“Four miles,” she moaned, leaning her forehead against the steering wheel. “You can do this, Carly. It’s only four miles. It will be a walk in the park.” A snort escaped her at the pun. “Okay, you do this and you can treat yourself to a small ice cream at the Dairy Queen on the way home, how’s that for a reward?”
Leaning back in the seat, she bent over and picked up the small backpack from the floorboard and shoved the map inside. Opening the door, she slid out with another loud groan before glancing around to make sure no one else could see or hear her. She turned, slammed the door shut, and pocketed her car keys.
“Ice cream. Remember the ice cream,” she mumbled under her breath as she forced her aching muscles into motion.
She stepped onto the trail and pulled the denim and leather backpack onto her shoulders. Gripping the straps, she started down the uneven path. “Ice cream…” she muttered with each of the first two hundred and seventy-one steps before she started focusing on other more important things – like hungry bears, mountain lions, and Big Foot.
Nearly two and a half miles later and barely half way into her hike, Carly was in a foul temper. She had fallen – again – when the large iced coffee she’d drunk earlier flooded her bladder and made stopping for a pit stop an urgent priority. Since there were no restrooms along the trail, she had been forced to find a bush to water.
Of course, there was no flat ground to be found. The only options available were a rock wall to climb up or a steep slope to climb down. Her protesting muscles and lack of coordination, plus the fact there was nothing to hide behind if she climbed up, meant she was left with no alternative but to navigate the steep drop off. She had made it but not without a few slips and slides. The seat of her jeans and her knees were covered in damp, cold mud which added to the misery of her aching body.
Fortunately, she had discovered a small stream of water coming out of the rocks a little further up the trail to clean up a little. The icy water had given her an opportunity to wash the dirt off of her hands and refresh herself. Of course, now her fingers were frozen.
Think positive, Carly. At least you’re not still completely filthy, she thought ruefully as she continued to trudge up the trail.
Carly couldn’t help but think that if all of her earlier misadventures hadn’t been enough to convince her that she should have just gone to the gym, the unpredictable Oregon weather should have been the final decision maker. The dropping temperature and the rolling, thick clouds told her that she was an idiot for being a miser and letting her embarrassment get the best of her. Those two concerns had kept her from going to the local gym – money and Ross – and not necessarily in that order.
She had been reluctant to purchase the annual membership until she knew she was going to stick with her exercise plan. She had bought the membership once a couple of years ago – and never went. Of course, she was older and more mature now which should have meant she was more disciplined – only Carly knew herself well enough when it came to exercise to know that she wasn’t. If she had thought more about it, she should have just purchased the monthly contract, but it would have cost her five dollars more each month, which in a year would have been a whopping sixty dollars more than the yearly membership.
The real reason she didn’t go to the gym, though, was because of her reluctance to run into Ross Galloway. Ross put the bad in ‘bad boy’. Jenny had warned her, but Carly had been all goo-goo eyed when Ross had shown up in his faded jeans, ratty t-shirt, black leather jacket, and his devil-may-care attitude down at the local bar near the waterfront. She really knew better than to date a guy she met at the bar. She had known better than to date Ross Galloway – hell, he had been bad in high school! Still, she had been feeling pretty mellow after her first beer when he had asked her out – not something that happened all that often. He also went to the gym – the only one in town.
By the fourth date, Carly had realized her mistake and called Jenny to come pick her up. Granted, it hadn’t all been Ross’s fault. She hadn’t meant to release the fishing net on his boat. It had been an accident. Also, he had been the one who had wanted a smoke! It wasn’t like she had dropped the match on purpose. You’d think if the guy owned a boat, he’d know if there were flammable items on board.
Carly looked up when a fat raindrop landed on her cheek. Almost in tears, she focused on the trail in front of her when another drop hit her on the end of her nose. Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by an earth-shaking roll of thunder.
“Really? You think I’m enjoying this so much you wanted to add to the fun? You could have waited, you know. I’m almost half way back. Just another hour… or two,” Carly argued with the sky. She was rewarded with three more large drops and a heavy mist approaching at a rapid clip. “Great! Thank you so very much… not! I hope you are having fun because I have to tell you that this really sucks big time. I HATE EXERCISING!”
Of course, arguing with the sky wasn’t something most sane people did, but it made Carly feel a little bit better. She cringed when a bolt of lightning struck close enough that she thought her hair was standing on end. Okay, maybe the sky gods were listening and they were not entertained by her yelling at them.
Picking up speed, Carly tried to half walk, half jog along the uneven trail. She smothered a cry when another bolt of lightning struck. Didn’t the weather know that it was just supposed to rain, not have a full-fledged electrical storm? She should have checked the weather forecast before she got out of her car.
“Shouldn’t the ranger have insisted that no one go hiking? He frigging knew there was a storm coming. Isn’t it his duty to help protect idiots like me from themselves?” Carly cursed under her breath.
She jolted to a stop when a small group of rocks tumbled onto the trail ahead of her. Then the rain started coming down in thicker sheets, drenching her. She pulled the hood of her jacket up over her head, cursing again when it caught on her backpack. She needed to find a safe place to weather the storm. A loud cracking sound made her look up. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw a leaning tree sway dangerously toward her. Small rocks rained down around her, hitting her shoulders.
Carly jumped closer to the rock face and was surprised when she noticed a dark crevice running vertically from the ground to almost a half meter over her head that appeared to be a very narrow entrance to a cave. Perhaps her luck was changing. It might not be the local hotel, but it was better than getting struck by lightning or crushed by falling trees and rocks.
Carly squeezed into the narrow crack in the rock face and released a frustrated groan. Why couldn’t the stupid opening be just a few centimeters wider? It wasn't until she was halfway in the crevice that the sudden image of horrible, scary bugs flared in her mind. She really hoped there weren’t any spiders, snakes, or other creepy crawly things in the dark recesses.
A flash of lightning and the crackle in the air had her frantically sucking in her stomach so she could slip inside. Of course, she became stuck. Wiggling back and forth, she added a few loud curses to go with the new bruises she was adding to her collection before she popped through the opening into inky blackness.
She turned and grabbed a branch just outside the opening; then wildly waved the damp branch around, hoping against hope that it was enough to chase off any of the nasty gremlins and their sticky webs that might be lurking near the entrance. The rain picked up even more, pouring down the side of the mountain until the entrance looked more like the back of a waterfall. Carly hiccupped in the dark.
“This is why I hate to exercise,” she groaned with a shiver.
Turning away from the wall of water, she absently waved the branch with her left hand while she reached for her cell phone with her right. She tried sliding it to unlock the screen and cursed loudly when it didn’t work. She slid the thin branch between her dirty, jean-clad knees and used her right index finger to open the flashlight option on her cell phone. Slowly shining the light along the walls and floor, she looked around the narrow
cave.
“I told Jenny this would be the death of me. Archaeologists are going to find my mummified body a thousand years from now and say ‘Yep, this is a perfect example of Darwin in action’,” she muttered in her best ‘learned scientist’ voice. She stared at the walls with growing dread, certain that she could see them moving with all kinds of deadly bugs determined to suck her dry. “Forget being mummified. I’m going to be picked clean to the bone!” She took a breath, then her lips quirked up. “I guess that is one way to lose some weight.”
Jenny Ackerly, her best friend and roommate, had laughed earlier this morning when Carly had dramatically foretold her own death by exercise. Well, Jenny wouldn’t be laughing when Carly went missing.
Carly vowed she would come back from the dead just to point out to Jenny that hiking was not for everyone. Of course, she would also have to admit that Jenny was right. After all, Jenny had been the one to point out that Carly sucked at exercising and would be better off – and much safer – to just buy the gym membership.
“Okay, it wasn’t really a hike, so much as a stroll, but it still counts,” Carly told the dark walls in defiance. “The state should have put up better signs and they need to hire rangers who tell you that you’re stupid if you ignore them when they say a storm is coming.”
Carly tilted her head when she thought she caught a glimpse of light coming from the back of the cave. Her mind swept through all the possibilities. What if there was a serial killer waiting for her, or a vampire, or a… she slammed the door shut on her wild, out of control imagination when the sudden vision of the walking dead appeared in her mind. Drawing in a shaky breath, she swore she would never attend Horror Night at the local college ever again.
“Or horror movies,” Carly whispered, her hand beginning to shake. “No more Saturday night horror movie marathons. God! Why did I have to go on an alien binge this last weekend?”
Swallowing, Carly felt herself drawn to the warmth and light coming from the back of the cave like a bug to a bug zapper. Unable to resist, she stepped closer on trembling legs. The walls and floor of the cave were smoothing out the farther she walked.
Turning the corner, she stopped in surprise when she saw the light was coming from a glowing torch in a sconce attached to the wall. Further down the passage, she saw an arched doorway. It reminded her of old castles, like the one out of the Dracula movie she had watched the night before.
“Carly, you really, really need to get a better taste in movies!” she growled to herself in annoyance. “Romantic comedies are good. Animated cartoons are even better.”
She released a long breath and glanced down at the phone in her hand. She didn’t need the flashlight anymore. Swiping her finger across the screen, she turned it off. There was no sense in wasting the power on her phone now that she had the light of the torch. Plus, she needed to conserve the power so she could call the ranger and admit that she needed help – a lot of it.
Fascinated by the beauty of the elaborately carved stone that formed the walls and floor, she soon became lost in the twists and turns as she followed the passageway. A magnificently carved entrance held her spellbound. The pillars were carved into the shape of dragons.
“Oh, oh, oh! I love dragons!” Carly breathed, hurrying forward to run her hands over the beautiful sculptures.
Her mind swirled in awe. If there had been any way she could slip the huge dragons into her backpack, she would have done it in a heartbeat. Her bedroom was covered in dragon figurines and medieval castles. Carly lovingly ran her hands over the rough stone belly of one of the dragons.
“Wow! This is just… Wow! Who would have thought to put something like this here? I’ve never seen this part of the park before, that’s for sure!” she breathed out in excitement.
Turning her head, she gazed through the entrance, expecting an amusement ride attendant to be greeting her. Since when did the state parks get into the theme park business? Hell, how could they have built this without her knowing anything about it? She worked at the bank, for crying out loud. If anything happened in town, the first place to learn about it was at Barb’s Hair-n-Care; the second place was at the walk-in clinic; and the third was at Bank of the West where she worked. All gossip went through those three venues.
Carly’s hand flew to her mouth to hide her gasp when she stepped through a curved archway into the massive chamber. Rivers and mountains of gold and jewels glimmered in the faint light. She didn’t know if they were real or not. They looked like it, but she wasn’t an expert.
Despite the beauty of the glittering treasure, the gold wasn’t what caught and held her attention. No, her attention was caught by the truly magnificent form half buried at the bottom of the mountain of gold and jewels.
The statue of a brilliant, midnight black dragon lay curled up in sleep. The unbelievable detail of the creature held her mesmerized. If there was one major thing Carly had a weakness for, it was dragons. She absolutely adored the mythical creatures. She had collected them, painted them, and dreamed of them ever since she could remember. She was so bad about it that Jenny liked to tease her. Jenny often said that the only way she would ever find a man she could love was if he was part dragon. Carly completely agreed.
She swallowed and slowly descended the steps. Her feet slid and she wobbled, trying to keep her balance when the pile of gold shifted. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was dreaming or had died and gone to her own version of heaven. If so, she was ready to move in.
“It sure beats the hell out of being mummified or gnawed on by bugs like a starving dog at a barbecue,” she observed.
Halfway down, she fell. The pile of coins shifted under her and she was pulled down to the bottom of the mountain. Her eyes widened and she leaned back a little to try to keep from tumbling over. Digging in her heels, she braced them against the base of the half buried platform, stopping her descent. Carly lay stunned for a moment, staring up at the dragon curled in peaceful slumber.
He’s so beautiful, she thought in awe.
Her eyes glowed with delight as she ran her gaze over the silky scales covering his head. His brow was high, with two large ridges curving around his eyes. Thick, long lashes lay against the smooth, black scales like twin crescent moons. A series of ridges ran down his face to the narrow tip that made up his nose.
He looked… real. She knew it was impossible, but he looked like he was warm and soft. Standing up, she bent forward and climbed up onto the steps. She had to use her hands to help steady herself against the loose debris scattered across the steps. Once she was at the top of the platform, she stood for a second, just staring at the creature in fascination.
Carly rubbed her right hand along her damp jeans before lifting it to run her fingers gently along one of the ridges of his brow. She gasped softly when she felt the warmth of the dragon’s scales beneath her touch. Shock coursed through her when the dragon’s eyelashes rose to reveal dark, sapphire blue eyes with a glitter of gold sparkling in them. She swayed when she felt more than heard a strangely accented voice whisper.
“Choose your treasure carefully, thief,” the soft, honey-rich voice stated.
Her hand fell to her side and she stumbled back a step in shock when the dragon’s mouth moved as he spoke. Carly decided she must have died in the storm after all. Her trembling legs refused to support her. She sank down onto the pile of coins. Her lips parted, her gaze lifting to maintain eye contact when the dragon raised his massive head.
Carly fell back when the dragon stretched his neck in her direction. She could feel his warm breath sweep over her. A soft moan escaped her, echoing in the large cavern. The warm air of his breath surrounded her, melting the bone-chilling cold that had encased her body from her rain-dampened clothing.
Carly raised her hand as the dark head drew nearer. She tenderly ran her fingers along one nostril, tracing the outline in gentle exploration. She didn’t notice his long, sharp teeth. Her gaze was focused on where her fingers followed the vivid
contours of a scale. The warmth of his breath heated her blood with strength and hope instead of fear.
Licking her suddenly dry lips, Carly slowly rose to her feet again. She lifted her head to gaze into the brilliant eyes of the dragon watching her with an intense expression. She didn’t think, she just whispered the first words that came to her mind.
“Can I choose you?” she asked in a barely audible voice.
The Dragon’s Treasure
Merrick’s Maiden
Merrick Ta’Duran is the powerful leader of the Eastern Mountain Clan on the Prime world of Baade, and he feels the weight of responsibility as the males within his clan become desperate to find mates among the few remaining females. When word comes that a new species has been discovered, he knows he must do what is right for his people - even if it means traveling to a strange, alien realm to do it.
While on Earth, he is injured and captured by a ruthless group of humans. Drugged and held against his will, he is the subject of experiments and testing as the humans try to discover where he came from and duplicate his strength and ability to heal quickly. After months of captivity, he fears his life will end on the strange world – until one chance encounter gives him hope.
Addie Banks’ world has been one of silence since a devastating illness when she was sixteen. Determined to stand on her own two feet, she goes to school during the day and works at night to put herself through college. It’s during her shift at Keiser Research that she stumbles across something she wasn’t supposed to see. Now, she hears a voice in her head - and it is driving her crazy. Her only hope for peace is to help the creature talking to her escape from the men holding him.
Merrick jerked awake and rolled. He barely made it to the toilet before the contents of his stomach emptied. He didn’t know what they had pumped into him this time, but he could feel his body rejecting it. Heaving, he gripped the bars until the nausea passed.