Chapter Eighteen

 

Twenty-four hours later, my bravery fell flat, fear froze my feet, and I wished I had made the sensible decision to stay home. The stiff wind threatening to blow me off the roof didn't help in the least, either.

Like I had a choice.

"You dare to return to my realm?" The booming voice of a man in flowing silver robes with long black hair reminded me of the Wizard of Oz. Only I knew this guy to be the real thing. He carried a wooden staff nearly as tall as he was and stared at Cannibal with piercing black eyes.

I shuddered at the tight jaw, the hate filling his gaze. An odd power seemed to radiate from the guy.

Cannibal nudged me behind him, faced Magian, and shrugged. "Happens when you steal a relic."

"Leave now or forfeit your life."

"Hand over the bowl and I will." Cannibal stood as relaxed as ever, like they shot the breeze about the weather while waiting for an oil change on their cars.

"It's mine!"

"Then I guess we're doing this the hard way."

With an angry shout, the wizard tapped his staff. He raised one hand and threw a burning ball at Cannibal.

Cannibal drew his sword with the speed and efficiency of practice. He shoved me behind a rock structure and deflected the shot with his sword. He sprinted across the roof, dodging blasts, while keeping Magian's attention squarely on him.

Loud booming sounded as did shouts and voices filled with rage. I saw Cannibal leap to another tower, turn, and taunt his enemy.

Magian sent a flurry of fiery missiles toward Cannibal, who disappeared out of sight.

My heart lodged in my throat as I stood there on the roof, unable to lift a finger to help my boss.

Get the bowl!

I heard Cannibal's voice in my head. Not sure if it was my mind trying to kick my body into gear or if somehow he sent the message. No matter. I had a job to do. Standing around here like a bump on a log did nothing.

A nearby chunk of rock exploded, sending pieces of stone raining down on me. Adrenaline unlocked my feet and I dashed for cover in the form of a stairway. Crouching, I managed to catch my breath and settle my marbles back in my head.

Cannibal had his hands full and time was wasting.

With a goal in mind, I trotted down a nearby stairway and began a quick search through the first room. Finding nothing, I hurried on to the next. Three rooms later, I discovered what appeared to be an office. Shelves full of books lined all the walls while a huge wooden desk, complete with chair, occupied the middle area. Globes, glass items, and knick-knacks had been tucked here and there. One item drew my attention: a shiny, clear sphere which sat on a pedestal next to one corner. I didn't have a clue what it was, just that it reminded me of the oracles fortune-tellers used. Only better. Power emanated from the globe about the size of a softball. Even being a non-magical person, I could feel the energy humming.

I slowly approached, then paused. To my right a squatty cabinet filled with presumed treasures waited. I spied bright rainbow colors and remembered the bowl. Opening the door, I found what I was looking for. Hurriedly, I grabbed the bowl and returned to my feet.

Another explosion took out the window next to me. I bit back a squeal and scurried to the door. Something stopped me in my tracks.

The globe now shone like an angel's halo.

Unable to resist, I scooped it up, wrapping both items in my jacket for safe keeping as I ascended the staircase.

Reaching the top, I sucked in much needed air. Cannibal stood with his back to a block wall, furiously defending himself while Magian advanced. Dust and dirt now covered Cannibal's clothes while blood trickled from his hand and down his temple. He still slashed his sword but the movements were slower, weaker, less precise.

The wizard flowed closer and closer. A wicked grin covered his face as he trapped Cannibal in a corner.

Cannibal sneered, trying to keep his feet, while seemingly an invisible force pushed him down.

Magian grinned evilly. "Kneel. Kneel before me. Know your master before I exterminate you."

Agony clouded Cannibal's face. He bent, straightened, then faltered once more. Pride kept him upright for the moment. I didn't know how long he could struggle against the command, but wasn't about to find out.

Over my dead body would Magian break and kill Cannibal.

Fury washed through me, giving me the strength to do what I had to do. I rushed to the edge of the roof, knowing every second counted, and whistled sharply. "Hey, wizard-school reject."

Magian turned toward me and snarled.

Like that would stop me. I pulled out both objects and held them up for inspection. "Seems I found some goodies down below. If you want them back in one piece, then stand down."

"They are worthless to you."

I shrugged and held both hands over the side. "Maybe. Maybe not."

He stepped closer. "Give them to me."

"No way."

He growled and waved his staff in my direction. "Give them to me or I'll blast you into a thousand pieces."

This must be where the end of the world comes in.

I braced myself and stuck to my plan. As much as I wanted to look at Cannibal, I dared not take my eyes off Magian for a single second.

"This is the way I see it. You can put your staff down and promise to return to your little hole in hell never to be seen again or I'll drop these over the edge."

His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would." I tucked my feet against the short wall surrounding the roof.

We glared at one another for a long moment. Then time moved in slow motion.

Magian raised his hand. I leaped to the side as a blast fractured rock to my left. The resulting explosion knocked me off balance, sending me toppling over. Instinctively, I dropped the globe, but clung tight to the bowl, protecting it as best I could on the long way down.

A loud roar split the air. In the blink of an eye, black talons wrapped around me, stopping my descent. My breath hitched at the snug band, but I didn't dare protest.

Salvation appeared in the form of Cannibal in all his dragon glory. Again.

"Noooo!"

Magian's scream drew my attention. One moment, he stared at the ground where the globe now lay shattered in pieces. The next, he burst into flames. A stiff wind quickly carried the ashes away.

Cannibal glided to the ground, settling well away from the castle. He released me in time for us to witness the whole structure crumbling into a huge pile of rubble.

The ground shook and I grabbed onto the pillar of a dragon's leg for balance.

"Holy crap."

"That's putting it mildly." Cannibal now stood beside me in human form, familiar black leather covering his body. He glanced toward the destruction, and then raked me with his gaze. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "You?"

"Better than Magian."

"What happened to him?"

"Best guess is his magic and, thus, existence, was attached to that globe that you dropped over the edge. With it broken, he ceased to be, along with everything he created with it."

"Damn."

Cannibal's lips twitched. "You can say that again." He pulled me against his side, careful to avoid touching the bowl I still clutched in my hands. "That took some guts, lady, to give him an ultimatum like that."

I peered up at him. "I didn't know what else to do. You were cornered and I knew he was moving in for a killing blow. I couldn't let that happen."

He stared down at me. His gaze hot. Intense. Burning.

My body responded in kind. "Tell me this is more than an adrenaline rush," I whispered.

"Does it matter?"

In the long run? Yeah. Right now? "Not so much." At that moment, I'd gladly strip down and go for a dragon ride.

"You risked your life to save mine." The quiet words held admiration and amazement.

Tongue-in-cheek, I gathered up my wits, turned off the waterfall of sexual desire flushing through my system, and spouted off the rational answer. "Well, yeah. It's not like I could get back home by myself."

His eyebrows creased. "Is that the only reason?"

I grinned. "No."

Cannibal tilted his head, then frowned. "Spill it already."

Standing on tiptoe, I brushed my lips over his. "Somewhere along the line, I'm pretty sure I've fallen for you."

I stepped back and watched the emotions flash across Cannibal's features. Shock, happiness, fear, and contentment each took their turn.

"Or you've given me chronic heartburn, I'm not sure which," I added impishly on a side note.

He stared at me for a long moment, his eyes searching my face, before he shook his head and grabbed my hand. "Let's go."

Confused and a more than little hurt, I blinked up at him. "Let's go? I tell you that I love you and that's all you can say?"

He looked down at me with possessiveness written all over his face. His brown eyes sparkled with need, want, and something stronger. "I can't do a damn thing until we return this bowl to the cave of the Devil Reaper."

"Huh?" Devil Reaper? What in the world? Like Magian wasn't enough already.

Some days it didn't pay to get out of bed.

He nuzzled my cheek and flicked his tongue over my earlobe, sending a shiver down my spine. "I'm not about to risk going up in flames when I can finally take you home, put you in my bed, and pleasure you until you scream my name as you come."

Already rattled, it took a minute for his promise to sink in. "How do you know I'll scream?"

A cocky smile appeared, wide enough to show off his fangs.

I could only stare in absolute enthrallment. My stomach flipped over and my heart sped.

"Because I'm damn good."

Of that, I didn't have a single doubt.

 

*****

 

An hour later, I stared straight up a sheer cliff and swallowed hard. While I didn't classify myself as technically afraid of heights, I couldn't ease the slight queasiness at the thought of climbing to the small cave entrance up there. Way, way up. "How…"

A shuffling sound cut me off. Turning, I found Cannibal once more in his dragon form.

Amazed, I raked him from nose to tail and back again. I'd seen him like this before, but knew if I lived to be one hundred would never tire of the sight.

The majority of his body was covered in blood-red hide, thick, yet smooth, reminding me of high quality worked leather. His feet, end of his tail, ears, and the first section of his muzzle were black, making a gorgeous contrast with devil's own colors. Immense didn't begin to describe his size. His wings alone could easily outstretch a football field while his long, thick body might take up half a city block. Powerful. Amazing.

He stood on all four feet, although the front ones were a bit shorter and smaller, a throwback to his dinosaur cousins, I'd guess. Long, sharp claws glistened in the bright sunlight, promising a slashing ability that would tear anything and everything into tiny pieces within seconds. No wonder people gave him a wide berth. Dragons, more than any other shape-shifters, could lower the boom on a person. Trample. Rip. Burn to a char.

No shortage of deadly options there.

"Beautiful, yet deadly."

I didn't realize I'd uttered the words aloud until he chuffed, a deep sound from his throat that resembled a laugh. Sort of. Or perhaps more like a snort. I couldn't really tell.

He opened one hand. "Climb aboard."

The voice reminded me of his human form, just different, as if the vocal cords were stretched longer and his lips couldn't quite form the precise motions needed for clarity. No matter. I understood even as the deep bass vibrated the ground under my feet.

The sharp talons parted, revealing a palm-like area.

Self-preservation made a token protest causing my heart skipped a beat. "Umm…do we have time for a nail trim first?"

He blew out a loud breath, snatched me up, and took flight.

Carefully clutching my backpack which contained the bowl, I twisted enough to peek over one of the deadly claws. The ground moved farther and farther away as whole sections of the cliff whizzed by. Odd, but exhilarating. Before I'd been too busy falling to my death to take much notice of the thrill of flying.

I watched the world go by and smiled.

Until I saw a black monster walk out onto a precipice, heard his angry roar, and saw his red eyes flash with intent.

"Is that the Devil Reaper?"

"Yep."

"Wonderful." I pulled my courage up by the boot straps.

As I watched, the beast, resembling a crocodile/hippo/bear mixture, sprouted wings and took to the sky, hot on Cannibal's tail.

So much for my calm, scenic trip via dragon airlines.

Cannibal dipped and spun, in an obvious game of catch me if you can with the Devil Reaper. We shot to the clouds, only to plummet back down toward earth, pulling up at the last second.

Just when I swallowed bile and prayed for my stomach to settle, he leveled out enough to hover at the cave entrance for a brief moment. Setting me on my feet, he gave me a gentle nudge. "Place the bowl in the back, well away from the opening." With those words, he took off again, breathing a long line of fire along the rock walls when the Devil Reaper made a beeline in my direction.

The heat warmed me immediately and put my feet in motion. Hurrying in the darkness, I found a treasure trove of other items sitting in a nest of sorts. Stones surrounded and supported sticks and branches, making for a somewhat softer resting place for at least a dozen items. Some sparkled, some were ordinary appearing. All looked old.

After dropping to my knees, I pulled the bowl out, and placed it carefully in an empty spot, the battle outside encouraging me to hustle. I made sure the bowl was stable, wouldn't rock or fall, then stood back up. More than eager to leave, I trotted back to the cave entrance and searched for Cannibal.

He flew in large loops in the sky, the sun illuminating him like a large, low-flying, blimp. The Devil Reaper put on speed and came within a few feet of Cannibal's tail.

My breath hitched.

Cannibal laughed again, then darted off, turning the tables on the beast.

He was having fun.

I smiled at the sight before me, knowing that Cannibal rarely had the opportunity to become his dragon self, let alone play tag with a similar throwback of nature. Sure, he'd rushed through the gauntlet at Dragon Keep, but that didn't really count in my book. Here he was so much more relaxed, out from under the watchful eye of, well, everyone.

Instead of hollering or whistling to gain his attention, I simply stood there and let him have his playtime, enjoying the air show probably almost as much as he did.

After a few minutes, Cannibal glanced down, met my gaze, and flew in my direction. With the empty backpack strapped to my shoulders, I held up my arms, eagerly awaiting my taxi ride back down to the ground.

Without hardly slowing speed, Cannibal whooshed by, latching onto me with a snug hold, then darted well away from the cave.

The Devil Reaper didn't follow. Instead, he settled on his front porch, lifted his head as if to sniff, then waddled inside. Whether he'd been worn out or had somehow surmised his bowl had returned, I couldn't say. Since he no longer torpedoed toward us, I took my good fortune and ran with it.

Cannibal flapped his leathery wings, lowering us to the ground with graceful ease. He relaxed his grip and placed me back on my feet.

I couldn't resist running my hand along his stomach, learning the unusual feel of dragon hide. Tough yet supple came to mind. A bit like chain mail, yet alive, warm, and enthralling.

He lowered his head so I patted his nose before impulsively placing a kiss on the tip, the body armor a bit rough against my softer lips. "You're one special man."

A second later, he flashed into human form, tugged me into his embrace, and sealed his lips over mine. I sighed, leaned into him, then blinked as the world shimmered and shook. I opened my eyes to find us standing in Cannibal's bedroom. "Nifty trick."

He smiled mischievously. "I have plenty more where that came from."

Oh, boy.