“We don’t know how far away its kin are,” he added, “or how long it would take for them to get here.” He frowned. “After all this time, we don’t even have records of how dragons communicate.”
One monster offered enough intimidation. A pair or more equaled terror beyond imagination. By comparison, the shuffling Yeti seemed friendly as a kitten. Nimri sighed. “You aren’t very encouraging.”
Cartwright stopped so suddenly the Yeti bumped into him. “Because of the death of one, their kind destroyed our ancestors’ entire planet. Would you be optimistic?” He put his hands on his lean hips. The pose accentuated his wide shoulders and perfect physique. Her mouth went dry. “Being realistic gives us an edge. We won’t underestimate the problem.” His tone was hard as his muscles. His body reminded her of Larwin. “What’s wrong? Having second thoughts?”
She shook her head.
He mimicked the movement and the feathers, which were bound to his hair fluttered. If only Larwin’s hair would grow. If only Cartwright didn’t seem so familiar. If only the warm friendly sensation that she knew Cartwright quit gnawing at the edges of her awareness.
“Yes, I’m having second thoughts,” she admitted, “But probably not what you think. Cartwright—”
“I told you, call me Thunder.”
“Thunder seems so informal.” So personal. More like a private name reserved for loved ones. “You deserve respect.”
“Respect?” He laughed. “From you? That’d be original.” Her skin prickled at the intimacy of his tone and the long-standing relationship it implied. His expression sobered. “You really don’t remember, do you?” She didn’t know what to say. He shrugged. “Never mind, you will.”
Was that a threat or a promise? Nimri swallowed. “I’m not sure if I want to.” She popped another pange crescent into her mouth before she could say something she’d regret.
He grinned. “I was a good memory.” His lips twisted into an impish grin. “At least I was most of the time.”
Nimri choked on the pange. After recovering her breath, she still didn’t know what to think about his confident statement. In defense, she changed the subject. “Larwin is—was confident like you.”
For once Thunder Cartwright looked confused. “Larwin? A boyfriend?” Eyes gleaming, he leaned across the table.
Nimri gulped. Odd that he knew nothing of Larwin. If she’d been in Cartwright’s place and had his watchers, she would have known. “A Guardian who materialized when I was in the Star Bridge.” She nibbled another slice of fruit. “He and GEA-4 returned to the Old World. That’s why I spirit traveled – to make certain they got home safely.” The memory of their desolate home and the fact that her aura might have lead the dragon down on them all brought a lump to her throat. She put down the half-eaten fruit.
Thunder’s fingers wrapped around her hand. He pulled her to her feet and urged her toward a large bench-size sitting rock, tucked next to the far side of the buddleia. He straddled it and tugged her toward him. Nimri wobbled, nearly falling into his lap. A flush burned her skin as she tried to regain her equilibrium. He jerked her, again. This time, she landed next to him, thighs touching. He turned toward her, both hands enfolding hers. “You have to tell me everything.”
Her neck burned hotter. “You’re a stranger.” At least he should be, though the way she felt with him seemed more like she’d found a piece of herself that had been lost for a long, long, long time.
“Only because you have forgotten me. Do you trust me?”
No. She didn’t even have faith in herself or her memory, if she’d forgotten him. Assuming she’d ever really known him and he wasn’t playing mind games. That had to be it. Rolf had loved mind games and keeping her off-balance, too.
He cupped her cheeks between his hands until their gazes locked. Warmth and something nameless spread through her. Despite the fact that she’d been raised to believe he was her enemy, she trusted him. The revelation made her blink. Thunder Cartwright seemed to read her thoughts and a look of relief softened his features. An instant later, he engulfed her in a hug.
Nimri surprised herself by hugging him back.
She thought she heard him whisper something about missing her, but how could you miss someone you never knew? Still, despite her certainty that he was playing with her common sense, she felt like she’d been unknowingly yearning for him, too. Oh, he was good at misinformation, maybe even better than her great-grandfather.
Did his arms feel familiar because Thunder Cartwright reminded her so much of Larwin? Or did she and Thunder Cartwright truly have a past and if so, did her feelings for Larwin stem from some forgotten passion for Thunder? The spinning thoughts gave her a headache.
“Are you ready?” His affectionate expression unsettled her as much as the way his arms felt so right.
Was she ready? “For what?” A bee buzzed past her right ear and butterflies danced among the deep purple blooms.
“To spirit travel to the balata.”
No, she wasn’t ready. She shook her head and pushed free of his embrace. But she knew they had to go. She’d have to fake it. Nimri twisted to face him and assumed the hatha position Larwin had taught her.
Cartwright raised an eyebrow, then shifted until he mirrored her stance. Their knees touched lightly. “Interesting. It’s more comfortable than it looks.”
He leaned forward. With his index finger, he traced a pattern in her right palm.
He repeated the star design in the left.
A wispy memory rippled on the fringes of her consciousness and Nimri felt something unidentifiable, yet sacred seep through her body. She glanced at Thunder Cartwright’s knowing green eyes.
He smiled then engulfed her hands in his larger ones. Strange how he and Larwin could touch her and make her feel safe.
“Power is magnified when you’re in contact with living soil, other mystics and healthy plants,” Thunder said softly.
Nimri tried not to think how hot her hand was getting. “Larwin taught me to sit this way and to hum.”
“Do you miss him?” The gentle tone invited honesty and confidences.
“Yes.” He tilted his head into a wondering pose. Nimri swallowed. If Thunder Cartwright wanted the sort of unsaid promise that she suspected, it wouldn’t do to let him know about the depth of her feelings for another man; even if the other man lived on a dead world and had lived in the time when fairytales were true. Nimri smiled and added, “Other than Flame, he’s the only friend I’ve ever had.”
“Why?” He seemed genuinely surprised.
“Because it’s true.” Nimri focused on a tiger swallowtail instead of his expressive gaze. “Rolf’s home is a long walk from everyone else. Great-grandfather and Bryta were the only people I ever saw. When I was nine, Bryta let me go to Market with her. That’s where I met Flame. Other children avoided me. I think they feared me because of my great-grandfather.” Nimri stole a quick glance at Thunder Cartwright.
His nod of agreement was slow and thoughtful. “Even adults fear our power.”
“Is that why you live far from your tribe?”
“Perhaps it is partially the reason. Most fear the Yetis more than me.” Thunder gave a tiny shrug.
The gesture was the same one Nimri used to dismiss ridiculous concepts. It felt odd, yet endearing to see someone else do it.
Cartwright smiled. “Shall we begin?”
Nimri nodded.
“I want to journey to the Star Bridge and see if the monster is still there,” he said gently. “Close your eyes.” Nimri nodded, feeling as if the movement was in slow motion. He began a low, warm monologue about the Star Bridge.
Could Thunder be hypnotizing her with his touch and words? Did it matter? Gradually, his words and tone blended with the buzz of the bees, the warmth of the sunshine and the dampness of the stone they sat on. His voice told her when to breathe in; when to breathe out. Which muscles to tighten; which to relax.
Colors swirled around her. Impressions of shapes
slowly formed then gradually faded to white. Except for her warm right hand, her skin cooled as it had when she’d stepped into the fog shrouding Sacred Mountain’s peak.
Abruptly, the cool white vanished. “You may open your eyes, now.” Thunder’s soft tone was almost like a thought. She was high up, looking down. The sun warmed her back as she floated. Distance dwarfed mighty trees into shrubs. Majestic mountains appeared as hillocks. Buildings were no bigger than pebbles. The river was but a silvery ribbon.
This must be how birds viewed the world.
When another feathery fog shrouded Nimri in cold mist, she basked in the gentle touch. Flying was wonderful. Nimri gasped. People couldn’t fly. Abruptly, she began falling, but the hand holding her arrested the momentum.
“Relax,” Thunder said, “I have you.”
Nimri closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. His hand, warm and secure, caressed her fingers. His thumb circled her palm. She squeezed back.
When she opened her eyes the next time, they were hovering over the balata grove. Only it looked different from the last time she’d been here. The trunks of several trees were twisted, while the leaves closest to the entrance were dry and withered. All over, branches had been torn from trunks and more trees had been uprooted. While some of the damage had been done during the earthquake, the majority was new. Had there been another upheaval?
They descended toward the cave’s mouth, where a thin, wispy column of bluish-gray smoke rose into the thin air.
Moments before they touched ground, there was an ear splitting roar.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
The ground heaved.
A boulder the size of a room dislodged from the peak. It tumbled toward them gouging soil and ripping up more rocks until it formed a tide of dirt and rock. Thunder yanked her upward. The rockslide flowed past the entrance of the Star Bridge, over the place where they had been, smashed into a balata and tore it up by the roots, as if it was a weak weed. The avalanche continued on; it tore up more trees as it roared through the sacred grove then it crashed through to the precipice. It seemed to pause for a heartbeat, then the flood of rock and trees shot over the edge. The mass hung for a moment before it plummeted out of sight.
Thunder’s dazed expression would have been comical if Nimri didn’t suspect she looked the same way. She squeezed his fingers for confidence. He shook his head, as if waking from a bad dream and kissed her forehead. “It’s there.”
She nodded. Strange that when Thunder kissed her, she felt comforted, but Larwin’s touch made her flesh tingle with excitement. “So, now, we go somewhere safer.”
He shook his head and pulled her earthward. “Now we try to judge how much time we have.” They landed on the mutilated ground. Thunder dropped her hand and went toward the cave’s entrance, where he grabbed a scorched vine. “Wish me luck.” Before she could respond, he descended out of sight.
Was Larwin still alive? Was he trapped in the cave? Still defending them from the beast? Nimri snatched the vine and followed Thunder.
Smoky air swirled around her ankles. As she slid lower, the acrid stench invaded her nostrils. Then, her eyes burned. She blinked, but the sting only intensified.
By the time her feet touched the ground, she had to squint through the fog and tears. She thought she saw a man’s silhouette. Thunder or Larwin? In the distance, something big moved. Fingertips lightly touching the unseen wall, she felt her way toward the figure.
The enormous thing stirred again then a terrible scraping sound indicated faster movement, as if something huge hurtled toward her in the blinding haze.
She couldn’t turn and run. Thunder and Larwin were there. She had to help them but as she moved forward, her moccasin caught on something unseen and she tripped into the wall.
The stone beneath her fingertips smoothed. With the flatness came residual heat and aching flesh. She leaned toward the wall and squinted through the dust. The granite looked like some of Quark’s glazes—melted then solidified. And it felt sticky yet slick. Every nerve in her body screamed for her to run away. She clenched her teeth and rejected the fear by focusing on her hand.
Her fingertips looked raw, as if she’d burned them, yet the heat wasn’t high enough to sear. Nimri frowned and tried to concentrate. Some plant sap contained chemicals that burned. The ghilly’s saliva must be like that.
Keeping away from the wall, Nimri went to the figure, which was surrounded by a reddish gold haze and hunkered down beside a broken stalactite.
Nimri’s skin crawled with the knowledge that the beast was near and knew where they were.
As she tiptoed toward Thunder, she held her breath and stared at the luminescence surrounding him. The closer she got, the brighter the red became. Beyond the man, dust and haze seemed to change shape and congeal into a form. Gooseflesh raged up and down her limbs.
Abruptly, Thunder stood, grabbed her hand and tugged her back the way they’d come.
A booming bellow numbed her, yet he pulled her onward.
Blue lightening eclipsed the warm light.
“Let’s get out of here!” Thunder shouted as he yanked her after him.
The blue was closer.
She ran for her life.
The dark swirling fumes brightened with a harsh, azure light. He pulled her behind a stalagmite. Though her shoulder ached from the way he’d wrenched it, she welcomed the rocky shield.
“What’s that thing?” Thunder asked, as the blue lightening stopped short of them.
“Its tongue.”
Something crashed. Iridescent bits of green exploded through the swirling orange cloud. Crumbs of rock hit Nimri’s shin.
The tongue retracted.
Thunder’s hand tightened and he pulled her toward safety, but the azure beam shot toward them again. This time, bits of the stalagmite they had just been behind exploded.
The dragon roared.
“We’re trapped!” Nimri said.
The beast roared. Rocks rained down as the searing heat crackled closer. Nimri closed her eyes and screamed.
Thunder hugged her tight and shouted into her ear, “Wake…Now!”
Her body felt like it was exploding, yet incongruously, she felt intact.
Something buzzed by her ear. With mingled memories of the Yeti and dragon, she flinched. When the buzzing came no closer, she opened her eyes. Thunder’s concerned expression was the first thing she saw. Behind him, the buddleia bush teamed with bees and butterflies.
They were alive.
Her hand felt numb. When she glanced at it, she realized she was holding onto Thunder with a white-knuckled grip. Nimri loosened her grasp and flexed her fingers. Then, she massaged the ache in her shoulder. He gave her a lopsided smile.
“Sorry,” she said. “Is your hand all right?”
He raised his hand and wiggled the fingers. Then he picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Yes.”
“How can we fight something like that?” she whispered.
“We’ll find a way.”
Nimri thought Thunder sounded more confident then he looked. “I don’t know why, but I believe you.” She had to. Failure meant death, not only for her, but also for everyone and everything she held dear.
Thunder reached toward her, but instead of caressing her cheek, fingered a loose strand of hair.
Did he want to kiss her? Her heart picked up a beat. No, even if she now thought of him as Thunder instead of the faceless villain Thunder Cartwright, he was still her enemy.
The idea of kissing him in the way of cherished partners felt wrong, but she would do it if necessary. She would do anything to save everyone and everything that she held dear.
He placed the strand behind her ear, but his attention centered on something behind her. When she started to turn and look, he asked, “Was it my imagination, or did the dragon eat stone?”
Nimri blinked. Where had that question come from? “I thought the stalactite broke. I didn’t realize the th
ing ate it.”
Thunder grinned and shook his head. “The walls looked like they’d been brushed with acid. I believe they were dissolving where the tongue had touched them, but I’m not certain if a dragon actually consumes rock.”
She touched her aching fingers, amazed that the real flesh showed no sign of trauma.
Could things eat dissolved rock? Digest with acid? “I guess anything could be possible if something like that exists.”
“If the monster’s bimolecular system is acid based,” Thunder said, “a few tons of alkali might weaken it.”
She tried not to show her confusion over what he’d just said. The only thing she’d understood was that Thunder wanted to figure out a way to weaken the dragon. She wanted to stop it. Kill it. She massaged her temples; amazed that such hatred and fear could drive her, and worried that she’d become as vicious as Rolf.“Why don’t I think there is a simple solution?”
Thunder laughed and tickled her under the chin, but his real interest remained somewhere behind her.
She turned, expecting to find the hair-loving Yeti behind her. The sticky-fingered thing was nowhere in sight. A tiny movement farther away caught her attention. She studied the strange flutter of wiegelia branches, then noticed a break in the stone wall beyond them. Amber eyes peered at her through the foliage. Behind them was a man’s broad outline.
She knew that silhouette. Larwin was alive. The beast hadn’t killed him.
Nimri scrambled to her feet and ran to greet him. Halfway there, she saw Larwin’s cold, furious expression. She stumbled. When his expression didn’t soften she realized that she’d attracted the dragon and it had kept him from his home. Her step faltered, then Nimri noticed that Kazza and GEA-4 were with him. She altered course to Kazza and hugged him. His purr soothed some of the rejection she’d seen in Larwin’s face.
Guilty tears stung her eyes. She buried her face in Kazza’s fur and held him tight. If she’d known the dangers, she would never have spirit traveled to Larwin’s world. Coolness rippled over her. It was just as well that Larwin wasn’t as happy to see her as she’d been to see him. If she knew he cared the same way she did, it would become much more difficult to honor her word to Thunder. And that was a promise she must keep.
Star Bridge (Chaterre Trilogy Book 1) Page 25