dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames (35 page)

“I used to work in the laundry,” Noelle began, “and met many shape-shifters while there.”

Most of the clan dropped their clothes off there to be washed except for the few who preferred to do it themselves. That’s where Aidan remembered seeing the woman before. She’d crossed over from Earth three years ago and began working in the laundry shortly afterward. He believed she’d been about twenty years old then.

“Quade brought his clothes by even more regularly than most.” Sadness filled her eyes. “We talked every time he visited about all kinds of things. What my life was like back on Earth, his work as a gardener, the birds, the weather—anything.”

For a moment, she was silent as she collected herself. Noelle had yet to look at the accused. “I didn’t think much of it for a long time because everyone knows a human could never be more than friends with a shape-shifter. We’re just not…” she swallowed, “compatible.”

The pendragon nodded. “Go on.”

“A couple of months ago we met outside the laundry for the first time. It was at the celebration for returning to Earth. Quade spent the entire evening with me while we drank, ate, and talked. It was perfect.” Tears filled her eyes.

The human man who’d carried Noelle inside handed her a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes before continuing. “We started meeting more often after that, whenever we both had free time. I admit…I admit to falling in love with him.”

Murmurs spread across the room. There were so many differences between humans and shape-shifters that most never even considered it. Aidan would have been shocked by the revelation if he hadn’t found himself beginning to care about Bailey. He didn’t love her, but he’d gone past being only her trainer. They’d grown close in a way he hadn’t thought possible, if for no other reason than his inner dragon should have rejected her. Instead, the infernal beast enjoyed her company.

There was a spark between them that was becoming difficult to ignore. Aidan couldn’t harm Bailey the way Quade did Noelle, but once she became a full-fledged dragon slayer she could turn on him. He was more than a little nervous about how the rite of passage would affect her. Even if she managed to overcome her instincts, neither of their societies would accept them being together. Their relationship was doomed before it could even start.

Aidan glanced at the accused and saw the man shaking with tears running down his cheeks. There was only one reason a dragon would ever cry—the loss of a loved one. They rarely opened their hearts, but once they did the bond was nearly unbreakable. Quade had made the mistake of falling for a human and now he’d lost her.

“Tell us about the night you were injured,” the pendragon said.

Noelle blinked back her tears. “I remember it was soon after the last Judgments Day because there was all the talk going around about the man who beat his mate and the punishment he got for it.”

Aidan recalled that incident as well. The man had too much alefire, came home and beat his mate within an inch of her life. Their marriage was forced upon them due to family interests—a rare, but not unheard of occurrence. As punishment, the husband was strung up between two obelisks and the wife was allowed to whip him ten times.

Shape-shifters could take a lot of punishment. She’d had to use a whip with barbs that cut deep into the flesh and ripped at it when pulled away. He was sent to the dungeon for two weeks afterward without a visit to the healer. The husband was told that if it happened again the punishment would be double. As of yet, it hadn’t reoccurred and the wife smiled everywhere she went. One thing Aidan could say about his father was that he didn’t tolerate the strong preying on the weak.

“Anyway,” Noelle continued, “we met that night in Quade’s hut near the vegetable garden. We hadn’t planned on doing anything more than talk as usual, but we’d been testing kissing each other. If we kept it brief and he only touched me where my clothes protected me it went okay.”

Murmurs spread across the room. Aidan scowled at people from where he stood next to the dais. They died down so that he could hear the rest of Noelle’s story.

“…given him permission to go further if he just made it quick. Except I didn’t feel the pain right away. I was so excited to be with him that it felt good at first. Then it didn’t and I began to scream, but he was too far gone by that point. I beat on his chest, but he couldn’t hear me anymore. His body smothered mine…” She broke off, choking on tears.

That was the way it went with shape-shifters. Once their passions rose too high they lost themselves in the moment. There was no way Quade could have stopped even if he’d heard her screams—which was why it should never have started in the first place.

The pendragon smiled at her gently. “You’ve done well, my dear. Why don’t you skip to the reason we didn’t discover you for a week.”

“Okay.” Noelle dabbed at her face with her tissue. “After it was over Quade felt horrible. He apologized to me dozens of time and ran to get burn cream, but the apothecary was closed by then. We were afraid to tell anyone what had happened since we knew the punishment would be bad so he took care of me the best he could that night.”

“What happened the next day?” the pendragon asked.

“There was work to be done in the garden. Without an excuse, he couldn’t get by the apothecary until later that night. They were out of the burn cream when he got there. Someone had just taken the last bottle and they said it would be a few days before more could be made—unless he had an emergency case. Of course, telling them about me would get him into trouble so he didn’t.”

“And before you knew it, nearly a week had passed and you fell ill with a fever?” the pendragon prompted.

“Yes,” Noelle agreed. “By that point Quade knew he had no choice. Burn cream wasn’t going to be enough anymore. He carried me to the healer and then the guards came to arrest him. I learned at that point my wounds had been allowed to fester too long and couldn’t be fully healed.”

“Do you have anything else you want to add?” Throm asked.

“Only that Quade made a mistake. We both know now that we should never have let it go as far as it did. I still love him…maybe I always will.” She paused to look at the accused with a heartfelt gaze, then turned to the pendragon. “Please don’t punish him too badly.”

“Thank you,” Throm said. He nodded at the human man beside Noelle, indicating he could take her away.

A few minutes later after she’d left the room, the clerk had called for silence and the pendragon studied the accused. Everyone waited to see what would happen next.

“Quade of Taugud, after hearing the victim’s story, do you have anything to say for yourself?” Throm asked.

The accused hung his head in shame. “I do not.”

“Very well.” The pendragon leaned forward in his seat. “I hereby sentence you to twenty lashes and two years in the dungeon. Be grateful your victim spoke so highly of you to me in private or I might have considered banishment as well.”

Everyone started talking at once. Anything beyond six months in the dungeon was considered a fate worse than a death sentence. The cells were too small for a shape-shifter to take his dragon form. At the very least, they needed to change once every three days or the beast inside them would scratch at their mind incessantly, begging to be let out. Those who stayed down there for even six months came out half mad and had to be watched closely for months afterward. Who knew what Quade would be like at the end of his sentence?

“Before the lashings begin,” the pendragon shouted to be heard, “I will tell all of you now that relationships with humans are forbidden. If this happens again, the sentence will be worse.”

Aidan caught Donar staring at him from across the room. There was a warning in his eyes and it wasn’t difficult to discern the meaning. His cousin was telling him to keep his distance from Bailey. Aidan knew he was right, even if his inner dragon didn’t agree.

Chapter 37

Bailey

I tossed a pair of khaki pants in Conrad’s size into the shopping basket. It was already full of clothes for the both of us, but I wanted to be sure we’d have enough outfits to last for a long time. The thrift store I’d located hadn’t been hit too hard by looters. I’d counted on that, figuring there’d be more stuff left there than going to the mall or anyplace else obvious. Safer for me too, since I was on my own.

After finishing off my selections with a couple of suitcases, I wheeled the cart out the store. Once again it was sunny and hot. The early afternoon sunlight almost blinded me after being in a dimly lit building. I loaded up the clothes and bags into my truck, keeping an eye out for anyone nearby. So far it had been quiet. I left the cart with a group of others along the wall.

Just as I was about to start my truck, I caught sight of two men in an SUV pull up to a place across the street. They got out, holding rifles in their hands. Damn. They could kill me from across the road if they wanted. I ducked down low and prayed they didn’t notice me or my truck. There were a couple other vehicles in the lot, but none of them were parked in front of the store entrance.

The men cast their gazes around, one of them pausing briefly on my truck, and headed into the building. I put the key in the ignition, but before I could start the engine a huge green dragon appeared in the sky. I’d never seen one that big except for Mirrikh—the man-eater. Where in the hell had the creature come from? It couldn’t have been far or I’d have noticed it flying this way sooner.

The dragon hovered in the air high above the store where the men had gone inside, staring downward with its beady red eyes. Even with my windows partially rolled down I couldn’t hear it. The creature flapped its wings in a way that was nearly soundless. It had gone into predator mode. Dear God, it had to be waiting for those men to come back out.

I inched my hand toward my sword where it rested on the floorboard. My slayer instincts were kicking into gear, but the rational part of me didn’t know if I could take a creature that big as a first kill. Aidan had cautioned me not to make a move against a dragon until he gave the go ahead. I’d improved considerably since that first fight against Donar, but this one wouldn’t hold its punches. The fight would be to the death.

A moment later the men came out of the store. My sense of caution fled as the dragon swooped down. I jumped out of the truck with my sword in hand and screamed a warning at them. They looked at me instead of the beast coming straight for them. I pointed and screamed again. Finally, one of them looked up. He stumbled back a step and grabbed his friend’s arm.

I started running toward them, dashing across the street. The dragon didn’t pay me any attention as it went down for the two scrambling men. It sent a stream of flames at the entrance, blocking the men’s chance to hide in the building. They turned in another direction, but it was too late. The dragon reached them. It picked them up with its massive talons and lifted them into the air. I only had fifty feet to go.

Putting on a burst of speed, I raced toward them. The men flailed around as the creature flapped its wings hard to get up higher. Their added weight was slowing it down. Wind whipped against my face. I held my sword in front of me and dashed the last twenty feet. With my free hand I reached out and almost caught one of the men’s feet, but missed by inches. The dragon picked up speed and flew higher, going beyond my reach.

“Come and get me, you mangy bastard,” I screamed, still running.

“Help!” one of the men called out, his eyes wide with desperation.

The dragon turned its head and looked down at me. I could have sworn it had a mocking expression in its eyes. It let out a brief roar and continued on its way. No matter how fast I ran I couldn’t keep up. It sailed across the street and over to a neighborhood. I slowed to a walk, sucking in gulps of air. My instincts pushed me to keep going, but it was pointless.

I watched it fly for another minute before it descended, disappearing from my sight. Could it have landed already? That would explain how it appeared so suddenly before. If the dragon’s nest was nearby, it was worth checking out. Maybe I could still save the men.

Turning around, I ran for my truck. The driver’s side door was still open when I reached it. In my hurry to go after the dragon I hadn’t even thought to grab my keys. I jumped in and drove the truck down the street in the direction I’d seen the creature disappear. After a few blocks, I spotted a large building with a huge hole in the side.

I pulled into an empty parking lot down the street. There was no sense in risking my truck by driving right up to the place. Plus, I needed to watch the area for a few minutes to see if the dragon was alone. Aidan had told me they rarely nested by themselves. The one I’d found at the outdoor store had been a fluke.

It killed me to wait, but I couldn’t go rushing in there. I’d learned my lesson on that already. For half an hour nothing stirred. I couldn’t see any movement in the dark interior from my vantage point. Then I was rewarded when two dragons flew up to the building. A third—smaller than the one who took the men—poked its head out. Even my natural instincts balked at those odds.

Tired and frustrated, I forced myself to leave. I’d have to wait until I met Aidan for training the next day and tell him what I’d found. Maybe if we worked together and brought Donar as well, we could take the nest out.

I returned to Verena’s place and found her out front tending her garden. Every day she drew from the well and watered her plants, fighting against the drought that threatened to kill them. She wore a floppy straw hat over her brown and gray hair. It was hard to remember she was a sorceress when she was dressed that way.

She didn’t acknowledge me when I got out of the truck. I opened one of the back doors and started stuffing a suitcase with clothes for Conrad. The poor guy had been wearing the same outfit for over a week. I’d washed his pants for him a couple times and given him one of my larger t-shirts since his was ruined from the gunshot, but he’d been getting grouchier by the day. He didn’t know why I couldn’t bring him clothes from the library. I’d been putting off giving him the bad news until he got better.