Sleeping Dragons Omnibus (13 page)

Sleeping Dragons

Book 4

Shadows

Shadows: Chapter One

D
arkness was a perpetual irritation, particularly for a creature like Kol. He was not only trapped in it, he was a part of it. For centuries he’d lived without light. The darkness of the temple he lived in was incidental compared to the inky black of the mood he’d wallowed in since the day the exit doors had slid closed, trapping him and his multitude of brethren inside to sleep for half a millennium.

He’d lost count of the days since the light had gone out, but guessed it had to be close to the five centuries the dragons’ cycle of sleep should last. He could have done the math but didn’t care to. What purpose would it serve to mark time in such a place? Particularly when you were the only one awake.

That wasn’t precisely true. They could all be conscious if they chose to be, but aside from himself and the Guardians, the others had a choice in their static jade forms to sleep through the centuries. For the first week he’d heard the others in his mind, speaking in subdued voices. Gradually the voices had grown fewer and fewer as they’d succumbed to sleep, until only his twin siblings had been awake, trying to bolster his mood as always.
We love you, Kol. We know it’s an honor to be chosen for your job. We’d do it in a heartbeat.

Finishing each other’s sentences, Aurin and Aurik were as oblivious to Kol’s demons as they were to their own strange and shifting symmetry. The two of them reminded him of a gyroscope. As long as their balance of power exchange remained, he believed the Earth probably still maintained its axis. If Aurin and Aurik ever faltered, then Kol would worry about the fate of dragonkind.

In spite of their sentiments, they never would have been chosen for his job. The job of Shadow was only for a black dragon like him. Brilliant gold as the twins were, they were better suited for uplifting humanity than skulking around in the dark.

Skulking was something he was good at, and had been even before doing it for five hundred years. Technically, he
was
asleep. At least his body was. But his magic, unique to black dragons, allowed him to manifest through his breath. While his physical body slept on, frozen in black jade, the shadow of his breath coalesced into a smaller, human form and lurked about the temple like a ghost, ensuring the security of all who slept within.

Tedious, monotonous, dreary, boring—he could think of so many other terms to describe his job. Dragon law dictated that a Shadow watch over the brood each cycle, and he’d been chosen for this one. Though he was not precisely
chosen
so much as compelled. True, he was probably the best candidate for the position, but traditionally potential Shadows were given a choice because of the psychological strain it took. He was the first one who’d been compelled to do it as a penalty for poor behavior.

He chuckled to himself at that. Speak out against the council’s outdated ideals and get shoved in a dark prison. Granted, he’d have been here anyway, but at least he could have slept through the whole ordeal and let one of the others like him do the job.

He’d undeniably broken the rules, as archaic as they were.
Willfully
broken the rules, the council had said when he stood before them on the eve of his sentence. As if the heart knew anything beyond what made it beat.

Generations had passed since. The lover he’d accepted the sentence for was long dead, but the certainty didn’t help quell the excitement that welled in him knowing how close they were to the end of their confinement. What would he find on the outside? Dragon lore only spoke of vast changes in each cycle, but they were an infinitely adaptable race. Would he look for her? Her descendants? He suddenly wished fervently that he’d had the foresight to mate with her before they’d been parted. He’d already broken one rule by falling in love with her, why not one more by getting her with child? Oh, would
that
have left the council in a bind considering the child wouldn’t have been born until after the temple was sealed. But he hadn’t left anything behind but regret and a now dead lover.

It happened sometimes. Young dragons breaking the rules prior to their slumber. The marked mates often died of sorrow if the dragon had no elder family to take them in. Any children of such a union would be taken and raised by the council, but would grow up nameless, forbidden from acquiring treasure. They would spend their lives in service to the council and tended to die young, only living out roughly half of a dragon’s multiple-century life span. Slavery and grief were the last things Kol wanted for a mate and child of his own. His lover may have grieved him, but at least he’d left her with the freedom to move on.

Eveline.

Even thinking the name after the centuries without her brought back the memories of their time together. The loss twisted painfully in his chest, as sharp as a blade. The discomfort was enough to make him pause in his mindless patrol of the temple corridors. Sleep would be nice right now. Sleep would have been nice for the last five hundred years, but it wasn’t for him. And he didn’t want to be the one who slept on the job, even if it were a possibility. Hah.

At least he had the Guardians for company during his daily patrols. They were the second defense if their temple were ever prematurely breached, so they existed in a more aroused state of wakefulness than the rest. Kol chuckled at
that
thought.
All
of them were asleep in an
aroused
state, even his massive slumbering form in the room beside the Queen’s sported its own huge erection. They had to be ready when the awakening ritual began. The Guardians were just the most visible. He often wondered what they would look like if the temple were ever actually attacked and they were forced into action. White dragons with massive erections might distract even the most determined grave robber.

The thought made him laugh.

“How goes it, Roka?” he asked, pausing on his rounds in front of his closest friend of the Guardians.

“You tease me with your voice, Shadow. If I had breath, we could have a proper duel and see who triumphed.”
The voice permeated Kol’s mind rather than the air between him and the rigid white statue he stood before. Kol still reached out a hand and rested it on Roka’s shoulder.

Kol laughed. “If you had breath you know mine would overtake yours in a second.”

“We’ll see who gathers the most treasure when we awaken. I’ll wager I get more, even as a guardian.”

“I’ll wager you do, too, friend. I don’t see the allure in treasure. Not even humans, as pretty and vibrant as they are.”

“You deserve more after this cycle. You deserve concubines.”

“I do, do I? You know that the Court is already entitled to a multitude of partners if we choose, right?”

Kol smirked at the silence his friend responded with.

“Then why don’t you seem happy about that prospect?”

Mother of all… Roka did always ask the most irritating questions.

“I just want one woman. One sweet morsel to savor for the next few decades after this temple is finally opened. Someone whose world I can change enough to see in her eyes how much I mean to her and her alone.”

“But you’re not a collector? It’s our nature. I want at least two. At least I know what I would do with two. More than that might be… complicated.”

Kol laughed. “Yes, more than two becomes problematic. All I want to collect is the touch of her skin, the silky dew between her thighs, the little sounds she makes that lets me know my touch is affecting her.”

He wandered away from the conversation with his fingertips tingling as though they’d already touched hot skin, memories of Eveline playing over and over in his mind.

Shadows: Chapter Two

T
he sweet dark of sleep was a hard commodity to retain. Hallie questioned her own sanity every morning when the camp awakened and she was forced to rise with the rest. She wasn’t a morning person, but apparently she was outnumbered. And since she was trying her best to conform to the ideals of the expeditionary type, she rose, too. Or she tried to, anyway.

It was still fucking dark in their jungle camp, but the entire group had been edgy all night knowing the next leg of their trek would likely take them to their final destination.

She opened her eyes and glared at the edge of her sleeping bag, resisting rising for just a few more moments. Five minutes… she could squeeze in five more minutes of sleep if she tried really hard. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to bring back the delicious dream she’d been having about Kris. In the dream he’d had a massive erection and was about to shove it in her.

Something tickled her cheek and she swept her palm over it. The tickle came back a second later, an irritating distraction from her hopeful dreams. She smacked her hand on her cheek smartly, wishing whatever it was would go away.

The tickle returned, accompanied by a throaty giggle.

“Camille, you’re in for it,” she murmured gruffly against her sleeping bag.

A hard sigh sounded behind her. “I’m sorry. You said you wanted help waking up, so I thought I’d try this. It was fun until you started sounding bitchy.”

“Don’t take it personally. I’m always bitchy at this time of day. At least if I’m awake.”

She rolled over and smiled sleepily at her blonde friend.

“Did he take the bait?” she asked.

Camille scowled. “No. I messed it up. He just…” She flushed brightly and bit her lower lip hard enough to make it shine bright red. Her discomfort made Hallie reach out to comfort her.

“Sweetie, don’t do that… Eben loves you, I know it.”

Camille looked like she was about to cry. “So why…?” Her lip quivered before she could get another word out.

“Just focus on work for now, alright? He’ll come around, I promise.”

She felt like a fraud spouting useless advice to the girl. Camille was brilliant and beautiful, in a weirdly delicate way, but completely ill-equipped to deal with a crush on a guy. At least Hallie hadn’t been lying about Eben’s feelings. That was one detail she’d bet her life on if she had to, considering how she’d seen Eben watching Camille every day since the expedition had begun. He’d cast furtive glances at the pretty linguist, then look away and spend the next hour or so with a broody crease between his eyebrows. Hallie wasn’t the least bit surprised, either. Camille possessed the perfect combination of sensuality and innocence that could drive men mad. At least one man.

Hallie felt like a fraud in a lot of other ways, too. Mostly because she
was
a fraud. She didn’t know archeology from a hole in the wall, yet she’d convinced Erika somehow that she belonged with them. It wasn’t as if she’d been dead weight during their expedition, at least. If anything she’d been more valuable than the others during the rugged trek. It helped growing up in the wilderness of Canada. Tropical hazards were different, but her constitution could handle them.

And they were very far away from the bullshit she’d left behind, which was the biggest plus. No one would even think to look for her here, least of all the asshole she’d conceived this entire crazy plan to escape. Still, every day the easy camaraderie of the others left her feeling like an outsider. She’d lied to join them and kept lying to cover up her lack of experience. She’d only done the bare minimum of research prior to applying for the assistantship required to join the expedition. She’d learned how to manipulate potential bosses years ago. Be pretty and clean, drop all the right words, show the right level of confidence. Her past few jobs were acquired under the same pretense, which was a requirement when you had things to hide.

This one had been a little different. She’d only had two days to set it up. Posing as an esoteric scholar should have been easy but it had proven to be the most stressful interview of her life. Ultimately she’d given up on the exhaustive planning she usually employed and just threw on jeans and a t-shirt, studied her notes on the subject in question, and headed out the door. She was likely dead either way it went, so why stress over details?

Somehow, it had worked.

Erika hadn’t even glanced at Hallie’s fabricated curriculum vitae. She’d met Hallie in a tiny cafe west of campus. They’d exchanged pleasantries, then Erika had completely ignored the folder of papers she had in front of her and proceeded to grill Hallie on her personal history.

It had been a shock, but Hallie had answered honestly, at least until Erika got to the college questions. The best lies always held a kernel of truth. In the end, the woman she sold to Erika was an intelligent girl restricted by her upbringing and rising up from nothing. It wasn’t very far from the truth. She’d always wanted to be that woman, but poor decisions had gotten in her way.

When their interview concluded, Erika had stuck out her hand and pulled her into a tight hug. Flabbergasted at the quick acceptance, Hallie had hugged back. She nodded and murmured a thank you when Erika expressed how she couldn’t wait to see her the next day when their flight to Indonesia departed.

Shadows: Chapter Three

K
ol’s skin itched. He would give anything to be free of his stone prison and able to stretch his corporeal limbs. To dive into the pool that occupied the center of his chamber and soak in the warmth of the water, wash away five hundred years of regret that he hadn’t done more to keep the woman he loved. Eveline’s face had faded from his memory. All he had left were fragments of her that came to him in dreams—the softness of her skin, the heat of her breath, the earthy scent of her sex.

Perhaps Roka was right. Maybe he should have avoided focusing so intently on one human. Most dragons avoided favoritism among their treasure, choosing instead to distribute their attention evenly among many humans. There were no limits, according to dragon law. Dragons could possess as much treasure as they were capable of attracting to themselves. His distant predecessors had boasted throngs of loyal subjects, but over the generations, dragons had gradually grown more focused, choosing to reserve their attention for a few very loyal humans. He was the first one who had ever balked at tradition so much that he’d chosen one woman outside his parents’ collection, which had been his first mistake.

Young dragons were often encouraged to appreciate their family’s treasures, but Kol’s tastes were not quite what his parents or the council would have liked him to have. The twins were the same. He supposed it wasn’t so much the singularity of his choice that caused the council to punish him, but that he’d never marked her. But how did you mar such a beautiful, perfect creature as she was?

The idea of humans like Eveline as mere possessions left a bad taste in his mouth. When the doors to the temple opened he would be expected yet again to collect treasure. He was under no delusions what that really meant. Humans were status symbols to dragons. The more he possessed, the more respect he received. It didn’t help that the urge was innate. He had
wanted
to mark Eveline so many times, yet rejected his own nature in exchange for knowing she was with him of her own volition. Until the council had found out and destroyed his perfect life.

Loving her wasn’t the crime. Showing her his nature yet leaving her unmarked was. The magic of the mark made humans intensely loyal and incapable of betrayal. But to Kol there was far more power in gaining the trust and loyalty of a human without resorting to magic.

So they’d forced him to do nothing
but
resort to magic for the last five hundred years. Manifesting his human form with his breath on a daily basis still hadn’t changed his opinion on marking humans, but it had made him appreciate the magic he was capable of more than he had before. Not quite solid, without considerable focus and effort his breath could still affect his environment in subtle ways. He could open doors with it, but most often merely wisped between the cracks. He could sense the smooth texture of the walls that held him in, the cool jade tiles of the floor beneath his shadowy tread. He couldn’t dive into the water of his pool, but he could cast ripples across its surface.

And when the surface doors finally opened, he could sense the change in pressure causing every molecule of his breath to vibrate, the sensation transferring instantaneously to his true form, frozen in jade. For the first time in half a millennium, his perpetually erect cock throbbed in anticipation.

He sent his shadow to the surface where he lingered in the darkness, watching the seven humans trickle in, each one marveling at the interior of the temple as they began to explore it.

He watched their leader intently at first. She wasn’t the most beautiful of the women, but she exuded power he had rarely encountered in human women. This century might prove very interesting if other women were like her. She easily subjugated the male who followed close behind her, and he didn’t seem the least bit put down by her dismissiveness. He only had eyes for the prettiest female among them—a petite and round-bottomed blonde. A tasty morsel by any stretch. The man had good taste.

The others followed down the long staircase, oblivious to his presence blended into the shadows. The third woman’s scent reached him before he saw her, tickling at his nostrils like the soft down of aromatic feathers. Sweet and pungent, like the scent of the earth right after a rainstorm. With cautious steps, she came down the staircase, brushing past him so closely he could feel her heat and sense the rising arousal that the magic of the temple incited in all the humans who entered it.

The familiar and unwelcome instinct to possess rose so suddenly it made him dizzy. He moved behind her and leaned closer, reaching one ethereal hand up to trace the line of her neck. Skin still damp from the heat of the jungle met his touch. He let his eyes follow the path of his fingers down to her shoulder blade, then across to the front, chasing the path of a tiny bead of sweat as it traveled along the crest of her collarbone.

He stood behind her looking down at that tiny droplet of moisture, poised in the arc of bone and skin that pointed down between her breasts. His ghostly fingertip still rested at the edge of it, the rest of his hand splayed to avoid touching her skin, though he would love to feel the warmth of her against his palm.

Overcome by a sudden thirst, he licked his lips. The droplet quivered then skidded across tanned skin and pores, lower, lower, Kol’s eyes following it all the way. What he wouldn’t give to be that orb of wetness traveling between her breasts, only to be absorbed at the end of the journey. Or perhaps lapped up by some lucky man. One of the other travelers maybe?

He inhaled deeply, hoping to impress the aroma of her into his memory alongside the scent of the only other woman he’d ever thought he’d want. He couldn’t deny the pull from this one, though.

Some force against Kol’s back caused his his shadowy form to dissipate like a warm, insistent breeze diluting a bank of fog. He reformed to the side of the stairway and glared at the large, male figure who followed the young woman. Dark eyes stared straight back at him with unmistakable recognition.

“You can see me?”
Kol asked, sending the thought out with intent to the man. The man didn’t reply but only nodded quickly. He shifted his attention to the woman when she turned in response to his proximity.

“What is it, Kris?” she asked.

“Thought I saw a bug, but it’s gone now,” he said with a twitch of his lips. “Must’ve caught a ride from outside.”

“Ugh, I’ll be done with bugs after this trip. You don’t think there are any inside, do you?”

The man named Kris chuckled. “Not sealed up the way this place is. Legend says that dragons tended to repel most other living things, including insects. Humans tend to be more like moths to a flame for them, though.” He darted his eyes pointedly in the direction of Kol’s shadow.

“Who’s the moth and who’s the flame?”
Kol heard in a pointed tone in his mind.

“You really believe this stuff, don’t you?” she asked.

“I believe it because it’s the truth,” Kris said matter-of-factly.

“I know, I know. Your
destiny
was to guide us here. Erika’s bought into it, too. Me… I’ll believe it when I see it, I guess.”

The man’s identity became clear to Kol with those words, and the effect Kris had on Kol’s incorporeal form made more sense. This group was without a doubt the chosen few who would awaken them. It really was finally happening. Today would be his last day trapped here.

“You’re the Catalyst, aren’t you?”
Kol asked. He moved back to walk beside Kris, now more conscious of the barrier of magic that cocooned the man, preventing Kol from moving closer. He kept his eyes on the back of the woman’s neck as they walked, watching yet another bead of sweat trace her skin and wishing he could follow its path, dart his long forked tongue out to taste it.

“Yes. But you’re the Shadow. Didn’t expect to be greeted at the door like this. It’s an honor.”
The man’s thoughts reverberated in Kol’s mind. He had the blood, too. Otherwise he’d never have been able to communicate that way.

“I’m more than ready to get the ritual started. One more day and we’ll all be free, thanks to the seven of you.”

“I’ll have them itching to get going after supper tonight. Trust me, friend, I’m as ready as you are.”
Kris reached between his thighs, adjusting himself in emphasis.

“I don’t envy you the waiting, but I understand. It’s been five centuries since I last touched a woman. Please tell me what that one’s name is. I have to mark her.”

Kris laughed.
“I’ve heard of you. The accounts of your little rebellion are a cautionary tale at the monastery where I was raised. Refused to properly mark your lover after showing her what you were. I believed in your argument, when I learned of it. Now you talk like your principles have changed. Did the punishment sink in?”

“No, but it’s the only way to complete the ritual. If they’re going to force it on me, I must be sure she’s willing when I have to do it.”

“That may be tricky. She’s a bit of a rebel, too. Her name is Hallie, but she isn’t who she pretends to be. Good luck to you.”

***

Kol kept to the shadows for the rest of the evening, but never let his eyes wander too far from Hallie. Watching the magic’s gradual effect on her kept him enthralled. She savored the dinner Kris cooked them like it was a sensuous treat, eyes closed with every bite, tongue darting out to lick her full lips and make sure she didn’t miss a single shred of flavor. Kol could smell the dragon magic that infused the meal from the fresh temple water Kris had used to cook it.

Kris did his job well after the meal was over, encouraging their leader and her human lover to begin the ritual and nudging the others in the right direction when the time came. The man was subtle, but effective. The first couple went willingly, followed shortly by the pretty blonde with the plump bottom. The others stayed in their camp and tried to sleep for a few hours, but the heightened excitement left them tossing and turning, except for Hallie who seemed to sleep soundly.

Then the young Greek man with the deep sadness left, along with the most skeptical member of the group—a man they called Corey, who seemed to grow angrier the more aroused he became.

That left Hallie, curled up in her bedroll in a shadowy alcove away from the glowing fire pit. Kol only watched at first, his mind drifting to memories of the last time he’d been with Eveline. His old lover had awakened one morning and found him watching her, much like he watched Hallie now.

“You have the look of a very patient cat waiting for the chase,” Eveline had said. “You could have had me in your jaws a hundred times while I slept, helpless.”

“I prefer knowing that you’re choosing not to run when I decide to take you.” He slipped down beside her warm curves, cupped one breast and pressed lips and tongue to the juncture at her neck and shoulder.

She nestled back against him and tilted her head to grant better access to her skin. “I would never run from you. Not even in my dreams. I was dreaming of you just like this, you know.”

“Hmm, like this?” he asked, moving one hand lower and teasing the downy thicket between her thighs. Dewy wetness clung to her fringe. He slid his fingertips a little deeper into the heat of her, enjoying the soft sigh she emitted when he found her swollen bud already slick with her juices.

“Yes. Just once I’d like to wake up to you already inside me. To believe we’d never been parted even during sleep.”

Pleasing Eveline had always been paramount, but he’d never gotten the opportunity to fulfill her request. The council had learned of his misbehavior and had sent him immediately to the temple. He hadn’t even been allowed to see Eveline one last time.

This could be his chance for redemption. To do things differently. But the ritual was already underway and the one he believed he was meant for was here sleeping.

Hallie rolled onto her side and kicked her covers off, displaying long, tanned legs that led up to the curve of wide hips hugged by dark fabric. She seemed to have an affinity for black. Most of the garments he’d watched her strip off earlier had been varying shades of black. She hadn’t been modest around her teammates, either. The only one with a shred of modesty had been the pretty blonde, and the only overtly sexual interaction among the group had been between the leader and her lover.

It must be a very different world for men and women to be so uninhibited with each other. The other men had looked at Hallie appreciatively, but with a surprising level of respect. Dragons looked at each other the same way, but in his experience, human men rarely treated human women like equals.

Now Hallie lay nearly naked aside from her small, black undergarments. The sleeveless top she wore had ridden up to expose her belly. Her thighs shifted against each other, sending a hint of her arousal to him.

Sweet Mother, he needed to touch her again. He needed her to wake up and come to him soon. To open his chamber and awaken his body so he could mark her and complete his phase of the ritual.
No,
he thought.
So she can learn the truth and make the choice. I refuse to do it unless she is willing. Damn the others.
But he knew he owed it to his brethren to try. His disagreement had been with the Council, not the other dragons trapped in the temple with him. So he would try. And the first step was to plan his silent seduction while she slept.