Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,95

once I finally found Iabartu. It also proved to myself that what I was doing was the right decision. It might be lonely out here in this barren land but I felt confident that I was doing what was best for everyone. I began to whistle as I walked. The slightly off tune sound seemed to carry away from me leeching through the quiet atmosphere much in the same way as the blue trail. Let Iabartu hear it, I thought grimly. With the total absence of cover anywhere there was no doubt that I had no chance of the element of surprise. The least I could do was make her feel nervous at my apparent nonchalance.

As I continued to walk, part of me felt irritated that the best my part Draco Wyr blood could do was make me feel hot and fiery inside. It would definitely be handy right about now to be able to sprout wings and fly. Especially when I was going up against a demi-goddess of the sky. I wondered about what Tom had said, about how on earth a dragon mated with a human in the first place. Perhaps they could shift into human form? And had it been my great-grandfather or great-grandmother who was a lizard? I considered the fact that John had known all along what I was, dismissing me when he’d heard about my bloodfire, trying to turn me into a real pack shifter when I was eighteen, training me to fight. I fervently wished that he’d told me what I was. Then I could have asked him more about my mother. He’d known her; she hadn’t just been some strange human who’d turned up out of the blue one day. Somehow they’d had a history and she thought she could trust him with my life. Instead, my presence had taken his.

I frowned, trying to push the thoughts away. I’d get my revenge when I found Iabartu, one way or another. Even if the effort killed me, the least I could do would be to hurt her as much as I possibly could first. The familiar coil of heat asserted itself inside me at the thought and I concentrated on keeping it there. It would help when I finally uncovered whichever hole she was hiding in. My temper would at last do me some good.

I walked for what felt like hours. My senses were completely alert the entire time but I could feel myself becoming dangerously bored with the green and blue monotony. I tried to amuse myself by playing I-spy in my head for a short while, but there were only so many words I could come up with for grass, sky and valley. Although it wasn’t particularly hot on this plane, I could feel the trickle of sweat soaking into my t-shirt and backpack. The straps were starting to rub against the skin of my shoulders and I realised that the stench of my humanity was becoming vastly obvious. I supposed it was just as well that I wouldn’t be returning to Cornwall. The Brethren would never know the truth and the pack would be safe, not just from Iabartu but from me. I hoped that Tom wouldn’t be too hurt that I’d not told him my plans but I was sure he’d understand. And with any luck Julia would pull through too.

Shifting the damp straps on my shoulders slightly, I continued on. My watch had stopped at the moment that I’d come through the portal, which wasn’t particularly a surprise given what I already knew oh how time on other planes worked. I wondered how many Earth hours I’d already been here for. Or maybe it was days, or even just mere seconds. As long as I could find John’s bitch of a murderess before she sent anything else through to attack my pack then it didn’t matter.

I was so intently wrapped up in my thoughts about how I’d go about ripping the head off her shoulders, that I didn’t notice for a while that there was something up ahead. The valley had been getting steadily closer but what I hadn’t spotted before now due to the curve of the steep slopes was that there was something stood there in the middle of the grassy floor. From where I was it looked like a dark hole of black, incongruent against the other colours of the landscape. The blue smoke seemed to disappear into the middle of it. At last I