to forewarn.”
“I’m not joking.” My grip tightened. “I’m not a hysterical woman with a bad feeling. I have some magic too. If all my senses are saying don’t go, maybe you shouldn’t.”
Mick’s smile was too confident. “I’ll be fine, Janet. I’m a big boy.” The glint in his eye grew, as he thought about just how big he could become. He wouldn’t share this joke with me, because he’d kept his dragon nature from me as long as he could.
He was determined to leave, and I knew there was nothing I could do about it. Without a storm—the sky was clear and beautiful—I couldn’t draw enough power to stop him. Not that my storm magic ever affected him, in any case.
Of course, there were ways to make sure he was protected other than a magical battle. I sighed and released him.
“Just don’t stay away too long,” I said. “Call me if you can.”
Mick looked relieved. He kissed my forehead. “I will, sweetheart. I love hearing your voice.”
We didn’t carry cell phones at this time. Mick didn’t like them, and I’d lost every single one I ever had, so we rode around cell-free. He meant that he’d call me on the land line of the motel and knew I’d be around to take the call.
I pulled him down for a kiss on the lips, but Mick kept it brief. He knew that if he kissed me deeply, he’d give in and stay, at least long enough for a brief round of lovemaking.
While I wouldn’t mind that, Mick stood up, gave me another dragon smile, and departed.
As soon as he closed the door, I was up and hauling myself into my clothes. I quickly tied my hair back, pulled on chaps and a leather jacket, snatched up my helmet and gloves, and tore out of the room.
I’d kept an eye on which way Mick had gone, and in a brief time, I was on my motorcycle, following.
Chapter Fifteen
I spied Mick’s big bike on the highway that led south. I hung back, using a glam spell—which Mick had taught me—to keep him from noting me behind him.
In this way I followed him from the lake and up into the mountains, to a remote area far from any town.
Mick took a narrow dirt road that led out from the woods into a giant clearing. I stayed back under the trees, knowing I wasn’t good enough to glam Mick too close or out under the moonlit sky.
The clearing was a defacement from fire or over-logging. Stumps were everywhere as were scattered dead trees, gnarled and twisted like goblins under the white light.
Mick left his motorcycle near one of the dead trees and hiked out into a more open part of the clearing. He stripped off his gloves and tucked them into his jacket pocket, then stared up at the stars, waiting.
I killed the engine on my bike, parked it as quietly as I could, and swung off. Wind stirred the woods around me and whispered through the clearing. The dead trees sighed like lost souls.
I saw the reason, in a few moments, for Mick choosing a clearing. The debris on the open ground started to move as though stirred by a coming storm. There was a storm on the horizon, I’d seen as I’d ridden, thick clouds full of lightning and hail, but that wasn’t what disturbed the peacefulness here.
A sudden warm downdraft sent shredded bark and leaves to dancing. The trees, dead and alive, groaned with it.
A black nightmare of a beast plunged downward toward Mick, claws extended. I smothered a yelp and gathered the storm’s energy, ready to blast it.
Janet in this time had never seen a dragon before. She had no idea dragons existed or that her lover was one. Not something that had ever been at the front of my mind. Cute dragons and unicorn toys had been completely absent from the house where I’d grown up. Grandmother had known all about dragons—Firewalkers—and knew they weren’t the cuddly plush toys sold in discount chains.
Which made me wonder distractedly—were unicorns real too? And if so, what kind of horrible monsters were they?
A flash of my future life came to me as the dragon landed. I’d seen this particular one before—black as soot, with an aura as smoky. He beat his wings once more, then he swerved, landed on the other side of the giant clearing, and disappeared behind a black mist.
When the mist cleared, Drake walked across the clearing toward Mick, as