I put one foot in front of the other, and eventually I was standing in front of her face, just a couple feet away from her eyeball. It was as big as half my body.
"Take one of my scales from my neck."
I looked at her neck, a thousand bright, shining red scales reflecting the light of the cave back at me. "Any one in particular?"
"No."
"Okay. But don't bite me if it hurts." I walked over and picked a scale that looked kind of small, hoping it wouldn't hurt her too much. I slid my finger up underneath its edge, a puff of heat escaping to warm up my hand. I grasped it with both hands and pulled as hard as I could. At first nothing happened but then suddenly it came free with a horrible ripping sound, and I went flying back with the unexpected momentum.
My back slammed into something hard that stopped me from falling onto my butt. I turned around and jumped in fright at the huge nostril I saw there behind me. A plume of smoke rose up from it and wrapped around my face.
"Kah! Hack! Gack! Huh!" I choked on the acrid smell of boiled eggs and earthy-scented minerals. "Thanks," I said, waving it away, appreciating being kept from busting my ass, even though the rescue had involved toxic fumeage.
"Put the scale in your fist, curved side away into your palm, and hold your fist in the air."
I looked at the scale, marveling at how it was just as shiny and brilliantly-hued on the inside as the outside. I settled it into my palm, smiling at how perfectly it fit there. I closed my fingers over it and tightened them down. All this ceremonial stuff was fun. I wondered if she was going to let me keep the scale. Maybe one of Netter's friends could put it on a necklace for me.
"Okay. I have it in my fist. Now what?"
"Hold it out in front of you."
I lifted my fist up in the air and shifted my weight to my other leg. I felt like the Statue of Liberty or something, and giggled a little at the image I must be creating standing like this.
That was the last thought I had before a huge set of monster dragon jaws clamped down over my arm and started breathing out orange, red, and white fire that engulfed my body completely.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
"TELL US AGAIN HOW YOU peed your pants in the dragon's lair," said Tim from the pillow beside me, his hands laced behind his head, and his legs crossed at the ankles.
"Yeah, dat's my favorite," said Willy, jumping from pillow to bed to pillow again, using just enough wing action to propel him, but not enough to get busted for violating the momma-imposed probation he was on for sneaking out of the realm without permission. "Lellamental pees her panties ... just ... like ... meeeee!" he said, leaping from the pillow high into the air to splat into a face-plant on the bed below. He landed with his arms and legs spread out in a star-formation. His wings buzzed once and then a second time to let us know he was still alive.
"That little guy sure has a lot of energy," said Spike, my foot in his lap so he could give me the massage I so loved for him to do.
I looked over at him, sighing inside at how handsome he was, shirtless in his black flannel pajama pants at the bottom of my bed, his hair a massive bed-head accident. His tattoos with their myriad of colors stood out in stark contrast to his nearly white complexion, completing the sexy picture that now filled almost every moment of my day. I couldn't stand to be away from him for more than a few minutes at a time, it seemed. We'd wasted so much time and risked so much by not being open with each other or honest with ourselves.
"Tell me about it," I said, reaching over to nudge the baby pixie. "You suck the energy right out of us, don't ya? Don't ya?" He giggled in response but didn't move.
"Don't be modest, roomie," said Tim. "Regale us with your story again so that I might memorize it to tell my great-great-great grandchildren."
"Fine. One more time and that's it." I held up my hand, the palm facing my friends. The bright red dragon scale fused to my hand glistened in the bright morning light that came through the tree wall and into my bedroom. "I yanked off a scale from her neck, put it in my fist, and shoved my fist into her mouth. She lit us both on fire and fused the scale into my body. I had to change my pants because she scared the piss out of me, then I had a little ride on her back, and then I came home with a free pass that allowed me to go through the Underworld with all my friends and not be touched by any of those nasty demons. End of story. Now don't ask me again." I dropped my hand to the bed again, letting my fingertips curl in and rub the smooth surface of my dragonrider's mark. It was always warm and kept me connected to Biad, that sneaky awesome bitch of a dragon. I could feel her now if I concentrated - strong, steady, guarding the entrance to our realm, the Underworld.
Tim sighed. "A dragonrider. Who would have thought I'd see another one of them in my lifetime? And of course she's my roommate ... that's only to be expected."
"It was cool, I have to admit," I said, grinning with the memory. I looked over at Spike. "I'm taking you with me next time."
"Let's do it," he said without hesitation. "I'm down with dragon-riding. I'll go right now if you want."
I smiled at his never-say-no attitude. Even when I'd told him I'd have to leave at least twice a year to go visit with Biad, he was totally cool with it. We looked up the spot where we were supposed to meet with her, a place called Uamh An Ard-Achaidh, otherwise known as the High Pasture Cave in Torrin on the Isle of Skye, just off the coast of Scotland.
Tim turned to look at me. "I always knew you were jealous of my wings, Jayne. It's okay to admit that. Everyone is."
I smiled slyly at him. "My wings are bigger than yours."
He launched himself into the space above me, doing three side rolls and a suicide dive before righting himself again just above my nose. "It's not the size of the wings that matters, Jayne. It's how you use 'em." He flew out of the room leaving a raspberry and a pixie toot in his wake.
"Daddy gots gas," said Willy.
"Your daddy always gots gas," I said, leaning over and poking him again. He was fun to poke. "Why don't you go play spider nakies or something?"
He sat up, his hair a mess. "I'm nodallowed."
I winked at him. "I won't tell."
"Really?" he asked, looking around all sly-like. He jumped up and started shucking his clothes. "Okay! Wanna play with me?"
"Nah, you go ahead, little dude. I'm just going to rest here with Spike.
"Okay! Here I go! Watch me, Lellamental! Watch!"
"I'm watchin', Baby Bee."
The baby pixie took off flying around the room bare-ass naked, finally attaching himself to a tree on the far side of the room.
"See me, Lellamental?! See me?! I'm doin' it! Spider nakies, to the rescuuuuuee!!" he left the tree and flew to the spot on the wall where he could squeeze through a hole to go into his parents' room.
Spike watched in amused fascination. "What in the heck was he doing?"
"Some weird game he made up. Keeps him busy."
"But why's he naked?"
"So he can feel the breeze ... how do I know?" I reached my hands down towards him. "Come up here and cuddle with me."
Spike wiggled his eyebrows and crawled up the bed like a tiger to join me under the covers. He pulled them back and got in, drawing me up against his hard body, and throwing the covers back over our heads to ward off the winter chill in the room. "What's the matter, babe? Getting lonely in this big old bed all by yourself?"
"I haven't been alone in this bed since we got back, as you well know," I said, pushing on him playfully, my face going red with the memories.
"Are you complaining? Because I can always go back to sleeping in my little cell if you prefer."
I snuck my arm around his neck. "No way. You're staying with me."
He pulled me in closer and kissed me once on the lips. "I feel bad," he said, breathing out a long sigh and resting his chin on my head.
"Why?" I asked into his chest. I loved the way his skin smelled and felt against mine.
"Because, I never thanked that Lars guy. I should have
. If it weren't for him, who knows where we'd be right now. So many things kept getting in the way of us being together. Without him spilling the beans, you'd probably be snuggling up to your half-brother-cousin or whatever he is right now, and I'd be running around in the woods trying to keep my mind off loving you."
"Don't worry about Lars; I thanked him. He knows what he did. And I'm sure he wouldn't want you to feel bad. He's a cool guy, he forgives you for holding out."
"Good. Because sometimes I have nightmares about you being with Ben."
"You and me both. But trust me, that would never happen. He's an arrogant butthead who has a lot to learn about how to treat a girl. Plus, I don't date relatives, no matter how far back in the line they might go."
"He'll have a lot of time to think about that where he is now, though. I kinda feel bad for the guy."
"Pa-lease. He tried to take over the world, Spike. You are way too nice. Too bad he's such a terrible judge of friends. He stuck with Leck and Maléna who tried to use his own arrogance to get rid of him after he'd set them up with all their troops and cronies, and he blew off the one person who might have stopped to help him."
"Tony. Yeah. Dude was seriously disappointed in Ben."
"Of course he was. He still holds out hope that Ben can change and see the error of his ways, though. He visits him sometimes through the Gray. He says they're having some great talks."
"Maybe they are. Maybe it's not just Tony's unwavering faith that's causing him to imagine things."
"Well, it'll be a long time before I forgive Ben for what he did to Samantha and me and everyone else. By the time he gets out of the Overworld portal maybe I'll be over it. Maybe."
"Probably not," said Spike, squeezing me close. "But you don't need to worry about Samantha. She and Jared are tight now. I heard they're living together already."
"I know. So cool. They're really good together. Did you know she and I are going to train with each other this week?"
"Yep. Should be epic. I'm bringing popcorn."
I slapped him for mocking me, even though I knew there was a chance that one of us was probably going to get our butts unintentionally blasted into la-la land.
"You have plenty of time to get a ton of stuff done with her since the next equinox isn't until March."
"Yeah. Thank the Overworld I didn't get stuck with that twenty-four hour duty thing like Ben did."
"You played fair. You didn't try to rig the system. There was no need to teach you the rights and the wrongs of messing with the Order of Things. I have a feeling he's going to be in training for a loooong time."
I giggled. "Yeah. As long as it takes them to let all that air out of his head."
"Power makes people do stupid things," said Spike.
"So does love," I said, thinking sadly of Céline and all the people she'd disappointed, just so she could rescue the fae she loved.
"Don't worry about Céline," said Spike, reading my mind. "She has Torrie now who finally appreciates the love she was offering. And you don't have to hate either one of them since you know he's not the one who hurt your mother, and Céline only did what she did to undo the wrong done to him. You of all people have to understand that kind of dedication."
"Leck is going to burn in the Underworld forever for what he did to my mom and everyone else. I'm going to make sure of it. Leck's on the dragon menu for life. Maléna too."
Spike chuckled as he leaned down and kissed me, deeper and longer this time. He came up for air and let out a big sigh. "Babe, you just slay me, you know that?"
"Shut up," I said shyly, fake-punching him in the chest. He was always complimenting me and making me feel all warm and fluffy inside.
"No, seriously ... I always knew you were special, from the first second I laid eyes on you in that warehouse and watched you eat that slice of pizza. But you've just blown me away with how much you care about people and take on responsibility for them. I'm glad everyone's finally getting you like I do, you know?"
I smiled, unable to stop myself from feeling warmed from my head to my toes. I reached up with my finger to trace the line of his jaw and his beautifully sculpted lips - the most gorgeous, sexy guy I'd ever known. "I'm not anything special. I'm just me. Just ordinary Jayne."
He tipped his head down and grabbed my finger gently in his teeth, licking and then kissing its tip before letting it go. "Ordinary, my ass. You're not ordinary, Jayne ... you're special. There's nobody like you in the entire world."
I snuggled deeper under the covers with the boy of my dreams, the guy with the crazy-sexy smile and the tattoo of a dragon staring out at me from his chest.
Life was good. No, life was great. I had friends, a family, awesome roommates, a boyfriend who loved me, and a very powerful witch who was a fated Fate, ready to teach me everything I needed to know to be a kickass dragonrider. I knew six months ago when I sat in my high school history class that I wanted to be special, that I wanted something more out of life, and now I knew why.
Because somewhere deep down inside me, I knew. I knew that I was meant to be extraordinary.
Epilogue
Spring was the best time of year for a binding ceremony. I was convinced of that. And no wonder ... the meadow had never been so full of flowers and the Green Forest so covered in fresh leaves and new growth. The majesty here was a fitting metaphor for our lives right now.
"How do I look?" asked Tim, nervously. He had his comb out for the hundredth time, slicking his hair down and spritzing it with some goop a witch had made for him.
"Dude, you're as shellacked as you're going to get. Put the spray away before you completely destroy the ozone."
"Aren't you nervous?! Why aren't you freaking out?!" He looked me up and down quickly, back to staring at himself in the mirror a second later. "You look good, by the way. White suits you."
"Thanks. And Tim ... if you don't calm down, two things are going to happen."
"Oh, yeah? What?" he asked, picking off pieces of lint from his formal fae suit - pieces so small that no one, not even a pixie, would ever be able to see them. They were probably just hallucinations of lint brought on by stress.
"Dial it back, or I'm going to shove you in my bra, and your hair will be a complete mess during the ceremony."
He pointed his comb at me. "Don't you even think about it! ... But point taken. I'll chillax. Maybe."
"Papa!" yelled Willy, squeezing through the hole in the wall that led from his home to my bedroom.
"Willy, what are you doing here?" asked Tim, finally distracted from his coiffing and lint-picking. "Aren't you supposed to be at the nursery with the other wee pixies?"
"No! I don't wanna!" he insisted, flying over in a haphazard flight path as he fought in midair against this little jacket and itty bitty bow tie. "And Momma's making me comb my hair and wear this yucky tie and it makes me chokey. It looks like ugly." He was trying to pull it off with two hands, but apparently Abby had gotten smart and either knotted it or spell-superglued it on. He was failing at removing it but succeeding in strangling himself. "Rrrrr! Grrrrr! Rrrrr! Get! It! Off!"
"Son, leave it alone. It doesn't look like ugly. It looks like handsome. Like your papa. See?" Tim flew in a slow circle, giving Willy his best Zoolander Blue Steel look.
Willy frowned, not appearing very impressed. He glanced over at me for some sort of verification.
It was a golden opportunity to raise hell in the pixie world, but I decided against it. Today was a big day for me, and the last thing I needed was a thousand pixies all up in arms over rebellious babies. "Baby Bee, if you were a big fae like me, and you were wearing that tie, I'd totally want to go play spider nakies with you right now."
He frowned at me in suspicion. "Is dat true?"
"Of course it's true. Look at you, you handsome little beast." I pointed to the mirror.
He flew over and stood on the dresser, hands on tiny hips, pouting in the mirror at his lopsided tie. "It looks like ugly to me."
"Nope. It's
handsome." A flash of inspiration hit me then: rebellion, but on a smaller scale. "Hey ... I have an idea. Why don't you go back to the nursery and ask some of the other pixies to play spider nakies with you? I'll bet they'd love it. You can be the boss of the game since you made it up."
A smile quickly replaced Willy's frown. He looked at me, tempering his reaction with the slightest bit of doubt. "But my momma said no spider nakies today."
"Well, is your momma there at the nursery?"
"Jaaaaayne," said Tim. "I see where you're going with this, and as your roommate I feel compelled to warn you against it."
I laughed. "You're his father. You can override me whenever you want."
"I'm aware of that. But it's possible I might in some small measure agree with your wise counsel while also being aware of the terrifying she-pixie in the other room and what she can and will do to me if I countermand one of her orders."
"Ah. I see. So if he exposes his pixie mcnuggets to the entire pixie community, I'll be the one to take the fall."
"Precisely."
I shrugged, turning back to the wee pixie. "Go for it, Baby Bee. Just make sure you keep the tie on."
Willy took off for the crack in the wall, shedding his formal suit as he went, but leaving the tie around his neck. "Bye-bye, Lellamental! I'm gonna go play now!" His butt made it through the hole, and I heard his tiny voice as it disappeared in the distance, yelling, "Spider nakies, to the rescuuuuue!"
Tim shook his head. "I wish I had another witness. You'll testify that I told him no, right?"
"You got it, roomie. Just remember that you owe me one. A big one."
"Pfft. Yeah right," he said, heading for the hole in the wall, following Willy's path. "You still owe me for choosing you as my roommate. Not sure how you'll ever pay me back for that one."
He flew out of the room before I could respond, probably to yell at one of the thousand pixies who were there to help organize the meadow. The pixies, gnomes, and all their garden partners had been working for a straight week to get the place ready.