Obsidian Embers Page 6

  Quickly she leaned down and spoke to The Obsidian. "I thought I saw a hot spring back towards the green beach," she called out to him. "A very large pool. Bathing there sounds so wonderful! Please – could we go, while all of you are in flight? I'm sure dragons would love the hot water, too!"

  By way of answer, The Obsidian threw his head back and turned abruptly back towards the north. Olivia clung tight to the glassy neck as he swung around and all the other dragons followed.

  To her delight, there really was a hot spring here not far from the green beach. It was a very large pool, nearly the size of a couple football fields, and heated by the underground lava flows that fed the three large volcanoes on this island.

  Just moments after the dragons landed beside the pool, Olivia had stripped off her t-shirt, boots, and workout pants and stepped down into the deliciously hot water. The temperature, whatever it was, was just perfect for bathing.

  The whole place looked like something out of a fantasy, anyway, with tall grasses and bright flowers all around it. There were rocks and boulders at the shoreline and just below the water, which served as stepping stones to get in as well as places to sit and relax waist-deep in the water. Most of the pool did not seem too deep though, as Olivia began to swim, she was careful not to get too far away from the edge.

  There were even a couple of small waterfalls at one side of it, pouring off of a ledge. Olivia was swimming towards one of them when there was a splash behind her which sent a sudden series of waves coming towards her.

  She looked back and, to her amazement, saw The Obsidian slide into the water with his wings raised high. In a moment, he settled in near the center of the large pool, nearly submerging his head and closing his eyes with satisfaction. Slowly he folded his wings and then stayed very still, almost as though he was asleep.

  Olivia grinned. He deserved some relaxation, too, after all they had been through, and perhaps the others would join him once he gave them permission. She went on swimming to the waterfalls, delighted at the way the water pouring off the rocks felt cold, but the pool itself remained deliciously hot.

  After spending some time washing every inch of herself with her hands, and thoroughly rinsing her very long hair. – While reminding herself to start searching deserted homes and buildings for soap and shampoo and washcloths and towels in addition to clothes for the Dragonmen – Olivia finally threw her long and thoroughly drenched locks back from her face and turned around again.

  The Obsidian was gone.

  Frowning, she swam over to the stones beside the waterfalls and climbed out. Was the pool really that deep, to hide an entire dragon? But no – she realized that she could see the dark, rippling outline of his large form just beneath the surface of the water, like a silhouette seen through distorted glass.

  Slowly, gradually, the silhouette changed its shape beneath the water. It became smaller, drawing itself together, drawing in the wings and legs and long dragon tail until it seemed almost shapeless, as though it would disappear.

  But then, the dark and wavering form began to show evidence of a tall, slim human body with long arms and legs and a very human head. And a human face. Kushanu rose to the surface, smiled at her, and began swimming over to the waterfall.

  Even though Olivia was herself a scientist, and knew quite well how the dragons had come by their shape-shifting ability. The sight of The Obsidian changing into Kushanu reminded her that it was still a miracle, and something that no one would ever fully understand.

  13

  Just as Kushanu reached her at the waterfall, the other dragons slid into the water, too, and settled in as he had done. Olivia knew that it would not be long before they all reappeared as Dragonmen.

  But just as she began to turn to Kushanu, hoping to take advantage of the time they had left in the hot water before they were no longer alone, the skies above them suddenly grew dark.

  They looked up to see one of the dragon groups swooping down to land near the banks of the hot spring pool. It was Cutter, with Karen on his neck and his ten followers right with him. And then Olivia caught her breath and clutched tight to Kushanu's arm, for five of Cutter's dragons had women clinging to their slippery necks.

  Five terrified, screaming women.

  Once the dragons landed, the women obviously wanted to get down but were too frightened to move. They were sitting far above the ground on slick and glasslike dragons that could take flight again at any moment.

  Then one of the dragons wisely crouched down low and stretched out his neck flat to the earth. The others did the same, and finally one woman and then the other four managed to slide off. After a moment of frozen indecision, they all turned and started to run away from the pool. All five of them tried to head back up the steep hillsides to the open plain far above.

  Then Olivia cried out and actually ducked under the surface of the pool as Cutter roared fire over the heads of the women, stopping their escape. When she came up again a moment later, she saw the five captives crouched down against the boulders at the foot of the hillside huddling together and weeping with sheer terror.

  Olivia moved as fast as she could to a spot where she could climb out of the pool. "What is he thinking!" she cried, as she clambered out and grabbed her clothes. "Why would he do that to those women? It's horrible. He's got to be stopped!"

  "Wait, Olivia." Kushanu followed her out of the water and spoke to her calmly. "Wait until the dragons have made their shift. Then we will speak with them. For now, go and see to those women."

  Yanking her t-shirt into place over the workout pants, Olivia sprinted away from the pool and over to the foot of the hillside. Cutter's dragons went sliding past her on their way to the hot water and Cutter himself eyed her closely as he lumbered past. She returned his cold glare without blinking and stood waiting for them to pass by.

  Cutter and his ten dragons entered the water. Soon the pool was filled with more murky, wavering silhouettes just beneath the surface of the water, slowly contracting and moving into human shape.

  Olivia approached the women and tried to talk to them. "It's all right," she said, holding her hands out and trying to smile. "No one will hurt you here. My name is Olivia. I'm – "

  "What do you mean, no one will hurt us?" shrieked one of them, cradling two of the other sobbing victims in her arms. "They dragged us away from our home by force! Some of our men shot at those monsters but the bullets bounced right off of them. Then they breathed fire at anyone who tried to help us, and threatened us with fire if we did not climb onto their necks!"

  "Some of the buildings were burning when we left," snapped another of the women, too furious to cry. "But you say they won't hurt us? What do you think they've already done?"

  Olivia sat quietly with the women for a while. There was not much she could say that they would not immediately shoot down . . . and they would be right. "We'll talk with Kushanu in a short time," she told them. "He is the leader here. He is a good man. He will make sure you are well treated."

  They only glared at her and stayed huddled very close together.

  Before long, Cutter climbed out of the water in human form, and so did his ten Dragonmen. The ten of them sat down to relax along the banks, but Kushanu ignored them and walked to Olivia and the women, with Cutter following just at his shoulder.

  The women all pressed closer together at the sight of them, but Kushanu smiled at them and placed himself between them and Cutter. "I am sure Olivia has already told you that you will be safe here," he said to them. "And I will tell you that no more women will be brought here by force."

  "Oh, I think not, Kushanu," said Cutter. Olivia was fascinated by the way he looked exactly like Kushanu, of course, but had such a very different aura of cold cockiness instead of Kushanu's quiet confidence.

  "We agreed that the one among us who brought back the most human women to our settlement would be the one to rule us," Cutter went on. "I have brought back five."

  "But you took them by force. I inte
nded that we find willing partners. I did not know I had to specify that."

  Cutter just laughed. "How many women did you bring back?"

  "There are many who are interested!" cried Olivia. "The people of the city where we went have seen what dragons can do. They know that we are returning soon. Some of the women have already spoken with the Dragonmen, and – "

  "And I see exactly how many you have brought back. None whatsoever."

  Cutter actually laughed, taunting Kushanu. Olivia's temper flared at the sight of it. "We simply overwhelmed the place with fire and took what we wanted. But you tried to persuade females with talk? We are dragons, Kushanu. We thought you were, too. But perhaps not."

  "I am the dragon you wish you could be," Kushanu said, in a low voice. "Yet I also remember what it was to be a man – a man of honor. We showed the strength of dragons but also the compassion of humans.

  "You are as human as I am, Cutter. It is true that we find ourselves in a new world where dragons have the advantage of strength. But if you reject your human side entirely, you may regret it. And so will those you try to take as mates."

  A warning look crossed Cutter's face – but then all of them looked up as more great shadows suddenly flew in above them. It was Speedy, carrying Julia, and his ten also returning from their expedition. And to Olivia's astonishment, every one of his ten dragons had at least one woman on his neck. Some of them had two.

  They all landed and the women slid off, stepping back as the dragons made their way to the pool and disappeared beneath the surface. "Hey," said the first of those women, looking at Olivia. "Did they bring you here, too? Because we've already got dibs on the ones who found us!"

  A short time later, Speedy was almost laughing as he stood in front of Kushanu in human form. "Ask them yourself," he said. "Ask these women whether they are here by choice. We forced no one to come with us."

  Somewhat astonished, Olivia watched as the fifteen newcomers sat with Cutter's frightened little group of five and tried to reassure them. Those five were terrified, but Speedy's women all seemed perfectly happy to be here. "How did you persuade them?" asked Olivia.

  "They are human women," said Speedy, with a sly grin. "And we are as human as we are dragon. We found a town where many of the men had either died in the wave as they tried to save others, or had given up and left and tried to return to the mainland to get help."

  Speedy shook his head, still grinning. "If that's really what they did, I don't think we'll see them again. They were simply rowing in small boats. But it was brave of them to try."

  "Or mad," whispered Olivia. It was possible that some of the survivors would do bizarre things that they never would have thought of in the normal world. But either way, these women had mostly been alone when a group of very handsome and powerful Dragonmen had arrived out of the sky . . . and suddenly she knew what had happened.

  "You seduced them," Olivia said to Speedy. "Didn't you? Seduced them with all the things they miss most now. Attention. Flattery. Food. Shelter. Protection. All from strong, handsome, and very powerful men. And – I can only guess at what else you gave them."

  Speedy gave her a sly, crooked grin. "You would be correct, Miss Montgomery. Human ways for human women. We persuaded them that coming here and taking one of my ten as a mate would be very good for them. Now, I already have a mate in Karen, and my ten Dragonmen each have one now, too, so that leaves five more for any who might like to make an offer to them.

  "And one more thing," Speedy continued, sounding more smugly satisfied all the time. "I have brought back fifteen willing human women. Cutter has managed to drag in five against their will. And you have – how many? None at all?"

  He grinned again. "The deadline is the next full moon, Kushanu. That leaves you a few more weeks. But I don't think I have anything to worry about." With that, Speedy ran back to the beautiful hot pool and leaped in. The women he and his Dragonmen had brought back gave each other quick looks, and then shrieked and giggled and ran in after him.

  A few of Cutter's Dragonmen walked to the foot of the hillside and took hold of the five cringing women that they had forcibly brought back with them. On seeing the women resist, Kushanu immediately walked to him with Olivia beside him.

  "You will leave these women alone," he ordered.

  Cutter glanced back and started to laugh.

  "Speedy was able to find plenty of willing mates," said Olivia. "Are you not as desirable as he is?"

  This time, Cutter glared at her, but he let go of the woman's arm.

  Kushanu stepped closer. "If you frighten them again, we will settle this not as men but as dragons. I promise you that."

  Olivia was very glad when all of Cutter's Dragonmen finally backed down and returned to the pool. Cutter himself would not care, for he already had his own mate in Karen. It was the rest of them that they'd have to worry about.

  14

  Olivia's heart beat faster when she realized that all of the Dragonmen except for Kushanu, and all of the women except herself and Cutter's five, were now in the very large hot pool. And each of the Dragonmen was now moving to claim his own mate for himself right there in the water, no matter how many others were there in the pool alongside them.

  She saw Cutter with Karen and Speedy with Julia. The fifteen women that Speedy had brought back were pairing off with all ten of his Dragonmen, as well as five others – she could not tell whose they were.

  That left seventeen of the powerful Dragonmen swimming in the water with no mates. Olivia knew that either they would all begin to share their mates or there would be terrible fights. She glanced at Kushanu and saw that he only stood very still and watched the pool with almost no expression.

  One thing was certain. They should never have allowed all three groups of Dragonmen to gather together when only half of them had mates. But it was too late to stop them now.

  Nonetheless, it was an amazing sight. All throughout the pool, the magnificent Dragonmen took hold of their mates and stripped away any clothes the women still wore. The drive and desire of these men seemed to fire the women, too, even those who were only newly arrived, and it spread fast throughout the pool and drove them all to claim their partners with greater urgency.

  Some of the Dragonmen stood facing their partners in the hot waist-deep water, churning now with the actions of so many, and forced their legs apart with one knee before thrusting hard up into them. Olivia saw the woman cry out and let their heads fall back against the strong supporting arms of the Dragonman who held them.

  Others turned their females to stand facing the rocks near the waterfall and brace themselves with their hands. The tall Dragonmen arched up over them from behind, holding the women by the hair or with strong hands over their breasts and entering them the way an actual dragon would mount its mate.

  A few others, perhaps of a gentler mind, sat down on the smooth rocks in the warm shallow water and joined with their partners as each woman sat on his lap to face him, embracing and even kissing as they moved together.

  Olivia's breath quickened. Kushanu placed a strong hand on her wrist. And then, to their surprise, one of the five women brought in by Cutter began walking towards the pool and throwing her clothes off as she did, even as her four companions cried out to her to return.

  But she was already gone, and soon had her own Dragonman to claim her. As did Olivia, for Kushanu picked her up and carried her into the water, out into the very center for all to see. He hoisted her up into his strong arms, and Olivia wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing the Dragonman passionately. Their tongues slid against one another's, sending fire jolting through Olivia's veins.

  She moaned as he lowered her down onto his hard length, rocking up into her again and again, filling her needy cavern with his powerful sex. He bit a line of kisses along her collarbone, and her head fell back, exposing the long line of her neck. She shuddered as she clung to him, crying out desperately, modesty forgotten in the face of this reckless, fiery lust.
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br />   They both came, holding tightly to one another as wave after wave of ecstasy rocked them both. Kushanu rested his forehead against Olivia's, and she smiled, warmed through and through with the strength of their loving bond.

  Eventually – Olivia had begun to lose her sense of time as they drifted in the water – all of the women and all of the Dragonmen returned to the shore to rest, dry off, and retrieve their clothes.

  But while about half of the Dragonmen were quite content, that left the other half of the Dragonmen in a state of high excitement without a mate. And four women remained weeping and frightened near the rocks.

  Instead of easing the tension, the group mating in the pool had only made things far worse. Fear surged through Olivia as the Dragonmen quickly broke up into three groups.

  "All of those women that you forced to come here," Speedy said, nodding towards the scared little group, "should all go back if they wish. We should take them as soon as we can shift our form."

  "No," said Cutter. "We found them and they are here now. They stay."

  "We will do neither of those things," said Kushanu. “One of them did mate willingly with a Dragonman. The women will be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they want to stay."

  "They go!"

  "They stay!"

  "They will do neither!"

  All the women screamed as the Dragonmen flew at each other in a rage, still with no clear leader but in dire need of ending the uncertainty. As Olivia, Julia, Karen, and all the rest of the women ran for the hillside towards the four who'd stayed there, Olivia realized they were lucky that right now that all of the dragons were in human form. But that was not likely to happen again.

  "What is this?" cried some of the new arrivals – the ones who had just been in the pool with the Dragonmen. "They can't take care of us if they're killing each other off! Isn't there any way to make them stop fighting?"