Tongue Tied Episode 10

Aria’s knuckles whitened on the grip of Grant’s blaster. Bessie’s head swayed closer, and the heat from her mouth made Aria feel like a roast on a spit.

“Now what?” Aria said. “It seems you got the upper hand with this here overgrown lizard, but I sure as shootin’ don’t want to go back to them saloonies.”

“How about you lower my blaster first off. Me and Bessie would feel a whole heap better if it wasn’t pointed at me.”

Aria relaxed her grip on the weapon and lowered it to her side. She noticed a light whiff of smoke coming off her dress, and patted at its glowing embers. She glared at Bessie and said, “Do you mind?”

Bessie moved her head farther away and the heat subsided. She continued to keep a wary eye on Aria.

“Okay, blaster down,” Aria said. The rumble of pounding hooves rolling across the red desert were growing steadily louder. “Now can we get out of here?”

“Blaster,” Grant said.

Aria hesitated.

“Now, unless you’d rather deal with them.” Grant pointed in the direction of a small cloud of dust moving toward them.

She threw the blaster to Grant.

In one fluid movement, he snatched it out of the air, twisted the setting to mid-range, and dropped it into his holster. “Anything you need out of that carriage, you get quick.”

The dust cloud danced over the last escarpment, coming fast. “They’ll be here any minute,” Aria said. The saloonies were close enough Aria could hear the cadence of individual horses in the thunder of the hooves pounding the desert floor. She grabbed her bag and a blanket from the carriage and ran to the edge of the thurium dig. All she could see in the pit was dust. “Grant! Don’t you leave me here, you son of a sidewinder.”

“That ain’t no way for a lady to talk,” Grant said. Aria shielded her eyes against the glare of the sun and looked up to where his voice came just as Bessie landed next to her.

“Maybe I ain’t no lady.”

“Sad to hear that,” Grant said. And it sounded as if he really meant it. “I’m headed out of here. You coming?” He reached out his hand.

Aria grabbed his hand and he pulled her onto Bessie’s back. Bessie rose into the air just as the saloonies rounded the hill and stormed into the arroyo. She could hear them shouting and shooting as Bessie’s wings caught the wind and Aria felt herself rushing through the air. She looked back and the men on the ground looked about the size of rabbits, then chipmunks, then they were lost in the dust from the pit settling over them.

Aria leaned forward and said into Grant’s ear, “Thanks for not leaving me.”

He turned toward her. “I should have come back for you sooner.”

She snuggled her head onto his shoulder and surveyed the sky in front of them. “Grant. There’s somebody in Bessie’s mouth.”

(I’ll bet if you found this by accident you're a might confused by all this ruckus. If you want to get the whole story, and find out how this all makes sense, click for Episode 1)

(Ready to ride the dragon on the next episode? Here is Episode 11)

Tongue Tied Episode 9

Aria and Grant clung to each other like novice sailors at a ship’s railing in rough seas. The heat between them molded their lips together like sweet caramel.

Aria jerked away. “We got to go,” she said. “Now. Can you walk?”

Grant nodded, and Aria helped him to his feet. He stumbled forward out of the carriage and landed face down in the dirt.

“Maybe not,” he said. Aria helped him to his feet and looped his arm over her shoulders.

“Sorry,” she said. “We can’t wait. Them saloonies will be coming for me.” He leaned on her like a drunk as she half-dragged him to the edge of the pit. “Where’s this here dragon?”

As if in answer, heat flooded over her, and a dragon’s head the size of the carriage materialized above the thurium pit. Heat radiated from the fire smoldering in the dragon’s mouth, it’s golden eyes locked on Aria’s. “Your dragon don’t look none to happy to see us.”

“Good girl, Bessie,” Grant said. “It’s okay.”

The flames in Bessie’s mouth died down. Aria stood motionless as Bessie sniffed up one side, and down the other, but she flinched when Bessie’s tongue flicked out, and tasted her arm. “Why do you have a dragon?”

Grant struggled to stand on his own, wobbled, and slumped back against Aria. “She’s more useful than a horse,” he said. “More reliable than a skimmer. Besides, I think she done took a shine to me.”

He raised his hand toward the dragon. “Haven’t you girl.” Bessie lowered her head in front of Grant, and he caressed her snout.

“Hey!” Drake yelled from the pit. “You leaving me here as dragon food?”

Bessie whipped her head toward him and spit a stream of fire. Drake screamed and ducked back into the cave.

“Who’s that?” Aria said.

“My next bounty.”

“How much you getting?”

“Once I deliver him at the Columns, they’ll pay me seventy-five — silver or thurium, my choice.”

“Whooeee,” Aria said, and whistled. “That’s a small fortune. What’re we going to do with all that money.”

“We?” Grant tested his legs again. This time they held, and he stood on his own. He glared down at Aria. “You shot me — and you drugged me.”

“Well, You left me in this viper-pit of a hole-in-the-desert — for five years — to fend for myself.”

“And you think shooting and drugging me makes us even?”

“Not quite. But it’s a start.”

 “How ‘bout I leave you behind for your saloonies,” Grant said, “and fly on out of here with my bounty.”

Aria reached inside her handbag and snatched Grant’s blaster. “How ‘bout I shoot you, and tell them saloonies you tried to kidnap me.”

They stared at each other, tension flickering. Bessie looked from Grant, to Aria, and back. “You shoot me,” Grant said, “and Bessie won’t take too kindly to it.”

Bessie spewed smoke out of her nostrils from a rekindled fire in her mouth, and singed Aria’s arm.

(Get lost on the trail and end up here at Episode 9 with no idea what’s going on? Try starting out at Episode 1)

(If’n you just skipped over to Episode 9 and missed Episode 8, now’s your chance to click back and catch up (that’s different than ketchup))