Tempting The Dragon

Chapter 4

“Did you...?” Turning to the silent woman next to him, one glance at her ashen face told him she had also seen. “So there is a Forestwood monster.”

“Which never, ever shows itself to strangers,” she mused, her voice breaking.

“I guess there’s a first time for everything.” He glanced from her to the lake and back. “Why do you think that is?”

“Since we’ve already discussed the fact that we’re both shifters, what kind are you?” she asked, staying true to her apparent penchant for avoiding answering questions by asking one of her own. Still, her question surprised him, since an unwritten rule existed forbidding discussing this sort of thing. While everyone recognized one another from their auras, they were specifically forbidden from discussing intimate details unless you were a mated pair.

Which he and Jade definitely were not.

Since he wasn’t sure how exactly to answer, he settled on simply staring at her.

Deciding to see where she meant to take this, he waited. When she didn’t speak, he finally had to. “You know better than to ask me that.”

“Yes. I do. And since you apparently do as well, you’re clearly aware of the law,” she continued. “We are not to reveal ourselves to humans.”

“True.” Intrigued, he watched her, waiting to hear what she’d say next.

“So you can’t write an article about Libby,” she said.

Momentarily confused, he frowned. “Libby? Who’s Libby?”

She clamped her lips together tightly before lifting her slender arm and pointing toward the lake. “Her. The so-called lake monster. Except she hates being called a monster. Use the word creature instead.”

“Libby?” Flabbergasted, he stared at her for so long her face turned pink. “Y’all named it?”

“Her, not it. And yes. She’s lived in that lake for centuries. My ancestors’ ancestors took care of her, just as I do today.”

He lifted his camera, pushing the video option and getting ready to record. Before he did, he was about to ask her if she minded, but the way she froze at the sight of it told him she did.

“I’ve said enough,” she told him, her voice sharp. “If you’d like to see more of the lake, we can continue. Otherwise, I’d appreciate it if you’d take me back home.”

He lowered the camera and headed back toward the car. “I’d like to see more.”

Her deliberate movements telegraphing her reluctance, she climbed in the passenger seat and secured her seat belt.

“And while we’re driving,” he continued, “you can tell me why the people in town consider you to be a witch.”

* * *

A witch. If she hadn’t been so upset, Jade would have laughed. For as long as she could remember, people in town claimed to know that the Burnett who took care of the lake monster had magical powers. Jade has always laughed it off. Until she’d been assigned to be Libby’s Guardian, and realized quite suddenly she did have powers. The day she’d been given the necklace by her mother, she’d felt the sense of honor the heirloom conveyed. On that day, she’d come into her own powers. Each Guardian’s was different. Amber had never said what gifts she’d been given, but Jade didn’t doubt that her mother’s had been inconsequential just for that reason. Amber was the type to shout from the rooftop.

As for herself, Jade considered her own powers minor, as well. She couldn’t do a whole lot, just a bit of telekinesis. Oh, and the occasional bit of prophetic ability. Not entirely reliable, most of it came to Jade in her dreams, usually as a jumbled mess, leaving her to puzzle out the meaning.

No, the only one with actual magical abilities was Libby. A powerful seer and oracle, there were many written accounts of her being asked to help the Burnetts with something. Every single recorded time, her answers were correct.

Still. If Rance wanted to believe Jade had really strong magic, well... Since she needed all the advantages she could take, she decided she wouldn’t disabuse him of the notion. Let him think she had true magical powers. Maybe if he focused on that, he’d let his determination to write about Libby fall to the wayside. Being called a witch was the least of her worries right now. Actually, she’d grown quite used to it.

Why had Libby chosen that moment to rise out of the water? Jade didn’t know what to think. In all the years her family had been taking care of Libby, she couldn’t think of a single instance when the beast had revealed herself to an out-of-towner. Scratch that. The only ones in town Libby had let see her spectacularly beautiful scales were all shifters. Maybe because she knew they, unlike humans, would never betray her.

Forestwood seemed pretty equally divided, as far as Jade could tell. Her entire family was part of the Pack, which meant they shifted into wolves, as did most all of the other shifters in town. There were a few large cats, but not many as they preferred a warmer climate.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her jumbled thoughts. Worry and uncertainty had her second-guessing herself. Would it have been better if she’d pretended she hadn’t seen Libby jumping out of the water? In her shock, she’d inadvertently revealed the truth of Libby’s existence.

And she wasn’t even certain she could trust him with that knowledge. As her stomach roiled, she saw another family meeting in the near future.

They rounded a corner and the picnic area sat directly ahead of them. Rance pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine. He glanced at her once with his hand on the door. She pretended not to notice, so he got out and walked down the path that weaved around the little pavilions and picnic tables.

Heart hammering, she followed him all the way to the edge of the water. As she came up beside him, she half expected to find him staring out into the expanse of lake, searching for another sign of Libby. Instead, he looked down at the shallow pools where the gentle waves slapped against the rocks worn smooth.

“It’s peaceful,” he murmured. “Not exactly the kind of place one would expect to find a monster.”

Not a monster. She bit back the words, her automatic defense of Libby hovering on the edge of her lips. She’d already revealed too much. And warned him not to use that word. Anything else she said would only make the situation worse.

“You can’t go back, you know.” A half smile curled his sensuous mouth. The combination of his deep, sensuous voice and Southern accent made her weak in the knees.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied, aware she sounded more prim than dignified, even though she’d tried for the latter.

His smile widened. “Pretending you didn’t tell me about Libby.”

Though she should have known it was coming, she winced at the sound of the name on his lips. “I made a mistake.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, turning again to look out at the water. The wind whipped his dark hair, giving him an otherworldly look, and she found herself wondering exactly what kind of shifter he was. If he were wolf, she’d bet he’d be magnificent in his lupine form.

If he were something else... She shook her head. No matter what form of beast Rance Sleighter changed into, he’d be golden and perfect.

“Hey, Jade.” The familiar greeting made her turn, smiling. She often ran into Lucas Everett, one of the other sets of twins in town. Lucas and his brother, Monroe, were identical twins and made no effort to help anyone tell them apart. They both wore their dark hair long, brushing their shoulders, and the same blue eyes. The two had been pining after Pearl and Sapphire for as long as Jade could remember. They were one year ahead of Jade’s sisters in school and rumor had it that they’d actually considered failing so they could share the same classes. Both brothers loved hanging out at the lake and often one or the other could be found here, making sure the picnic area remained pristine.

Lucas gave her his usual one-armed hug. “How’s everything?” he asked. By “everything,” she knew he meant her sisters.

“Fine. They’re both fine.”

He grinned. She grinned back.

Rance coughed. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” he asked.

“Sorry. Lucas, this is Rance. Rance, meet Lucas.”

After she finished, she expected the usual handshakes. Instead, Lucas took a step back, his eyes wide.

“Rance Sleighter?” The reverence in his tone was usually reserved for his favorite musicians.

“That’s me.” Rance held out his hand.

After vigorously shaking it, Lucas exhaled. “I’ve followed your work. In fact, I even did a report on you last year for journalism class. I dig photography, too, though my camera isn’t as nice as yours.” He glanced from Jade to Rance and back. “How do you two know each other?”

Jade clamped her mouth shut, making a mental note to do a Google search once she got home.

Rance glanced at her once, then shrugged. “I came here to do a pictorial report on your lake monster, er, creature. Ms. Jade here has been trying to convince me not to. Says Libby wouldn’t appreciate it.”

All the color blanched from Lucas’s face. “Jade told you her name? Seriously?”

Crap. Jade swallowed hard, hating the look of dismay and condemnation on Lucas’s face.

She wasn’t sure how exactly to respond—in fact, she wasn’t certain she should. This was not the kind of thing she wanted the kids gossiping about in the hallways at school. She could only imagine Pearl’s and Sapphire’s reactions if they learned what she had done.

When he realized Jade wasn’t going to answer, Lucas turned again to Rance. “Why are you bothering with stories about a hypothetical lake monster? I’d think you were famous enough without having to spend time on fluff like that.”

Only because she was watching Rance closely did Jade see the kid had scored a direct hit. Though the wince seemed barely perceptible, she saw it.

“Fame is a fleeting thing,” Rance responded, a trace of bitterness in his voice. He’d once been famous, but jobs had dried up when he’d started drinking. And then once Eve had became ill, he’d basically quit. “But if you’ve followed my work, you surely know I’ve always specialized in photographing offbeat, unusual stories.”

“And put your own personal spin on them.” Lucas shook his head, clearly disappointed. “But this is different.”

Rance’s gaze sharpened. “How so?”

Jade placed a warning hand on the teenager’s shoulder, just in case he might be goaded to say something he’d regret.

“This is beneath you,” Lucas tried, his voice vibrating with the urgency of his conviction. Not for the first time, Jade wondered why her younger sisters refused even to give him the time of day.

“Is it?” Though Rance spoke in a mild tone, his gray gaze blazed. “These sorts of things have long been a personal interest of mine. And I’m finally at a point in my career where I’ve earned the right to do what I want.”

“Even if doing what you want hurts people?” The kid stared intently, perhaps realizing his idol might actually have feet of clay.

Rance tilted his head, his dark shaggy hair glinting in the sunlight. “Explain.”

Double crap. “I think that’s enough for now,” Jade interjected, giving Lucas a stern look. “I appreciate your help, Lucas, but I’ll be handling this.”

Immediately he dropped his head. “Whatever. I guess you have to since you’re the Guardian.”

Though she winced inside, she managed to keep her face expressionless. Of course Rance missed nothing. She had no doubt he’d made a mental note and would ask her about this later.

So be it. For whatever reason, Libby had chosen to show herself to him. That had to mean something. Until she knew more, all Jade could do was try and distract him. And hope and pray she could talk him out of writing that article.

“I’d like to walk along the shoreline,” Rance said. “Would you care to join me?”

“Of course.” She hoped she managed to sound as smooth as he did. Her inner wolf, reacting to her heightened emotions, paced. Snarled, wanting to break free. Even though she’d just changed the night before, her beast wanted more. She’d need to make an effort to shift and have another hunting run that evening. Since she preferred to become wolf in a group, her large family came in handy at times like this. She’d have to see who else might want to go with her.

“Hey, darlin’.” Rance’s light tap on her shoulder startled her, nearly making her lose her footing. Only his quick grab of her elbow stopped her from falling.

“Are you okay?” he asked, holding on for a heartbeat too long before releasing her.

She decided to be honest. “Not really. I’m confused and a bit unsettled.”

“I’m sorry.”

She sighed. “You sound like you mean that.”

“I do.”

At this, she shook her head. “If you really were sorry, you’d leave town.”

“Ah, you know I can’t do that.”

Somehow she’d suspected he’d say that. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

“Good point.” As they climbed over another rocky patch, he once again took her arm. And once again, she had to pretend her skin didn’t tingle from the contact. Funny thing that. She hadn’t realized she could be capable of such tangled emotions. She both wanted the man gone, and to wrap herself around him and never let him go.

* * *

Days like today, Libby felt the full weight of her many years. Her kind did not live forever, but their lifespan far exceeded that of humans or other shape-shifters. She’d constructed the Guardian necklace when she’d first arrived in Forestwood years ago, using an unusual purple-colored stone she’d found deep in the lake. Since then, each Guardian wore the talisman, passing it down to their successors. Libby had a matching one in her jewelry box somewhere, though she no longer felt the need to wear it. She’d learned long ago that a piece of metal and stone couldn’t replace an actual connection between living beings.

Sometimes the loneliness made her bones ache. When that happened, she’d go out into the lake, change into her beast and sink to the bottom, holding her breath as long as she could. Long enough to make herself dizzy. Long enough to almost convince herself that she could make herself drown.

Libby hadn’t always been alone. Once, a long time ago, she’d been surrounded by others of her kind. Friends and lovers, family and strangers. A vibrant community, similar to the one Jade and the Burnetts enjoyed here in Forestwood. Like those of the Pack, they’d spent most of their time in human form, taking great care never to allow regular humans to see them change.

Unfortunately, due to their great size, sightings had abounded. Through the centuries, they’d been alternatively revered and feared, worshipped and hunted.

Now there were so few of them they’d become mysterious. The lake creature that might be real. Or just myth.

Libby no longer cared. After years of doing what she should, she wanted a normal life. With friends and a man.

She wished she could discuss this with Jade. She had, at least inside her head, many times. She could picture how the conversation would go, could see Jade shoving her fingers into her thick silver hair to push it back from her face, and demanding to know why Libby didn’t have those things she claimed to want so badly.

The sad truth was, Libby didn’t know. When she’d been younger, before the illness killed off so many of her kind, she’d fallen in love. More than once. She’d broken hearts and had her own shattered. And then...so many got sick, so many dying, and her father had spirited her away to this small town and ordered her to stay here, away from her own kind, her own people.

“Only until the illness passes,” he said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll come for you then.”

Except he hadn’t. He’d fallen ill, just like a score of others, and she never saw him again.

These days, her aloneness lay gently across her shoulders like a cashmere cloak. She’d long ago stopped wanting more. She even managed to convince herself that she was satisfied—satisfied—with her life.

And then Amber Burnett had asked if her daughter could take over as caretaker. Libby hadn’t hesitated to agree, even though she usually was the one who chose the next Guardian. After her agreement, Jade had visited Libby for the first time alone.

At first, a young Jade had been terrified of her. Libby had felt the pain of that like a knife stabbing in her gut. For the first time in her life, she’d hated being considered a monster. Once, her iridescent scales had been considered beautiful. Now she’d been relegated to a thing, a creature or a beast, lurking in the depths of Forestwood Lake.

That hurt more than she would ever have believed possible.

Over the past nine years, she and Libby had grown close. Her relationship with Jade gave her hope. Of all the Guardians over the years, only Jade treated her like a friend or a relative, rather than a creature to be feared. Originally, when Libby had first arrived in Forestwood, she’d done as her father requested and set the whole Guardian thing up. She’d chosen a Burnett simply because one happened to be hiking out near the lake. At first, the Burnetts had been tasked with protecting her from outsiders and making sure she had everything she needed to survive. She’d even used a bit of her very basic magical skills to ensure they wouldn’t leave, by making her Guardian become ill if she tried to leave Burnett house.

Since then, Libby had become pretty self-sufficient, except for her crippling shyness that kept her from making friends. After all, if she went to town, she looked like everyone else. Half the time, people had no idea she was actually the “lake beast.”

With all of her kind gone, Libby had felt the weight of her aloneness grow heavier. It wasn’t until Jade had taken over that Libby had realized she didn’t have to live as an outsider. She just needed Jade to help her figure out how to make that happen.

* * *

It had been a long day. Rance had seen the panic and condemnation on that kid Lucas’s face. The sickly sort of disbelief on Jade’s. Though he’d itched to photograph everything, document it for posterity, in that particular instance, he knew better. For the first time since starting out on this quest, he’d felt a faint prickle of conscience, as if the teen might be right and he should focus on other things.

Except he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to bring Eve what she’d asked for.

Deliberately forcing his thoughts to other things, Rance remembered the pub he’d seen on the way to Jade’s house. The thought of pub food—greasy hamburgers and seasoned fries—made his mouth water. Though as a recovered alcoholic he no longer drank, he’d refused to avoid places that served alcohol entirely, viewing it as a way of testing his fortitude. Tonight, this would be exactly what he needed to get his mind off both his predicament and the sexy silver-haired Jade Burnett.

Since the evening air felt perfect, he left the rental car parked outside his motel and walked the few blocks to the bar. The road climbed and dipped, but the Brew and Chew Pub sat halfway up the first hill, making his walk more of a workout than he’d anticipated. Which was all good. Hiking around the lake had made him realize he needed to get out more. He’d even purchased a nice pair of hiking boots so he could do this.

He also needed to change. But in what he assumed must be a community of shape-shifting wolves, his kind of beast would definitely be noticed, so he had to be careful.

The unhurried pace of the locals as he strode past them made Rance smile. In larger cities, these people would get mowed down by the fast-walking crowds. Even compared to Houston, Forestwood seemed positively bucolic. Here, even though he would have thought they’d take the scenery for granted since they lived here, every person he passed appeared to be engrossed in the picturesque storefronts with blooming flower boxes and towering trees, enjoying one another’s company. Inhaling deeply, Rance could smell the scent of hamburgers and fries cooking somewhere drifting on the breeze.

Unable to resist, he got out his camera and snapped a few shots. Then, because he never knew if he might want to take another, he kept his Nikon in his hand, secured by a neck strap.

His spirits lifted. All in all, this began to look like it would be a perfectly great night. The possibility of achieving his goal put a spring in his step and hope in his heart.

Even better, he felt like he might fit in while here, despite having only been in town a couple of days. No one stared at him or gave him sideways glances. No, sir, generally the locals didn’t even appear to act like he might be out of place. Which was in stark contrast to the way they’d acted when he’d first arrived in town.

In fact, one might consider them a bit overly friendly. Especially the other men. Rance noticed every single guy—old or young—gave him a broad beaming smile. Sometimes a wink, or a dip of the chin, and even once a thumbs-up. All very convivial and jovial, almost like they were congratulating him for something, though he had no idea what. Maybe word had leaked out that he’d seen their lake creature? Judging from the teenager they’d run into at the lake, he wouldn’t have thought that’d be a good thing.

In fact, it was beginning to creep him out.

Ahead, he saw the sign for the Brew and Chew Pub.

Finally reaching the bar, he yanked open the surprisingly heavy red painted wooden door and went inside. As the door swung closed behind him, he blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the dimness.

The inside smelled like heaven. Grilled burgers with onions and fries. No cigarette smoke, for which he felt grateful. In fact, several no-smoking signs were prominently displayed.

One empty bar stool in the middle of the bar beckoned him. Red pleather, he thought as he took a seat. While he waited for the bartender to notice him, he thought about grabbing a menu, but decided he didn’t need it. He already knew what he wanted.

When the bartender—a tall, thin guy with a close-cropped head of gray hair—appeared, he slid a tall glass of draft beer to Rance. “Guys at the pool table bought it for you,” he said, grinning.