Dreamwalker (Stormwalker #5) (15 page)

Mick had told me I’d love it out here, and he was right. Montana was a big state, with rolling hills and open grasslands under endless sky. The sun warmed us as we went, a single rain squall a welcome respite. My storm magic embraced the wind and rain, powering up without the worry of Beneath magic to counteract it.

I let the landscape soothe me. Whatever evil Emmett was doing to me, it was a bizarre way to go about it. Riding with Mick across the world wasn’t a torture. This had been the happiest time of my life. Ignorance truly is bliss.

Mick took me north to follow the Missouri River across Montana, then up to Glacier National Park, with its amazing mountains, gloriously colored lakes, and the breathtaking winding road appropriately named Going to the Sun.

From there we returned to the main roads and went on into Idaho. In the cold sharpness of the mountains, we came upon more beautiful lakes stretching under the sky, surrounded by an array of resorts for the rich, motels and boat docks for the ordinary.

Mick settled us into a motel on the edge of Coeur d’Alene’s glimmering lake, again making friends with all those who favored this little motel miles away from the big resorts.

Mick announced he wanted to stay here for a bit, to rest up. Then we’d ride through Washington, and he’d show me the grandeur of the Pacific coast, guaranteeing I’d never seen anything like it.

Since I’d lived my entire life in the Four Corners area of the Dinetah, and no farther west than Nevada, he was no doubt right. I was excited to see the Pacific. Mick had already shown me the Atlantic coast, in Maine, and the remarkable Bay of Fundy with its unusual tides. But for some reason, seeing the ocean on the western edge of the country stirred great anticipation, as though it would be a turning point of some kind for me.

I both remembered this excitement, and was feeling it for the first time. The juxtaposition of my old life and flashes of the new, though they became fewer, made me a little dizzy.

I tried to relax and go with the flow, reasoning that Mick in the future would somehow wake me up again, but a small doubt gnawed me. What if he couldn’t?

What if?
a little voice inside me asked.
You get to be with Mick again, living in as much reality as the first time. If you never wake up … so what?

I had no idea. Would I simply live my life over again? I had an advantage this time—I knew what stupid mistakes I’d make—that is, unless everything faded as it was doing already.

Would I leave Mick this time, meeting up with him five years later in Magellan? Or would I decide to stay and continue this life, happy in his shadow, my big bad biker who took care of me?

In the days we’d traveled to get here, however, the memories of my future life ceased to trouble me. By the time Mick closed the door of the Coeur d’Alene motel room against the night, I no longer cared about my hotel at the Crossroads, the mirror, Emmett, choices. I didn’t care about anything but wrapping myself around Mick and hanging on to him.

We made love all through that evening and into the night, Mick at once gentle and exciting. A cold wind began blowing through the mountains, warning that winter was on its way.

I woke with a start as the sharp breeze rattled the windows. It was still dark, the sliver of sky I could see through the gap in the curtains lit with moonlight.

Mick was dressed, sitting on the arm of a chair near the door, pulling on his boots. I glanced at the clock, which told me it was half past twelve.

“Hey,” I said softly. “Where are you going? Fishing?” I propped myself on my elbow and sent him a smile. Mick didn’t understand the point of fishing, he’d said often enough.

Mick’s face took on the blank, patient look he’d used often on me, always when he didn’t want to tell me something.

“I have to go away for a little bit, Janet,” he said carefully.

I sat up, clutching the sheet to my bare body. On the table next to him I saw a folded piece of paper, the motel’s stationary. A glimmer of memory came back to me. He’d left me a note, which I’d found when I’d awakened after his departure. I wasn’t supposed to have seen him leaving.

“Go away where?” I asked in alarm. While my memories of my future had dissipated, I knew that Mick striking off on his own always meant trouble.

“Just a little business I need to take care of, baby.”

Whenever he’d used this phrase on me, I’d thought, and hoped I was wrong, that he was some kind of criminal. I knew now that he was a long way from that, but in my half-aware, half-remembering state, I was awash with fear. He was taking himself into danger.

“Let me come with you,” I said quickly, starting to slide out of bed.

Mick was across the room and pushing me back down faster than I thought he could move. His eyes were turning black. “No, sweetheart. You can’t.”

“Why not? Tell me where you’re going.” I couldn’t keep the pleading note from my voice.

“You’ll be fine here. I’ll be gone a couple days, but you can rest and shop or do whatever. No one will bother you.”

They wouldn’t, because while Mick was friendly, nobody wanted to mess with him, or his woman. They didn’t understand that “his woman” could flatten this entire motel if she had a good enough storm, but that was beside the point. Guys here would leave me alone from fear of and respect for Mick.

I gripped his forearm. “Don’t go. I don’t like what I’m premonit .. premonishing … is that a word?”

“It is,” Mick said. “It’s from
praemonere
, meaning to forewarn.”

“I’m not joking.” My grip tightened. “I’m not a hysterical woman with a bad feeling. I have some magic too. If all my senses are saying
don’t go
, maybe you shouldn’t.”

Mick’s smile was too confident. “I’ll be fine, Janet. I’m a big boy.” The glint in his eye grew, as he thought about just how big he could become. He wouldn’t share this joke with me, because he’d kept his dragon nature from me as long as he could.

He was determined to leave, and I knew there was nothing I could do about it. Without a storm—the sky was clear and beautiful—I couldn’t draw enough power to stop him. Not that my storm magic ever affected him, in any case.

Of course, there were ways to make sure he was protected other than a magical battle. I sighed and released him.

“Just don’t stay away too long,” I said. “Call me if you can.”

Mick looked relieved. He kissed my forehead. “I will, sweetheart. I love hearing your voice.”

We didn’t carry cell phones at this time. Mick didn’t like them, and I’d lost every single one I ever had, so we rode around cell-free. He meant that he’d call me on the land line of the motel and knew I’d be around to take the call.

I pulled him down for a kiss on the lips, but Mick kept it brief. He knew that if he kissed me deeply, he’d give in and stay, at least long enough for a brief round of lovemaking.

While I wouldn’t mind that, Mick stood up, gave me another dragon smile, and departed.

As soon as he closed the door, I was up and hauling myself into my clothes. I quickly tied my hair back, pulled on chaps and a leather jacket, snatched up my helmet and gloves, and tore out of the room.

I’d kept an eye on which way Mick had gone, and in a brief time, I was on my motorcycle, following.
 

Chapter Fifteen

I spied Mick’s big bike on the highway that led south. I hung back, using a glam spell—which Mick had taught me—to keep him from noting me behind him.
 

In this way I followed him from the lake and up into the mountains, to a remote area far from any town.

Mick took a narrow dirt road that led out from the woods into a giant clearing. I stayed back under the trees, knowing I wasn’t good enough to glam Mick too close or out under the moonlit sky.

The clearing was a defacement from fire or over-logging. Stumps were everywhere as were scattered dead trees, gnarled and twisted like goblins under the white light.

Mick left his motorcycle near one of the dead trees and hiked out into a more open part of the clearing. He stripped off his gloves and tucked them into his jacket pocket, then stared up at the stars, waiting.

I killed the engine on my bike, parked it as quietly as I could, and swung off. Wind stirred the woods around me and whispered through the clearing. The dead trees sighed like lost souls.

I saw the reason, in a few moments, for Mick choosing a clearing. The debris on the open ground started to move as though stirred by a coming storm. There
was
a storm on the horizon, I’d seen as I’d ridden, thick clouds full of lightning and hail, but that wasn’t what disturbed the peacefulness here.

A sudden warm downdraft sent shredded bark and leaves to dancing. The trees, dead and alive, groaned with it.

A black nightmare of a beast plunged downward toward Mick, claws extended. I smothered a yelp and gathered the storm’s energy, ready to blast it.

Janet in this time had never seen a dragon before. She had no idea dragons existed or that her lover was one. Not something that had ever been at the front of my mind. Cute dragons and unicorn toys had been completely absent from the house where I’d grown up. Grandmother had known all about dragons—Firewalkers—and knew they weren’t the cuddly plush toys sold in discount chains.

Which made me wonder distractedly—were unicorns real too? And if so, what kind of horrible monsters were
they
?

A flash of my future life came to me as the dragon landed. I’d seen this particular one before—black as soot, with an aura as smoky. He beat his wings once more, then he swerved, landed on the other side of the giant clearing, and disappeared behind a black mist.

When the mist cleared, Drake walked across the clearing toward Mick, as tall and arrogant as ever. Dragons aged very slowly, and Drake hadn’t changed at all.

I gathered a bit of the storm to me. I wasn’t as adept at containing my magic at this age as I learned to be later, but Mick had already taught me to draw on my earth-magic background to do small spells. I clumsily but effectively tossed a bit of magic at Mick and Drake, enabling me to hear them across the clearing.

Drake’s voice came to me as though I’d switched on a radio. “—were not your instructions. The Dragon Council made clear—”

“The Dragon Council can kiss my ass,” Mick growled. “They sent me because no one else was brave enough to face her. Or they were too lazy to get out of their caves. Good thing. She could wipe the floor with all of you.”

“Exactly.” Drake sounded as stuffy as ever. “Which makes me wonder why you disobeyed a direct order to kill her.”

Mick barked a laugh. “First, she’s a hell of a lot prettier than any of you. More interesting too. Second, she’s not evil.”

“That’s not for you to judge. She bears the taint of the Beneath goddess the dragons took so much trouble to shut away. She must not be allowed to release that goddess.”

“She won’t,” Mick said with conviction. “She’s an extraordinary woman, with a kindness and generosity I’ve found in very few. I’ve definitely never found it in dragons.”

Drake made a scoffing noise. “She’s seduced you.”

“No, I seduced
her
.” Mick took a menacing step toward Drake. “I did my best to take away everything that is innocent in her, to find out if her gentle heart was only naiveté. I’ve had her every way I could invent, and she’s hungry for it. But you know what? She’s still innocent. And loving.” Mick shook his head, his voice going soft. “I never dreamed she would be so loving. She gives her heart as she gives her body. She amazes me every day.”

I listened, my lips parting, cold night air drying my mouth. Mick’s last two sentences were delivered in a quiet tone that was filled with wonder. I remembered lying with Mick in the sunshine in the dragon compound in Santa Fe, after the dragons had captured me. He’d smiled at me, his dark eyes full of fire, and said
I want to be here to watch you grow
.

Tears stung my eyes. Mick’s mission, given to him by the Dragon Council, had been to find me, discover how dangerous I was, and then to destroy me. He’d volunteered for the duty, knowing how lethal the woman who’d created me could be.

For
not
killing me, for falling in love with me and fighting to let me live out my life, the dragons had sentenced him to death.

“You can’t disobey the Dragon Council, Micalerianicum,” Drake said coldly. “Your orders were to destroy the threat.”

“My orders were to find the threat and contain it,” Mick said sternly. “I have. She’s not a threat to the dragons. Tell Bancroft and his cronies to eat it.”

Drake went silent a moment before he said in a quieter voice, “I advise you not to defy them. They can be ruthless.”

“I know. That’s why I’m sending
you
, their errand boy, back to them.” Mick stepped to Drake and prodded his forefinger into Drake’s bare chest. “Tell them that Janet Begay is under
my
protection now.”

Drake hissed a breath. “You can’t.”

“I can. I already have. They are not to touch her. I will watch over her and make sure she does no harm—and that no harm comes to her. Tell the three pains in my ass to back off.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Drake exclaimed, more distressed than I’d ever seen him. “If she has tricked you, you’ll pay with your life.”

Mick shrugged. “If I’m wrong and she goes on a rampage, then I’ll deserve to die.”

The words tore at my heart. Mick was putting his life on the line for me, in this clearing high in the mountains. When it had happened, I’d been oblivious, and I’d grown angry at him for leaving me to wait in the motel room.
 

I’d lost my patience with him and his mysterious disappearances after a while and left him. He’d watched over me even then, protecting me from harm, and I’d never known.

This time, I was fully aware. My memories of the future came flooding back to me—maybe because in this dream I was doing what I hadn’t done in real life. Those memories hurt, and made me love Mick even more.

“I’m sorry, Micalerianicum,” Drake was saying as I wiped my eyes. “But they won’t allow that to happen.”

I jolted to alertness, pressing aside my warm ideas of how I’d show Mick how much I appreciated him. Drake was looking at the sky, and Mick jerked his head up to stare.