Charred Hope (#3, Heart of Fire) Read online

  “Now you sound like Gavin,” Mason said.

  “I’m beginning to think he knew a thing or two about dealing with dragons. I don’t think they know the difference between fear and respect.”

  “And there goes our ride.”

  She looked towards the Pegasus, who was taking flight as well.

  “So you got no answers about your past and no ride back to the base,” Mason said. “Did this go the way you wanted?”

  “Not really,” Skylar admitted. “I don’t think you guys can give me back my memories, can you?”

  He shook his head.

  “And you either don’t know or won’t say what happened to my mother.”

  “Caleb and Dillon handled your mother. I’ve got to assume that she didn’t survive,” was the quiet response.

  “And I dated Dillon for a few months.” Skylar shivered. She rubbed her arms, feeling ill at the idea that her former lover had a hand in killing her mother. “I need to find him.”

  “Settle in then. I have a feeling it’s not as easy as flipping a switch.” Mason retreated from the edge of the plateau to settle between a couple of boulders against a wall. It was as close to shelter as they’d get on the mountain.

  Skylar stayed in place, pensive. “Maybe she’s right. Maybe I need to stay here until my gift awakens. The idea that I become the Protector I should be is what scares her, isn’t it?”

  “Possibly. No one living has ever seen a Protector. Gavin was the oldest shifter, the only who might’ve been old enough to know what a Protector is capable of. What we know is mainly myth and legend,” Mason replied. “No one knows what your mother’s gift was. It seems like every Protector in the stories has a different type of talent.”

  She drew nearer as he spoke.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think your mother would’ve been susceptible to being kidnapped by shifters, if she’d had time for her gift to awaken.”

  “She was with my father for almost fifteen years,” Skylar said with a frown. “Are you saying we’re stuck on this mountain top for fifteen years?”

  “God, I hope not. Maybe she was not strong enough to be what you could be,” he said. “Or … maybe she didn’t have the need or motivation to find her inner gift.”

  “Or maybe my father really didn’t know what a Protector was capable of either. I can’t imagine he’d leave her defenseless, if she was able to control shifter magic, like he said she should’ve been,” she voiced.

  “He didn’t know those after her were shifters.”

  “True,” she said with a frown. ““How many of the slayers are actually shifters? And how many are the children of shifters?”

  “Most are griffin shifters like Dillon, with a few random shifters like me who were drawn into the idea of creating a more evolved order for the community. There was no Protector for five thousand years, long enough for the shifters to become restless and doubtful such a person even existed. They began to doubt Gavin, too, who was more content to stay in his lair. He really wasn’t interested in leading the community.”

  “I can see that,” she murmured, dwelling on what she knew of the reclusive, anti-social blue dragon.

  “A few slayers have been the children of shifters, like you, who showed some kind of skill at tracking shifters. They were taken and brainwashed,” he said. “Unlike you, the others will never know who they’re supposed to be.”

  “Because you interfered with what they were trying to do to me before my mind was able to be permanently wiped.”

  “Yep.”

  She shivered, aware of how close she’d been to having no mind or memories of her own. The cold air of the mountains sank into her clothing, and she squeezed beside him between the boulders.

  “You are serious about caring for me, even if you’ve screwed up my life,” she observed. “I’m finding that to be a common trend among the men I trust.”

  Mason chuckled.

  Skylar pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. I can’t wait fifteen years for my gift to emerge.

  “Protectors can use the magic of the nearest shifter,” she said, repeating what she’d learned from her father before his death. “What do you think that means? I can make you shift involuntarily?”

  “You do that already with dragons.”

  “Seriously, Mason.”

  “Skylar, I don’t know.”

  “You’re a shifter! I’m looking for feedback from someone in the community. What can you do with your magic that I might be able to siphon off you?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “Well … in human form, we retain many of the senses of the animal or creature we turn into. I can smell food twenty miles away and see almost a mile out.”

  “Okay. I don’t think sniffing out a pizza will do anything for me. What else can you do?”

  “In lion form, I’m a fucking stud. Strongest of the cat shifters. I can jump fifteen feet straight up and survive a thirty-foot fall. Fearless in battle, natural leader, capable of overpowering just about anything, including small dragons.”

  “Hmmm. So how would I use that?”

  Another silence, then, “Sky, what if he means that you can shift into anything that you’re near? You can take my magic, shift into a cat bigger and badder than me, and then use that inherent knowledge and power to kick my ass?”

  “I don’t want to be a shifter,” she muttered. “You guys are just walking train wrecks.”

  “But think about it. What else would Freyja be afraid of?” he insisted.

  “Maybe I can just take her magic away.”

  “The lasso can do that.”

  “Gavin said that was the role of the Protector’s mate, the dragon king. He enforced the laws internally while the Protector defended them.”

  “How else would you defend the community? Think about it. If you were the scariest mother fucker out there, who would mess with the community?”

  “You think I can shift?” she asked skeptically. “Wouldn’t Gavin have said, hey, Sky, you can shift into anything you want?”

  “He said you could use the magic of any shifter against them.”

  “Maybe I can just make them shift into a human form.”

  “Before they eat you?”

  She rolled her eyes, not wanting to think she was one of them. It was more than her brainwashed history of believing herself to be in charge of capturing them. It was her natural aversion to a race of creatures that seemed to be only interested in themselves.

  “Think about it. Freyja is afraid of you, or maybe what you’re becoming. What if it’s because she knows you can kick her ass, if she can’t control you?”

  “Mason, I’m listening. But doesn’t it seem far fetched? Doesn’t it seem like my mother – the last Protector – would’ve had the ability to protect me and herself by shifting?” she objected in frustration.

  “Maybe there isn’t one answer to all that’s happened. I don’t know. I don’t think you should rule this out, though.”

  “What the hell do I do with that knowledge?”

  “Test it. Try to shift.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  He pushed her. “Try it.”

  “Like I have any idea how to do that!” And it looks so damn painful …

  “Give me your hand.” He pulled her arm free from her grip around her knees to grab her hand. “I know you can feel my magic. What if you just let it … I don’t know. Maybe you can suck it up like you’re a vacuum and then tell yourself to shift.”

  She almost laughed.

  “Look, not to worry you, but I don’t want to be on the top of this mountain if your locator gift kicks in and Dillon can find you. We’ve got about an hour until sunrise. Freyja will go into hibernation for the day, and we’ll be exposed until nightfall.”

  Good point. “Seeing as how I can’t use my magic GPS locator right now anyway …” She sighed. “Your Pegasus won’t come back for us?”

  “Dragons are moody and Peg
asus' are free spirits who like to sleep in,” he grumbled. “Who knows? Besides, maybe what you need is like a supercharge of shifter magic to wake up yours. Protectors are coupled with the strongest shifters for a reason. What if Chace’s magic being asleep has made yours dormant, too?”

  Skylar was quiet. What if mine waking up helps him, too? Did she want that? There was a part of her that didn’t feel ready to forgive him for all he’d done to mess up her life. Another tiny voice in her mind wanted to help him become the man she knew he could be.

  “All right. I’ll try it,” she said reluctantly. “What do I do?”

  “Let’s move away from these rocks.” He got to his feet and walked towards the edge again. Mason sat down.

  Skylar trailed, her stomach turning over. Was she ready for this? To shift of all things?

  She knelt in front of him.

  “Not to sound fresh, but I’m thinking we need to take off our clothes. In case it works,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been after me since I dated Dillon.”

  Mason gave a sigh. “Yeah, well … we see what happened there.” He peeled off his shirt and jeans, folding them to place in a pile nearby, but left on his boxers.

  Skylar hesitated then followed his lead, skeptical that she was able to shift and more concerned about freezing to death in the time it took for them to test his theory. She stripped out of her warm clothing down to her bra and underwear then returned to her spot, kneeling in front of him.

  “We better hurry.” Already, her teeth were chattering, her body starting to shake from cold.

  Mason took her hands. “Okay. Close your eyes and focus. You recall what I looked like?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Maybe focus on that image or something. Oh, and pulling in all my magic.”

  “Alrighty.” Unconvinced, she nonetheless closed her eyes and envisioned the massive lion she’d seen last near The Field, when Mason had shifted and was shredding any griffin that got too close to the ground. Powerful and huge, he’d been larger than a horse and far more deadly than a normal giant cat.

  Like before, his magic trickled into her body. It was light and cool, making her even colder. She willed more of it into her body without understanding what to do with it. When she siphoned energy out of Chace, it seemed to calm him, to prevent him from changing into a dragon when his emotions got the best of him. There was a purpose to it.

  With Mason … the unfamiliar magic just seemed to float around aimlessly inside her. She kept pulling, the whisper of her instincts growing more vocal with the more she pulled into her.

  His name, his shifter family, his age … it was telling her everything about him, to include the fact that he really had lost a sister when he was young to where he was born – deep in Africa to a poor villager who sold him to another tribe as a laborer when he was old enough. She watched the whole of his history unfold, stunned to learn so much about him in such a short period of time. Just as quickly, the memories faded and disappeared.

  The trickle of magic turned to a stream then to a flood. Suddenly, it felt like there was no division between them at all. She was smelling the mix of pine and freedom he did, mixed with a very distant scent of raw meat, birds, and other small animals he was able to prey on.

  He’s hungry, she realized with a smile.

  He was mentally tracking a kill, aware of every small sensation in the world around him. The brush of pine trees against his fur, the scent of fur and earth and forest, and the flick of his ears in any direction where he heard a sound.

  Distant pain pierced her quickly enough for her to gasp. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before: sharp, hot and lingering. It started in her feet and hands, and she opened her mouth in a scream that didn’t come out.

  Was it her pain or his? Within seconds, it had become fiery agony that swept through her, too deep and fast for her to move. Her insides were twisting, her skin snapping under the duress of muscles that were warping …

  Before she fell unconscious, she began to think this was what it felt like when one of them shifted.

  Chapter Four

  Skylar awoke warm and cozy. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of fur, earth and early morning.

  I didn’t know morning had a smell. She wriggled her nose.

  It took more effort than usual to pry one eye open then the other, and she found herself squinting at the sky. The peak where she’d spent the night faced west, for which she was grateful. It seemed too bright for her to be up otherwise.

  At least I’m warm. Skylar lifted her head to look around.

  “Good morning, sunshine.” Mason squatted in front of her. He was grinning widely.

  Skylar eyed him, not feeling anywhere near as cheerful to be awake so early. Mason’s scent was thick in her nostrils, and she resisted the urge to sneeze, not wanting to be rude. She didn’t recall him smelling so strong either. It wasn’t a bad scent, just the smell of a man.

  “You’re going to freak a little, so listen close,” he started. “Whatever happened last night, it worked. But, I want you to focus on staying calm.”

  She opened her mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about. The sound of a deep growl emerged.

  Startled, she looked around, past the body of a massive lioness she didn’t recall being on the ledge with them to the rocky wall of the peak. She opened her mouth to ask Mason what was going on.

  Again, the growl emerged.

  Oh, shit. Skylar looked down at herself. She took in the massive paws and their claws, the long, sinewy legs and thick, black fur covering her body.

  Mason rubbed her on the head, tweaking one of her ears. She swiped at him with a huge paw, but he danced away deftly.

  Climbing to her feet, she tested her new body by pacing a short distance away and was amazed at how effortlessly she moved. She felt as strong as Mason appeared in his lion form.

  Do I have a tail? She turned, catching a glimpse of it, then began circling, trying to catch it.

  “Omigod, Sky, stop!” Mason was laughing so hard, he’d doubled over.

  She stopped chasing her tail and gave a long yowl of complaint, unable to figure out how she’d been turned into a giant cat or what to do now that she had.

  He dropped to his knees, unable to stop laughing. She nudged him with her massive head, bowling him over. Mason held up his hands as she pawed at him.

  “Okay, okay!” he said, reining in his amusement. He shoved her back.

  Skylar sat on her haunches, trying hard not to panic.

  “Where to start …” Mason stood once more. “You shifted last night. Had I known it would work, I would’ve warned you. It’s painful. You get used to it after enough times but when you’re new at shifting, it feels like you’re being shredded from the inside out.”

  She bared her teeth at him.

  “So you passed out and finished shifting then just … slept,” he finished. “I think it’s a good thing. It got down close to freezing last night. I shifted just to keep warm.”

  She had the urge to pace or run or hunt or something. The animal instincts weren’t hers, and neither was she able to fully figure out what they were. She recognized Mason as being a fellow lion, but the idea of a griffin passing low enough for her to slash its wings with her paw and drag it down for a messy, bloody kill …

  She yowled again.

  Mason smiled. “If you shifted into a lion, you can shift back,” he reasoned. “Do you feel the magic still?”

  Skylar rose and walked the length of the ledge, striding back and forth, wishing she had the space to run somewhere and that she wasn’t stuck on a mountain.

  “Focus, Skylar,” Mason called. “Do you feel the magic?”

  Even if she did, did she really want to feel that pain again? The creatures made it look so simple to change forms, when she’d just experienced how awful it really was.

  “Sky! Focus.”

  She turned to face Mason again. He was having trouble hiding
his amusement.

  “Find the magic. Tell it to turn you back.”

  She continued to pace but sought out the cool thrum of magic in her blood.

  Turn me back! She screamed internally.

  Pain shot through her.

  She froze. Her tail twitched, and she twisted to face it again, fascinated by the appendage that almost seemed independent.

  “Concentrate,” Mason urged her.

  She turned away from her entrancing tail and focused on the magic in her blood. The more she did, the greater the pain became. She sat on her haunches then lowered herself to her belly, leery of the edge of the peak a few feet away. The harder she thought about shifting, the hotter the pain got.

  “Shift fast. The faster, the less painful,” Mason advised, squatting a short distance from her. “Come on, Sky. You can do it.”

  She growled at him.

  The fire grew and with it the agony. Skylar grated her teeth and closed her eyes, willing the pain to be over quickly. Her skin began to ripple as the bones and muscle beneath took on a different shape, while she felt the fur retract into her body.

  Her senses grew duller, until she was no longer able to smell the world around her, aside from pine trees, and the cold wind brushed her skin. There was a snap of pure anguish and then it was gone.

  Skylar sagged against the ground, gasping and shaking. She lifted her head from the cold stone beneath her. Her dark hair fell in ringlets to her human arms.

  “Oh, thank god!” she breathed.

  “Welcome back,” Mason said with another laugh.

  “You are a dick, Mason.”

  He said nothing.

  Shivering, she accepted her clothing from him with a glare, vowing to whack him with a huge paw when she had the chance. Skylar pulled on her clothes but still couldn’t get warm. Her fur had trapped her body heat and kept her comfortable. A coat seemed … flimsy in comparison.

  She sat and hugged her knees to her chest.

  “So now for the real test,” Mason said. “Did that do anything to help you sense others?”

  “That was insane,” she whispered. “Was I really a lion?”

  “Yeah. A huge one.”

  “Bigger than you?”