Dragon: The Clan Legacy Series

by J. S. Striker

  And just like that, an explosion sounded in her ears, sweeping her off the bed and down the floor. She landed with a hard thud, wincing again as the pain recurred on her neck.

  Whatever she did, her magic had transferred to her ears, and she reeled as she heard voices there—loud voices, like they came from just inside the dungeon.

  But no one was inside the dungeon.

  With as much strength as she could muster, Red fisted her hands and concentrated again, guiding the flow over and over, adjusting her hearing. She sat on the floor, kept her eyes in the dark and waited until the voices tuned in and she could hear them—blurry at first, growing clearer and clearer until finally, it was all she could hear.

  I vote we kill her right now before she turns dangerous.

  The words were said by an unfamiliar male voice, and it startled Red to hear the viciousness and passion in the tone. She waited a beat or two, letting her senses flow around the space where the voice was coming from. After a few seconds, a female voice sounded, honey-sweet and somewhat playful.

  I suggest we torture her first. Limb per limb, bone per bone. I volunteer to make it a…faster process.

  There wasn’t hate in that voice, only spite. For some reason, it sounded more dangerous to her.

  Red kept the flow shifting, going back and forth between the voices in the space, listening to them with rapt attention. This was obviously a meeting, and it was obviously about her. Judging from their tone, it wasn’t going well, what with the decisions to decapitate her or crush her or…burn her.

  Right. Witch thing.

  Now she was hearing a familiar voice. Her hand went to her throat on instinct.

  I vote to keep her alive. Henrik’s voice was calm, almost unfeeling.

  Red’s eyes widened, as it was the last thing she expected. The violent man who’d attacked her earlier just didn’t mesh with such a tone. But then again, he was not in her presence.

  Whatever for?

  I have questions. She has the answers.

  She bloody well doesn’t remember anything. What’s the point?

  Just give it time. Henrik was growling now, a warning sound that still managed to sound smooth. I can get it out of her eventually. I feel she’s hiding something. If we want to rule this out from happening again, we need names. Accomplices. Agenda.

  You just tried to kill her earlier. A female voice, a different one from the first. And you’re supposed to be her protector.

  I believed she was after Miss Gray, and I’ve been proven wrong. It will not happen again. Henrik’s voice was now like steel, firm and unrelenting.

  Red kept listening back and forth to the voices, deducing that there were too many in the space for her to keep count of who was speaking. She was able to figure out who the key players were eventually, recognizing Henrik most of all. Then there was the man named Dylan Masters who, judging by the fact that no one ever contradicted him, was probably some kind of supreme leader for them—whatever their group was called.

  This council has decided, Dylan was saying.

  Right. So council it was.

  Red Denver will be spared for now and will be kept in prison until we deem it safe to keep her somewhere else. I will be posting guards around her for the time being, and only Henrik and Sophia will have access to the first dungeon in the meantime.

  No one spoke. Dylan continued.

  Henrik, you will keep up your interrogation. Squeeze her any way you can, but avoid hurting her. We don’t want her powers to backlash on us. I want Sophia to keep accessing her mind, to keep bringing out her memories. Anyone else who wants to visit the dungeon will have to speak to me first. Is that understood?

  No response, no protest. Meaning that was a yes.

  The meeting was adjourned, and Red sat back on the bed and let her magic re-flow again. Like an eavesdropper with nothing better to do, she listened to the casual conversation between a man named Charlie and a teenage boy named Simon—they were discussing what seemed to be battle plans, with Simon arguing that his plans were infinitely better and way cooler. She listened to one of the cooks in the kitchen flirt with the help, an ongoing banter that was harmless, and for some odd reason made her smile. She listened to the man named Robbie, who’d tried to stop Henrik from attacking again earlier, as he flirted with his mate Sophia and told her there were plenty of ways they could spend the afternoon instead of napping. Right. Red shifted the flow abruptly when she heard the moans and groans, realizing what was about to happen.

  No, thank you.

  More conversation, more word drifting in and out of her senses. It wasn’t until she was about to close off the connection of magic to her hearing that she heard it—her name being mentioned, twice, the tones low and slightly muffled.

  Red Denver?

  Red, the prisoner in the dungeon.

  I’ve heard of her. The murderer.

  She’ll have a guard stationed outside the dungeon in two hours.

  Hmm?

  The next words had her hair standing up on end.

  I want you to kill her before that. Clean and fast.

  What do I get in return?

  I will grant you permission to marry your fox girl.

  What? You shitting me?

  I don’t get why, because they’re inferior creatures, but you do this favor, and you’re free to do as you wish with her.

  Consider it done.

  There was probably more, but Red’s hearing had shut down as her breathing started coming out rapidly. She knew she was starting to panic, but what else could be expected? Within two hours, she was going to be dead.

  She needed to get out.

  Her mind furiously gathered whatever power she could gather from within her, holding it in and visually imagining a swirl of colors form into a ball. It grew bigger and bigger, and she let it stay where it was as she looked around the cell. She was wary of touching the cell bars with her power, not sure what the electricity’s contact with her magic would do. The walls were a no-go, as she tried to poke at it and couldn’t feel any shift.

  Her eyes strayed to the tiny window that was cemented shut. A closer inspection made her realize that the shut-down part from outside the tiny bars was made of pure gravel cement, with air holes that were almost invisible to the eye.

  What if?

  She concentrated her magic there, a steady bit that she let dig slowly in. It was difficult at first, as nothing budged, and she was almost rendered hopeless by the effort.

  Until the cement softened.

  Until a tiny piece of gravel fell out.

  Her heart thudded and went up her throat. Adrenaline rushed inside her, swelling her powers higher.

  This could work. This must work.

  She kept going, rejoicing in her mind as more and more gravel fell out, slow and steady. To keep the sound muted, Red used her blanket and spread it below, catching whatever fell. Her muscles were straining as half an hour became one, and soon she knew her time was almost up. Faster. Faster, please, she pleaded in her mind.

  More magic came, a painful surge this time. It melted part of the bars—enough for her to squeeze in. From where the gravel kept falling, she found light—a thin streak, but she would worry about that later.

  With one last push of her magic, Red kept working for her escape.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Meetings with the shifter leaders usually took a toll on Henrik’s peace of mind, especially when it involved the prejudiced ways of most of them. While Henrik was more open to other creatures and their existence in this world, there were some shifter leaders who thought they were the most superior of the bunch and others didn’t deserve the same high-class status that they enjoyed.

  Hell, it would probably be a hoot if they said that to the vampire leader’s face.

  It was a good thing Dylan was among the reasonable in the group, otherwise Henrik would be outvoted. Dylan’s current decision was a good one, and only a few of the leaders agreed with it.

  Mea
ning Henrik’s time in getting the truth out was valuable…and short.

  He deduced he may as well start now, if he didn’t have enough time left to begin with. Perhaps the best way to start was to simply march into the dungeon and apologize to her right off—just to get that out of the way before he started convincing her that the access of her memories was the best for both parties, so they could get started on the healing process and all that jazz.

  Maybe Sophia might be the better person in handling that talk.

  Henrik shook his head, hating the idea of relying on someone too much. He’d been too independent for too long. Hence he never had to rely on anyone other than his fellow dragon shifters. That was few and far between, too, especially since all three of them had now found their mates.

  Once a shifter found his mate and completed the mating process of blood exchange and copulation, the deal was sealed, and there was no turning back. He’d bet his ass his dragon shifter friends enjoyed the latter very, very much.

  Amused at his own musings, Henrik didn’t realize that he was already heading towards the dungeon—an unconscious decision as he walked with his head full of thoughts. There were no guards stationed yet, as Dylan did mention that he needed to find the best rotating candidates first and would have them ready within two hours. With a shrug, he continued walking straight, opening the door as quietly as he could and feeling things out.

  Silence.

  She was probably sleeping, tired.

  Or hurt.

  The scene from earlier flashed in his mind, and now that he was more level-headed, a tiny spark of what felt like guilt hit him in the chest. He ignored it and kept moving down the stairs as he tried to gather the apology that he was probably going to give her. Maybe.

  He opened his mouth, prepared his speech. Then he quietly stepped in front of the cell bars, much as he did earlier before the unfortunate incident.

  The sight that greeted him wasn’t something he expected.

  Red was gone.

  *****

  It took him less than five minutes to find Robbie and tensely let him know the situation, to which Robbie’s face closed off as he nodded his head.

  “I’ll handle things here, Mikhailov. Get her.”

  Then Henrik was practically running back towards the dungeon to study the escape route Red used. The fact that she was able to crumble down the cement was an indication in itself that she had used magic, because he wouldn’t believe she used her bare hands just like that.

  The bars were melted, too.

  Whatever soil was there after the cement was loose was trickling down to the floor. Henrik took only a few seconds to remember the layout before he was walking out of the headquarters door and into the busy streets of New York.

  It had just turned to night, the full moon rising up to give light to his path as he followed the dungeon area and the possible way out. He found it ten minutes later, a pavement path made of light red bricks located at the back of a closed electronics store.

  Damn.

  The phone in his pocket rang. Henrik glanced at the caller ID before answering. “Soph?”

  “I placed a tracking device on her. When I was healing her.”

  “Good job. Where’s she now?”

  “She’s east side now, just nearing the park and heading straight.”

  “Got it.”

  Grimly, Henrik went in that direction, bypassing the crowded streets and opting for the shortcuts that he knew would take him there. The advantage of being a shifter was he could go fast without the necessary noise that accompanied the average human, because shifters had the knack for being naturally light on their feet.

  Just like vampires.

  Witches weren’t light on their feet, considering they were still human—unless they were using a shielding spell. He hoped she hadn’t tapped into that power yet, as Sophia mentioned before that shielding and cloaking took a particular kind of concentration, one so much more than simple destroying spells.

  He had just reached the park and was walking inside the empty area of it for a few minutes when he heard it. Footsteps, fast and light. He recognized Red’s back before she turned a corner towards the trees and disappeared into the fog. Henrik cursed in his head, not liking the eerie section of this park simply because rogue vampires used to hunt here for their victims—those merciless, brainless creatures that looked more like monsters than humans and could kill you with a swipe.

  But those creatures were identified by their nasty stink, and he couldn’t smell anything here.

  So Henrik delved in.

  The thick trees covered the moon now, and only tiny patches of light could be seen. There were dried leaves on the ground, which made navigating them a tad bit difficult as any crunch would indicate his presence. To keep himself useful, he decided to climb up a sturdy branch as silently as he could, settling there as he let his vision spread out across the area.

  Too dark.

  But patience was everything.

  He let himself remain calm as he stayed there on his spot, waiting the darkness out. There were no sounds save for the rare rustling of leaves brought about by the occasional wind. To keep things interesting, he broke off a branch using his shifted hand claws, careful to cut through the moist part to avoid any sound. Then he threw the branch far away, on the opposite side of the area that he’d mapped out in his head. When it landed, it sounded just like someone stepping on them as they crunched the leaves loudly.

  Nothing happened, and no sound was heard in the first twenty minutes.

  Then, just as he was about to find another diversion, he heard it.

  The sound of the same light footsteps as earlier, and the flash of Red’s dark hair as she walked in his direction. Tiptoed, more like.

  With a push, he made a move to land down just in front of her and tell her to stop right before he captured her and dragged her back. But his plan was thwarted as something else happened—a flash of movement, heading from where the branch landed, running their way.

  It growled once.

  Then it was leaping for Red’s turned back.

  Henrik used his momentum to land on the creature instead—a brown-colored bear shifter that had claws ready to strike. Those claws hit Henrik in the arm, one clear swipe that caused pain, and he yelped out before he used his claws to swipe back.

  Red was on the ground, and Henrik was still trying to wrestle with the bear shifter when he saw more flashes of movements. His eyes met hers, startling gray that were looking at him in surprise and horror.

  “Run,” he snapped.

  Then he was shoving the bear out of the way with the use of his surging strength and running towards Red. She made a quick move to stand up, startled at his movement, but he was already dragging her to her feet without so much as a glance as he ordered her to keep running.

  Red was surprisingly fast on her feet, and a look down made him see sparks on her limbs as magic assisted her. He kept his hand on her wrist, surprisingly cold under the semi-hot weather as he led the way out of the park and navigated the streets of the city with a blind urgency. Shit, he didn’t know the roads as well as Robbie, who had been temporary shifter leader before him and had spent more time here while Henrik had gone underground in search for the witch beside him now.

  One dead end and they’d be surrounded—not a pretty scenario when it was just him versus at least ten of them.

  He couldn’t risk it.

  Red had tried tugging her wrist once, but he gave her a glare so harsh that she stopped right after. She didn’t say a word, her feet following his every movement even while she radiated intense dislike.

  They arrived at an alley that held a dead end, and Henrik uttered a curse in his mind. But Red was suddenly pulling him, and he realized she was trying to drag him to the corner. He followed as they stopped, watched in confusion as she held a finger to her lips.

  Then a second or two later, he felt it—her power, surrounding them like a cloak.

  �
��Now you can talk,” she whispered, her voice sounding like whiskey.

  They stared in mutual animosity before he finally spoke.

  “You shouldn’t have escaped,” he muttered under his breath.

  “I had no choice,” she snapped. “Your friends were trying to kill me. I heard it.”

  “Heard what?”

  “Your meeting,” she replied, raising a brow. “You know, you defending me. And then I kept listening in and heard one of them ordering another to kill me before Dylan could place the guards.”

  The meeting was private, and there was only one way she could have found all this out. Henrik glared at her.

  “You have magic.”

  “Sophia returned some, not all,” she said primly. “I still don’t have any memories back.”

  He figured that was the case and was surprised she’d say so. Henrik wondered for a bit if she was hiding something else behind that defiant gaze.

  “You’d better not be hiding anything else from me.”

  “You will never know,” she snapped.

  “Why, you little wi—”

  His words broke off as he saw movement again, right before the shifters entered the alley to investigate. It wasn’t all of them, just a few: three, all bears with beady eyes scanning the area. Henrik tensed, readying himself for attack.

  A few seconds later, they left.

  There was only one person who had full control of the bear clan. Henrik turned to Red.

  “Describe the voice that ordered these men to kill you.”

  “It was male. I didn’t hear the rest because I was too busy escaping.”

  “Describe.”

  She glared back. “Low voice. A bit thick. City accent, rough.”

  It sounded very much like Hans, the leader of the bear shifter clan—and the one who was particularly loud in his want to have Red dead.

  That meant that it wasn’t safe to return to headquarters until all this was sorted out.

  “We can’t stay here forever,” Henrik murmured.

  Red shook her head. “I can’t teleport. Or keep this cloaking up. I don’t remember the spells.”

  He nodded, formulating a plan in his mind. Then he looked up, an idea finally forming. Henrik did his best to whisper it, seeing her eyes widen in incredulity. He didn’t give her time to think it over or refuse as he started undressing, watching her startled eyes close before he dropped the clothes on the ground. The mobile phone, he handed to her.