No Quit

  Jake caught her around her middle, surprised at the play of firm muscles beneath satin skin where her tight top rode up. True was turning out to be an exciting combination of textures and possibilities.

  With both of True’s hands busy on the rod, Jake hauled her back, easing her into the vee of his legs, and brought his arms around to place over hers.

  “That’s right, nice and slow, honey.” His cheek pressed against hers. Her wild hair tickled his jaw, and all thoughts of reeling in Old Snaggle filtered behind a dizzying blend of heady sensation and woman.

  There was nowhere else on the planet or skies above he’d rather be. He hoped the battle with the monster fish lasted for hours.

  Everything went quiet except for the frenzied splashing and the clicking of the reel spooling in. True leaned back into Jake’s chest, and he leaned with her, their heartbeats synching up.

  “I can’t believe it, Jake.” Grit and excitement flushed True’s voice. “We’re going to get him. We’re finally going to land Snagglesnout. Grab your net.”

  “Sure?”

  Snagglesnout was thrashing wildly, heaving into his last efforts. True’s arms were clamped tight, guiding the fish to the bank like a pro. “Yeah, I got him.”

  Easing out from behind her, Jake grabbed up his never-before-used net—he hoped it was big enough—and ran to the muddy bank where Snag whipped halfway out of the mire.

  He was huge, speckled gray, covered in gouges and nicks like a war-ravaged veteran. The slice in his hardened mouth rippled like edges of a clam shell. It was Snagglesnout all right.

  Wading in, Jake got the net underneath the fish and nearly had his arms ripped out of his sockets just as the line broke. True dropped the pole and floundered in, grabbing onto the net.

  It was a battle of wills, strength, and determination hauling the granddaddy in, but together they pulled the beast onto the bank, where it flopped, tangled in the net, flogging and rolling to get back to the water.

  Jake and True sprawled in the muck, chests heaving, half on and half off each other, limbs tangled. Jake didn’t know where he began and she ended. He stared down at her. Excitement suffused her triumphant, mud-splattered face, and Jake’s heart cartwheeled into his throat.

  Before he knew what was what, she lifted her face and kissed him. Long and sweet. Her hands curled around the back of his head and pulled him down.

  His brain cells were pretty much shot when she released him, smiling up without an iota of embarrassment or apology. “I’ve been wanting to do that for fifteen years, Jake Mulligan.”

  He felt the smile curl through his entire body, taking just as long to crease his mouth. “Well damn, woman, what took ya?”

  Her smile was swift and sexy as hell…and tasted even better as Jake bent in for more. A whole lot of more.

  Only the sudden, loud splashing of water stopped them. Their heads snapped to the side, cheek to cheek, to find Old Snag had rolled his way back to the water’s edge.

  Without a word, Jake and True shared a knowing glance before crawling toward the water and unraveling the net.

  As they watched Snagglesnout submerge, Jake took True’s hand, thinking about new possibilities and the wondrous idea of beginning something substantial.

  “Just so you know, Jake.” Her mud-slick fingers squeezed his. “You, I’m not throwing back.”

  Catching her about the waist, he tipped her into his lap, looking into her eyes with all the seriousness he could muster. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Her lips tipped up in an unrepentant grin. “You know, we should have taken a picture.”

  “Next time.” Jake bent in for another kiss because if he had anything to say about it, they’d have all the time in the world.

  JASE’S CHALLENGE

  Willec scrambled toward the clearing, worn travel gear banging against his broad back. By all rights that couldn’t have been what he’d heard!

  Another high-pitched squeal rolled among the trees. A flock of chatterbrights shot out from dark leafy branches, squawking furiously as they winged up toward patches of blue sky.

  Willec slackened his pace. Healthy curiosity was one thing; rushing up to the unknown, quite another. His bitter years defending the border had taught him that.

  The squeal rang out again, so shrill and close Willec ground his teeth against the sudden assault on his ears. Carefully, he moved to the edge of trees. His breath caught in his throat.

  A streak of brilliant yellow soared just above the meadow grass, ruffling thin green stalks back with powerful strokes of air.

  Dragon.

  A small one, at that, roughly half the length of a man.

  Abruptly, the dragon veered. With an exuberant squeal, he flew straight upward. Leathery wings pushed the air in great whooshes. Sunlight flashed across glistening scales, momentarily drenching him in riotous color. With a twist of his body, he dove. Air whistled across folded wings.

  Willec flattened his palm against a tree’s trunk where the wrinkled bark pressed seams across his flesh.

  In flight, the young dragon’s slender neck arched. A fraction above the ground, he curved and skimmed across the grasses, wings gracefully extended, before flapping into a climb again.

  Sweet Mother Of All, the dragon was at play. A smile Willec hadn’t felt for a long time crept over his features.

  The dragon rolled in the sky. Young muscles rippled in the sun’s glow.

  Willec wanted to step out from the trees, get closer. But where there was a young dragon, a mother would also be about. He scanned the meadow and the sky, and found no sign of another dragon. He didn’t think a grown dragon could fit between the trees, yet that didn’t mean she wasn’t sprawled across the leafy tops, sunning herself. She could likely be over his head this very moment. He eyed the forest ceiling, looking for any overly large shapes or shadows.

  A sharp whistle snapped his attention back to the clearing. The young dragon squealed as if in answer and turned over in the sky. Claw-tipped feet lowering first, wings rounded out, the dragon descended, moving on a course that was taking him directly toward Willec.

  Willec froze, knowing he’d have a better chance of remaining hidden without any sudden movements.

  Gusts of air from the dragon’s rapid approach blasted him. Leaves lifted in the air. The dragon skidded through the meadow grass, tearing huge furrows of soil with his hind legs and came to a rattling halt. His frontward momentum carried him end over end until he landed on his belly with a grating thud, less than ten strides from Willec.

  “Oh, no! Dragon!” Two boys rushed out from beneath the shadows of trees, not far from where Willec stayed concealed.

  The smaller boy knelt beside the dragon. “Are you hurt?” The dragon cooed low in his throat and lifted his large, hard muzzle onto the boy’s shoulder.

  Willec blinked. And blinked again.

  “He’s well enough. Still can’t land worth a dilly, though.” The older of the two boys gently helped the dragon fold his wings and regain his feet.

  “His mother will help him learn.”

  The mother! Scanning the sky, Willec couldn’t keep quiet any longer and allow harm to come to these children. “I’d get away from that dragon if I were you.” He stepped out into the sunlight.

  Two pairs of green eyes snapped onto him. Yet rather than move away from the little beast, both boys shifted in front of him. The dragon craned his long neck around the taller boy’s hip and looked at Willec with large golden eyes.

  Willec’s lips twitched.

  Reaching behind him, the younger boy stroked the skeletal joint of the dragon’s wing. His eyes never left Willec. Such bravado in one so young. He looked to have seen eleven, possibly twelve years. And the older boy, only a couple of years more.

  Shaking his head, Willec took a step closer. “Look, here. You boys don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t want to be around when that dragon’s mama comes back.”

  The boys shared a knowing look. The older visibly relaxe
d. “But that’s what we’re trying to do, find Dragon a mother.”

  Willec’s brows rose.

  The older boy smiled. “We found Dragon close to a year past. A bone in his wing was broken. So, Jase, here, decided we should take him home with us.”

  “Your parents allowed you to keep a dragon?”

  “Ah, well…ma won’t refuse Jase when he’s really got his heart set on something.” The older boy winked at Jase.

  Jase grinned back, lowering carefully to sit beside his dragon. Willec noted the dark hollows below the boy’s eyes, the pallid skin.

  Jase shook blond hair back from his eyes. “Dragon’s wing has been healed for a while now. It’s time for him to find a mother.”

  Again the brothers shared a glance. “But I don’t think it will be today,” the older said.

  “But, Cyle, it has to be!”

  Cyle crouched beside his brother and stroked the dragon. “Dragon’s been flying around all day. I just don’t think there’re any dragons around here or they would have heard him.”

  “It has to be now. Let’s go closer to the nesting grounds.”

  Cyle’s lip twisted. “That will take another day. Ma will worry.”

  “She knows I have to do this. She’ll understand.”

  “No, she won’t!” Cyle’s chin quivered.

  Willec looked from one boy to the other. He felt drawn to the younger boy’s gaze. Long sought for hope blossomed inside his chest as though he was on the precipice and could reach out and grasp that intangible something… Either that, or fall.

  Tears shimmered in Jase’s large eyes. Cyle’s fists clenched. “We’ll move closer to the nesting grounds and see if we can find Dragon a mother tomorrow. Tomorrow will be soon enough, won’t it?”

  “It will, Cyle! I know it will!” Jase’s smile suffused his entire face with light. “Do you hear that, Dragon? You’ll have your own mother by tomorrow.” He pressed his forehead to Dragon’s hard leathery muzzle. Puffs of breath from the creature’s nostrils lifted his hair.

  Jase lifted his head. “It will work, Cyle. It has to.”

  Frowning, Cyle slanted a glance at Willec. “Don’t worry. Dragon will get his mother.”

  Willec didn’t know what compelled him, but he knelt beside them. “Would it help if I came along? I mean…” He offered his hand. “I’m Willec, just a simple traveler…but I’d like to come along. I’d like to see a dragon return to its kind.”

  Cyle eyed him warily.

  Jase’s head bobbed up and down. He coughed and sank back against the small dragon.

  Brows furrowed, Cyle looked at his brother. “You’re certain?”

  Jase turned a penetrating gaze on Willec. Willec stared hard into the green depths. For the trace of a moment it seemed the child delved into the deep recesses of his soul, then the feeling evaporated. Willec couldn’t fathom why he had requested to go along, but, then, what did it matter? He had nothing but time.

  “Yes. I’m sure. Let him come. Please.”

  “Very well, Jase. He can come.”

  A discomforting feeling of relief swept through Willec.

  ~~~

  They walked until daylight faded, traveling slowly. Jase’s weakened condition became ever more apparent. Cyle carried both his and Jase’s packs. They rested frequently so he could catch his breath. The dragon remained a constant at Jase’s side, taking what must be achingly slow steps for a vigorous dragon. Jase leaned often against Dragon while the beast stood patiently still. They stopped early and let the boy sleep awhile before waking him for supper.

  Willec banked the fire and sat back against his travel pack. Across the fire, Jase bent forward, coughing. Through Jase’s thin homespun shirt, Willec could see the boy’s ribs as his body tightened with each wracking fit. The coughs had begun at dusk and had been increasing.

  Dragon paced behind Jase’s back.

  “Here, let me help.” Cyle put down a stack of dead branches and knelt behind Jase.

  Willec shot to his feet when Cyle began pounding Jase’s back. “What are you doing? Doesn’t the boy suffer enough?”

  Both boys stared up at him.

  “It doesn’t hurt,” Jase said. Cyle cups his hands.”

  After a moment, Willec lowered back to the ground. “Sorry.”

  Cyle shrugged. “A healer taught my ma to do this. It breaks up the nasty muck clogging his lungs.”

  Jase coughed. If anything, it sounded worse. He bent over, his young features contorted. Hands covering his mouth, he lunged to his feet and ran out of the circle of firelight, the dragon following at his heels.

  Willec tried to ignore the sound of retching. “How long has he been ill like that?”

  Cyle glanced up. “All his life. It’s worse at night.”

  “But I’m blessed,” Jase said, returning to the fire. He slumped down next to Cyle. Dragon curled around them, pronged tail encircling the brothers. His large head rested on Jase’s thigh. Jase stroked the gleaming supple scales.

  “Blessed?” Willec asked. How could the child belief he was blessed with this illness?

  Jase smiled. “All men are given challenges they must learn to endure. I’m blessed because I know what mine is. Some are not so fortunate.”

  Frowning, Willec contemplated the boy’s words.

  “What of you?” Cyle said. “You wear the cloak of an arms man. Have you come from the borderlands?”

  Willec rubbed the hem of his badly worn and faded cloak. “I was there.”

  “And it still holds?” Jade’s pale features flushed with excitement.

  “The border holds.”

  “When I’m of age, I’ll serve my time as an arms man.” Cyle’s spine straightened.

  “You should stay home. It’s not as glorious as it sounds.”

  “But it’s a noble cause.”

  “Ah, yes. To protect our liberties and keep safe the lives of our wives, mothers, and children,” Willec said in derision.

  “What’s wrong with that?” Cyle rebuked.

  Willec met Cyle’s eyes over the flames. “You’re young. You don’t know anything about war or violence. I once was as naïve, held those Caele ideals to my heart. I went proudly to serve at the borderlands and witnessed such atrocities in the name of peace...” He closed his eyes. For what? To return to his wife who had taken another? His son who called another man “Father”? That was the freedom and the ideals he defended the borders for.

  The boys looked away. Another coughing spasm overtook Jase, interrupting the quiet of the crackling fire. When the fit ceased, Cyle pulled Jase back against his shoulder.

  “What will you do now?” Jase asked Willec, his voice raspy.

  Pulling a stick from the flames, Willec watched the burning end as he twirled it. “They say the new king is blessed above all men by the Mother Of All.”

  “The Infant King?” Jase asked.

  Willec nodded. “They say that to look upon him one can glimpse the miracle of the creations and everything the Mother Of All holds in reverence. I wish to see such a thing.”

  The brothers looked at each other.

  “What if…” Jase hesitated. “Suppose you see this king…and all you see is just a baby?”

  “Then…” Willec looked down at his hands. “Then…I don’t know. I don’t know.”

  Jase looked thoughtful. Dragon’s eyes slowly closed. “I’d like to touch a grown dragon. To glide my hands across its scales, feel the heat from its body.”

  “Jase, we talked about this. We can’t get that close,” Cyle said.

  Jase frowned.

  “But you’ll see an adult from a safe distance. Tomorrow. I promise.”

  “What makes you think a female will accept your dragon?” Willec said, immediately regretting it from the stricken look on Jase’s face.

  Cyle scowled. “Dragons aren’t like birds. They’re much more intelligent. Dragon will find a mother.”

  Jase nodded as another cough wracked his yo
ung form.

  They slept little through the night. Jase’s worsening cough kept them awake. They started out early, their pace slower than before. Soft meadow grass gave way to hard soil that was thin over rocks. The trees stood silent behind them, growing smaller with each step.

  His young features creased with worry, Cyle hovered near Jase.

  Dragon squealed, a mournful sound, just before Jase slumped to the ground. Dropping to his knees, Cyle skidded beside him, pulling Jase into his arms. “We’ll stop here.” His voice held a hint of a tremor.

  “No! You promised!” Jase’s lips trembled. His eyes looked huge in his lean pale face.

  Cyle nodded. Tears welled in his eyes. “It’s not much farther. I’ll carry you.”

  Willec leaned over them. “I’ll help.”

  A tear tracked down his cheek when Cyle looked up. “I’ve got him.”

  Putting his palm over Cyle’s shoulder, Willec nodded and silently took their packs.

  Cyle lifted Jase in his arms and headed off across the stony soil. The boy’s legs dangled lifelessly.

  Occupied with his own thoughts, Willec lost track of how long they walked, when he head Cyle whisper, “We’re here”.

  Craggy cliffs loomed above them, rocky spires breaking into the skyline. Dragons sailed the blue expanse, soaring among fluffy clouds. Others sprawled across stony ledges, sunning glittering bodies that gleamed iridescent colors as they stretched, lengthening rippling muscles.

  “Jase, do you see?” Cyle’s voice was thick.

  Jase’s head lifted weakly. “I see them.” His hand dropped to Dragon’s head. “You’ve got to go, Dragon. Go find your ma.” His voice was barely a whisper.

  Dragon hopped from side to side.

  “Go on.”

  “Go, Dragon!” Cyle shouted. “Fly!”

  With a squeal that sounded more like a whine, Dragon backed away, turned and took to the air.

  They watched in wonder as a silverback veered away from the others and flew toward the small dragon. Three times his size, she soared around him, sniffing, nudging, inspecting.

  Frightened, Dragon shrieked, hovering in the air, wings flapping. The silverback slowed, and rubbed her great neck across Dragon’s.

  “Why did you never give him a name?” Willec asked lamely.

  “Ma didn’t want us to get too attached.” Cyle’s gaze never left the flying dragons.