Shades Of Dragon (A BBW Dragon-Shifter Paranormal Romance) (4 page)

It was complete and utter chaos.

      Tegan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. At first, when he’d been headed for the village and he’d seen the plumes of smoke, he’d thought it was just the smokestacks from chimneys, or that maybe the humans were having some kind of bonfire celebration. But he’d landed a mile out, instead of directly at the edge of the village, his instincts telling him something was off, and had run the rest of the way so that he wouldn’t be spotted.

     
And boy, was he glad he’d made that decision.

      The whole town was decimated. Buildings were on fire, some of the roofs crushed in, and the hay burning, many of the windows shattered to bits. The sound of people moaning and weeping filled the air, along with the sound of fire crackling. Bodies littered the streets, some of them barely alive, some of them dead and blackened with fire – the kind of fire that Tegan could tell, by their scent, came from dragons.

      Grey had been right. There were dragon shifters attacking the towns, and whoever had done this hadn’t just decided to take the women and children – they’d decided to completely destroy everything in sight.

      Bile rose in his throat at the stench of burning flesh – not something that usually bothered him as a dragon, but
human
flesh wasn’t something he ever dined on, and the smell was repulsive. It didn’t help that the scent of fear, sweat, and adrenaline – were also mixed in, from the dead and the dying who lay all around. There was drag, and scratch marks all over the ground, as if someone had literally taken people by the legs, and pulled them across the ground to their death. But then, that didn’t make sense to Tegan because there was no room for a dragon to move so easily throughout the streets, at least not without crushing some of the houses, and he didn’t see that kind of damage. So what had happened?

     
I need to find a survivor
, he thought to himself.
Someone who can explain what happened.
With that in mind, he cautiously wandered through the town, gathering up all the bodies and bringing them to the square. Many of the ones left behind were dead – there were a few alive, but they were holding on by the last thread, and barely said anything when he lifted them and tried to speak to them, except for the words ‘fire breathers’ and ‘dragons’ and ‘monsters’.

      “Slavers,” one had whispered when he’d tried to get information out of him. “They took them.”

     
Slavers? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Someone was taking these humans and selling them for slave labor?
He’d never heard of dragons doing that kind of thing, although in truth he was pretty isolated. He would have to ask Grey about this when he returned. Placing the last of the dead in the middle of town square, he realized that there were far too few people here considering the town’s size. Slavery or not, something was definitely happening to these people, and he needed to find out what it was.

     
I should head back now
, he thought, looking around the desolate town. There was nothing else he could do here. Maybe he could get a healer from the clan to come back out here and try to do something for these poor people, but there was nothing he could do on his own.

     
You should check inside the houses one more time
, a voice in his head told him.
There could be people hiding inside.

      Right. It was possible that someone had hidden away and escaped capture. If he could find just
one
person who was in a good enough condition to talk, he would get the information he needed before returning to Grey. He knew Grey was relying on him for information so that he could present it to the council, and secure their help. Without knowing
exactly
what was going on meant delays in getting the clan to take action.

Turning away from the bodies in the square, he began to search the houses and the store buildings, one by one, searching for hidden nooks, and other places where people would hide in the event of such a catastrophe as this.

      Hours later, he had found no one. But as he reached the center of the town, he came upon one house that was nicer than the rest, with ornate woodcarvings, and wrought iron filigree decorating the face of the house, and the fencing that surrounded the porch. It was also one of the only buildings that wasn’t burning.

      Curious, he entered the house, carefully searching for something, or someone to provide answers. Woven rugs of high quality covered the floors, and hand-carved furniture filled the space. There were even some small paintings on the walls. But he found nothing in any of the bedrooms, or the cupboards or closets, not even a babe.

      Just as he was about to give up, he heard a sharp intake of breath that made him pause. His ears strained, listening for it again, but though he heard nothing, he became aware of a faint, feminine scent strongly laced with fear. His instincts on the rise, he began looking around for some kind of secret compartment, something that could lead him to what he was sure was a woman, hiding from the monsters who had ransacked her town.

      He eventually found what he was looking for – a trapdoor hidden cleverly under a crate in the kitchen. Pulling it up, he revealed a long staircase that disappeared into the darkness. The scent he’d caught earlier grew stronger, and he knew he was on the right track.

      “Hello?” he called, descending the staircase slowly. “Is anyone down here?”

      The sound of harsh breathing filled his ears, and as his eyes adjusted to the dim light he made out the silhouette of a woman, standing in the center of the room. She was facing forward, her posture suggesting she was holding some kind of weapon in her hand, and he stopped, holding his hands up. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

      “Like hell you aren’t!” she snapped, her voice trembling, but he had to give it to her – it was full of ire. “I can see those eyes of yours – they’re not natural. You’re a dragon shifter, just like the rest of them!”

      She lunged at him then, swinging the blunt object in her hands high above her head like a sword to bring it crashing down on his head – or so it would have if he hadn’t sidestepped at the last moment. He spun around and grabbed her from behind, crushing her body against his from the back, and snatching the weapon from her grip before she had a chance to use it again. Tegan sucked in a sharp breath as the curve of her ass pressed against his groin, and he became excruciatingly aware of the fact that she was a very beautiful female.

     
Yes, but she’s a human female
.
You have no business even thinking about this, especially at a time like this. Get a grip on yourself.

      “Let me go!” she cried, thrashing about in his grip, and Tegan gritted his teeth even tighter as the motions only served to press her curves more firmly against him. Now that she was pressed up against him, her hair in his nose and her warm body against his, he could scent her – the warm sweet scent of vanilla and cardamom filled his nose, an evocative perfume, and he actually felt his body grow tense, as he fought the primal desires that swirled in his brain.

Focus on the damn situation! This woman may have answers.

She must have felt it too, because she abruptly stiffened. “Please, please let me go!”

      “Lady,” Tegan ground out, embarrassed and frustrated by the situation. “I’m not here to hurt you. I was sent here by the Redwater Clan to investigate the rumors that dragon shifters were attacking the villages. And from what I can see here, the rumors are true.”

      “Oh.” She hesitated for a long moment, but he could feel some of the tension leave her body and knew that she was at least considering his words. He released his hold and allowed her to squirm out of his grip, though he kept the weapon – he wasn’t stupid enough to give it back to her so that she could clock him over the head with it, if he said something to raise her ire again. “You’re from the Redwater Clan?”

      “Yes.” Tegan took in a deep breath to try and slow his heart rate back to a more manageable level. “Grey Stoneclaw sent me.”

      “Oh, yes.” Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a little sigh. “We know Grey very well around here. He used to come around every week to have tea with my father and I, and discuss business.”

      “Your father?” Tegan’s interest was perked despite himself – he knew he should be asking more about the attackers, but he was curious about why Grey would visit with this man. “Who is your father?”

      “The mayor of this village,” the woman said, her tone miserable. “They took him first, you know. The dragon shifters who came today.”

      Sympathy for the woman filled Tegan’s chest, and he felt a strong urge to take the woman back into his arms and try to comfort her. But he was sure that in her skittish state she would probably view such a thing as an attack, and so he carefully kept his distance. “Why are they taking people from your village?” he asked.

      She shook her head. “I don’t know why our village, specifically, but from what I was able to hear, it sounds like they’re selling us off to shifters on the other side of the mountains,” she said, her voice trembling. “My father, along with the other members of the village they kidnapped, are going to be sold to the highest bidder and forced to work as slaves for the rest of their lives.”

      Tegan scented the saltiness of her tears, and his chest ached for her. He could hear the anguish in her voice, and he knew that she loved her father and couldn’t bear the idea of him being sold into slavery. “I’m very sorry to hear that. I’m here to help,” he said in a soft voice. “I was sent by Grey because he suspected something was wrong, and I’m going to help him get to the bottom of it, if you can give me some information.”

      She nodded, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “Is it alright if I get some light in here?” he asked softly.

      “Y-yes.”

      Tegan took the wooden stick she’d tried to bash him with, and blew a small stream of fire onto it from his nostrils. He couldn’t perform amazing feats with fire as he could in his dragon form, but even as a human he retained some of the ability to wield it. The makeshift torch sprang to life, and he held it aloft to get a better look of the woman, a sharp breath sucking in through his lungs as he caught sight of her for the first time.

      As he suspected, she was absolutely beautiful. Long, curling red hair cascaded down her shoulders and to her mid back, framing an elfish face with big, green eyes, long lashes and a rosebud mouth that was made for kissing. There were a few freckles on her peaches and cream complexion, but they only added to her charm. Her blue dress was stained, and her face was blotchy and streaked with tears, but Tegan didn’t think any of that detracted from her beauty at all – no, it only served to bring out his protective instincts because he didn’t think a creature so lovely and fair deserved to suffer through such misery.

      Her green eyes widened as she took him in as well, looking him up and down. “Thank you,” she said quietly, subconsciously running her fingers through her hair. “For coming to help.”

      Tegan smiled warmly. “Of course,” he said, and then a sound from above caught his ears. A very faint sound, and he wasn’t even sure if it was human or animal, but it was enough to distract from his attention. “Shh. There’s someone out there,” he said quietly.

      “Do you think it’s a survivor?” the woman asked, her voice hushed.

      “It’s possible.” Tegan strained his ears to try and hear again, but he couldn’t make anything else out. “I’m going to go up and take a look. You stay here.”

      He made for the stairs, but before he could get too far, he heard the woman follow behind him. Scowling, he turned around. “What part of ‘stay here’ didn’t you understand?”

      The woman clenched her jaw, her green eyes sparking with ire. “I’ve been huddled down here for hours, listening to the cries and screams of my people as they died above me, and the only reason I didn’t fight is because my father begged me to stay hidden. Now that he’s gone, I can’t hide down here any longer. I must find out what happened to my people. If that person is a survivor, then as the daughter of the mayor, I am honor bound to help them.”

      Tegan nodded grudgingly, his respect for her growing. She wasn’t just a pretty face, he could see, but a woman with a heart of gold who cared about her people. “Fine. But stay close. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I need to bring you back to Grey alive so that you can tell him everything, and provide yourself as a witness for the council.”

      She nodded, and stuck close to him as they ascended the stairs. “Hey…what’s your name? I don’t believe you told me.”

      “Tegan. And you?”

      “Ciara,” she said quietly. “Ciara Richards.”

      “Ciara,” he echoed, rolling the syllables across his tongue. “That’s a very pretty name.”

      “Thank you.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

      They crept slowly through the house, Tegan carefully scanning every room to make sure there wasn’t someone lying in wait, even though he didn’t sense anyone in the house, aside from the two of them. He quietly led Ciara to the front door, peering out through the window to make sure no one was within earshot.

      “I was sure I heard someone,” he muttered to himself, pushing the front door open. “Perhaps it was just an animal or something.”