by Julia Mills
Pushing his chair away from the table, Adramelech casually made his way to her. Holding out the same grimy talon-tipped paw that had ripped the flesh from her body so many times, the Chancellor sweetly smiled and asked, “Join me for drinks in the parlor?”
Audrey hadn’t ever seen a parlor or anything remotely resembling a parlor, but she knew his request was only a formality and one she could not refuse. Led to a part of the castle she’d never seen before, the princess stepped into a huge theatre-like room that no one in their right mind would ever consider a parlor.
Following Adramelech to the very center of the auditorium, Audrey carefully sat on the red crushed velvet seat he pulled down for her and accepted what smelled like brandy in a delicately etched glass snifter. Jeeves shuffled in with a tray of tiny petit fours and sat it on the small round tea table between her and the Demon Lord.
“I hope you like the film. I know how much you’ve enjoyed the ones the Hunter Demons brought back in years past.”
No sooner had the Chancellor finished speaking than the lights dimmed. Trailers of upcoming movies, Audrey figured the humans lucky enough to live topside would be enjoying over the next few months, played on the big screen before her. Then came the main attraction.
Audrey gasped as an overhead view of the castle she and her family had once called home appeared in vivid color. The image grew as the camera moved closer to its subject. The single violin playing a haunting melody from her childhood grew to an incredibly accomplished orchestra, as the lens focused on what she knew without a doubt was her mother and father’s wedding day.
Tears flowed unchecked as Audrey’s entire life played out in front of her; the only comfort coming from the warm amber liquid she continued to sip. The princess had imagined her uncle’s deal with Adramelech and the subsequent murder of her father many times, but until that moment, had never actually witnessed them. Her heart broke all over again to see the look of horror in her father’s eyes when he realized it was his own brother who had singed away the king’s life. The only solace she felt was that he never knew of her fate; never knew she had become the servant of a demon.
Accepting her third dram of brandy, Audrey wanted to scream when every detail of the night she met Rian came into view. She’d always known Adramelech had planned it all. What she hadn’t known was that he’d been tracking her family since her parent’s wedding. It only made sense since her fate as a dragon warrior’s mate had been decided long before by the all-knowing Universe.
The only thing she could never figure out was how the Chancellor knew. He was not in good standing with the Universe or anything remotely good, so how had he found out. Which led her to wonder if he knew that, how did he not know Rian’s name. Wouldn’t finding out who her intended was have been part and parcel of finding out she was a mate? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Audrey’s vision blurred slightly then quickly cleared. She guessed it was from all the hits to the head she’d received recently and took another drink from her sifter.
Just another conundrum...
All of her questions mattered little at this stage of the game. Adramelech had her. The Demon Lord had accomplished that much, but Audrey had stopped him from getting Rian or even her mate’s name, and that was information she was taking to her grave.
Listing to the side, Audrey squinted against her now constantly blurring vision as recent pictures of Rian and his brothers appeared in living Technicolor before her. Setting her drink on the table, the princess grabbed the arms of her chair and held herself upright as best she could.
Something was wrong...really wrong. Not only was she having trouble sitting upright and her eyes refused to focus, but now the room seemed to be spinning. Summoning all the strength she had left, Audrey stared at the screen. The crescendo of the music swelled, making her ears ring as she watched Rian instruct what had to be the men he’d told her about over the years. Some she recognized from pictures he’d shown her...others merely from his descriptions.
Her mate stood tall, obviously in charge, pointing at a huge map stretched across a massive wooden table. The camera angle changed and now she could see what they were looking at, where they were planning to go, and all she could do was scream, “Noooooooooooo....!”
There on the table was a map of hell. Rian, her wonderful, amazing, stubborn as a mule dragon was mounting a rescue. He was coming to save her. Her heart was overflowing with the love and admiration for the man the Universe had chosen for her while she tried not to slide off her chair. He hadn’t given up on her.
She smiled a sad smile, praying to God and the Heavens to do whatever they could to stop him. It was a trap. A trap set by the Demon Lord sitting right next to her. Her mind was foggy, her senses failing, and her consciousness slipping away.
Adramelech scooped her out of her chair before the movie was over, but Audrey had gotten the jest. The bastard was one-step ahead. They’d gotten away with fooling him all those years, but now; he had the upper hand and was going to use it to destroy them all.
He carried her out of the parlor through the dining room as her vision narrowed to a pinpoint. Handing her off to someone she didn’t or couldn’t recognize, the Demon Lord ordered, “You know what to do. I never want to see this traitorous piece of trash again,” just as Audrey’s vision was failing and the ringing in her ears made it impossible for her to hear.
Rian...don’t...come...
Chapter Seven
Seven hours deciding how to maneuver hell, rescue his mate, and find a dragon thought dead for two-thirds of his life, and Rian was ready for a shower, a half a cow, and a stiff drink...in that order. Walking home, the Dragon Leader focused on the link to his mate burning brightly within his soul. He, like that light, was praying to find his mate, whole, healthy, and ready to come home.
“We’re about a mile out,” Lennox, the Guardsman with a pension for explosions, stated through mindspeak.
“Good, I could use your opinions on something.”
“Wouldn’t be about a dark-haired beauty, an ugly son of a bitch demon, and a trip to hell, would it?” Declan, the medic of the group and straight shooter in any situation, asked. Rian smiled to himself, thinking about the day Rory gave Dec the nickname ‘Joe Friday’ because he literally said ‘just the facts’ when they were planning to take down a rogue pack of hunters.
“I see my brother has been talking again.” Rian chuckled.
“Wasn’t Rory this time,” Pearce, the peacemaker of the group, answered. “Kell hollered at us last night, but we were in the middle of a firefight with hunters and wizards and only caught bits and pieces.”
“Plus, you know Kell isn’t much of a talker,” Lennox snickered, making them all chuckle and agree. “He did, however, tell us about you knocking Maddox on his ass. How is the old guy, by the way?”
Rian was sure they knew more than they were saying and were giving him time to tell his side of the story. Needing to explain his actions and enlist their help, he said, “He’ll be fine. We solved our differences like teenage boys and now it’s all good.” He chuckled, shaking his head before continuing, “Why don’t y’all head over to my place after you land? Kyra and Sam stocked the fridge and I was thinking pizza sounded good.”
“Damn good,” Declan heartily agreed in a brief show of emotion.
“Better order several, we’re starving. Living on rations for the last week has sucked,” Lennox complained.
“We’ll be there.” Rian could hear the smile in Pearce’s voice. “Heavens knows these two think they’re about to starve. Food’s all they’ve been thinking about for the last two hundred miles. I keep telling them they’re not going to starve, but it seems my words have fallen on deaf ears.”
Laughing, Rian teased, “Eight pizzas coming up.”
“Only two pies each? Are we being punished?”
Lennox was still laughing as Rian said, “Just hurry up. We’ve got lots to talk about and time’s running out.”
“You got it. La
nding now. See you in ten.”
“See you then.” Rian cut their connection, pulled his cell phone out, and dialed Carmentis.
They had the best pizza and the shortest delivery time plus they didn’t bat an eye when he ordered twelve extra-large pizzas, a hundred wings, and three dozen breadsticks. Rian knew Rory and Kellan were coming to his house after checking on the trainees and where there were two O’Reilly brothers, the third was sure to follow. One way or another, there was going to be a horde at his house and just like him, they were all always hungry.
The Dragon Leader barely made it home and got a shower before he heard the back door open and Lennox call out, “Anybody home? Everybody dressed? The party has arrived.”
Padding down the hall on bare feet, Rian turned the corner and answered, “The party, huh? I was thinking more like the wrecking crew.” Clapping his brethren on the back in welcome, he teased, “Blow up anything good?”
Lennox nodded like a child who’d just been asked what he got from Santa, but it was Declan who answered in his typical no nonsense tone. “He blew up everything in his path and a few things that just happened by. Where’s the pizza?”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the doorbell rang. Grabbing his wallet off the counter, Rian paid and tipped the pizza delivery guy, along with the driver’s coworker who’d come along to help carry all the food. Precariously carrying their dinner to the kitchen table, Rian had to laugh as his brethren each grabbed a box when he walked by and were eating before he made it to the kitchen table.
In between bites, Rian explained everything, just as he had three times before. It was getting tedious but the Dragon Leader knew he’d screwed up from the beginning. So, if all it took to get back in the good graces of the people he called family was to tell his tale, then he would talk until he was blue in the face.
“You’ve really been summoning your mate from hell for almost ninety years right under our big dumb noses?” Lennox asked, looking over his beer bottle as he took a long draw.
“Yes, but let me make this clear, I added a ton of my magic to the Cloaking Spell Eleanor gave me to make sure none of you ever found out. I seriously thought it would take a couple of months, maybe a year to find a way to bring Audrey home. I never guessed a century later that I’d be having this conversation with y’all. Time got away from me. The secrets grew so large I didn’t know where to begin to tell anyone, so I didn’t. I just kept hoping and praying. Then we found Drago and with him, the Focus Stone. I knew it was what I needed, what the journal had talked about. Once I had renewed hope, I didn’t stop to think, I simply acted.”
“I know you told us about the Demon Lord’s book, but can I see it?” Lennox asked.
“Yeah, if you don’t blow it up,” Royce joked, entering through the backdoor, closely followed by Rory, Lance, and Kellan. “And as soon as Kyra and Calysta are done deciphering a few other entries they found that they think will help free Audrey.” He nodded to his brother while heading towards the kitchen.
“Let me guess, you smelled food?” Rian teased as each man grabbed two or three pieces of pizza and a beer on his way past the table.
“You know it,” Rory said just as he shoved half a piece of pie into his mouth.
Shaking his head, Royce further explained, “Kyra, Calysta, Sam, and the McKennons have taken over our house to discuss the magic we’re gonna need to get into and out of hell. Calysta says she’s heard of a spell using the Focus Stone but is leery to activate that much black magic, especially when dealing with hell itself. Eleanor and her monk were on the way and quite frankly, she has always given me the creeps,” he shuddered. “So when Rory said he and Kell were coming over here, I ran for the hills.”
“And when Sam said she wanted to stay and learn, I ran right behind him,” Lance added.
“That’s a lot of witches in one place,” Declan said in a matter of fact tone that made the entire room burst into laughter.
“And Dec comes in for the score.” Rory chuckled then turned to Royce. “Your little witch coming along for the ride?”
“Not if I have anything to say about it?”
“So that would be a yes?” Brannoc jokingly answered as he walked through the back door. “Any pizza left?” His last question could barely be heard over the roar of laughter at Royce’s expense.
When he could finally speak, Rian added, “Come on, Roy, we all know who wears the pants in your house?”
“What can I say? She’s got me wrapped around her little finger.” Royce grinned like a fool in love but quickly winked and added while lifting his half-full beer bottle in salute to his older brother, “Just as your mate will do to you.”
The middle O’Reilly brother paused and squinted his eyes, pretending to be thinking about something before asking, “What was it you said to me? I think it went something like ‘Oh, how the mighty have fallen.’”
Laughing so hard he had to pause before finishing, Royce finally gained his composure enough to say, “And brother, there’s no mightier than you.”
For the next hour or so the men laughed and talked, enjoying the comradery that can only come from friends who have not only known each other for most of their lives, but have also saved one other from certain death more times than any can remember. Through it all, Audrey never left his mind. He knew she would fit in perfectly. Longed to have her by his side, laughing and joking...and happy.
“Thinking about your mate?” Royce asked quietly while the others continued to talk.
“Yeah, I just can’t get her off my mind tonight. Not that she isn’t there every second of every hour of every day,” Rian sadly chuckled, “but this is different. Something’s changed. I just ho...”
“Stop right there. That crap leads to no good. You have to trust Audrey. Know that she has taken care of herself all these years and she’ll keep doing just that until you fly in and save the day.”
“Would you trust Kyra?”
“Damn straight! I trust her to take care of herself because she’s all that matters.”
“Aww...isn’t that sweet?” Rory pretended to be gagging right before Lance smacked him in the back of the head.
“Just wait till it’s your turn, funny guy. I remember doing the same thing you’re doing. I gave Rayne and Aidan so much shit after Kyndel and Grace that I’m lucky to still be alive. Now, I have Sam and...well...Syd sometimes, and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without them.” Lance looked happy and sad all at the same time, a confusion Rian could definitely relate to.
“Okay, okay, let’s not get all weepy up in here. We’ve got a demon’s ass to kick, a dragon to find, and a girl to save. Hell, we get to be the heroes...again.” Lennox laughed. “Now, get us all caught up so I can go get some shut eye. I don’t know about these two,” he pointed to Pearce and Declan, “but I’m beat.”
“It’s rough getting old isn’t it?” Rory ducked right before Declan threw a pillow at his head.
“Look who’s talking? You’re older than I am.”
“By four whole months,” Rory whined, throwing the pillow back.
“All right children.” Rian chuckled from the kitchen table where he had spread out the map of hell after throwing away the empty pizza boxes.
Waving everyone over, the Dragon Leader motioned to the map. “You’re up Brann. Show ‘em where we’re going.”
Rian sat back and listened to the detailed plans of their entrance into hell. Brannoc had done his homework. The navigator of the group had found the most direct route into the Underworld. He could now get them to within a mile of Adramelech’s castle without ever entering the common areas where they were most likely to be caught by any number of hell’s inhabitants. They had a plan to maneuver the realms of the Abyss to get to the River Lethe and most importantly, how to get to one of the seven portals leading back topside. Of course, all Brannoc’s plans were contingent on them being lucky enough to still be alive.
Go figure.
“You wa
nt to add anything else, Ri?” Brannoc asked.
“Not that I can think of, except we need to have Calysta and Kyra tell us what they’ve found out and we need to make sure Drago is up to speed.”
“For sure. I told Alicia I would give him the run down tomorrow morning. Siobhan gave him another treatment for his eyesight. From what I’ve seen, they kick his ass for about twelve hours. The migraine is almost unbearable,” Royce was quick to respond.
“You sure he should go?” Rory asked.
Shocking everyone in the room, it was Kellan who stood and answered with a passion he rarely displayed. “You’re damn straight he needs to go. I may not be the Commander of our Force at the moment, but I can tell you there’s no way in Heaven or hell one or all of you could keep me from being right by your side if you needed me. Kayne is Drago’s man. He’s the Assassin’s Fire. You can’t deny him the opportunity to be part of his brethren’s rescue.”
Before anyone could respond, the scarred dragon turned and left. A stunned silence sat heavy between the remaining Guardsmen until Rian finally spoke. “Man’s got a point. Drago goes. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” they all answered in unison.
Brow furrowed, Rory stood and headed to the door, speaking over his shoulder as he went. “I’m going to check on Kell. Talk to ya’ later.”
“Later,” Rian and Royce answered while everyone else watched in silence.
“Well, this just got real.” Lance sighed, immediately getting elbowed by Lennox then complaining, “Ow, damn Lenn, that hurt.”
“It was supposed to,” the Guardsman chuckled.
Royce nodded and grinned. “Thanks, Lenn. That’s usually my job.”
“Whatever, old man. You try, but I’m too fast.” Lance jumped out of his chair and began bouncing on the balls of his feet with his fists raised, throwing punches at an imaginary opponent.
Rolling his eyes, Rian could only shake his head as Lance bobbed and weaved while Royce laughed at him. Soon, everyone was in on the action and the Dragon Leader had to wonder if any of them would ever grow up.
