Blue Jay Wars and Dragon Hopping

Greetings, Shapeshifter lovers, the blue jays in my neck of the woods are at war over territory, if their loud squabbles are any indication. With Autumn flying by faster than a witch on a jet-powered broomstick, it is wise to prepare your winter accommodations.

Of course, the ghoulish and mystical world of Halloween is heavy as fog around me right now. There are online spooktacular celebrations galore for the authors and readers of paranormal romance. Witches, Ghosts, Vampires, Angels, Demons, Gods and Goddesses, Fairies and those of the fae realm, Demon/Vamp Hunters, Werewolves, and, of course, Shapeshifters in every breed and stripe, are making their appearances.

My apologies to any and every being I’ve left out. From what I’ve observed a popular pairing is a witch and a shapeshifter. Yep, that is a natural and ‘familiar’ mating straight from heaven or hell.

Okay, then... I had no idea I’d be writing this. But, here it is, I’m hopping on the Dragon Bandwagon with my freshly written contribution. Be kind, please. It’s not magic-clever like Pat Cunningham’s Dragon Scales. Nor, is it sassitude-clever like Solara’s Dragon. Nor, is it imaginative-erotic like Serena Shay’s The Dragon’s Lair.
~~~

Ruby Fire

Dusk claimed the sky as if silver droplets infused the air. Zrykur commanded the color from his scales, and knew he all but disappeared. Even the super-tech crowd ensconced in their underground compounds couldn’t detect his presence. Dragons were rarely captured and dissected, given their scales redirected beams, from microwave to laser.

Still, as he descended and cruised at about a thousand feet, he imitated a small plane, locking his leathery wings. Cranky as when he lost an aerial competition, a rare occurrence, Zrykur mentally roared. Hell’s blood, if he didn’t feel banished from his world.

Despite his rogue tendencies, he’d never been labeled an outcast. However, before he could depart, Earth had been declared a quarantined planet by the Galactic High Council. No matter that had been 48,592 years ago.

Snorting to lessen his anger, Zrykur flamed a pocket of pollutants in his path. Oh, yeah, baby, that was his mission these days. Sail the skies and use his fire to scorch a path through the gargantuan clouds of putrid slimy chemicals.

A dragon did have to breathe, great amounts of air usually. For his sake, for his brethren dragons, and for the Earth Mother, Zrykur dissipated as much of Beelzebub’s crap as he could stomach. And stomach said it, since he was often grounded atop the nearest mountain by the nausea that slithered like a serpent through his belly.

Riding the prevailing wind, Zrykur glared at the distant town’s sprinkling of lights. If he didn’t want to dry up and blow away, scale by large scale, he had to find a human woman, shift to a man for the night, and engage in carnal relations.

No problem for him, and always erotically enjoyable. Several vigorous rounds of coupling were always preferable, the juicier and hotter the better. The woman’s essence, body and spirit, infused him with what he required to continue living.

The problem, he wanted no attachment that would prevent him from returning to Vaskarlia. And human women could be so delightfully alluring. He always risked taking one as his mate.

Hell’s black cold hearth, that’s how he’d ended up on Earth in the first place.

During the antediluvian time, an appetite for lust had been considered sacred, and beneficial for the land’s fertility. As a youthful dragon shapeshifter, the nights of revelry with beautiful insatiable women who had run from him just to be chased and caught, had proven to be a temptation he couldn’t resist. Then.

Now, he wanted to survive until he discovered a way leave Earth. Slowing his speed to near floating, Zrykur flapped his wings twice, the rush of sound and wind merged with the rising stormwinds. Swiftly, he neared the bar and restaurant district, only upscale because Yuppie’s escaping California had flooded the eastern Oregon town.

Scenting a sexually ripe woman who was alone, Zrykur halted his tail from slashing the evening air in anticipation of being with her. He told his cock to deflate as he folded his wings, and slowly dived toward the large parking lot she approached.

The woman’s scream ripped apart the atmosphere. Streamlining his body, Zrykur flared his eyes searching for her. Using them like giant spotlights he located her on the edge of the lot, a woman with ruby fire hair.

What Zrykur witnessed next boiled his blood and blazed him to fury. A man seized the woman from behind, trapping her against his body. She struggled valiantly to escape, but the brute of a man dragged her toward a pickup truck.

“Stephen, let go! You fucking bastard. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

She started to scream again and the man clamped a hand over her mouth. Wild with rage and fear, the woman twisted while trying to bite his hand. Even though her arms remained captured, she fought to pummel him with her fists.

Zrykur launched himself directly in the man’s line of sight, reddening his eyes. That always frightened humans out of their skin.

“What the fuck...” Speechless now, Stephen stopped dead in his tracks.

Whipping around, the woman beat on his chest taking advantage of his looser hold.

“Let go, you shithead. I hate you. I’ll always hate you!”

Zrykur spread his wings. Stephen’s eyes bulged, threatening to come out of their sockets. His hold slackened and the woman broke free. She backed up so fast, she nearly lost her footing. Recovering, she spun around and ran.

Zrykur felt his blood run cold, and not thinking twice, he flamed the man. Sizzling nicely, as only a human could, Stephen went up in smoke.

“Omygawd.”

Zrykur heard the woman’s shocked horrified voice as he began his transformation. Hovering above an adequate roof, he completed the change and dropped down on his bare feet.

“Omygawd,” she chanted several times. “I never believed in... what is that, that...term? Omygawd, he’s a pile of ash.”

Grabbing the heavy duty bag that had been hanging around his neck, Zrykur pulled out jeans, a leather jacket, motorcycle boots and a black t-shirt. He threw his clothes on and jerked on his boots, knowing he had to get to the woman as fast as possible.

“Oh, god, human combustion. Spontaneous human combustion. I never believed... omygawd. He’s a... he’s a pile ash. Just ash. Oh, god..”

Leaping, Zrykur landed in the alleyway that led to the parking lot. With his senses on high alert, he jogged toward the woman. Once he sighted her, immobile and pointing, one hand over her mouth, he slowed to a fast walk.

Relieved that no one else was around, he approached keeping his stride casual. “Is something wrong, miss?”

She glanced at him, her eyes wide luminous pools. Seconds later, her eyes rolled back, her knees buckled, and she fainted. Zrykur caught her easily, and slung her across his shoulders, all in one motion.

Yet, not before he’d seen the sheer loveliness of her face. And not before his gaze had traveled over her nymph-luscious curves.

“My own damsel in distress.”

Briefly touching her mind, Zrykur headed for her car. He didn’t plan on telling her he had flamed her ex-boyfriend. Or, that he was a dragon shifter from a world far, far away. He didn’t plan on telling her what she didn’t know about herself.

No, not until she couldn’t live without him.
~~~~~~

~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN SHAPESHIFTING ~

Savanna Kougar

~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~