To Wed a Dragon Read online

  And there was no one to hear her and help her. God knows how long she had been lying there in the dark, in pain.

  Nora was a health professional and a born healer. If she hadn't become a paramedic, she would have trained to become a nurse or a therapist. Her heart constricted at the thought of a helpless woman lying all alone in the alley, paralyzed and terrified.

  “Hello?” Nora called out, moving briskly towards the mouth of the alley.

  The cry was muffled but frenzied. She heard movement, and it sounded like the person was struggling.

  “Are you hurt? Don't worry, I'll help you. I'm a paramedic. I'll call for an ambulance.” She rooted around her bag for a small torchlight. It was much too dark to see. “Just relax, don't move around too much. It would aggravate...”

  Just as she snapped on the torchlight, a hand clamped over her mouth.

  The torch skittered away from her and someone stomped on the torch and killed the light.

  As Nora was being dragged deeper into the alley, she reached into her bag even as she kicked and struggled fiercely. Her fingers tightened around her can of pepper spray.

  If this punk thought he could just grab her and mug her blind, well, she had a surprise for him. Not only was she armed with her trusty pepper spray, she had a mean right hook and she was not afraid to use it.

  That huge, cold hand was still covering her mouth. The light from the street lamp opposite the street cast long shadows into the alley and when the moon slid out from behind the clouds, the silvery moonlight enabled Nora to see well enough.

  And what she saw chilled her to the bone.

  A lanky, bald thug was holding an elderly lady at knifepoint. He was slowly pushing the sharp edge of the knife into the old woman's shoulder, deepening the cut and causing the woman extreme agony and terror.

  “Don't make a ssssssound,” someone hissed in Nora's ear. Nora shivered involuntarily. The voice sounded more like a snake hissing than someone talking.

  “Let her go,” Nora wheezed. “You...you...”

  Nora was thrown forward and she righted herself quickly. She spun round to glare into the faces of the two thugs. And promptly forgot what she wanted to say.

  The two males wore jeans and hoodies but they didn't look like common thugs and hooligans.

  In fact, they didn't even look...human.

  Well, their shape was human and they were standing upright on two legs, but Nora thought these men looked more like...snakes.

  Their eyes glowed yellow and their pupils were nothing but thin, black slits. Their tongues kept flicking out as if to taste the air, and she noticed, to her horror and disbelief, that the tips of their tongues were forked.

  She had to be hallucinating.

  Nora shook her head hard. She looked again, her eyes moving from their hideous faces to their hands. At first she thought they were wearing gloves. There were strange, scaly patterns on their hands. But when one of the men raised his hand towards her, Nora saw that their large, bare hands were actually covered with scales.

  Shit, what was happening to her? She hadn't taken a single drop of alcohol. She would never drink on the job and she wasn't on any medication. Why was she not seeing right?

  Gulping, Nora shook her head again but she still saw those eerie yellow eyes and forked tongues.

  And there was still a knife at the old lady's throat.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The old woman turned her head slightly to lock her gaze on Nora. “Leave, while you can,” the woman begged. “Please...just run. This doesn't concern you.”

  Nora's eyes bugged. “What?” Shock and outrage made her find her tongue in a hurry. “You're asking me to leave you? With them? Not on your life, M'am!” Bad choice of words but who had time to choose pretty words when you were facing two snake-men in a dark alley?

  The old woman gave a small smile that was more of a wince and addressed her next words to the two men.

  “Let her leave. She's human.”

  Strange words, Nora thought. In an even stranger but undoubtedly dangerous situation.

  What did the woman mean by She's human? Weren't they all? The old woman certainly looked human even if the two males looked more reptilian than human. But maybe that was just a trick of the light. Or maybe her fear was making her see things.

  “She won't tell anyone what she has seen,” the old woman went on. “Even if she did, no one would believe her. Just let her go.”

  Turning to Nora, the woman said, “Run, child. You'll be safe.”

  “But you won't,” Nora cried, appalled, alarmed and angry. Did this sweet grandmother really think that Nora would just run off and leave her with these two monsters? Did Nora look like such a useless coward to her?

  One of the males spared Nora a dismissive glance and jerked his head towards the entrance of the alley. Then he elbowed her out of the way and advanced towards the old woman.

  Nora staggered back, swallowing convulsively.

  In not so many words, they were telling her to get the fuck out of here.

  They were letting her go.

  Their focus was solely on the feisty, silver-haired lady who spat in the face of her would-be murderer as she stared death straight in the eye.

  Nora backed away, her eyes darting desperately around. She had to do something. But what?

  No one would hear her even if she screamed for help. And if she opened her mouth and screamed, those brutes would slice the old woman's throat in a heartbeat. Then they would come after her.

  Nora thought she glimpsed fangs protruding from the man's mouth as he raised his blade and aimed it at the woman's heart.

  In less than a minute, the old woman would be dead.

  There was no time.

  Nora snatched up a broken bottle rolling near the dumpster and lurched forward. Her actions were driven by sheer instinct and desperation. All she knew was that she had to save the poor woman.

  It felt like forever but everything happened in the space of just a few seconds. Or less.

  Nora remembered taking a shallow, shuddering breath as she charged forward. She remembered looking into a pair of eerie, evil snake eyes as she raised her arm and shoved the jagged edge of the glass bottle forward with all her might.

  Something black and cold splashed across her face. She released her trembling grip and reeled back with a cry of horror.

  Something was dripping down her chin. Some cold and foul-smelling. And when she looked at her hands, they were covered with a thick, black liquid.

  She dragged air into her lungs and exhaled painfully. At the sound of glass shattering, she jerked her head up and saw one of the men clutching the side of his neck. Glass shards stabbed out from between his fingers.

  In just two breaths, she had plunged a broken bottle into a man's neck.

  She had gone against every instinct, every belief, every motto, vision and mission of a paramedic.

  So much for saving lives.

  She had just taken one.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  From her medical training, Nora knew without a doubt that she had severed the man's jugular. Black blood was spurting from the gaping wound in his neck as the man dropped to the ground.

  Black blood?

  But Nora had no time to wonder if her eyes were again playing tricks on her.

  The other man was coming at her, his knife raised to strike. Nora ducked as the blade whizzed through the air. Screaming, she scrambled towards the mouth of the alley and burst out into the street.

  Footsteps pounded behind her. She couldn't afford to look back and slow down. He was going to kill her.

  “Run!” Nora shrieked to the old woman. She hoped the old woman would be able to escape while she lured the brute away.

  But the brute was faster and stronger than she thought. She could see his shadow falling in front of her, but his shadow looked...decidedly non-human.

  Her curiosity got the better of her and sh
e risked a glance back. She couldn't even cry out as her eyes widened at the bizarre, terrifying sight.

  The man's shape was lengthening and contorting as he lunged forward. His limbs seemed to melt into his torso and his face began to flatten so that his ears, nose and cheeks disappeared. Only his eyes and a yawning, fanged mouth remained.

  He wasn't running anymore. He looked like he was gliding or swaying, or sliding towards her. He was no longer a man. Maybe he never was.

  He was a snake, a giant black serpent.

  “No!” Nora screamed.

  Nora tripped and landed hard on the ground. She felt something coiling around her leg and she jerked violently and tried to scrabble away.

  “Help! Help me!” she shrieked, clawing desperately at the ground as she was being dragged backwards.

  Nora heard frenzied shouts and turned to see the old woman running at the serpent with a broken umbrella. “Damn Slayor!” the woman yelled. “Let the human go!”

  Damn Slayor? What the hell was a Damn Slayor?

  The question flashed through Nora's mind as she scrambled up and watched the Damn Slayor rear up and lurch towards the old lady. With a flick of that long tail, the serpent sent the feisty old lady smashing into a wall.

  Then the serpent turned his yellow, glowing eyes on Nora. The old lady could wait. He had seen Nora drive a broken bottle into the neck of his partner. Nora was the bigger threat to him, and the longer she stayed alive, the more trouble she would cause him. He was going to finish her off first.

  The huge snake opened his mouth wide and Nora saw fangs, long, sharp, curved fangs coming straight at her.

  “No, no…!”

  Nora braced for the excruciating bite. But the pain never came.

  The Damn Slayor jerked back suddenly and swung its huge, ugly head away from her.

  Hissing and spitting, the snake twisted round and Nora saw the hilt of a knife sticking out from the snake's body.

  Something glinted, and Nora saw another blade flying through the air. The knife stabbed into the snake's belly, and Nora only heard a whirring sound before she saw another knife whiz towards the snake and slice its tail right off.

  Nora saw black blood pour from the snake as she got shakily to her feet.

  “Stay down,” a voice ordered.

  Nora assumed the voice was talking to her. She turned towards that deep voice and saw a man running towards them. He was tall, and even in the dim light, she could see that he was ruggedly handsome. His sandy hair was cropped short, really short like a soldier. Every muscular inch of him screamed military. The way he held himself, the swift, silent way he moved, even the way his eyes locked onto his target hinted at his military training. Nora had no doubt that this man was a soldier, a trained killer. He had throwing knives in his hand, and his silver eyes shimmered as he took aim at his enemy.

  “Another Damn Slayor,” Nora groaned.

  Just who were these people? People with glowing eyes who could turn into snakes.

  Pushing herself up, she stumbled away as another knife whistled past her. She heard that handsome stranger or Slayor, whatever he was, swear in a language she had never heard before.

  She didn't care what he said. She wasn't staying down, and she wasn't staying here. Not in this fucking twilight zone.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Edriq cursed loudly, reverting to his native Dracan language. No one could curse like a Dracan. The humans thought they were pretty hardcore and badass when they used words that began with B and S and everything in between. But even the baddest humans would blush if they ever heard a Dracan swear.

  His knife had missed that human woman by a hair's breadth.

  He had almost killed her. Why didn't she just stay down?

  But he could understand the woman's panic and confusion. Considering she had just come face to face with a Slayor—in snake form, the woman was pretty damn calm.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Edriq saw the human woman and the elderly Dracan female scurry away. The two terrified women fled in opposite directions. Neither looked back. In two blinks, they had scooted out of the isolated, lonely street and disappeared from the scene.

  Edriq whistled and threw another knife at the Slayor to keep him occupied so that the bastard wouldn't have the chance to go after the two women.

  With the two innocent civilians out of the way, Edriq didn't hold back. Make no mistake. He would destroy any Slayor he came across but he would rather not have a civilian witness the killing. The civilians weren't soldiers like Edriq and his brothers. Witnessing a slaying could be traumatic, and the civilians didn't deserve to have black blood spattered all over them.

  Edriq frowned. That human woman had black blood on her face and hands even before he threw his knives at the snake.

  Did she manage to wound or kill a Slayor before he arrived? Given that Slayors rarely hunted alone...

  Edriq held that thought as the huge snake lunged at him. Even with knives in his body, the Slayor was still incredibly fast.

  The Slayor took aim and spat a jet of deadly venom at Edriq.

  If Edriq had moved just a fraction of a second later, the venom would have found his eyes.

  He would be blind. Then he would be dead.

  Edriq flung his knives in rapid succession. One of them somersaulted past the Slayor but the other found its target.

  The blade struck the Slayor right between his eyes and stabbed deep into his brain.

  As the Slayor fell, he shifted back to his human shape and crumpled at Edriq's feet. Pulling out his gun, he put a bullet in the Slayor's head just to make sure.

  Quickly and soundlessly, Edriq dragged the Slayor's body into the nearest alley. As soon as he saw the body of the second Slayor lying near the dumpster, Edriq's muttered another unprintable Dracan oath.

  There were glass shards sticking out of the Slayor's neck and Edriq scented a small amount of human blood on the glass. The woman had suffered a slight cut when she attacked the Slayor.

  That human woman was…

  “Amazeballs,” he breathed, using one of the phrases Tessa and Amelia had just taught him.

  Edriq hadn't had the chance to take a nice, long look at her, but somehow he remembered every detail of that courageous, beautiful human woman.

  She was a curvy brunette with smooth, olive skin and wavy brown hair. Her deep, chocolate eyes had been round and wide with terror, but he had glimpsed the strength and grit in them.

  This wasn't a woman who gave up easily.

  She had charged headlong into the dark alley and saved the life of a Dracan. The dead Slayor with the broken bottle in his neck was a powerful testament to the woman's courage.

  Those Slayors had been after the elderly Dracan female, but that brave, feisty human had refused to run even when she saw the danger she was in.

  She had no idea that the little old lady she'd saved wasn't human like her, but Edriq had the feeling that even if she knew, she wouldn't hesitate to rush to her rescue.

  Edriq threw the bodies together and called forth his dragon. The black blood on the ground was already evaporating. The air on Earth was different from the atmosphere on their home planet Korra, but the Dracans were a hardy, resilient people. They had managed to adjust quickly to the atmosphere and culture on Earth and acclimatize themselves. The humans had no idea that dragons, dormant though they were, lived, worked and bred among them. Many of the Dracans had found human mates and birthed healthy, happy human children.

  They would survive, and hopefully live long and prosper.

  Edriq didn't have to bother about the blood, but he still had to get rid of the bodies. He couldn't leave them around for the humans to find.

  His eyes churned with a blazing silver light as his dragon rose and pressed up just under his skin.

  Edriq still held on to his human form but it was his dragon that glared at the cold dead bodies of his enemies.

  With a blast of white flame
, his dragon incinerated the Slayors. The fire burned for just a few seconds and vanished, leaving only a thin spiral of smoke.

  Edriq walked out of the alley and stared down the street. His dragon urged him in the direction of the human woman. There was something very special about that human female. She was gutsy and selfless, no doubt, but she was more than that. He just felt a bone-deep desire to see her again, to know her and...hold her.

  But Edriq defied his dragon's burning desire and turned the other way. The elderly Dracan woman had run this way. There might be more Slayors after her.

  Choosing duty over desire, Edriq turned and melted swiftly into the shadows.

  But he promised his angry dragon and himself that he would find the woman. For once, his dragon didn't push the issue. It seemed to know that it would see that exquisite, beautiful female again. Soon.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Nora flapped her hands in exasperation. “I'm tellin' ya, they were here!” she said, her voice rising. “Those Damn Slayors! They were attacking a little old lady in that alley. They were fighting right here. One of them had me pinned to the ground and was about to kill me, and then another one appeared and attacked my attacker! I saw...” She faltered. They wouldn't believe her if she told them that she saw her attacker shift into a giant serpent.

  She kept that tiny nugget of incredulous information to herself. Otherwise, she told them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

  The two police officers looked at her sympathetically and exchanged a glance. Nora winced and ground her teeth. She had run out to the main road and flagged down the first car she saw. As luck would have it, that car happened to be a police car. She'd blurted out her story to the two officers and led them back here to the scene of the crime.

  “M'am,” one of the officers began. He sported a mustache, a pot-belly and a receding hairline. “There's nothing here. There's no evidence at all that a fight or an attack has just happened here. There's no blood and...no body.”