Dragon's Fire (8 page)

“I've got you,” I whispered as I began to move.

As I watched, the fear in Judah's eyes melted away, replaced by something that I didn't recognize at first. It wasn't until my name began to fall from his lips that I realized what it was. Trust. Not the trust of someone being dominated in the bedroom, but the complete and total trust of someone who knows that their partner will never let them fall.

Judah's body went rigid and a near-scream ripped from his throat and I felt him pulse inside me. My fingers moved faster and I exploded a moment later, crying out as my climax tore through me with an intensity that shocked me. My entire body went numb as I slumped down onto Judah's chest. His heart thumped in my ear, a strong, steady sound that made me smile. His skin was warm and slicked with sweat, but it was far from the heat of a pre-shift. He'd done it. He'd controlled his beast.

I opened my eyes when I felt him put his arms around me, his bound hands resting on my back. I looked up at him and he grinned at me, relief written across his face. “Good work.” Okay, I knew that sounded silly, but it was all I could think of. After the best orgasm I'd had in a while, I was happy I could remember how to speak at all.

“So,” Judah suddenly looked shy. “What do we do now?”

“Well,” I rolled off of him, another shiver of pleasure going through me as his cock slid from my body. Even soft, he was impressive. “You and I are going to find the person who cursed you, and to do that, we're going to go back to the beginning.” I unbound his hands. “We're going to college.”

Chapter Seven

“Can I ask you a question?”

Judah's tone was so hesitant that I had a pretty good idea of what he was going to ask. I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead even though he was the one driving. “Sure.”

“How did you know that would work?”

“You mean, do I make a habit of fucking Weres?” I translated.

“No – I – that's not...”

I laughed and glanced over at him. His cheeks were red and my stomach twisted. I kind of liked it when he blushed. “It's okay. It's a fair question.” I looked away again. “When I was sixteen, I ended up getting caught in a storm and taking shelter with a were-leopard. We started talking and the subject got around to how Weres learned to control their spontaneous shifting. She explained to me how her prowl did it for their members.”

“So you'd never...”

“Not with a Were,” I shook my head, feeling my own cheeks fill with heat. I still couldn't quite believe I'd fucked a Were.

“We're here,” Judah pulled into the parking lot being the library.

I'd never been to Georgetown before, though I had made my way onto college campuses in the past. Granted, I'd always been tracking something at the time, but it was all the college experience I was going to get. As we got out of Judah's car, he pointed towards a line of trees to our right.

“Can I ask something else?” Judah's ears were bright red.

“I'll tell you what,” I ducked under a low-hanging branch. “You stop asking for permission and you can ask whatever you want.”

“All right,” Judah nodded as he stopped. He looked around and then nodded. “Here.”

As I began to examine the area, he asked another question.

“You said that all female hunters went on birth control as soon as they hit puberty. Why?”

Right. I'd forgotten I'd said that. It was common, though unspoken, knowledge among hunters, but we rarely shared it with outsiders. Just the thought of it made me uncomfortable, but I decided to tell him. After all, I'd been the one who'd brought it up. “Killing and eating aren't the only things that Paranormal Beings do to humans. Sometimes it's just pure instinct. Some of them, however, they find it...amusing to take a female hunter or a hunter's daughter for...entertainment purposes.”

“Oh,” the color drained from Judah's face. He started to say something, then stopped. I waited. After a moment's hesitation, he continued. “And what happens if...”

I gave him a hard look. “There aren't any half-breed hunters, if that's what you're asking.” I looked away and changed the subject. “Was this the tree you woke up under?”

Judah must have sensed that I didn't want to expound on the subject because he let it go and answered my question after examining the tree I was pointing at. “Yeah, that's it.”

I took a step towards the scarlet oak and froze. That wasn't possible. I couldn't be seeing what my eyes were telling me I was seeing. I closed my eyes. It couldn't be here, not after all this time, not after I'd spent so long looking for it. I opened my eyes and it was still there. Before I could stop it, the images began flashing through my mind.

A circle with a star in the center and four lines at each compass point, written in blood on the side of their RV.

The same design on the ground, written in flesh.

Bright red hair gleaming in the sun.

An engagement ring flashing on a slender finger.

A pair of earphones half-buried in the dirt.

I swallowed the cry that wanted to escape and settled for slamming my fist into the trunk of the tree. The pain shot up my arm, driving away the memories.

“Siobhan,” Judah was at my side. “What's wrong?”

“This bitch has killed before,” I spoke through gritted teeth, fighting the flood of emotions that wanted to well up inside me.

“Siobhan,” he started.

I knew a question was coming and opened my mouth to pre-emptively dismiss it. Before I could say anything, a kitsune dropped from the tree, its nails raking down my arm as it landed on the grass next to me. This one was large for its kind and I took a step back, instinctively putting myself between Judah and the creature. A second one dropped behind the first, then a third from a nearby tree.

“What are those?” His voice was low.

“Never seen a kitsune before?” I tried to keep my tone light but I wasn't sure it worked. Kitsune were definitely among the most odd-looking of the Paranormal Beings. The best description I could even think of was that they looked like someone had taken a computer program and merged a fox and a hunchback. They couldn't stand up straight, but they didn't always stay on all fours, often falling into a crouched position that allowed them to use their clawed hands. Their entire bodies, including their faces, were covered with reddish-brown fur and the ears on the top of their human-like head were the pointed triangles of a fox. Their features were essentially human, with golden eyes and a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. They understood human speech but rarely used it, instead sticking to their own language of yips and barks.

I hated fighting the damn things. I wasn't very tall and they averaged just above four feet which meant I had to bend to use anything but a gun, and that left my back open. I yanked my knife from my boot, ignoring the blood running down my arm, and wished that I'd retrieved a gun from the bags sitting in Judah's car. Maybe I could reason with them...or threaten them. Whichever worked.

“We're not here to harm you. Leave us be,” I addressed the first one, sensing it was the leader.

It didn't speak – not that I'd expected it to – but it shook its head, the answer clear.

All right, time for option number two. “If you attack, I will kill you.” My voice was level, cold. “If you know of hunters, then you'll have heard of me. I'm Siobhan Faust, daughter of David Faust and Molly Donnell-Faust, of the Donnell clan. My kind has been hunting yours since time began. Leave us be.”

The leader snarled and I knew that I was in for a fight. I just hoped that Judah had enough sense to stay out of the way. The kitsune sprung and my body instantly transitioned into fight mode. Instead of going down as most people would have, I jumped up, kicking out to meet the charging creature as it came towards me. My foot connected with its side as it tried to turn mid-air and it flew to one side. I saw the other kitsune coming at me even as I landed. Tucking my shoulder, I rolled to one side. A swipe of my knife earned a pained yelp and one of the two fell back for a moment. I had no delusions that they'd stop. Kitsune didn't retreat or give up. Once they started an attack, they didn't stop until something was dead.

I heard Judah scream as the third kitsune snapped at my leg. I buried my silver-laced knife in the back of its neck, severing the brain stem from the spine with the equivalent of a poisoned blade. Even as I was turning, a wave of heat rolled over me and I knew what was happening. I didn't think, I just reacted. I dove towards the bushes and hoped he wouldn't see me. I needn't have worried, I saw as I peered through the branches. The kitsune I'd killed was a smoldering pile of ash and the dragon – Judah, I knew, but my brain still couldn't quite wrap around it – reached for the leader. His claws made short work of it as the wounded one gnawed at his scaled leg. Like I said, kitsune keep attacking; they're not the brightest creatures. One swift kick ended the attack and two puffs of fire instantly incinerated everything that was left.

My heart was in my throat as I waited to see what the dragon would do next. I had no way of knowing how much of Judah was still in there while he was a dragon and, if he didn't shift back, I would need to find a way to stop him. Aside from the fact that I had no idea how to do that at all, I didn't want to hurt him. I would kill him if I had to, don't get me wrong, but the mere idea of doing it pained me more than I cared to admit. Then, even as I watched, the dragon roared and I felt another blast of heat. The dragon's outline shimmered and then its body seemed to fold in on itself. In just seconds, the dragon was gone and Judah dropped to his knees, his skin covered with a thin sheen of sweat, the clothes we'd picked up shredded around him.

I ran to his side, aware that I needed to get him out of there before people started coming to find out what was going on. The whole encounter had taken barely five minutes, but no one within a few hundred feet would have missed the roar, even if they hadn't heard Judah's scream. The last thing I needed right now was a bunch of college students with cameras on their phones recording the scene. The roar plus the crispy critters would definitely get more than one person thinking 'dragon.' I'd need to call someone and report what had happened, some of it at least, but I was going to wait until I got Judah out of there. I had a feeling that a dragon hadn't factored into the regulations set up after The Revealing and I was worried what the authorities would do if they discovered what Judah was. I knew that this didn't have to be my problem. I could just turn him over and let the government decide what to do with him. I never considered it to be an option.

“We have to go. Now,” I pulled Judah to his feet and snatched the keys that had fallen to the ground when his jeans had vanished. He had a dazed expression on his face, almost as if he'd been the one to take a blow to the head.

The urgency in my voice got through to him and he quickly followed me to his car. This time, I drove. Judah didn't say a word and seemed to be in a state of shock, not that I could blame him. I'd be freaking out if I were him. I had a question I really wanted to ask him, but I had something I needed to do first. I waited until I got us out of the parking lot and onto the main road before pulling my phone out of my pocket.

Agent Beck answered on the first ring which surprised me. “I'm driving so I can't talk long,” I didn't bother with a greeting. “Send a Disposal Squad to the Lauinger Library at Georgetown.” After a moment, I added, “and you'll probably want a Containment Crew as well. There are three dead kitsune. They attacked me. I'm in pursuit of another Paranormal Being.” I hoped he wouldn't press the issue. I was bending the truth on that last one. I was going after a Paranormal Being, just not the one that had burnt the kitsune. Part of me was hoping the Beck would assume I'd used the flamethrower I'd unintentionally left in the sewer to make short work of the kitsune.