Handlers of Dragons (Children of Ankh Book 4)

by Kim Cormack

  He tucked one of her stray curls behind her ear as he said, “All I knew about you before I helped you up that day at that track, was that you were the girl of my dreams...quite literally. When I saw the Ankh on your palm, I panicked and it caused me to behave rather ignorantly. As I got to know you, it was so easy to see why I cared about you and before I knew it, I was head over heels in love with you. That was the best week of my life. When we went into the Testing, I knew what I needed to do to make sure you survived. After the Testing was over every detail came back to me so quickly. These incredibly beautiful memories came flooding back and it was too late...you despised me. Truth be told, I hated myself for what I was forced to do but I knew it was the only the way you would have survived. I was this numb shadow of myself during that banquet but when that announcement happened and I knew you were going to have to sacrifice even more of yourself, I just couldn’t let it happen. I was with the group of people that helped you get away. I’d managed to convince myself that I had to let you go but that first time we ran into Ankh it was harder than I thought it would be. I wanted to get you alone somehow and tell you everything but I knew I couldn’t. You needed to learn to embrace the Dragon within you. The anger and betrayal you felt towards me at that time was what fuelled the ability. So, I behaved like I was over you even though I wasn’t. I couldn’t help myself...I kissed you, hoping you’d see the real me. After that, each night when I closed my eyes, I dreamt of you but it wasn’t beautiful memories we’d created together. I was dreaming of you moving on with Frost. It was excruciatingly painful. Granny Winnie talked me through your loss and explained why each thing needed to happen so you could evolve into what you were meant to become. I knew you were doing exactly what you were meant to be doing. I hid the psychic ability for a while but when I felt secure enough in my relationship with my grandfather, I told him everything. He’s not as horrible as everyone thinks he is. Tiberius is just misguided on occasion. I’ve been helping our clan for a while now but according to my granny Winnie, my main purpose is to help guide you through all that is to come, if you’re open to it?”

  “We’ll have to fight each time we run into each other,” Kayn pointed out as she stared at the glass smooth surface of the pool.

  Kevin countered, “That’s not a big deal. We’re immortal.”

  “True,” Kayn answered. She took a drink of her Corona as she squeezed his other hand and agreed, “Friends then.”

  “Always,” Kevin confirmed as he gazed longingly into her eyes.

  And for a moment, she saw the five-year-old boy with the mass of dark wild curls that she adored smiling back at her. She looked away and disturbed the peaceful surface of the water by splashing her feet around as she changed the subject, “Tell me about your afterlife? I’m guessing you’re not still with Stephanie because I know she was entertaining my father not too long ago.”

  “What? Not my Stephanie! How could she?” Kevin gasped, pretending to be shocked. He started giggling. Kayn gave him a light-hearted shove. He confessed, “There’s this new girl I’m sort of interested in. Her name’s Rebekka.”

  “That’s good. I want you to be happy too,” Kayn whispered. “She’s obviously a new untested Triad because I’ve never heard of her.”

  “She’s really new. I’ve barely spoken to her but I’ve had visions of what we could be. I don’t know how or when it starts but it’s there. So, if the situation arises, don’t take her,” he implored.

  Kayn nodded and promised, “I won’t personally take her but I have no control over what the others do. We’re being punished right now so we have no contact with the rest of the clan.”

  “No contact with Frost? For murdering me? Now that’s ironic,” Kevin teased, playfully shoving her again.

  “Isn’t it though,” Kayn sparred as she stared into her empty bottle.

  He stood up, held out his hand and suggested, “Lets’ go for a walk.”

  Kayn took Kevin’s hand. He helped her up and they sauntered down to the shore with the thunderous crashing of waves in the background. They found dry sand and sprawled out underneath the blanket of stars as they would have before issues such as immortality and opposing clans created an insurmountable wall between them.

  “I’ve missed this. I never do things like this anymore,” Kevin exclaimed.

  “What’s stopping you?” Kayn asked.

  He answered, “The pressure of trying to assimilate. The fear of someone seeing the person I’m always trying to hide. Avoiding doing the things that remind me of a life that’s gone. There are so many reasons.”

  “Patrick would enjoy this,” Kayn remarked as she watched the twinkling stars above.

  “Maybe...What about Stephanie?” He teased.

  Kayn giggled as she replied, “Never.”

  After a few minutes of lying under the stars, he stated, “Back when we were kids could you have imagined this life?”

  “I don’t know, my imagination has always been rather spectacular,” she teased as she felt a crab tickling a path up her leg. Kayn swatted it off, then sat up feeling the urge to hold one. She snatched the tiny crab out of the sand and he also sat up to look at the sea creature cruising around the palm of her hand. As she met Kevin’s eyes, she knew they would find their way through this impossible situation. Kayn placed the tiny crab in the palm of his hand as she added, “What’s the plan then? Are we just going to avoid each other during each squabble that happens between our clans? Or do you want me to just kick your ass first and ask questions later?”

  “I’m crafty enough to beat you,” he assured.

  “No, you’re not. You’re really going to have to give that ego a rest if you expect our friendship to work,” she countered.

  “Fine,” Kevin leapt up and beckoned her closer with both hands as he declared, “Give it your best shot.”

  Intrigued by his cocky behaviour Kayn stood up, grinned and threatened, “You asked for it.” In one swift precise movement, she swept his feet out from under him.

  He landed with a thud on his back in the sand. Kevin started laughing, then put her at ease by saying, “I wasn’t ready.”

  “Oh, come on. You didn’t even try,” she muttered, while towering above him. While she was busy rolling her eyes, he made a scissor like motion with his legs, tugged at the backside of her knees and brought her down in the sand beside him. Kayn remained there for a second. That was good. He’d knocked the wind out of her. She had no intention of admitting weakness. She starting to laugh as she complained, “You’re still a cheater.”

  “I said, I was crafty enough to beat you, cheating wasn’t a factor,” he sparred.

  She had to give him that. She’d missed him. She’d missed the playfulness of their friendship. She noted the salty scent of the sea and the glorious sense of calm. They could be friends again. It was possible. Their beautiful moment ended with the sound of approaching voices.

  Kevin sat up and declared, “Back to reality.”

  Kayn continued to stare at the stars as he stood up. She didn’t want him to go but she knew he had to. She remained where she was as she nonchalantly said, “Till we meet again, Smith.”

  He replied, “Till we meet again, Brighton.”

  He remembered her but it didn’t even matter. The irony was not lost on her as she watched him wander away. Kayn smiled. He still had the same walk. His eyes still crinkled when he smiled. A small part of who they were had remained. She felt peaceful in the knowledge that he appeared to be finding his way just as she was. As she closed her eyes, her thoughts were drawn to Frost. Where was he right now? Even though she didn’t know where Frost was or what he was doing, she felt this sense of certainty. He loved her. He’d spoken the words aloud and she knew he didn’t say those words easily. They would have had more time together if she hadn’t taken Seth’s declaration to heart. Of course, they would have to follow the rules. She heard the rustling of the sand as someone approached. She knew who it was without looking. Kayn opened her eyes.
It was Zach.

  “The tides coming in. If you want to get some sleep you’d better come back to the room,” Zach’s voice urged.

  The water had almost reached her. She’d been off in her own little world and hadn’t noticed. Kayn sighed and held out her hand. He helped her up as she asked, “How was your visit with your Triad friend?”

  “Which one?” Zach dodged as they wandered back to the hotel.

  “I’m not stupid,” she declared.

  Zach chuckled as he changed topics, “You missed the drama at the restaurant.”

  She got it. He wasn’t ready to have this conversation. “Drama?” Kayn questioned. Grey had obviously noticed Lexy’s absence.

  “Grey,” Zach explained.

  She guessed correctly. An ominous thought crept into her mind. She whispered, “He lit something on fire, didn’t he?”

  Zach replied, “Multiple things and a few people, might be more accurate.”

  “Tiberius?” Kayn questioned, using only his name.

  “Tiberius, Stephanie...bushes, some napkins and plants,” her Handler clarified. “Let’s just say he managed to quite effectively deter their hookup.”

  Lexy was going to be choked.

  Zach started to explain, “He was a mess. He drank us all under the table and then when he noticed Lexy was missing, he stormed out, ranting like she was cheating. Guru Grey was frigging unhinged. He’d completely lost it.”

  Kayn grinned as Zach used their old pet name for Grey.

  Zach continued regaling the unfortunate events of the evening, “Patrick called Tiberius and Lexy came back to calm him down. Long story short, we are so not getting our damage deposit back. Joking. I’m just kidding. We’ve covered it up. Did you really not see or hear any of this?”

  The waves crashed again with a thundering roar. “Nothing,” Kayn admitted. This was her fault. What was wrong with her? She’d taken Grey’s cork off and released him into the wild. As they approached the courtyard Kayn grimaced at the sight of the smoking charcoaled bushes. Oh no. She was going to get in big trouble for this. Mental note...Pyrokinesis and alcohol do not mix. She was going to have to find a way to put him back to how he was, before someone found out.

  “It’s not your fault. Grey’s an adult... Sort of,” Zach consoled as they made their way back to their room.

  Referring to Grey as an adult made her smile again. Kayn winced as she asked, “Did Triad have to call the Aries Group?”

  “No. We didn’t bother but Tiberius could have. We were lucky it went down in the middle of the night. The bartender was the only one on. Tiberius took care of him,” Zach replied.

  Was he dead? Oh, yes. Tiberius could erase portions of someone’s memories. The bartender probably thought he’d gotten into the sauce.

  Zach opened the door, stepped aside and graciously ushered her inside, “My lady.”

  They walked into the room to find an extremely inebriated Grey, sprawled out diagonally on one of the double beds.

  Grey mumbled, “Lexy doesn’t want me anymore,” into the pillow.

  Awesome. The whole room reeked of tequila. She couldn’t go to sleep. There had to be a way to undo this mess. Maybe, all she had to do was feed from him to take him down a notch or two?

  Zach whispered, “I think you’ve done enough tonight...don’t you? Let’s go sleep in Lexy’s room.”

  “What if she’s not alone?” Kayn replied as they closed the door quietly.

  Zach whispered, “Triad’s probably long gone. Tiberius didn’t want to set off Grey again in the morning.”

  Kayn felt like pouting. She always managed to miss out on the good stuff. They knocked on the door to Lexy’s room and heard the pitter patter of her footsteps as she approached the door.

  Lexy opened the door and stepped aside knowing what they were there for. She got back into bed, pulled the sheets over her head and said, “Turn off the lights when you’re ready to go to sleep.”

  Zach flicked off the lights and without a word they climbed into the other queen-sized bed and made themselves comfortable beneath the covers.

  Her Handler whispered, “Sweet dreams,” as he snuggled up against her.

  Kayn smiled as she relaxed and exhaled deeply in the protective warmth of the womb like safety of Zach’s embrace. The trauma of the day ceased as she slipped away into beautiful dreams.

  Chapter 11

  Dirty Deeds

  LEXY’S VOICE SANG, “Rise and shine! We’re leaving in half an hour. Breakfast has been ordered and the shower is free!”

  As Kayn squinted in the bright sunlight streaming in through the windows she took note of the skip in Lexy’s step and the glow in her cheeks. Maybe, Grey hadn’t stopped a damn thing? Kayn smiled knowingly. She stretched and yawned as she remarked, “My, don’t you look vibrant this morning. Have a good night?”

  “It was eventful,” Lexy answered as she continued to dig through a bag Kayn didn’t recognise.

  “How eventful?” Zach provoked.

  Her crimson-haired sibling countered, “How eventful was your night Zach?”

  Why did she have a feeling that way more happened last night than she’d been privy to? Kayn glanced at Zach and casually enquired, “I wonder what she meant by that?”

  He tossed his pillow at her and jousted, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  She had a feeling about Zach but not enough life experience to know how to broach the subject without it coming off sounding crass. Kayn looked in the direction of the bathroom. Zach leapt up, sprinted across the room and slammed the door behind him. She threw herself back down on the bed and started to laugh. He was such a child.

  Lexy answered the door as the room service arrived. She charged the food to the room, strolled over and sat down on the other bed. She passed the tray to Kayn and announced, “I ordered the same thing for everyone.”

  Kayn frowned as she took an unsatisfying bite of her bland ham and cheese omelet. Lexy grinned as she revealed the bottle of hot sauce and dumped a disgusting amount on hers, before passing it to Kayn. She did the same.

  They were nearly finished, when Zach appeared and groaned, “You guys should have told me it was here. Mine’s going to be cold.”

  Lexy took the metal top off his and sparred, “It’s been here for all of five minutes, quit whining.”

  Zach scrunched up his nose as he enquired, “Is there one for Grey?”

  “He can get his own damn breakfast,” Lexy murmured as she placed her empty tray on the dresser and disappeared into the washroom.

  “This doesn’t promise to be awkward at all,” Kayn whispered.

  Zach nudged her as he quietly said, “Do you think Grey knows they slept together?”

  They both shut up as Lexy abruptly opened the bathroom door. She gave the two of them the dirtiest look as she stormed past them and slammed the door as she left the room.

  “You know, I’m not feeling all warm and fuzzy about this road trip anymore. It’s liable to be a gong show,” Zach whispered even though Lexy had left the room.

  Kayn started giggling. She’d always known it was destined to be a gong show. Two Handlers and their recently tiered up Dragons. What could go wrong? She peered up at Zach.

  He smiled as he revealed, “It is rather cool. Your thoughts are coming in as clear as if you’d spoken that aloud.”

  Instead of saying the words, Kayn thought, is there something you haven’t told me, about last night?

  He responded in his mind, ‘Whatever do you mean?’

  She grinned and decided to drop the subject. There would be a better time and place. “I’m going to go wash up. Where did that bag come from?” She pointed at the unfamiliar bag Lexy had been rifling through earlier.

  Zach emptied it onto the bed to show her what they had. “There’s a toothbrush for each of us in the bathroom, some shampoo, conditioner and a change of clothes. In the front pocket is a charge card from the Aries Group and some cash. There’s also a rental car in the parking lot.
We have a private flight to catch.”

  She’d never been on a plane. “We’re not allowed to fly? I thought the Aries Group had us all on the no-fly list? How do you know this?” she asked. They’d lost the instructions for the next jobs when they lost their bags and phones.

  “There’s a cell phone on the dresser with instructions,” Zach explained.

  Kayn smirked as she called his bluff and snatched the phone. I’ll be damned. Tiberius must have given Lexy one of Triad’s cells so he could get a hold of her... She decided to keep her naughty interpretation to herself as she read the message. Sure enough, they were going by plane. Her first trip aboard a plane was occurring more than two years after her death. She didn’t have anything to fear anymore so it wasn’t as big a deal as it might have been before her untimely demise. Kayn placed the phone back on the dresser and shrugged. “I guess we’re flying to Alaska.” They were travelling from Mexico to Alaska. It was so cold there. She groaned as she flung herself back down on the bed.

  “It is a little strange, isn’t it?” Zach pointed out. “It’s odd that we’re flying. We never fly.”

  It was rather peculiar. They both startled as someone aggressively banged on the door. “Ten bucks that’s Grey,” Kayn called out as she slid off the bed and raced for the door. She opened the door to reveal the tragically hung over blonde guy they all knew and loved. Kayn grinned as she asked, “Feeling bright tailed and bushy eyed this morning?”

  “You might want to give it a rest until I get my head on straight,” he sparred while maneuvering past her. Grey glared at the empty plates and stated the obvious, “She didn’t order me breakfast, did she?”

  Zach answered, “No...she didn’t.”

  “My memory is a tad foggy. I was an ass last night, wasn’t I?” Grey enquired as he took a seat on the bed across from Zach.

  “You could say that,” Zach replied.

  “How angry is she, on a scale of say one to ten?” Grey asked while holding his pounding head with both hands.

  “Easy ten,” Kayn answered as she took a seat beside Zach.