Free Kiss of Darkness (The Dragon Legion Novellas) by Deborah Cooke

dissolving beneath his feet with terrifying speed.
    Damien screamed as he fell.
    He fell into an abyss, one filled with darkness, the glint of darkfire, and a thousand hissing snakes. There was nothing to grab but the snakes that fell with him, no way to save himself, and he had no ability to shift shape.
    He tried.
    Over and over and over again.
    Damien landed on a rocky patch of dirt, the impact hard enough to steal the breath from his lungs. He closed his eyes in horror at the sound of snakes landing on the ground all around him. When he looked, some of them were still wriggling, while others had slithered away. It was still twilight, although there were no stars.
    There was no sign of Petra.
    Damien sat up with caution. Where had the darkfire cast him now?
    He was in a deadened forest, silence on every side. The trees were barren of leaves, their branches stretched upward, as if straining toward a sun that never lit this realm. Even though their boughs were empty, it was darker within the ghostly forest and more still. It was colder even than the rest of the underworld and Damien shivered. The bark of the trees was grey, more like stone than wood.
    Fear slid down Damien’s spine.
    There was fog near the ground, a fog that became more dense with every passing moment. It sent a chill through him and he noticed that there was no spark of darkfire in the pale haze.
    He didn’t trust its absence.
    Damien heard a rustling and spun to defend himself, his dagger at the ready.
    There was no one behind him, just a tree.
    He might have turned away but he saw a contorted face in the trunk of the tree. A person was trapped inside the tree, silently screaming for a release that would never come.
    Damien backed away, not trusting his own eyes. His back collided with another tree, and he spun to find another similarly anguished face just behind his shoulder. He ran from tree to tree, realizing there were people trapped in every tree.
    Frozen forever.
    And Damien was engulfed in a memory he’d have preferred to forget.
     
    * * *
     
    Damien was returning to Petra after a quick trip to Delphi, the teasing of his fellow warriors echoing in his thoughts. What if he was falling in love? Damien couldn’t think of a woman more likely to fascinate him forever than his Petra.
    He hurried, shifting shape and flying over the mountains to save time. Even though he didn’t bring the best news, he wanted to be with Petra sooner. His journey had gone as planned and he was striding out of the hills, in human form, by twilight.
    Damien was tired and dusty, hungry but ready to see his lady again. Three days away had been too long. He was anticipating an evening before the hearth, savoring Petra’s kisses and her laughter. He didn’t care if there was only dry bread to eat. Her company would be enough. He imagined a long night in bed, of sharing kisses and confessions. He loved how their son was making her figure more full and her features more soft.
    They had stopped in a village when Petra became ill with her pregnancy and had lived there several months. It was small but not too small—they could be overlooked in its confines, but also recognized. He and Petra kept to themselves, always paid promptly and in full, and were courteous. Although Damien didn’t like to remain in one place for long, he’d reconciled himself to remaining in this village until his son was born.
    But it looked different on this night. To Damien’s astonishment, there was a forest where the village should be. He stopped and stared, doubting the evidence of his eyes. No, the forest had filled the village, for the houses were still there. Damien couldn’t make sense of it. He walked closer, cautious as he tried to determine a reason for the change.
    It was quiet, too quiet. He strained his ears but could only hear the crackle of a single fire on a hearth. He knew it was in the courtyard of the house he shared with Petra. There was only stillness, other than the breath of