“Keep walking,” he snarled, and his tone had her stiffening.Tension threaded through it.Stress.He was about to snap because things weren’t going his way.
“Ari, they have guns too.This plan of yours won’t work.You can’t force me to do anything.”
“You’ll follow my word to the letter if you want the continued safety of your mother and sister.If you want to see them again, you will follow my orders.”
She hesitated because he sounded so confident.
“Where is this ship?”she asked as she started walking toward the church.
“Nyree, don’t go with him,”Tawera pleaded.“I don’t trust him.He looks like my brother, and if he is as loose with his morals and the truth as Rawiri turned out to be, he won’t keep his word.He’s learned your secrets and thinks to profit from them.You can’t believe anything he says.”
“No,”Nyree agreed.“But I don’t want anyone here to get hurt.We’re so far away from help.”
Ari pushed her again and snarled at her.“Walk, dammit.”
“I’m moving.Stop shoving me around.”
“You will come with me.You will fly me to the boat, or you’ll never see your precious family again.”
Nyree walked as slowly as she dared without drawing more of his wrath.
Once they reached the hill above the church, they were out in the open until they climbed to a higher elevation.Not even for Ari was she shifting there.She vacillated over what to do.No matter what choice she made, it was dangerous.If Keith or Carolyn, or any of the scientists spotted a dragon flying off with Ari, that would be a disaster.Carolyn had come to believe the dragon she’d seen was a figment of her exhausted imagination.Nyree wanted Carolyn to continue thinking of dragons as fictional.
They passed the church, and Nyree still dithered over her best course of action.
Ari dug his gun into her back.“I know what you’re doing.Walk faster.”
Nyree lengthened her strides.“Tawera, I don’t know what to do.Tawera?”When he didn’t reply, she glanced over her shoulder.The security team was following but maintaining their distance.They weren’t sure what to do either.“Tawera,”she called again.“Where are you?”
Complete silence greeted her, and she had never felt so alone.
17
Farewell
Tawerasprintedthroughthelengthening shadows toward the cemetery and rapidly climbed until he was no longer visible from the settlement or the ship moored in the harbor.His heart thumped against his ribs with a cadence noisy enough to drown out nature’s sounds.Once he reached a haphazard pile of gray rocks and privacy, he stripped off his footwear and clothing and focused on centering his mind.He had to do this to help Nyree.She wasn’t a killer, despite her dragon status.
Her conscience would trouble her.He knew this because he understood her.
Tawera breathed deeply and exhaled to settle his jangling fears.
He could do this.
After another hasty breath of mountain air, Tawera pictured his taniwha and willed his body to shift.Once again, his shift was sluggish, but this time he experienced tender muscles rather than outright pain.Not as untroubled as this morning’s shift.Okay, discomfort he could deal with today.
The second half of his shift progressed faster than the last time.Now to fly.He needed to keep out of sight and soar up to the top of the hill where he could help Nyree escape.Together, they could best this Ari person.
Tawera sprang upward, his wings beating faster than average to catch the air.He lifted off, the discomfort remaining.It was a peculiar ache in his bones, but at least he knew he was alive.Even better, he was flying more easily than during his outing with Nyree.
He flew over a ridge, keeping low.“Nyree, can you hear me?”
She didn’t answer, and alarm flowed through him.Were they too far apart, or had Ari injured her?
He upped his wingbeats, the force of the wind greater against his body.The soreness increased to a low-level pain, and for an instant, panic beset him.No!He must do this for Nyree.He wanted a future with her.He wanted to grow old with her.The thought of children flashed through his mind and the prospect of what they might have fueled his determination.
Tawera released a roar that echoed through the hills.It was a roar of resolution.His will to succeed to make this vision come true.He swallowed back the pain and flew in the direction he thought Nyree and Ari would’ve walked.
“Nyree?”He tried again, and once again, silence greeted him.
