by Linzi Baxter
The Dragon’s Warlock
Immortal Dragon, Book 4
Linzi Baxter
Contents
1. Diem
2. Gideon
3. Diem
4. Gideon
5. Diem
6. Gideon
7. Diem
8. Gideon
9. Diem
10. Diem
11. Gideon
12. Diem
13. Gideon
14. Diem
15. Gideon
16. Diem
17. Gideon
18. Diem
About the Author
Copyright
The Dragon’s Warlock
Immortal Dragon, Book 4
Copyright © 2020 by Linzi Baxter
Cover Artist: Cassy Roop, Pink Ink Designs
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without permission of the author.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
1
Diem
Diem Logan glanced at the old mansion. She imagined how it looked fifty years ago, with kids playing in the front yard. Now the weeds were so high that she wasn’t sure anyone could walk through the unkempt yard without getting lost. Virginia creeper grew up the side of the home, covering the white paint. She climbed out of her rented car, and her heels crunched against the gravel driveway.
Gideon had promised to call and help her find her sister. Like an idiot, she’d waited by the phone for his call for four days. The call had never come. In the past, she would have ignored the man and gone on to her next plan, but she was out of options. And he owed her.
In his defense, Gideon hadn’t made her go to the bar where a group of men had kidnapped her. The men might have worked for Gideon, but the old warlock hadn’t been in control of his actions at the time. She’d hacked the council’s network and read the post-mission file he’d completed after Nyx broke the bracelet on his wrist. From the file, she’d learned that he didn’t remember much from the past hundred years.
But her inner beast demanded that Gideon help them. The dragon inside her was getting harder to control each day. She didn’t understand how to take charge of her dragon. The other shifters she’d met had been born with the animal inside of them. Not her. A mad scientist had put the dragon in her. She didn’t know if her sister was a dragon also—her sister whom she hadn’t seen in three months.
He’s ours, her inner beast roared as she glanced at the old wood door. This wasn’t the first time her dragon had roared in her head. She wished she could understand how to make it quiet. After she’d helped free Nyx and the council released her into the world, she’d tried to drown out the animal with alcohol, but no matter how much she drank, it didn’t help. The bar tab would grow, and she wouldn’t even feel tipsy.
Gideon didn’t want to help her. She could tell he’d been blowing her off when she asked him for his help in the bar. Her dragon was convinced he would come, but he didn’t. Now she stared up at the old house, wondering if this was the best idea.
She glanced back at her rented car. She had nothing. After Gideon had killed Kael and deemed her not a threat, she went to her small apartment, but the landlord had thrown her stuff away and rented out her place to someone else. The money the council had given her for compensation couldn’t replace the photos of her sister. She still couldn’t believe they’d put a price on turning her into a dragon. One hundred thousand dollars—that was what the council felt was the correct amount of money to give her.
The only thing holding her together was the need to find her sister, Kayda, but she didn’t even have a picture of her to show people. Kael's men had been good when they captured her and Kayda. They’d deleted all evidence of their existence from the internet. The iCloud account she’d stored all of her photos in had been wiped clean along with her Google drive. It was like Diem and Kayda had both vanished.
The large wood door opened before she could knock, revealing Gideon. He was a big man with short dark hair, and his black shirt strained against his biceps. Colorful tattoos covered his arms. He stood with his arms crossed. His eyes flashed bright green for a second.
Despite his frown, she climbed the last three steps. She’d given herself multiple pep talks before getting in her car and driving the hour it took to get to Gideon’s house hidden in the West Virginia mountains. Stay strong.
She squared her shoulders and walked into his house. He growled as she moved past him. Instead of scaring her, it made her dragon melt into a puddle. It was a good thing she had more control over her body than her dragon did when it came to wanting to press herself against Gideon.
The inside of his house was depressing. There were no pictures on the wall. The grand entryway was empty. She walked through his main room into the adjacent one. She’d spotted a bar from the door and needed a drink, so she proceeded to it, poured herself a glass of scotch, and downed the smooth liquor in one shot.
“That bottle cost me over a grand,” the tall, sexy warlock growled. “I don’t remember inviting you in.”
Diem shrugged. “Last time I checked, your men turned me into a dragon, not a vampire. And why would you buy expensive liquor when you can’t even get drunk?”
Gideon closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Unlike the open entryway, the study had furniture. Old books lined the walls. None of them had shirtless men on the covers like the romance books she liked to read. These books looked old and boring.
He walked over and poured himself a glass from the same bottle, but he took a sip instead of downing it in one gulp. “They weren’t my men. They belonged to Kael.”
She believed him. Given that she’d read every report she could get ahold of, Diem knew he hadn’t had control of himself during her transformation from human to dragon, but he’d been there when they put the needle in her arm that changed her life. He gave the order. When she’d woken up as a dragon, every instinct had pulled her toward the man.
She struggled to control herself around him. He didn’t show any sign that she affected him the way he affected her. The dragon within her thought he was hiding it. The human knew he wasn’t interested. But for some mysterious reason, he was the only person she felt she could trust. Maybe it was because she knew Kael had taken Gideon’s control away—somewhat comparable to what Kael had done to her.
She poured herself another drink. “Maybe they weren’t yours, but they listened to you.”
“It doesn’t matter now. What I want to know is why you’re here.” He walked over to a large brown couch and sat down. The energy vibrating in the room didn’t match his relaxed personality.
“We had an agreement.” Diem had tracked Gideon to a shifter bar and
asked for his help.
“I didn’t say when I was going to help,” he said.
“My sister is in a lab. Who knows what they are doing to her—maybe creating a two-headed dragon.”
“Two-headed dragons don’t exist.” He shrugged.
“Six months ago, I didn’t think people could turn into animals, so give me a second to get caught up on what is far-fetched. The council is taking its time to find the other facilities. I know deep in my bones that my sister is alive.”
“What makes you think I can help you find them? I don’t work for the council anymore.”
“Because you’re an overgrown baby. You never should have quit.”
“I gave years of my life to the council.” Gideon’s eyes blazed green, and purple magic sparked from his fingers.
She never knew when to keep her mouth shut. He’d served on the council for years and claimed he was retiring because he’d served long enough and it was someone else’s turn. But she wondered if there was another reason for him retiring. “I’m sorry.” She let out a sigh. “Kayda is the only family I have left, and my dragon only trusts you.”
“Are you sure you want to know what happened to her?”
“I know she’s still alive. We’re twins, and the connection is still there.” Growing up, she could always sense when her sister was hurt or sad. Nobody believed she could feel these things, but she knew Gideon would understand. When she was in foster care, she’d been made fun of when she tried to explain the connection between her and Kayda.
“That connection you have with your sense is one reason they chose you. Not everyone can tap into that. But it doesn’t mean I want to go on a mission with someone who doesn’t understand the supernatural world.”
Diem’s blood boiled. “I wasn’t given a choice about being part of this world. And after my transformation, they didn’t give me a Dragons for Dummies book. Nope. I was sent on missions and told to grab people, and if I didn’t listen, I was shocked. Not the shock you get from the carpet. This hurt worse than a cattle prod.” The second foster family she’d lived with had used cattle prods for discipline.
“You’re right.”
She blinked a couple of times. He’d agreed with her. Maybe she was starting to sway him to help her. “So you’ll help?”
“What have you figured out so far? I don’t remember much from when I was controlled, so I don’t have the laboratory’s locations.” He downed the rest of his scotch.
In the files she’d hacked, she’d read that Gideon had undergone tests to figure out what he couldn’t remember. A person by the name of Talia had touched him and tried to dig out his memories, but his mind had been blank.
“But you know how this world works?” she asked.
“Just because I’m the oldest warlock doesn’t mean I know everything.” He frowned at his empty glass. The bottle vanished from the bar and reappeared in his hand.
“How old are you?” Every chance Diem got, she devoured information on Gideon. She hadn’t found much.
He narrowed his eyes. “That’s personal.”
“I’m thirty-three. Before Kael’s men kidnapped me, I worked as an airline pilot. Now my dragon hates being in airplanes. I tried to go back to my life. I wasn’t trying to be rude by asking your age.”
“Most supernatural creatures don’t enjoy plane rides,” he replied, still not answering her original question. She wanted to know how his magic worked and what made him happy—she had yet to see a smile cross his face. Even when he’d been controlled, he never smiled. It seemed he’d had a permanent frown since the day she first saw him. Back then, his eyes had never flashed green, and his skin had been sickly pale.
“You’re a very frustrating person to talk to. I’ll do anything to find my sister, even if that means coming to your house and begging. If you want to help me, tell me who in the community I can get to help look for her.” Even though she could change into a dragon, the supernatural world still scared her. She didn’t understand the things her dragon demanded.
“Beg? All you’ve done is demand I help you.”
Her pride always stopped her from getting on her knees and begging. She’d never asked for food when her foster parents told her she couldn’t have any until she finished cleaning the house. She’d never begged for a ride home even when it was pouring rain. Instead, she’d held her coat over her sister's head, and they’d walked home in the freezing shower.
“If I got on my knees and begged, would you help me?” she asked.
His eyes flashed. “Diem, if you get on your knees, it won’t be to beg.”
“And what would I be doing?” Her face turned hot.
He shook his head. “Let’s discuss where she might be.”
And the flirty side of Gideon was gone in a blink of an eye, his scowl back in place.
“There is a psychic in Florida who can help find people,” she said.
He scowled. “Emma?”
“Yes!” She bounced on the edge of her seat. “Do you know her? I’ve tried to contact her, but she won’t answer my calls.”
“Of course I know who she is. What are you planning on doing—showing up on her doorstep, similar to what you did today?”
“If you think it will work.” She shrugged.
“Emma is part fairy. You need to bring a special trinket for the fairy garden.”
“Fairy garden? You mean little houses with stones and gems?” She didn’t have a cool item to give, but she had some money now, so she could buy a trinket on the trip to Florida.
“You can’t go to the store and buy jewelry. To ask for a finder's spell, you need to bring something special and rare.”
“How am I supposed to know what to give a fairy? I thought she was a psychic. Someone would make a killing if they made a Dummies book for the supernatural world and its rules.”
“Everyone is born into the world, and the knowledge is passed from generation to generation,” he said.
“Well, you should’ve told the rules to the mad scientist who figured out how to change me into a dragon.” Diem downed the remaining scotch and wished she had Gideon’s powers to grab the bottle from the bar.
“He wasn’t a mad scientist.” His lips flattened. “He was a warlock.”
“Was he as old as you?” She walked back to the bar to refill her drink. “Or was he older than you?”
“Does my age matter?”
“I told you mine. Why is it such a secret?”
He massaged the back of his neck. “Nobody ever asked my age or cared. Most people know I’m the oldest warlock alive and used to be the most powerful. But if it will make you happy, I’m eleven hundred sixty-two years old.”
“I want to make an old-person joke, but since you finally told me your age, I’ll keep it to myself. You’re the most powerful warlock in the world. And in a long life, we all have crappy years. You might’ve had a few more than you wanted. Now is the time to get your mojo back.”
“You aren’t going to drop this, are you?”
“She’s my sister,” Diem said. “Wouldn’t you do the same for your family?”
“I don’t have siblings, and my parents died saving me when I was a child.”
Her heart broke for the old warlock. He’d never had anyone to love him. She only had her sister, but they both would do anything for each other.
“I will owe you.”
“Anything?” he asked.
She didn’t have much, but Kayda meant the world to her. “Whatever you want.”
“I’ll help.”
Before she could ask what he wanted, his head tilted to the side, and his eyes narrowed. She strained her ears but couldn’t hear anything. Her dragon grumbled at her for not using her full abilities. Of course, nobody had taught her how to use her dragon.
Gideon jumped up from the couch and wrapped his hand around her lower arm. “They're here.” He shoved her toward the back of the study. She only saw bookcases until he pushed a lever and the door opened. He
wasn’t saying a word, only pushing her along. Her feet faltered as she took the next step. The only thing stopping her from stumbling on down the narrow stairs was Gideon’s hand around her wrist. His grip tightened as she started to fall.
When they made it to the bottom of the stairs, Gideon waved his hand, and the lanterns on the wall lit up. “Move,” he growled.
When they were thirty feet into the passage, an explosion sounded above them. The walls shook dirt, and rocks fell from the man-made tunnel. Someone was after Gideon or her.
2
Gideon
Diem made him feel things he hadn’t felt before. That was the main reason he’d never tried to contact her again after she came to the bar. Her long blond hair bounced in its ponytail as they ran down the small passage. He hadn’t used the underground tunnels in years and hoped the door at the end would open. She didn’t question him as he shoved her through the passage. As they raced toward the exit, she laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, watching the sway of her hips. “You know someone might’ve blown up my house, right?” His house in West Virginia didn’t feel like home, but something had kept him from leaving. He was sure the reason he hadn’t escaped to Ireland was that he wanted a certain blond woman.
“I have a nervous tick. When I’m in danger or someone gets hurt, I laugh.” She glanced at him.
He liked the way her brows drew together as she waited for his answer. He was glad she laughed at danger instead of crying. Gideon didn’t do well with tears or emotions. It was easier to keep his feelings bottled up.
