Page 80 of Discarded (Shifter's Vault 1)

I had met the Alpha, but he'd always been distant. Handsome, but cold like a good sword. He had to be, to hold on to power.

I exhaled softly and regretted the deeper breath I took in. The sooner we were away from the smell, the better.

13

Viva

I unwoundthe scarf from my face and breathed in the fresh air. The stink of the city lingered, but it was all but overpowered by the sweet scent of the ocean.

The sea was flat to the horizon. If there was any land to the west, I couldn't see it. No bruise of islands, no long bridge or tunnel for car or horse travel. No wall to mark the edge of the Vault

Nothing but waves which lapped against the sand in a gentle rhythm. It might lull me, if I wasn't still on edge.

The crowd back in the city had unnerved me. Well, not so much them as the timing. At some point in the past, I dabbed a bit of perfume on the scarf, but too long ago to be effective. In a pinch, I couldn't do more than flatten a crease in my blouse. Even that would be difficult.

The stink of shit and Hades knows what else, overpowered my senses and made me sick to my stomach. If we came under attack, I would have to bury my face in my horse's mane and hope to find a pleasant scent in there.

Failing that, I hoped Bain would throw himself over me again, so I could take it from him.

Too much could go wrong with both of those scenarios. To my relief, Dex settled the crowd and we moved out of the city, into areas with small, coastal farms.

Rows of small grains and alfalfa were interspersed with grapes and orchards of stone fruit.

Here and there, sections of field lay open in rows, with regular looking PVC pipes lying beside them.

"They bury the pipes just under the surface," Dex explained. "Water from under the ground is then funnelled through the pipes. The water drips slowly, but keeps the roots of the plants wet so they grow. Or so that was explained to me." He grinned.

I nodded. "I was wondering how they managed to grow anything this close to the desert." Not to mention why there was a desert in the first place.

"People grow cropsinsidethe desert, but those are few and the danger from sand dragons is great." He seemed to be remembering something, but he didn't elaborate.

"That sounds very isolating." I toyed with my scarf, but left it in place. The sun wouldn't be forgiving as the day wore on. I wished I brought a hat. "Peaceful though, I suppose."

"It is," Dex replied. "I've been to one of the villages a few times, when they've had problems with sand dragons, or other predators. There's nothing out there but silence and their tents beside the rows of grains. They are the most warm and welcoming people though. At least, at first. After a few hours, they want their silence back."

"I don't blame them," I replied. I didn't think I'd like to be so isolated, with no restaurants or bars, and only the occasional stranger to break the monotony. You would have toreallylike the people around you.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a moment.

"Along the coast. In two days we'll reach cliffs where they're known to roost. The closer we get, the more dangerous it will become. They're highly territorial and often have young hidden in caves amongst the rocks."

"Don't tell me, you've climbed and found some?" I guessed.

He grinned. "When I was much younger and wasn't the Keeper, yes. Bain and I scaled a cliff and went into one of the caves. It was empty, but the dragons found us anyway. We had to sit there for two days until they moved away and let us escape. As it was, we barely made it down before they came after us again."

"I bet you got into trouble for that," I said. I could imagine two young, reckless boys getting into all sorts of trouble. I wished I'd known them then. I would have followed them into the trouble, and had fun doing it.

"We would have, if anyone had found out." He wiggled his brows.

"Does Calista know?"

His smile faded slightly. "I'd prefer she not know, but she probably suspects anyway. We were always up to something in those days."

"Did he ever pull you into anything?" I asked. "Bain, I mean."

Dex looked thoughtful. "Once or twice, but he was usually the one pulling me out of trouble, or trying to convince me something was a bad idea." His smile returned. "Sometimes I listened, sometimes not." He fixed me with a knowing look. "I bet you were almost as wild."

I shrugged slightly. "I might have gotten into a little bit of trouble once in a while. What kid doesn't?"

---