Dragon Soul(39)

From appearances, I could be standing at any small village on the Nile,  so much so that I had to remind myself that this was the Underworld, and  not reality as I knew it.

Behind the village, the hills rose to their flat-topped plateaus,  familiar from many an Egyptian mummy documentary about dig sites. I  expected to see dogs and chickens and children running around the  village, but as I strolled down the main (and only) avenue, there was no  one in sight.

"Hello?" I called out, wondering which building housed the shops. "Anyone here?"

A dog bayed in the distance, and at the same time, a low, deep horn  sounded from the ship. I dashed back a dozen steps, prepared to see the  ship getting ready to go-leaving me behind-but it was anchored as calmly  as ever. The gangway was still in place, held down by ropes and stakes.  No one appeared at the entrance of the ship, waving on stragglers.

One of the local dogs must have been wary of strangers, because I heard a  spate of barking coming from the other side of the big building.

"Huh," I said to myself, giving the ship one last look before turning to  face the town. Maybe it had been the lunch bell or something. Okay,  time to get some shopping done so I could go molest a certain brand-new  dragon.

I retraced my steps to the center of the village, hearing more barking.  This was louder, and accompanied by some snarling, no doubt the local  dogs fighting over a bit of food. I glanced around to see if I could  locate them, bracing myself for the sight of feral dogs, but still  didn't see any signs of life.

Until I rounded one of the buildings, and then stopped dead in my  tracks. Beyond the edges of the village proper, scrubby little shrubs  swayed in the wind, petering out to nothing after a few dozen yards. And  bounding over the dusty shrubs, heading straight for me, was the most  ghastly sight I'd ever seen-a big gray and black dog. No, not dog, a  beast! A nightmarish hell beast with slavering jaws, bloodred eyes, and  murder in its heart.

My murder!

"Ack!" I turned on my heel and ran like hell down the center of the  town, screaming as I did so. "Help! Monster! Carnivorous monster!  Someone help!"

The village was dead silent except for my screams and the snarls and  slavering panting of the hell beast as it bore down on me, its footfalls  dulled thuds on the packed dirt of the village. I rounded the last  corner to the ship, and took a chance at glancing behind me. The  monster-the approximate size of a pony-was about twenty feet back and  closing fast.         

     



 

There was no way I was going to make the ship in time. I had a choice: I  could either stand and face the horrible beast or I could be torn to  shreds trying to reach safety.

I was a dragon, dammit. I was a kick-ass dragon, and kick-ass dragons  did not run from monsters, no matter how many nightmares they were made  of.

I caught a flash of movement from the depths of the ship as I skidded to  a stop and spun around, whipping my cutlass from where it was stuck  into my sash. "Right. If I'm going down, I'm going to do it with style."

The dog's eyes lit with an unholy joy when it realized I was standing  still, and it gathered itself in a massive leap, obviously about to  flatten me before it ripped me into a million bloody bits. I yelled as I  lifted my sword, hoping to catch it either in its throat or in its gut,  when suddenly I was hit on the side by a blurred shape. I went flying a  good fifteen feet, landing in a patch of prickly grasses, cracking my  head on a rock. It took me a minute to gather my wits, but when I sat  up, rubbing my head, I beheld the most amazing sight.

Rowan was fighting the monstrous beast.

"Rowan?" I asked, getting to my feet, my admiration unbounded as I  watched him wield my Xena sword, parrying the monster every time it  lunged at him with snapping, razor-sharp teeth. "Great Caesar's goatees,  Rowan-watch out!"

Just as I spoke, the monster's body twisted, knocking the sword out of  Rowan's hand. I rushed forward with my cutlass raised high, but I  underestimated Rowan. He swung around in a roundhouse kick that had  connected with the beast's neck with a nauseatingly audible crack,  before using both hands to pound on the monster's back, slamming it into  the ground with a force that sent dust flying up in a cloud around us.

I choked, coughing like mad, and squinting as I dashed forward, prepared  to help Rowan just as soon as the dust settled enough to see.

"Sophea!" Rowan's voice was hoarse and interrupted by a spate of coughing. "Sophea, are you all right?"

"I'm here. I'm okay. Where's the hell beast?"

"Gone. He just disappeared."

I stumbled forward, blind in the cloud of dust until I saw a dark shape  loom up in front of me. I hesitated for a minute, then flung myself into  Rowan's arms, and kissed every part of him I could reach. "I thought I  was a goner for sure. And then there you were, and you were awesome.  Goddess above and below, Rowan! Where did you learn to do that?"

"I have no idea," he said, panting and coughing and kissing me all at  the same time. "I suspect it was the dragon part of me, because all I  could think of was grinding that thing into the dust. You're sure you're  all right? I didn't mean to shove you so hard, but that thing was  almost to you."

The same low horn noise sounded from the ship as I patted down his arms  and chest, just to make sure he wasn't hurt in any way. "I'm glad you  did. I mean, I may be a badass almost dragon, but you're a badder-ass  full dragon. That was seriously awesome, but don't you ever do it again!  You scared at least ten years off my life."

"I scared you? I scared the shit out of myself," he said with a little  laugh, and then kissed me, really kissed me, his body getting into the  act to the point where I forgot the near-death experience we'd just  shared, and focused on just how hot were the flames he built within me.

People emerged from the big building, trailing out chatting and laughing  just as if nothing momentous had occurred. They passed us, calling  their congratulations to Rowan for defeating the first challenge, all of  which we heard, but really didn't pay attention to, because the kiss  had turned into something deeper.

"Our feet are on fire," I said breathlessly a few minutes later, when we managed to pry ourselves apart.

"Up to the knees," he said, then kissed me again. I melted against him, wondering how I had ever existed without him.

A little pang smote me when I remembered thinking the same thing about  Jian, but I tucked that memory away gently. Life went on, and although I  would never stop loving Jian, it didn't mean I couldn't open my heart  to someone else.

"Why are you crying, love?" Rowan brushed a dusty tear from the corner  of my eye. "You forget that I'm a dragon now, and pretty much immortal.  The monster probably couldn't have killed me."

"It's not that," I said with a little shake of my head. "It's just …  I  was remembering …  oh, hell. Never mind. Let's get back on the ship before  something else happens. Besides, I'm starving and it has to be  lunchtime. I heard the bell go."         

     



 

"That wasn't a meal bell," he said, taking my hand as we maneuvered our  way up the gangway. "It was the signal announcing the start of the first  challenge. At least that's what Gabriel told me, which is why, when I  saw you standing outside, I went out to help you."

"Where is he, speaking of immortal beings?" I asked, glancing around as  we walked the couple of flights to the top deck. "I'd have thought he  would be on hand to help out with that since that's why he said he and  May were here."

"I believe they went to protect Mrs. P in case the beast breeched the ship."

"She has her priestesses," I pointed out.

He smiled. "And just like you, he prefers to make sure of her safety  without relying on-what did you call them last night? Underwear models?"

"They sure could be," I said dryly, and decided that it behooved me to  check on Mrs. P's welfare, too. Just so I could satisfy my conscience  that I was earning my way.

We hurried up to the cabin, skidding to a stop at the sight of bodies  strewn around the sitting room. Pitchers of icy margaritas melted in  puddles that leaked into pools of wet black substances. Stacked tidily  along one wall were three bodies of men in various colors, sizes, and  shapes. In the middle of the room, Mrs. P sat serene on a chair, while  the priestesses puttered around with mops, towels, and trash bags,  clearly tidying up the results of what must have been a horrible attack.

May and Gabriel emerged from the bathroom, towels in hand.

I gawked for a minute, then asked, "What the hell happened here?"

"As we suspected, Bael arranged for demons to swarm the ship as soon as  the first challenge started," Gabriel said, wiping his hands and looking  in distaste at the corpses. As we watched, they started evaporating,  leaving behind oily black smears on the flooring.