Dragon-Ridden (42 page)

Does it even matter? If you
don’t you will have failed. The others will die, and they will have their war.

The boy’s still body was right next
to her, his eyes staring sightlessly out at nothing. Tears rolled down Tate’s
cheeks. With a herculean effort she lifted her hand to touch his chest. It
moved slightly. She’d been wrong; there was still a little bit of life left in
him.

The dragon was right in this at
least. There was no other choice.

“What’s your name?”

There was a hesitation as if the
dragon was uncertain.
Ilith.

“Ilith, huh,” Tate whispered. It
seemed important to know the name of the being who might be residing in her
body after this. “My name’s Tate.”

Yes, I know
, the dragon’s
voice was soft in her head.
Tatum Alegra Winters, my savior.

Tate took a breath and then
another. She relaxed that final barrier in her mind that she had only been
aware of on a subconscious level. She gave in. Exactly as the dragon had
wanted.

Several things happened at once
after that. Most of it a blur that barely registered to Tate.

Dewdrop rose to his feet in a
sudden surge, Umi’s hairpin clasped tight in his hand. Nobody had time to react
before he plunged the hairpin stilleto into Kadien’s throat. With a scream he
wrenched his fist sideways ripping a chunk of flesh out. Blood spurted,
splashing on the wall and ceilings as Kadien’s heart pumped its last.

The Red Lady spun with her hands
up, and an unseen force picked Dewdrop up and smashed him into the barrier in a
flare of white light.

The dragon expanded through Tate,
rushing through her veins, pushing the frail human psyche aside. She gloried as
her body grew and grew, the bones popping as they lengthened and changed. Her
skin rippled and flowed as her muscles snapped and then slid into place over
her skeleton.

Finally. Finally.

A small dragon stood in Tate’s
place. Her head was no more than a foot above where Tate’s would have been if
she’d been standing there. Her scales shimmered in the warm light looking as if
flames danced across their surface. She was the color of sunlight with blue on
each foot making it look like she wore socks. Her tail flicked back and forth.
She lifted one foreleg, admiring her claws. She stretched, straightening her
back legs and then arching her back so she could straighten her front legs. She
luxuriated in the feel of her muscles stretching pleasantly.

Figures fled before her, drawing
her eyes the way a mouse does a cat’s. Her tail twitched as she crouched. She
felt… hungry.

She leapt.

Figures spilled into the chamber,
releasing war cries that fell silent at the carnage before them.

The dragon lifted her muzzle wet
with blood and eyed them. She didn’t feel hungry anymore, but they had the same
coloring as the savior’s betrayer. Threats would be killed. The dragon wondered
if they’d taste as good as the magic user. The one who thought she could take
her from her savior.

Their eyes widened with fear as the
dragon rose and crept towards them. A small body sat up and then laid back down
when he saw the dragon passing by. He held still when the dragon leaned down to
sniff him, holding in a whimper as it nudged him.

The dragon huffed and nudged him
again, moving him behind her and away from the interlopers. The savior cared
for this one and the boy tethered to the ground. She’d feel sadness if either
were caught in the violence.

Another two legger entered behind
the prey. She growled and hissed when he walked towards her. He seemed familiar
in a way the others weren’t. She sniffed the air. His smell was odd, not human.
Her eyes popped open. He was like her. The other recognized him and supplied a
name,
Ryu.
His eyes were sad as he watched the dragon pace away from
him. She felt threatened by him in a way the others hadn’t made her feel. Twin
instincts clamored at her to both escape and go to him. 

A stream of fire slammed into her
side, eating through her scales as if they were tissue paper. She cowered away
not understanding what was happening. Her muscles cramped painfully, and she
convulsed. The pain was coming from inside.

You must switch back
, a
voice told her.

The dragon shook its head not
willing to go back into its prison yet. The other might not let her back out.

Tatum Alegra Winters, you must
rise to the surface, or you will both die,
the voice said speaking directly
to the other.

No. It’s my turn. She can’t come
back.

Will you kill the person who
saved you?
the voice asked calmly.
She gave up everything for you
.
Is this how you will repay her?

The dragon drooped. It was never
her intention to harm the other. On the contrary, she hoped only to protect
her. She just didn’t want to be chained again. Pain was making it hard to
think, growing until she relinquished her grasp on the body just to escape it.

Tate was in a white space, her
surroundings hazy and indistinct.

Was she dead? You’d think death
would have seating at least. Her legs were tired. Scratch that, her entire body
ached. She wanted to sit down. An armchair appeared next to her, and she
settled gratefully down. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“Should have known I’d find you
sitting down,” somebody said to her.

Tate blinked at the brown-eyed man
sitting beside her in an exact replica of her chair. His hair was longer than
she remembered and a bit shaggier, his face a little older, but his eyes were
that same honey brown.

“You never were one to stand when
you could sit,” he continued.

“No, I wasn’t,” she said softly,
tracing his features with her eyes. It had been so long. There were so many
things she wanted to say. “Am I dead?”

He handed her a beer. “Depends on
your definition of dead.”

She glared at him. She’d never been
one for philosophy and dead was dead. “Dead. As in not living.”

He considered, rubbing his nose in
thought. “A little of both, I’d say.”

She rolled her eyes. Not helpful.

“Changing forms like you did, in
that situation especially, put a lot of stress on both your and Ilith’s bodies.
If Ai hadn’t forced a change you’d be all the way dead by now.”

Tate arched an eyebrow and looked
around. She didn’t buy it. “Where are we then, if not the afterlife?”

“Well,” he drawled. “That’s a
little hard to explain.”

“Try.”

He slapped his leg and threw his
head back to laugh. “I’ve missed you,” he finally said when he could draw breath.
“God, how I’ve missed you.”

She’d missed him too though she
hadn’t known it at the time. That other world felt more and more like a dream
the longer she stayed here.

“We’re in a little midway point I
created,” he said, answering her question. “This isn’t the person you knew by
the way, just a shade I left in case you ever made it here.”

Tate took a deep breath about to
say something she’d been saying far too often lately. “I don’t understand.”

“I know.” He looked lovingly at
her, his face filled with yearning. “There’s a lot I can’t explain right now.
You have to put it together yourself, or we risk irreparably damaging your
mind.” He looked away. “I’ll confess there are some things I’d prefer you never
remembered.” He looked down at his hands where they were clasped in his lap. “I
wish things could have been different. We wronged you terribly and for that I’m
sorry.”

Tate parted her lips about to say
something, anything to take that look of sorrow from his face.

He leaned forward, spearing her
with an intense gaze. “You have to make a decision. Right now you’re hovering
on the brink between life and death. This is where all the female dragons
before have died.”

“So I am dead.” Tate didn’t feel
the fear or anger she would have expected. Instead she felt a sort of
acceptance. Peace, even.

“Not yet,” the man held up a hand.
“You have to choose to go back or continue on.”

“Hm,” Tate leaned her head back
against the chair. What was back there for her? Was there anything? She felt so
tired. All she wanted was rest and here, there was peace. She knew if she went
back there’d be uncertainty, pain, heartache.

Faces flashed through her mind. Of
Night playing with his cubs, Dewdrop giving a relieved smile as he helped her
into the boat. Of the concern on Ryu’s face when he’d seen her injured. She
shook her head. Was that really enough? She’d earned a break from all the
craziness. She’d accomplished the mission and saved the boy. That she could
remember. There’d be no war now. Everything was done.

Cool fingers turned Tate’s face
toward his. Solemn eyes met her own. “There is nothing I’d like more for you to
join me on this side, but there are people who will need you there. Dark times
are coming. They’re going to need all the help they can get.”

She leaned her forehead against his
and cupped his hand where it rested against hers. He was right, but it hurt to
admit it. Those faces flashed before her again and this time she didn’t turn
away from them. She let them draw her back, to pull her into her body and the
waking world.

“Go back, baby,” he whispered
giving her a light kiss on her hairline. “We’ll all be waiting when you’re
done.”

She smiled shakily at him. “At
least one good thing has come out of this,” she said holding on to this last
moment as she felt herself being tugged back to her body. “I’ve got my past
back.”

He smiled sadly at her, fading
slowly into the white.

“Tate!” Ryu shouted, running to her
side as the dragon folded away and she took its place. No time had passed here
while she was in the half world. Already the memories of her past were fading.

Blood covered her from head to toe,
from wounds large and small. His hands fluttered over her trying to find a
place to touch that wouldn’t hurt her. “You should have waited, you stupid
girl.”

“Always with the name calling,”
Tate responded faintly.

“You’re awake.” He sounded
relieved. He pulled her head into his lap and stroked her hair back from her
face. His hands were shaking but gentle as they rubbed blood off her cheek. It
felt soothing. Tate was too exhausted to put up her customary fight. He leaned
over her and put his head against hers, his shoulders shaking slightly. “I
thought I lost you.” His voice was so faint she couldn’t tell if she’d heard
him or not.

Her eyes slid shut.

“Tate!”

A voice called her back from where
she rested on the verge of unconsciousness.

“Dewdrop?” she smiled up at him as
he slid to his knees next to her.

Dewdrop changed his impromptu hug
to a pat on her hand at the deep rumbling growl from Ryu. “You came. I can’t
believe you came.”

Tears plopped down onto her hand,
and Dewdrop’s shoulders shook from his soundless sobs. She shifted her hand and
grabbed onto his. “Of course I came. You’re not going to escape from me that
easily.”

“How did you get here so quick?”
Tate asked Ryu. It was a struggle to focus.

“You’re friend Ai, the minor
goddess, shortened our path,” Ryu said gravely.

“She’s not a goddess,” Tate
responded automatically, her eyes were sliding shut without her permission.

How rude,
Ai chuckled in her
mind.

Voices murmured above her head as
Ryu turned to address someone behind him.

“I survived and rescued the boys,”
Tate told her. She couldn’t help but feel she’d proved the woman wrong.

So you did,
was the amused
response.
Barely.

That’s all that counts, Tate
thought before her thought slid away on a cloud.

I am glad you got to meet him
,
Ai said.

Me too, Tate thought vaguely. We’ll
have to talk later; I’m fading fast.

As you wish.

There was something important Tate
needed to remember. It was the last thing keeping her awake. If only she could
remember.

“Ryu?”

He cradled his head in his hands
and glared down at her. “Why are you still awake? You need to sleep.”

“But-“

A fragrant herb was shoved under
Tate’s nose. The last thing she saw was Ai appearing next to the boy and then a
blue light rushed from him to her. Then of it’s own volition, her mind slid
sideways and the dark spun up to claim her.

The world came into focus in
snatches before fading back into a blurry inconsistency full of vague shapes
and sounds, until one day Tate opened her eyes and focused on the unfamiliar
ceiling above her. She studied it with a detached curiosity, feeling numb. The
events in the tunnel had haunted her dreams, and it was disorienting to wake
safe and sound in a bed.

She lifted an arm that felt much
heavier than normal. Her wounds had been bandaged while she was out. She must
have been hurt worse than she thought because the pain invaded deep into her
muscles. She welcomed the pain, letting it distract her from other, darker
thoughts.

“You’re awake,” a man said.

Tate rolled her head to look at the
man seated in a chair beside her bed. He wasn’t familiar, so she didn’t speak
instead watching him dispassionately.

This was obviously not the response
he expected, but he didn’t let that deter him. He let the silence build between
them. Used to the authority his power gave him he couldn’t understand why this
girl seemed so obviously uninterested in him. Most upon seeing a strange
person, and him especially, by their bed had some sort of reaction, whether it
was happiness or terror. Never this blank disinterest.

He’d heard that the girl often
didn’t respond in a way people expected her to but had dismissed such claims as
irrelevant. Now though, he found himself intrigued.