Surrender (THE DRAGONFLY CHRONICLES) (8 page)

“So”—Kailin hesitated, her brow tense—“when…Gilla sent me away with her last ability…she was…”

“Weak, frail. Human. But still fierce in her love for her children. Too fierce perhaps,” Drakkina mumbled and shook her head. “She died quickly, child, without torture. The demons thought she was still powerful and required their entire focus to crush. She dissolved instantaneously once they attacked.” Drakkina shook her head as if regret weighted her form.

“Couldn’t you do anything?” Kailin searched her face that suddenly looked older, ancient, lined with guilt perhaps.

Drakkina closed her pale blue eyes. “I did. I saved the world. I made sure you all got away. I did what must be done.” She opened her eyes. “And I continue to work to save this world even though I’m no longer in it.”

“You’re dead,” Kailin stated the obvious. “But haven’t moved on to God.” She flapped her hand overhead.

“I’ve not seen your God. I hear the wisdom of the Earth Mother. Some say they are one in the same.” Drakkina pursed her thin lips tighter. “And I’m mostly dead.” She glanced at her chest where an amulet hung with a dragonfly centered on it. “When I wear my real necklace, its power gives my body true form.”

Kailin grasped her bath sheet tight and leaned toward the misty form. She glanced at her arm where her brown birthmark sat. “It has the same symbol.”

Drakkina smiled. “’Tis my symbol. The dragonfly. Vulnerable in form but resilient and powerful in spirit.” At that several dragonflies zipped around the room as if they understood her praise of their species.

“I’m marked with your symbol?”

“Each of Gilla and Druce’s children have my symbol on their bodies. A gift from me.” She smiled. “It draws them to the circle, to safety.”

“The circle of stones in Scotland.”

“’Twas your home once.”

Kailin plopped back down on the edge of the chair. “My home.”

“You are safe there, at least until the final battle when you and your mate, along with your sisters and their mates, fight the thirteen devils that will stop at nothing to steal the world from humanity.” Kailin just stared at her, numb. “You are the last sister I needed to find. Now I will help you find your soul mate and we will be ready to defeat Semiazaz’s coven.”

“Semiazaz? My soul mate?”

Drakkina glanced down at her beringed hands and twirled one simple silver band around her finger. “Semiazaz is their leader. And yes, Jackson Black is your soul mate.” She flipped her hand casually toward the door. “That handsome rogue ready to fight for you in the alley.”

“Jackson Black? No.” Kailin shook her head, the words snapping her out of her shock.

“Does your magic work on him?” Drakkina’s eyebrow rose.

“No, but—”

Drakkina held up her hand. “Has your talent ever failed you before?”

“No, but—”

“He’s the one. It’s been the same for each of your sisters.” Drakkina shrugged. “It matters little how you think you feel about him. You’re tied to one another on a level so fundamental to your being that you might as well give up fighting your attraction to him”—she eyed Kailin knowingly—“and marry him now. Anything else is just a waste of your energy. Energy you could be using to love your mate.” Drakkina grinned and winked.

Kailin leapt off the chair, her damp hair snaking around her shoulders as she shook her head. “What?!” she screeched. “No!”

Crash!
The door splintered inward as Jackson’s huge boot came thudding down. He held a revolver in each hand, his eyes wild as he searched the room. His guns seemed to still on the floating spirit, but his eyes focused entirely on Kailin.

Behind him a maid gasped and dropped a box. Tuto swooped through the room at the commotion. The maid screamed and ran back down the hall. Tuto circled and landed on a post of the bed, surveying the scene below for threats. A man in his thirties and an elderly woman stopped to stare through the wrecked door. “Good Lord,” the man in the hall exclaimed. “What is this about?”

Jackson’s gaze traveled Kailin’s length in the clinging sheet, and her face began to heat. In less than a heart’s beat, he crossed to her, one gun tucked away, the other still ready to meet the unseen threat.

“You screamed,” he said and shook out of his jacket. He laid it about her shoulders. Awkwardly closing it in front with one hand.

“I was startled,” was all Kailin could say as her face flamed. Kailin felt the light touch of Jackson’s fingers on her arm through the jacket.

“A misunderstanding,” Jackson said to the room and lowered his gun, although his glance hesitated on Drakkina in the dark corner. “The bird startled her.”

“Well I certainly imagine so,” the elderly woman said and held a monocular up to stare at Tuto.

The man continued to watch Kailin. “You’re going to have to find another room.” The man indicated the door. “And I’m sure the hotel will require payment.”

“Thank you for the obvious,” Jackson said. “Please be kind enough to send for a manager while Miss Whitaker finds some clothes.”

The woman snorted, offended. “Let us go, Henry.”

The man, Henry, glanced down at the box at his feet. “I believe the maid was bringing this for you.” He picked it up and carried it into the room. He stopped and looked around. At the continued awkward silence, he placed it on the bed and turned back to Kailin. His glance twitched to Jackson but retreated quickly to her.

“I can stay until the maid sends someone if you are in need,” Henry said.

“She’s in need of privacy, not an audience,” Jackson growled. He indicated the hallway with his gun. The elderly woman gasped and moved out of sight but the man stood his ground.

“I would hear it from the lady,” Henry said without looking at Jackson. He had courage.

Kailin wet her very dry lips. “Thank you, sir, but Mr. Black is my assistant. He is fully trustworthy.” She choked a little as the lie curled like bitter coffee around her tongue. Jackson frowned. “He will merely prop the door up and guard it from the outside while I dress.” She turned to meet Jackson’s frown. His eyes searched the corner where Drakkina floated. “All is safe here,” she assured both Jackson and Henry.

Jackson released her arm and waited, probably to make sure she wouldn’t spark the drapes on fire. He replaced his second gun in a holster he wore around his narrow hips. Kailin snapped her eyes up from his strong thighs and buttocks. She breathed and suppressed the warmth in her face.

With a strong gesture, Jackson shooed the concerned gentleman out of the room. He grumbled a curse as he hauled the door upright and fit it into the gaping hole. Kailin yanked underclothes out of the trunk, her glance going back and forth between the propped door and Drakkina.

“He can sense you, but the others cannot,” she whispered. Drakkina nodded. “Why?”

He is sensitive to magic. A good match for Gilla’s daughter
. The words came through Kailin’s mind and her eyes grew wide. The witch might be dead, or mostly dead, but she was certainly powerful. A chill ratcheted up each of her vertebra. What else could the witch do? Beyond the dreadful unknown surrounding her abilities was the horror she’d spoken with absolute conviction.

“I need to know more about…everything.” Kailin threw a gown over her petticoats. It was her one dinner gown. She would commission at least one more while here and some more expedition clothing.

In time. Right now, your task is to fall in love
.

The woman pointed a long finger toward the door. Kailin frowned with tight lips and glared at her. She shook her head. “I will not
fall in love
merely because you order it,” she hissed.

Neither did your sisters
. The spirit met Kailin’s frown with her own.
Waste of time but I won’t interfere. I’ve learned
. Dragonflies zipped around the room. Tuto’s head swiveled as he followed the insects. Kailin watched the glittery wings fade while in flight and when she looked back to the spirit, she was gone.

Kailin exhaled a huff and released a small amount of magic to flip the fifty little buttons closed up her back. Her mind spun crazily around the information she’d just learned. Her mother, murdered by demons that now searched for her and her sisters and planned to kill them to take over the world. It read like some wild story in the
Evening Post
. She would relegate the whole thing to temporary, stress-induced psychosis but Drakkina…Kailin’s lips tightened into a tense line. She ran a finger over her birthmark, now encased modestly in sapphire-blue damask. One thing was certain. Drakkina was real.

“Uh…” Jackson hesitated, his voice only slightly muffled by the heavy door. “Do you need help dressing?”

Good God, did the man think she’d actually invite him in to dress her? The thought of his gaze sliding along her bare back as his fingers tickled their way up her spine made Kailin’s heart tip into a fast run. She pressed cool hands to her heating cheeks. She really had to get a hold of her reactions to the man. Why did he affect her so easily? Drakkina’s words wafted through her memory and she slapped them away with a quick shake of her head.

“I will be out as soon as I can, Mr. Black,” Kailin snapped like a thin whip. “I’ve been dressing myself for quite a long time now. Buttons and long hair take time,” she added to soften the response.

Silence answered her and she momentarily closed her eyes at the sting of it. Did he think she was a shrew? Like the rest of the world? She’d never cared before, had actually fostered the impression to keep people away. But the thought of the rugged, strong man falling for the persona that she’d grown into made her stomach clench. Kailin pressed cool fingertips into the gentle indents at her temples while her mind dried and wove her hair into a tight plait that then tucked under into a lovely, intricate bun. She opened her eyes and used her fingers to tease out a few curls around her face and pinch her cheeks. Although being around Jackson surely kept the pink in her face.

Kailin grabbed her silk reticule and straightened the layers of blue skirt over the modest bustle she wore. “Silly contraption,” she whispered at her reflection in the polished glass over the water pitcher. On expedition she did away with such social strictures, which was part of why she preferred the field to the drawing room. Kailin exhaled long and eyed the propped door.

Tuto stretched his wings and dove from the bed post through the open balcony doors. Kailin certainly hoped there was another room with a balcony available. Although given the opportunity she could fix the door herself.

“I am presentable,” she called.

Strong fingers appeared on both edges of the door and Jackson slid the oak to the inside wall.

Jackson’s gaze turned to her and she waited, actually held her breath as those piercing eyes took in her appearance. She fought the simpering urge to check her hair. Jackson blinked and a curve nudged the slightly parted corner of his mouth.

“Well now.” Two simple words that flowed like honey from his lips.

Kailin’s chest relaxed and she inhaled. “Shall we?” Her eyes flicked toward the open doorway.

Jackson offered his elbow for her to rest her bare fingertips. “From a water nymph to a lovely lady in a mere dozen minutes.” Jackson grinned as they stepped through the doorway. The finger of his free hand rose to toy with a curl by her cheek. “Even your hair has dried.” He tipped his head slightly and Kailin shot her gaze back in front of her so she wouldn’t trip on the ornate runner down the corridor.

“How inappropriate of you to notice,” she whispered but the breathless way her words brushed across her lips made the rebuke sound more like a lover’s purr. She blushed deeply, her fingers curling into his arm. If she let go now, the entire hotel would likely shoot up into flames baking them alive.

“Success lies in the details,” he answered as if they discussed race horses instead of her appearance. “I hunt treasure, Miss Whitaker,” he said and stepped lightly next to her down the carpeted staircase. “One must pay attention to every aspect of life in order to unearth the prize.”

They walked casually across the lobby where large hats fought for space on women whispering on the arms of their stalwart gentlemen. “Am I the prize then?” Kailin asked softly and continued to stare ahead. She should stop the conversation, the quiet fencing. Perhaps he wouldn’t answer. Then she could remain silent having had the last word.

She breathed in the cool dry air that wafted off the desert as night smothered the heat of the sun. The sand quickly surrendered the baking heat of the day. Kailin reached for the cool iron arm of the chair but Jackson pulled it out from the table. As she bent to sit, adjusting the ridiculous bulbous bustle into the rounded cushion, Jackson’s warm breath grazed her ear. She froze as he slid her seat in, completely without her help, as if she were a child.

“Prize? Rather a treasure, a grand cache buried deep within a mountain of gloriously enticing
rock
.”

Jackson held her fingertips as he rounded the small table and sat. Smart man. Infuriating man! Rock indeed! She’d yank her hand from his if she wasn’t worried about mass destruction. Kailin met his gaze with her own steel. It was the look that had sent men of great means scurrying out of her way. Yet Jackson Black just stared back, a warmth at war with the spark of battle in his storm-gray eyes.

Kailin wet her lips with the wine provided in a glass before her, her fingers still tight in his grip. Her tongue licked at the small crevice, just over her teeth. Jackson’s grin faded, his eyes narrowing as if he were a pointer catching the scent. Carefully, Kailin slid her fingers from his grasp and kept her hand palm down on the smooth tablecloth. At once the flame in the small candle glass leapt and danced. She breathed deeply. “Be warned, Mr. Black. This rock has a tendency to crush.”

His frown hedged once again into appreciation. “I think,” he said and tipped his own wine glass to his lips then set it back on the table, “the world has far more to fear from your lava within.” He raised one eyebrow and tilted his head slightly to one side. “Except when I touch you. Curious?”