Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 84949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
A loud, intrusive thought bursts into my mind. It flares bright with hunger, and then is immediately settled. Thoughts of feeding and the taste of mother's milk drift through the child's thoughts. Luminoura. I remember now. She has reached out many times, but I have pushed her away.
COME, Luminoura tells me. ALL IS WELL. I AM FED AND WILL BE SLEEPY SOON. Her happiness floats through my mind, clearing some of the clouds away.
Yes. We were going to visit Luminoura and her parents. The desire to see one of the half-drakoni children is pervasive, and when my mate holds her arms up, I scoop her into my claws. She holds a small tube in her hand and as she settles into my grip, Jenny pats my scales. "Don't worry. I have your glasses."
My…glasses? A mental image of clear faces, of Jenny's bright smile as she gazes up at me, drifts through my head. I remember now. Glasses.
Our secret. Don't worry. Jenny's thoughts are full of affection. Do you know how to find Luminoura? Will they be upset that we're coming unannounced?
Nothing is unannounced as far as those children are concerned, I reply, and Jenny laughs.
I take to the air, following the thread of Luminoura's charmingly disoriented thoughts. Hers are not the wild chaos of my own, but something purer, sweeter. They're the distractedness of an infant, a collage of her mother's face, impressions of food, her father's thoughts touching her own, and Luminoura's own mental reaches for Sallavatri, myself, and the other drakoni in the area. Now that I am no longer blocking her thoughts, they drift through mine, pleasing and strong in their contentment. They make my mind feel stronger, too, more resilient, and I wonder if her sire is stronger in mind with the constant presence of his child nearby.
Jenny's thoughts touch mine constantly as I fly, her observations of what she sees below peppering through my head. There is an old restaurant. That one is a hardware store. That one is nothing but shoes. There is something called a gas station, where people would fuel up “cars.” Jenny's thoughts even show me how they used to work, and I am fascinated. Humans would crawl inside them and the car would move on its own down all the flat paths that cover the ground. Now that there is no more “gas” in the gas stations, all the metal cars sit empty and abandoned along the roads.
Luminoura's mind grows stronger, and I spot a tall building in the distance. A bank building, Jenny tells me, reading the sign. The letters are broken and bird nests are tucked into the curves of the sign. Just above the lettering of the sign itself, there is a large opening in the roof of the building, and as we move closer, a large drakoni male takes to the skies and bellows a warning.
Jenny stiffens in my grip, a flicker of fear in her head.
PAPA, Luminoura calls, delighted at the sound of her father's bugling. She sends him a flurry of thoughts and emotions that include me.
Immediately, the other male—Dakh—settles. She has invited you?
Yes. We wish to see, I send back. We want to look upon a child with drakoni and human blood.
Come, then. She likes you. Dakh's tone loses its aggressiveness and he whirls about in the sky, heading back toward his nest. The scent of him is everywhere in this territory. It is well-marked and established, so they have been here for a while.
I make sure that all know this territory belongs to me, Dakh sends back, his thoughts edged with ferocity. No one will come close to my mate and child unless I let them.
Of course.
"Is everything okay?" Jenny asks me, worried.
It is fine. Dakh sends us a warning, as any would if we went into his territory. All is well. I want to nuzzle her to reassure her, but I must concentrate on flying. I lift my wings, adjusting the angle so I can pull up on the edge of the building. I settle in, using my hind legs to anchor my body in place, and study our surroundings. There is a break in the floor here, and below, I see the trappings of a home set up. There is a bed, and a kitchen—my Jenny's mind fills in the words for me—and a couch. And walking toward us, wearing a soft, faded dress, is Luminoura's mother, the baby in her arms.
Gently, I lower my claws and set Jenny on the floor in front of her. Is this all right?
"Thank you, Mhal," my mate tells me with a sweet smile. "Are you going to change and join us?"
I look over at Dakh. He rests opposite me, remaining in his battle-form. He lounges on his side, but his thoughts are anything but relaxed. He is wary. Watchful. A protector ready to go to battle to defend his mate. He will not shift forms, not while I am here.