by Aidy Award
It was Dax. Oh my God. Dax.
Inside her head she begged, not knowing if the woman in red could hear her or even cared. "Please take me closer. That's my mate down there. I need to see what's happening. Please."
She drifted down and hovered just above the group of dragons standing in a battle against a huge angry black dragon. In one of the claws of the black dragon was the broken body of a man with black and red scales over his body, like he'd died in the middle of shifting.
Beside the Black Dragon, a darkly evil black witch cradled a child in her arms. Her hands and face were bathed in a sparkling silver fluid. It dripped from her mouth in sickly streaks and down her throat where a single white swirled bone hung on a cord. Not a bone, a horn. A unicorn's horn.
The last stand of dragons used their elements together to fight his power and they were losing. The Black Dragon stalked closer, shooting his fire in a steady stream pushing the combined magic of the dragons back with each step.
There weren't only dragons there. In front of each one stood a woman with elemental magic swirling around her, concentrated from the necklaces they each wore at their necks. Soul shards. Jules recognized the colors of the four elements, controlled by witches like her. Dragon daughters. A Green Witch, a Blue Witch, A Gold Witch, and the Red Witch.
There were three more women, though. Two with black tendrils of magic that Jules thought at first was bad. But the magic was shadowy, not evil. They worked in tandem, their magic swirled around creating shadows that protected the others from demons who attacked from the sides. The last woman had a very powerful magic that pulled on each of the others to combine them into a brilliant white light that formed a shield in front of them all.
The women weren't battling the black dragon or the witch, they were protecting their dragons as they fought against this ultimate evil.
Jules's vision allowed her to drift even closer and she landed in the body of one of the women. Her vision self joined with her actual body. She was the woman with the gold elemental magic. She stood in front of Dax, who was bloodied and on the verge of collapse. The shard at her throat flickered, its light fading and faltering.
This couldn't be. She couldn't allow this to be the future. Jules turned her head and found the woman in red standing next to her, tendrils of red fiery magic swirling around her and a huge red dragon. She wasn't a mere woman. She was the Red Witch.
"I can stop this from happening, Gold Witch."
"Then do it. Do whatever you have to. You can't let everyone be killed and their evil take over the land."
"I'm so tired. I can't keep running and hiding. He hunts me day and night. If I fall, before I can bring the sacrifice and savior the power, this is our future. Help me."
"Who? How? I don't understand." The Red Witch made it sound as if the sacrifice and the savior were people, or maybe dragons or witches.
"Give these to Ellie and Izzy. Do not allow the Gold Dragon to know. He will try to stop you." The Red Witch pressed two small packages into Jules's hand.
"What are they?" The vision wouldn't allow her to see what she held. It looked like nothing but blobs of gold light.
Another surge of fire from the Black Dragon struck at them and the Red Witch's magic splintered fell to her knees. "A gift from the Mother."
"Wait. I don't know anyone named Izzy or her mom."
"Not that mother. Her." The Red Witch looked up and then collapsed to the ground. Her form faded into a pool of red swirling light. The big red dragon behind her roared and charged forward, breaking the line of dragons and the protective barrier the witches were holding between them all and total destruction. Dax, bound to the other red dragon, followed behind him. Both were struck by fire from the Black Dragon, but the fire was tainted with the Black Witch's dark magic. Dax, her Dax, was struck to the ground and his form flickered. He was a man again, and he reached out for Jules with his dying breath.
Pain and terror tore through her as the shard she wore at her neck exploded into a thousand tiny sharp daggers, tearing her apart from the soul up. His body turned to black ash before her eyes and he disintegrated, blowing away in the wind. "Dax, no. Oh god, please no."
Jules screamed and looked up into the sky, wanting to lash out at anything she could. Time froze. A white light, not unlike the that from the White Witch fighting beside them here and now, floated above the battle. Behind the light a rainbow dragon hovered in the air. "The goddess."
If she was a mother and an all-powerful being why didn't she stop this from happening?
Blackness and fire swirled over Jules's vision and the scene in front of her faded. For a brief moment she saw the inside of the stone cave again, but it was empty. No Red Witch, no Ellie, no daggers, no Christmas ornaments. That scene too faded and her own bedroom came into focus.
"Jules? Baby? Thank the First Dragon, you're back." Dax pressed a kiss to her forehead and grabbed her into a tight hug. "I thought I lost you that time. You weren't breathing and your light faded away. I didn't know what else to do."
She grabbed him back just as tight. Tears laced her face and the wail that he had died was on her lips. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
"It's okay. You're safe. It's okay. I think my soul shard helped anchor you. Did you feel it in your vision?" Dax petted her hair and hushed her until her tears subsided and she could face the world again. She absolutely could not let the future the Red Witch had shown her happen. She had to do everything in her power to help in anyway that she could.
A face she didn't recognize popped in front of her and examined her with narrowed eyes. "She's back now and hopefully she can tell us where to find the Troika children. Is that what you saw in your vision, young witch?"
Jules screamed and scrambled for the blanket. "What are you doing in my room? Turn around right now. No one but Dax gets to see my girly bits."
"It's okay, lass. No one is seeing any part of you they shouldn't. You're fully clothed. This is Cage Gylden, the AllWyvern of the Dragon Warriors." He indicated to the man and then pointed to another darker figure standing against the wall next to the fireplace. "And this is Maciej Cervony, my alpha and the Red Dragon Wyvern."
Gulp. Red Dragon.
Jules squeezed her hand tight. The packages the Red Witch had given her were still there. Strange magic indeed. She could not let these two dragon warriors, Wyverns, whatever see that she had them or what she intended to do with them. She didn't understand why they would want to stop her from giving the necklaces... oh, that's what they were, just like the one someone had given to her.
Ellie and Izzy. These necklaces were going to help their mates find them. She couldn't figure out why these two men would want to stop that from happening. She certainly wasn't going to ask though. She wasn't even sure she should bring it up with Dax, especially if these guys were his dragon bosses.
She hated keeping a secret from him, but she would if it meant saving the world. "Get out. Both of you. You're in my room, in my house and I want you out."
"Uh, babe. These are--"
"I don't care if you're the pope. Go wait in the living room. Now." Jules pulled power from her innermost self and blew a giant gust of wind at the two men, picking them both up and tossing them out of her bedroom door. She heard a very satisfying thunk, thunk as they hit the wall in the hallway and smiled to herself.
"Never let it be said that my mate couldn't hold her own against two of the most powerful dragons in the history of the world." Dax sounded a little shock and awed.
"We gotta go." Jules jumped out of the bed and found that Dax had put her into a yellow summery dress she'd never quite had the courage to wear because it was low cut on top and showed off her thighs. This would totally work for saving the world. She shoved the necklaces into the tight bodice of the dress. Next time she was buying a dress with pockets.
Bless Dax for not even questioning her. "Okay. Do you want to head back over to Doc's office where Max is recovering? That's where everyone is. They'
re freaking out that the kids are so changed. Although we can hardly call them children anymore. Max said Tristan is as tall as he is. Gal's best guess is that they're almost twenty years old-ish."
"I know what to do. Come on." They weren't going to get past two surly dragon dudes. Jules threw open the window and mentally measured to see if her butt and Dax's shoulders were going to fit through the space. Probably. Maybe. Worth a try. "Give me a boost."
Dax lifted her by the waist and set her sideways on the window sill. She scooted over, which hiked the skirt of the dress halfway up. Dax's eyes followed the dress's movement like it was the most fascinating sight in the world. "Is that what you saw in your vision? I think the front door is a better choice, lass. Although I am enjoying seeing your bare ass."
What a time for him to mention that he had clothed her, but had not provided undergarments. Well, he had said not to wear them around him. She got one leg out and half rolled, half fell out the window. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her. "Sort of and no, we need to sneak away from your bosses. I'll tell you why later. Do you know someone named Izzy?"
Dax hopped up, grabbed the frame of the window and slid out easy peasy. "That's Cage's daughter's name."
Of course it was.
Up To No Good
His luscious mate was up to something and Dax didn't like it one bit. She shushed him and crept away from her house, bending low so no one would see them out her windows. While that gave him a great view of her ass, he didn't understand why they had to resort to subterfuge around Cage and Match.
Jules stopped when they reached the farthest corner of the house from her living room where the Wyverns were waiting. "We'll get there faster if you fly us. But keep it on the down low, I don't want your dragon friends following us. I don't trust them."
Oh shit. "Then trust me. They are here to help."
"I'm sorry. I know they're your bosses or whatever, but I need to do something and I don't want them to interfere. Please, Dax. Take me to Doc's. I need to find Ellie right away."
Dragon warriors didn't interfere. They protected and served. Dragon warriors saved the world on a daily basis. Her visions had steered them in the right direction so far, but they weren't perfect. She could have misinterpreted this last one if it told her to avoid the dragon warriors. "This has to do with your vision? The one that almost killed you? Tell me. We can create a plan of action together."
"Yes, I know what to do because of the vision. I can't say more than that now except the other dragons can't get in the way."
Dax studied her, looking for clues in her eyes as to what had happened to make her distrust the men who could help them the most. Yes, he was also stalling. He needed a minute to process what she was thinking and what he was going to do about it. He couldn't avoid other dragons his entire life. He needed to both protect her and do his duty to the world keeping everyone safe from the hellish plague that was the Black Dragon and his minions. She knew that. Which made it all the more confusing that she was asking him to essentially escape from the purview of the Wyvern. He had to trust her if he expected the same in return. He'd figure out her agenda and a way to allow the dragons to help. He kissed her quickly and shifted.
Jules climbed into his claw for the ride over to Doc's office. He told himself over and over that he was doing the right thing. It didn't help. He still felt like a total piece of shit, because the second he'd shifted, he called to Match.
Jules has asked me to take her to the wolves. Meet us there and bring every man, woman, wolf, and dragon. She has yet to tell me what's going on.
Match grunted before answering. Your ... woman clearly wants nothing to do with any other dragons, little brother.
I know. Her last vision was different than the others and it almost killed her.
He was doing the right thing. He had to keep telling himself that. The instant he shifted, Match and Cage had known. It wasn't like he could hide from them. They were the alphas. But he didn't have to tell them where they were going. Neither of the Wyverns had used the command ingrained into their alpha's voices to compel him to say anything. He'd volunteered that information and in doing so betrayed his mate.
Lass, we need to call in my brethren. They will help us.
"No, I know what to do. We just need to find Ellie and Izzy. We don't need them for anything. I promise."
She was going to find out in the next ten minutes that he'd already made that call because every dragon in or near Rogue was going to be at Doc's office by the time he and Jules arrived. A tight ball of self-loathing pulled at his chest, making it hard to breathe.
He'd only just convinced Jules they belonged together and here he was giving her a reason to not want to be with him. He hated what he was doing and yet would do it all over again. Because he couldn't protect Jules on his own. Her last vision had ground that into his brain. She'd almost died and he could do nothing but lay his soul shard around her neck and pray to the First Dragon that his small action would do something, anything to help her.
She had come back to him. With a plan. That she wouldn't tell him about.
Trust her. He was doing the right thing. Which was it?
The small clinic for supernatural beings that Doc ran came into view and Dax circled, nice and slow, down into a landing. He’d taken as much of their sweet time as he could get away with. Cage had the power of the wind on his side to propel him and Match here much faster. Eventually, he’d love someone to teach Jules how to use her power that way too, but right now he was damn glad she was new at wielding her control over her element.
Jules was out of his claw and running toward the entrance before they even hit the ground. Crap. He hoped she wasn't met with a wall of dragon warriors and that she wasn't going to kick his ass if she was.
Both of those things were probably going to happen. Fuck a duck. And this day had started out so well.
Dax shifted and jogged into the clinic behind Jules. The wall of dragon warriors was definitely there and Jules was on fire. Not literally, but she might as well have been with the way the sunshine poured out of her and the wind whipped through her hair. She looked just like that little girl in the Firestarter movie.
"Lass, I'm--" His words were cut off by a fireball aimed straight at his head. He ducked, but not in time. The bomb was going to hit him straight on. Jules waved her hand and a gust of wind lifted the ball up over his head and out the front door where it landed in a garbage can. Maybe she knew how to use her magic better than he’d thought. He didn’t know if that was good or bad right now.
A woman with long black hair, holding the sword of the Gold Wyvern, and dressed in red leather conjured another ball of fire. "Stay back, dragon. She's already fallen to you, but I need her now."
Match stepped between the woman in red and Dax. He called forth his own fire, in a show of power equal to hers. "Fallyn, Stop. You know he isn't going to harm her."
Fallyn? Holy shit on a single shingle. The woman or witch or whatever Match had been hunting since she'd tried to kill him down in hell was standing here in the clinic ready to wreak havoc on them all. What a fool he'd been to think had been the woman in red the children had been telling them about. Even the Succubus Queen didn't have the power to make the babies grow into adults practically overnight. Only a very powerful witch, one who dealt in dark magic, could do something like that.
No way was he allowing that woman anywhere near his mate. If anything proved to his Jules that the dragons were on her side, this should be it. Dax darted around Match's back and toward his mate. He didn't exactly have a plan except to get her out of harm’s way, away from this fire witch.
He raced toward Jules, ready to shift if he had to. Mid-step, he was lifted into the air the same as that fireball. He floated up to the ceiling and got his first good look at what was really going on. Jules had Cage pinned in the air as well and the AllWyvern was fucking livid. His face and growl distinctly communicated that Dax had better do something.
Dax called
upon his dragon. He’d just sit on them with his big dragon ass, pin them to the ground. He couldn’t imagine why no one else had thought of that. Scales flittered across his skin, but wouldn’t come forth. Something was blocking his shift. He glared at the red witch. It had to be her.
"Jules, love. Let us down, we can help you. I'll protect you. I promise these dragons are no threat to you." His shard around her neck glowed brightly with each of his words. He could practically feel her love for him pouring out of her and into him through that small piece of himself he'd given to her.
Tears bubbled up over her lashes and streamed down her face. "You don't understand. I have to help her."
"What? No. Lass. Listen to me." Help the witch? That couldn't be right.
Galyna burst through the door that led to the back where Doc had hospital beds and such set up. "Ellie is missing."
She took in the scene, skidded to a stop, gasped, and backed away from the standoff. She didn't get far because a gorgeous black woman stepped out behind her blocking her escape route. Azy. Cage's mate and the mother of the first-born dragon babies of their generation. "So is Apollo."
Cage roared and his dragon flashed in his face and scales shimmered across his skin. "Let me down, witches, and tell me what you've done with my son."
Jules pushed him farther away and glanced over at Fallyn, who nodded at her. Whatever their communication meant, it showed Dax exactly whose side Jules was on, and it wasn't his. The heart that had just a few hours ago felt invincible and filled with the light and warmth of love went cold and crumbled to dust. He struggled for breath as his body adjusted to the gaping maw in his chest where his heart had been.
She'd tricked him. Very convincingly. He'd known all along that she wasn't his mate. No dragon could find his until their Wyvern found, marked, claimed, and mated their own true love. Match was one cranky son of a bitch who had dedicated his entire life to fighting the demon wyrms. He didn't have time or even care about finding a mate.
