Falling for a Dragon Box Set (Dragon Shifter Romance)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

I shut my eyes and my body tensed as I prepared for the feel of cold water and hard earth. What I felt, however, was only a whoosh of chilly air and then a touch of a soft wind against my cheeks. I opened my eyes and found myself in a thick mist. The white stuff flew past me in blobs like cream, and I realized it wasn’t mist but clouds, and I was falling through them.

A few openings appeared in the clouds, and I glimpsed thousands of sparkling lights below me. They dotted the landscape of houses large and small, dwarfed by ancient temples, stone ruins, and a castle atop a black stone that towered above all else on its craggy rock that overlooked a large but crowded bay.

This had to be a dream. Or heaven. Either way, I was a thousand feet above those twinkling lights, and falling fast.

What really caught my attention, and my hope, was a small fleet of some half dozen wooden ships with large billowing sails. They weren’t in the bay, however, but high in the air. Still, they were lower than where I was falling and a couple hundred yards away.

I twisted around and looked up. The cloud bank from where I had emerged had a gaping vortex that slowly closed, shutting off my view of the puddle through which I’d dropped.

A bitter wind stampeded past me, and I tumbled head over heels. I managed to right myself, but my mind could imagine the horrible end that awaited me at the end of this cold journey.

Movement from the ships caught my attention, and I glimpsed a throng of people on the deck of the largest vessel. One of the figures leapt onto the side wall of the ship and my eyes widened as a pair of birds’ wings burst out of their back. They flapped hard and took off from the vessel. Hope was kindled within me as they made a straight shot toward my diving position. As they neared, I could make out a black plate of armor on their chest and chain-mail leggings and sleeves.

The man, or whatever he was, flew just slightly above me and extended his hand toward me. As the old saying goes, any salvation in a snowstorm, so I twisted around and stretched out my own hand.

Our fingers entwined with each other, and I felt a strange warm spark flow through my entire body. A brilliant white light radiated out of our connection and flowed over me like a tidal wave of sea foam that twined around each other to create illuminated strands.

The next moment huge white wings burst out of my back, ripping the rear of my shirt and coat to shreds. The sensation was a mixture of pain and pleasure, like eating your favorite ice cream too quickly. My newborn wings enveloped the startled man in a flurry of loose feathers, and he jerked back, breaking our connection. I was left to fall on my own.

I tried to reconnect with him, and in doing so the wind tucked under my wings, slowing my descent as I glided across the uneven rooftops of that metropolis. I could now see small gardens and trees scattered among the mismatched houses and businesses. People hurried along the shadowed streets with lamp in hand to light their way along the dark paths.

I found myself gliding toward a canopy of trees situated near a large church-like building that resembled a miniature cathedral. A small, enclosed courtyard surrounded by a high stone wall held a large tree that stretched up nearly as high as the gabled roof.

As I neared the ground, I noticed more feathers flying loose behind me. I looked over my shoulder and my heart stopped.

The wings were breaking apart.

The loss accelerated, and my altitude took a nosedive along with me. I crashed headfirst into the thick branches of that majestic tree, and my theories about this being a dream or heaven were dashed to pieces along with my body. I tumbled through the branches as the last of my feathers fell away around me. The final landing onto smoothed cobblestones some twelve feet below the last of the branches knocked the air out of me.

I lay there on my back, my bruised body bemoaning my fate. The worst pain came from the gunshot wound in my arm. Blood still poured out, though some had congealed enough with my shirt to make an ugly mess.

Through the branches, I caught a glimpse of the sky. The flying ships had moved closer to my position, and more than one winged man now flew in the sky. They appeared to be growing larger with each passing moment. Maybe the angels were ready to take me now.

The ground vibrated beneath me as footsteps hurried over to where I lay. A shadowy figure leaned over me, and a gentle raspy voice of a man reached my ears. “Don’t try to move too suddenly. I have called for help.”

More forms appeared and the first figure stepped back. His voice urged on the others. “Hurry now. We must get her inside before they come.”

Like a faraway dream, I felt myself lifted onto a stretcher by many hands and borne inside. The hallway down which we traveled was lit by small hanging lamps, and those illuminated the thick stones that made up the walls. I was carried into a small room where I was set down on a soft bed.

A gentle hand brushed over me, touching each spot with a tenderness of a mother. However, I winced when their inspection came to the g*n wound. The hands drew away for a moment, and the next I felt the fingers apply a rough gummy mixture to the hole. I winced as a sharp pain shot through me.

“My sincerest apologies,” the man whispered as he finished his work. “Now I will bandage the wound, and you will rest.”

I tried to focus on his face. The only source of light was a lamp on the nightstand beside the bed. The light was cast more on me and left my savior’s face in a gentle shadow. I could see the man wore a habit, and his hood was drawn back to expose his balding head.

He worked quickly, with the expertise of many years of practice, and soon I felt dozens of bandages wrapped about my body. The poultice he had put on my arm soothed the pain, and a warm cloth over my forehead tamped down the chill in my bones from the cold fall.

A commotion in the hall forced the man to turn toward the door just as he finished his work, and another person swept into the room. “Father, they are here!”

I tensed at the panic in the new man’s voice. The ‘father’ leaned down and patted my hand. “I will return in a moment.” He turned to the messenger and used a hand to gesture down at me. “If you must, take her into the catacombs.”

The second man bowed his head as the first hurried away. I heard voices, some irritated and mixed with the soothing tones of the father. Nothing could be made out, but a heavy ring of marching footsteps caught my attention. I tensed as the noises grew louder, but something stopped them.

A long tense moment was punctuated by my quick heartbeat. I tried to sit up, but my aching body gave me a firm ‘no.’ The man left with me bent down and grasped my shoulder to pin me to the bed. The lamplight caught his face and revealed a young man of thirty with short brown hair and a tanned complexion.

There was fear in his eyes as he whispered to me. “Please don’t move, miss. They might hear you.”

I both feared and desired to know who ‘they’ were, but the noises started up again. The marching men moved away until their noises were swallowed by silence. My keeper breathed a sigh of relief, and a few moments later the door opened, and the other man slipped back inside.

The older man dragged a chair over to the bed and nodded at his younger companion. “You may leave us.”

The man nodded and hurried out of the room, being mindful to close the door behind him.

I tried to sit up again, but the stranger set a hand on my arm and smiled down at me. “There is no need to worry. I have sent them away under the ruse that you left us shortly after your fall from the sky.” He released me and leaned back to study my face. “When you are rested, perhaps you might tell me of how you came to fall from the heavens. But,” He eased himself into the chair with a soft groan and dipped his hands into the wide bell sleeves of his habit, “for now rest. I will speak to you in the morning.”

My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and confusion, and my body ached from my hard crash. There was also a faint pain in my back out of where the wings had exploded. All of that and the soft chirp of crickets outside my window caused a wave of exhaustion to flood over me. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift into slumber.