by Julie Wetzel
The bundle in her arms wiggled.
“Be still,” she whispered to the dragon.
He immediately stopped moving.
Hurrying down the path by memory, she stumbled on the bottom step of the exit stairs. Shit. The path wasn’t as long as she remembered it being. Cuddling the dragon to her, she raced up the steps and stopped at the wooden hatch covering her exit.
“Just stay still,” she warned the dragon.
It rumbled in response.
Taking that as an “okay,” Terra set him on the top step and carefully released the latch. She pushed the hatch up and stopped when the rusty hinge started to squeak loudly. She peeked out through the narrow slit, praying the noise hadn’t drawn the men’s attention. Both of the men were in her kitchen, ramming their shoulders into her basement door. Suckers!
Grabbing the dragon back up, she shoved her shoulder into the trap door. It screeched open with a sound like a tortured cat and fell to the floor with a loud bang. The racket would definitely draw their attention, giving her mere seconds to get to her car before the men saw her. But it was better than being caught. Sprinting to the driveway, she yanked open the driver’s door and tossed the blanket-wrapped dragon inside the car. She threw herself into the driver’s seat behind him.
Yelling came from her back porch as she jammed the key into the slot and fired the car up. A gunshot sounded as she threw it into gear.
Holy shit! These guys aren’t messing about. Who the hell is this dragon?
Slamming the gas pedal to the floor, she tore off through the grass towards the road. She didn’t have time to spare a glance at the bundle of dragon as she dodged around trees and aimed for the ditch. Peeking up into her mirror, she saw that the men had jumped into their SUV and were gaining on her. Perfect!
Terra squeezed through the gap in the trees and over the ditch with the precision of a brain surgeon. Yanking the wheel to the right, she tuned sharply. The tires grabbed the pavement and slung them into a new direction. The bundle of dragon slid across the seat into her hip. It chirped loudly in protest. Poor dragon. She patted it before looking back up at the mirror. The SUV was just getting to the crossing. Her heart skipped when the SUV bounded oddly across the gap. Yes!
The guys made the turn, and both of the left-side tires blew from where the metal edging of the culvert had cut into them. Terra danced in her seat. There were many times she’d hit that pipe wrong and cut a tire. And making that sharp turn onto the blacktop—perfect recipe for disaster! Too bad they didn’t roll the car when the tires blew.
Now all she had to do was find an out-of-the-way spot to lie low; maybe then she could get some answers from her mystery man. She knew just the place, and there were farm tools to use for torture if need be. Oh yeah!
***
Damn it, woman!
Alex wiggled around in the comforter, trying to find a way out. That crazy woman had snatched him up, wrapped him in a blanket, and now expected him to be still. And where did she come off calling him Cookie? Now they were God knows where, doing God knows what, at God knows what speed. When he got out of this blanket, he was going to give her a piece of his mind!
Light leaked in around the edges of his prison, and he poked his head towards it. Finally! Air!
“Crazy woman!” he chirped in dragon.
She reached her hand down and patted his back. “It’s okay, Cookie.”
Cookie!
“My name is not Cookie!” he snarled at her.
She looked down at him, shocked. “Someone woke up grumpy.”
“Of course I’m grumpy. You would be, too, if someone wrapped you in a blanket and tossed you around.” He growled and chirped complaints at her.
Struggling, he finally extracted himself from the blanket. That thing was hot! He kicked it to the floor, disgusted.
She let out a loud huff. “See if I save your ass again. I could have let those men have you.”
Alex stopped and looked at her. “Men?” he chirped. “What men?” When Terra didn’t answer him, he put his front foot on her leg. “What men?” He pushed down, trying to get her to answer.
“Hey!” Terra yanked his foot off her leg. “Those things are sharp.”
“What men?” His wings ruffled in agitation. Damn it, this was important.
Terra glanced at him before turning her attention back to the road.
“What men!” he barked. Can’t this woman answer a simple question?
She glared at him. “Go ahead and keep yelling at me.” She turned her attention back to the road. “It won’t do you any good. I don’t understand ‘squeak squeak squeakity squeak’.”
Aarrrgggg! Of all the crazy, irritating women!
He paced in the car, aggravated. Couldn’t she see this was important? If she wanted yelling, he would give her yelling! Closing his eyes, he turned his mind towards human and let go. Nothing happened. Frustrated, he took a deep breath and tried again. Still, he remained a dragon.
Crap! Of all the times to get stuck in dragon form, why now?
He circled on the seat, irritated. A hand came down on his back, knocking him off balance.
“Sit!” Terra barked and forced him down on the seat. “You’re going to make me wreck.”
Growling, he settled on the seat. Fine! He would sit. He wiggled around, stretching out on the seat. It was really too small for him, so he squirmed closer to her and laid his head in her lap. Oh, yes. That gave him the space he needed.
Closing his eyes, he turned his mind to the problem at hand. Why couldn’t he shift? Memories filtered in. Other times he had gotten stuck in dragon form, so this problem wasn’t anything new. He worked on those memories and came up with an answer he could use—his dragon half had gotten stubborn and taken over. He wasn’t listening to it properly, or he was missing something important. Yeah, he was missing something important right now—his memory! Fine. If his dragon wanted to speak, he would listen.
Drawing in a deep breath, Alex relaxed. First, he had to deal with the irritation. A few quick breathing exercises calmed his heart and eased the anger away. Relaxing more, he let go of all thought and reveled in being a dragon. His senses sharpened, and he took note of the things around him. The gentle rocking of the car. The hum of road noise. The rub of the steering wheel against one of his horns. He rolled his head away from the wheel so Terra could drive without that interference. The movement pressed his head into her body. She was warm and soft. And smelled nice. Like woman and flowers.
He slowly became aware of soft fingers gliding back and forth over his scales. She was petting him. Usually that irritated him, but this felt nice. His dragon was content with her touch. Now that was odd—usually his dragon was cranky. He stopped and thought about that. So his dragon did remember. Turning to that piece of him, he asked the question he needed to know. Who am I?
A torrent of memories flooded him, all from the viewpoint of a dragon. The feel of air over scales. The taste of smoke and flame. The sting of another dragon’s claws as they were wrapped together in passion. He lingered on that memory for a moment and was able to remember the girl. She was a passing fancy that his dragon had tolerated. Going on, more images flooded his brain. Training. Lots and lots of training. The bite of claws. The sting of flames. His buddies congratulating him when he made his goal. He had earned the right to wear that tattoo on his shoulder. The one human memory he recalled was the sting of the needle as it embedded the ink into his skin. Everything came to him in flashes of sensation, but no sound. It gave him a sense of what he was—he was an Elite—but he still had no idea who he was.
The soft scratching of Terra’s nails over his scales stopped as she turned the car in somewhere and shut it off. They had arrived at wherever they were going.
Good. It was high time they both got some answers.
4
Safe. Terra turned off the car and looked down at the dragon in her lap. At least he wasn’t growling and chirping at her anymore. Damn, was he grumpy. She res
ted her hand back down on him. He was also warm and smooth. Something she could really get used to. Terra shook her head, driving the silly thought out. He may look like a pet, but he was really a man. Something she should remember.
She patted him gently on the shoulder. “Wake up.”
The dragon cracked his eye and looked up at her.
Wow! His eyes were gorgeous.
“I think it’s time we talked.” Terra patted him again.
He lifted his head up and chirped at her.
Terra just shook her head. “We’re going to have to work on your communication skills, buddy.”
The dragon snickered and nodded his head.
“Can you change back?” Terra looked at him, calculating how big he would be in human form. He might fit, lying in the seat like that. It would be entertaining to see him try. A chirp interrupted her musing.
Turning around, the dragon caught hold of the door with his teeth and tried to pull it open. So cute!
“Here.” Terra leaned over him and yanked on the handle. The door popped open.
The dragon gave her another chirp and hopped out onto the floor of the barn.
Grabbing her door, she pushed it open and looked around the barn. This was the perfect place to talk with him. A twinkling of glass shone in the corner—the only evidence that this barn had surveillance in it.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
Terra turned around and saw that her dragon had turned back into a man. “As well you should be.” She slammed the door and started around the car. “I just saved your ass back there, buddy. You should be at least a little grateful.”
She stopped as soon as she got around the front of the car. He was standing there, buck naked. Again.
“Don’t you have any sense of decency?” She stormed over and pushed past him. “Geez.” Pulling her quilt out of the car, she thrust it at him. “Cover that thing up. A girl can only take so much.” Turning her head away from him, she tried to find something interesting to look at on the floor.
Snickering, he reached for the blanket. One hand took the blanket, while the other caught Terra’s wrist.
Terra’s eyes shot up to meet his.
“Thank you.”
The warmth in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. The blanket slipped from her fingers as he dropped it and reached up to cup her cheek.
“For everything.”
What was that? Terra glance away as heat crawled up her skin. “You’re welcome.” It was unnerving how his voice made her insides flutter. Pulling away from him, she shut the car door.
Snickering again, he picked up the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders so it hung down around him. “Is this better?”
Terra glanced back. “Yes.” It was almost a shame to have him cover up, but she really needed to talk to him without the distraction. She turned around and leaned on the side of the car. “I should let you know that this barn belongs to a friend of the family. He’s a bit of a conspiracy nut, so we’re under surveillance.”
The dragon man nodded.
“So,” Terra eyed him, “who are you?”
He let out a long sigh and turned to lean against the car beside her. “I don’t know.” He shook his head slowly.
Great. He still doesn’t remember.
“Why were those men after you?”
Again, he shook his head slowly. His shoulders dropped into a depressed slouch.
“Then can you tell me what you know about this?” Terra pulled the file out of his bag and handed it to him.
The man took it and looked at it. Shock hit his face. Oh, this triggered some memories!
***
I know this woman!
The thought echoed around Alex’s brain as he stared at the first profile in the folder. His knees weakened as he slid down the side of the car and sat on the floor, reading the file. He had memories of visits to her. He would bring her flowers; she would serve him tea. Everything was bright and sharp, but there was no sound. Why don’t any of my memories have sound?
Flipping the page, he saw another person he knew. A man. This one collected models of classic cars. The next page contained another person he knew. All of the pages held faces of people he knew.
“I know these people.” Alex said softly as he flipped back to the first page and reread what was there. The account of the woman’s last sighting made his heart hurt. “I wrote this.” He pointed to the paragraph at the bottom.
“So who are they?” Terra asked as she looked down at him.
“Friends,” he answered.
No, that wasn’t right.
“People I visited.”
That was better. They were friends, but he did something for them more than just as a friend. But what? Now that was the question. Alex looked over the file again. All of the people were listed as missing, presumed dead. Each had an account of their last-known sighting. All but one.
Something important ate at the corner of his mind, but the more he chased after the thought, the more skittish it became. Giving up for now, he looked at the pages one more time before closing the file. The pages triggered some memories, but not the ones he needed.
“I don’t know,” he admitted and handed the folder back to Terra.
“Then what about this?” She shifted the bag to show him the symbol on the flap. “You have the same mark on your shoulder.”
He raised his hand and rubbed his fingers over the mark. “It’s special.” He knew he had earned the right to wear it, but he couldn’t remember what it stood for. “I don’t know,” he admitted again.
“There are other things in the bag.” She pulled it off and handed it down to him. “I’m sorry, but I looked through it while you were sleeping.”
Alex nodded and took the satchel. Crossing his legs, he leaned forwards and dumped the stuff out. Damn. There was nothing in there. He shifted through the trash, trying to make sense of it. Gum, matches, a necklace, and a few crumpled dollars. Nothing to help him remember.
The sting of magic bit his fingers when he picked up the necklace. “Shit,” he cursed and dropped the thing. “What the hell is that?” Picking up the pack of gum, he used it to poke at the charm. It felt… evil.
Terra squatted next to him and picked up the necklace. “Some sort of charm.”
He stared at her, surprised. That thing had stung him when he’d touched it. How can she hold it like that?
“That doesn’t hurt?” he asked, bewildered.
Terra looked at the charm. “No.” She flipped it over to look at the back. “It tingles a little, but it doesn’t hurt.” She held it out to him.
“Uh uh.” Alex held out the bag so Terra could drop the necklace in. “I ain’t touching that thing again.”
She gave him an odd look. “It is yours, right?”
“I guess so.” He looked at the charm. “This is my bag, right?” The bag had a familiar feel to it, but he had no way to be sure.
“I found it with you, so it must be.” She dropped the necklace into the bottom of the bag.
Alex looked at the small piece of silver. “Then it must be mine.” He took the file from her and tucked it back in the bag, too. Next, he looked at the gum and box of matches. They were both unopened. He dropped the gum in the bag. The box of matches intrigued him. It had the name of a pub on it—The Dragon’s Flight. “Do you know this place?” He held the box out for Terra to see.
“No.” Terra took the matches and flipped them over. “But there’s an address on them. I’m sure we could find it.”
“We should probably start there.” Alex held his hand out for the box.
She gave it back.
“Maybe someone there will know who I am.”
A small laugh came out of Terra. She rested her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “We will find out who you are,” she promised, “but we should probably start with finding you clothing. I don’t think they would like you in that pub wrapped in just a blanket.”
“Point.
” Alex smiled up at her. “Clothing first. Then food. Then we will go hunting.” He didn’t know about Terra, but his stomach was telling him he had missed more than one meal.
“Deal.” Terra pressed down on his shoulder as she stood up.
He let out a soft sigh. The feel of her hand on him stirred things inside him. When she offered to help him up, he took it. Her hand was soft and warm in his. Desire washed through him, and it was all he could do not to pull her in against him. To feel her pressed into his body. His arms twitched with the impulse, but he stopped them before they could act. Alex knew where these feelings came from and understood the forces that drove dragons, but she was human. She would not understand mating instincts. Nor would she understand how his dragon side had latched onto her.
He pulled away from her and reached for the car. “So, where to first?” he asked. Maybe if he put some space between them, his instincts would settle down. Then again, maybe not.
***
What just happened? Terra looked at her dragon man, confused. She had gotten the oddest feeling when he had taken her hand. The way he touched it. The look in his eye. Desire had shot through her. But then he had turned, and it was gone. Shaking herself, she answered his question. “Meijers.”
He nodded as he climbed in the car.
Terra watched him as he sat in his seat with his head down and eyes closed. There was something about him that drew her. Sure, she had always been a sucker for hard-luck cases, but still, most never sparked the feelings he did.
Circling around the car, she got in and started it up. It was weird with him in the car as a human. “So, what do you remember?” she asked, prodding him into talking before the silence could get stifling. There was something going on that she didn’t understand.
Her dragon man let out a deep sigh. “Not much.” His brow furrowed as he thought. “Just pieces.”
“Well, why don’t you tell me what you can remember?” Terra offered. “Maybe saying it out loud will help.” It would also give her a better idea of who he was.