Read Online Tears of the Dragon by Kaitlyn O'Connor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kaitlyn O'Connor
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assimilate the unknown,
produced the sensation of swimming through a chilled, clinging
jell. Briefly, the air seemed to be sucked from her lungs. Sound
ceased. Even as an unfamiliar sense of panic touched her mind,
however, her struggle to gasp was suddenly rewarded by a sharp
intake of breath. The sensation of traveling at high velocity was
as instantaneous as the breath of air.
Expecting to feel the chill wetness of
water, Khalia was so stunned when her fingers plowed the warm
graininess of sand that that stunned her almost as much as the
impact of her body against solid earth. Fortunately, she regained
the ability to move at about the same instant that she was finally
able to draw breath into her lungs again. Sneezing and coughing,
she turned her head to try to drag in a breath free of airborne
debris and finally managed to climb to her knees.
The belly flop in the sand dune had knocked
her ‘shift’ out of her as well as the air from her lungs. The
tattered remains of her clothing fluttered in the sharp breeze
blowing over her, pieces drifting downward and settling to the
ground around her along with the debris she’d plowed up from the
desert floor.
It was a desert, she realized the moment she
managed to wipe enough sand from her eyes to peer around her. She
hadn’t imagined the sand, or the friction burns on her palms, her
knees, and, in fact, pretty much everything in between. Her
clothing had protected her somewhat in more tender areas, but, as
she’d known would happen, shifting had pretty well shredded her
clothing, leaving a lot more exposed skin than might have been
vulnerable otherwise.
When she’d assured herself she was
alone, she spat the grit from her mouth. Spitting in public was
incredibly unladylike and ill-mannered, and she was embarrassed
to think about doing it, let
alone do it. On the other
hand, she couldn’t believe it would be very healthful to swallow
dirt and, since no one seemed to be about to witness the lapse, she
was more interested in her health and comfort at the moment than a
lapse in manners. When she’d expelled as much of the grit as she
possibly could, she sat back and looked around a little dazedly,
absently shaking the sand from a tattered bit of clothing and using
it to blot her lips.
The glow of a full moon lit her
surroundings. As far as she could see in every direction, there was
nothing but rolling dunes. In the moonlight, the sand looked as if
it had the color and consistency of brick dust.
Where was the city? And how had she come to
find herself in a desert of all places? The city was surrounded by
marsh and water, not desert.
Khalia was still trying to assimilate the
indigestible when a dark shadow swooped above her head. Ducking
instinctively, Khalia’s head whipped toward the perceived threat.
She was arrested, however, by a sight that so took her by surprise
that she could only blink at it, stunned, unable to think at
all.
A pair of moons had just crested the
horizon. Even as she glanced up to see what had produced the light
overhead that she’d assumed was a full moon, a man landed in the
sand barely two yards away from her.
He was the next thing to naked. For
several horrifying moments, she thought he was completely naked,
but even as her eyes dropped with a will of their own toward his
genitals, a tiny bit of relief trickled through her. That , at least, was covered, not
decently, for she could not consider that pouch that so obviously
was only sufficient to hold his genitalia as decent, but covered in
a way that prevented yet another jolt to her already overloaded
sensibilities. Nevertheless, all that bare flesh was so shocking
that her mind simply ceased to function for several
moments.
Dropping to one knee, he struck his left
breast with his right fist, bowing his head. “Your highness! We
rejoice that you have at last returned to us. I am Damien
Bloodragon, King Caracus’ champion, sent to protect you.”
Chapter Two
Khalia found herself
produced the sensation of swimming through a chilled, clinging
jell. Briefly, the air seemed to be sucked from her lungs. Sound
ceased. Even as an unfamiliar sense of panic touched her mind,
however, her struggle to gasp was suddenly rewarded by a sharp
intake of breath. The sensation of traveling at high velocity was
as instantaneous as the breath of air.
Expecting to feel the chill wetness of
water, Khalia was so stunned when her fingers plowed the warm
graininess of sand that that stunned her almost as much as the
impact of her body against solid earth. Fortunately, she regained
the ability to move at about the same instant that she was finally
able to draw breath into her lungs again. Sneezing and coughing,
she turned her head to try to drag in a breath free of airborne
debris and finally managed to climb to her knees.
The belly flop in the sand dune had knocked
her ‘shift’ out of her as well as the air from her lungs. The
tattered remains of her clothing fluttered in the sharp breeze
blowing over her, pieces drifting downward and settling to the
ground around her along with the debris she’d plowed up from the
desert floor.
It was a desert, she realized the moment she
managed to wipe enough sand from her eyes to peer around her. She
hadn’t imagined the sand, or the friction burns on her palms, her
knees, and, in fact, pretty much everything in between. Her
clothing had protected her somewhat in more tender areas, but, as
she’d known would happen, shifting had pretty well shredded her
clothing, leaving a lot more exposed skin than might have been
vulnerable otherwise.
When she’d assured herself she was
alone, she spat the grit from her mouth. Spitting in public was
incredibly unladylike and ill-mannered, and she was embarrassed
to think about doing it, let
alone do it. On the other
hand, she couldn’t believe it would be very healthful to swallow
dirt and, since no one seemed to be about to witness the lapse, she
was more interested in her health and comfort at the moment than a
lapse in manners. When she’d expelled as much of the grit as she
possibly could, she sat back and looked around a little dazedly,
absently shaking the sand from a tattered bit of clothing and using
it to blot her lips.
The glow of a full moon lit her
surroundings. As far as she could see in every direction, there was
nothing but rolling dunes. In the moonlight, the sand looked as if
it had the color and consistency of brick dust.
Where was the city? And how had she come to
find herself in a desert of all places? The city was surrounded by
marsh and water, not desert.
Khalia was still trying to assimilate the
indigestible when a dark shadow swooped above her head. Ducking
instinctively, Khalia’s head whipped toward the perceived threat.
She was arrested, however, by a sight that so took her by surprise
that she could only blink at it, stunned, unable to think at
all.
A pair of moons had just crested the
horizon. Even as she glanced up to see what had produced the light
overhead that she’d assumed was a full moon, a man landed in the
sand barely two yards away from her.
He was the next thing to naked. For
several horrifying moments, she thought he was completely naked,
but even as her eyes dropped with a will of their own toward his
genitals, a tiny bit of relief trickled through her. That , at least, was covered, not
decently, for she could not consider that pouch that so obviously
was only sufficient to hold his genitalia as decent, but covered in
a way that prevented yet another jolt to her already overloaded
sensibilities. Nevertheless, all that bare flesh was so shocking
that her mind simply ceased to function for several
moments.
Dropping to one knee, he struck his left
breast with his right fist, bowing his head. “Your highness! We
rejoice that you have at last returned to us. I am Damien
Bloodragon, King Caracus’ champion, sent to protect you.”
Chapter Two
Khalia found herself
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