Unquiet Slumber (41 page)

“But I have to get it off!” Tianna started to struggle even harder. Nathaniel had to pin her arms behind her back in an attempt to subdue her.

Marcus bent down to take a closer look. His eyes opened wide in horror, but he kept his voice soft. “It’s a partial mark of the Black Dragon.”

Tianna knew what the mark was before he said it, but hearing it said out loud made her stomach churn. She started to gag and looked over her shoulder at Nathaniel, begging “Let me go. I’m going to be sick.”

He instantly released her and she ran for the nearest bush, throwing up violently. Nathaniel was right by her side. When he attempted to rub her back, she flinched away from him. In a defeated voice, she whispered, “Please don’t touch me. I don’t deserve to be touched since I let him do this to me. I should’ve fought harder.” She slumped forward with her head hanging low, feeling ashamed.

Touching her lightly on her shoulder, Nathaniel pleaded, “Please come back to the bed so we can talk.”

She gazed up into Nathaniel’s eyes and couldn’t argue. She wasn’t angry with him. When he held out his hand, she took it and let him lead her back to their bed. Using his blue fire, he healed the bite and took away the pain from the marking. He then helped her put on his shirt.

They all sat down quietly around her as she sat back up straight. The first one to speak was, to everyone surprise, Tianna. She said, “Kai is right about something. I know now that I do have a part of him inside me. I can‘t deny it any longer. I feel him draw me to him, and part of me didn’t want to fight it.” She looked directly at Nathaniel. “You know the part of me that gives me the ability to move through the woods without a sound, like a cat? That comes from him. He has panther inside him and so do I.”

Nathaniel gave her a sad smile. He loved it when she purred but now that sound was going to have a whole new meaning.

She looked over at Marcus, “He told me that he is the Kai of legend. He said that he’s found a way to make himself immortal.” She added in a defeated voice, “This will never end until he has me.”

Nathaniel drew her to him and hugged her tight.

Marcus leaned over and put his hand on her leg. “We’ll never let that happen.”

Seth added his touch saying, “You’re not alone and we’ll always be by your side.”

Gabriel joined in and said, “We’ll protect you until our last dying breath.”

Tianna snapped up straight, causing the Draaks to pull back their hands abruptly. She shook her head. “That’s exactly the point. I don’t want any of you to die for me. I’d give up my life to keep you all safe. You’re my family.” Her voice broke as she surveyed her protectors with love in her eyes.

Her expression quickly changed again as she came to a decision. With a look full of determination, she said, “If he’ll kill to get me and he’ll use me to kill untold numbers once he has me, then we
must
take me out of the equation.”

They all were puzzled, except Nathaniel. He knew exactly what she meant and yelled, “No! That’s NOT an option.”

She turned to look at him and said, “It’s the only way. Maybe if I’m gone, a full out war can be avoided. I won’t allow him to kill any of you to get to me, and I can’t allow him to use me as a weapon. ”

 It finally dawned on everyone else what Tianna was suggesting. Seth gasped and asked, “You want us to kill you?” He spoke with complete disgust in his voice. “I’d gladly give up my own life rather than take a sword to your body. I won’t do it!”

Tianna knew in her heart that her suggestion was in vain since they could never hurt her. “What other options do we have? If Kai is now able to enter my dreams and mark me physically, it won’t be long before he’ll take me away. I know that can’t be allowed to happen. And, I fear if he comes for me, I’ll go willingly. I can feel the Black within me fighting to get out. She wants him and is willing to fight to get to him.”

Seth got something for Tianna to drink. They spent the next hour consoling her, trying to come up with a solution to their problem other than killing her. Kai wasn’t going to be easy to fight since he was attacking her in dreams.

With no clear resolution, the Draak finally convinced Tianna to continue toward Haven with them. Perhaps other magical villages have a way to protect her, and once they reached Haven, she would be completely safe. Marcus reminded them of the late hour and asked everyone to try to get some sleep.

Nathaniel helped Tianna do a new protection spell on their camp before tucking her back into bed and snuggling in close. While Gabriel continued to stand guard, the others adjusted their beds so they were within reach of Tianna and they tried, unsuccessfully, to sleep.

Gabriel watched Tianna and cursed at his lack of ability to keep her safe from harm. He knew how to protect her when physical strength was needed, but he had no skills to protect her when her mind was being attacked.

Nathaniel also never took his eyes off her and watched her throughout the rest of the night. He vowed that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe from all dangers, no matter what form that danger took.

Over the next few days, as they traveled to their next destination, Tianna was very quiet. With Kai’s mark on her, she felt like she carried a contagious disease, so she kept her companions at a distance. A conflict was growing within her. While most of her was disgusted by her newest mark, the Black within her was very pleased. This constant battle was tormenting her because her inner Black Dragon was growing in power every day. Tianna had to constantly fight hard to keep her at bay.

Her protectors all noticed her changed behavior and tried to comfort her. In the short time they had known her, she had managed to work her way into their hearts. They had all grown to love her.

One night, Marcus sat watching Tianna sleep in Nathaniel’s arms. He knew that for her to fight the evil, she needed the power that would come from bonds of friendship and love. Their band of travelers was strongest when working as one, and they had already seen what Kai could do when he weakened this bond. He decided that they needed a day to show her how much they cared. He scanned the land around them and saw that they were camped next to a large lake with beautiful woods around it. This was a perfect place for them to spend a little extra time to strengthen their connections.

Marcus announced at morning meal, “Today we’re taking a break from our quest.” He glanced over at Tianna. “I think you need to have some fun.” He looked back at the rest of his quest members and said, “I think we all need a day to play.”

They gawked at Marcus in shock. The idea of having a day off from traveling sounded wonderful to everyone, including Tianna.

Seth was thrilled but gave Marcus a questioning look while asking, “What did you have in mind?”

Marcus smiled. “Whatever you want. This is your time. It’s a beautiful warm day so let’s enjoy it.”

Excitement grew in the air as they discussed their options. Each offered what they wanted to do.

Tianna announced that she wanted to fly with a dragon, lie in the sun, fly with a dragon, climb trees, and fly with a dragon. They all chuckled. Marcus wanted to sit peacefully and write stories about their travels. Nathaniel, Gabriel, and Seth decided they wanted to do something more physical so they were going to have challenges between each other.

They ate their meal quickly and decided on their first activity, which was swimming in the lake. Marcus said he would join the group for a quick swim before he started his writing.

Seth gave out the first challenge, “Last one in the lake gets to make our evening meal!” Tianna watched and laughed as her protectors all ran for the lake, stripping along the way.

Seth was determined not to be the last one this time so, as he ran, he shifted into full dragon form and flew to the lake. Once he was at the water’s edge, he dived in as dragon but came back up to the surface in his human form. Tianna clapped and cheered for Seth.

The three other Draaks tried to trip and shove each other all the way to the lake. In the end, Marcus and Gabriel worked together and knocked Nathaniel off his feet. They laughed and made it to the lake with Nathaniel trailing behind. Tianna walked to the lake edge picking up their clothes along the way. She chuckled as she watched her protectors continue the battle in the water that they had started on the land.

Nathaniel took a moment from the water battle to look over at Tianna and call, “My Sweet. Aren’t you coming in?”

She hesitated, but decided to embrace her Draak nature and join her friends. She took a deep breath, stripped off her clothes, and walked into the water. The Draaks all averted their eyes until she was safely submerged. That is, everyone other than Nathaniel, who watched her every move with longing and a smile. He would never tire of watching her curves.

Seth yelled, “Tianna was last in the water. She gets to make our meal tonight!”

Marcus shook his head, “This is her day. She shouldn’t have to cook for us.”

Tianna laughed. “No, Seth is right. I lost the challenge. I’d be happy to make you all something to eat tonight, that is, if someone would let me ride on their back?” She gave them all a hopeful smile.

Although everyone quickly volunteered, Nathaniel growled at their offers saying, “Given Tianna is naked, I think the only back she’ll be riding on is mine.”

She swam next to Nathaniel and grabbed onto him from behind. As she wrapped her body around his, she whispered. “Then shift for me and take me for a ride.” She kissed the back of his neck.

Nathaniel vibrated with a frisky growl, his body already starting to shift. “With your naked body pressed against mine, you can have anything you want. Hold on tight.”

Tianna could feel his body growing in strength and size underneath her as he shifted into his dragon. Once his wings had fully formed, she scrambled into proper flying position. Given that she had no protection between her bare skin and his scales, she decided to call on her internal healing powers and heal any cuts or scrapes as they formed, keeping all sounds of discomfort to herself. She wanted him to stay up in the air as long as he could.

He then pushed himself out of the water just enough to flap his wings. As he began to rise out of the water, Tianna bent down and clung on tight. He shot up into the air like an arrow.

Tianna yelled and giggled with pleasure. “Higher! Go higher!”

She hung on for dear life as he soared up and then dived down toward the water. He skimmed along the surface just close enough to cause sprays of water to cover her body. She held on tightly with her thighs so she could hold up her arms and let the water wash over her.

Occasionally they would dive bomb their companions with dragon fire and then quickly return to the calm of the sky. Tianna would hear cursing from the water below, but she would yell to Nathaniel, “Do it again!”

As they settled in and soared gracefully over the lake in lazy circles, Tianna rested her body along Nathaniel’s neck, taking a minute to heal any injuries his scales had caused. Lying on the back of his neck wasn’t the most comfortable place to catch the sun’s rays, but she never wanted to go back down to the ground.

Her peaceful flight was interrupted when two fully shifted dragons appeared behind them looking for revenge. Tianna giggled into Nathaniel’s ear. “Looks like we’re under attack.”

Since Tianna body was laid bare, Seth and Gabriel were making jokes about having her press her body down onto their backs. Nathaniel growled low and deep.