by Lela Grayce
Ashes of Blood
The Dragon Mafia Chronicles
Lela Grayce
Copyright © 2021 by Lela Grayce
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Acknowledgments
Coming soon!
Other Books By Lela
To all the girls who fell then got back up again to see their comeback.
This book is for us.
Prologue
The bench of the bus stop was hard and unyielding. In another few minutes the body part that was squished against its surface would lose all feeling and discomfort would set in. With any luck the bus would arrive before I got to the point of needing to shift positions. Normally that would be a simple task but it seemed strenuous for someone who was already numb.
Horns blared from the busy street, people walking by, voices talking about everyday things while others still talked about the battle that had taken place not long ago. The territory that we all lived in had won, thankfully, being under another dragon’s rule would wreck our economy, not to mention the taxes the new one would demand. No, it was better this way. On one hand, I was glad we weren’t under another’s rule, not that the current Pendragon was super great or anything, but it would cut out the hassle of it all because at the moment I didn’t care about the happenings of the world. I was too caught up in my own.
The squeaky brakes of the bus pulling into the stop clued me in that it was time to board. The doors opened and it took several moments and strength of will to lift my body from the bench, walk up the bus stairs, scan my pass, then settle into the first available seat. I was so engulfed in my own misery that I didn’t even say hello to the driver whom I’ve known for years or comment on the new advertising on the side of the bus, something about Pure humans and how we should all strive to be like them and not the Mutts that we were.
Staring out the window, I watched as the city rushed by. People hurried along and I couldn’t muster the will to care where the bus was heading.
My fingers grasped the strap of the bag I wore, it’s familiar weight helped to ground me in the moment where I felt most lost. I had come from a doctor’s appointment and the news hadn’t been good. A routine checkup had turned into something else entirely. I’m a survivor. The disease had done it’s best to snuff me out, in the end I’d lived. It’s a tremendous accomplishment, not many survived the rigorous treatment I had undergone. A new lease on life but it took time combining the life I had paused before and the new one I just started.
I’d broken up with my long-time boyfriend, he had been by my side through my ordeal, seeing me at my absolute worst was too much for him to handle. I remembered the exact moment when he realized that he didn’t love me anymore. I wasn’t sad to admit that it was when I realized that I felt the same. We put on a show for everyone. When we knew for sure that I would survive, that I had won, we finally talked and broke up.
Now I was faced with another life altering situation, completely alone. My closest friends were on a once-in-a-lifetime trip that I insisted they go on. My mother and step-dad were having a much needed staycation since leaving the territory is forbidden unless approved by our Penddragon overlord. It had been all about me it seemed. I’m glad to not be the center of everyone's attention.
I bit my lip to keep my emotions from tumbling out on a public transportation bus. No, this is something that I needed to handle on my own before I told the only people who loved me and supported me, that the illness I had beaten a year ago was back and had spread more quickly than the first time.
Tears welled up in my eyes while I stared out the window as the blurry city became more rustic. Buildings, skyscrapers, and advertising the newest beauty products that the Pure humans in our city used disappeared and rolling hills replaced the scenery. It had been months before I was able to venture this far from my home. Now that I was here, heading to the one place I should never go, a deep resolve settled in my heart. I wouldn’t run away this time.
The vehicle pulled to a stop and I hurriedly stood and made my way down the aisle. The seats were almost empty except for an elderly man with kind eyes. I exited giving Glenn, the driver, a hello and a small wave. As the bus pulled away, and it stirred the air. I breathed it in enjoying the cleanliness and delicious scent of dirt, grass, and sunshine. I felt a smile creep across my face as I basked in the warmth of the sun. How long had it been since I felt this amazing heat? Too long.
The head dragon for our province, Briggs, lived outside the city in a sprawling mansion that was gated, walled, and guarded. Not sure why he needed all the security; he was a dragon after all, and he fought plenty of battles to retain control of this territory, you’d think he could take care of himself.
Despite his lavish home and tight security there was a way to get in that I’ve known for awhile.
Dragons like to collect things and our particular dragon leader liked to collect exotic animals. Animals that were rare and endangered in today’s world, thanks to the wild dragons who killed and hunted them for food and sport. Years ago, before the dragons surged into our world, animals had roamed about the earth wild and free. I loved reading old documentaries and looking at pictures that wildlife photographer’s had captured. If the world had stayed the same it’s what I would want to be. It changed, though. Now I snapped pictures as a hobby, but have always dreamed of capturing wild beasts from decades past. Lions, tigers, bears, elephants, you name it, I wanted to take their picture and the only way I could do that was to sneak onto the Pendragon Brigg’s property.
The entrance to the animal enclosures were on the southern side. Since the property was huge it took an hour to traverse the distance. A chain link fence surrounded the outside while shifters walked the perimeter. Their advantages with enhanced eyesight and smell would ordinarily be enough of a deterrent to keep people away, but not me, not this time.
The guards would change shifts in another ten minutes then do a perimeter sweep. While they were preoccupied doing that was when I could slip in. I remained close to the road, taking my time, walking a leisurely pace so my scent saturated the air as the wind blew and passing cars stirred it around.
Stooping to tie my shoe, I observed as the guards conversed for a minute then separated, one starting his shift, the other ending. Neither paid me any mind, one loan Mutt wasn’t a threat to them or the dragon they protected.
Once they were both out of sight I hustled to the spot where they had been. The gate was hidden, blending in with the fence. If you didn’t know it’s location you’d miss it. I’d stalked this side of Brigg’s property more times than I could count. I’d always made it to the gate but could never bring myself to go through it. Feeling reckless I needed to feel alive, but I was dying, again. With adrenaline coursing through me, making my heart race, I lifted the metal handle and swung the gate open.
>
I jumped through, then fumbled a bit getting the gate closed. Once done, I sprinted down the path, spotting the high concrete walls, turned right and followed it for several hundred yards. When I saw the break in the wall, I quickened my pace and practically flung my body around the corner pressing my back against the wall. Chest heaving with gasping breaths and heart threatening to beat it’s way out of my rib cage. I stood there for several minutes waiting and listening.
After what felt like an eternity, no alarm sounded, and I heard no pursuing footsteps. I dared to move. A concrete corridor stretched to my left and I began walking along it. A couple minutes of walking passed, and it felt like I was in a maze. My heart jackknifed, making my steps falter. Should I turn back? Was this even the area where the animals were kept? I didn’t have a clue, but I knew I couldn’t go back.
The hallway ended abruptly opening into a large area. I stepped through and my ears popped like there was a sudden change in elevation which could only mean one thing. Magic. This was it. I was caught before I could even set my eyes on one animal. Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them away. I refused to be caught trespassing on Brigg’s property with tears in my eyes. I was sick and just wanted to see a lion or a gorilla like I’d always dreamed of seeing. I had nothing to lose.
No alarm sounded. Nothing stirred in the open area and after another minute of silence, I dared to breath. The tension bled out of me and I tentatively stepped toward the middle of the circular area.
Glancing around I saw that there were several enclosures spaced around the perimeter. Walking to the railing on my right, I peered down into a grassy area and there basking in the sun was a lion. It’s mane a deep russet color while the rest of it was golden and beautiful. The great cat lay on its side, fast asleep. It’s so much bigger than I realized, I could feel tears coating the back of my throat as a smile spread across my face. I couldn’t believe I was here looking at a creature that the world knew to be extinct.
Remembering why I had come, I fumbled with my bag and withdrew my camera. It was an old relic, practically an antique that I had found at a pawn shop near my home. When I inquired about it, the owner gave me one hell of deal on it. Surprised, I offered to pay full price for it but he shook his head, dreadlocks swinging, insisting it be a ‘thank you’ for all the good work me and my friends did for the community. Humbled, I took the camera and never went anywhere without it. Powering it on, I selected the camera option, raised it and began clicking pictures.
Walking around into other enclosures, I took pictures of all the animals. I spent a great deal of time in the aviary, snapping photographs of the brightly colored birds through the netting at the top of their cage.
An elephant stood in knee high water and splashed itself, then rolled around in the mud. For being such a large creature the kindness in its eyes touched me in a special way. If I could have hugged the magnificent animal I would have.
I spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures of all the different animals and observing them. By the time the sun sank into the horizon, I sat on a bench in the center of the open area, scrolling through photos I managed to capture; a huge smile on my face.
This was one of the best days of my life. I scrolled through the images again, marveling at what I actually saw, let alone captured. A dream that I’ve had since being little, finally came true. The feeling was indescribable.
Darkness fell and I wondered if maybe it was time to leave, but I pushed it aside. I would never get another chance to experience this, it’s not like I had much time left anyway. I needed to enjoy it while I could, so I put my camera away, leaned my head against the back of the bench, and closed my eyes.
A sharp pinch on my wrist had my eyes jolting open. Darkness had fallen. Faint animal sounds came from the different enclosures. I felt another pinch on my hand. Turning my head groggily, I startled to find a grizzled, old man holding onto my forearm with my dainty arm clamped in his mouth. Our eyes locked and a shimmer of red colored his eyes before disappearing. My brain whirled, but my body remained relaxed, my heartbeat slow and even. Eyelids drooping, I felt myself falling back into a quiet slumber. My mind settled, thinking that this would be a better way to die, surrounded by the animals that I thought I’d never see, and feeding a feeble man who obviously needed it.
My last thought was of my Mutt ability telling me that it had no idea what he was.
The breath in my lungs whooshed forcefully out of me as something heavy landed on my chest. I gasped for air while simultaneously peeling my sleepy eyes open. Zazu my pet Chia sat on my torso glaring fiercely at me with his independently moving eyes.
“What do you want?” I growled at him trying to dislodge his small/large body.
He dug his claws into the thick comforter piercing the material all the way through until I could feel the deadly points on my breastbone. Jowls pulling up into an ugly, but still strangely cute, scowl.
Throwing an arm over my eyes I tried to ignore him, crossing my fingers that he would get bored and jump down. A whining cry came from the little beast, sounding like a puppy that had just been kicked, then a sticky, wet tongue landed on my nose.
Disgusted, I sat up wishing the move would dislodge him but he just held on. I glared down, but my threatening gaze slid right off.
I opened my mouth to continue arguing when an insistent knock came from the living room. Scrambling for my phone, I checked to see if there was a message. I clicked on one that came in earlier this morning from a number I didn’t recognize.
Unknown: One heading your way.
Cursing, I threw the covers back dislodging Zazu. He hissed when he jumped from the bed, but I was preoccupied wrestling into sleep pants and combing my hair with my fingers in a fruitless attempt to look presentable. I gave up and tied my strawberry-blonde tresses into a top knot, all the while scowling at Zazu when he laid across my fuzzy slippers looking all smug. Not for the first time did I wish I could kick him outside, at the very least, to get a break from his constant judging gaze.
We both knew I wouldn’t follow through with it. Zazu might be a pain to live with, but there was something that connected us. Besides his sticky tongue.
Nearly a century ago rips in space and time appeared all over the globe and from those tears surged beings and beasts from legend. Dragons, fae, witches, and your every-day run-of-the-mill predator shifters. Being more ruthless and intelligent, the strongest of these animals took control and split the world into territories ruled by a dragon who answered to the Uther, the chief of dragons.
The world outside the territories was extremely dangerous. Feral shifters and wild dragons roamed unchecked, killing and burning anything and everything. Sometimes a wild dragon would get a notion and challenge a Pendragon for their territory and everything in it. It usually ended with the challenger dead and the Pendragon somehow stronger.
Not just mythical races surged onto Earth though, strange exotic animals did too. That’s what Zazu was, a creature from somewhere else and who lived to annoy me. If I had to describe him to a blind man, I’d say that he was the love child of a chameleon and a bobcat. There wasn’t a scientific name for any of them, so everyone took to calling them ‘Chia’ which was slang for chimera.
Another knock reverberated through the penthouse jolting me into motion again. I grabbed my phone quickly, checking the time and noticed the date. I froze, wracking my brain to figure out how three days had passed. I couldn’t have been sleeping for three days? Then the news I had received from my doctor punched me in the stomach. I was no longer a survivor, the sickness was back. I had another battle to fight.
My lip trembled but I bit it and tried to push everything about my illness to the side. Now was not the time to fall apart. I had a distraction on the other side of my front door. I needed it before the emotional weight pressed further.
I left my room grabbing a random sweatshirt from the back of the couch and shrugged it on. It belonged to one of my best friends and he was way bigger
than me. The material fell to mid-thigh, not an ideal first impression but it would have to do.
I paused at the entryway at a small panel on the wall and typed on the touchscreen a command to the kitchen to start coffee.
Grabbing the doorknob, I took a deep steadying breath to calm my nerves. Predators could sense fear and preyed on it. This was a test and I needed to maintain an emotional poker-face not just for my life but for the others I cared about.
Once I was under control, I twisted the knob and pulled the door open. A giant stood in the hallway, his hulking form making the corridor seem small in comparison. My senses homed in and the Mutt part of me knew immediately that he had more shifter blood in him than anyone else I had encountered. There was just a hint of something in him that didn’t match with the other part. I tried to place it, but the knowledge eluded me.
“Gavin sent you,” I said, not posing it as a question because we both knew who had sent him. “Come in, kitchen is down the hall and to the right. Coffee’s brewing so grab a cup while I feed my… pet.” He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off with a slice of my hand, “no talking, remember.”
His mouth snapped shut then he turned his massive body sideways, ducked his head, and entered the penthouse. He nodded at me then made his way down the hallway and into the kitchen. I hurried to feed Zazu while my guest rummaged in the kitchen. A grin spread across my face as I imagined how Lyndee would grind her teeth thinking about all the things that were being used and touched in the immaculate kitchen that was her pride and joy.
