Eternal (Dragon Wars, #2) (12 page)

“If I knew, and I don’t, there’s no possible way you could get me to tell you. Burn me. Beat me. Torture me for the next fifty years. I’ll die before I let you know.”

“Interesting. You certainly do bluster, I’ll give you that.” The queen said something in dragon he couldn’t understand. It sounded like gurgles and growls. “The dragon who I had to kill did give me one piece of information, you might be interested in. I’m afraid it’s upped the ante on your mate.”

“I couldn’t be less interested in anything you have to tell me.” He looked out the window. “Oh, is it afternoon? Tea time? How about a cookie?”

“Act blasé, Werewolf. When I kill Caitlyn, I’ll be killing your baby too.”

“I don’t have a baby. Check your intel.”

The dragon bent over, extending her long tongue until it poked him in the gut. “The one she’s carrying around in her belly. Making her bigger by the day.”

His heart fell into his stomach.
What?
He tried to keep himself steeled only he could feel his body start to vibrate. Was it possible? They’d taken no steps to prevent conception. The thought hadn’t dawned on him.
Gods
.

Baby
?

“And like I said. You need motivation. I’ll tell you what? You tell me where she would have gone, and I’ll let her live long enough to produce your offspring.”

“Sorry, not interested.”

“I bet I can make you interested.” The dragon hauled him to his feet. “One body part at a time.”

****

O
ne digit every week and today they had finally taken his hand. Dougal shook on the floor of his cell. He had no choice. Each time they did it, he had to shift to stop the bleeding. Otherwise he would die.

The change didn’t regrow the limb, it never would. What would the medics have called what was happening to him? Shock. Yes, he was fairly certain he was going into whatever shock was.

Things felt distant, far away. He hit the ground with his one and only hand to wake himself. Anger was good, it kept him alive.

Dougal rolled over onto his back. He took deep breaths. No more. Gods, be damned. He wouldn’t exist like this anymore.

Five weeks of losing his body piece by piece. Next week he would start to lose the fingers on the other hand. At this point, he really didn’t think they expected him to tell them anything. The Queen was getting off on the pain she inflicted.

He really had no other choices left. They pushed him his food through a hole once a day. There would be no chance then. When they came to grab him, to take him for his weekly pain, he would either escape or he’d die trying.

Staying alive might have bought Caitlyn some time. Or maybe he’d fooled himself into thinking he’d done any good holding out as long as he had. Keeping the Queen distracted by him...

He stared at the stump where his hand had once been. One last stand before the long goodnight. Pain wrecked his body and he closed his eyes. Stoic Dougal. He wouldn’t let them see him cry out. One more week. That was all it would take.

****

C
aitlyn rapped on the door of her childhood home. Funny, since it was no longer her parents’ home, but Devon and Lena’s, she wasn’t going to go storming through the door like she owned the place. Besides, she wasn’t certain they still lived there. A huge amount of the population had run off.

Who could blame them? The dragon raids destroyed homes, businesses, and ended lives every day. They moved more and more inland. Caitlyn gritted her teeth. There was no point. The further the Wolves ran, the easier they made it on the dragons to find them. With no front line by the sea, the dragons could go anywhere.

The door swung open with a bang. Her younger sister, Lena, the baby stood in front of her. No longer a baby. A grown, mated woman in her twenties.

Lena stared at her, eyes wide. “Caitlyn?” Her sister looked her over. “You’re pregnant.”

“I am.” And she needed to get off the street. “Can I come in?”

“Yes, of course.” Lena let her through the door and then pulled her into a hug. She’d been sixteen, Lean four, when they’d last lived together. Caitlyn had been pursuing her own dreams—trying to figure out how to live in a world which disdained her—when Lena had been growing to adulthood.

Her baby sister had become a beautiful woman. She had the Knox look. Blonde, blue-eyed and perfectly pert features which were not too big or too small for her face. Lovely, and it seemed from the times they been together recently, kind and strong at the same time. She’d held their parents together during their father’s Decline.

Caitlyn hadn’t been there enough. And here she was needing a favor.

Lena pulled back. Lena put her hand on Caitlyn’s stomach. “Who did this to you?”

“My mate.”

“Your what?”

“Lena.” Devon stood at the top of the stares. She turned at the sound of his voice. He shared Dougal’s deep baritone. “Is that Caitlyn I scented?”

“It’s me,” she called to him.

Devon walked slowly down the stairs, his eyes narrowing. “Who did that to you? Is he still in the vicinity? Or did he run off? Doesn’t matter, I’ll kill him.”

“It might be really difficult for you to kill your own brother.”

He stopped and gripped the banister. “Dougal?”

“I need some help, guys. And I think you’re the only person who can help me, Devon. I’m sorry to come here needing help...”

He waved his hand in the air. “You’re family. Tell me something, did my brother mate you before he knocked you up or somehow leave you disgraced without making an honest Female of you?”

“We’re mated.”

“Had no idea Dougal was such a smart Male.”

Lena laughed, covering her smile with her hands. “This is the happiest thing to happen in so long.”

At least one of them has a sunny disposition.

****

D
evon sat back in his chair. His movements were so like Dougal’s, except more relaxed. It hadn’t always been that way. From her mother’s description, Devon had come home a much-damaged Wolf. Lena helped him recover.

“So what you’re saying is you can burn the eggs.” He scratched his chin.

“Yes. When the Queen lays the eggs, she secretes...”

Lena interrupted. “It’s so gross.”

“Lena.” Devon put his hand on hers. “Please.”

“Sorry. I’ll go bake something. I really can’t think about secretions.” Her sister rose and walked into the kitchen with a bounce in her step.

“You still have heat here to cook with?” The whole area had been decimated.

Devon shrugged. “I fixed some stuff, so we get a little. I did it for the whole neighborhood. My parents’ home still works too. Not that we have any food to spare. We’re starting a farming and hunting rotation. We don’t want to leave. There are enough of us who were in the war and recovered. I think we can maintain our world here. For the present, anyway.”

“I think we can put them on hold. If she can’t guarantee her eggs won’t be burned before birth, she won’t be able to revive her army every time there’s an assault.”

“Tell me how you did this.”

“I went to the lab. After I left the fishing hut.” She left out the bit about keeping the dragon. They’d taken the news about her controlling dragons pretty well. Being licked by Breezy? That might be too much. “Everyone was gone. They’d fled. Only they’d made pretty good progress. I spent the last five weeks finishing it.”

“On your own.” Devon shook his head. “You know we’ve had no idea where you were. Almost everyone checked in. If I’d known you planned on going to the front line, I would have stopped it.”

“Have you declared yourself the Male of our family then?”

He nodded. “Damn right. None of your other sister’s Males are proving very worthy.”

His words were probably true. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t let you all know anything. Otherwise, Dougal...”

“Dougal wouldn’t have known what a lucky bastard he got to be.” Devon drummed his hands on the table. “We’ve had no word. I don’t know if he died on the battle day or not.”

“Who would send word anymore?” She sighed. “And if he’s not gone, then he’s a dragon prison. You would know better than anyone what it’s like.”

Caitlyn couldn’t let herself think of Dougal. He’d become a hole she couldn’t fill, an ache she’d never relieve. He’d died on a beach without her. Wherever he was, if there was more to come after death, she wanted to make him proud of how she handled things, the steps she took to keep their baby safe. What else could she do? How else was she to rise every day and move on?

“I hate to think of my big brother in such a situation.” Devon shuddered. “Tell me about burning the eggs.”

“It’s so simple, Devon. Such an easy solution it’s frankly embarrassing we didn’t realize the idea earlier.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t leave me in suspense, sister.”

“Wash them off. First the water. Then the flame.” She showed him her vial. “I happen to be in possession of the best cleaning solution ever made.”

****

F
ive days lat
er.

Caitlyn watched the group of Males leave with mixed emotions. They were going to execute her plan and she couldn’t go along. A kick in her belly reminded her why she had to sit on the porch and watch them leave.

It would take one day to get to the coast and, if Devon did everything correctly, half a night to alight every egg on dragon island. She’d have to imagine the blaze.

Lena came and sat next to her, placing her head on Caitlyn’s shoulder. “Nice to have you here with me while they go do this.”

A gust of wind hit her in the face and she looked to make sure the wind was from weather, not a dragon. Fortunately, the skies remained lizardless. “Let’s face it, they wouldn’t be doing this if not for me.”

Her stomach turned and not from the baby. What if it all went horribly wrong?

“This is the first chance we’ve had in a long time to make anything better.” Her sister tapped her belly. “And you made Dev’s parents so happy. They might never have Dougal back. They certainly won’t have Auggie. Or Robbie. They’ll have this one. A grandbaby they never expected.”

“Right.” She smiled at the way Dougal’s mom had embraced her. The Owens didn’t seem to mind, or notice, Caitlyn’s obvious deficiency.

Lena hadn’t discussed her plans about childbirth. Her sister was still quite young but Females didn’t generally wait very long after mating. Of course, things were so screwy. Maybe she didn’t want to bring a life into the madness. Caitlyn took a deep breath. What had happened, happened. Perhaps she was lucky fate hadn’t given her the chance to overthink it.

“You should have come to us right away. Not lived all these months by yourself.”

“I only came because I needed help getting to the eggs. I wouldn’t have risked you otherwise.”

Lena sighed loudly, an exaggerated noise. “Because you can talk to dragons.”

“Yes.” What was confusing about this?

“How about humans? And leprechauns? Giants? Can you talk to them, too?”

Caitlyn wobbled to her feet. Her days of jumping around were quite behind her. “You think I’ve imagined this.”

“I think you’ve been alone for a good long time. Maybe you’re losing track of reality.”

She put her hands on her hips. What was there to say when her young sister all but called her crazy? “I’m going to go lay in my bed for a while.”

“Good.” Lena smiled. “I think resting’s a smart move. Rest. Try to breathe. Resist the urge to shift. All the things we’re supposed to do when we’re pregnant.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” She didn’t usually resort to sarcasm with family. “I had forgotten for three seconds I was growing life in my belly.”

The woods called to her and she had to resist the pull. “Can’t shift.”

In her whole life, she’d never wanted to and because she couldn’t, it was all she wanted. The last two full moons had been agony.

She trudged the stairs. Sleep sounded good. It couldn’t hurt to take a nap for an hour. Then she’d rise and help with some of the farming duties. Anything to take her mind off things.

Caitlyn was asleep before her head hit the pillow. She didn’t remember dreaming or have any idea how long she rested but Lena shouting brought her around fast.

Her younger sister yelled as she ran the stairs. “Caitlyn. Wake up. They’re coming.”

“Devon?” How long had she slept?

“The dragons. We have to hide. In the basement. Behind the book case. They can’t smell like we can and maybe if we stay really quiet.”

“How many?” She pushed off the remainder of sleep. “Lena, how many are there?”

“I saw two.”

Caitlyn trudged toward the front door. Right then was as good a time as any to see if she could handle more than one of the creatures. After the ease of Breezy, she rather thought she could.

She’d gotten to the front door before Lena realized she didn’t mean to make for the basement.

“What are you doing?” Lena practically squeaked.

“I’m going outside to manage the dragons.”

Her sister tugged on her arm. “I don’t think you’re well.”

Caitlyn had enough. She whirled on her sister, pointing her finger in her face. “You listen to me, Lena Knox Owens. This might be a weird time to say this, but I used to change your diapers. I am older than you. I have never, not a day in my life, been out of my mind. I’d love the chance sometime to see what losing it is like. I am going to handle these dragons.”

Her sister had paled. The dragons were getting closer. It was then it occurred to Caitlyn she wasn’t frightened. Not even a little bit.

“Caitlyn. Please.”

“If you believe nothing else, know this. I would rather die on this porch than cower in this basement. The only time in my life I’ve ever been truly terrified—and I say this knowing I almost died in a cave on a dragon nest island—was in that basement. You go run and hide there if you wish. I won’t judge you, sweetheart.”

Lena stepped back only not off the porch. “I won’t leave you here alone. You’re my sister. My very pregnant big sister. Whatever happens, we do it together.”

“Right.” Caitlyn stepped off the porch to get a better look at the flying menaces. They were both green. One of them had a little blue on it, the other the same pure green as Breezy.