Alexa's Dragon (Dragon mates Book 1) (7 page)

Her stomach growled making her grimace.

“Let me get you some food.”

She stood and followed him to the kitchen area. “What are you watching?”

“Whatever I can get. It’s been a treat; I rarely watch television.”

“What do you do in your mountain?”

“Visit with my brothers, have parties with our people as well as the people who inhabit the land. Lately I stay to myself and read and of course add to my hoard.”

“Hoard?” She took a seat at the table as he moved within the small space taking out meat and vegetables.

“My hoard of diamonds, rubies, gold and other precious rocks.”

“That same hoard Mutufa was after.”

“That’s it. Believe me my hoard is impressive.”

She flushed.

“That’s what all the dragons say but when it comes time to show it, it’s nothing to talk about.” She felt her cheeks redden as she remembered his impressive bulge.

“I don’t know about the other dragons, but I assure you when you see my hoard you will be more than overcome with joy. His voice was silken as he gave her that small smile where his lips curled up at the end.

Her heart fluttered. She already loved the way he teased her and she just met him.

“Right now I’m more interested in the food you’ve promised me.”

“We’re going to keep this simple. I am making you two burgers rare.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Keep an open mind. Your taste buds will love it.”

“Why two?”

“Because you need refueling. I would love to see you eat three but I know I’ll have a fight on my hands if I recommend that. So I’m making you two.”

She opened her mouth to argue but her belly chose to rumble at that moment. She closed her mouth and watched him make the burgers.

“Tell me more about where we’re going.”

“There was a time life was peaceful. The valleys were and still are beautiful. Dragons crowded the sky showing off their beautiful colors to anyone willing to watch. Dinosaurs even walked the land, or so our textbooks say. We even managed to survive the changes that happened on the face of the earth.

“Overall, our lives were relatively peaceful until several thousand years ago when humans began hunting us. We were sure, after the change Mutufa brought about, that dragon kind was extinct. When we finally realized we could change forms at whim, there was a great rejoicing in the land. It was only then that we realized how badly our numbers were decimated. Very few dragons survived and of that handful, very few of them were females.

“Then the goddess Eternity smiled on us. She allowed us to see we had a chance to mate with certain humans, avoiding the curse of being frozen forever. Unfortunately, as the world began to expand and humans began to explore, we realized that if we wanted to survive our land must be hidden from the world.”

“How did you do it? Is it a protective bubble like the one we placed over my house? Or a spell like the one covering my parents’ house?”

“It’s more along the lines of a spell. Any being that was not considered human, or at least not considered human by other humans, found their way to our lands. They knew we would protect them. We came together as a body of people and be-spelled our land making certain that no normal human would step foot on it.”

“What about me?”

“I hate to break this to you, but you’re not normal. Even if you were, you’re with me so you would be allowed onto the land.”

“So others live there besides you and your brothers.”

“The land is full of people who will be delighted to see the first mate come.”

“You know I can’t stay, right?” His eyes darkened making her feel uncomfortable. “I can’t leave my best friend alone forever to fend for herself, especially now knowing I have these powers that can help her. What about my parents? When they come back to find out I am missing they will be devastated.”

Syn flipped her burgers and checked on the vegies. Her stomach gave another loud rumble before the plane rocked.

“Is that what they call turbulence?”

He looked at her his face a mask. “Most likely. I am checking in with George now to see what is happening.”

The jet shook again this time much harder. He took the burgers off and placed them between buns and slid them over to Alexa.

“Eat quickly you may need all the power you can generate.”

“What about you?” she called to his retreating back.

“I’m fine, eat!” His voice rose just a little imparting the need for urgency.

So much for a peaceful meal. She took a bite of the first burger groaning when it touched her tongue. Her mind shied away from the fact that it was rarer than she ever ate meat and simply enjoyed the taste of it.

The jet shook like it was coming apart. She shoved the last bite of the second burger in her mouth and walked on unsteady legs to the cockpit.

“Open up.”

“It’s open Alexa, come in.” She found Syn sitting in the co-pilots seat buckled in and helping to keep the plane on a steady trajectory.

“Take the seat off to my side.”

She looked to where Syn pointed and made her way to the seat strapping in.

“What’s happening?”

There were several gray clouds hanging in the sky that appeared to be moving with the plane. Was that possible? Had to be since it was happening and she could see it right before her. The aura of the clouds infiltrated the plane leaving a shroud of coldness and well as darkness hanging within. She had never seen such a phenomenon.

“Mutufa.” Syn said spitting out the name in disgust.

“How could he reach us up here?” Alexa asked watching the clouds.

“He’s working on the spiritual plane; he can reach us anywhere.”

She shook her head in denial. A quick look from under her lids allowed her to see that George was unfazed by what was happening.

“George,” she called quietly, unsure why he was so calm. He turned his head and she knew. He was one of the people that humans wouldn’t consider human, so he lived with Syn and the others who kept their part of the earth a secret.

“I was wondering why you didn’t appear to be shaken up over this turn of events. I now recognize you as one of the humans Syn told me about earlier.”

“I am. If I were to declare myself to your world, they would call me freak and study me, but they would never admit that I am human just from a different branch of the same tree.”

“You’re human?” His pupils were diamond shaped as his eyes expanded in his head.

“I’m just as human as you are.”

She chuckled; George had a sharp wit she knew she would like. He just linked his humanity with hers. Either she was or wasn’t human. Where did she stand on the evolution of man scale?

“I always found it interesting that man could believe in himself but could never conceive that if he existed, then the possibilities of something else, someone else living was there too.”

George nodded while doing a quick correction to their course.

The next blast that came directly from the clouds rolled their jet making Alexa scream as her stomach protested and she tried to hold down what she just ate.

She focused on the bright lights around her and the noises the plane made. The wings seemed to creak as they rolled back over. The body of the plane screamed its rage like it was alive and George clung to the control as if afraid to let them go.

“Syn, you may have to jump,” George said quietly.

She didn’t know if that was to keep her from knowing what was going on until the decision was made or did those clouds that seemed harmless a minute ago, have the power to hear everything he was saying?

“No. If we jump you’re dead and I won’t allow him to take another life.”

“How will you stop him? We’re in the air, even if you could fight the fight, you can’t win it up here.” George’s voice was resigned to his own death.

Alexa muttered in shock. How could he be willing to sacrifice his life for theirs without batting an eye?

“Our land, our security is based on the power of the dragons. We have already lost one brother; if we lose a second one, it will only be a matter of time before our world falls or is exposed to your world. Even though it would be the end of life as we know it, it will be worse for your world. If the four brothers who originally contained Mutufa fall, then he and his followers will escape. My world will be destroyed and yours will wish it was destroyed.”

“George is right, but to leave one of my people as a sacrifice to Mutufa will not help us. He will use George’s blood and his essence to grow stronger. If we are not careful, soon he will be able to inhabit a human body for small portions of time when he escapes the other plane.”

Alexa nodded. “Then what do we do?” Her voice was hard with resolve, she wouldn’t run and she wouldn’t let another sacrifice his life so she could live. Instead, she would fight with all she possessed.

“We fight. George is right; we can’t fight him using our physical power up here, but we can take the fight to him.”

“Meaning?”

“Remember how you dreamed of being chased and you believed if he caught you it was final?”

“You were right because you were in the spiritual realm not the realm of dreams. What happens in the spiritual realm is final. That’s where we have to go to fight him.”

“We can put an end to him?

“No, he is already spirit, there is no body to kill. All we can do is disorient him and send him further into the realm.”

“Then how do we get rid of him for good?”

“The door has to be resealed. There are only three of us now and without the fourth, we are weak. Even with my fourth brother we are too weak to ultimately get rid of him, we must get stronger.” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “Forty-eight hours ago I despaired, believing that we would never grow stronger. Now I have hope.”

Syn stood and helped Alexa out of her seat. “George, keep the plane as steady as you can.”

He looked at Alexa and gave her a sexy grin. “Looks like I will be getting you into that bed after all.” He led her out of the cockpit.

“Why are we going to your mile-high bedroom?”

“We are much higher than a mile in the air.”

“I know, it’s a thing—you know when people get together on planes—umm in the bathroom and…never mind.” Her cheeks were on fire. When had she become a prude or did she simply get flustered when he was around?

“I think I want to know all about these people and planes. It may be something we wish to do.”

The plane rolled under their feet causing Alexa to stumble. Syn caught her and finished leading her into the bedroom. It was splendid, done in light wood with just a little metal in it. The combination made it look like old money with a hint of new interspaced throughout the room.

The bed was king sized and took up a good portion of the wall. It looked soft and inviting. She eyed Syn as he took a moment to take off his shoes.

“Come on, we may as well be as comfortable as possible.”

“We’re going to go to sleep?”

“I am going to put us in the spiritual realm. Wait for me before you begin to explore.”

She nodded and crossed to the bed bending over to place her shoes next to his. She liked seeing them sitting there together. She wiped that silly thought away and climbed onto the bed resting on her back. Syn got in and moved close to her allowing her to feel his heat.

He reached over and took her hand. “Breathe, Alexa. Close your eyes; when you wake you will be in the land of spirits, mystery, and mayhem.”

“Oh my,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

Alexa opened her eyes to have her senses bombarded by color. Her mind swirled with colors that were too impossible to exist. She closed her eyes, gripping her head feeling the beginnings of a headache.

“I got you. Keep your eyes closed.”

Relief poured through her when she felt Syn take her hands leading her away from where she was standing.

“Just a little further.” The comfort of his voice wrapped around her.

They came to a stop that allowed her brain to stop trying to ooze out of her ears.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Carefully she squinted, looking around for the dizzying spectrum of colors to attack her.

“Believe it or not, that was the welcome wagon for the souls who have earned peace.”

“There was nothing peaceful about that.”

“That’s because you’re still alive. If you were no longer attached to your body, being surrounded by that light would have made you feel better and it would have led you to your new home. Your human body, which is still on the plane, couldn’t handle the intensity of the welcome. Now that you’re no longer in the landing point, you will acclimate.”

She gave a shaky smile. “What do the souls that haven’t earned peace get?”

Syn turned her around and pointed. Off to one side was an area that was dim with the flattest grays and blacks she ever saw. Just looking at it from where she was standing was enough to put her in a funk. Averting her eyes, she shuddered.

“Not a nice welcome.”

“They’re not nice souls.”

Alexa nodded and looked around the landscape. “Where do we have to go to find Mutufa and deal with what he is doing to the plane?”

The colors that were blinding her became more muted the longer she blinked her eyes and stayed still. The plane she was on was beautiful; there was a comfort that touched her soul and made her ache to call it home. It seemed to appeal to a basic part of her. This place was her own special place—it felt like home.

There was green grass underneath her feet with rolling hills further away. If she thought of an ocean a hint of one appeared. It was like this place—this plane was whatever she wanted it to be.

“He and the others are across the great divide.”

“Syn, that sounds like a serious journey.”

“It is, but I have a solution. I can change into my dragon form and you can ride. We will be there in a matter of minutes.”

“I thought your dragon would try to mate with me if you changed.”

“Normally yes, but not here. He would not challenge Eternity. No one would dare to challenge her here in her personal domain. You will be safe, but he will press harder after having felt you, to have me take you or to change and take you himself.”