More loud horns blared and several other strange metal carriages turned away from me. People screamed and pointed. There was no time to contemplate my abilities at the moment.
Angry men in black clothing, carrying glistening metal weapons, ran toward me. They raised the long, black sticks and explosions ricocheted around my body. Something struck me in the shoulder and I cried. Pain seared through my body like a fiery dart.
“Get on the ground. You’re under arrest.” One man shouted angrily and ran toward me.
I gasped for breath. My chest was on fire, but I would not give up without a fight. I threw up my hands, creating one wall of ice after another. It gave me a moment to run and it blocked the wicked projectiles their weapons were firing at me.
The beast within me writhed and cried out. So much pain. It burned from the inside out. I pulled back and let the beast take control. My body changed into something I didn’t recognize—an animal of some kind. It came out and I withdrew.
The screaming of the onlookers only grew worse, but at least in this new form, the projectiles they fired just bounced off. My clawed feet tore the rocky ground beneath me with each step. I was massive. Bigger than the building I’d been in only moments ago. The people around me barely reached to the knee joint of my massive legs.
Air rushed around my face and an icy breath flowed from my mouth, coating everything in front of and below me with the same glacier of ice I’d been calling forth with my hands.
The shooting stopped and giant wings on either side of me propelled my now-huge body forward. The people and buildings on the ground shrank from view.
I could fly? Bloody hell! What was I?
My wings pumped, pushing me into the clouds. I caught an updraft, allowing me to glide silently. I couldn’t remember ever flying before, but it was easy enough, except for the ache in my right shoulder from the bleeding wound. I wasn’t going to make it far, but I needed to get away from the commotion I’d caused. I needed somewhere isolated and quiet to rest.
Buildings flew past. Then trees. Hills. Mountains passed next. More people, towns, and unfamiliar land spread for miles.
Numbness began to spread through my body. Without warning, my wings became too heavy to lift. The landscape below rushed up to meet my face and the ground shook when I collided with it. Something shimmered around me and my arms and legs returned to normal. My white, iridescent, scaly skin was gone and I returned to human form.
I was naked, bleeding, and cold.
Why was I cold? I never remembered being cold in that icy cell. As fear took hold in my heart, ice spread around me and I moaned. It burned against my bare skin, but I couldn’t stop it. The coldness swirled within me like a vicious storm.
Something struck my back and I moaned, praying to whatever god might listen to protect me. Instead, the white world around me faded as blurry images of people approached from the trees. Hands touched my body and I could hear the murmur of voices, but nothing was clear and I let myself drift into the blackness.
Chapter 5
XERXES
A new excitement grew inside me. Diana Blackmoor was alive. Those two idiots had kept her alive and locked away for thousands of years. It was obvious her mind had been damaged. There’s no way she would’ve forgotten me, the man who helped steal the throne from her and her husbands’ families.
They were all supposed to be dead, but those damn Blackmoor brothers proved to be harder to kill than the rest. With them in league with Rose, they’d been a bloody thorn in my side for more than a millennium. But with their mate resurfacing, they would be vulnerable.
I stepped inside the stone circle, sliced my palm with the small dagger then touched the center stone. A second later, I appeared inside an ancient circle hidden deep in the woods of Ireland. Lavender eyes peered at me in the dark, but no one spoke.
Diana had come through the circle. They should have had the sense to detain her. “Where’s the woman?”
One man stepped out from behind a tree. “What woman, Master Hilah? You’re the only one with a key.”
My heart paused for a moment. Where the hell had that ice-bitch-of-a-lizard gone? I saw her disappear. She’d gone through the portal. They had to have seen her.
I advanced and grabbed one of the Djinn by the collar of his shirt. “You left your posts, didn’t you? You let her slip through your grasp.”
His purple eyes widened, fear making him sweat. “No, Master. We did not leave the ring unattended while you were away. No one came through. There was no woman.” He stank of fear, but not of guilt. The Djinn wasn’t lying to me.
I threw him to the ground. There was only one other explanation. “There are two sacred circles in North America. One outside of old Boston in the Washington Republic, and one in the woods of South Carolina in the SECR (South East Coast Republic).”
The Djinn opened his mouth to question me, but snapped it closed a half-second later. He nodded and spoke to his comrades. They left to begin the hunt and he climbed back to his feet and extended his hand, palm up. “Home, Master?”
“Yes.” I clasped his hand and the world swirled around me like a hurricane. I hated the feeling of teleporting, but it was the most convenient way of traveling over extended distances.
When the world stopped moving, I snatched my hand away from the Djinn soldier and walked toward Cyrus’ personal rooms. The Djinn king rarely left the palace we cohabitated in the middle of the desert between the Persian Gulf and Shiraz.
Several small villages were within walking distance, but no one ever bothered us. The locals spread stories of how people would disappear if they ventured toward the Palace of the Djinn. It worked out perfectly. The small, zealot groups that created havoc in much of the Middle East still feared the legends of the Djinn and stayed far away from what I’d come to call home.
I’d lived inside these stone walls for over a thousand years. Jeweled artifacts lined the hallways. Priceless rugs covered the floors. The best silks hung over the windows and doorways. Slaves in little more than bras and panties roamed the palace, making sure everyone was well taken care of. Then, of course, I had my personal harem. I’d grown to enjoy the lifestyle of ancient Persia, but I still wanted more.
A harem of women was not worth giving up my dream of ruling the world.
I turned a corner and shoved open the two, large doors. Both were ornately carved and leafed in gold. “Cyrus.” I spoke his name loudly and took a deep breath. The musk of sex filled the air of his suite. My dick hardened in response. I should’ve visited my own rooms first.
Before I could turn to leave, several of Cyrus’ concubines hurried forward from one of the back rooms and knelt at my feet.
“Where’s your master?”
Without looking up, one of the women answered. “He is in bed, Master Hilah.”
I could hear the sound of moaning and grunting coming from the far room even with the door shut. I licked my lips and twirled my fingers. The bitch who’d spoken gasped, but did not struggle as invisible fingers lifted her into the air and arched her back, which showed off her impressive rack hidden only beneath a thin, gauzy fabric. Her dark areolas were swollen and her nipples had pebbled. I could smell her arousal on the air, too.
These women were trained to be aroused on command. “Tell Cyrus to join me in my rooms for the evening meal.”
“Yes, Master Hilah.”
I flicked my wrist and let the magick fall away, dropping her to the floor. She landed on the soft carpets with a thud, but made no move or complaint. Perfectly behaved. They all were. If any misbehaved, Cyrus killed them.
I thought it wasteful to kill beautiful women, but the threat did keep them in line. So I had to give him props for keeping the palace in smooth running order.
I entered my rooms on the opposite side of the palace, nodding to the two Djinn guards on either side of my doors. “No one disturbs me.”
They bowed and closed the doors behind me.
Three caramel-skinned wom
en approached. All with brown eyes, waist-length, shiny black hair and wearing nothing more than a few scarves attached to a jeweled belt. I forbade them from wearing any other coverings.
Their luscious breasts swayed with each step toward me, ringing the tiny bells that hung from the rings that pierced their nipples. Though their eyes were focused on the floor, I knew they watched my every move.
I crooked a finger at the girl in the center. The other two dropped to their knees instantly and prostrated themselves on the floor. Unless I commanded otherwise, they would stay in that position until I left. It’d been over a year since I’d had to discipline any of them.
The girl in the center raised her head just slightly, seeking instruction. I made an indication to a low couch a few feet away. She followed me to the couch and I sank into the soft cushions. Her fingers worked swiftly on the zipper of my pants, freeing my dick from the constraints of the soft wool. I lifted myself just enough to allow her to push down my dress pants. I enjoyed Lily’s mouth and hands the most out of the three girls I kept and I always started my evenings with her touch.
When her warm, wet lips closed around my dick, I let the world fall away. I could just feel. Just take my pleasure and be satisfied for a single minute or two. It was the only time I ever truly relaxed my senses and let my guard down.
Chapter 6
DIANA
The smell of alcohol roused me from sleep, but when I tried to lift my head, I couldn’t. It was too heavy. And the ringing between my ears was excruciating, making me long for the unconscious, pain-free existence to claim me again.
I licked my lips and tried to speak, but nothing came out. My tongue felt like it’d been wrapped in wool. Everything was so hot. My skin felt like it was on fire and sweat dripped down my neck. The sheet draped over my body rubbed and irritated my hypersensitive skin. I tried to pull it away but found even that slight effort painful.
I opened my eyes and looked around. This room had white torches affixed to the ceiling, but these buzzed annoyingly like a hive of honeybees.
The vibrations of approaching footsteps made my heart race. Who had found me? Were they taking me back to that prison? Where was I now?
I turned my head and tried to focus on the approaching figure.
“Hey there, you’re finally awake. That’s good, ’cause we’ve got to get moving again. The SECR forces are tracking your flight path.” Her voice was calming and I trusted that for now. She didn’t appear to mean me any harm. She smelled strange, though. And I noticed that I couldn’t hear her heartbeat. Though until now, I hadn’t noticed that I could hear something so faint until it was missing from the background.
My eyebrows scrunched and I tried to speak again. Instead, I coughed.
She reached for a glass of water on a table beside the bed. “You’re not going to ice my arm if I help you take a sip, are you?” She grinned and sat next to me on the bed.
Her English was atrocious, but I gathered the meaning of most of her words. I mouthed a “no.” She leaned forward and helped me raise my head. The glass was cool against my chapped lips and I greedily swallowed every drop.
“More, please,” I managed to croak out.
“Yep, give me a sec.” She rose from the bed and walked to the other side of the room. I listened to the wonderful sound of liquid being poured and licked my lips. Just that small drink had helped some already. But I still only understood one out of every three or four words she said.
Also, she was dressed like a man. Nearly like the soldiers I’d seen attack me in the town. A black tunic fitted to her upper body like skin, and the pants were the same—tight and form-fitting, made from leather by the scent of them. Her hair was tied up like a horse’s tail and a sword was attached to her back. Several other blades were also affixed to her body by means of various straps. This woman, whatever she was, dressed as a warrior.
She returned to my side with more water and helped me until I drained the glass again.
“You lost a lot of blood, but hopefully you have some super healing powers tucked away in that Drakonae DNA of yours. When Charlie said she saw a dragon crash land out near Rodger’s Mill, I couldn’t believe my ears. I didn’t think any of your kind still lived on earth.” She set the cup down and stared at me, waiting for a response. “You were really stupid to shift in front of people, though.”
I didn’t know what to say. Had she called me a dragon? Though when I thought about how my body had changed, how big I’d become, the claws, the flying. It did make sense … in a twisted, unnatural way. How could I be a dragon? That seemed like something a person would remember.
She could call me stupid if she wanted to, but this world was different than any knowledge I still possessed. How could I live in a world where nothing made sense and I didn’t remember anything about who I was? I sucked in a quick breath and tried to calm my racing heart. The air chilled and ice spread across the bed.
The woman leapt from her seat. “Hey now!”
“Forgive me, I cannot control it well when my emotions are high.” I took another breath, slower this time. My heartbeat slowed considerably and so did the spread of the ice. The chill in the air faded and my breath returned to a more normal temperature.
“We need to move in a couple of hours. I’ll find you some new clothes and be back in a bit. Try not to ice the room while I’m gone. I promise you’re safe here. The Underground protects all of our kind, even the ones who are a little off the wall. And you qualify. Plus, you sound like someone from the Middle Ages. I haven’t heard English used the way you’ve been speaking in almost a thousand years.” She paused at the door and looked back at me. “My name is Eira, by the way. What’s yours?”
“I do not know, but thank you for helping me Er--ra,” I said, fumbling with her name.
She frowned at me and walked back to the bedside. “It’s pronounced ēē-rah,” she repeated, speaking both syllables slowly. “What do you mean, you don’t know your name?” she asked.
“Precisely that. I woke up in a prison cell somewhere else. Somewhere with other dragons. I escaped from there by way of a magickal circle of stones.”
“Wait, if you came through a stone circle, how the hell did you end up in North America?”
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘North America.’ ” I grimaced and tried to sit up against the headboard.
She reached under me and lifted my body and the pillows as if I weighed no more than a feather. “Better?”
I nodded. “The circle took me to another circle made of stone altars. It was in a thick forest, not too far from a town. In the town I encountered some unfriendly villagers and was accosted by several men. When I became frightened, the beast, or dragon I suppose, came forward and I flew as far as I could.”
Her eyes widened. “Holy shit!” She jumped up from the bed and dashed to the door, her figure a blur. “I’ll be back in a minute. I have to get Charlie. But, if you think you can eat, I’ll have Chad bring you something.”
“Thank you. That would be most agreeable. I cannot remember the last time I ate.”
She chuckled and disappeared from the doorway.
I wasn’t sure what she’d been talking about, but at least my pounding headache was dissipating. Unfortunately, the fever that had plagued me in the prison was coming back with a vengeance.
My body felt as though I’d been locked in a hot steam tent. The sheet covering me was nearly soaked, as were the linens beneath me. I experimented with my magick and waved my hand slowly over the sheet.
Nothing happened. Maybe the ice only came if danger threatened. I tried to remember how terrified I’d been when the stranger hit me inside that shop.
It worked. The whole bed iced over and the temperature in the room dropped considerably. I blew air from my mouth, amused that it turned to snow and fell softly onto the semi-frozen sheet covering my body. Unfortunately, my temperature was so warm the icy sheets started melting. Moments later, a wet sheet clung to my chest, outlining
every line of my body.
Bloody hell.
An earthy smell tickled my nose and I took a deep breath. The fire inside me burned hotter and my sex throbbed. The scent was distinctly male and I wanted nothing more than to have it all over me. My body was practically begging to be used.
He appeared in the doorway a moment later, carrying a wooden tray with some covered dishes. “Hungry?” He took a step forward and then stopped. His nostrils flared and his eyes glowed yellow.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?”
He shook his head and the glow faded, his eyes returning to a natural shade of brown. “Sorry, I … you—” He took a deep breath and started again. “I wasn’t prepared for my wolf’s reaction to you. I apologize.” His eyes lingered on my chest a few moments longer than necessary and warmth pooled between my legs. I licked my lips and nodded. Hunger gnawed at my insides like a feral animal. And not just a hunger for food.
What was wrong with me?
“I’ll just leave this at the foot of the bed.” He inched closer, his heartbeat increasing and his breathing becoming more sporadic.
“That would be good. Thank you, sir—”
“Chad Fallon. No need for sir. We’re all friends here, right?”
“Of course.”
My breaths had been reduced to pants and I leaned forward, holding the wet sheet in place over my bare breasts and body. Even though he could see everything, it gave me a modicum of propriety. His dilated eyes and behavior told me he had noticed my arousal and was more than a little uncomfortable. To his credit, he didn’t rush me like a drunkard with no impulse control.
If only the room would stop spinning, and my shoulder wasn’t shooting fiery-darts-from-hell up and down my arm, I would be rubbing against him like a tavern wench. The image mortified me and I closed my eyes, trying to refocus my brain on anything other than him. I might not remember who I was, but I knew I wasn’t a common barmaid.
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 26
