Josie
Pulling in a sharp breath, Josie braced herself for whatever she might see when Isaak opened his hand.
She’d seen injuries before, sometimes even severe ones – they were an unfortunate fact of life with fieldwork, especially when working with young, sometimes overly enthusiastic students, who had a tendency to overestimate their bodies’ abilities.
Not that that was what had happened here at all. If Isaak hadn’t done what he’d done, the burning hot pan, filled with flaming cheese and liquor, would have slammed down on an innocent old lady’s head, causing the kinds of burns that made Josie shudder to think about.
He’d put his own safety on the line to protect someone else – and in doing so, had probably left himself with some horrific burns, that would become terrible scars.
It doesn’t matter, Josie thought. Even with scars, he’s still himself – and he got them saving someone else. And if he needs a nurse while he heals –
She felt like she was prepared for anything as Isaak uncurled his fingers.
But she found that she was prepared for anything except this.
Because Isaak’s hand was completely and utterly unmarked.
His palm looked exactly as it had only a few moments before, when he had reached across the table to cover her hand with his. While the skin was lined with the faint marks of calluses, it was utterly unburned.
Speechless, Josie could only stare down at it in disbelief.
But... how?
“Oh –” she said, as she suddenly worked it out, and relief flooded through her. Clearly, the pan wasn’t as hot as it had seemed. Perhaps it was some kind of special pan that – it looked like cast iron but really it was –
“Ouch!”
Josie jerked her hand back as the tip of her finger brushed against the pan’s surface. Staring down at it, she saw a circle of red appearing on her skin, despite the only momentary contact she’d had with it.
She blinked.
The pan was clearly still hotter than hot. It had burned her even though she’d only touched it for an instant.
But that means...
Slowly, Josie raised her wide eyes to Isaak’s face –
– Only to find him staring down at his hand with a bewilderment that equaled her own.
“Isaak,” she breathed, barely trusting her own voice. “What did – how did –”
Before she could get any further, a voice by her side made her jump.
“Sir! Sir!”
Josie turned, her heart in her throat, to see a man standing beside them. After a moment of confusion, she realized he was one of the people who’d been sitting at the table that had so nearly come to disaster.
“Sir, I want to say thank you. Your quick actions saved my mother.”
Blinking, Josie looked past him to where waiters and family members were fussing over the old lady who, if not for Isaak, would have been so badly burned.
The man had an English accent – they must be a family of tourists, she realized, as he thrust a hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
Belatedly, she realized that Isaak had closed his hand again, as if to hide the fact the pan hadn’t seemed to have hurt him in the slightest.
“It – it was nothing,” he said slowly, as the tourist began removing several fifty euro notes from his wallet. “Honestly. I don’t need your money.”
“Nonsense. You’ll certainly need hospital treatment for your hand. I want to see to it that you get the best care available. Please – my money is the least of what I owe you. Take it.” He held out a handful of cash.
Josie glanced at Isaak to find his mouth pressed into a thin line. How to explain that no, he didn’t even need some topical cream, let alone a hospital?
“I have money,” Isaak said finally. “I... I promise you, I can pay for anything I might need myself.”
That, at least, was true, Josie thought, her head spinning.
The man looked skeptical, but, seeing that Isaak was not going to take his money, he withdrew his hand a little. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I feel you deserve some kind of reward. What’s your name? You ought to be recognized for your heroism, at least. I can write to a local newspaper, your member of parliament...”
Isaak shook his head. “No – no, that really won’t be necessary,” he said forcefully, before swallowing and obviously reining himself in somewhat. “I only did... I only did what anyone would do.”
Josie glanced back to where the old lady was still being fussed over. She was clearly unharmed, aside from being a little shocked. In the background, she could see a woman – clearly the mother – ferociously scolding the two children whose unthinking game had caused the trouble.
She could see the English tourist was about to argue or to insist that he be allowed to do something to show his gratitude, but Isaak cut him off before he could speak.
“I – I’m sorry. I’d better go... see what I can do about my hand,” Isaak said, his voice low in his throat, emerging only as a throaty growl. He glanced at Josie, and for a moment she could see in his eyes so much pain and confusion that it hit her like a body blow.
A moment later and he was gone – moving like the wind past them and out into the street.
The English tourist looked surprised, shaking his head. “How odd.”
Josie swallowed. What just happened? And how could it be that Isaak’s hand didn’t get burned?
Experimentally, she moved her own hand closer to the pan where Isaak had left it on the table.
Even a few inches away, she could feel how it still radiated heat.
How can this be?
“I – I have to go,” she said, her thoughts in a whirl.
And with that, she turned and raced after Isaak.
Thankfully, she could make out his broad back as he moved through the relatively sparse late-night crowd.
“Isaak!” she called out to him, weaving through the people, most of whom were making their way back to their hotels or homes after a day or sightseeing or working. He didn’t turn. “Isaak!”
At last, he seemed to hear her, and his head jerked around. Her breath catching in her throat, Josie ran the last few feet to his side.
“Isaak, what – how –”
She stopped, not sure how she should even phrase her question. She looked down at his hand again. Catching it between her own, she raised it to her face, inspecting it in the low light of the street lamps.
It still showed no signs of damage whatsoever. With a burn as bad as that, Josie would have expected redness, peeling skin, terrible blistering... but there was nothing. Nothing at all.
“Isaak, how did you – you’re unbelievably lucky that you –”
Isaak shook his head, drawing his hand away from her.
“I... suppose so...” he said, looking down at his palm, flexing it, as if he expected at any moment for the burn to appear.
Unease flooded through her.
Was there something Isaak wasn’t telling her?
Sucking in a breath, she tried to smile. “So... have you always just had an incredibly tough hide, or what?”
Isaak glanced at her, confusion in his eyes, as if he hadn’t heard her properly. A grim smile tugged at his lips.
“Perhaps,” he said.
Oh no you don’t, Josie thought. You don’t get to pull being all dark and mysterious right now!
“Well, something happened that meant you didn’t get burned by that unbelievably hot pan,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. “I felt it – it was hot enough to leave a mark on my finger after a split second. So either you’ve got asbestos skin, or... or...”
She stumbled to a halt. Or what? It wasn’t like there was any rational explanation for this!
“Josie, I...” Isaak began to say, before shaking his head. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Well, you can start by telling me if something like this has ever happened to you before,” Josie said.
Isaak pursed his lips. “No – not that I can remember. Not exactly like this, anyway.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Josie said. “And you know it.”
Glancing at her, Isaak shook his head. “No. I know. But I’ve always healed quickly. It’s just... the way I am.” He swallowed. “When I was ten, I broke my arm falling off my bike. They x-rayed it, put it in a cast... everything. But Adriana took me back a few days later to get something checked, and... it was fixed. Completely. The bone had healed.”
Josie couldn’t hold back her gasp. Surely he can’t be serious?
“Could... the doctors have made a mistake?”
Isaak licked his lips. “I still have the x-rays somewhere at home – it was a clean break. When they took new ones, there wasn’t so much as a notch on the bone. Not only had it healed, it had healed perfectly.”
But... that can’t be true, Josie thought, her mind in a whirl. Bones took four to six weeks to heal. She knew it herself – she’d broken her arm falling out of a tree when she was thirteen. What Isaak was saying wasn’t possible.
But then again...
She looked down at his hand.
Clearly, it was completely possible.
“Well... okay,” she said uncertainly. “I guess you’re just... amazingly resilient then.”
Isaak looked up at her, the pain in his eyes piercing her to her core.
“Josie,” he said, his voice strained. “Josie... this is what I meant when I said I was... when I said I was a monster. That I –”
“Isaak,” Josie said, cutting him off incredulously. “How can you say that? A monster?! The only reason we’re even having this discussion is because you saved an old lady from getting severely burned! How can you stand here and tell me you’re a monster, after that?”
Isaak grimaced ruefully, holding up his undamaged hand. “Apparently it wasn’t as risky a move as it seemed.”
“Not the point!” she said. “And anyway, you didn’t know that at the time. I saw your face right away afterwards – you were as surprised as I was that your skin wasn’t blistering right off!
Isaak was silent.
Shaking her head, Josie raised a finger. “So don’t you go telling me –”
“Excuse me, miss, is this man bothering you?”
Josie jumped a little at the sound of a man’s voice so close by
Whipping her head around in surprise, she found herself staring into a face that looked familiar somehow.
Blinking, Josie frowned, wondering how she might know him – when suddenly, it all fell into place.
The guy from the plane?!
The guy who’d been sitting across from her, who’d belittled her profession, been rude to her when she’d made it clear she had no interest in talking to him, and then hadn’t taken no for an answer when she’d said she didn’t want to sell her ring.
What was his name again? Ben... Blaine... oh! Bain!
He’d only ever given her one name – like he thought he was Madonna or something.
For a moment, she simply stared at him in surprise. He still had the same smarmy, sleazy expression on his face, the same self-satisfied air.
Josie honestly couldn’t tell if he’d intervened because he really did think she was a woman who was having a fight with her boyfriend, or just because he’d seen a chance to stick his nose in.
“I’m fine, thanks,” she said shortly. She didn’t have the patience to be polite right now. Chances were, he probably didn’t even remember her from the plane.
“Are you sure?” Bain quirked a dark eyebrow, his eyes turning to where Isaak stood. “Because it seems like this man is... not someone a woman should be spending her time with.”
Josie’s mouth popped open in shock. Who the hell does this guy think he is?!
“Now look, I don’t know who you are, and frankly I don’t give a rat’s ass –” she started to say, before suddenly, Isaak’s big body was in front of her, standing between her and the man from the plane.
“It’s time for you to go,” Isaak rumbled, his voice a low growl.
Peering around Isaak’s bulging bicep, Josie watched as the man’s face contorted into a scowl.
“How dare you speak to me like that,” Bain snarled, eyes blazing in a way Josie definitely didn’t like.
Isaak didn’t reply. He did nothing but continue to shield her with his own body, staring down at the man in front of him, his eyes as hard as granite.
Josie swallowed nervously. Raising her hand, she placed it gently on Isaak’s arm. “Come on,” she said. “This isn’t worth getting into a fight over. Let’s go.”
She watched as Isaak’s eyes momentarily flickered down to her, and then he nodded slightly.
Letting go of the breath she’d been holding, Josie started to ease herself away, her hand still on Isaak’s arm. Just as she was about to turn to lead him away, the man’s voice called out again.
“Has he told you what he is?” His tone was vicious. “Has he told you what he becomes?”
Josie stopped, her breath caught in her throat. She stared at him, eyes wide. “What? What are you talking about?”
Bain laughed, a harsh, barking sound. “So he hasn’t! He’s deceiving you, then!”
Josie could feel her heart hammering in her ears. She looked up at Isaak to find his features set grimly. “Isaak, do you... do you know this guy?”
“I’ve never seen him before in my life.” Isaak’s voice was low, his eyes trained on the man. It was almost as if he felt that if he took his eyes off him for a moment, something terrible might happen.
“You might not know me, but I know you,” the man said. “And I know what you are – yes, I do! You can try to hide it, but you can’t hide from me. That’s right – I’m a hunter. I’ve been trained to find your kind, to hunt you down, no matter where you might go.”
The unease Josie had felt in her stomach now became full-blown panic. This guy was clearly crazy.
“Isaak...” she whispered, squeezing his arm.
In answer, Isaak glanced down at her. And suddenly, in her mind, she heard his thoughts as clearly as if he had spoken aloud.
I won’t let him hurt you. No one will come near you. I will protect you.
Josie gasped, shaking her head to clear it. What was that?!
“I don’t want to fight you,” Isaak rumbled a moment later. “But if you won’t leave us alone...”
The man laughed. “Ha! Fight you myself? You must be crazy.” He narrowed his eyes. “That, or you’re still putting on an act for your woman there. You know how this works. A hunter never faces a dragon alone.”
For a moment, Josie thought she must have heard wrong. A... a what?
Had he really said dragon?
Okay, now she knew this guy was off his rocker. Dragons weren’t real!
“Come on,” she whispered to Isaak again. “He’s crazy. Let’s just –”
But before she could finish speaking, another man suddenly appeared from the darkness, coming to stand behind Bain’s shoulder. Josie bit her lip. The man was huge – bigger even than Isaak, his shoulders broad and brawny, his biceps thick with muscle. His eyes glowed a luminous blue in the night, in a way that was almost... otherworldly...
He was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, but what caught Josie’s eye was the band around his neck. She’d never seen anything quite like it before: it was clearly made of some kind of dark metal, which shone with iridescence under the lamplight. It looked almost like a collar – though without any kind of buckle or clasp that Josie could see. It was as if it had never been intended to be removed.
“That’s right – you didn’t think I’d come out here to confront you alone, did you?” Bain said, his voice almost a purr. “Magnus here will take care of you.”
Josie felt Isaak stiffen where he stood before her. “Like I said, I don’t want to fight,” he said, but now she could hear the slight note of uncertainty in his voice. “Not you, and not your friend. But don’t think I won’t defend myself – or Josie.”
“Ha!” Bain’s laugh was low and harsh. “You’re really dedicated to this innocence act, aren’t you? But you don’t fool me. Like I said, I’m a hunter. I can detect you creatures. It’s my mission to hunt all of you down, and I won’t be swayed from that!”
Josie shook herself. Clearly, Isaak wasn’t getting through to this guy. Sometimes, the only way to get through to crazy was with more crazy.
“Look,” she said, stepping out from behind Isaak’s shoulder. “I don’t know what you want, but whatever it is, you can’t have this fight here on the streets. You want the whole world to know about your... uh, your mission?” She held up a hand, waving her finger. “That wouldn’t be any good.”
For a long moment, Bain simply stared at her, his lip twitching angrily. “So you do know what he is,” he said at last. “I should have known. You’re wearing part of his hoard, after all. I was foolish to think you were ignorant as to what it was.”
Josie’s head was spinning. Somehow, she knew instantly that Bain was talking about her ring. She glanced down to where it sat on her finger, the huge sapphire shining.
Is... is that why he wanted to buy it? she thought vaguely, resisting the urge to twist it on her finger. He thought it was part of a dragon’s hoard?
“Maybe I do,” she said carefully, looking back up at Bain. “Maybe this is what I want. Would that make you leave us alone?”
“Never!” Bain’s answer was fierce and immediate. “I have a sworn duty. If you have chosen him, then you have also chosen his fate. A human who takes a dragon as their mate is just as bad as a dragon themselves!”
Josie felt her stomach turn over. A human who... what? Who takes a dragon... as their mate?!
Before she could get her thoughts together to reply to this, Isaak had growled low in his throat, his fists bunching by his sides.
“Leave. Now.” His voice was little more than a low rumble in his chest, his fury clear in his eyes. “Threaten me all you want, but if you dare to lay a finger on her...”
For a moment, Josie saw fear clouding Bain’s eyes. Isaak was a fearsome sight, that was for sure – over six foot of pure brawn and muscle, his green eyes flashing, his square jaw set. And all of it was set on defending her.
While this situation was certainly not one she ever wished to be in again, Josie took a moment to appreciate that all Isaak’s imposing strength was dedicated to her safety.
It was an impressive – and attractive – sight.
And it was certainly preferable to taking on a weirdo like Bain alone.
Especially when the weirdo seems to come as part of a two for one deal... Josie thought.
“Magnus!” Bain raised his hand, clicking his fingers.
The slab of muscle whose name was apparently Magnus moved forward, his fists by his side, his eyes seeming almost to glow blue. His movements were slow and jerky.
Almost as if he’s fighting against his own body, Josie thought.
“Isaak,” she murmured, raising her hand to his arm once more. “I don’t like this. Something... something’s wrong here...”
“I know.” Isaak’s voice was still low, and he didn’t take his eyes from Magnus for a moment. “I don’t want to fight him, but he may force the issue...”
It seemed like that was exactly what was going to happen. Magnus approached him, fists raised, mouth set.
“Will you not transform to defend yourself?” Bain’s mocking voice came from somewhere behind his friend’s shoulder. “Won’t you show your woman what you really are?”
At that moment, a burst of voices from the street corner broke out, as a large crowd of people spilled out of a tavern and into the street.
Josie sucked in a breath, her head whipping in the direction of the sound. It was clearly a group of tourists on their way home after a night out – but there were a lot of them, all laughing and joking as they made their way down the street toward them. Where it had previously been empty, the night was now filled with people and voices.
Glancing back at Bain, Josie saw his face cloud with frustration. Clearly, he didn’t want to do whatever he was doing in front of an audience.
That was fair enough, Josie thought. Crazy or not, two men hitting each other in the street was likely to attract attention – and police.
Isaak had apparently had the same thought. As the massive crowd began to swirl past them, he lowered his fists, stepping back. A moment later, Josie felt his large hand on hers, pulling her away from Bain and Magnus.
Come. We should go. This is too dangerous for you. I will not see you hurt.
Josie shivered as once again she heard Isaak’s voice in her head, the same as if he’d spoken aloud – though she knew, somehow, that he hadn’t.
Tugging at her hand, he led her into the crowd of people, still all talking and chattering, too caught up in themselves to notice the strange scene they had stumbled upon.
Josie and Isaak disappeared into the middle of them, walking hurriedly, not turning back to make sure Bain and Magnus weren’t following them.
“We need to get back to Calauria,” Isaak muttered as they walked, trying to keep to the middle of the crowd. “We’ll be safe there. They can’t follow us.”
Josie nodded, feeling a chill down her back. “Who were they?”
“I don’t know, Josie, I promise you,” Isaak replied, and Josie instinctively felt that he was telling the truth. “Have you ever seen either of them before?”
Swallowing, Josie realized guiltily that while Isaak might not have seen them before, she hadn’t yet told him that she had. “I have,” she said, as they turned toward the docks. “On the plane – you remember the guy I told you about, who tried to buy my ring for ten thousand dollars? That was him.”
Isaak’s expression as he looked down at her was startled. “Then... he’s been following you all this time?”
Josie blinked. She hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe,” she said slowly. “I suppose he must have been. But... that still doesn’t explain all the crazy shit he was spouting. Like... like about you being a... a dragon.”
She looked up at him, seeking reassurance, but Isaak’s only response was a slight tightening of his lips.
The docks were almost deserted. Josie wasn’t sure where they were going to find someone who’d be willing to take them out to Calauria at this time of night, but Isaak seemed to know what he was doing. His face set in determination, he led her out of the crowd and down to where a small knot of men were hauling fishing nets out of a small boat and onto the docks.
Isaak called out to them in Greek and they looked up sharply, frowning. One of them replied, shaking his head and spreading his hands before him in a gesture that Josie understood as saying he couldn’t help them.
Their conversation was too rapid for her to catch with her entry-level Greek, but Isaak spoke again persuasively, and she could see the men glancing between themselves, clearly letting themselves be convinced.
As if to seal the deal, Isaak reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet, taking a fat stack of euros from it and holding them out to the men. They looked at him dubiously a moment, before one came forward, grabbing the money and counting it. He held one or two bills up to the light as if to check they were genuine, before shaking his head and gesturing with his hand for Isaak and Josie to follow him.
“Come. I will take you,” he said in English, as he stepped down into his small, rickety fishing boat.
Josie let out a long sigh of relief.
As the fisherman started up the motor, Josie found herself staring at Isaak with wonder. Now that they were out of immediate danger, her head spun with questions.
How can he touch a burning hot pan without getting burned?
How can I hear his voice in my head, without him saying a word?
Why do I feel like that every time he touches me?
Twisting her grandmother’s ring on her finger, Josie bit her lip.
Was the ring somehow connected to all of this?
Bain said I was wearing Isaak’s hoard... but what on earth does that mean?
Bain had said a lot of crazy things, after all.
Josie supposed that if he really thought Isaak was a dragon, then it made sense for him to have a hoard... a huge pile of gold that he kept in a secret cave somewhere.
But dragons aren’t real... are they?
Looking over at where Isaak sat beside her, his face grim as he looked out over the ocean, Josie decided that they were going to have a long talk once they got back to Calauria.
At the speed the small fishing boat was going, it wasn’t long at all before the pilot was dropping them off at the small dock at the base of the stairs leading up to Isaak’s villa.
They climbed the steps quickly, but in silence, Josie’s head still feeling too full of questions for her to know which one she wanted to ask first.
It wasn’t until they were inside Isaak’s living room, the twinkling stars outside visible through the massive glass doors, that she felt ready to speak.
“Isaak, I –” she began, before Isaak held up a hand, as if asking her to wait.
“Josie,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “I have something I need to say. It might sound crazy, but... but I ask only that you listen.”
Biting her lip, Josie sunk down onto the vast white sofa behind her, and found that she could only nod.