Claim the Dragon

by A. C. Arthur

  Cree’s lips tilted and he shook his head. “She had the gift of sight and I do too, but only on a much smaller scale, I guess. But that’s what makes me who I am. Who are you, Ravyn? Are you just this thief that lives in an old subway station? Or were you meant to be something more? A bookstore owner who shared her love of books and words with the world? A woman who used to like roller skating and watching fireworks?”

  Fireworks!

  Ravyn shot up out of her chair. She could see sparks shooting in the air, illuminating the dark sky. And the humming that she’d been hearing since she climbed out of bed this morning, grew a little louder, almost in tandem with the bursts of fireworks.

  “I have to go,” she said and started to move past him.

  “Where? What’s wrong?” he asked, grabbing her arm to keep her there.

  “Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “I just have to go...somewhere.”

  “This! This right here is what I mean when I say you don’t look the same. Something about you has changed and I don’t know what it is but it’s scaring me,” he admitted.

  It was scaring her too. She didn’t say that to him, but she’d been thinking it—or rather trying desperately not to think it—for the last few hours. There was something different about her. From the humming in her ears, to the sense that she was forgetting something, and now to the sound of fireworks. She couldn’t explain it, but it was important, somehow, she knew all these things were important.

  “I’m fine, I promise. But I’ve gotta go.”

  She was on her way to the door when he yelled to her.

  “We’re gonna go back, Ravyn. A few of us down here have decided we’re gonna go back.”

  Ravyn turned back to see that Cree was now standing with his wiry legs slightly spread, his chin lifted as he looked directly at her.

  “Can we talk when I get back?” she asked. “I mean, really talk. Because if you’re going to go back, you’ve gotta have a plan.”

  Watching the end of his mouth tilt upward into a smile and seeing that smile touch his eyes warmed Ravyn’s heart. She loved this kid and she wanted to support him always. Besides, something had changed in the way she viewed Cree’s position down here and in what she wanted for Safeside. She didn’t know when it had changed and she didn’t know how, all she knew was that it had. Unfortunately, that knowledge wasn’t enough.

  “Go. And be safe,” Cree said. “I’ll be here when you return.”

  Ravyn smiled and blew him a kiss before turning and running out the door.

  * * *

  She ran when she stepped out of the rideshare, going as fast as she could down a block she didn’t think she’d ever seen before. Yet, this was where she’d told the driver to go. This was where her mind said she needed to be.

  There were houses on each side of the street, tall ones, short ones, Victorians, ranchers, brick, aluminum siding, with grass yards or cement yards, so many houses and she didn’t recognize any of them. But she didn’t stop running, didn’t stop looking, not until the humming in her ears grew louder, almost like a beacon. She ran faster, even though she didn’t know how that was possible because it already felt as if her feet weren’t touching the ground.

  Turning a corner, she kept moving until she saw the house at the end. There wasn’t anything special about it, just a brick colonial with a basic rooftop. An iron gate at the front, a paved driveway. Just a house.

  A house she was heading toward.

  The gate was locked but that didn’t stop her, she simply jumped over it. Coming down on her feet, knees bent, the tips of her fingers touching the ground, Ravyn looked back, wondering what the hell had just happened? Did she just jump over a freakin’ wall? Hesitation was replaced by this urgent push in her legs and before she realized it, she was up and moving again, heading straight to the front door of the house. She stopped when she got there because the midnight-blue door with its sparkling silver knocker was ajar. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside, completely disregarding the fact that this wasn’t her house so she was breaking and entering...again.

  Recognition seeped in the moment she stepped inside the house. She knew those paintings hanging on the dark cranberry colored walls. The rugs on the floor were the same, the shined wood banister that curved upward to the second floor of the house. She knew it all. Just as she knew if she kept straight and turned opposite the family room, she’d be in the room with all the display cases. That’s exactly what she did and then came to an abrupt stop the moment she saw the dead body in the center of the floor.

  There was no doubt the guy was dead. The pool of blood circling him on the floor kinda gave it away. A part of her knew there should’ve been shock, probably a moment or two of freak-the-hell-out, and then quite possibly screaming and running away. But she felt none of those things and she didn’t run away screaming, because she couldn’t. Her feet felt rooted to that spot, the urge to go she’d felt before was gone, replaced by an eerie stillness.

  And then there was a sound and she eased her gaze away from the dead guy to follow it. He came into the room with intentional steps, his gaze focused more on the watch at his wrist than the dead guy on the floor. He was saying something but her gasp put an end to that and he looked up to see her staring—or more like gawking—at his glowing orange eyes.

  * * *

  “Ravyn.”

  “Who are you? How do you know my name? And what’s the deal with your eyes?”

  Shit!

  Steele dropped his arm and cursed because he’d taken his glasses off right after stepping into this room and finding Robles dead on the floor. Now, he blinked his human eyes back into place and walked toward her.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

  Her eyes narrowed as she continued to watch him. “Who are you?”

  “Let’s just get you outside.” He continued and reached for her arm.

  That was a big mistake, because the moment he touched her there were sparks exploding into the room. She shrieked and jumped back and Steele cursed again. The sparks or whatever had just happened was fast and seconds after he thought he’d seen them they were gone. She eased away from him, moving so fast she bumped into the wall. He took another step toward her but she shook her head, raising her arms in front of her to whisper, “Stay away from me.”

  Try as he might, it seemed he just couldn’t do that.

  “Wait, listen to me,” he tried saying but she’d already turned and was heading out of the room.

  He followed her, reaching for her when they were in the small foyer but dropping his hand before touching her considering what had just happened.

  “Did you kill that man? What the hell is going on here? What did you do?” She walked fast, firing off questions like she was some type of recorder, until she was just a few feet from the door and she stopped to turn around.

  The motion was so quick she bumped right into Steele, who was still hot on her heels. He did touch her again this time, grabbing both her arms when she looked up at him in surprise.

  “What—” she started to say but then stopped.

  He felt the moment recognition hit her. It wasn’t just in the way her eyes flashed with a sudden awareness, but it was the warmth that spread immediately between them, and the instant movement of his beast. It knew she was near and it was reaching out for her.

  “Listen to me,” he started again. “You need to leave this place right now. Go back to Safeside and I’ll come to you later tonight. I’ll—” His words were cut short by the swift way she shook her head.

  “You? Why do you know about Safeside?” She yanked away from his grasp, lifting her hands to her temples. “What’s going on here? The room’s spinning. Did you drug me again?”

  Again?

  How did she know? And why was she here? She shouldn’t have remembered anything about this place or the mind cl
eaning he suspected she was referring to when she accused him of drugging her. As far as he knew, nobody had ever resisted a mind cleaning. Ravyn had.

  But she didn’t know who he was, his beast chuffed at that while Steele admitted to feeling a slap of disappointment, as well. But there was no time to explore any more questions.

  The front door flew completely off its hinges and Steele reflexively reached for Ravyn, grabbing her arm and pulling her back behind him. Gusts of wind filled the foyer of the house, knocking over tables, shaking the pictures on the wall and whistling with an air of familiarity that shook Steele to the core.

  Seconds later mummies appeared again. This time Steele was ready for the bastards. His eyes flipped again, the beast inside rearing up as Steele rolled his head on his shoulders and fisted his hands at his sides. Four of them came for him and he took the first one without hesitation. Dust circled the area after Steele had broken its neck, forming a mini-cyclone in that space. The next one came at him and this time it was with clawed fingers that Steele struck, slicing its stomach and then its neck, producing more dust. He took the remaining two and looked back to see where Ravyn was, to confirm that she was alright, but she wasn’t there.

  “Cree? Let him go!” he heard her scream.

  Steele pushed through the dust coming to a stop at the opening of the door where it was now clear. A woman stood a few feet away in a haze of red light, holding a man by his neck. Ravyn was a few steps in front of Steele now, standing directly between him and the unknown woman.

  Laughter erupted, a cold chilling sound that echoed through the early evening air.

  “Are you sure she is the one?” the woman asked.

  From behind the bushes to the left of the house another man peeked his head out. He wore a goofy smile as he stepped from around the bush waving his hand as if this were a joyous occasion.

  Ravyn looked at him and whispered. “Vertis?”

  “Hey, Ray,” the guy spoke to her in return.

  This wasn’t good. Steele cursed inwardly and took another step toward Ravyn.

  “Not so fast, Drakon,” the woman said and lifted the hand that wasn’t clenching the unknown man’s neck. “You’ve interfered enough.”

  “And you’re sadly mistaken if you think you’re any match for me. Let that man go. Let them all go. I have what you want, Temptra.”

  To the human eye the Dhampir appeared to be a woman in her late thirties to early forties, about five feet eleven inches tall, skin the color of honey, hair short and slicked down to her head in a style similar to what he’d seen Ziva wear a time or two. The skin-tight blue-and-white dress that accentuated every curve of her body and dropped down to her ankles appeared to be an overstatement considering their circumstances, her face was heavily made up, long curling eyelashes easing over cool gray eyes.

  She tilted her head slightly and let her red-coated lips spread into a brilliant, but sly, smile.

  “You know who I am. One point for you,” she quipped.

  “I know you’re never going to get what you want,” he told her. “So you might as well let them all go.”

  “You really mean let her go,” Temptra said and then made a clucking sound with her tongue. “Not a chance. Vertis, take what’s mine and let’s go.”

  Vertis took a step toward Ravyn and Steele was prepared to break the guy’s arm if he touched her, but Ravyn moved first. She stepped right up to him and punched him in the face. Vertis’s head snapped back and before he could gather himself, Ravyn punched him again, this time in his stomach.

  “You’re a piece of shit! You set me up! I thought you were giving me information too easily. All of this was your plan from the start. Why?” She was yelling, following Vertis as the guy howled in pain and tried to get away from her.

  But Ravyn wasn’t finished with him. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and whirled him around until she could slam his back against the wall of the house. He huffed with the breath she’d knocked out of him and flailed as she slowly lifted him off the ground.

  “I asked you why? Why would you tell me to come here? Who told you who I was?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “I did,” Temptra said evenly. “And I’m beginning to see why.”

  Her words caught Ravyn’s attention and in a flash, Ravyn let Vertis fall to the ground while she turned back to Temptra. “I want you to let him go right now. He’s not a part of this.”

  “Who, this one?” Temptra asked in a sickeningly sweet voice as she squeezed the guy’s throat.

  He yelled out and Ravyn charged Temptra but Steele stopped her by wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back.

  “Don’t touch her,” he whispered in Ravyn’s ear. “Her touch will poison you.”

  “How smart you are, Drakon. Now, I’ll trade this one for my dagger,” Temptra said. “And you.”

  Her gaze settled on Ravyn and Steele held her tighter to him.

  “I don’t... I don’t have it,” Ravyn said quietly at first and then she looked back at Steele. “I don’t have it anymore because you—”

  Before she could finish her words three black SUVs came roaring down the street. One drove straight through the security gate that had provided zero security. Two more came from different directions, rolling over the lawn coming to a stop just short of the house.

  Temptra cursed and then laughed.

  “The cavalry is here,” she said and shook her head. “I’ll get what I want, you know I will, Drakon. The question is, will he still be alive by the time you come to your senses.”

  Trickles of blood rolled slowly down the neck of the man Temptra was holding and Ravyn screamed, “No!”

  The red haze that had surrounded Temptra thickened and a heavy stench of sulfur filled the air. Reese, Magnum, Aiken and Ziva came running moving through the remnants of the smoke as Temptra used it as a cover to vanish, taking the human she’d been holding with her.

  “Cree!” Ravyn yelled and fought her way out of Steele’s grasp. She ran to the spot where Temptra had been standing, falling into Magnum’s arms as he’d just stepped in that same area.

  “Where’s Cree? How did she get him? Where’s she taking him?”

  Steele listened to more questions rolling from Ravyn’s lips, every syllable filled with such pain and anguish it sliced through his skin like a heated blade. Whoever this Cree person was, he meant a lot to her. That shouldn’t have bothered him, it shouldn’t have made him feel like crap for bringing her into his world and secretly wanting her for himself. But fuck, nothing was going the way it was supposed to anymore.

  “What the hell happened?” Ziva asked when she came to stand near Steele. “And who’s that guy?”

  “Take him!” Steele, fueled by rage and the unfamiliar sting of jealousy, directed them to secure the guy Ravyn had called Vertis. “Robles’s body is in the house. By the chunk taken out of his neck, I’m pretty sure Temptra decided she no longer had any use for the middle-man.”

  He was moving now, going to where Magnum held Ravyn. She was punching at his chest, kicking and screaming for him to let her go, but Magnum remained unmovable. Steele picked her up and walked past the other vehicles to the one he’d driven here. He used his magick to disengage the locks and opened the back door, easing her onto the seat. Closing the door, he activated the locks and walked around to the driver’s side to climb in.

  She was still screaming, but nobody outside of the vehicle would hear her. Steele started the engine and drove. After about twenty minutes her screams turned into tears and his heart pounded with each sob. His fingers stayed tight on the steering wheel as he made his way through traffic, using the time to gather his thoughts and his strength. He had no idea how Ravyn had fought through the mind cleansing, nor did he know specifically who the guy named Cree was to her. All he knew at this moment was that there was no way he could let her out of
his sight again. If he did, Temptra would kill her.

  The Reaper would get to scratch another name off his list and Temptra’s search for that dagger would continue to lead to death. He wasn’t going to let any of that happen, not on his watch.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ravyn waited until the SUV stopped moving and she heard the engine click off. She’d buried her face in the backseat, inhaling the scent of leather as she made sobbing noises long after her tears had dried. She wasn’t one to detest crying, but instead believed that a good cry was cleansing and sometimes rejuvenating. But her tears never lasted long. They weren’t meant to, because progress couldn’t be dampened by them. Instead, she’d taken the time she knew Steele was using to try to figure out what to say to her, or what to do with her after all that had happened, to think about what her plan of attack was going to be—because she was definitely going to attack.

  First, she’d deal with Steele and whatever he and his friends had done to her last night when she’d been at that mountain place and then, with that bitch that had taken Cree. A good deal of her rage was being saved for that too-cute heffa.

  Lifting her head slightly, she tried to peek out the window but all she could see was black, so she figured it had gotten dark on the ride to wherever they were. Maybe he’d brought her back to that mountain place. Some of her thoughts were still hazy, but she remembered most of what she figured were the good parts—the parts Steele and his friends tried to make her forget.

  I would never drug you.

  Wasn’t that what he’d said last night when she’d asked how she got to the mountain? Rage simmered on a low boil as she balled her fingers into fists and prepared to lunge at him the minute he opened that door for her to get out.

  He was saying something, probably talking into his watch again the way she’d seen him doing when they were back at the senator’s house. She remembered that now too, since the second she stared into that woman’s—Steele had called her Temptra—eyes, memories had been coming back in chunks and spots of what felt like an energy void. Like she knew what that was. She only knew what it felt like when she recalled those moments, it was as if nothing was there but energy. A feeling that circled and roamed like it was searching for somewhere to go and settle. Weird, yes, but then everything that had happened in the last two weeks was weird and she was ready to finally get to the bottom of it.