Page 18

18

Jinn

M y belly stood out, round and firm beneath my lightweight linen shirt. Our baby moved often. And kicked.

Pregnancy had sent me into a half-shadow of constant euphoria.

I sat warm and content in a softly pillowed chair on the patio as I oversaw the decorators doing their jobs. Our wedding would be tomorrow. We’d picked out a theme of white and purple. There was the traditional white arch decorated with lavender and dark purple flowers. The chairs were already out with white pads and purple bows. Now the team was setting up the feasting tables with half purple, half white tablecloths.

The weather looked good for an outdoor celebration. Silver was set out, but the glassware would stay inside until the last minute. The centerpieces were huge white flowers made of spun sugar carefully laid out on lace.

Since I had gotten pregnant, I never thought about going back to work.

Lyric didn’t, either.

We talked about that, about how Lyrican was tired, how it hurt him more than the usual expected “athlete’s pain” to be forced to sprint-fly such far distances, and how he wanted to retire. I thought it would’ve been hard for Lyric to accept, but he seemed happy about it. He mostly complained about how hard it was to convince his agent and publicist he was serious about retiring. They argued he was still young and had a lot more racing years left. They tempted him with offers for months before finally getting the message. Lyric was retired for good and ready to raise a family.

“I want to be a full-time father,” he’d said.

“But I’m sad. You’re the fastest. The best,” I said. “It’s such a huge part of your life.”

“You’re my life,” he replied.

“Now you’re making me feel guilty.”

“My love, I was ready to retire before I ever met you. That was why I was at the roost.”

The roost. We hadn’t been there since Lyrican had rescued me. I wanted to go there again. I knew it was important to Lyrican. But I was still too scared. As far as I knew, Colt had never found the roost. But who knew if he haunted that area even now? No one had heard from him since I was rescued.

I looked down at the checklist in my lap, making sure everything was in order. I couldn’t wait to be married. Lyric and I were already bonded, but to have a wedding ceremony was extra special for us. Our baby was on the way. This would add to our happy story and make everything complete.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes to see the light had gone all coppery and a thin mist pulsed in the deeper shadows at the back of the yard near the wall. I heard soft clanging noises from the house as if dishes were being put away. All the decorators had gone except for two men, one on a ladder, softly conversing over finishing touches involving garlands.

For the moment, the baby was quiet inside me. Flowers along the property line bobbed in a dew-sparkled soft breeze.

I got up and walked to the edge of the lawn, reveling at the coolness of the grass beneath my bare feet.

The late sunlight soaked through my shirt and into my skin. Drowsy from my nap and the warmth, I wandered toward a huge, thickly-furred pine leaning near the back wall.

My life couldn’t have been happier. I’d be married tomorrow. I lived in a beautiful place to raise a family. My husband-to-be was the best alpha ever. And I had my whole life ahead of me to look forward to.

I hummed to myself and absently rubbed my belly.

As I approached the tree, it rustled. I stepped into its long shadow. A single bird darted off from the top-most branches, warbling as it vanished into the blue.

I blinked and smiled, my face upturned. So beautiful...

But before I could blink again, something massive appeared overhead blotting out the sky. A loud roar deafened me, completely freezing me in place.

I knew that sound. I dreaded that sound.

Before I could think to react, a large green dragon paw closed around my legs and swept me up into the air. The claws clinked together like bars on a cage door closing. My head fell back. I opened my mouth and let out the purest, loudest shriek of my life.

The sound of massive wings pumped the air. I saw myself going up at a rapid pace. I shrieked again and was answered by another roar. The air grew hot. Cinders fell around me. The scent of burnt pine filled my mouth and throat.

Coltan had finally come for me, and he was pissed.

The shock wore off quickly and I wiggled my legs and shoved with my hands against Coltan’s massive dragon fingers. Nothing I did could budge that firm hold on me. Up and down, I bobbed in the air as he took off with me as his hostage for the second time in my life.

Far away now came the sound of distant voices. I leaned my head to the side as far as I could and looked down. Someone was running across the lawn at top speed. He was fast, agile, but he looked so small.

“Lyric,” I whispered. “I'm so sorry.”

As Lyric ran, he was tearing off his clothes. He shifted before his pants were off and I saw them fly up into the air like a weird blue bird.

He went into flight so fast it was as if time had glitched. One minute he was a human running across the green, and the next he was a dragon in flight, his wings straight back, zooming like a rocket straight toward us

At the front of the house, three dragons came racing over the property. That would be the security detail who had somehow missed a massive dragon hiding behind the back wall.

My hair flew back from my face as Coltan gained altitude and speed.

I pounded my fists against his paw. I leaned down and bit into it as hard as I could, tasting salty blood. But nothing deterred the feral beast.

I screamed my frustration into the air.

It only took about ten seconds for Lyrican to catch up to us. He came up alongside Coltan so close I could almost reach out and touch him. His scales flickered ten different shades of purple in the late light. My handsome mate.

He let out a bellow, the most threatening sound I'd ever heard from him. Then he nudged Coltan in midflight as if to throw him off balance.

Coltan roared again and picked up speed. But Lyrican was faster and set about to prove it. He began to fly in front of Coltan to block his path and cause him to make sudden adjustments and turns.

Coltan spit fire and jerked himself hard in flight which caused him to lose altitude and have to expend energy to right himself again.

Quickly, Lyrican circled him again and again, forcing Coltan this way and that, hemming him in.

Now the air was filled with fire and ash. Coltan held me tight against his chest, the fingers of his paws squeezing.

“Stop squeezing,” I yelled. “I can't breathe. Coltan, please! I'm pregnant.”

My words had no effect. The dragon called Coltan was beyond rationality.

I thought about shifting. What would happen if I tried, and his clawed fingers squeezed so tight and unrelenting during the shift? I would surely die.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing. I had to keep it together. For me and my baby.

I felt myself jerked all around. And then I heard the clashing of armor, the tangle of wings. My stomach turned over as again we rapidly lost altitude.

The two dragons fought. If Coltan let go, I'd be in freefall. I had no idea how high I was but depending on the distance to the ground I might be able to shift and save myself if that happened.

Up and down we went. Fire all around. Roaring, growling, teeth scraping armor.

Somehow, I hung on to my sanity and my awareness. Lyrican was fighting for my life. I would do everything I could to help him.

The dragon paw tightened even more. I focused on counting my breaths and keeping them shallow. In. Out.

In the depths of my mind, Jinnan was ready to take flight if I fell. His senses were open to Lyrican in the powerful dragon bond the two of them shared. They were communicating rapidly through thought and feeling, stuff I couldn't follow fast enough. But I knew they were working together.

I sensed it before I saw it. Lyrican went straight up into the air, then rocketed down and rammed his snout into Coltan's neck. The jolt was so hard I saw stars.

Coltan let out a cry. I saw something break away, glistening and fluttering. Had Lyrican actually broken some of his armor?

Dragon armor was one of the hardest substances on Earth. But it was scaled. Dragons had died before if something managed to get beneath the edge of the scale and penetrate the skin.

For the first time, the hold on me loosened. I wiggled myself, pressing up as hard as I could. My body moved up. I did it again and my legs came loose.

This was it. This was my moment.

Without looking, I climbed over the topmost finger curled around me and plunged into freefall.

Jinnan was ready, shifting immediately, wings unfurling. He already knew which direction to head and soared away from the two dragons fighting.

We flew a sort of zigzag path that kept us aloft and out of the way. It was only then that I looked down and saw the ground was not that far away. It was the best flying I'd ever seen my dragon do.

Above us, the two alphas continued to clash. Jinnan slowed our escape, not wanting to leave his mate. He hovered on the air, wings moving slower, and we both watched our mate land with claws extended on the back of Coltan.

Coltan screamed and vomited fire into the wind over and over again as Lyric lashed at him with his powerful claws, removing scale after scale and tossing it to the wind.

In the distance, our three security dragons were coming closer. I heard sirens from far away.

Coltan screamed again, threw back his head and suddenly a naked human man was falling from the sky. That meant Colt had given up. His dragon had given up and was going to let his human half die.

Lyrican swooped beneath him and scooped him up in his two front arms, then dove to the ground and let the human gently down. He flew back up and gave a dragon call to the security team who immediately swooped in and surrounded the fallen man. Then he turned in the air and headed straight toward me.

Jinnan gave a chirp of glee and flew toward Lyrican. The two met in midair, chirping at each other, entwining their necks. Their wings pumped in unison. Inside my dragon, I laughed in abject relief.

We flew in circles around each other, fondling each other in midair, our snouts meeting and rubbing. They communicated in rapid fire emotions. All I could catch was:

I love you.

I'll always protect you. The baby?

Yes, the baby is fine.

Together, we all flew back to the house.

Our security detail returned about ten minutes later carrying an unconscious Colt between them as they flew slowly and landed in the backyard.

Police cars with flashing red lights littered the long driveway. An EMT unit was at the forefront.

As Lyric and I stood on the patio, naked and holding hands, we watched the uniformed EMTs look over Coltan and hook him up to various contraptions. We heard them pronounce him alive.

Even though he didn't move, the cops still handcuffed him before they allowed the EMT's to take him away.

Then the police turned to us, wanting a statement.

We invited them in, got dressed, and spent the next couple of hours taking care of that paperwork.

What an evening to spend before our glorious day of celebration.

But I didn't mind. All I cared about was Lyric and the baby, both of whom were healthy and fine. Throughout the evening, I never let go of his hand, squeezing it tightly to let myself know he was here with me. He was by my side. And he would never leave.

The wedding was perfect. It was everything I had ever dreamed a wedding could be.

I wore a white skirt that hid my baby bump, and a beautiful embroidered white shirt that fell about me in soft waves.

Lyric wore a vintage tuxedo complete with red bowtie.

We were surrounded by friends and loved ones.

I choked up once while uttering my vows. It was the one that went:

“Wings unfurled, always by your side, we take this flight together, never to part.”

Our minds opened to each other as we kissed.

I heard clapping and sounds of approval and praise.

Then I heard a thrumming beside my ear. I turned my head, our kiss ending, and saw two hummingbirds floating on the air.

“Lyric, look at that.”

When I spoke, the two birds darted up into the sky.

It was as if they came to say, “You are meant for each other. This is right. This is who you are.”