Dragon Released (Reclaimed Dragons Book 1)

by Terry Bolryder

  “Can I have two brownies?” Dallin looked down at the nervous sound and saw a young boy probably no older than twelve holding his younger sister’s hand and stretching out his free hand with a crumpled wad of bills in it.

  Dallin, who’d been working on not scowling so much, attempted a friendly grin. To his dismay, the kid just shrank back a little, so instead, Dallin simply grabbed the wrapped brownies and handed them over, then opened his palm. For a moment, the young boy seemed to debate whether the brownies were worth the trouble. But he looked at his sister, looked up at Dallin, then dropped the money in his hand and ran with the brownies.

  Still not the worst interaction he’d had with kids so far today, Dallin thought.

  “How are things going here?” Jo’s voice, immediately recognizable even amidst the sounds of the crowd, made Dallin take a breath of relief.

  “Adequate, I believe. The cupcakes are particularly popular today,” he replied, taking inventory of what was left. Honestly, he was surprised they sold anything with him around, but maybe Jo’s cooking was good enough to make up for his lack of social… decorum.

  Dallin had lived most of his life in a lab, hidden and isolated. Only interacting with a few people at a time at most. After that, he’d been on the run with Ultraviolet, hiding in shadows while executing clandestine missions.

  He’d even spent some time in a glamoured form as a cat, spying for Ultraviolet.

  There hadn’t exactly been time for bake sales and public outings back then.

  But that was a world away now.

  “Thanks for manning the booth for me. I just wanted to bounce some ideas off of one of the supervisors for some future fundraising events.” She stood beside him, hand touching his arm for a moment, making the nerves where she’d brushed alongside stand at attention.

  “Of course. This is nothing for a dragon like me to handle.”

  She gave him a secretive smile, accentuating her full lips for a moment, and Dallin wished he could kiss her right there.

  “You sure about that? I think you made that baby cry a few customers ago,” she said, a hint of mirth in her tone.

  “I was simply trying to convey by smiling that I meant the tiny human no harm. I think perhaps it thought I was going to eat it instead,” Dallin replied with a huff.

  It wasn’t his fault small things were terrified of him. They should be, after all. He was a dragon.

  Well, except Puggles. Puggles wasn’t scared of anything really.

  “That’s okay. I think you’ve been doing a great job even if you look a bit like a fish out of water.”

  Dallin fidgeted, looking out over the throng of humans easily with his formidable height.

  “Dragons aren’t known for being particularly sociable, as you can imagine.”

  “I can,” she said understandingly.

  “And even amongst dragons, I’m… a unique case. So if I appear on edge, it’s only because I’m not used to gatherings like this.” The truth of his origins was even stranger than what Jo could probably imagine.

  Not that she’d ever have any reason to hear about it.

  “Well, I’m really glad you came with me. And you’ve been a big help too.” Whenever she got closer to him like that, it gave him ideas of continuing what he’d started the other night.

  “I’m glad to have been of assistance.”

  “I can man the booth if you want to take five. Get something from the other booths.”

  Right now, he didn’t need a break from the crowd, though.

  He needed a break from his own need to please Jo.

  “I suppose I’ll make a perimeter check. Ensure there isn’t danger around.” Not that he expected chaos to attack in the middle of a crowded place like this. That was never their style, opting for shadows and subterfuge usually.

  But being next to Jo in this summer heat was making it hard to focus.

  “Okay. You know where I’ll be,” she said with a smile and a wave, and Dallin waved back as he made a long circle around the edge of the event, always staying within eyesight of Jo as he did.

  Even since they’d kissed, his mind had continued to obsess over what it had—or hadn’t—meant. And he’d sensed she’d wanted more too. Could see her watching whenever she thought he didn’t notice, could feel her interest even as the subject hadn’t come up again.

  Part of Dallin knew he was holding back because he knew this wasn’t going to end well for either of them. After all, he was a misfit. A misfit that was going to leave and live out his misfit days somewhere far away from here when his service was over. Take his freedom and go.

  But the idea of freedom without Jo was getting more sour by the day.

  What he wouldn’t give to be a normal dragon who could have a normal mate on days like this.

  He continued to make his way through the crowd, ignoring people’s furtive smiles up at him, senses oddly alert in spite of the utter calm.

  It was hard to not look for faces he recognized amongst all the people in front of him.

  His jailer. The scientist who’d run the experiments. Ultraviolet, the fairy who’d helped him escape.

  He moved past the caged areas where people interacted with playful puppies or petted eager cats and came alongside the old brick building that was the shelter, standing in a corner where he could look over the crowd.

  In the center of it, he watched with amusement as Jo chatted with a family at her booth, nodding her head excitedly about something.

  What was he going to do with this perfect little human that kept breaking his preconceived notions about humankind?

  It was then that he felt a buzzing in the air, light and humming, that pricked at the tips of his ears.

  Magic. Not fully chaos, but magic nonetheless.

  And it was pretty close too.

  What interest could any fae have in a human bake sale?

  He followed along the edge of the shelter, moving toward a curved alley that ran between it and what appeared to be an abandoned or rarely used auto shop, heading toward the extremely faint sound as the noise of the crowd became gradually more distant.

  It was then that he heard the voices.

  “And you’re absolutely sure it was him?” A man, who spoke with the bearing of someone born to prestige, seemed to be addressing someone else.

  “It had to be. I’d recognize that murderer anywhere.” Another voice chimed in.

  Murderer? Well, assuming they were referring to him, then yes, the title technically applied.

  But it had only been people that had deserved it.

  “Is he wearing the suppressor?” the first voice asked.

  “The one he can’t remove? Yes.”

  Well, shit. Whoever they were, they knew about his collar. Great.

  “Should we move in on the target now? He’s exposed, out in the open. Good opportunity.” A third voice spoke up. This one sounded the most like it belonged to someone who had definitely done some evil shit before.

  “No, it will draw too much attention. We should continue to observe, then catch him when he least expects it.”

  Like hell Dallin was going to wait and see what these men wanted from him or Jo.

  Whoever they were, he’d get to the bottom of this right here and now. If they were chaos, they’d probably be easy prey.

  He rounded the corner immediately, coming into a small yard at the back of the shop that was littered with old spare tires and metal parts.

  But he never expected to see three light-haired men, all wearing fitted black suits and standing in a small semicircle in the center of the dirt enclosure.

  Light fae. The kind that had made him into what he was. The kind that liked to wield their power mercilessly.

  Fuck.

  11

  “It looks like someone got a little too curious for their own good.” The tallest of the three, with pale skin and a perfectly coiffed exterior, appraised Dallin with a sneer.

  “I don’t know what you asshats are u
p to, but the train headed for Pricksville just left an hour ago. I can only imagine how much you’re being missed there,” Dallin retorted drily. Fae like these made Dallin want to vomit.

  And yes, maybe he was a bit in over his head, seeing as he didn’t have full access to his powers right now. But that hadn’t stopped him before.

  The three fae didn’t smile at all, instead fanning out slightly from their tightly knit circle, watching Dallin from the front and sides.

  “We’ve been planning revenge on the fairy and his pet dragon that murdered our dear elders in cold blood. We’d hoped you could lead us to Ultraviolet, but I don’t mind putting down a rabid dog in the meantime.”

  “Funny thing about the elders.” He folded his arms, measuring the distance between each of them, readying to pounce if needed. “Last I checked, they were draining the magic from lesser fae and killing anyone who tried to say a word. So I’d say I didn’t murder them in cold blood. Heck, I’d go so far as to say I enjoyed it.” His mean smile made the three fae brace slightly.

  So he could get under their skin a little. Good.

  “Everything was working just fine the way it had for centuries. Then you and that upstart ruined everything,” said the shortest of the three, still probably a good six feet tall, spitting.

  “Since you know I’m no friend of fae, especially goddamn light fae like yourselves, I would take my warning and leave. Unless you want to end up like your dearly beloved elders.” He yawned, not taking an eye off them as he feigned boredom.

  Just being near these bastards was putting him on edge. He’d never wanted the chain on his wrist gone more than he did now, just so he could teach them all a lesson in what it felt like to be mistreated.

  “Just because your four fae princes think they’re ushering in an era of peace and prosperity doesn’t mean there aren’t those of us who plan on continuing things the way they were. Even if we have to do it elsewhere,” the leader of the bunch said.

  Of course the fae that hadn’t agreed to a world with equality were running off scared. And rather than face the consequences of their horrible actions, they just planned to keep being evil, maybe here on Earth even.

  These fae were the exact reason he’d hated all fairies in the first place.

  But he was outnumbered and, at least with the collar on, currently outmatched.

  Perhaps a tactical withdrawal wouldn’t be amiss.

  The second tallest of the three, a wiry, lean-built douchebag with a smile that could scare petals off flowers, rushed at Dallin like a flash of light, closing the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Dallin raised a hand, grabbing the man by the throat in the same moment he grabbed Dallin, and both stared each other down for a second.

  “You killed my mentor,” the light fae said, gritting perfect white teeth.

  “You enslaved my kind and destroyed countless lives. I win,” Dallin said with a grunt. And even though his powers were limited, Dallin still had much of his strength.

  He just didn’t have any of his dragon abilities to back it up.

  He threw the fae backward, and he landed in a pile of tires with an angry grunt. The shortest came next, swinging wildly but coming with surprising speed. Dallin ducked under the blow, comfortable with his own size and using it to throw his shoulder into the smaller fae’s chest, sending him tumbling into the dirt with a satisfying amount of kicked-up dust.

  It wasn’t until white pain lanced through Dallin’s side that it occurred to him that he could possibly be in trouble.

  He looked down to see blood, his own, pooling at the left corner of his shirt, ruining it completely, before he looked up to see the tallest light fae of the group standing ahead of him. The telltale white staff fae called a wand, which had a darkened glow near the tip, was in his hand, pointed directly at Dallin.

  For most fae, using a wand meant they were fighting for their life or the life of a loved one.

  But for evil fae, it was just a way to get rid of people who stood in their way.

  “It seems the dragon has forgotten its place.” He glared evilly, advancing on Dallin. “Perhaps you forgot why we made you pets.”

  “Because you’re total pieces of shit. That’s why,” Dallin replied, ignoring the pain from the blast.

  The light fae just laughed as his two compatriots picked themselves up, dusting off their clothing as they cornered Dallin.

  “I could end you right now if I wanted to.” The fairy resumed. “But seeing as I can sense magic on you, maybe we’ll just drain your energy first. Torture you until you give up where Ultraviolet’s hiding before I personally annihilate you with my wand.”

  These jokers certainly weren’t powerful in the way princes like Ian, who were trained for combat and death from an early age, were. But trained killers or not, light fae had still stood at the top of the totem pole for a long time for a reason.

  “I have no clue where UV is, so you’ll just have to put up with my ugly mug in the meantime.”

  One of the other two came up from behind and kicked Dallin in the shin, hard, making him fall to one knee.

  If only he could access his powers, he’d crush these guys into next Tuesday.

  But there were only two times so far that he’d actually been able to do that.

  “Or maybe I’ll just get rid of the trash now. Send a message to those upstarts who think they can use murderers and escaped convicts like you as guard dogs.” The head fae loomed over Dallin, and Dallin could see his cloudy gray eyes full of darkness, corrupted by chaos, fallen from grace as light fae.

  Dallin prepared himself for the worst. Maybe it was only just desserts that the people he’d sought revenge on got to take their revenge out on him as well.

  “Dallin, where are you?” Suddenly, a feminine voice interrupted the eerie quiet of the yard. It was Jo. She was looking for him.

  Crap.

  As if he could use his mind to somehow wish her away from harm, Dallin tried to think of any way possible to keep her from seeing him like this.

  But it was no use. He could hear her light footsteps moving this way and that as they got closer.

  “You back here, Dallin? If this is a game of hide-and-seek, it isn’t incredibly fun anymore.” Just as her sentence finished, Jo appeared through the opening in the fence off to his left, eyes going wide as his gaze locked with hers.

  It lingered for a second, and Dallin could only wonder what she thought right now, seeing him surrounded by three white-haired dudes in suits.

  “I…” Jo, who was still taking in the scene, just stood there slack-jawed for a moment.

  “Who the hell is she?” asked the leader, who seemed to be annoyed at someone intruding on his chance to monologue Dallin.

  “It’s the beacon, oddly enough. At least I think so,” short stack replied.

  “Well, just bring her and we can drain the magic from her too. It’ll be a lot easier than trying to wipe her memory, and I’ve been curious to experiment on a beacon anyway,” he said nonchalantly, waving his hand that still held his wand, pointed at Dallin.

  The light fae on Dallin’s left moved toward Jo just as she seemed to realize that things were bad. But before she could make a run for it, the dirty bastard’s hand grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her back.

  And something in Dallin just snapped.

  Power surged through him, making all the pain in his side disappear as he jumped to his feet. The fae in front of him barely had a moment to register the punch to the gut that Dallin delivered personally, and with a face of pure shock, he went flying across the yard, tearing the sheet metal fence down as he flew.

  But Dallin didn’t have time to bother with that one as he charged toward the one who still had his hand on Jo.

  The fae immediately let go of her, as if that could possibly save him, just as Dallin grabbed him by the arm and literally tossed him overhead like a baseball. With the same motion, he gathered fire in his hand, concentrating it into an orb of energy and releasing it
at the fae midair.

  With a blast of bluish-green light, the fae disintegrated into nothingness, only the barest hint of his scream catching in the wind.

  One down, two to go, Dallin thought as he stepped between Johanna and the other two. The first, still hidden in a cloud of dust, was nowhere to be seen, leaving just Dallin and the crazy-eyed one in the clearing.

  “What’s happening?” Jo asked hurriedly.

  “More bad guys. Different from the ones at the store,” Dallin said roughly, his throat dry as he faced off with the fae who had his hand up, ready to draw his magical staff from his back.

  “Different how?”

  Before he could answer, the fae reached for his wand, the glowing staff appearing in his hand. Dallin raised his palm, a wall of emerald stone coming up from the earth in an instant just as a beam of white energy shot forward. It crashed into the wall, sending rock splinters flying everywhere for a moment before stopping.

  Which meant Dallin had his opening.

  With a snap of his fingers, the wall dissipated into dust, and he charged the unsuspecting fairy, grabbing him by the lapels of his suit and headbutting him with such force the fae simply dropped backward like a felled wall onto the ground.

  And with another blast of light, the second was gone too.

  “Different because these guys are after me, not you,” he replied to Jo, watching for the third one.

  As a dragon, Dallin had access to powerful fire that could hurt nearly anything. And because of the partial fae blood and experiments done on him, he had discovered unique ways of channeling that same energy into more creative and effective ways of killing than simply blowing fire on people.

  But even a lifetime of rage and anger couldn’t possibly have compared to the blinding, uncontrollable fury Dallin felt within his chest right now. The idea that they had dared threaten the person he was protecting, his woman…