To Light the Dragon's Fire

by Margaret Taylor

  Symbols of great power had been carved into the lid and it popped up at his softly spoken command. Laying among folds of black rethus cloth was a curved, ceremonial dagger covered in jewels. The bloody thing was worth more than he could make in five Suns and he carefully avoided the blade. Fastened to the underside of the lid were six vials, several colored stones etched with all manner of runes and jewels and a number of tightly rolled parchments.

  He pulled a roll free, along with the blue communication stone. Unfurling the security spell, he silently mouthed the words written in Unicorn blood and waited several heartbeats to ensure it melded around his entire office before activating the stone. Pressing on the second circle, he tapped a foot impatiently while the connection was established.

  The stone fizzled before opening enough to spew a cloud of dark smoke into the air with a belch. The disembodied head of his Master formed in the pool, the power in his voice sending shivers down his spine.

  Golix’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why do you bother me?”

  Tyleios pushed his chair back, dropped to his knees, folded his hands and bowed his head. “Forgive me, Master. But the ferret is…”

  “Is what?” Golix interrupted.

  Ty lifted his gaze. “He was just here, expressing concern.”

  Golix’s eyes rolled and he muttered something malevolent under his breath Ty couldn’t make out. “Then deal with him. That is what I pay you for, is it not?”

  He dropped his eyes back to the floor quickly. “Yes, Master. Sorry to interrupt.”

  Golix snorted. “Do not do so for something so trivial again. Do I make myself clear?”

  Ty gulped, nodding. “Yes, Master. Very clear.”

  There was pride in Golix’s next statement. “Good. I would so dearly hate to lose my best inside man because he did not take the initiative when it was necessary.”

  Ty looked up, ready to smile at the praise but Golix’s image disappeared back into the stone. It folded closed and he tucked it and the parchment back in their spots within the box. Closing everything and locking the drawer with another spell, he rose and paced the office.

  Furiem would have to go before he could put the pieces together, but the question became, how. An accident, yes, but what?

  What could he do that wouldn’t come directly back at him…

  ***

  Arin had no idea what this Disneyland place might be, probably a Kingdom in her land, but the fact that she had a sense of humor about this whole thing widened his smile. And with her statement, he realized they were indeed alone.

  Pushing off the ground, he sheathed Thonu and moved silently around the tree he’d taken refuge behind. “I have no clue what you say, but I am sure I can get you where you want to go.”

  The woman shrieked and spun. Her fire-red hair blazed in the light, casting a halo of color around her face and neck. Her fists came up, ready to defend and her silvery eyes sparkled with defiance.

  His twin hearts seized in his chest and the humid air of the jungle refused to pass his nostrils. Ancient words, ones he’d not heard since he was a youngling, rose to the forefront of his thoughts.

  Dragon’s Fire and Dragon’s Ire. One shall wake, the other shall bait. One will mate, the other will wait. Come together, they will do. Open a door, to a war renew…

  He gulped, the moment passing. “It cannot be.”

  Lanni’s hands lowered a bit and she tilted her head quizzically. “What?”

  He hadn’t taken note of it on the rooftop, but now, seeing her in this light, it dawned on him the women were twins. Spitting images of one another, actually. The only difference he could see was their hair. Lanni’s was just a shade lighter than Terra’s.

  The ancient words roamed across his thoughts again and he tried to make sense of them. But he wasn’t a Teller, wasn’t the purveyor of words others in his clan were. He did know one and made a note to ask once they returned. “Never mind.” He waved a dismissive hand. “We need to leave this place.”

  Her fists dropped further. “You’re friends with that guy who saved my sister. You were on the rooftop, weren’t you?”

  “I was.” He moved a step closer. “He is with your sister now. They should have already returned to the Capitol.”

  Her hands relaxed, hanging loosely at her sides. “Oh. Well, did you bring a car or a helicopter or something then? To get us back?”

  He understood the word car, but not this heli-thing. “No,” he clipped. “We shall fly.”

  “Ok.” Her eyes flashed with skepticism. “How?”

  He bent to his hands and knees, fingers digging deep into the soil and called upon the ancient magics his kind used. It enveloped him quickly and when the transformation was complete he turned his long body toward her.

  “Easy,” his left head said. “Enough,” his right finished.

  ***

  “Wait, what?”

  Draven stared down into her confused eyes. “You are my mate,” he said again.

  She backed away, her voice drifting an octave higher than he’d heard so far. “Um, no. I am not your mate. Why ever would you think that?”

  “Only a mate can light the Dragon’s Fire.”

  “Come again?”

  He sighed and crossed his arms. She didn’t believe him. “Only a mate can light the Dragon’s Fire,” he said a second time, slowing the words so she’d understand.

  She bumped into the wall and her hands dropped back to clutch at the stones. “Ok, wait, just wait a minute. Back this up. Start at the beginning. I don’t even know you mister and you’re trying to tell me I’m your mate?”

  “That is correct.”

  Had she bumped her head or been injured some other way he couldn’t see? Concerned, he moved toward her but she backed away another step, keeping a good two lengths of distance between them. He held out his hands, hoping to placate the fear in her eyes. “I was just going to see if you are injured.”

  She snorted. “I assure you, I’m not. But I am getting concerned about you. Does your claustrophobia cause delusions or anything?”

  “Not that I am aware of,” he replied. “Why?”

  Her eyes rolled. “Because that’s the only thing that would explain it.”

  “Explain what?”

  She stomped a foot. “Your deluded belief that I’m your mate! I can’t be! I’m getting married in a few days!”

  Jealousy the likes of which he’d never even contemplated rippled through every bit of his body. Smoke coiled out of his nose, despite a concerted effort on his part to stop it. Green flames sparked against his palms and slithered around his hands. He clenched them into fists, hoping to stem the swell of emotion but failed miserably as the flames crept up his wrists and over his forearms.

  “Explain,” he bit out.

  She took another step, widening the gap even more. “I’m engaged. As soon as I get back, I’m getting married.”

  He ground his teeth and the flames crept higher. “To whom?”

  Her lips pinched together, the fear replaced with something he couldn’t read. “Nolan Harrington the fifth,” she said in a tight voice.

  “Is he Dragonkin?”

  “Is he what?” she countered, eyes wide.

  He paced the words, fists shaking. “Is, he, like, me?”

  Her face twisted through a myriad of emotions. Disgust, unease, trepidation maybe even a bit of foreboding warred across her soft skin but she turned away before he could interrupt more. “No,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around her stomach. “He is nothing like you.”

  The jealousy eased and the flames slowed their progress, settling just below his armpits. It certainly didn’t sound like this Nolan Harrington the Fifth would be competition. “Then why do you mate with him?”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose, her reply soft, womanly, and full of regret. “I don’t have a choice.”

  The flames slid higher again and he did his best to stamp them down. He failed, just like before, but he did tr
y. “There is always a choice.”

  Her eyes swung back to him, glowing with tortured anxiety. “No, there isn’t. Not for me.”

  The fire crept another inch, curling over his shoulders and close to his neck. His fists shook and had this Nolan person been in his vicinity, his untimely death would have been assured. Thankfully he was not and that helped him gain control of himself again. Sort of. “Is he forcing this arrangement upon you?”

  She jerked, almost as if he’d slapped her and dropped her eyes toward his feet. “No. He’s not. It’s my choice.” Her gaze came back up and her bottom lip quivered just a bit, her vulnerability showing through for the first time. “I have to do what’s right.”

  He jerked this time, startled by her confession. “For whom? Clearly you do not love him. You cannot. You are my mate, you belong to me.”

  Before he knew what she was about, she pushed off the wall, the silver of her eyes darkening. She closed the distance between them, booted feet sending small puffs of dirt up into the air and slapped him hard across the cheek. Stunned to his very core, he stood there, just managing to catch the words she ground out in the aftermath.

  “I belong to no one.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Oh, ouch, that had to hurt Your Majesty.”

  They both looked up at the comment to find Golix and several of his minions ringing the lip of their prison.

  He opened his mouth to reply but noticed the end of a vine snaking over the side. It descended towards them and he pulled Terra behind his back. “Stay close.”

  She said nothing but there was a sharp intake of air followed by a low, angry growl.

  Several more vines joined the first, slithering across the slick stones. He held tight to his jealousy, drawing it to his palms. He waited until the first vine was halfway down the wall and let the flames go, aiming for the tip.

  It landed, licked at the dry foliage, which screeched like a living thing and retreated.

  “Tell me more about this Nolan,” he whispered over his shoulder. “Now!” Terra murmured something he couldn’t make out and he added, “Quickly, it might be our only chance.”

  “Fine,” she grumbled. “He’s tall, like you, but afraid to get his hands dirty, unlike you.”

  That was a start, but his possessive nature needed more. “No! How do you really feel about him?”

  She sighed and there was a roll of her eyes in the next words. “He’s a nice guy, ok? A decent sort. But he’s going to expect me to stay home, take care of any children we have and not run the company like I’ve been doing for the last five years…”

  The mere thought she might have the child of another man was more than enough to send his emotions spiraling out of control. The once green flames morphed into a bright red and he used that, firing off ball after ball at the vines as they descended. Every hit was true and they shrieked in pain, recoiling back the way they’d come. Sadly, they were only replaced by new ones and before long, thick smoke from their burning tendrils hung in the air, hiding the upper edge of the pit from his sight.

  It hadn’t been much of a plan, but maybe the smoke could aid them as well. When he could no longer see Golix and his minions, he spun, gripping Terra’s forearms.

  “Do you trust me?”

  Indecision twisted across her features. “Maybe?”

  He tightened his grip. In order for this to work, there had to be no doubt on her part. “Do you trust me!?”

  A muscle in her jaw ticked. “Yes! Fine! Whatever! I trust you!”

  The magic Golix used hadn’t apparently countered the power of his Dragon’s Fire or the natural strength of his body. He just hoped it was enough. Coupled with the covering of smoke between them and the Unicorn, it might be. Dropping his hands to her waist, every muscle in his body quivered with adrenaline. “When you land, run east. Head north at the beach. You’ll find a garrison of men where the land curves. Do you understand?”

  She seemed to glean a measure of his intentions and her hands rose, curling into the material of his shirt. “Wait! What about you? I’m not leaving you down here…”

  Briefly he leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “I will be fine. You are more important.”

  Her fingers twisted tighter and her words were thick with emotion. “No!” she said firmly. “I am not leaving you!”

  He untangled her grip, splaying her palm over his hearts. “You never will.”

  Before she could argue further, he grasped her by the waist again, bent his legs and launched her into the air…

  ***

  Golix bellowed the moment Terra cleared the pit and went sailing off into the jungle. He watched, unbelieving as she crashed through several low hanging branches and disappeared a good hundred lengths away. “No!”

  He pushed at the nearest minions with his flank, shoving them toward where he’d last seen her. “Bring her back! Alive!”

  “Yes Master…”

  Several scampered off and he turned back, huffing out a snort. “Well played Draven, but it will not save you!”

  The King’s laughter drifted up to his ears. “I care little.”

  Golix cracked a hoof against the ground and more vines coiled away from the trees, descending into the smoke filled prison. There was a long bellow of rage and they snapped this way and that.

  The dragon bastard was fighting, but it only served to delay the inevitable!

  “Enough!”

  Swishing his tail, the smoke cleared and the vines shot down as one, wrapping around the King from several angles. Lifting him up, the poor fellow continued to struggle wildly, bucking and heaving against the encompassing foliage with all his strength.

  Not that it did him any good but he’d give the bastard praise for the effort. If he were so inclined. But he wasn’t. His plans were falling to the Nether Worlds! All the Suns he’d schemed and plotted, placing people loyal to him at the highest levels of the King’s Court, working tirelessly for this one day! To be for naught was not in the magics!

  He would succeed, he’d worked too hard not to!

  Directing the tendrils to draw the King closer, he spoke, knowing the words would be carried by his minions to her ears…

  ***

  She couldn’t breathe!

  Panting, Terra tore through the jungle, not daring to stop and check for signs of pursuit. She could hear them though, in the distance, closing faster than she would like. She hated leaving Draven, but he was right.

  Even though he didn’t say it. They needed help!

  He was too proud to ask, but the directions he’d given left no doubt what he wanted her to do…

  She leapt a moldy, rotting log but her boot caught, pitching her forward. She tried to cushion the impact, tucking onto her side seconds before the ground came up to meet her. Rolling pell-mell through the thick, wet leaves she ended up on her back, staring at the canopy above.

  Dragging the humid air into her lungs in great gulps, it was hard to tell if the minions were any closer.

  She didn’t dare to wait and find out! Staggering to her feet the moment she caught her breath, she stumbled headlong toward the sun, hoping east was the same as it was in her world…

  She made another mile before leaves rained down from a branch and she skidded to a halt. Perched on one just above her reach was a white raven. It squawked once, black beak snapping shut. Its wings ruffled and it squawked again, leaving its mouth open.

  Golix’s voice drifted across the air. “Terra, return to me and I will let him live. Run and he will die.”

  Son of a bitch!

  The raven’s beak snapped shut again, message delivered, and it lifted off, heading back in the direction she was desperate to escape.

  Dammit!

  She owed Draven nothing. They weren’t married, she didn’t love him, hell they’d never even kissed! But, her gut churned boiling acid at the thought of leaving him to his fate. There was no way she could make it to his men in time.

  If the evil
she sensed in Golix was even halfway accurate, Draven was not long for this world in his hands.

  She kicked at the leaves, sending a spray of them high into the air. “Dammit!” she cursed again. “Fine!” she called out. Spinning on a heel, she started back. “I’m coming…” she yelled after the bird. “I’m coming,” she added more quietly.

  ***

  They caught up to her quickly enough. Taking her by the arms, they twisted both back and guided her to the village. It didn’t take them long to arrive and she didn’t like what she saw when they did.

  In the middle of the huts, stretched between two large poles was Draven. His arms and legs were pulled taut, held in place by thick cuffs she’d never hope to pick open on her best day. Someone had cut off his shirt and by the Gods she’d been raised with, he was gorgeous!

  Bad timing on her part to take notice, sure, but she’d always been a chest girl and his drew and kept her eye! Rock hard planes of muscle strained against the bonds. His flat stomach bunched, quivering with the effort to be free. But the best part, if you could call it that right now, was the tattoo that had been inked between the ridges of his pectorals. She’d always thought them to be somewhat tacky but his was…well, juice inspiring!

  It looked to be a crest, maybe the sign of his house and somewhat Celtic in nature. Strong black lines stretched from nearly one shoulder to the other just below his collar bone. In the center was the bright red head of a vaguely Japanese or Chinese Dragon. Curling away from either side and across his actual pecks was a pair of Celtic looking wings tipped in bright gold. Under that, a mass of knot work ended in a point just above his belly button. It was beautiful, entrancing, and the sweat on his chest made the art work dance in the rays of light peeking through the foliage.

  Draven rocketed forward, stretching to the limit of the cuffs holding him prisoner. “No! Let her be!”

  Her whisper was barely discernable over his angry outburst. “Don’t…”