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I was fastening the back of
her shirt as she asked me,
What will they
want to do?

I turned her around to look her in the
eye. “More than likely they want to kill you,” I said. “Up to now
there might’ve been a chance that they would just want to get
control of you, and use you in some kind of power play.” I pointed
to her horns. “But now that you’ve changed they’ll want to kill us
both.”

That’s another reason I
wanted this
. She looked down at
herself.
I wanted to make sure that it was
all worth it. If I’m about to die, I want it to be for a damn good
reason.
She looked back to me and showed me
her fanged smile.
And it must be with
you.

“You’ve seen everything in my mind. You
know what we’re up against. I won’t go down without a fight.” I
grabbed her chin. “You’ve given me something worth fighting for. I
will do everything that I can to keep you unharmed, but from the
look of it, you’ll be able to take care of yourself.” I kissed her.
“We need to go.”

I put on my holster. I knew they would
take the gun from me, but until then I preferred to be armed. I put
on my black hooded jacket.

As I watched to make sure no one was
looking we hurried to the car. Once we were inside I gave her a
blanket and a pillow, and she huddled down. She arched her wings
out so she could sit more comfortably. After I’d checked out at the
front desk, we drove to the mall. The whole way there I kept one
hand on the wheel while she gripped the other. She looked at me, as
if to apologize for the mess her identity had caused. I squeezed
her fingers.

Once we were in the parking lot I
looked for a space far from the entrances. As long as Ash had to
stay in the car I didn’t want anyone bothering her. I gave her one
last look, shut the car door, and walked to the entrance. Inside
the mall most of the older people stared at me. It was one more
reminder of why I wanted to leave the conservative Midwest. As I
reached the food court overlook I saw another vampire nodding to
me. I assumed he was my contact.

He had the look of a henchman, tall and
muscle-bound. He leaned back against the railing, arms crossed,
holding an envelope in his fingers. His bleach-blond hair was
pulled into a low ponytail, and he watched me through the lenses of
sunglasses that were too small for him. With his spray tan and
muscles bulging from under a T-shirt and ripped jeans, he looked
more like a body builder than a vampire. No human would guess, but
I knew him by his aura.

I reached the railing, and stood next
to him. I looked out at the food court as he kept his back to it. I
rested my elbows on the railing

His voice was deep, but not
threatening. “Where’s the girl?”

“Waiting for me to come back with the
instructions.” I watched as the people below chatted and munched on
processed food. They would never know how lucky they were in their
ignorance.

The spray-tanned vampire handed me the
envelope. He sighed. “There’s everything you need for the next
step. I hear you’ve done this before.” He smirked. It was no secret
that I’d been incredibly lucky to walk away alive the first time,
but no one met with the Quatre twice and survived.

I took the envelope and walked out the
way I’d come in. Outside I glanced in the envelope: a map to a
private airport, along with instructions. I shoved it into my
pocket, and headed to the car.

Ash seemed to shrink under her blanket.
She was shivering. She’d kept her cold-blooded trait. Her skin was
always cool to the touch and her temperature fluctuated with the
environment around her. I feared that if her body temperature
dropped too low she might go into hibernation. “You could have
started the car and run the heat, Ash,” I gently chided
her.

She peeked from under the blanket as I
started the car. “It’s okay. I’m curious about everything—including
how cold might affect me. I wanted to see what would
happen.”

I handed her the envelope. She took it
with trembling hands. Her teeth chattered as she spoke: “What’s
this?”

“Directions to a private airport.” I
drove through the parking lot and turned onto the main
road.

We’d been on the road awhile when Ash
finally grabbed a book of CDs. She flipped through them, found what
she was looking for, put it in the player, and selected the song
she wanted. It was The Used’s “I Caught Fire.” Jessica had loved
that band, and hearing them made me sad.

We drove for an hour until we reached a
building in the middle of endless cornfields. To passersby this
structure would look like a hangar for crop-dusting planes. Two men
stood in a hangar entrance waving at us to pull in.

Ash looked worried. I laid my hand on
her thigh. “It won’t happen here. Read them.”

“They don’t know about my change,” she
said, her voice on the edge of panic.

We pulled into the building and parked
in the space they indicated. Nearby was a small
aircraft.

“Stay here,” I said. I got out of the
car and examined the private jet.

The two incarnates approached me. They
wore plain street clothes: T-shirts and jeans with tennis shoes.
Both men were werewolves. I felt a pang of grief for Jason. The
bald one was shorter than me. He wore a goatee and a
closely-cropped mustache. The other was six feet, clean-shaven,
with short spiky blond hair. Both were medium build.

The one with the shaved head spoke:
“What’s the hold up? Get your stuff and the girl and get on board.”
He had a gruff Latino accent.

The blond peered in the back window to
see Ash. He stepped back. ”Something’s not right,” he said. “She’s
no shifter. She doesn’t smell right.” He glared at me.

I glanced from one to the other, then
settled on the short one. “Look, this girl is fragile and the last
thing I need is you guys making her uneasy.” I looked back to the
blond. Did he really smell something, or was he just talking? “You
need to be careful,” I told him. “You might upset her, and we don’t
want that…do we? I think we all know what a dragon is capable
of.”

The blond spoke to the shorter
werewolf. “I would have never come if you’d told me…”

“Shut up!” The shorter man
snapped.

On cue Ash opened the passenger door. I
took her hand, and helped her rise gracefully from the car. She
kept her head down. I turned to see the blond with his mouth agape.
The other man’s face was flush with anger.

The bald man spoke quietly: “What have
you done? You are in some big fucking trouble.” He stomped toward
us. I could see the muscles in his jaw constrict as he ground his
teeth.

Ash’s wings started to twitch as she
shrunk from him. I grabbed her wrist to steady her, but it was like
touching a statue.

The angry bald man cursed, his brown
eyes freezing into shock. “What the fuck...” He grabbed the collar
of her trench coat and yanked it.

She cried out. Once her arms were free
of the coat, she sobbed, clinging to me. She didn’t like anyone—not
even this man—looking at her as if she were a monster. I drew my
gun and pointed it between his eyes. Her wings surrounded me and
her tail wrapped around my leg as if she were afraid he was going
to do to her what he’d done with her coat.

I glared at him. He stared, shocked. I
drew her head close to my neck. She cried and gripped me. She
buried her face in my chest, muffling her sobs. If I shot this guy,
it would be fatal, maybe for all of us. She kept clutching me as I
talked: “You will not upset her again or I will fucking kill
you.”

The blond trembled. With his gun
trained toward me, we were left in a Mexican standoff. I kept his
short friend in my peripheral vision.

As the taller one gave me back her
coat, I allowed him to take my gun. Ash wept. I soothed her. I hit
the button for the trunk, then draped Ash’s coat back over her
shoulders, directing her to go to the plane.

“They think I’m a freak,” she whispered
as we climbed into the plane.

They got our bags from the car, argued
between themselves, and finally tossed our stuff inside the plane
after us. The short one boarded and headed for the cockpit, while
the blond stuck his head in the portal.

“The flight will take close to thirty
hours,” said the blond. “We’ll make a couple of short stops. There
is a bedroom in back with a full bath. Make yourselves
comfortable.” He closed the exit door. It felt as if he were
sealing our coffin.

The seating area was decorated as a
living room with overstuffed recliners and all beige furniture. We
had leather-upholstered, first-class plane seats. We walked through
the living area and kitchen toward the bedroom.

Ash’s face was streaked from her black
tears. I laughed. “You look like a kid who’s been playing in the
dirt.” I wiped a tear from her face and showed it to
her.

“Here’s the bathroom if you want to
wash up. I’ll get our bags.” I helped her with her coat, then
watched her fold her wings in to go into the bathroom.

I turned to find the blond standing by
our bags, staring at her back as she closed the door. It was times
like this that I hated being so short.

I picked up our bags and looked up at
him. The top of my head was level with the bottom of his nose. I
gave him a frozen stare and said: “You will not humiliate her or
make her uncomfortable. She can, and will, read your
thoughts.”

“Really?” With that he turned and
walked out. The plane began rolling out of the hangar.

The bedroom where I put our bags had a
queen-size bed and a small vanity. There was also a flat screen
television.

Ash sat on the bed. “I’m sorry for the
way I acted. That guy…I read his thoughts…he just…”

“
It’s okay.” I sat beside
her and took her hand.

The plane stopped at the base of a
runway. A stern voice came over the speaker. “You have five minutes
before we take off.”

“That means we have to sit in those
first class seats and buckle up,” I said. Once we were seated the
plane started again, and moments later we were in the
air.

When we leveled, she looked at me, her
eyes sparkling. “I’ve never flown before.”

“My heart flies every time I kiss you.”
I placed my hand behind her head and pulled her to me.

She giggled.
That must be the cheesiest pick-up line I’ve ever
heard.
We kissed. As our lips parted she
said breathlessly: “But it’s working.” For a few more moments we
kissed passionately, then we retreated to the bedroom. There we
watched TV.

“They think they know what we are doing
back here,” she giggled.

“Maybe we should give them something to
talk about,” I growled. I moved closer to her and kissed her on the
neck, pretending to bite her. I growled and snarled.

She laughed and pushed me
away
. Now they’re certain what we are
doing and they’re jealous.

I grabbed her chin and brought her face
to mine. I breathed in her scent. “You find amusement in my
uncontrollable love for you.” I kissed her hard.

“Yes.” She laughed breathlessly as she
broke away from my kiss.

“Are you happy with the decision you’ve
made?” I asked.

She frowned. She turned and
lay on her stomach with her head turned toward me.
What? You have second thoughts?
She asked.
You don’t want
me?

No,
I thought,
that’s not it, and you
know it. I couldn’t leave you if I tried. I belong to you only. My
heart and soul. It’s just that…you got so upset when they pointed
out what you’ve become. I just didn’t know if you regretted
it.
I ran my hand through her
hair.

“I will never regret any decision that
I make if it keeps me with you.” She closed her eyes.

I let her look into my mind to see how
happy she made me. She smiled. Her breathing slowed. She
slept.

I lay down beside her and ran my hand
down her arm as I watched her. I thought I heard her whisper but
her mouth didn’t move. As I leaned closer I heard conversation. Our
foreheads were nearly touching. I closed my eyes and realized I was
seeing her dream. I was happy to see myself there, but soon my
feelings turned to fear. What was worse was that the fear made
sense. I pulled away from her. She had no peace, not even in
sleep.

I was tired. I slept too.

Chapter 17

STILL KICKING

When I woke up I decided to take
advantage of their bathroom, if only to wash my face. I walked into
the living area, and found the man with the shaved head sitting in
one of the recliners. He stroked his short goatee as he glared at
me. I did my best to show no emotion. Ash had already indicated
that she didn’t like this guy. I agreed, but I refused to let him
get to me. I went into the bathroom, washed up, then came back out.
He hadn’t moved.

I checked the bedroom. Ash was still
sleeping. With nothing else to do I decided to find out what I
could about the bald man.