by Dahlia Rose
She licked her lips in desire. He was that damn hot. Seeing him when he was injured and naked was one thing, but looking now at the tight and sculpted lines of his muscles, ripped six pack abs, she could see how women would throw themselves at him and maybe that was why he was so cocksure, believing any woman would jump right into bed with him. He turned to put the bathrobe in what looked like a tall but thin shed that was against the wall of the house. She tried to keep her eyes off the length of him, but was having trouble. Raven bit her lip to quiet her moan of delight. You could bounce a whole roll of quarters off his tight ass.
“See anything you like?” he asked when he caught her staring.
“Same ol’, same ol’. The view from here is quite picturesque, though,” Raven replied.
“If you say so, darling,” he murmured. “Now, when you go inside, I want you to man the security alarm. The code is seven-five-four-nine-eight. I will be back in a few hours.”
“How do you patrol?” she asked
“There is a grid pattern we each follow. Each night we patrol a new section of the grid. Being that I was attacked so close to home makes us wonder if the Shen are forming a cell here or if this is where the king is hiding.”
“Wouldn’t it be much easier if you catch one alive to interrogate it?” Raven questioned.
“We have tried that, but they will kill themselves before we can imprison one of them,” Raul explained. “They have a poisonous sack of venom beneath their tongue. It’s incased in a thick membrane and, like a snake, it can be released in a bite if they choose. Their venom is also deadly to themselves even though it’s in their body. The membrane holding the venom protects them, but we’ve seen some of them puncture it and flood their bodies with poison rather than have to be questioned by us.”
“What will you do if you find evidence of a cell here?” Raven asked. Everything he was telling her was so fascinating she wished she could journal it all, though she knew she would probably be laughed out of her field for such ridiculous findings. She would have to silently take pleasure in knowing such a race lived alongside humans.
“My brother dragons will come in and we’ll kill them all.” He said it so mildly, with no emotion, like he was ordering a cup of coffee, but the look in his eyes was deadly.
Without another word, he lowered his head and she held her breath as his body began to shimmer. In seconds his body seemed to be swaying so fast her eyes could not keep up with the movement. A glowing, shimmery mist began at his feet and moved upwards until he was completely surrounded. She gasped as this was like watching magic, something that wasn’t really supposed to exist. His skin slowly turned into emerald scales and his body widened in height and width. The scales that ran the length of his neck to his lower stomach were a bright golden color. Raven put her hand over her mouth in awe and moved hesitantly forward to touch him after his transformation was complete. His scales were smooth and heat seemed to radiate off his body. He bent his massive head towards her and she touched his snout. “You’re magnificent. Simply beautiful,” she whispered. He gave a snort and she smiled. “Go do your thing, dragon. I’ll be waiting for your return.”
He bent his head to acknowledge her statement before turning towards the cliff. Raven gasped as he spread his wings and took off into the sky. Against the sun that was now almost completely set, the sight of him taking flight was breathtaking. She watched until she could barely make him out in the distance and then turned and went back into the house. She set the alarm and got her ice cream before going back to the living room. Instead of curling up with her book, she found herself watching the darkness crawl across the sky, searching for that glimmer of Raul coming back. There was more to him than just a cocky playboy and she wanted to peel back the layers to his true self. Raven worried her lips with her teeth, knowing that if she delved into that realm with him she would be in danger of losing herself completely.
Chapter Five
Raven. Her name wafted through his head while Raul flew through the air on dragon wings. The look on her face when he had shifted to his dragon form was one that made him forget to breath. There was no fear, just awe, in her eyes, and they reflected that she saw him as beautiful. Her strength reminded him of his brothers’ wives—Valencia, Ginna and Daisye. Three women he had the honor of knowing and now there was Raven. How easily she could capture his hand in her much smaller one and hold on tight. But then he would be in the position that Orin, Kalv and Hawke were in, the same as his father. The love would be amazing, but loss would cripple them all. How could he set himself up for that kind of pain, and if he could avoid it why shouldn’t he? His father left him, and had wandered away and died in the barrens somewhere. His bones were never found and he was not given an honorable burial. Raul put all his thought on the back burner and focused on his task. More than anything right now the Shen was the priority. If they had a cell in Wisconsin, he wanted to find it and would relish their destruction.
He trained his eyes on the darkness, looking for anything unusual or out of place. The Shen were attracted to heat and damp. Wisconsin had big sewage systems, but they would not have enough heat to sustain the king, which made Raul think the king serpent was not in the city. But something was still not right in his sector. The abominations were up to something. He caught movement in the sky ahead of him, so far away that no one would be able to see it. He was able to because his dragon eyes could see some of the most miniscule details. He lifted his snout to the wind and turned to follow the figure in the sky. He snorted in disgust as he caught the scent of a Shen. One a few days ago and one now, in the same area, was no coincidence. This time he would get some answers.
One in every five Shen had the ability to fly. They were mostly ground dwellers and that was good for the Paladin dragons. Even though they all had wings, they were paltry flyers. Raul soon caught up with the figure and confirmed it was a Shen. With a low growl he picked up his flying speed and barreled into the Shen serpent and used his body weight to pull it out of the sky. Its serpentine body coiled and twisted, trying to snap at him with its filthy teeth. Like the Komodo dragon, all kinds of germs infested a Shen’s mouth and the bite was deadly to humans. When he was bitten, his body threw off the infection while he healed. That didn’t mean he wanted to add another to the list though.
The Shen abomination spit its venom at Raul’s eyes. He dodged the stream of yellowish-green liquid and kept his hold. He used the serpent’s body as a barrier as they crashed into the ground, breaking tree branches and causing night creatures to scatter in fear. The landing stunned Raul’s opponent and caused him to shift to his human form, so Raul shifted as well. He looked down at the man with disgust. Even in human form, they had the scales of their serpent form. They covered his torso and parts of his legs. The abominations could not even take a pure human form. Raul caught sight of a medallion around the Shen’s neck, one that made his heart jump. Raul shifted into human form and used the chain of the medallion to yank the man up to his feet.
“Where did you get this?” Raul snarled. “What are you doing in Wisconsin?”
The Shen abomination laughed weakly. “Which question do you want me to answer first, dragon?”
Raul kicked the man in the knee cap and heard it shatter. The Shen screamed in pain and Raul waited for the noise to fade into a whimper.
“Answer them both, serpent. You have many bones I can shatter before I kill you, and, yes, I do plan to kill you.” Raul’s voice was deadly. “It’s only a matter of whether it will be quickly or slowly and with as much pain as I can cause you.”
“What makes you think I will tell you anything?” the man whimpered.
“My people believe a man should face his death with honor. You will answer my questions, or I’ll take my time and break you into bits.”
Raul grasped his hand to snap the bones, and the serpent shifter screamed. “No, wait, I’ll talk.”
Raul nodded. “Good idea. What is going on in Wisconsin?”
�
�We have a nest here,” the serpent said. “We are holding a dragon hostage and plan to use him as leverage.”
“None of our court is missing; I know this for a fact. You lie,” Raul snapped.
“He is not a Paladin warrior—not anymore. He was found in the barrens and held for years by the king. He was sent to us to use in a trap to bait the dragon in the house on the cliff,” the Shen explained.
“The dragon who owned this medallion has been dead for over fifty years,” Raul roared. “Are you telling me that he was not killed in the barrens?”
The Shen’s eyes widened in fear and he stammered, “I am barely twenty in human years. The older Shen speak of the first king’s death and how the warriors who fled found this dragon wasting away in the barrens of Paladin. They tortured him, but he did not scream in pain. They say he was a broken man and pain made no difference to him. He was lost in his own mind. So they kept him and nourished him some so he would not die, and then the new king rose and saw his value. He ordered this dragon to be kept—not killed—and he has been kept as a prisoner all these years.”
Raul listened to the words and as the Shen spoke, going from hot to cold and then hot again. The story sounded like the truth, yet how could he believe it? Only one dragon walked away from the Paladin lands and into the barrens—his father. He took his father’s place on the court, trained with the other dragons and the king and they took him in as their own. His father was not alive. He can’t be!
“So you are to use him as bait?” Raul asked.
The Shen nodded. “A fight between a dragon and one of ours put the plan into play before we anticipated. The Shen serpent in the fight is a general. He wants to kill the dragon and the human female who shot him… Well, kill her eventually.”
The Shen snickered and Raul punched him in the face. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to Raven. He took pleasure in watching the blood flow from the serpent’s broken nose.
“Anything else, abomination?” Raul asked.
“Yes, one more thing,” it said in a nasally voice. “I was the diversion, for as we speak, the general is on his way to the glass castle. He will retrieve his human prize.”
The Shen’s sickening laughter only fueled the rage in his chest and he snapped the neck of the Shen and dropped his lifeless body to the ground. He snatched the medallion from around the Shen’s neck, breaking the chain with a violent pull. Usually, he would clean up the mess and get rid of the body, but that would have to wait. Right now he had to take flight and save Raven. Dread filled his heart for her safety. By the gods, this was all an elaborate hoax to get him away from Raven? Deep within, he felt as if some of the Shen’s words were true. His father was alive. Raul shifted quickly and flew back to the house on the cliff. Enough time had passed that the Shen could descend on the house. He used his internal magic that all the dragons held within them to move faster. The house came into view and he could see at least a dozen serpents climbing up the rock wall of the cliff, heading towards the house. One was already there and Raul recognized the serpent—in his human form—from a few nights before. He broke the glass of the front windows and the alarm filled the air with a shrill noise.
Triggering the alarm would alert Hawke in England, but he could not do anything from thousands of miles away. Raul propelled himself through another window, shattering that one too, and threw himself as hard as he could into the man, knocking him into the wall.
He then shifted quickly and shouted, “Raven!”
She came around the corner, carrying one of the large knives that she had obviously found in the kitchen. She held it over her head ready for a fight.
“Raul,” she said, lowering the knife to her side, “I was reading upstairs and I just saw him come directly at the windows,” Raven gasped. “He didn’t even stop, just came right in—”
“Tell me about it later. Right now we’re leaving. There are at least twelve more coming up the rock wall,” Raul said. “I’m going to shift and you’re going to climb on my neck, then we are taking to the skies.”
“Won’t I fall?” Raven asked.
“Slip your hands under the smaller scales of my neck; you won’t hurt me, but you’ll have a tight hold.”
The Shen general that had been thrown through the wall began to move from under the rubble and called out, “Give her to me, dragon, and you can have your fallen hero in our possession.”
“What’s he talking about?” Raven asked breathlessly and then cursed, “Oh, shit, they are coming across the lawn.”
“Let’s go,” Raul said and shifted.
He lowered his head and she climbed onto his neck just as more glass broke and the Shen swarmed inside. Raul knew they would be overcome before he could take flight, so with Raven on his neck, he swung around and took a deep breath before he sent a stream of fire breath towards them. The rest of the glass shattered and the broken glass melted. The Shen screamed in pain as many of them were burned alive. He noticed the general trying to shift and came towards him, sending fire at him. The man barely got over the large butcher block island in the kitchen. If it was not for that, he would have been covered in flames.
With their assailants otherwise occupied, Raul ran towards the floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen and they shattered around his massive frame as he made his escape. Raven gave a scream as he spread his wings and caught the air. He lifted off the ground easily. Raul concentrated on the magic within to increase his speed, putting as much distance between them and the overrun house. He would take them to the safe house and contact the others from there. There was no way he was leaving Wisconsin until he knew the truth and the Shen cell was destroyed.
He flew for almost an hour, when the rain had begun to fall the last half of the journey. When he descended to the safe house and Raven slid from his back, she was soaked. There was always a secondary house, or “safe house,” in each sector of the grid where the dragons protected. This one happened to be the penthouse of the Belmont Hotel in Madison. It was one of the tallest buildings in the state capital and Hawke paid for roof access as well as almost a million dollars for private stairs to be built that led from the roof to the penthouse. The penthouse was all theirs. They owned the hotel and it was run by people Hawke hired to look after the investment. After the debacle with Daisye’s father and how easily his name had been falsely endorsed to a business, Hawke kept a close eye on the investments. By this time, Raven was shivering. He opened the door from the roof and ushered her inside.
“Some safe house.” Her teeth chattered as she spoke.
“Hawke does what he needs to, to make sure we’re comfortable,” Raul replied, looking around.
The suite was expensively decorated in shades of beige, cream and gold. The coffee table and end tables were black marble and had expensive vases with ornate flower arrangements sitting on top. He turned the knob on the gas fireplace and it roared to life before turning back to face her.
“The master bedroom is through the door on the left. Go take a shower and warm up. I’ll call down and get us a meal, plus update the others of our whereabouts. The house alarm would have signaled them that something happened,” Raul said.
“Okay.” Raven began to move towards the master bedroom and then turned back to him. “Who is the dragon they are holding hostage?”
Raul’s hand tightened on the medallion he held all this time. “Apparently, my father.”
“Oh, no, Raul—”
“Go take a shower, Raven,” he said, cutting her off. He didn’t want to look up to see the pity in her eyes, the emotions and weakness there.
She didn’t say another word, but turned on her heels and walked away. Raven had more questions, and he knew she would ask them eventually. He could practically see the gears of her mind working like that of a big machine. Raul knew he should get changed and call his brothers, but instead, he sat on the floor naked and gazed into the fire. His father, the man who left him after losing his mother, could be alive. How was th
is supposed to make him feel exactly? Happy, sad, angry, all of the above? He did what always worked for him and pushed it all aside. He lived for what he’d always put first: his honor.
He’d deal with whatever was to come the best way he could. With a sigh he got up and went to the guest bedroom. There, he showered and changed into clothes that were overflowing from the large walk-in closets. All the while, trying to find his calm and center before he called Hawke. Finally, he sat on the bed and made a call downstairs to the front desk to let them know that he’d just flown in with a guest. They would assume he came in by chopper and landed on the helipad on the roof. He ordered a late dinner of simple linguine with meat sauce and garlic bread. On impulse, he asked for two slices of triple chocolate cake for Raven. When that was done, he dialed Hawke’s number from memory. Hawke answered before the first ring even ended.
“We’re heading your way,” Hawke said grimly
“We’re going to need Lleau and Aki as well,” Raul said. “I intercepted a Shen and he told me they do have a cell in Wisconsin, but that it was a trap.”
“How so?”
“A younger Shen was keeping me busy so that the Shen who attacked me initially, plus about a dozen others, could descend on the house,” Raul explained. “It seems he is a general and has Raven in his sights like we knew he would. He was in the house and the others were coming up the side of the cliff. I got her out and we’re in Madison.”
“What of the one who drew you away?” Hawke asked.
“Dead… He had something, Hawke,” Raul said heavily.
“What?”
Raul said it all in a rush, hoping it would not cause the surge of feelings that usually came while thinking of his father. “A medallion—the coat of arms of my father. They said he’s been their prisoner for over fifty years, kept alive for a situation like this, a pawn of sorts.”
