Dragon Hunted Read online

When Katsu asked again, the question was slower and solemn. "What's wrong with you?"

  Ashe let his head fall back against the cave. The thump as it struck felt muffled and huge all at once. "Too much magic. I don't think you can fix it."

  There was a beat of silence. Silence, Ashe found, was far more worrying than acerbic comments. Ashe wished for them back.

  "You're an idiot."

  He relaxed.

  "First off, using something that could kill you isn't the way to be a hero. Second off, of course I can help. Moron."

  Ashe couldn't see anymore, but he could hear the rustle of clothes and sense the movement beside him. "I don't think that'll help," he offered. "It's not that I'm not willing, but I'm not sure I really can right now..."

  "Not everything is about sex."

  Ashe snorted, then wished he hadn't as the world rocked underneath him and his lungs threatened to give up. He searched for something, anything, less frightening than feeling his body shut down. "Oh, the things I could teach you..."

  "Would you please just focus on breathing?"

  It was too hard to argue. He tipped his head back again to open his airway, listening to his own gasping breath echo in the tiny space. Outside, the dragon's breathing seemed to mock him: slow and easy.

  It had been entirely too long since he'd channeled magic for anything more than parlor tricks. Fire ate at him, burning his bones and muscles. It wasn't unheard of for one of the Keela Empire to die from channeling, untrained and unpracticed. He'd been trained, but he sure as Katsu's nine hells wasn't practiced. Stupid, to try that. He couldn't feel his arms anymore.

  "What are you?"

  The question only got past the pain haze because of how determinedly it was asked. Hands pulled at his ripped and filthy vest, unlacing it.

  It still took him a moment to puzzle out the meaning. He was an elf; Katsu knew that. Then reason battered sense into him, and he realized the medic wanted his empire name. "Keela."

  "Figures. Never saw a bunch of elves who were so over-sexed." Cool hands pulled him close, dragging him between Katsu's legs. Protesting seemed too hard. Breathing seemed too hard. His head fell forward, air came with difficulty, and he didn't care. Each scrape throbbed, a pulse point overshadowing all the other agony happening under his skin. Stupid to push himself. He hadn't meant to.

  Katsu's bare chest pressed against his back, a big hand tipping his head until it rested on a broad shoulder. "Open your mouth."

  He did, but mostly because Katsu pried it open.

  "Bite down, and don't spit it out."

  Katsu pushed his jaw closed, and something so bitter it nearly triggered his gag reflex burst through his mouth. He nearly spit it back out, but couldn't. Katsu planted another hand on his spine and shoved him forward.

  "Keep it in your mouth. I know it tastes awful, but it'll help stabilize your chakra. Hang on. This'll hurt."

  Something sharp cut into his skin. It hurt, but nowhere near as badly as the rest of him did; he couldn't bring himself to do more than flinch as Katsu drew lines in his flesh.

  "Lean back." Katsu grabbed him and pulled, and Ashe found himself once more leaning against Katsu's chest. This time, though, he could feel Katsu's heartbeat pounding against him, binding to his own and forcing it to slow. His lungs burned as they followed Katsu's, dragged into taking deeper, slower breaths even though the magic that had ransacked him made them want to tighten down and stop moving.

  It hurt.

  He groaned against the leaves in his mouth, clenched between his teeth, and tried to arch away. Katsu kept him there, wrapping legs around Ashe's waist and arms around his chest. Katsu's touch was hot, spreading a whole new type of fire across his skin. He broke out in a sweat, still pulling instinctively away but unable to gain any distance. Muscles strained as Ashe fought the urge to escape and Katsu kept him near.

  He was dying. His own burned-out magic couldn't support him, and Katsu's magic was incinerating him, grabbing hold of his organs and twisting them to do what Katsu said. Ashe whimpered. It keened into a whine, and finally a scream through clenched teeth. Sweat dripped down his neck and into his eyes. His body struggled to shut down, working against Katsu. It was too much. He tried to pull away and couldn't. He wrenched sideways, but it didn't work. His feet scrabbled against the cave floor, his hands scratching at the earth.

  The dragon snarled and lunged for the opening, head trying to push inside. Distantly, Ashe heard Katsu cursing. His vision was dark. Fireworks popped in his head and sizzled behind his chest, and he screamed again as his skin felt like it was melting off.

  The dragon roared in frustration. Noise blasted through the cave. Dirt trickled down on them, each grain igniting its own inferno on Ashe. He twisted frantically. The dragon roared again, and in the darkness Ashe's world became light. He lost consciousness.

  ***

  Everything hurt in the sort of way it hurt when he'd been drinking too much and his buddy, rather than stopping him, encouraged the bar-dancing, helped him brawl, and possibly tossed him down the stairs. Twice.

  It was much better than it had been.

  Ashe cracked a grime-encrusted eye, lashes resisting as they stuck together. Finally, though, he got that eye open and looked around.

  Dirt. Murky sort of darkness. More dirt.

  He licked his dry lips and debated how much he'd likely regret it if he tried to move. Finally deciding that moving was better than staying put, he braced one hand against the ground and pushed upward.

  There was minimal world-swirling, and when it stabilized, everything came rushing back to him.

  Light filtered through the opening to the cave, though it was still dim inside. When he looked toward the back of the cave he saw Katsu sprawled out between him and the wall, bare chest covered in writhing black tattoos and smeared blood. Ashe had never seen Katsu half naked before. His eyes traveled the swirls of ink, intricate and wildly beautiful, spilling over lean pectorals and a ribbed stomach.

  Katsu slept, one tattooed arm over dark eyes, looking pale. His black trousers were coated in a fine patina of dust, little pools of it gathering in the folds of cloth.

  Whatever Katsu'd done last night, he'd worn himself out. And saved Ashe's life.

  Ashe twisted to look over his own shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the lines Katsu had cut into him. They flared painfully, and something wet trickled down his ribs.

  "Stop moving."

  He froze, then looked back down. Katsu hadn't moved. Not even to open his eyes. His short black hair wasn't much cushion for his head. "How did you know I was moving?"

  "You're awake, aren't you?" Finally, Katsu shifted his arm. There were dark circles under his eyes, which were bloodshot and puffy. "You're exhausting. Why do you get into so much trouble?" Katsu grimaced. "Why do I care?"

  Ashe's heart leaped, but he only gave Katsu a rueful grin and remembered, just in time, not to shrug. "It's a talent." It was hard not to keep looking at Katsu, spread out half naked beside him. With an effort, Ashe turned toward the cave opening. "Is the dragon still out there?"

  Katsu grunted. "I'm pretty sure it fell asleep when the screaming stopped."

  Ashe winced, feeling a little queasy at the sudden memory of agony. "That's good," he said weakly. "If you never do that to me again, I'll live a happy life." Then he paused, considering it. With aching care, he shifted until his weight was on one elbow and he could look down at Katsu. "What did you do?"

  Katsu opened one eye, peering up at Ashe through thick lashes. "I paired your chakra--"

  "My what?"

  One hand lifted and waved, the very gesture reeking of annoyance. "I guess you'd call it your magic. Micarans would call it their soul. But really, it's a system of energy not unlike the energy of the world, and it controls and influences your biology."

  Ashe gave Katsu a doubtful look. He had no doubt that magic affected biology -- that was well known, and why the Keela underwent training before using it. But the rest of that sounded li
ke superstition to him.

  Katsu ignored the look, though, and kept talking. He rubbed a broad hand over his own chest, drawing Ashe's attention to the thin lines tattooed across his golden skin. "This helps me use my chakra to heal. There's a lot of different ways I can use chakra, but in this case I traced the same pattern into your back and linked our energy. You'd practically ruined your pathways, so they wouldn't carry your chakra. Your centers were spinning backward or not at all. I forced them to work with mine."

  "I ran out of magic and you gave me yours?" Ashe asked. He'd never heard of such a thing, but if Katsu was a healer as well as a medic--

  "You can't give someone chakra, and it's impossible to run out of it. It just stops moving."

  Ashe looked at Katsu askance. "Of course you can run out of magic. It's why we train."

  "No, you train to strengthen the pathways."

  Definitely superstition. Ashe shrugged, then cursed under his breath when it opened up the thin scabs on his back. Slowly, he pushed to a sitting position. The cave ceiling was low; no way would he be able to stand. But he could kneel, crouch, or even crawl. "I'm going to check and see if the dragon is still out there." He started for the opening, then felt Katsu grab his ankle.

  For an instant, Ashe thought he saw concern in Katsu's eyes. Then the moment was gone, and he figured he must have been imagining it. "Just throw something out the hole first," Katsu said. "Don't get your head snapped off."

  He thought about it, weighing the chance that the dragon was still there with the likelihood of getting eaten if it was, and decided that wasn't a bad idea. He picked up a small rock and threw it, wincing at the way his muscles moved under his skin. Everything hurt.

  The rock soared through the air and vanished into a bush a little ways away. Nothing else moved. There were even twittering birds. Taking a deep breath, Ashe began to crawl forward. Each slide of hands or knees burned through his body, and by the time he'd made it to the hole, he was pretty sure that all the scabs along his back had opened up again. Something wet slid down his ribs, and he couldn't tell if it was sweat or blood.

  He was going to be a lot bloodier in a minute if that dragon was still out there. Rumor said that they were nasty, cunning animals. He hovered just inside the cave, listening for anything that might tell him a predator waited.

  The birds chirped. Small animals dashed back and forth in the undergrowth and over tree limbs. The wind whispered through the ravine, an invisible hand that brushed across the treetops and made them sway gently.

  Warily, Ashe crept out of the cave.

  Nothing happened.

  He turned his head, peering down the ravine. The trees grew thicker the farther in they went, stretching tall to reach the sun. Shade and water were plentiful, increasing the growth of bushes. No sign of a dragon, though.

  He turned and looked the other way, toward camp and, more distantly, the town. The foliage was thinner, the shadows dappled with sunlight until the forest became a dry, airy woodland down among the flat lands. Dead leaves turned to mulch, piled up against the ravine wall.

  And a dragon lay curled between a stand of trees and the cliff, head on its forefeet, tail wrapped around its legs. Ashe froze. Maybe it hadn't seen him yet. Maybe it was waiting for him to run before it struck. Maybe--

  Its ribs rose and fell, a tiny weed swaying with the gust of its breath.

  Maybe it was sleeping.

  Heart pounding in his skull, setting up a racket he was sure even Katsu must hear, he looked at the animal's eyes.

  Closed.

  Slowly, slowly, Ashe backed into the cave, trying not to disturb so much as a leaf. Cool shade closed over him, the dimness reassuring as he crept to his spot by the wall. Bile churned in his stomach.

  "Well?"

  Ashe waved Katsu quiet with desperate movements, then whispered as softly as he could, "The dragon's still there."

  For a moment, Katsu just looked confused. Then his eyes flew wide, and he looked toward the cave entrance. He pushed up to one elbow and pointed with his free hand. Out there? he mouthed.

  Ashe nodded.

  Shit.

  Ashe nodded again.

  They both stared at the opening.

  "Now what?" Katsu asked finally, so soft even Ashe's excellent hearing almost missed it.

  Ashe shook his head. He had no idea.

  "Did it see you?"

  He shook again. "It's sleeping." Katsu looked confused and gestured at his ears. Ashe repeated himself louder, wincing at the way his words hissed around the cave. Humans were so deaf sometimes. Important times. Like when he was trying not to wake a dragon.

  Katsu looked at the entrance. Ashe looked, too. They sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Ashe looked back at Katsu. Half-naked Katsu, and he couldn't even be excited about that because he was too busy being afraid for his life.

  Damn dragons.

  "I bet it's the male."

  "Does it matter?"

  Katsu glanced at him, then back at the entrance. "It fits the description the townies gave us better than the one we were hunting. I bet this is the male, and it's been raiding for its mate."

  "Which would be the female we went after."

  Katsu nodded.

  "Which means there are probably eggs. Damn." Ashe sat down on his butt, bringing his knees up and looping his arms around them. If there were eggs involved, the dragon was never going to let them out of this cave.

  When Katsu spoke, he was a little wistful sounding. "Eggs go for a neat coin. Good for balms, salves, and powders, too. Dragon embryos go for--"

  "Are you insane? They go for a neat coin because most people die trying to get them!" Outside, the birds suddenly went quiet. Both men froze. Ashe's heart thundered. He'd been too loud. That was almost a speaking tone of voice. He'd woken the dragon, and--

  The birds began to chirp again.

  Katsu gave him a foul look. "Look," Katsu said, "our best bet for getting out of here is to go while it's sleeping. They sleep through the day, so in theory we're safest leaving when the sun's the highest."

  Ashe eyed the shadows stretched across the ground. "I think that's now." Katsu's logic was sound, but Ashe couldn't begin to describe how badly he didn't want to leave the relative safety of their cave.

  "I can't go."

  Ashe scowled and glanced over. "Don't wuss out on me now. You did fine yesterday."

  A flush darkened Katsu's cheekbones. Not embarrassment, Ashe thought, but... frustration?

  "I can't go. I twisted my ankle. Didn't notice it yesterday, with all the adrenaline, but today..." He shifted a bit, and Ashe glanced down.

  Katsu had taken his boot and sock off, exposing a foot that was swollen and covered in purple and black bruises.

  "What do you suggest I do, then?" Ashe asked, panicking. "Leave you here for the dragon?"

  "I was thinking you could go and get help, actually..."

  That, he considered, made a lot more sense. Except for the part about leaving Katsu here, defenseless against a dragon.

  "I can't just leave you here," he whispered. "We don't know how far help is, if they're still fighting with that other dragon, or if I'll even make it."

  "I don't see a better choice. Do you?" Katsu continued before Ashe could answer, refusing to look away from the cave opening. "Look, it's not likely to wake up. You have elf stealth going for you. You can probably get away before it hears you, and if it sleeps right through, then it'll probably sleep through the day. That means we have hours before it tries to attack again, and it could even decide that I'm not worth waiting for and move on."

  They both knew that last was unlikely if it was protecting a nest. Ashe didn't bother saying so. He didn't say anything, in fact.

  "I did not sign up for this!" Katsu hissed, furious. "I signed up to patch people up and see the world and get paid, not bandage the fingers of over-sexed elves who slip with a knife and certainly not to get stuck in a cave with a dragon!"

  The final word echoed. A
she winced, but there was still no stirring from outside. "It's fine," he said at last. "We're going to get out of this just fine."

  Katsu looked livid. Ashe couldn't help it. He smirked. "Getting pissed won't change this. It might scare your patients into better behavior, but not the world."

  For a moment, furious dark eyes pinned him. Then the stare eased, and at long last Katsu gave a wry smile. With a start, Ashe realized it was the only one he'd ever seen. He scooted closer, mindful of Katsu's leg. Unsure what else to do, he finally looked again at Katsu's ankle.

  It really was ugly. Gingerly, he framed it between his hands and focused on bringing healing warmth. Magic flowed through him, and he winced as it scraped nails under his skin.

  "Stop that," Katsu grumbled. "You're going to damage your pathways."

  "I'm just putting some magic into you. It'll make it feel better." He could smell Katsu under the scent of the moist earth.

  "You're not putting anything into me, you're forcing my chakra to flow through my pathways and heal myself."

  Ashe looked at Katsu from under his brows, trying to see if the human really believed that. Apparently, he did.

  "Look, I'm the healer, damn it. Not you."

  "It's amazing you ever heal anyone, insisting it's their own body doing it. That makes no sense at all."

  "And magic transferring from one person to another does?" The question was sarcastic, but Ashe didn't respond. He didn't have a response: it made perfect sense.

  "Does it feel better?" he asked after a time.

  Grudgingly, Katsu muttered, "Yes."

  Ashe nodded and sat back. There was pressure behind his eyes, a throbbing ache down his arms and into his hands. It was worth easing some of Katsu's pain. "We could wrap your ankle. With my support, we could both get out of here."

  For just a moment, he thought he saw a flash of fear. "I'm not hobbling out there with a dragon at our doorstep. The two of us would make so much noise--"

  Ashe shook his head. "I think we can go quietly. We'll have to go slowly, which is nerve-wracking, but we can do it." He was almost sure.

  "And if you're wrong, we get eaten! Ashe, go get help."

  "I'm not leaving you here. And you can't make me."