“Xavier, there was a gunshot in the forest across the lake. Do you know anything about who lives around here now?”
“This was my grandparents’ cabin. Haven’t been here since high school…” His eyes rolled back in his head, and he drifted into unconsciousness. Circe sighed and stood.
Usually, Pyramid Corp didn’t bother with the mutant populations outside the domes, unless they were feeding the zombies or chasing down missing children. They really had no reason to be concerned with Circe or Xavier.
She went into the kitchen and wiped her hands with a musty towel. She was starving. She took the bowl with the fish and found a sharp knife in a drawer then took them outside. She didn’t want to risk building a fire in the fireplace. A clog in the chimney would smoke out the entire cabin.
There was an ancient campfire pit that even had a small iron grill stacked up on cinder blocks. She quickly cleared the debris and gathered firewood. After arranging the wood, she uttered her fire spell to light the dry weeds and twigs under the kindling.
It took some work, but after a while, she had a nice fire going in the pit. After taking the fish and knife to the river, she gutted the fish, cut off its head, and put it back in the bowl. Circe had long ago gotten over her squeamishness over such things, and gutting fish was second nature.
She took the prepared fish to the fire and plopped it down on the grill. It sent up a satisfying sizzle as the damp meat hit the hot metal. Circe sat on a log in her old-fashioned dress and poked the fire with a stick.
After a few minutes, she turned the fish and let it cook on the other side. When she thought it was done, she plopped it into the bowl, which she’d rinsed out in the lake, and took it back inside.
Xavier slept the on couch while Circe ate her meal. She only ate half and left the rest for Xavier. Once she had some food in her belly, she felt stronger and a bit less mentally fuzzy.
She moved to sit on the edge of the couch next to Xavier. Placing her hands on the sides of his head, she felt the life force energy inside him. Slowly, she moved her hands down, feeling for his life force at critical energetic points on the body.
Information flooded her mind. She could tell he was still experiencing the rapid release of the metamorphosis illness. The elderberry bark had alerted his body to fight it more quickly.
If she had not given him the herb, he might have wondered around in a state of inhumanness for days, maybe weeks. The illness had accelerated, but at least he was himself again.
Circe intended to help him get well as soon as possible. She couldn’t abide watching him suffer or being responsible for his suffering. Gathering the healing force in her body, she directed it into his energetic centers, focusing on his heart, head, and belly.
She could sense that his hormones were imbalanced. Shifting into dragon form was causing excessive dragon testosterone to surge through his human body. Xavier could not shift without making his human form extremely ill.
After an hour of intense work, Xavier awoke and gazed at Circe, his eyes still glassy. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before pulling himself up to sitting. He blinked several times and looked around, as if trying to remember where he was.
“How long have I been out?” he asked.
“Only a few hours. I caught a fish. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, please.”
She handed him the small portion of lake trout, and he ate it greedily. When all that was left were bones, he set the bowl on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch.
“That was fantastic. Thank you,” he said, stretching.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better. A lot better. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” he said, looking around. “It brings back memories. I used to spend summers here when I was a kid. Fishing with Grandpa. Collecting wild berries with Grandma. Those were the days.”
“I didn’t take you for a country boy.”
“Ha. Believe me, I wasn’t. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. But my grandparents were outdoorsy types and owned this vacation cabin.”
“So what did you do before the war?” asked Circe, suddenly curious to know more about the man.
“I was a musician in a rock band. Lead guitar and vocals.”
“Really?” she asked, surprised. She’d never been very involved with popular culture, but she was still curious. “What was it called?”
“Fine Line. It was a mixture of electronic and instrumental rock music. We had a few popular songs that played on the radio back then. You might have heard one. We were nominated for a Grammy for a song called ‘Fidelity.’ We didn’t win. Not that any of that matters anymore.”
“That does sound familiar, but I can’t place it. I never really listened to the radio, except for NPR.”
“What did you do, Circe?”
“I was the CEO of a telecommunications firm in Phoenix.”
“Does that experience translate well into being a witch?” he asked with a sparkle in his eye.
“In some ways, yes. I’m the leader of my coven.” She sighed. “Nothing from the old life could ever really have prepared any of us for what happened to our world. To our bodies and minds. Now this. We are changing again. What does it mean that you were dryad born?”
“Who told you that?”
“The dryad I met in the woods. She said you were dryad born.”
Xavier took a deep breath, ran his hand through his tousled hair then scratched his chin, dark with two days’ worth stubble.
“The day the bombs dropped, I was on a tour bus between Nevada and California. Everyone panicked. We all holed up in a hotel near Lake Tahoe. Then the radiation blast came. No one survived it but me. I’ll never forget what it was like watching them die.”
He shuddered and tilted his face to look down at the floor as he clasped his hands, his knuckles growing white. “I got in the nearest car and drove out of town, but it ran out of gas in the middle of the mountains. I was sick as a dog, and thought I was going to die, so I got out and started walking through the woods. I collapsed about a quarter mile in.
“The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground, looking up at a tree woman. She must have been in the middle of her change, too. She held me in her arms on her lap and was singing, like the sound of the wind. That must have done something to me, because as far as I know, I’m the only dragon shifter who isn’t a complete psychopath.”
Chapter 8
Circe considered Xavier’s revelation about the dryad. The tree woman’s attention must have saved him from the fate of other dragon shifters—a life of mindless brutality.
Xavier pulled the clothes Circe had found from the coffee table and proceeded to pull them on. He stood clumsily from the couch and went to the bedroom to find a belt. The jeans were far too big for his tall, lean build. He came back a few moments later and sat down.
He picked up the knife Circe had used on the fish then went about poking another hole in the large belt. After he’d made a few additional holes, he looped it through the jeans and buckled it up.
“I can’t believe you are wearing my grandmother’s Pioneer Days dress,” he said with a subtle laugh. “She only wore that to a local event where everyone dressed like that.”
“Her pants were all way too big, and this was the only dress.”
“It suits you.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“So what happened to your hair and skin? Is that what you looked like before the mutation?”
“Yes. It’s part of the metamorphosis we’re both experiencing. I no longer have my grab spell. Otherwise, I wouldn’t still be here. I would have gotten away two days ago while you were being insane.”
“I wonder if my abilities are any different. I don’t really sense any difference other than feeling like I have the flu.”
“Your new powers may be in your shifted state, but you’re too weak to try that now. Just rest, I’m going to get some water and purify it. I’ll be right back.”
>
Circe lifted the fish bowl from the coffee table and took it outside. As she strode down to the dock, she saw a flock of blackbirds break out of the dense forest across the lake. Something was definitely going on over there. She walked out to the end of the dock and leaned over to fill her bowl.
As she dipped the bowl into the water, a green-tinted hand burst through the surface and grabbed her wrist. Circe screamed, knowing exactly what it was. She yanked her hand, breaking the zombie’s grasp, and scrambled backward until she twisted and bolted to her feet.
She sprinted across the yard to find Xavier standing on the porch. He was fully dressed but looked dazed and pale.
“Zombies!” she screamed, grabbing his hand. “We have to run.”
One bite from a zombie would kill most mutants within a few hours. Circe could heal the bite with the right herbs and the help of her sisters. She didn’t know if she could heal it alone, especially if she’d been bitten herself.
She pulled Xavier from the porch, and they ran to the forest behind the cabin. The mutant, undead cannibals were lumbering, but ceaselessly persistent. The zombies would continue to pursue them as long as they had Xavier’s and Circe’s scents. As she ran, holding tightly to Xavier’s hand, she turned to look behind her. Several dozen zombies had emerged from the lake and were limping after them.
She could feel the weakness in Xavier’s hand. He couldn’t take much more activity. They had to find a way out of the forest and a vehicle to get them farther away. If he hadn’t been so ill, he could have just shifted and torched them all to death with his fire breath. But such an action could kill him in his weakened state, and she wouldn’t risk it. There had to be another way.
He stumbled to a stop and used a tree to support himself as he panted. Circe watched the forest behind them for any signs of zombies. They probably had a few minutes’ head start.
“I can shift.”
“No. Not after what it did to you last time. You shouldn’t even be running.” She heard a branch snap in the distance and grabbed his hand to pull him onward. “We have to keep going.”
As she ran, she did her best to channel healing energy through her hand and into Xavier’s body. He would need all the health he could get right now. Unfortunately, Circe was starting to tire herself. She was dehydrated, and her body was catabolizing from lack of nutrients.
Xavier seemed to perk up and run more steadily beside her. He let go of her hand but soon began to falter. He came to a grinding halt, holding his stomach and doubling over.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never been so useless in my life. You should go on. I will shift and buy you some time.”
“I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself for me. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Circe, I’m the reason you’re in this mess in the first place. Let me make it up to you.”
“With your life? I don’t think so. I’d never forgive myself.” The thought of losing him sent a shiver of terror through her heart. She’d only known him a few days, and he’d kidnapped her, tied her up, and put her in a weird dragon nest. But none of that had been the real Xavier. She could sense a deep tenderness in his soul. His offer to sacrifice himself to save her cemented her growing attachment to him.
She scanned the forest, looking for something that might help him. Turning up her new herbalist ability, she examined the plants and trees in the surrounding area. She spied a stand of nettle plants, grabbed a clump, and pulled them up by the root.
“You aren’t going to like this,” she said. Without further explanation, she whacked him with the stinging plants across his exposed skin.
“Ouch!” he yelled. “Is that payback for kidnapping you?”
Red welts were already rising on his flesh. Circe chuckled as she brushed the dirt from the roots with her fingers.
“No. This will help clear the rest of the metamorphosis illness. You have too many hormones raging in your bloodstream. The stinging acts as a stimulant. The roots will help stabilize your hormones. Here, eat these.”
“Uh. They’re still dirty.”
“Just eat it. I don’t have anything to wash it with, and yesterday, I watched you eat bark, raw. I think you can handle these.”
He took the tender roots, placed them in his mouth, and chewed with a disgusted look on his face. Circe placed her hands on his waist and ran healing energy into his body.
“This is probably the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“Worse than deer intestines?” she asked, her eyes still closed as she focused the energy into him. She could feel a distinct shift in his energy field as he chewed the nettle roots.
“Wow. I feel a lot better. I can shift now.”
“Let’s wait on that until we know you are completely balanced. I think shifting is causing toxic hormones to surge through your blood. But at least you can run in human form.”
A deer ran past, bounding over a downed tree trunk covered in moss. Circe snapped her head around, scanning the forest. The zombies stumbled through the trees in the distance. With a frustrated growl, she broke into a run.
Since Xavier was feeling better, his speed was nearly double hers. She could barely keep up, even with her years of marathon training and living naturally in the desert. His massive male size and his shifter-enhanced power made him extremely fast and dexterous. He sprinted through the woods with the agility of a gazelle and the speed of a cheetah.
Circe soon fell behind. She staggered to stop and gasped for breath. The catabolism and dehydration was getting the best of her. Her sides ached, and her eyesight had grown fuzzy. Xavier stopped twenty yards ahead and circled back to her.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize I was ditching you.” His eyes had regained their sparkle, and his full lips were moist and pink. His forehead glistened with a light sheen of sweat, but he didn’t appear to be breathing heavily.
“What direction are we going?” she asked, feeling disoriented. Usually, she could reach out with her mind to get a bird’s-eye view of the land, but she was too overextended to use her ability. She was probably still feeling the effects of her own metamorphosis sickness.
“West. We should be coming across a road soon that we can follow into town. Hopefully, we can find a car there. We should get back to the compound as soon as possible.”
“What then?” Circe asked, still holding her side as they began walking at a slower pace.
Chapter 9
“I don’t know what will happen after we get back to the compound, Circe,” he said, reaching out to take her hand and help her over a downed tree. “We’ve already been gone for several days. By this time, your friends will have attempted their plan to liberate the dome. Without my presence, leadership will fall to my second in command, who will look to replace my position as soon as possible by democratic vote. Even if I’ve been replaced, I still feel responsible for my people. If your friends angered the Anu and Pyramid Corp, there’s no telling what has already happened to the compound.”
Circe’s stomach tightened at the thought of her friends moving on to the dome without her. She longed to go into a trance to find information, but she knew she was too weak to accomplish much. She needed a few good meals, a barrel of water, and some decent rest before she could go into trance without further weakening herself.
They came to a slight downward grade that increased as it descended through the forest. They picked up the pace, skipping down the hillside, dodging shrubs and rocks as they came to the edge of the forest. As they broke through the tree line on the rim of a ten-foot cliff, a paved two-lane road came into view. Circe sighed with relief. They moved around the cliff to a position where they could more easily jump the drainage ditch and make it onto the road.
The road curved in a southeasterly direction down the mountain. Circe looked up the road then down, wanting very much to go downhill.
“Which way?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips as she caught her breath.
“I believe we go south,” he said, pointing d
ownhill.
“That’s a relief. I think the metamorphosis illness is getting to me again. I’ve felt better the last two days, but I’m dehydrated and hungry, and I’ve given out a lot of healing energy.”
“I’m grateful for your help,” he said genuinely. He looked like a lumberjack in his cinched faded blue jeans, red flannel shirt, and black boots. Xavier was a big man, well over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscled chest. In the outdoorsy clothes, he gave off an even more masculine aura. At that moment, Circe got the impression that Xavier could handle just about anything when he wasn’t falling down sick from a magical illness.
They walked downhill side by side at a relatively fast pace, still wary of the man-eating zombies patrolling the woods. Birds trilled in the towering branches of the lodgepole pines, and a few yellowing leaves fell from a lone maple along the road. Sweat cooled on Circe’s skin as a breeze blew up the mountain. She shivered and rubbed her biceps for warmth.
“It’s only a few more miles to town,” said Xavier.
Circe was quiet for several moments before she spoke. “Xavier, what do you think this all means? Why have we transformed like this, from one touch? I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but I want to know what you make of all this.”
Lines appeared in Xavier’s smooth forehead. His handsome face darkened as he went deep into thought. After they’d walked almost a quarter mile, he sighed and turned to face her. “I’m not sure. You told me the dryad said we had some special power together to heal the other dragons, but I don’t know how we could do it.”
“There’s something else I didn’t tell you. When you tied me to the tree…”
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, I went into a trance to speak with my spirit guide. She told me that together, we would change the course of events in our world.”
“Did she say how?”
“No. Spirit guides don’t always give the most pertinent information. It has something to do with being omniscient, I suppose. But it does give me some clues.”