my stomach. There was no way I’d let my body twin down.

  Of course, this could all be a waste of time. It might not affect her at all.

  The blood trickled down my throat, feeling slimy and disgusting, but I carried on regardless. Hopefully Devon wasn’t watching me too closely. I didn’t want him to forever think of me sucking down blood any time he looked at me.

  How much unsexier could I get?

  Finally, the bag was empty, and I pulled it away, gagging slightly as I did. I really hoped I never had to repeat that experience again.

  “You okay?” Devon whispered, his arms snaking around me, and the blood bag removed from my grasp before I could do anything about it.

  “Been better,” I responded, surprisingly lightly, given the circumstances.

  We both looked at Tate, who actually did look a little better. At least, her complexion did. Her eyes didn’t. They’d taken on a feral edge that scared me more than a little bit.

  “Tate?” Sian approached her with her hands held out. “How are you feeling?”

  “Why did she get to drink the blood?” Tate bit out.

  “To see if it would help you,” Sian replied. “Did it?”

  “I think I feel better?” Tate looked around frantically, as if feeling a little out of focus. Probably because she’d somehow ended up remotely refueling through me. That was super weird if I thought about it. Probably best if I didn’t then.

  “That’s good,” she responded.

  “I still feel the burn,” Tate admitted, though this time there was much less snarl in her voice. It was more...pain. She clearly wasn’t in a good place with any of this. I wanted to help more. But didn’t know what else I could do. Or even if I could offer to. The last bag of blood was best saved for an emergency. Especially as I didn’t know when the last time Sian drank was.

  “Ready to try and switch back?” I suggested, eager to get the tang of blood out of my mouth.

  “Will it help?” Tate demanded.

  “I don’t know, but I know you’ll be better in this body.” And me in that one with my baby.

  I walked towards Tate and held out my hand. She took it in hers and we held tightly, as precisely nothing happened.

  I closed my eyes and tried to force the swap like I’d used to.

  Still, nothing.

  Or at least, nothing until Tate’s scream filled the air.

  My eyes flew open, and one look was all it took to know what was going on.

  It was time.

  The egg was coming.

  Chapter 11

  Fuck me so hard!” I screamed, crumpling to the ground. The soft grass would’ve been nice for a picnic. It wasn’t that fun for labour.

  “Shit, Tate! Are you okay?” Sian wrapped herself around me in concern. I cried out again, buckling over. My palms hit the ground and sweat beaded on my forehead. Fuck, this hurt.

  “Tate, breathe,” Devon said, crouching down next to me.

  With blazing eyes, I turned to him. “You! You bloody dragon, this is all your fault!” I screamed, pointing accusingly at him. I growled and he backed away. Good, he better stay out of my way. It was his fault that I was being ripped apart by a massive dragon egg.

  “Tate, look at me,” Sian said, pulling my attention away from Devon. I looked up in her beautiful eyes and softened a little. The buzz of not feeding had disappeared slightly, but I could still feel it humming in the back of my mind. Although with the pain shooting through my stomach, that craving was dulling more and more.

  Now that was an interesting way to fight withdrawal. Not that this was withdrawal, that would imply that I was addicted and I—

  “SHIT!” I dug my nails into Sian’s arm and howled at her. “Get this baby out of me or get me out of this baby!”

  She winced and patted my forehead. “Calm down, Tate.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down!” Enraged, I turned to Ayra. Beads of sweat traced my face and ruined the makeup she put on earlier. But I didn’t care, I wanted out of this body. “You! This is your spawn, swap with me!

  She threw me a helpless look and showed her hands. “I want to, I’m trying, but it’s not working.”

  “Try harder!” I yelled, burying my hands into the earth and ripping out copious amounts of grass like a lawn mower. I stared at my body twin, anger coursing through my veins. Threatening, I held up a handful of clumpy grass. “Swap with me or eat dirt!”

  Ayra pressed her hands on my shoulder, concern swirling through her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Tate. I’m trying, but it’s not doing anything.”

  “You’re doing this on purpose!” I yelled, all rational thoughts leaving my head. Enraged, I threw the grass at Ayra, shooing her away from me. If she wouldn’t help me, she better stay out of my reach.

  “Tate, this is not Ayra’s fault,” Devon tried. The idiot. If I could breathe fire, I would have incinerated him right here, right now.

  “Of course, it’s her fault! I want my body back! Ayra, give me my body back,” I cried, pain shooting through my stomach again. I pressed my hands against the bump, pushing back as hard as it was shoving against the inner walls of my uterus.

  “Tate, I’m so sorry.”

  “Shut up and do something! Your bloody egg is going to tear right through me!” I panicked, the pressure building against my skin. If this kept going, it would rip me apart. I really didn’t feel like dying, not now, not here, not in this body.

  Sian pulled at my shoulders and I fell into her. I was about to bite her head off as I realised this position relieved some of the stress. Good vampire, at least she was helping me. Not unlike those two useless dragons staring at me with eyes wide as saucers.

  “Useless!” I spat at them, bearing my teeth. “Sian, help me, it hurts!”

  Soothingly, she rubbed my stomach. Pain twitched through my being and I never missed my vampire form more than right now. “Make it stop!
”

  “We need to get her in some water,” Devon said, pulling at my arm. Angrily, I swatted his hand away.

  “I’m not a fucking flower!” He was pissing me off so much, I just wanted to put a foot in his mouth so he shut the hell up.

  “I’m trying to help.”

  I narrowed my eyes and hissed at him. “You’re an asshole!”

  “You don’t mean that, that’s just the pain speaking,” he said, brushing off my anger.

  “That’s just the pain speaking,” I mocked, repeating him in a childish voice. I knew I was being petty, but I didn’t care. The pain was killing me and it was his fault. His and hers and this egg’s.

  He ran his hand through his hair and nodded at Sian. “Help her up, if we get her into the lake, it should take away some of the pain.”

  Sian tightened her grip on me and pulled me up. “Let’s do what he says, Tate. It’ll help make you feel better.”

  “It hurts,” I whined, holding my stomach as I let her guide me. Where the fuck would they even find a lake in the middle of this field? There was just the stupid, useless temple with the mean-looking black dragon. Devon must’ve lost the plot.

  “It’ll be better soon, I promise.” Sian ran her hand down my back soothingly, but the panic in her voice betrayed her. She was worried, just as worried as I was.

  “Where would you even find a fucking lake?”

  “There is one behind the temple,” Devon pointed out, grabbing our bags and guiding Ayra. She threw me a concerned look and I couldn’t tell whether it was for me or for her baby. Not that it mattered, we were both royally screwed. No matter how much pain we managed, this egg was going to explode out of me if we didn’t manage to swap.

  “Hang on, Tate,” Ayra tried, awkwardly patting my arm. I was about to snap at her, but she seemed genuinely guilty that I was going through this.

  “Just get me into the water,” I sulked, my arm clamped around the egg. Not that it really helped. This hurt even more than any swap I experienced with Ayra.

  The temple disappeared behind us and annoyingly, Devon was right. A crystal blue lake loomed up. The little wisps of smoke hanging above the surface were inviting and it suddenly became a great idea to get into the water. As best as I could, I waddled into the lake and broke the surface like a walrus.

  The water was surprisingly warm and engulfed me immediately. I could feel the pain seep out of me as the lake eased away some of the discomfort.

  “Better?” Sian asked, concern swirling in her eyes.

  A little ashamed of my aggressiveness from before, I nodded solemnly. “Yes, it feels good.” I turned to Ayra and Devon, guilt bubbling up in my chest. “Sorry for screaming at you, Dev.”

  He shrugged and smiled. “Don’t mention it, Tate.”

  “Sorry for throwing grass at you, Ayra.”

  Ayra let out a soft chuckle and crouched down next to me. “It’s okay. How are you feeling? Is the egg moving?”`

  “Yes, I can feel it pressing against me. Here,” I said, reaching out for her arm. Carefully, I placed her hand against my stomach. A smile stretched on her face as she felt the egg twitch in response. How interesting. So this little egg knew who her mum was? At least one of us wasn’t confused.

  More pain ebbed out of me and I breathed in relief again. Good little egg, not threatening to split me open. “I’d say you’re missing out, but fuck, this is so painful.”

  “I’m sorry that you’re going through this in my place,” she apologised, brushing my hair out of my face. It was weird having her touch me, yet it felt so familiar. Not a surprise, she was touching me with my body. My nice, painless, vampire body.

  “Ayra, you should get in the water too.”

  We stared at Devon and frowned. “Why would she do that, she’s not in pain?”

  He kissed his wife’s cheek and nudged her towards the lake. “This is a sacred place, there is ancient magic here.”

  “I’m in a vampire body, won’t I offend your ancestors?” she asked concerned, looking from Devon to me.

  I stretched out my arm. “You’re a dragon, Ayra. Get in here.”

  A little hesitant, Ayra shuffled to the edge of the lake and dipped into the water next to me. A ripple washed through me and the egg stirred inside me. A chill ran down my spine as Ayra took my hand in hers. She smiled and I nodded. She felt it too. Something was happening, even though we weren’t sure exactly what it was.

  “We should get in deeper,” I suggested. I wasn’t sure why, but it just felt right. Wordlessly, Ayra nodded.

  The warm water soaked into our clothes as we waded further from the shore. Deeper and deeper, the pebbles under my feet rumbled as we disturbed the silent lake.

  “Are you still in pain?”

  I shook my head, realising even the thirst had disappeared. “No, I feel okay.”

  “Can you feel it too?”

  “I can. Something feels…”

  “Magical?” Ayra finished my sentence, smiling as I nodded. She squeezed my hand and pulled me into for a hug. It was strange to hug someone with my protruding belly, and even more weird to hug my own body. But it felt strangely comfortable.

  “I know this is a strange situation to be in, but I’m happy it’s you that I’m swapping with.”

  I hugged Ayra back, nodding at her words. “So am I.”

  “Thank you for making Sian so happy, she really deserves it.”

  “No, I should be thanking you. You’re everything Devon always wanted, including pregnant.” I pointed at the bump. “Although it’s a little twisted at the moment.”

  Ayra laughed and placed her palm on my stomach. “It is really twisted, but I wouldn’t want it with anyone else.”

  Touched, I brushed a tear away. “We’ll figure this out, right?”

  “Yes, and even if we keep swapping for the rest of our lives, it won’t really matter. Whatever happens, you’re a vampire and I’m a dragon, no matter which bodies we’re in.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Yes. And Sian and Devon will love us, regardless of our form, right?” I asked, thinking back to Devon’s speech to Ayra. Or how Sian came to my aid, even in my dragon form.

  “They couldn’t care less. I’m not sure Devon even noticed we swapped, to be honest.” Ayra shrugged and rolled her eyes in amusement.

  I laughed. “He’s a little blind sometimes, yes.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “Good. He’s a good man.”

  “Sian is a good woman.”

  We exchanged a look of mutual understanding and I smiled. Even with the egg threatening to burst me open, at least I was surrounded by family. Now we just needed to figure out how to manage the pain without standing in this lake. Although, it wasn’t a bad place to be in. The water gently swirled around us, the curls of smoke wrapping around us like an embrace. A strange sensation overtook me and it took me a moment to pinpoint what was happening.

  A swap.

  I could feel it happening, but unlike before, it wasn’t hurting. How strange? What a gentle feeling, it was almost pleasant. Almost.

  I took Ayra’s hands in my own as we locked eyes. She nodded and we closed our eyes, ready to let the universe take over. Ready to swap our bodies once more. Hopefully, for the last time.

  Chapter 12

  Thank the gods.

  That was the only thought running through my mind as Tate and I swapped bodies, back into the right bodies. The pain was almost overwhelming, but I welcomed it. Feeling the egg trying to rip through me was even kind of welcome after being stuck in the vampire body.

  I blinked slowly, and a pair of familiar green eyes were looking down at me. Tate.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  “Hi,” I replied, a weak smile on my lips. We were still touching, which should have been worrying. It could induce another swap after all. But something deep within me was telling me this had been the last time. Maybe I should have been sad about it. That was the body I’d been born in, even if it n
o longer fit.

  Then again, large egg, very small opening. What body I was using, wasn’t at the top of my important thoughts. I needed to shift. If I didn’t, then I faced the same problem Tate was having: the egg would rip me apart.

  “You need to get back,” I told Tate, trying to shoo her away.

  “I’m not leaving you,” she countered.

  “You need to. I need to shift, you’ll get hit if you stay just here,” I pointed out.

  “Ayra, are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Send Devon back in. He can shift with me and do whatever male dragons do while their wives have eggs.”

  “Panic?” she offered.

  I laughed, only to be cut off by a sharp gasp as a pain shot through me.

  “Tate, now,” I got out through gritted teeth.

  She gave my hand one final squeeze. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t need it,” I replied.

  She let go, and waded back towards where Sian and Devon were waiting. She was going to be soaked to the skin. I should have thought about that before I waded in with all of her clothes on. It was a little inconsiderate of me.

  Then again, in about three or four minutes, sooner if I could manage it, I was going to rip through the shirt I was wearing and end up with no clothes at all.

  Devon, on the other hand, appeared to be the sensible one of the three of us, and dumped his clothes on the bank, before entering the water and making his way towards me.

  The moment his skin hit the water, I could sense it. The egg started to twitch in his direction, as if it could tell that its daddy was coming towards it.

  I rested a hand on my rounded stomach, feeling it move. I really was in awe of this miracle. A few months ago, I could barely imagine being a mother, even loving Sian as much as I had. But now...well, it was one of the only things I could think of. Life with Devon, and with our children. Flying, and swimming, and playing games in the backyard...

  A scream rose in my throat, and I let it out into the air. I could sense Devon speed up in his attempt to reach me, clearly panicked by the sounds I was making. Reasonably so. I was in a lot of pain.