The Seventh Angel Ch. 02

When she narrows her eyes, craning her neck to get a good look behind him, he strategically flares open giant, blue dragon's wings still attached to his humanoid back, blocking her view.

Amaranth glares at him. His grin just grows big enough to expose pointed canines and molars

"It's a good thing the unicorn king told me about you. You should know better than to seek refuge in a valley carved out by a river."

Amaranth blinked, remembering the herd of unicorn. "Who are you?"

He grinned wider. "You'd never be able to pronounce my name, but everyone calls me Blue."

"Okay?" she answered. "Where am I?"

"My home, on the border lands of the Dracons and Felinis."

Amaranth nodded. "I'm actually looking for someone. He's—" would Seth even reveal his true self to these people? "He's a white weretigiri."

"There is a clan of whites across the river divide."

"Well, he's not your average weretigiri."

"Is he accompanied by a royal red? An archangel dragon shifter?"

Remi. Amaranth's heart beat harder. "Yes. That's him? Have you seen them?"

"Uh, no." her heart sank until he continued. "But I've heard the gossip. The clan leader is interested in that were as a potential mate."

Amaranth winced. Looks like Seth was already involved with someone else.

Clenching her teeth against the hurt, she pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin. "Well I need to find him."

She'd get to the bottom of the Alpha Angels diabolical plan regardless.

"Oh, I can't cross over there," he answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "That would be in breach of the Dracons-Felinis peace treaty."

"But what about Remi? He's over there and he's a weredragon."

"The newcomers are exempt...for now."

She continued to stare at him, confused, but his expression remained impassive.

She gestured behind him. "How about your friend back there?"

The growling started again. Blue's grin grew even more, reminding her of Remi.

"Sparky doesn't like strangers."

"Sparky?"

Blue's grin disappeared, a weary look replacing it. "Look, how about we bed down for the night and discuss traveling arrangements tomorrow morning after I've caught us some breakfast?"

Her eyes were a bit scratchy from lack of rest for the past sleep cycles. Whenever she did manage to go into deep sleep, it was plagued by nightmares.

Her eyes finally slid down his body before she caught herself with a jolt. Even his balls were blue.

"Could you at least put on some clothing?"

He snorted. "I have a beautiful body. Why should I cover myself?"

"Well, you're in a people skin, and people don't go around butt naked."

Planting his hands on his lean hips, he argued "well, if I shift back into Dragon form, you might start to smell like a nice midnight snack and I'd hate to have to have to wake up to pick annoying feathers out of my teeth."

Amaranth sniffed in indignation, sliding her sword from its sheath. "Trust me. You'd be picking your teeth up from this cave floor if you put your maw anywhere near me."

Blue shrugged. "I'm not putting human clothes on. You're not my prisoner, so you can walk down off this mountain if my personal preferences offend you."

The sound of pelting rain, and a cool breeze wafting in from the mouth of the cave gave her gooseflesh.

For now, her choices were either hunker down and sleep in a cave with a naked blue man and his weird mystery pet, or go out into a raging storm on an alien planet.

Clutching her sword and glowering at the growling creature at the back of the cave, she sank down onto the cold hard ground, arranging her wings carefully and tried to sleep.

Her host lit a small fire in a pit surrounded by stones. After that, he walked back into the more shadowed area at the back of the cave, practically disappearing from sight.

She began to feel silly about harassing him about his nudity. Seraphs weren't usually so uptight about modesty, seeing the naked form as natural and beautiful, but she'd had too many bad experiences which had made her feel on edge in regards to nudity.

Yawning, she wrapped her wings around herself and closed her eyes. Behind her, thunder and lightning raged as the wind howled low.

It was going to be a long night, and probably an even longer day as she set out in search of Seth and Remi.

Again her sleep was plagued by nightmares. She woke up swallowing a scream.

Her panting breath created a fine mist in the moon-lit interior of the cave. Afew feet away from her sat a disheveled child, staring at her with giant luminous golden eyes.

"He-Hello—"

Almost as soon as the word was past her lips, the child scampered away, growling.

Sparky?

Sparky was a small child.

Amaranth hadn't been able to see if it was a boy or girl.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose and the distinct feeling of being watch came over her.

Her senses came alive, ears picking up the sound of giant wings beating in the air, the scent of fire and cinnamon, so familiar, a giant shadow covering the entire cave.

She swung her gaze around and caught sight of a red tail zipping out of sight.

Hurriedly, she got to her feet and ran out to the ledge of the opening of the cave.

Far-far away was the distinct shape of a dragon flying away—too far to judge exactly what color her or she was. The tail had been red though...and that scent of cinnamon.

Had it been Remi?

Hope flared within her. If it was, then they weren't too far away.

Questions rose inside her once more. Why were they here? What were they up to? What did all this have to do with the Greis and princess Glory? And the clone?

Tiny pebbles rained from above. Amaranth was about to look up when a flash of purple caught her eyes.

The small child was standing behind her, little hand about to touch one of her wings. The child looked up, snarled tangled hair a vivid purple in the moonlight.

She was so beautiful, but Ama was unable to swell on the little girl's beauty.

A roar rent the air, and Amaranth was thrown off the edge of the cliff where the opening to Blue's cave was located.

As she frantically beat her wings to stop her plummet, she heard Blue's roar of fury.

Amaranth finally righted herself her wing clipping the side of the rocky mountainside painfully.

Blue fought another dragon, a black one. Sparks of electricity flared from the black dragons talon and Amaranth realized it came from Sparky, who'd turned into a tiny purple dragon.

The black dragon roared in pain and dropped the baby dragon.

Both blue and the black went for her and crashed together. Fire flared from both dragons, meanwhile the child plummeted toward Amaranth, her tiny wings flapping uselessly.

Amaranth opened her arms, but as the baby dragon drew closer, she realized she could not save her.

A one ton baby dragon smashed against her, sending them both to the yawning darkness below. They would both die if the child did not morph back into human form.

Still, Amaranth did not let Sparky go.

The ground rushed up. Amaranth could here the rustle of the leaves in the canopy of trees below them. Maybe the trees would break their fall. Maybe Blue would reach them in time.

Roars sounded above, but it was a giant red talon that closed around Amaranth and Sparky.

The baby dragon roared. It was the last thing Amaranth heard before a current of electricity ripped through her, blackening out reality.