Ember's Kiss (14 page)

Liz slanted a glance at her companion and trusted her instinct to not tell him that she'd seen a dragon, too. There was something that made her wary, maybe his apparent conviction that people deserved to experience the earthquake. He seemed oddly satisfied with the dragon's act of retaliation.

Still, he might know more that was useful.

“So, what are the offerings a dragon wants?” she asked, as if indulging him.

“You must offer to the dragon whatever is most precious to you. He will know if you lie. Dragons know all.” He tapped his chest. “They see to the heart. This is what makes them powerful—and dangerous.”

Had Brandon seen to her heart? Liz had a feeling that he had.

Maybe he had recognized that they both had secrets and burdens to bear.

She concentrated on her driving for a few minutes. As they got closer to the coast, there was more traffic, as well as more cars parked on the shoulder. She followed the old man's directions into the town of Hale‘iwa and was charmed by its easy atmosphere.

“I stay there,” the old man said, indicating where she could let him out. There were a number of houses clustered behind the clothing stores and galleries. Liz noticed a grocery store and made note of a gas station down the way. She might need to fill up before she
headed back. There were also a lot of cars parallel parked along the road.

Most of the cars had roof racks with surfboards, and there were surfboards leaning against railings on porches. There was no parking available near the spot the old man wanted to stop, so Liz simply stopped and put on her hazard lights. He didn't look as if he could walk much farther. She had to hope that the town was quiet enough that she wouldn't get rear-ended. She got out and went around the car to help the older man. She was her mother's daughter, as much as she might have liked to change that.

“Where do you find the dragon?” she asked again when he was on his feet, and he smiled up at her. Again she felt conflicted by her reaction. He appeared to be so benign, but she wanted to run away from him as quickly as possible.

Where was his aura?

Was he a ghost? One of the spirits from other realms? According to locals, Hawai‘i was rumored to be filled with ghosts.

“You do not.” He touched his chest. “You wish to see him. You make him offerings. And if you are lucky, the dragon will hear the secret of your heart and find you.” He smiled, then bowed formally before her, bracing himself on his cane. “I thank you.”

“You're welcome. Are you okay from here?”

“I am strong,” he said, then leaned on his cane so heavily that he undermined his own assertion. Liz watched him go a little way, not at all sure that he
could manage on his own. She felt both protective of this older man and deeply suspicious of him. Which impulse was the right one?

He pivoted and glanced back at her just then, his expression so mischievous that Liz halfway imagined he'd heard her thoughts. Was he laughing at her? “But today, if I wished to find the dragon, I would look on ‘Ehukai Beach.”

“‘Ehukai Beach,” Liz echoed.

The old man nodded and turned his back on her. Liz watched him hobble away, humming quietly. He seemed oddly satisfied with himself, although she couldn't imagine why. Maybe he was just glad to be close to his accommodation.

Okay, ‘Ehukai Beach. She got back into the car and pulled up her map. It was only a couple of miles away. When she glanced at the street, there was no sign of the older man.

Funny that he had disappeared just the way the dragon had.

Maybe he
was
stronger than he'd looked.

Brandon wasn't as reassured by watching the ocean waves as he'd expected to be.

Usually the sight of the ocean's power soothed his dragon, just as riding the waves kept him focused on his human side. It was as if the rhythm of the rolling waves lulled his dragon to sleep.

Today was exactly the opposite. The waves were wild, rising high and crashing hard on the coral reef.
To Brandon's dismay, his dragon seemed to feed on that energy. He felt an exhilaration, a gleeful joy in the violence of the sea, and that jubilation wasn't a part of his human nature.

What was different? Was it because the turmoil in the sea had been caused by the earthquake? Or was this just a sign that his dragon was less under his control?

Was his dragon more tempestuous because it knew that Brandon would soon be rid of it? It was easy to believe that it might fight harder at the end.

Brandon knew only that he had to conquer his dragon to have a chance with Liz. He watched the waves, studying their pattern. His dragon dared him, tempted him, nudged him toward the challenge of this surf without taking the time to prepare. When Brandon went, it would be by his choice.

Some of the guys were on the beach, watching the water. Although they'd brought their boards, the boards remained on their roof racks. They were joking around and they'd greeted Brandon, but no one was in the water.

The risk was too high.

But Brandon knew this break. If anyone could ride it today, it would be him. He knew its hazards and quirks well, probably even better than Kira. As he watched the surf and noted the familiarity of the break, he became convinced that he could do it.

Maybe Brandon could finish the dragon today with a bold move. If he was right, he could put the torment of his shifter nature behind him, for good.

He could return to Liz immediately.

At that realization, Brandon's decision was made. He got his board out of the back of Kira's Volkswagen. Liz's company was all the incentive he needed to borrow Kira's towel again and change into the new wet suit.

“You're joking,” Kira said, her shock clear as she watched him.

“No.” Brandon cast her a smile. “I'm not joking.”

He didn't wait for her to argue with him. He walked onto the beach, heading directly for the waves crashing on the shore.

Kira ran behind him. “But you can't! It's not safe.”

Living with a dragon he couldn't control wasn't safe.

Brandon kept walking.

“Brandon, this is crazy!” Kira shouted. “You'll die.”

He looked back to see her more agitated than he'd ever seen her. The guys on the beach had turned to watch, their curiosity clear.

She shook a finger at him. “It'll be crap PR for me if you die in that wet suit!”

“Then I won't die,” Brandon said easily, turning back to the ocean.

“Hey,” Dylan said, striding to his side. “Don't go out there.”

“I'm going.”

“Look at those waves!” Dylan gestured to the sea, his concern clear. “You wipe out and you'll be history. It's merciless out there today.”

Brandon watched the waves. The break was easing slightly to the right. Good. He liked it better there.

“You've got your big chance this week,” Kira said from his other side. “Don't go out there just to do something macho and stupid, and wreck it all.”

“If you break only a board, you'll be lucky,” Dylan added.

“I thought you said I was the best at this break,” Brandon said to Kira. She nodded reluctantly, her gaze sliding to the pounding surf and back to him. “I can do it.”

“You shouldn't go out there alone,” Dylan began.

Matt interrupted from behind them. “I'll go out with you. Let me get my board.”

Kira shoved a hand through her hair and bit her lip. “So you're both either stupid or crazy.”

Brandon touched her shoulder. “You know it's all about what you believe,” he reminded her. “I know I can do this, and so I'm going to.”

Kira swore and wrapped her arms around herself. She seemed to realize that she couldn't change his mind. Matt came back then, having changed into his wet suit, carrying his shortboard. He and Brandon bumped fists, then charged into the surf.

The other guys on the beach cheered and whistled, crowding closer to the water to watch. By the time Brandon put his board in the water and started to paddle, he couldn't hear them anymore.

There was just the pounding of the sea.

The dragon made only a low growl.

Brandon grinned. He paddled with all his might, lunging through the wave to the outside. Matt was
right with him, his eyes filled with excitement. The ocean was dark and roiling on the outside, awesome in its power.

He pointed to the left, indicating the break to Matt. Brandon was on the inside, so he'd take the first wave. He gave Matt a thumbs-up as the next wave reared high against the horizon, then turned and started to paddle toward the beach as fast as he could.

“Go, go, go!” Matt shouted behind him.

The wave swelled under Brandon, lifting him high as it surged toward the beach. He'd caught a massive one and, as always, this moment made his heart thunder with excitement. He was on his feet, balancing on his board, filled with the sense that he could touch the sky. He rode just below the crest on the green wave, the white wave breaking beside him exactly as he'd anticipated, racing toward the beach.

Everything was perfect. His dragon was silent. He was completely in control, in his human form.

This would be it.

There was more parking at ‘Ehukai Beach, but then, that was probably because the waves were crashing on the shore so forcefully that the surfers had stayed home. Liz parked the Mercedes and got out, surprised to find anyone there.

A group of about a dozen surfers stood close to the water, transfixed by something out at sea. The water was roiling and the surf was high. She could feel the fury of the ocean and wished her powers allowed her
to pacify it. That was the task of Waterdaughters, but Liz wasn't sure that even they could calm the waters on this day.

To Liz's shock, there were two guys on surfboards out in the angry waves. One was paddling toward the shore, apparently targeting the incoming wave.

“Go, go, go!” shouted one of the guys on the beach, although Liz couldn't imagine that the surfer could hear him. The wave rolled beneath the surfer, lifting him and his board high on its great, dark swell.

He had a steady aura of indigo.

Liz hurried to the beach, knowing who it had to be.

“Get up, Brandon!” one of the guys shouted. “Get
up
!”

There was one woman among the group of guys at the beach. She glanced at Liz, then back at the surfer. She looked worried.

Brandon was on his feet, balancing perfectly. The wave crested beside him and he rode the dark curve of the wave. He wasn't that far from the beach and she could see him grin in triumph.

That cockiness made Liz mad.

What the hell was he doing? It had to be suicide to surf when the ocean was this wild. She had come all this way to check that he was okay, only to discover that he was trying to kill himself. Liz's temper flared, as hot and potent as it had once been.

The reaction of the other surfers certainly indicated that Brandon's choice was dangerous. Liz had
the sense that they couldn't bear to watch but couldn't turn away.

The woman folded her arms across her chest and watched fixedly, her lips tight. She made a sound of disgust, then pivoted to walk away.

“Excuse me,” Liz said, hearing the anger in her own tone. “Is that Brandon?”

“Yes,” she said hotly. “Stupid moron.”

Liz had to agree. “It must be dangerous to surf when the sea is like this.”

The woman's eyes flashed. “This break kills at least one surfer a year. Today's the kind of day that statistic could come true.” She nodded at the guys. “They all think he has balls, but I think he has shit for brains.”

With that, she marched away. She got into a yellow Volkswagen bug, started it, and squealed the tires as she drove away.

Liz didn't blame her for being angry. She was probably one of Brandon's friends.

She stared back at him, both fascinated by his skill and terrified for him. As she might have expected, he was a graceful athlete, making something that had to be hard look effortless. The wave curled beside him, a froth of white spilling down to one side. The curl seemed to have an opening, like the end of a massive tube. She saw the flash of Brandon's smile as he was almost surrounded by the wave.

One of the guys on the beach gave a whistle.

Brandon crouched lower. He stayed right at the
front of the curl, and she knew he must be somehow doing it on purpose. One hand trailed in the wave behind him, his fingers buried in the water; the other was outstretched for balance. She could appreciate that it was exciting to be so close to such power, but it was treacherous, too.

The wave propelled him toward the beach with incredible speed. The water churned right behind him, no more than an arm's length away, smashing down into the reef with incredible force.

He was a step away from disaster.

On purpose.

Liz fumed. She'd driven through a tunnel in the mountain when there were still aftershocks from the earthquake. She'd abandoned her colleagues and her friend Maureen because she was so worried about Brandon.

And here he was, risking his life for fun.

Liz could have spit sparks. She was so mad that she was tempted to just turn her back and walked away from him forever. But no. She'd spent hours getting here—she'd have the pleasure of telling him off before she drove back.

She strode down the beach toward the surf, livid. The other surfers stepped back to make way for her and she heard them whisper as she marched to the lip of the water. She intended to meet Brandon when he rode to shore, but he must have sensed her presence.

He glanced up from the wave and he was close enough that she could see his surprise.

That didn't improve her mood. So he hadn't thought he'd see her again. All that talk of kismet and destiny and true love had been garbage, just garbage he'd spewed to get into bed with her. He was no different from his predatory friend. Liz's anger boiled and she had even more to say.