The Generator: The Succubae Seduction (68 page)

“What can you tell me about dragons?” I ask the sword on my left hip.

Some of them are intelligent, and some are a bit more than mindless beasts. Their scales are almost impenetrable, no matter their intelligence. The assassin is correct, however, in that you shouldn’t try to take this one on.
Shemhazau’s voice in my head informs me.

“Does its color mean anything?” I seem to remember in some novels that color depicted a dragon’s abilities.

No. Color is no more important than skin color is in a human. Abilities come from within, not without.

There’s no more time for conversation as the dragon comes into view, its large light blue body chasing after a small golden speck.

I use my super speed now, moving to Areth’s side and grabbing her out of the air.

“About time you showed up,” she pants, and I can tell she’s almost out of endurance. “A couple more minutes, and I would have had to take care of the thing myself.”

An anger-filled growl behind me spurs me up into super speed again.

“Dodge left,” I hear the small woman in my hand yell. I move without thinking. And almost get singed by a gout of flame for my trouble. “I meant my left, dolt!” If I hadn’t been on super speed, I’d be extra crispy right now.

“Well, how was I—“ I cut myself off as I hear the dragon sucking in to attempt another attack. Placing the fairy on my shoulder, I scream, “Hold on!” Shoving hard off the ground, I launch into the air in time to feel a heat wave blast beneath me. Windows on the buildings next to us zip by as the force of my jump propels us higher and higher.

“Brilliant!” Areth titters next to me, her hands tightly holding onto my dark hair. “But how are you going to land?”

Smiling, I call forth my wings, the pain of them ripping through my back and shirt minimal compared to what landing without them would feel like. I also note that the energy required to summon the brown leathery extensions is less than in the past.

“Um, the dragon is still coming to eat you,” Areth announces, and I look back to see that the beast has taken to the air behind us.

Well, that didn’t work out as planned.

“Fly!” the pixie screams, taking to the air and tugging on the remains of my shirt.

“I can’t!” I yell, desperately flapping my too-large wings and spinning us both about.

“What kind of—“ Areth shakes her head as I right myself and begin to fall back towards the monster below us. “We’re dead.”

Not if I can help it
, I think as I see the blue dragon’s toothy maw open up, easily large enough to swallow us whole. I just hope I have enough energy in me for this.

Closing my eyes tight, I concentrate on what I want to accomplish, and feel my body conforming to the image.

A surprised squeal sounds below me and I open my eyes in time to see the blue dragon frantically trying to get away from my plummeting bulk. Spreading wings that are no longer too large for my dragon’s body, I’m able to guide our descent.
I spy a park off to my right, and carefully turn in that direction.

“Where am I, and why can’t I control what I’m doing?” Areth’s voice seems to speak directly into my mind. I look around for her, but can’t see her. I do, however, notice something that makes my blood run cold.

The only other time I’ve transformed into a dragon, I was brown, similar to the color of my hair and wings. I’m still brown, but now there is an unmistakable hint of gold to my scales.

“What the heck?” I ask no one in particular as my hands—paws? Talons?—touch the rich grass of the park. Speaking of which, the long talons on each finger are striated with shiny chrome and dark ebony colors. “What the heck?” I ask again, glad I’d formed a human tongue, and not the dragon’s usual forked one.

When you change shape, you use what’s around you,
my father’s voice says.
The mass has to come from somewhere. Thus far, you’ve been using what matter is in the air around you. You probably didn’t notice, but there was a small shockwave when you changed as air and other particle rushed towards you.

“Shemhazau?” Areth asks in my mind. “Is that you?”

“But my clothes didn’t transform last time!” I protest, remembering how I’d woken up naked, and afraid I’ve lost both the fairy and my father in my ignorance.

Did you concentrate on your clothes being there when you changed back?

Thinking back, I realize that I hadn’t been conscious when I’d changed back. I’d better not take a nap before transforming back to my real form, I think.

The ground shuddering reminds me that I’m not out of danger yet.

The blue dragon looks at me speculatively, and I know he’s trying to evaluate the change in me. Hopefully he’ll decide I’m too much trouble and retreat.

“That’s a female,” Areth tells me, “and from the looks of things, she’s interested in you.”

“Interested?” I ask. “As in. . . .”

“She wants to mate,” comes the all too happy reply. “She wants to do perverted thing with you!”

But I’m obviously
not
a dragon
.
Well, that’s better than fighting, at least
. I think.

Not really,
my father dashes my hopes.
She doesn’t look like the intelligent kind, and their mating habits are a lot more violent than the smart ones.

Remembering how violent TanaVesta could be, I shuddered. This really wasn’t turning out like the rescue I’d hoped it would be.

“Is there any way to convince her I’m not a good mate?” I ask, hoping to avoid fighting this monster.

Dragons respect strength. If you let her kill you, she won’t be interested. But I don’t think that’s a good plan to follow.

I can’t help but agree. So, it’s either play her game and fight for my life, or rather
our
lives considering Areth and Shemhazau, or try running again.

I’m sick of running.

Be very careful of using your claws. I don’t know what might happen.

The female dragon lunges forward at the same time I do, her teeth going for my long throat. Ducking my head just in time, I bring it up hard, slamming a horn on top of my head into her jaw.

The blow does her no harm as she accepts it and moves away for a brief second, before coming back at me, this time standing on her rear legs, fore claws extended. Whipping my body around, I bring my tail to bear and feel it smack satisfyingly against her side.

I realize my mistake too late as my tail isn’t enough to knock her bulk aside, and now my back is to her. I can feel her talons dig into my sides, my scales barely slowing them.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Areth yells into my brain.

Screaming in pain, I rear up, craning my neck around, and bite one of her legs. My counterattack catches her off-guard, and she disengages before I can really sink my teeth in. Warily we circle each other, and I can hear the sounds of police sirens and choppers flying overhead. We’re going to be on national news after this.

“Then my plan worked,” Areth says, and I’m so shocked that she’d actually intended for something like this to happen, that I miss the blue dragon’s next attack.

Her head bowls into my chest, knocking me onto my back, and I can feel one of my wings get wrenched as she climbs on top of me and goes for my throat again.

Instinctively I inhale deeply, and bellow at her, flame pouring from my open mouth, and burning my human tongue.

“Ouch, that hurt!” Areth screeches in my mind.

Better not do that again! At least it got her off me. We circle around again, and now I see that cops have the park surrounded, weapons drawn and ready.

The female watches me warily, head low to the ground and tongue snaking out occasionally to taste the air.

Any advice?
I ask mentally, my tongue hurting too badly to try to actually speak.

“Don’t die,” Areth responds helpfully.

She’s taken your measure now, son. Her next attack will be in earnest.

No sooner are those words in my mind, than she launches herself at me again. I can hear gunfire, loud pops that almost sound like popcorn popping, and I can feel rounds bouncing harmlessly off my tough hide. Sparks fly from her blue scales as well as we come together, teeth snapping and claws trying to gain purchase.

Pain flares across my abdomen as she scores a strike. Using my long neck, I get my head behind her, and latch onto one of her wings where it connects to her body.

Suddenly she’s trying to get away from me, but this time my jaws are locked, and I can feel her hot blood begin pouring into my mouth, cooling my scorched tongue. Thankfully I can’t taste it. She darts her head in, snapping only inches from my snout, but somehow I know they’re just feints now. She tries to pull away a couple more times, then stops, and lies flat on her stomach. An odd noise fills the air, and it takes me a moment to realize she’s crooning softly.

Carefully I release the muscles in my jaw, groaning at the pain after having held them so tightly clamped. The dragon just lays there for a few moments as I carefully back away, then I jump back as she rolls onto her back.

“You’ve won!” Areth screams into my mind, inducing a sudden headache. “I can’t believe the pervert won!”

Why did she act like that?
I ask my mental guests.
She had me pretty well beat, until I got her wing.

Dragons use their wings to protect their eggs and incubate them,
Shemhazau informs us.
I’m afraid things might actually be worse off now than they were before.

How can they be worse?
I wonder, confused.

The blue dragon is watching me again, and I swear I can actually make out a smile on her face. At least the cops have quit firing at us.

By attacking her wing, you declared that you would protect your young by her, and by her behavior, she is now completely submissive to you.

Great, just great! What the heck am I going to do with a submissive big blue dragon?

“Lyden?” a male voice asks. I turn to see Jewkes slowly approaching me, hands held high and empty, though his pistol is still on his hip. Further behind him, parked on the grass, is the Orange Bubble.

As soon as I turn my head, the blue dragon snaps at me, and I quickly nip back, catching her nose and making her yelp.

I open my mouth to respond to Jewkes, but only a gargling noise issues from my throat. My tongue is too damaged to speak. I’m surprised to see him shy back, but when I nod my head, he visibly relaxes.

Around the park, cops and SWAT are still pointing their weapons at us, but it seems like they’re willing to wait and see how things play out with Captain Jewkes.

The older man slowly approaches closer, and the blue dragon begins to growl, until I move in front of her, blocking her view. The captain stops, sensing the tension in the air. I feel the other dragon begin to rub her head against my hind end, and her crooning increases. Did I just prove to her that I’m willing to protect her by getting in front of her? I’d meant to protect Richard!

“You’ve got the entire town terrified of you right now, young man,” he tells me, and I nod, unable to speak. “You can’t talk in that form, can you?” he asks, already knowing the answer. “Well, at least I won’t have too much difficulty in convincing my superiors when I write this report up.” He glances at the helicopters overhead.

“That was my plan!” Areth announces. “I brought the dragon here to make a spectacle and clear his name.”

Throwing my head back, I roar with laughter. I can’t help it. Trust the little pixie to come up with a plan like this to save an ally’s reputation. For such a small woman, she has some big ideas.

“Why, thank you,” I hear her say self-satisfied in my mind.

You realize you’ve just changed this world forever, right?
Shemhazau admonishes her.
There were better and less grandiose ways of helping the officer of the law.

Bringing my head back down, I can tell that I’ve terrified the very same officer with my outburst. Turning back to the blue dragon, my mirth dissipates. What am I going to do with her?

“Send her back,” Areth informs me.

How do I talk to her, if she’s not one of the intelligent kind?
I wonder inwardly.

Perhaps I mislead you a bit on that,
my father states.
If you can talk to her, then she’ll understand. All dragons are smart, but not all are as smart as say, the Pillar of Fire.

But if I change back in front of her, how will she react?
I get no response to that question.

For good measure, I tower over the blue dragon, and move my head to her neck, squeezing it carefully between my jaws, before pulling back. She makes no move to resist or pull away.

Closing my eyes, I picture Areth on my shoulder, Murasame on my hip, and my clothes whole and in one piece on my human body, then have to gasp at the amount of energy that drains from me in the process.

Opening my eyes while firmly gripping Murasame, I look at the dragon, but she just looks back at me complacently. Apparently she’s not surprised, and I realize she’d seen me transform in the first place.

“I can move again!” Areth crows as she launches herself from my shoulder. The dragon’s eyes follow the golden woman, but she makes no other movement.

“What do I call you?” I ask, or try to. It comes out as barely more than a mumble.

“What happened to you?” Jewkes asks, coming up behind me.

The dragon reacts quickly, rolling back over, and growling menacingly, until Jewkes backs away.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stay back,” the man says, doing just that.

“He burned his tongue, and can’t talk,” Areth speaks for me.

I remember talking telepathically with Angela when I’d first become a dragon way back in Egypt, and concentrate on doing the same with the dragon.

WHAT DO I CALL YOU?

She blinks at me a couple times, before turning her head and rubbing her muzzle across her blue scales.

BLUE? She seems to accept this, and I chuckle lightly, turning it into a groan at the feeling of my burnt tongue. I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel her forked tongue brush lightly across my body. Somehow I know she’s offering comfort for the pain she’s caused me, and tentatively I reach out and place my hand on her snout. She suffers my touch, but backs away when Areth tries to do the same. I can’t help but laugh again at the way the fairy pouts.