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“He couldn’t get the vampire clans to unite with him. Thank God for small blessings.” Nicholas coughed. She wondered if he’d been injured, he looked as if he’d been through hell and back. She could only hope her cousins fared better than he.
“Oh, he couldn’t .…” Dylan's voice trailed off, confusion marring his visage.
“No. They don’t like dragon shifter blood, and it seems they aren’t too fond of wizard and witch blood either. They say that it’s not worth it for them. They seem to think Draco doesn’t have a chance, and they don’t want to be there when the magic kind serves him his ass on a platter. But I have to say, it’s looking grim on this side. Draco seems nearly unstoppable. His power is enough to make me weak in the knees, and you know I’m one tough bastard.”
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
“He will be stopped.” Dylan almost shuddered at the bloodthirsty edge to
Grania’s voice.
“Draco was putting on quite the temper tantrum last night though … that’s how I was able to slip out with the twins in tow. Your aunt told me to leave her and just make sure they got to safety. They’re a bloody handful, you know? Makes me rethink getting married … anyway, do the two of you have any idea why Draco was in such a foul temper? I mean he’s no Morgan the Happy Dragon on a good day .…”
“Let’s just say that Dylan and I have solidified our relationship. We are now husband and wife. It would seem this is a union that my father has been forsaking from the get go. Now that Dylan is truly my mate, my father is powerless.”
“Congratulations! I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to be your best man, Dylan.
Truly. It would have been a day to remember.”
“As it was, it was hardly a day filled with goodwill and cheer,” he said dryly.
“The night wasn’t half bad.” She smiled at him.
“Anyway, we’re going to have to cut this short soon. They’ve sent out search
parties for the twins. They are going over the area with a fine tooth comb. I’m going to have to move our location again soon. I have been trying to establish a firm doorway between our two realms but for some reason they keep collapsing.”
“I think that would be Blaze’s handiwork. You need to get in touch with him so he can see what he can do to bridge a stable doorway between the realms. We’ll be meeting up with him much later, and I’ll take my crystal globe with me, I take it that Blaze gave you the access code to my globe?”
“Aye.”
“Then, you should be able to talk to Blaze when we rendezvous with him later.
Try to contact us in about three hours.”
“Got it. That shouldn’t be too late, hopefully. Godspeed to the both of you, if we ever needed to pray to a higher power it’s now. All I can see is darkness right now. I feel like I’m wallowing in shadows.”
“The light will stream through eventually, Nicholas. It’s just so good to see you alive and in one piece.”
“Yeah.” He winced. “Let’s not talk about being in one piece; I almost got
chomped in half yesterday.” He shuddered. “Thank goodness the twins were with me.
They saved my ass, literally.”
“Just keep them safe … Blaze will have your hide if you don’t.”
“Hey, it wasn’t their hide that was on the line yesterday. I was almost a take away meal, extra crispy and tasty.” He grimaced again.
“We’ll be talking with you .…” Dylan said.
“Yeah, listen, I have to cut this short. I hear someone approaching. Later!” The globe went dead.
“Now what?” Glancing up at Dylan, she sighed.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to continue onward with our plans to figure out where they’ll be attacking next. If we can determine that, we’ll have our ace in the hole.
Grania, I was serious when I told you I didn’t want you to use that weapon of your mother’s.”
“And I was serious when I said I was set upon using it. Don’t try to convince me otherwise, Dylan. This marriage works both ways. You implement questionable fighting DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
tactics when locked in combat against my kind and I’ve allowed that issue to drop between us. So, let’s get past our differences, and work toward what is both our common goal. Seeing Earth free from my father’s tyranny. The last time I checked, we don’t have a Marriage Rule Book … so basically there’s only one rule we can both break.”
“And what’s that?”
“You cheat on me and I go all fireball on you.”
“That works for me, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain, you don’t need to worry,”
he vowed, reaching across and gently taking her hand.
“Good. Now that we are in agreement, I think we should suit up and set out.”
“I don’t think we should go anywhere until we get some more Intel. You said
yourself that this cottage is protected, and if I know my aunt it also has an invisibility enchantment on it that will immediately activate if it detects an enemy approaching.”
“You are correct. Your aunt gave me the Platinum Package. She really is a witch of unimaginable creativity when it comes to using magic. I was in awe of her only five minutes after our first meeting. Where is she right now?”
“The last we heard from her she was hanging out in the First Faerie Realm. She always goes there at this time of the year.”
“Do you think she’ll return if she hears of the trouble brewing here on Earth?”
“It’s doubtful that she’ll even know about what’s happening here. She’s probably in the far regions of the realm, isolating herself from any mortal worries.”
“Nice.”
“Don’t fret though, if we’re lucky someone sent a messenger to track her down
and bring her back here.”
“And if we’re not lucky?”
“She’ll return in a couple of months, or a few years and either find Earth waiting for her unchanged, or she’ll find an apocalyptic world where nothing is the same from the way she remembers it,” Dylan murmured.
“I like the first scenario much better. If she does return in time, she’ll definitely be able to aid us in our struggle. I don’t know how our side will react when they see the dark magical creatures coming into our world.”
“They’ve always leaked into our world from time to time. That’s why the work
my mother heads is so instrumental. She and her agents protect and shield us from that sort of thing. In years past, they’ve stopped other otherworldly invasions, this time they will as well.”
“Let’s hope they do so again.”
* * * *
She moved toward the bedroom door when a sudden jarring sensation rocked the floor. Her legs gave way beneath her, and she hit the floor with a loud thud. He rushed to her side, putting his hand on her shoulder as he reached for her hand and pulled her up.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but my ass is smarting right now, and my ankle doesn’t feel so hot.”
He supported her body, as she tried to put her weight down on it. “I think
something just hit my auntie’s shield … and fortunately for us, we haven’t sustained any damage.”
“We can be thankful for that.”
“I guess.” He led her toward the bedroom window. “I thought as much .…” He
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
pointed to the hill where her manor house sat. Her stomach churned and her heart flipped in her chest.
“You have to call your mother. Do you know how to reach her?” Grania asked.
“Oh, yeah. She’s my mother, she’ll hear me no matter what.”
“I think you need to summon her. This is bad. I’m sorry, Dylan.”
“You couldn’t have known, problem is, we seem to be right smack dab in the
center of it all.”
Her heart stopped, a large lump formed in her chest. “He’s appearing out of the doorw
ay. My aunt is with him.”
“Don’t look at that anymore. Damn our keen eyesight.” He tried dragging her
away from the window. “Come on, you’ve seen enough. We already know that the second wave of your father’s invasion has started.”
Emotion welled through her. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes. “He has defiled my mother’s retreat. He has truly gone too far this time. He is not my father ...
he is my nemesis. I will kill him even if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Come away, Grania. I can only be grateful that even your father shouldn’t be able to sense you through the enchantments my aunt has erected.”
“And your mother?”
“I’m certain the enchantment will allow a white witch to transport through.
Either way, she will sense me when I call her.”
“Then, get to calling her ... now!” she implored, emotionally at the breaking point. Her rage against her father would have destroyed the cottage had it not been enchanted.
She wandered away from him. Vertigo tore at her being. Sinking to the floor she reached for the bow and quiver. Caressing the magical wood, she regained her emotions, until she was cool, calm and collected. Celtic runes on the bow called to her. She circled her fingers around the writing and pulled back when she received an electrical shock from it.
“I’ve done it. My mother is en route as we speak. She should be here within
seconds,” Dylan announced, walking over to her.
“I am happy for it. I’ll actually be glad to see her.”
“All is not lost, Grania.” He crouched down beside her.
“Perhaps, Nicholas is right. It will not be an easy war to win.”
“We might have to lose a few battles on our way to victory. Lose a battle, lose many battles but always, always win the war.”
“My side has lost too much already. We’ve been pounded into the ground so far that we’ll have a hard time spitting out the dirt in our mouths,” she mused, still caressing the wood of the bow.
“You had the victory yesterday. That will be enough to carry us through to our next victory,” Dylan said, trying to give her comfort.
A streak of almost blinding light engulfed the room.
She turned expecting to see Aine, instead she was met with a stranger.
“Is this wizard a friend of yours, Dylan?” He remained speechless. “Dylan?” She prompted looking over at him.
“He’s … he’s .…” Dylan’s eyes bulged; he looked like he was going into a state of shock.
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
“Why did you call me?” The wizard’s voice was smooth and almost emotionless.
His eyes snapped with something she couldn’t quite define. “You possess her bow …
therefore, you must be a blood relation for only a blood relation could activate the summoning charm I put on it so many years ago. You are Lady Grania, daughter of Princess Polaris.” It was a statement, not a question, and it gave her a chill.
Dylan crossed the short distance to her. He still failed to give her any sort of response.
“I am Lord Merdwyn, and you are Grania Burns are you not?” The wizard
prompted, seeking her confirmation, whilst all the while peering intently down at her.
“He’s Merlin’s brother.” Dylan finally spoke, except it sounded more like a
croak.
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
Chapter Seventeen
“I get Merlin’s brother? Why not Merlin himself?” she asked.
“Because Merlin has other things to occupy his time these days. Besides, you
have the bow I created for the woman I loved.”
“My mother.”
“Aye. Your mother. Polaris was the woman I loved. She was everything I
wanted and more. When she turned to your father ....”
“You were scorned, understandably.” She nodded enthusiastically. The look in
his eyes made her want to back out of the room. He had power, great power. The only other two people she’d seen with that glint in their eyes were Dylan and her father.
Dryness prickled in her throat. She coughed.
He nodded. “But time as they say heals all wounds. I hold no grudge against her now. Where is she? I had thought I would see her essence here.”
“My mother is dead. My father killed her.”
Merdwyn hung his head for the briefest of seconds. His blond beard and long
blond hair caught the sunlight that suddenly streamed through the window he’d just opened. When he raised his head his dark brown eyes were filled with anguish. “I had hoped that we would one day be able to speak on our own terms. I had hoped that she would survive seeing the light of day. I am sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Her voice emerged as a croak. “I will never stop missing her.”
Merdwyn turned from her and glanced out the window. “Why does it look as if
the entire world is being draped in darkness?” He inhaled sharply. “I can feel dark magic.”
“Where did you come from?”
“From the mists of time.” He turned around again locking gazes with her. “You have your mother’s eyes, and yet, you are not her mirror image.”
“I realize that. No one could ever hope to attain my mother’s beauty. No one save for her sister, Andromeda.”
“Indeed.” He stepped to the side. “Another magic one approaches.”
“That would be my mother. Boy, is she going to be at a loss for words when she sets eyes on you—you and your brother are legend.”
“Legend?” He smiled. “My brother would like that far more than me. I never
aspired for greatness. I only sought to live my life, but after so many disappointments, I had to retreat to my own sort of seclusion.”
Another ray of magical light flashed through the room. Grania closed her eyes.
“I’m going to have to get myself a pair of shades at this rate,” she grumbled.
Dylan’s mother emerged breathless and seemingly worried sick. As she
solidified, she pinned her piercing gaze on Dylan.
“You went against my strict instructions, my son,” she chastised angrily.
“I’ve done it before, so you shouldn’t exactly be surprised,” Dylan said easily.
She pursed her lips, giving him a glare. “I see that you’re still in one piece, so I’ll DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
save my lecture. Grania.” She nodded curtly to her in greeting. Something flickered across Aine’s face. Slowly, her head swiveled to the side to meet Merdwyn’s gaze.
Her jaw dropped, her eyes filled with stunned disbelief. When she finally tried to speak, no sound came out. Now, Aine reminded her distinctly of Dylan.
“Aine, this is all my fault,” Grania murmured before she could blame Dylan.
Her head snapped toward her. “Your fault? You brought this about?” She
pointed at Merdwyn. “Dylan, is this true?”
“Yes, mother.”
“Then, I am in your debt … you have my gratitude, daughter. We will need Lord Merdwyn’s help in the coming battles. Your father has arrived with all of his dark minions. We had hoped he would remain on Dragonia, but we underestimated his hunger to control Earth. I knew only seconds before Dylan contacted me. This is grave news for us. We were just about to foolishly take the Queen and the Prime Minister out of hiding.
We almost played right into Draco’s hands.”
“What will you do now, Mother?”
“We will ready ourselves for the first battle. I’m certain your father will want to make the first strike against us. I’m anticipating him to hit London next. Are you quite certain that this cottage is safe from him?”
“It’s as safe as any of your protected areas,” Grania said grimly.
Aine nodded. “Good. Excellent news. We shall be able to keep eyes and ears
here to mon
itor movement up on the hill.”
“We’ll be coming with you of course.” She was surprised that Dylan sounded so
adamant. Merdwyn started to wander around her bedroom, inspecting different items on his way.
“I’d thank you to stop handling my personal stuff.”
He smiled at her. “You have the same stubborn will as your mother. I’m glad to see it. She wouldn’t have allowed me to be nosy like this either.” His eyes sparkled with animation. “I will of course wish to leave the confines of this cottage as soon as possible.
I smell dark magic brewing on the horizon. If there’s a battle to take place, I wish to be in the front lines.”
“Your lordship, we will be forever grateful to you for your assistance.”
“Oh, please, Aine. You mustn’t act so in awe of me. I am your relation after all.
You are my sister Ann’s child.”
“I hadn’t realized that you would remember.”
“My brother and I might have shrouded ourselves away in secrecy, but we still
keep our ears to the ground so to speak. We have been monitoring the last one thousand years carefully.”
“How carefully?”
“Enough to know that I had to answer that summon.” His eyes dropped to the
bow Grania still held in her hand. “That will serve you well in the coming struggles.
You shouldn’t be afraid to use it. If you are truly Polaris’s daughter the arrows will not harm you. I bewitched it to save the blood of my love.”
“Well, there you go, Dylan. I don’t have to worry about wielding the bow and
arrows, for they can’t harm me. The wonders of magic never cease to amaze me.” She smiled.
Aine was suspiciously silent. “I recognize that bow and the quiver. We have one DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
almost exactly like it in the archives section of the agency.”
“Robin’s bow.” Merdwyn nodded. “Aye. I gave him that, as well. Many years
after this one was created. I sense that the weapon has not been used in more than one thousand years. Polaris truly did renege on everything that she formerly stood for once she married that pig.”
Dry mouthed, she looked back toward the window. The sky darkened. Whispers
