Through the Ashes- The Complete Series, page 46
part #1 of Through the Ashes Series
He felt an overwhelming wave of sadness wash through her, and courtesy of the link they shared, it rubbed off on him. He had no idea of the depth of her sadness before now, but it pleased him greatly to know how important he was in keeping her from just giving up, going home, and letting the other Pures deal with their own garbage. In a moment of clarity, he realized he, too, struggled with a desire to just walk away from it all. Or were her feelings affecting his? Either way, though, he experienced what she did and his heart went out to her.
One thought crossed his mind and wouldn’t let go, burrowing like a worm to itch in the back of his mind, demanding to get scratched: Bells deserved some happiness, and he could give it to her with one simple act. Taboo, yes, but it wouldn’t be the first time he broke a rule for her.
His hands found her hips and he pulled her to him. She resisted, but only a little. He looked down into her eyes, smiled, and said, “You need to recharge, and if you don’t mind breaking a little rule, I have just the thing to make you feel better.”
She seemed to almost shrink. His connection with her vibrated with tension and he could feel she was both afraid and excited. He wasn’t sure why, but it was an exhilarating feeling.
“What is it?” she asked. Even her voice seemed to have shrunk down, like a rabbit just before the hawk strikes.
“Do you remember when you rode my dragon form? Do you remember that feeling?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice cracking. He felt her confusion—she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Then, let’s do it. We should fly again, you and me. When you were riding me, I never felt anything quite like that connection, and I remember the effect it had on you. I especially remember the effect it had on me. What do you say?”
“Yes,” she said, then rushed forward to wrap her arms around him. “Thank you.”
Jaekob couldn’t help but smile, feeling the thrill of the taboo and the burst of Bells’ energy infecting him, too. Sure, there was a consequence for letting someone ride the same dragon twice, but he could easily deal with that later.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
He led her by the hand away from the manor, and his heart sang at the joy and anticipation radiating from Bells, courtesy of the rider bond they shared already.
Bells and Jaekob drove across the city, heading toward the nearest of the small mountains that flanked the ruins of Reading. How he’d picked up a car without his escort, she couldn’t have guessed, but when she was sure where they were going after leaving the buildings behind and entering into the beautiful forests that grew all around the city, she frowned and looked out the window.
Cars were such odd devices…
Jaekob stopped the car along the side of the road and turned to face her directly. “What? Is something wrong?”
“Maybe. We seem to be headed to the mountains, but don’t the weres hide from the other Pures there? Maybe it’s not smart to go do this secret, forbidden thing right in front of a bunch of weres. And won’t they notice that you’ve crossed the Wards?”
An impish grin spread across his face. “Don’t you worry about that. Their alarms and bells and whistles are all powerful, but remember, a dragon can cross at will and so can anyone with me. There’s nothing out this way but trees and rocks since the humans are all dead in this region, so neither the Crown nor the Council will pay any attention to it as long as there hasn’t been a perimeter breech alarm on our little island of so-called safety recently. Too many dragons like to hike, but they don’t go to the part where we’re going. It’s also why the weres stay off those mountains—too much chance of an incident they don’t want.”
“So, we really are headed up the mountain. If I had known, I would have worn sturdier boots.” She frowned. She was going to have a couple blisters after this if they hiked far from the roads.
“Don’t worry about that, either. Trust me, this is worth a blister or two.” He turned back around and continued on toward the mountain, leaving her no choice but to sit and watch the scenery pass by her window as the pixie-powered car sped over the pavement. Worth blisters? That was easy for him to say—his boots were well worn in.
Almost another hour passed before Jaekob stopped the car again, this time near the top of an old human fire trail up the little mountain he’d chosen. She looked down over the valley below almost as though seeing it for the first time. The beautiful forests, now starting to return to their former glory with the help of fae workers. The dead and somber city of Reading sparkling in the distance. The effect was magical.
Jaekob inspected the area, not looking out at the gorgeous view, and seemed to be pacing the distance between two trees.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “Maybe you should have brought a tape measure.”
“Ha ha,” he replied, smirking at her. “Miss Know-it-all, if I summon my dragon form and there isn’t enough room, maybe you could see how that would be a bad thing?”
She shifted her pursed lips to one side, then stuck her tongue out at him. “Nothing you wouldn’t deserve.”
He laughed, then dusted off his hands on his trousers. “Okay, I’ll have enough room. Are you ready for this?”
“Yes. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since you mentioned it.” That, and the magical view he apparently took for granted.
“You understand that there are certain… side effects after we do this,” he said. “Right? For one thing, when we’re close together, I’ll be able to sense your surface thoughts much clearer.”
Well, he had given her signs already that he could sense her thoughts even when he wasn’t in his dragon form. “Okay. And? That seems like a good idea, frankly, if we’re going to be running around saving the world or whatever.”
He smiled, showing all his teeth. Then, he seemed to explode, and a split second later, a fully-grown dragon stood where the man had been. He was still smiling, but now the effect was much different. A dragon bearing its teeth was an intimidating sight. She felt a feather’s touch in her mind, then Jaekob’s thoughts came to her as they communicated in the dragon way.
I, Jaekob, Prince of Dragons, do hereby welcome you, Bells, my little fae, to come fly with me.
He spoke the last few words in a sing-song voice, reminding her of an old human song she had once heard. Maybe he had heard it, as well.
Yes, I have. Back in Safeholme, we have an extensive collection of human records, both the paper kind and the musical kind. Now, quit wasting time or I’ll start to think you don’t want to fly with me.
“I thought you said you were going to be able to read my thoughts, not that you already could.” Ha ha, she had busted him.
A little bit. It’s a lot easier when I’m in my dragon form, especially when you’re so close. Normally, I only sense the flavor of your thoughts rather than the words, and only when you’re agitated or afraid. You know, strong emotions.
Bells smiled, biting her bottom lip, then nodded once and bolted forward, sprinting toward him. She jumped up onto one of his bent legs, and from there, she leaped high enough to grab one of his back spines—the sharp spikes that grew from his crown to the deadly weapon at the tip of his tail. Using it, she pulled herself up and swung one leg over him. She found herself neatly cradled between two of his long spines, one a comfortable backrest, the other a useful handhold. “I’m ready—”
A bright light flashed into her mind. At least, that was the only way she could explain it. It flickered on and off like a strobe light shining against the backs of her eyeballs. The sensation was so intense, it drove her speechless. It wasn’t exactly painful, but neither was it very comfortable.
That’s the beginning of the bonding effect. You and I have been Dragon and Rider twice, now. Just lean back and experience this. You’re the only outsider still living who has ever ridden a dragon once, much less twice.
The pulsing, blinding light faded as she grew accustomed to it. As the brightness dimmed, she saw what its source had been—Jaekob’s entire body was almost translucent. She could see his entire nervous system faintly glowing, the electrical impulses from his brain moving so quickly that she was doubtful she saw the actual impulses, but more like the after-image one sees when watching a wagon wheel spinning quickly. She saw the outline of his skull, much like an x-ray, but the inside was brightly lit. His brain glowed and pulsed, strong and bright. It had been that which first blinded her.
She wondered whether he saw the same thing when he looked at her, and then sensed him chuckling at her. Apparently, he did. And every time he moved a muscle, the relevant nerves seemed to light up. It was a sublime, mesmerizing effect.
Bells came to the sudden realization that many of Jaekob’s electrical energy bits were also flowing into her, rising up through his body and vanishing once they entered her. She could feel just a soft tingling at first, traveling up her spine, growing stronger as it rose, confirming it wasn’t just her imagination or some illusion.
But when that energy reached her head… Whoa… A euphoric feeling struck her so suddenly that she almost fell over. The feeling faded quickly but didn’t entirely vanish. It was the best she had ever felt, she had no doubt in her mind.
I feel it, too, little fae. Your energy is passing into me, as well. By Creation, I’ve never felt anything like it.
Neither had she. Part of her wanted only to keep feeling that now-gentle sense of perfect contentedness, of being at one with the dragon, mindless of all the problems in the world. Another part of her was terrified the feeling could pass away.
Her tongue felt thick in her mouth as she formed individual words, saying, “That’s incredible. But I thought we were here to fly. So, get going, mister!”
She watched the dragon with eager anticipation, waiting for the light show that would come when he flapped his mighty wings. Nor was she disappointed; he leapt into the air and thrust his wings downward, and she barely noticed the lurching sensation in her stomach, so mesmerized was she by the brilliant light show playing out before her as Jaekob’s neurological impulses spread through his body. It was amazing how many different muscles were involved with each flap of his wings, not merely the ones attached to the wings themselves but those throughout his entire body were involved to one degree or another.
In her mind, Jaekob’s voice echoed, seeming somehow sweeter and more intimate, as though it belonged to him and her both. No, it was more like they both had the same thought at the same time. The old tales say that after this, when we are airborne, we’ll be able to see through each other’s eyes, hear what we each hear, feel what we each feel—if we will it, and the other doesn’t resist. Focus on my eyes, hone in on the impulses traveling to and from them. Make them your own, bring them through our connection into yourself. That’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway. I’ll do the same.
From his tone and the flavor of his thoughts, Jaekob seemed to feel the same awe at this that she did.
As they rose up through the air, the first thing she noticed as she focused on his electrical impulses wasn’t his eyes, but the field he was casting around them both. It kept the wind still, but she could see from the pattern that it also made them invisible to those on the ground below. How she knew that was what it did, she couldn’t have said. It was some byproduct of this new bonding.
Her heart raced as she followed the intricate, shifting patterns of his projected field, adjusting itself automatically to address the people on the ground; if anyone looked up, the field strengthened on that side. It was a gorgeous light show hypnotically playing itself out before her eyes.
Focus, little fae. I don’t think I’ll be able to see through your eyes until you can see through mine, as well, and I’m looking forward to that.
Of course. She looked forward to that, as well. She shook her head to clear the after-image of the fireworks going off all around them and looked at the space ahead of the brightly glowing mass in his head. She followed an impulse as it approached his eyes. There was a whooshing sensation, dizzying, and she felt herself drawn down into his neural network. She was that impulse heading toward his eyes. She was struck by the strong sense of vertigo as the impulses traveled to both eyes, making her see double. And then, there was a circle of light in the distance, which rushed toward her faster than anything she’d ever seen.
She threw her arms up to protect herself as it smashed into them—or was it just her?—but she needn’t have bothered. She was in no danger. It wasn’t a wall or a ball of fire or anything dangerous. With soaring spirits, she realized she was now seeing through the dragon’s eyes. As the view clarified, she gasped, forgetting every other thought.
What she saw was incredible. Normally, only what she looked at directly was clear while everything else was blurry, becoming increasingly unfocused as it reached the edges of her view. The dragon’s sight, however, was completely different.
Her entire field of vision was now clear, everything in focus. And not just in focus, but the clarity was so vivid that it was surreal. She thought back to the time she had watched one of the humans’ Blu-ray discs in secret, hidden from the foreman in her village. That hyper-detailed view on a huge television paled in comparison to a dragon’s vision, though. Every outline was exaggerated, every detail etched with crystal clarity from the center of his view to the edges of his periphery, and she could take it all in at once.
She wondered whether a dragon’s eyes were multi-faceted, like an insect’s. Instantly, she knew the answer. They were not. It had something to do with the very magic that made dragons possible in the first place, or rather, made all the Pures possible.
Jaekob’s thought rang clear in her mind. This is incredible. You really see like this? It’s amazing. Only what you look at is clear, and it’s so easy to focus on anything I want. It’s like magic.
“No, not magic. This is how most creatures see things, even Pures. What’s really incredible is how you see things. The whole world is right there in front of you, clear as day. I’m awestruck. No wonder you see the smallest field mouse scurrying across the ground a thousand yards below. I see it, too, and everything around it. It’s almost like I can sense where it will go next.”
That’s the way we hunt. Both for food and in war. Some part of our subconscious processes their little muscle movements so we can see what they will do next. It makes it easy to avoid zigging when our prey is zagging.
“Makes sense.” Bells was too distracted by the vista that spanned out before her. Then, she slowly became aware of a pressure on her back, a comforting warmth. Whatever it was, she paid it no mind. It belonged there, almost like it was a part of her. In fact, if it wasn’t there, she realized, it would be like missing an arm. She would feel its absence.
Amusement washed over her, a gentle wave of Jaekob’s emotions, sensed with vivid clarity.
“What’s so funny?” she asked. “Are you laughing at me?” She was grinning, too, almost as though his amusement was actually hers.
Of course not. I’m just thoroughly enjoying this experience with you. That warmth you feel on your back? That’s you. You’re feeling what I feel. I don’t think the old tales of dragons and their riders do the experience justice. I don’t just see what you see or feel what you feel, but I feel like… like you’re a part of me. No, like you are me, and I’m you. But I’m also still me. I can’t explain it any better than that.
“You explain it better than I could.”
She felt closer to Jaekob than she had ever felt to anyone. He was inside her, filling her, completing her. Surely no one had ever had the depths of emotion she felt for Jaekob at that moment. She was even more surprised when she realized that feeling wasn’t connected to her new bond with him, but had been there for a long time. Maybe since the first time she met him, even. The Rider bond they shared only amplified what was already there. With a start, she sensed an echo of that feeling from somewhere close by. From Jaekob. Her emotion and his joined together and created a harmony that was greater than just the sum total of how strongly they each cared for one another.
Her heart skipped a beat when it occurred to her that there was a word for what she was feeling. She loved him—and the way their feelings harmonized could only mean one thing… Her spirit, leaping for joy, flew higher than any dragon ever could.
And then, a burning horror when she remembered that he could now read her thoughts. From then on, she knew, nothing would be private between them. And if she were honest with herself, she craved that bond, despite a nagging sense of being utterly vulnerable. It was more than embarrassing, being so much an open book to someone else, but it was also exhilarating.
She hoped they never had to stop flying. Ever. They must eventually stop, and their problems hadn’t gone away just because they had shared this moment of unity, this feeling of being at one with the universe and with herself, and the knowledge of this was almost crushing. Up there in the air, the universe was a round hole and she was a round peg. She fit into all things perfectly, just the way she was. Down there, she was rarely certain of anything at all, and even more rarely fit in so perfectly.
As the sun struck the horizon’s edge, preparing to give up its final rays before sliding from view, Bells and Jaekob landed. She was content to sit on his back, experiencing each moment as its own unique bliss, and his thoughts were clear: he didn’t want this to end, either.
Many moments later, they both decided that it was time to head back to what the rest of the world called “reality.” What fools, he thought. Or she thought. She wasn’t sure who had which thought anymore, but it didn’t really matter; they were together at that moment, and she belonged there more than she had ever belonged anywhere.
Or did he belong under her more than he belonged anywhere? Again, it didn’t matter. Their minds and wills were virtually as one. With a mutual sigh, the Dragon and Rider single being decided to separate, and Bells the individual slid from his back to the ground in one smooth motion. He was Jaekob again before she landed.
