A Shade of Vampire 13: A Turn of Tides (10 page)

I
couldn’t keep
my head above the cloth for long if I wanted to stand a chance of clinging to Bella’s waist. I found myself shivering. I didn’t know how high up the dragon had brought us now. A fierce wind whipped past us as it flew with breathtaking speed. The cloak was damp against my back. I wasn’t sure whether it was from sweat or rain.

I dared not ask more questions now that we were so close to the dragon. I wondered if the beast had even noticed that it was carrying me along with Bella. Bella had said they ate ogres. I wondered if they ate humans too.

I lost track of how much time had passed. Hours, certainly. I managed to peek out a few more times and saw nothing but a vast expanse of ocean beneath us. I was growing increasingly nervous as the time passed, because Bella’s arms seemed to be loosening around me, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep holding onto her without her support. I closed my eyes, shutting out all other distraction, and just focused on holding onto her.

Even though I might have a better chance of survival dropping into the ocean than allowing myself to be dragged along to the realm of the dragons, dropping into the ocean from this height would be certain death. There was clearly no land for miles, and I had no idea what kind of creatures lurked within these strange waters.

So I closed my eyes and held on tight. I was holding onto Bella so hard, I could hear every beat of her heart against her chest.

Suddenly, the dragon began to descend. My stomach turned. There was no warning as the dragon swooped in what felt like a freefall dive. And the further we flew, the hotter it became.

Bella grunted. I was about to peek out behind the cloth again to see what on earth was happening when the dragon jolted, pulling out of the dive so suddenly not even Bella could hold onto me any longer. Our grip on each other loosened and the next thing I knew, I was falling. I barely had a chance to take in my surroundings, much less scream, before my back hit the ground, my head slamming back against grass. I was lucky that it hadn’t been a rock.

Groaning, I rubbed my head and sat up. Although my back ached, it didn’t feel like I’d damaged anything seriously. It seemed that I hadn’t fallen far.

My eyes widened as I took in my surroundings. I was on the top of a hill. The sky was a clear blue—not a single cloud in sight—and a bright sun beat down on me. A few miles behind me was ocean, and spreading out in all other directions were ranges of hills and mountains, dipping down occasionally into lush green valleys.

My eyes fixed on the group of dragons carrying ogres in their claws as they disappeared behind a mountain.

Well, crap.

What do I do now?

I was away from the ogres’ nightmarish kingdom, but where was I now? Somehow, I doubted that I was any safer here.

I figured that the first thing I ought to do was get out of sight. I felt so vulnerable on this hilltop. There could be another wave of dragons passing this way any time, for all I knew. Although my body was weak, I forced myself to scramble down the slope, toward the lush valley below.

It seemed that the one thing the ogres and dragons shared in common was a mountainous realm.

Dragons
. I still felt insane just thinking the word.

As I reached the dip of the valley closest to me—just a few hundred yards away from my hill—I realized that the green substance I’d thought was grass at the bottom was actually a swamp. I climbed down toward it and stopped at its edge. I eyed it warily, trying to figure out if there was any easy way to cross it or if I’d have to walk around it. I had to swallow a scream as what I’d presumed to be a mossy log opened two gleaming yellow eyes and began moving toward me. I stumbled back, reaching for the knife I still had on me and pulling it out as a giant reptilian creature began to crawl out of the water. It looked similar to a crocodile, with its long sharp tail and gnashing jaws, except this was three times as long and wide as any crocodile I’d seen. And much faster, too.

As it scurried after me, its jaws snapped near my feet. I reached for the branch of a small tree nearest to me and managed to swing myself up just as its jaws closed on where my ankle would have been. I forced myself up as high in the tree as I could and stared down at the beast. It looked almost as ferocious as the dragons themselves.

I stared at the creature with bated breath as it turned its head upward to eye me. For one terrifying moment, I thought that it was about to climb up the tree after me, but, snorting, it backed off and slunk back into the water. It certainly didn’t look like the kind of creature that would be able to climb trees.

Great. Now I’m stuck up a tree. I can’t even get to the ground to explore without fearing that thing will notice and come chasing after me.

Goddamn it. What is it with me and crocodiles?

Only this time, I had to fend for myself. Caleb wasn’t around to save my skin.

I cursed beneath my breath as I tried to find a more comfortable position perched in the treetop. It was hard to do, considering that the tips of the branches were laced with thorns. Once it was clear I wasn’t going to find a more comfortable position, I leaned my head back against the trunk, breathing out deeply.

My body was aching for rest. Every part of me was beat. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep, if only for half an hour. I was sure that I’d be able to think more clearly about my next move if I did.

Gripping the branches and lodging my elbows between them so it would be difficult to fall, I closed my eyes.

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t manage to sleep, though resting my eyelids did seem to do some good. When I opened them again, I felt a little calmer.

I shifted in the branch, rubbing my eyes. I looked back at the swamp. The creature had resumed its place, playing a dead log as it waited for the next unfortunate passerby.

I looked back up toward the top of the hill I’d climbed down from. Once I worked up the courage to climb down again, I’d have to backtrack and find another path to travel along—hopefully a less treacherous one.

I was about to begin climbing down the tree, my eyes fixed on the swamp monster for even the smallest sign of movement, when I heard it. A strange, monotonous chanting. It sounded like it was echoing up from the bowels of one of the mountains, on my side of the swamp. The words were spoken by deep male voices. The words, the way they were pronounced, and the intonation sounded like they were being chanted by humans, or perhaps witches—albeit in some strange tongue.

Bewildered, I lowered myself down slowly from the tree. The swamp monster’s eyes didn’t open, so I jumped to the ground and began scrambling back up the hill, casting glances back every few paces to check that it wasn’t following me.

I was panting by the time I reached the top of the mountain where I thought the voices were coming from, and my mouth was parched. I crouched down low on the grassy glade, afraid that more dragons might come flying by. I scanned the area, trying to figure out where the voices could possibly be emanating from. As I moved forward, I spotted a crater. I crawled closer to the edge of it and peered down.

My eyes were almost scorched as flames burned up from the hole. I crawled backward, moving around the other side of the hole to see if I could see any better. The flames died and I found myself staring down at a circle of seven men, kneeling with their heads bowed. At least, I thought they were men. But on second glance, although they had humanoid features, they were clearly anything but human. They were naked from the waist upward. Their limbs were constructed as a human’s. I could see that their shoulder blades were capped with shining scales, and their ears were sharp and pointed. They all had dark skin, and their muscles looked inhumanly large.

I leaned in further, trying to get a better look. They were all gathered around a pool of dark red liquid, surrounded by a ring of flames. They all knelt around it, as though paying homage. One man of the seven, kneeling on a platform a little higher from the ground, was leading the chant as they all repeated it after him.

A hiss came from behind me. Whirling around, I gasped in horror to find myself staring into bright yellow eyes. It was the swamp creature. It had followed me up the mountain after all. Its jaws were wide open, within three feet of my legs.

I lost balance and the next thing I knew, I was falling into the crater. Since the entrance to the crater was almost directly above the tub of liquid, thankfully I missed the flames.

I fell head first into the liquid.

Had the vessel not been deep enough, I would have broken my neck. But it was deep. Alarmingly deep. Even with the force of my fall, I didn’t touch the bottom. I kicked hard and fought my way to the surface. Gasping, I wiped the liquid from my eyes—liquid I was now certain was blood. A deathly silence had fallen in the cave. I looked around, now only a few feet away from each of the strange men. They stood towering over me, staring at me with a mixture of shock and wonder.

I hauled myself out of the blood. Balancing on the edge of the pool, I fumbled for the knife I’d fastened to my waist. It was no longer in its sheath. It must have been dislodged during the fall. I looked upward, shuddering as I took in the height I’d just dropped from.

When I lowered my eyes to the men again, they were still examining me with the same mix of fascination and surprise, as though I were some kind of alien. Much like the expression I was sure that I assumed when looking at them.

The man nearest to me spoke in a coarse, guttural voice. Although he was looking directly at me, it didn’t feel as though he was speaking to me.

“Dressed in silk and borne from sky. Skin soaked in the blood of enemies.”

I gaped at him.
Huh?

A dark-haired man beside him stepped forward closer to me. “Maiden of fire?” he whispered, his voice assuming the same tone of reverence.

I was half tempted to blurt out that they’d mistaken me for someone else, but…
Maiden of fire
? I couldn’t quite find it in myself to turn that title down.

“Could it be?” A third man narrowed his bright eyes on me. “She’s a human.”

The man lurched forward and gripped my arm. He pulled me toward him and pressed his nose against my wrist, drawing in a deep breath. His lips parted as he looked at me. “This is no ordinary human. Her blood is not like any I’ve ever smelt before… What else could this be but an omen?”

His response was met with silence as they continued to stare at me.

“She fell as we were paying homage to the fire that burns through our veins and devours our enemies. We must take her as a gift from our ancestors.”

I wasn’t sure what to do as he held out a hand to me. I didn’t sense danger in his gesture, so I took it. His skin was hot, almost scorching hot as he led me between two flames and onto the straw that had been his seat. He gestured for me to step up onto it.

My throat was sore, and it felt like I’d swallowed some blood based on the unpleasant coppery taste at the back of my mouth. My whole body was sticky from the substance as it began to dry on my skin beneath the heat of the flames billowing up around the pool.

The man let go of my hand and knelt on the ground on one knee, the other men following his lead.

I stood there awkwardly, waiting for them to face me again.

They exchanged glances among themselves, and then one of the men stepped forward suddenly and picked me up. Shivers ran through my body as I felt his hot skin against mine.

Spines began to spread from his shoulders until he was completely covered with scales, and then his whole body began expanding—his head, his arms, his legs, until the creature holding me was no longer a man, but a dragon.

His heavy wings beat either side of him as he lifted me up toward the hole at the roof of the mountain. The other men transformed too and flew after us.

These aren’t just dragons. These are dragon shifters.

I
was relieved
when the dragon finally touched down on the ground again. His claws scratched my skin, and I was baking hot from the heat of his body. I looked around at the clearing we’d landed in. It was lined with tall trees and in the center was what appeared to be a well.

The other dragons touched down shortly after us and, remaining in their giant forms, formed a line across the clearing, their fiery eyes fixed on me. I could feel the heat emanating from their bodies even a dozen yards away.

The dragon who’d been carrying me resumed his human form and strode over to the well. He pulled up a bucket and, taking me by the hand, began to tip water over me. I was grateful for the coolness, but it was bizarre being soaked down by this man. I would rather have done it myself. He tipped bucket after bucket over me, until my dress was soaked and the dried blood had disappeared.

He placed the bucket on the floor.

I was afraid to even speak a word lest I shatter their illusion and place myself in danger. But it was hard to keep up the impression of being somebody else when I had no idea who that person was.

I looked as steadily as I could back at the man, my lips sealed.

The other dragons approached closer now that I’d finished my bucket bath. They continued to eye me curiously.

One option was to just wait for them to offer up information, and in the meantime, pretend that I knew what I was doing. But they were standing so still, just staring at me, I realized that they were expecting me to do something.

If I ever needed courage and confidence in myself, it was then. And those were two things I didn’t possess as I stood there in that clearing, surrounded by the most formidable beasts I’d ever laid eyes on.

Speaking could either save my life, or be my downfall. I had no idea which one it was. But it felt like remaining silent wasn’t an option any more. I was going to have to take the risk.

The only flicker of confidence I had was the feeling that they weren’t entirely sure what to expect from me either. They were clearly superstitious creatures, and for whatever strange reason, they’d labeled me as some sort of auspicious sign. It struck me that perhaps they themselves didn’t know what to expect of me. Hell, I’d just dropped through the roof of their cave, it wasn’t like they’d been expecting me. By some fluke, I’d just fallen in at the right minute. Under any other circumstances, God knew what they might have done with me.

I had to be confident and fill the shoes of this role. If I didn’t, they’d be more likely to suspect me to be the phony that I was.

Hiking up the hem of my dress so I could walk forward, I approached the nearest dragon to me and reached for his right hand. I pressed my palm flat against his, assuming a look of concentration as though I had any semblance of an idea of what the hell I was doing. Then I looked up at the dragon.

“I’d like a tour of the kingdom.”

I found myself assuming a posh British accent, and I had no idea why. Perhaps I thought I sounded more otherworldly—and less like myself, Rose Novak, the weak human girl—if I did.

The dragon who’d previously been leading the chanting nodded.

“Charis,” he said, eyeing the man I’d just touched palms with. “You heard her. See to it that the human has what she asks for and is content. We don’t want to displease her.”

Casting one last glance at me, the leader beckoned to the other men and they all launched off into the air, leaving Charis and me alone.

As Charis transformed back into a dragon and reached out his giant hand for me to climb onto, I found myself wondering what other requests I might get away with. He was about to close his scratchy fingers around me when I patted his thick wrist. His scales were so tough they were like armor, and he didn’t even sense it. I had to speak.

“I’d rather travel on your back than in your palm,” I said, forcing confidence into my voice.

There was no hesitation on his part as he raised me onto his shoulders. Slotting both my feet carefully into his sharp scales, I clung to the back of his neck as he launched into the air.

My heart hammered in my chest as he climbed higher and higher, until eventually the well beneath us was just a speck—and the gorgeous, lush landscape was visible. I strained my eyes and saw far in the distance, a range of mountains emitting steam.
Volcanoes?

All this greenery certainly wasn’t the landscape I would have imagined dragons living on. I would have expected a scorched realm, devoid of any signs of life. Perhaps the dragons saved their fire for attacks on enemies.

It was clear to me now where the dragons made their homes—there were no buildings, just caves bored into hills and mountains, similar to the one I’d fallen into. There were sparkling lakes in between the valleys, and acres of lush flowers.

But I wasn’t taking in many of the details Charis was pointing out to me as we flew. My mind was whirring as to how I was going to use this advantage I’d stumbled into before it was too late. I didn’t know if they’d figure out that there was nothing auspicious about me, but I had to get out of here before they did.

I thought suddenly of Bella.

“And where do you keep your enemies?” I asked, after he’d paused for a breath.

He slowed and began flying in the opposite direction. He nodded toward what looked like a giant pit dug out in the center of a valley. Reaching it, he hovered directly over it. I found myself staring down into a giant dirt pit. Its walls were steep, and high—it was dug perhaps a few hundred feet into the ground, too high for any ogre to climb out from, and there were no notches in the walls. There was a group of perhaps fifty ogres in there now. I wondered if they’d all been from the fresh catch today.

“Please lower us further,” I said.

Charis did as I’d requested and lowered us. I asked him to stoop lower and lower until we were close enough for me to be able to make out the faces. Bella wasn’t there. In fact, I couldn’t see a single female ogre down there.

Perhaps she’d been killed already. I’d hardly known her long, but I couldn’t help but feel morose. I’d wanted to see her live a life better than the one she’d been dealt, even though I wasn’t sure how I’d ever give it to her. I’d wanted a better fate for her than in the belly of some dragon.

“Where to now?” Charis asked, breaking through my thoughts.

How about… back to the human realm?

I was so tempted to just blurt it out, but I wasn’t sure if I was to be obeyed to such an extent.

Still, I had to try. I was at least in a better position now than I had been back in the ogres’ kingdom. I wasn’t cooped up in some room.

“Or would you like to rest?” Charis was still hovering in the air, waiting for my answer.

“Yes,” I said. “I’d like that.” At least it would give me some time to think out how to broach the subject.

As soon as I said the words, he swooped down into the valley below and glided along until we reached the entrance to a cave in the side of a particularly wide mountain. He landed inside it, folded his wings, and raised his hand for me to step onto so he could lower me back to the ground. I stared into the cave.

“Through here.” The voice that spoke now was less deep and rasping than just a couple of minutes ago. I turned around to see that Charis had resumed his human form.

He moved in front of me, leading the way deeper into the cave. I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of his body. He positively glided even when he walked, all his limbs working in perfect rhythm, his smooth muscles rippling beneath his tan skin.

The sunshine became fainter and fainter the deeper we walked into the cave until he stopped and pointed to the back of the cavern. I was surprised to see a bed there, covered with some kind of dark animal skin for blankets, the frame made of what looked like carved silver. Other than the bed, there wasn’t much other furniture to be seen in this cave. It was quite plain.

“The dragon who lived here before died recently in battle. This can be your new home. Erisard will issue orders that no other dragons disturb you. So you can sleep peacefully.”

Erisard
. I guessed that was the dragon who’d appeared to be the leader among them.

“Erisard is your leader?” I asked, as he motioned to leave me alone in the cave.

Charis nodded. “Our king.”

“Oh… And you are?”

He looked at me curiously. I grew nervous suddenly, wondering whether, as a “good omen,” he’d expect me to know more about them.

“I am part of his council. There are seven of us altogether, including the king himself. You met us all during a rite we were holding.”

“I see… And, since you have accepted me as a gift, what do you intend to do with me?”

“You are to remain with us and be treated with respect.”

I swallowed hard, bracing myself for my next words. “Since Erisard also stated that I am not to be displeased, may I ask a favor of you?”

“What?”

It was time to just spit it out. I hoped that the worst thing that could happen was him refusing.

“I need to return to the human realm.”

He paused, then to my astonishment, he nodded. But my relief lasted for but a second when he said: “I can escort you there, but you must understand that I must also escort you back. Because a gift is to be kept, not given away. You belong here with us.”