For the Love of Her Dragon (5 page)

“No
fucking way!” she screamed. “There is absolutely no way you are leaving me to
sit at home like the
‘little woman’
. Whatever is threatening him is
magical. I could feel it and the last time I checked,
dragon man
, I’m
the magical expert around here.”

“There
is no way in hell we’re taking you anywhere near that kind of danger or that
piece of shit traitor,” Lance yelled back as he grabbed for the arm she had
pulled from his grasp.

As
soon as his fingers touched her skin, a powerful shock caused him to cry out,
“WHAT THE FUCK?” He pulled back his hand, looked at his fingers, and then at
her with suspicion.

Any
other time she would have been embarrassed that her anxiety and fear had caused
her to use her powers without conscious thought, but not this time. The man
that she was supposed to spend her life with was in trouble and she knew with
all certainty that she could save him. Remembering what she’d told the last
group of teenage witches that she had ever trained, ‘Suck it up Buttercup,
you’re a real witch now’, all those years ago, she squared her shoulders and
looked a man she would otherwise call friend straight in the eyes.

“I’m
sorry I hurt you, but I’m not sorry it happened. I
am
a witch, in case
you forgot,” she poked him in the shoulder for added effect. “And whatever or
whoever is trying to hurt Royce is also trying to hurt all the people around
him,” she poked him again and this time he had the decency to at least take a
step back.

“They
are using magic. Strong,”…poke…“powerful,”...poke…“old magic. I have a duty to
protect them. So we can play this your way and I’ll just sneak out and do what
I can by myself…” she placed both hands on her hips. “Or we can work together.
Either way
I.
am.
going
.” Not waiting
for an answer, she turned on her heel, threw her back pack over her shoulder,
and stomped in the direction of their SUV. At this point she didn’t give a shit
if they followed or not, she was going to save Royce. She was going to save
them all and then she just might kick her supposed mate’s ass for getting into
trouble in the first place.

On
the ride back to the lair, she explained in vivid detail everything she had
seen in her vision while Devon relayed the information to Rayne and the other Guardsmen,
making sure they were ready to head out as soon as she and the guys returned.
She found out along the way that the big dude she’d seen standing next to Royce
was his older brother, the leader of his own clan.
Well, hell
, she
thought to herself,
more family to deal with
. Lance went on to tell her
that Royce had gone back to the clan of his birth and for the first time in
thirteen days she knew where he was. She almost laughed out loud as she
thought,
Damn, little ole me sent the big ole dragon man running home.

Her
levity immediately turned to sadness when she realized he really was running
from her. All those silly little dreams about someone that would love her
unconditionally and want nothing more than for her to love him back were
bullshit
.
Sure, she’d seen firsthand that it could happen. She thought about Lance and
Sam and all the other mated couples she’d met while staying with their clan and
knew in her heart it was possible, but for some reason it wasn’t in the cards
for her and Royce.

A
sadness weighed her down as they rounded the corner and turned onto the barely
visible dirt road that led to the dragon shifter’s lair, but Kyra was a
fighter. She had been through worse things and figured worse was still to come,
so she shoved her sadness aside. It was time to show these cavemen what a girl
with some magic could do. Yeah, sure they were bigger, but hadn’t they heard
about dynamite in small packages?

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Andrew
had spent the last two weeks plotting and planning, amassing magic from every
source he could find. It was apparent that Master Eaton and his followers were
still doing blood sacrifices from the amount of magic buzzing through them. He
could see their dark glowing auras and was sure they could light up a small
city.

Thankfully,
John had located a Siphoning Spell that allowed him to pull a little from each
wizard within close proximity without detection. For the first time, he had
more black magic flowing through his body than he could ever remember, and
unlike before, his newly acquired power did not snuff out his dragon senses. On
the contrary, the beautifully pure dragon magic seemed to simply avoid the
taint of the dark, almost like the two polar opposite powers had decided to
coexist within him.

He’d
always been told he would possess extraordinary abilities because he had been
born a “
Special One
”. The ancient text John had acquired for him
confirmed it and had only strengthened his resolve to do whatever it took to
exact his revenge. The text was written in the old language, but thankfully, he
and John had found another book that helped with the translation. The more he
learned, the more fascinated he became. Just yesterday he had translated the
beginnings of the Prophecy. He was intrigued when he recognized the word ‘sorceress’
and couldn’t wait to learn more.

He
finished packing his supplies just as a knock at the door sounded outside his
wing of the mansion he shared with Master Eaton, Mr. A, and a handful of their
followers. When he had first decided to move in with the leader of the most
powerful wizards in the country and the State’s Attorney turned crime boss that
specialized in human trafficking, he’d had his doubts, but with the help of his
right-hand man and some very handy surveillance equipment, they were making
great headway towards achieving his plans for revenge.

“Come
in,” he called out, knowing it was Andy, one of Master Eaton’s favorite
wizards, from the beat of his heart and the smell of bacon on his clothes. Andy
had been appointed the unofficial cook of the mansion and it seemed bacon was
always on the menu.

The
door opened and the small round face with puffy pink cheeks he was expecting
came into view. “Good morning, Mr. O’Brien. Master Eaton wanted you to know
that everyone is loaded and the jet is scheduled to take off in two hours,” the
small chubby wizard spoke without ever once meeting Andrew’s eyes. Poor little
man was scared shitless and Andrew loved every damn minute of it. Wielding the
power he possessed was intoxicating, and knowing that by tomorrow, at this same
time, one of the men he held responsible for all he had endured would be
removed from the earth and sent to the Heavens where they belonged. It was a
shame that the others wouldn’t be there to see it happen but that couldn’t be
helped. He needed to strike while the iron was hot and prove to himself along
with everyone else that he could take down a dragon shifter.
Hell
, they
all doubted their existence and thought he was insane. Wouldn’t they shit their
pants if he revealed they already knew one…
him
? He laughed to himself as
he followed Andy down the corridor and out the front door to one of the fifty
or so black SUVs the crime boss owned.

He
rode to the private airfield in silence, thankful the others had agreed to let
him ride alone, save the driver. Thinking over his plan, he made sure every ‘I’
was dotted and every ‘T’ crossed. There would be no second chance. They had to
get in, destroy the Blue Thunder Clan, and get out without a trace. It would be
the one time he would be able to strike without any warning.

Ever
since Kyra had been captured by the Guard all those months ago, he had been
keeping the last Cloaking amulet powered up with an infusion of dragon magic
and black magic. Several times he’d had John
scry
for
him to be sure it was working. He had to believe it was the purity of his
returning dragon magic that kept it going. The little witch had mentioned that
he had bastardized her Earth magic, creating something altogether different and
unknown. He knew he should feel bad for deceiving her after all she had done to
help him, even if he had lied through his teeth to get what he wanted. But
knowing that she had taken up with the Dragon Guard against him eliminated any
guilt he felt.

Pulled
from his thoughts when the SUV stopped, he gathered his things and climbed out
onto the abandoned airstrip. There, sitting before him, was the luxury jet Mr.
A had ‘acquired’ on a recent ‘business trip’. Andrew had absolutely no idea
where the known crime boss and basic blight upon the earth went for his
business, or what exactly occurred there, but as long as it got Andrew what he
wanted he would continue to turn a blind eye and reap the benefits.

“Welcome,
Mr. O’Brien,” Adrienne, a cute young brunette with deep blue eyes that served
as Mr. A’s executive assistant chirped as he stepped onto the charcoal gray
carpet leading the way to the stairs into the plane.

“Hello,
Adrienne and thank you,” he absently responded, while another of the hundreds
of lackeys the mobster seemed to always have available relieved him of his bag.

Unsure
whether he should let something so important out of his sight, he held onto the
handle for just a beat and then decided he didn’t want to call too much
attention to his supplies, so he said, “Please make sure that is stowed over my
seat.” The young man nodded his understanding and preceded Andrew up the steps.

“Have
a safe trip, Mr. O’Brien. See you when you return,” Adrienne called out as he
entered the plane. Not for the first time, he wondered how Adrienne, a sweet girl,
had gotten mixed up with such a horrible man, but quickly decided he was no one
to judge and didn’t care. She was a grown adult and not his to worry about. The
little human was of no consequence to his plans and therefore expendable.
However, that did not mean he wouldn’t mess with her mind for fun. And just to
show himself he could, he looked over his shoulder and smiled, pleased to see
her blush at his attention. He shrugged; maybe he could find a way for her to
be useful somewhere down the line, if for nothing more than to look at.

All
thoughts of silly young girls flew from his mind at the first glimpse of the
empty plane before him. His face must have mirrored the questions in his mind
because the young man that had carried his bag onto the plane answered his
unspoken inquiry, “Mr. A and Master Eaton were delayed and will be here
momentarily. Can I get you a drink and some hors d’oeuvres?”

“No,
thank you. I’ll just grab a seat and read while I wait,” Andrew responded, less
than thrilled at the delay.

Not
only was it terribly inconvenient, not to mention rude, to be left sitting and
waiting, but he detested the fact that they were out doing something he knew
absolutely nothing about. He trusted no one, least of all his ‘partners’. It
was obvious none of them told the other two the whole story or the whole truth
about anything they did or their ultimate goal. Each man had his own agenda and
would do whatever it took to grab the prize at the end of their respective
journeys.

Andrew
settled into a seat at the very rear of the plane with the ancient text opened
in his lap. It had been covered and made to look like any ordinary book to
avoid any unnecessary questions. No one could know that he had possession of
one of the most ancient and dangerous volumes of spells, prophecies, and
supernatural knowledge ever written. It was only by luck that John had
overheard a few young witches talking about it and had been able to befriend
them long enough to get into their leader’s home and steal the book. His protégé
had assured him that he had not been seen, but further warned that the Grand
Priestess he had liberated the book from was one of the most powerful he had
ever encountered and would definitely try to get it back. Just another reason
he was thrilled his amulet was keeping him hidden from everyone.

It
was almost forty-five minutes later when he finally heard the sound of people
approaching the plane. Before he could return the book to his bag, Mr. A
entered the plane with Master Eaton, several wizards, and a few of his thugs in
tow. Master Eaton was the first to speak and actually had the decency to
apologize, “Sorry, we are late. We were unavoidably detained, but the cargo is
being loaded and we will be in the air in the next twenty minutes.”

“No
need to explain, Eaton, Andrew knows there are many moving parts to all our
plans and delays are to be expected. Get buckled in so we can have a drink and
enjoy our flight.”

The
asshole actually had the nerve to wink in Andrew’s direction like they were
friends. If the scumbag had not been essential to all his plans, Andrew would
have killed him where he stood, but as it was, he needed him for at least two
more weeks. If all went well, as soon as the next full moon was high in the
sky, there would be nothing any of them could do to stop him. Until then, he
would bide his time, put up with all their bullshit, and revel in the moment he
watched the life drain out of their useless bodies.

Deciding
to play along, he smiled, knowing it did not reach his eyes and said, “Absolutely.
No harm done. I was able to catch up on some much needed reading.”

Master
Eaton looked from one man to the other, his fear from the building tension and
innuendos that were being freely tossed around was palpable. In an effort to
end the pissing contest that Mr. A seemed to perpetually be ready for, Andrew
chuckled and motioned towards the flight attendants. “Besides I have been
tortured with the tantalizing aroma coming from the galley and would love to
have a bite to eat and a drink while we wait to get our voyage underway.”