Carpathian 10 - Dark Symphony

in midair.
    Antonietta clutched the reins as her hips rose away from the dragon's back. Byron rose with her, reseating her before she could slide off. She clamped her legs as tightly as possible, her heart pounding. I'm fine. This is great. I feel so alive. She said it hastily as she felt his rising ire at his nephew.
    Josef didn't seem to notice what he'd done. He continued with his antics, dropping fast toward earth and pulling up sharply, nearly somersaulting. He was instantly disoriented.
    Vertigo hit hard. Panic replaced the image in his head. He plummeted toward earth.
    Byron, great wings laboring, put on a burst of speed, dropping below the youth. Watch yourself, Antonietta. He is falling, coming from above you. I will try to catch him and hold him in my claws. The idiot should be eaten.
    Byron reached for the falling boy. Josef saw the huge, wedge-shaped head, the mouth filled with sharp teeth, and he panicked. He punched the dragon on the snout, kicked viciously at the reaching claws, driving his body away from the dragon.
    Byron swore and dropped hard and fast, coming up under his nephew. I will direct him toward the tail section. Try to help him, but do not fall yourself.
    Josef hit the dragon's back, careened downward toward the dragon's tail. Antonietta had already dropped the reins and reached instinctively behind her. She brushed Josef's shirt, caught, and hung on. His weight nearly pulled her from the dragon's back, but Byron, inside the large bulk, adjusted his body to help her stabilize and keep from rolling off. Josef clung to the dragon, digging his heels in hard.
    He pulled himself up behind Antonietta, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. She was shocked at his size and strength. It didn't feel as if a boy were behind her. He felt like a grown man.
    How old is your nephew?
    In human years, he is twenty-two. In our years he is considered a fledgling. A child still learning our ways. Shape- shifting is difficult. Most parents hold the image for the child over and over until the child learns to pay attention to detail. You have to operate on several levels at the same time. When you learn to do this, I will be the one to hold the image for you.
    I don't have the ability to shape-shift, Byron. I really don't. I feel the jaguar close at times, it is in me, but I can't make the change, not even when I try.
    Antonietta was grateful for Byron's jacket and the perpetual warmth it generated as they soared through the sky. She felt the dragon circling, spiraling in long, sweeping circles, until it hovered in one spot, wings flapping ferociously. Josef slipped off onto the balcony of the villa
    Create PDF with GO2PDF for free, if you wish to remove this line, click here to buy Virtual PDF Printer
    file://C:\Documents and Settings\Danna\My Documents\Azureus Downloads\Christine Fe...
    9/13/2007

    Dark Symphony
    Page 141 of 188
    where he was staying. The dragon immediately streaked skyward.
    Antonietta leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the dragon's neck. "I don't want this ever to stop. I think we should fly all night."
    Byron was grateful Eleanor had thought to secure a second smaller and much more secluded villa for her brother and his life mate. He didn't want to take Antonietta to a cave deep below the earth and explain his life to her. Explain what her life was to become. He wanted a beautiful setting where she might feel comfortable and completely at ease. He sent his sister his silent thanks for her thoughtfulness. He didn't know how she had accomplished it in so short a time, but Eleanor was always efficient.
    The dragon settled on the wide verandah overlooking the sea. Antonietta waited while the wings folded against the great body before she felt around for the extended leg. Her feet found firm ground as Byron shifted into his human form. She laughed and threw her arms around him. "Grazie. You have no idea what that meant to me. I could learn to love flying."
    His fingers curled around the nape of her neck, drew her to him. "I will have to teach you."
    "I still don't understand why it is so difficult for Josef, yet you have no trouble shifting. I saw the image clearly in my head."
    "Because I was holding it for you. It is much like breathing. You do not think of the mechanics of breathing, your brain tells your lungs, and everything just works in the background as you go through the day. Shifting is different. You have to control it even as you do other things. The details have to be