Dragons Blood by Gemma Scott (ebook reader screen txt) 📖

The salty breeze caressed Sky's exposed skin making her shiver in awareness. What was she doing? Why did she send Eder back to the man with a message? Hold on could he even communicate with the lizard and was it the same lizard? Sky rubbed her temples trying to relieve the headache that was building up. What the hell was happening? The more Sky tried to think things through the more confused she became. There was one thing that she was sure of and that was that she knew the man from in front of the fire place, not just from the dreams but from the recent past and possible present.

 "Sky what's happening? You’re acting so weird."

"It's nothing. Come on lets keep exploring," Curious as to whether she would have anymore more visions if she continued along this path.

  "No," came the abrupt answer from Rachel. "I can't and won’t go any further." Rachel stood like a scared cat ready to bolt up any available tree.

  Sky thought about arguing but she just didn't have it in her. She was becoming exhausted as if these visions were draining her energy. She stared at her friend as her brain kept on going over what she had learned from the visions. If she could only find out more, find out if these visions really were true and not just her imagination running wild she may be able to remember herpast. She thought back to her first memory's as a nine year old waking up in hospital to find two stranger leaning over her claiming to be her parents, to the girl next door introducing herself as Rachel and stating Sky would be her best friend for life and to her beginning her home schooling. She couldn't remember anything from before then. Sky closed her eyes and exhaled. How could she just accept this she wondered. Why wasn’t she running around screaming at this point.

  "Fine go home, but I need to keep going." Sky turned her back to Rachel and continued walking ignoring the warnings and pleadings coming from her friend. Sky walked with her eyes closed letting her feet follow the path as the sounds and smells engulfed her.

“Sky come back. Please. Please lets just go home. SKY.”

  The branches above her head rustled as a large raven moved along the branch watching her. There was something about this bird that had the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She didn't like it, yet she tried to reason with herself that it was just a bird. But as she continued walking and the raven flew from tree to tree, she began to realize she was worried for a reason. This was too much like the first vision that she began to pick up speed. First a walk then a jog and before she knew it she was sprinting the raven took to the sky flying just a few feet above her. She wasn't paying attention to where she was running as she was trying to keep the raven in her sight at all times.

  Sky noticed the ground was becoming slightly rockier as she continued running. She looked up at the raven and then as she glanced to the front had to slam on the breaks. A cliff.  She' nearly just fell of a cliff. She turned to wards the raven that had perched it's self on a branch close by, it seemed to be laughing at her as it bobbed its head in her direction. Sky took astep back, her heel just over the edge. At this point the raven leapt from the branch and drove strait towards her its wings tucked to its side. Similar to how the ravens had dived towards her and the older man in her first vision. It impacted with the middle of her chest knocking her of balance. She fell backwards and began her fall head first towards the ground with an earth shattering scream.

The man bellow looked up as the scream retched through the air. He jumped away from the cliff face to get a better view.

  “Shit.” Sky was falling head first from at least a couple of hundred feet. That would kill her despite her breeding.

He ran left before leaping into the air, black leathery wings sprouted from his back and began flapping powerfully as he flew towards the falling Sky. He had to catch her. He just had too. These were the thoughts that were screaming through his head as his heart rate over took the speed of his wings. When was the last time that he had had this much adrenaline pumping through his veins? When had he felt so alive with a task? When had he ever had to rescue a…a….a…? What was she to him? That he still had to figure out for himself and not what he had been told by an elder.

  As he caught her in his arms her screaming stopped and her body slumped against his chest as she lost consciousness. He face was pale and her eyes were squeezed shut as her hair now wild from her fall flowed around her head as the winged boy flew gently to the ground. The sand bellow his feet scattered with the air flow cased by the beats of his wings as he came in to land. He quickly retracted his wings causing him to grunt as he laid Sky’s slim body to the ground. He then stood and had to roll his shoulder to try and relive his muscles of the ache that now plagued them. It had been many years since he had done a partial shift and his body was making him well aware of this fact.

  He sat down beside sky and stretched out his legs in front of him. He looked down at the young female as she lay unconscious beside him her wild hair made her seem feral unlike her normal styles with it straitened, neatly brushed or tamed into a ponytail. Unconsciously his hand went to cup her cheek before he gently brushed back her hair. It was nice being able to be close to her with out her bickering with him or complaining like she had every time they met over the past 5 years. Movement in the sand caught his eye as a green lizard scuttled across the beach towards him.

  “Well Eder, what’s she been getting up to this time?” he said picking up his little reptilian friend.

  Sky slowly began to switch back on. Wait. Why am I not dead. I..I fell from the cliff. Her eyes fluttered as she fought to keep them closed. She twitched her fingers and her toes. Yep they’re working. She struggled to figure out what had happened. She decided to concentrate, to try and slow her heart rate and breathing. She moved a finger to find it able to dig into the dirt or was it sand, she was too confused to figure out the texture. Goose bumps ran along her skin in awareness as she picked up on the sound of breathing close by.

“I know your awake Sky.”

 Well Shit. Sky shook her head of course it just had to be HIM. The model like boy who had became her obsession for close to five years. The smart tall boy. The one all the girls were trying to get. The guy who had hurt Sky more than she would ever admit. Eric.

“Why am I not dead?” I said as I opened my eyes to find the clouds spinning above me.

“Because I caught you.”

Sky sat up and turned towards Eric with a look of disbelief which quickly disappeared as her cheeks began to turn red in colour. Sky’s heartbeat picked up the pace along with the desire to fling herself at the handsome man who currently sat beside her taking in her appearance with dark blue eyes that seemed to be hiding some strong emotions. Her eyes travelled slowly over his face and then lower over his smooth, muscled chest and abs. He wasn’t built like a body builder but he just seemed to be naturally muscular.

Sky’s head shot up as Eric chuckled. “Like what you see.”

     As Sky’s cheeks darkened his grin widened.

   “S..shut up.” Sky grumbled her embarrassment very clear in her voice.

Sky turned to the cliff she had fallen from. “HOLY SHIT,” she stood staring upwards as her mouth gaped opened and closed a few times. “You caught me whilst I fell from that height,” she turned to look at Eric disbelief evident in her gaze.

  “Well you’re not dead are you.”

  “I didn’t hurt you? Did I?” she again looked him up and down this time assessing to see if there were any injury’s. There was nothing. Not even a scratch or a bruise.

  Eric watched as many emotions crossed over Skys face before she settled with a blank expression. That expression meant that questions would be asked.

  Sky turned to face him before whispering, “How?”

  Eric sighed internally before plastering a smug grin on his face. “Well I saw, and heard, you plummeting towards the ground and I caught you in my arms.” Well he wasn’t exactly lying

 “Uh huh. Why do I feel like you’re not telling me everything?” she said as she brushed the sand off her clothing. She looked towards him with one eye brow raised indicating some sort of answer was required. Eric was looking away from her but she could tell he was grinning and that just pissed her off.

“Look Eric I don’t want to have to put up with your arrogant attitude as if you have forgotten I have just had a rather close call with death. Now if you don’t mind I have to go find my friend and make sure she’s okay.”

 As Sky turned to find a way back up the cliff Eric reached out and grabbed her hand to halt her. Both hissed in a breath at the contact as fire raced up their arms. Eric dropped her hand and stepped back a look of total and utter shock plastered to his face as Sky stood rubbing up and down her arm as a flash of pain crossed her face. Sky recovered first and shook herself as if she were a dog ridden herself of water.

  “I need to go,” it came out as a sort of sob. Eric’s gaze whipped towards her as if he had been broken from a trance. His normally blue eyes had a golden appearance as his nostrils flared. Sky had the sudden urge to run. She looked towards the cliff were she spotted an old stair case that led up to a tree  growing half way up and continued slopping left to near the top. She looked back at Eric’s intense golden stare before turning and sprinting as if her life depended on it all rational thoughts had fled her.

  It couldn’t be. She can’t be. Why? Eric stood frozen as Sky looked around like a frightened mouse stalked by a cat looking for its escape. She turned towards the left and something caught her gaze