Licked by the Flame (17 page)

Wait, did that mean Nic had kids? A whole lot of them, by the looks of things. Damn, he should have probably mentioned that at some point.

But now his body rumbled. She brought her focus back onto him—the pain he must be in. He wasn’t groaning from pain right now, though. He was laughing.

They’re not mine.

“What?”

The eggs. They’re not mine. I’m just the Guardian. Hatching takes a long time, by human standards, and a Guardian is appointed to watch over the clutch. It is unfortunate that your people decided to target this mountain so close to the time when the eggs will be ready to hatch.

“So, you don’t have forty-seven kids I need to know about?”

No, and with these damn devices, I’m worried there won’t be any hatchings at all.

“Then we have to do something! I’ll unplug them, or turn them off, or something.”

Now the fairy wriggled in her hand and she jumped. One glance at his limp form and she realized he was awake, although clearly not very energetic. Somehow he found enough strength to laugh at her, too.

“You can’t turn them off,” he warbled in a funny little voice. “They’re powered by magic, stupid human bitch.”

She pinched his crumpled wings and held him up so she could glare at him. “What did you just call me? And to think I was feeling bad about whacking you with my boot! I ought to just go ahead and stomp on you with it.”

No, don’t. We can use him.

She didn’t bother to tell Nic that she really had no intention of stomping a fairy. For one, it seemed a pretty cruel thing to do. For another, it would make a huge mess of her boot. Also, the fact that Nic seemed to think there was some measure of hope by keeping him alive made her extra glad she hadn’t killed the damn thing. She was sure to hold it a little bit tighter just in case it thought about limping away.

“We can use it?” she asked. “Can we make it shut off the devices?”

“I won’t do anything to help you!” the fairy snarled, sounding an awful lot like an angry Chihuahua. “My companions will be here soon and you’ll both be sorry.”

“So there
is
something you could do to help us, isn’t there? Well, I’m about fifty times your size, so I figure anything you can do, I can do better,” Lianne announced. “Nic, have you got enough strength to hold him under your…paw? claw? hand?…while I work on these things stuck into you?”

He rumbled another deep, steamy chuckle.
I think I can manage that.

The fairy was kicking and screaming, but he was so weak it hardly counted for anything. Pitiful, really. Lianne picked up one of Nic’s huge, bony, terrifying hands and shoved the fairy under. The glinting claws flexed and the fairy was trapped. He wheezed his displeasure, but it was hardly more than the buzzing of a gnat, and Lianne easily ignored it.

The deadly projectiles poking out of Nic’s damaged body were more than enough to take up her full attention. She had no idea how much of the device was actually wedged inside. Clearly they had been shot into him with some force. Had they opened up inside with a hook to hold them in place? How on earth would she get around that? She eyed them cautiously, watching as thin trickles of dark, steaming blood traced patterns around the spade-shaped scales.

Slowly she reached for one of the devices.

No! Don’t touch it!

She jolted back. “Why? Is it booby-trapped or something?”

It’s my blood. Don’t touch it, Lianne.

“I’m not freaked out by blood, don’t worry.”

No! It’s toxic for you. Stay back.

“Toxic? Well, shit, Nic. How am I supposed to get these things off of you?”

You’re not. You’re supposed to get the hell out of here.

“I’m not doing that. I can tell you’re not doing so well, and this fairy dude already told his friends out there that the coast is clear, so they’re on the way. When they arrive and can’t find him, they’ll probably come down here with guns and bad attitudes. I won’t leave you here for that, Nic, so you’d better tell me what the hell I can do to help!”

So she thought she wanted to help him, did she? Nic felt the heat rumble inside him as he watched her study him, a frantic expression of worry and determination taking over her pleasant features. She surprised him in her reaction to what must be quite a shock for her system. She hadn’t run from him or fainted in terror despite the fact that he could feel the turmoil inside her. Oddly enough, she accepted what her eyes saw in front of her and she wanted to help. It was almost endearing.

But endearments were not any way of life for him. He did not need help from a human, and he sure as hell didn’t want it from her, especially not when helping him would almost certainly get her killed. She was just another human female, of course, but he still didn’t want that for her. She had a lot of life in her. He wanted her to go on long after this, living that life and sharing her passion with anyone worthy of it. It was a damn shame that he would not be the one to share it with her.

He adjusted his hold on the struggling fairy and turned his head to watch Lianne. She muttered about the heat in the cavern and slipped out of her coat. The light blouse that she’d been wearing was damp from her sweat and it clung to her body, highlighting her delicious curves. The glow from the molten rock incubating the clutch made her shine.

It was a good look for her and he roved his eyes over the rest of her form. Even in his dragon body he couldn’t help but appreciate the tautness of her skin and the swell of her breasts. He usually did not notice humans this way when he was in his natural dragon state, but their recent encounter still lingered in his mind. He could still taste her, feel the stroke of her hand over his flesh, smell the fresh, floral scent of her hair.

He wanted her. If he could take back his other form, he would show her the only help he needed from her. And she would take everything he offered, and more.

By the Fires, where was he finding strength to even contemplate such a thing?

His tail flicked, causing Lianne to jump nervously. He flexed the muscles in his limbs, his neck, his heavy jaw. Damn, but how was it possible he was feeling noticeably stronger?

“You’re moving,” she noted. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know…” he said, and then realized he spoke aloud rather than simply sending the thought out with his mind. “Something is making me stronger.”

“That’s terrific! Then come on, let’s get you out of here. Can you stand?”

“No, not yet, I don’t think—”

He made the mistake of shifting himself and testing his legs. Unfortunately, this gave the fairy just the slightest moment of opportunity. He must have been feeling stronger as well, and very nearly fluttered himself right out of Nic’s grasp. But sharp dragon claws were too quick, too powerful for him, and he remained captive.

“No you don’t, damn insect,” Nic growled at him. “I’ve got a few questions for you.”

“Well you won’t get any answers!” the little creature shouted.

“As if you have a choice in it,” Nic assured him.

He’d ask his questions, and he didn’t need his voice to do it. His mind was stronger, clearer now and he could focus on more than just keeping his contact with Lianne. He probed the fairy’s tiny mind and didn’t like what he found.

A conspiracy. Just as the fairies earlier had indicated, there was some sort of alliance between magical creatures and a contingent of humans. This insignificant fairy didn’t know many details, but Nic was able to read enough from him to know that primary leadership came from rogue members of the Fairy Council. No wait…there was more. The fairy had no personal knowledge of more intricate details, but he held suspicions. Nic searched them, pillaged the little traitor’s fears and emotions as he moaned in his struggle to keep his thoughts away from the dragon.

Darkness
. Oh hell. It was worse than expected. This fairy was just a flunky in the great scheme of things, but in the back of his mind he had misgivings. He believed there was more than he knew, and that spoke volumes, as far as Nic was concerned.

This fairy played a small part, but there was much more going on than simply draining a little magic from the eggs in this clutch. Somehow this was just one cog in a giant wheel—a part of a complex design the fairy did not understand. He did have some ideas, though, and Nic had to pry them forcibly from the creature’s mind. The great instigator behind all of this—behind the schemes of the Fairy Council, the involvement of humans, the creation of machines to gather up magic—was Darkness.

Someone ancient and dark was pulling the strings, and they were a tangled mesh that interwove deeply within the Forbidden Realm. The fairy had seen nothing to give proof of this, but Nic knew his suspicions must come from something. If ancient Darkness was involved, this would be powerful magic, indeed. Obviously the plot ranged far beyond what was going on in this mountain right now.

The clutch was in much greater danger than Nic had even imagined.

“We have to stop them,” Nic announced.

The fairy whimpered under his grip.

“How? What can I do?” Lianne asked, sounding as frustrated and helpless as Nic felt.

“I don’t know. I’m feeling slightly stronger, but still I can’t—”

His complaints were cut off as a sudden bolt of pain ran through him. His muscles spasmed out of control as some great electrical current ran from one device in his side to the next. He could hear his blood sizzle and smell the scent of seared dragon. But then suddenly it was done. The pain was over and his muscles slowly relaxed. He coughed and realized the low, droning vibration that had been running through his body since he’d been shot was now gone.

“The lights have gone out!” Lianne exclaimed. “Look, the console is shut down. I think it shorted out, Nic. Those devices in your skin have turned off.”

She was right. He could feel magic flowing back into his body again. Somehow the dampening effect was suddenly gone, the equipment shorted out with a surge of some external power from somewhere. Had the fairy’s companions arrived and shut their equipment down? Or had some other force acted on it? Whatever it was, Nic knew he needed to take advantage of it—now.

The trouble was, this renewed energy affected the fairy, too. As Nic struggled to regain his faculties, the fairy squeezed from his grasp and made it into the open. Nic swiped at him with his claws, but he was still too weak, too slow.

Lianne noticed the escape and called out as she lunged for the creature, but the fairy merely laughed at their efforts and fluttered up into the air. He thought he was safe, so he had a few insulting things to say about both of them. That was a mistake.

Nic let out a bellow. Superheated air blasted with flame. The obnoxious fairy never knew what hit him. There was not even ash left to flutter back down to the floor of the cavern.

“Damn, Nic,” Lianne murmured, blinking into the charred air where the fairy had just been. “That’s kind of terrifying.”

“You should see me at my best,” he said, wincing as he reached around to claw at the devices still stuck into his body.

He knew Lianne hated that she was so helpless, useless to him in this. He could tell his connection to her mind had not been fully broken. She felt a portion of his pain as he tore at his scales, ripping them wide so the devices could be removed. They were anchored tightly, having expanded once they’d entered his body and gripping from the inside. The first one finally clattered onto the floor, and his blood was flowing freely.

“Keep back,” he warned Lianne as she gaped in horrified wonder. “I’m serious—you cannot let my blood touch you.”

“How are you doing that?” she asked, but did take several steps back. “That must hurt like hell.”

“I’ll take pain over helpless incapacity any day,” he assured her. “Don’t worry, I can take a little pain.”

He had the second device removed and was digging at the third. It was in more deeply than the others and he rumbled with fury as he slashed at himself, determined to get the damn thing as far away from himself as possible. There was no telling when the next threat would present itself. He needed to be ready.

“So much blood…” Lianne mumbled.

“I’m fine. Just stand back.”

Then the third one was out. They lay in a pile before him. What hideous, horrible inventions. How many others of his kind had been subjected to this? And to what purpose? The Darkness could only have something huge, something heinous in mind to go to so much effort.

He roared with his anger, shooting a ball of fire that would permanently disable the devices. They were resilient, but his fire was more than enough to render them useless. He was left with three melted, distorted chunks of metal. They were easily swept into the void, burned in the lava surrounding the eggs. He glared into the white-hot pool and watched as they were fully consumed. Good riddance.

When he was strong enough, he went to the console and gave that a solid crunch with his powerful arms. He chose not to toss it into the pool. It might be useful to get a good look at it when the more pressing danger had passed. He would love to understand what made this technology work.

A wonderful wave of power suddenly washed over him. It surged through his body and gave him strength to rejuvenate and heal. Magic that had been trapped in the console, apparently. It was released and his famished body soaked it up readily. He breathed in deeply, relishing the flood of unexpected magic throughout his system.

“Now that’s better!” he said. “Come on. Let’s get you somewhere safe. I can fly you back to the jobsite.”

“Nic…your injuries look pretty bad. You can’t exert yourself like that. Maybe there’s some kind of first aid kit around here or something.”

He had to laugh at her. “I’m afraid this place isn’t set up for maximum comfort. I’ll be fine, Lianne. Look.”

Stretching the soreness and kinks out of his body, he rose to full height and swung his neck around. It was hardly any effort at all to do what needed to be done. With three well-aimed huffs, he cauterized his wounds, burning off any residue of his blood. If he did need to carry Lianne out of this place and somewhere to safety, he could do so without worry that he’d cause her injury…or worse.