Page 3 of Red Fire

He laughs. “Female.” I swear he growls the word rather than says it. “Mine.”

Then he scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder like I’m a sack of freaking potatoes, and there is nothing I can do about it except scream my lungs out and paddle his back with punches that don’t seem to affect him at all. To think I was worried about being alone on this island.

3

Creed

I wade into the stream, which gets to around mid-thigh as I reach the middle. Blood mixes with water and red swirls around me. I dunk down, running my hands over my chest and through my hair. The water is warm, and it feels good to get rid of all the muck and grime caked on my skin. When I resurface, I pull in a deep breath and let out a sigh. My hunt this morning was successful. Which means that I have enough food to last for the next few days.

I’m going to be bored shitless.

I stand and wade from the water, giving a shake to rid myself of the moisture still clinging to me. Water goes spraying everywhere in tiny droplets that catch the sun.

An entire day lies ahead of me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. I sigh again, which irritates me. I’m not like this. I like seeing the best in situations and making the most of my life.

I’m not going to stop now. I’m working on an owl statue. Then there are my plans to get running water to my cabin. I could start on those. I need to get my head out of my ass. Thereare always things that need doing out here. I think of home. Of the house I built. The house I planned to start a family in. I feel a pang, and my chest tightens. Maybe it’s time to go back. Just as quickly as the thought enters my mind, I knock it down.

No!

Just because I can go back doesn’t mean that I should. This is my home now. Maybe one day…

I give myself another shake and then head home. That’s when I hear it. It’s the sound of an approaching helicopter. It’s coming from the Draig side of the island, which makes me frown. It’s getting louder and louder, which tells me that it’s descending quickly. It makes no sense since there is only endless jungle on this side of the island. A chopper would never land here. Besides, flying craft always approach from the other side. Never from Draig Island.

I leap onto a nearby tree and scramble up so that I can get a better idea of what the hell is going on. I spot it immediately. The helicopter whines and veers to the right before righting itself. It’s going too fast for that altitude. What are they trying to do? The pilot doesn’t seem to have much control. Perhaps there is a problem with the engine. The craft gets lower and lower, slowing down as it does, but not quickly enough. It doesn’t take long, and the chopper smashes through the thick canopy; the blades slice through the trees, sending debris flying in all directions. There is a deafening roar of the engine, the shrieking of metal being torn apart, and a loud crunching noise on impact.

My mouth has fallen open. My heart is beating fast beneath my ribs. There could be survivors. I need to get over there and fast. Smoke billows from between the trees, and I catch a whiff of engine fuel as I climb back down the tree, jumping the last eight or ten feet. Then I am running as fast as I can, dodging fallen branches and leaping over thick roots. The helicopter is only a mile away now, the wreckage smoking ominously in the jungleheat. The scent of fire and smoke grows stronger and stronger as I get closer.

I keep going, urging myself to go faster, which is difficult in the dense undergrowth. Despite the difficulties, I cover a lot of ground over the next few minutes. A loud scream tears through the jungle. It’s a female. At least one survivor and it is a female. Shit! This is bad. I have to get to her quickly. There are those within this jungle who would harm her. Dragons who have turned feral.

I hear loud footfalls and heavy breathing to the left of me. They’re moving away from the crash. There is more screaming; it’s coming from the same direction. I run toward the noise. I will the female to keep quiet. Her screams will draw every dragon from their caves and crevices.

Fuck!

I give chase. It doesn’t take me long to reach them. A big male I don’t recognize has a tiny female slung over his shoulder.

“Mine,” he growls as he catches sight of me. He keeps running, altering his direction so that he is moving away from me.

“No,” I tell him. “Put her down!” I shout after him, but he keeps going, so I give chase.

“Put me down!” she screams. “What are you doing?” she yells.

I wish she would shut her mouth already.

I’m catching up to him because I don’t have the added weight. It isn’t long before I’m right on his tail.

The female is screaming again. The noise is cut off as the male throws her off his shoulder. She lands on the ground with a hard thud, silencing her.

I snarl, sounding more like my beast, even though I am still in human form. It’s too dense in this part of the forest to even attempt a shift, so I go with a partial shift instead, roaring as Ibash into the male. By now, my fingers are clawed. My pupils will have turned slitted. I pop out a few scales and grow taller, wider, much stronger as I land a few punches to his face. One…two…three… Blood sprays as I break his nose.

The male shifts; since he can’t manage a partial – he’s just too damned feral – he gets tangled in the thick branches and tree trunks. He snarls, ripping one of the trees clean out of the ground. I might be smaller than him in my current state, but I’m far more agile and still strong enough to do damage. I get behind him in less than a second and attack from behind. He tries to get me with his tail, but there are too many trees in the way. He tries to turn, partially ripping out another tree before shifting back into his human form.

Once shifted, it’s easy. I knock him out cold in three seconds flat with two well-placed blows to the head. There is a crunching sound. I’m sure I fractured his skull. The male falls hard. He’ll be out for a while. Enough time for me to make an escape.

Up above, I hear wing beats and harsh shrieks. There are snarls and crashes in the vegetation. The sounds seem to come from all around us. The feral dragons of Mistveil know that there is a female in their jungle, and they’re all coming for her.

I turn to the female, who is still lying in the same spot on the ground. For half a second, I think she’s dead. Her face is pale. She’s so small. Then I see her chest rise and fall. I feel a possessiveness I have never felt before in my life.

I have to save her.

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