Part 11 (2/2)

”Stop this!” she shouted. ”Go away. Leave us alone.”

”Last chance.” He stopped trying to pry her off. ”Let go, female, and do it now.”

”f.u.c.k you!” she shouted.

Cloud began to walk. It was like she was a tiny, inconsequential bug. It was only at the last second that she realized what he had planned. ”No!” she barely managed to get the word out when he slammed her up against the wall.

Pain rushed at her. It ran up the whole of her spine. It blossomed on the back of her head.

He was going to do it again. Maybe this time he would injure her badly. He might even render her unconscious. As it was, lights flashed across her vision. She was halfway to unconscious already. Tammy let go. She slid down his back, landing hard on the ground below. She pulled herself into a ball. Blackness danced on the edge of her vision. Lights flickered in and out. She was sure that it was only the sharp pain that kept her from pa.s.sing out.

Cloud was moving again.

”No!” she whispered the word. Her lips felt dry. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton wool.

There was a bright flash as the light caught the blade. He had it hoisted above his hand, both hands on the hilt. Utter horror consumed her as Cloud brought it down in an arc. He hefted and slashed a second time. This time sparks flared in the dark as the blade hit rock. The blade must have rended flesh and bone. ”Nooooooo!” she tried to scream but it came out in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. Don't think about it. Tammy made a squeaking noise. Her whole body felt frozen with disbelief.

”It's done,” Cloud growled as he sheathed the blade. ”I am your mate now. There is no denying it. No one to rescue you. Accept your fate, female.” He closed the distance between then and gripped her by the wrists, hauling her to her feet.

”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d.” Tears slid down her cheeks. Thunder was gone. No! Her throat felt clogged. Her chest hurt. ”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” More firmly as she beat against his chest with her fists. It was like hitting a wall. Then there were scales and claws. Cloud had s.h.i.+fted into his dragon form. He nudged her towards the entrance with his head. She staggered a few steps and fell, stones digging into her side and one of her knees. He growled in her face. His hot, fetid breath accosting her. He nudged her again, harder this time.

Tammy rose wearily to her feet. She realized that she was still crying. She couldn't stop. Using the back of her hand, she wiped the tears away but more took their place. The dragon nudged her and growled more fiercely. She stood back up and he nudged her again. Her head hurt. Her back flared with fresh pain every time he pushed her. At least she was alive.

Poor Thunder!

Her sobs echoed around the cave. She couldn't believe it. He nudged her again, causing her to take a couple of quick staggered steps in order to stay on her feet. Nudge. Stagger. Nudge. Stagger. When she realized his intention, she tried to dig her heels in, but it was no use. Next thing she was sliding down the incline. Rocks and dirt loose at her feet. Downwards ... downwards ... then she was falling. Cloud caught her, her breath catching in her throat as his claws closed around her.

b.a.s.t.a.r.d!

White hot anger burned inside her. It churned and grew. She ground her teeth and looked up at the beast. The strap was tight, a bag flush against his belly. It looked small against his dragon frame. The sword was sheathed next to the bag. It was the same sword he'd used to kill Thunder. More anger flooded her. She reached up and clasped her hand around its hilt.

Tammy swallowed thickly. They had barely left the cave entrance. She looked down. Sweat beads seemed to form across her entire body. This time both fear and anger coursed through her. This was most likely her one opportunity to get away. There might not be another. If she took this opening, there was a very good chance she would die. If she didn't ...

The other option wasn't even comprehensible. Cloud may have been a good man once upon a time but that was no longer the case. He had killed Thunder. Her throat clogged with emotion. He was going to hurt her. Force himself on her until she became pregnant with his child. She s.h.i.+vered at the prospect of all she would have to endure. A fate worse than death?

No one was coming. It was up to her to save herself. She also wanted to do it for Thunder.

He flapped his great wings and they lifted higher. It was now or never.

Tammy pulled the sword from the hilt. The dragon seemed to tense midflight. Without thinking about it, and with no hesitation, she slashed the blade across his belly. It was much easier than she had expected. Like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter, the knife sliced the beast wide open. Intestines and gore slid from the gaping wound and all over her.

She expected him to let her go. Or to plummet to the ground. Or all of the above. He screeched. The sound so loud it hurt her ears. He did fall a few feet before righting himself. For the next few seconds he continued to flap his great wings like nothing had even happened. Then he began to lose alt.i.tude. Down ... down ... down ...

They began to tumble head over tail. Cloud didn't let her go. Not once did his hold falter. Tammy squeezed her eyes shut. Her stomach lurched with each hard roll. Any second now. They were about to hit the ground. There was no way she would survive the impact.

Bang!

Darkness.

Chapter 14.

Bright light. Pain. Eyes grainy. More pain. Her mouth tasted metallic. Blood. Tammy blinked a couple of times. She wasn't on the ground. She knew this because she was looking down at it. Her brain felt foggy. Her body stiff and sore. She was lying on something soft. Something squishy.

Tammy turned her head. What the ...? Intestines. Tammy's stomach lurched. She suddenly felt hot and sweaty. She turned to the side, gagging hard. By some miracle she managed to keep her stomach contents down. Maybe she didn't puke because she hadn't eaten. Tammy couldn't remember. Why was she here? What had ...?

Memories surfaced causing her to moan. Thunder. He was gone. Murdered. The body beneath her shuddered. Cloud was still in his dragon form. He was still alive. She needed to get away. With effort, she managed to move the fingers on one hand and then one of her legs. A couple of minutes later she slid off the dragon, landing on her feet. She managed to stay upright.

Cloud was lying on his back. His eyes were closed. His wings a broken mess. His body broken and bleeding. He had broken her fall, whether unintentionally or on purpose she did not know. He shuddered again. Blood dripped from the slice across his belly. His innards hung out in great coils. The beast was dying. He had to be. There was no way he could survive this. The fall together with the silver was too much. Tammy couldn't muster any sympathy. She only hoped that he died quickly. No one deserved to suffer.

Her head hurt. Her back hurt. Her chin felt raw. Her knees throbbed. She was covered in blood and slimy stuff that Tammy would rather not think about. It made her feel ill to do so. In short, she was bruised and battered but very much alive. She shuddered to think how this could have ended. She was lucky to have come off so easily. Tammy concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. It was cold but not as cold as when she and Claire had been hiking together. The hunt. It seemed like a lifetime ago. The sun shone brightly warming her back.

Twenty minutes later and she was at the cliff wall. It was just as tall and just as sheer as she remembered. There was no way in h.e.l.l she would be able to climb this.

She sat down on an outcrop of rocks and put her head in her hands. She wasn't sure why she'd come back. Why was she torturing herself like this? Thunder was gone. Going up to the cave to see his body wasn't going to bring him back. Not that she would make it up there.

She had to try though. What if by some miracle he had survived? What if he was up there broken and bleeding? She let out a sob and rose to her feet. Tammy gripped the closest rock and looked for a foothold. There. She put her foot on the small ridge and hoisted herself up. Then she looked up a few feet, looking for the next handhold. There. She stretched up and gripped it. Her hands felt smooth and slippery but she ignored it and gripped tighter. Then she looked down for a higher foothold. There. It was tiny but she could do it. She put her foot flush against the rock and pushed up. Both her hand and her foot gave way at the same time and she fell down, managing to stay on her feet. She tried a second and a third time, falling on her a.s.s and landing hard.

Her teeth gnashed together. The grazes on her hands opened up when she used them to break her fall. She pulled her knees up and hugged her legs. Tammy cried with frustration. She cried because she was dirty and hungry and tired and sore. She cried because ... she was a woman and a woman had a right to cry sometimes, dammit. She cried despite the fact that she would become dehydrated quicker. Right now, she didn't give a s.h.i.+t. She cried because of Thunder. For what might have been. If only she was bolder, she could have told him that she had feelings for him too. It wouldn't have changed things but at least he would have known.

Then she stood herself up and dusted herself off. She was going to give this cliff one more go. Chances were she wasn't going to make it but she had to try. Maybe if she tried a little bit further to the right. There seemed to be more handholds. Maybe this would work better. Tammy shaded her eyes for a second before reaching for the closed ridge of rock.

”You're going to kill yourself!” a voice boomed. It seemed to come from above her. She held her breath for a few seconds. Maybe she had imagined it. She was overly tired or had hit her head harder than she thought.

She reached for the handhold again.

”Don't,” an amused growl. Amused? Really? ”Stay there,” the voice boomed again. Closer this time.

She recognized the voice. No! Tammy rubbed her temples. She was hearing things.

”I'm on my way down!” Thunder shouted. ”Give me a minute. Just stay there.”

”Thunder!” she shouted, looking up.

There he was. Naked and climbing down the side of the sheer cliff. He was moving quickly, so gracefully. ”You're alive!” she shouted. ”Oh, my G.o.d!” She covered her mouth and realized that she was grinning. ”I can't believe it.”

He kept on climbing down. ”Cloud didn't kill me,” he said as he descended a small outcrop.

”I can see that,” she laughed.

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