“Will you come upstairs with me? Dorian was sure it’d be up there and maybe if we’re closer to it, the spookies can point it out? Or give better hints?”
Chloe bit her lip. “I’m not supposed to go up there, but I’ve been dying to check it out.” She took off her apron and chef’s hat and shut off all the burners on the stove, then turned off the gas at the main on the wall. “I need to be careful. Some of these guys like to try to cook when I’m not around and it gets messy. It’s better if they can’t turn the burners on.”
The two women raced through the western wing of the servants’ quarters, past rooms and halls Bella had never explored. The house extended into the mountain and the air was cooler in the back. Chloe led them to a twisting metal staircase, shrouded in darkness, that ascended to the top floor directly.
“This was Rodney’s secret passage,” Chloe said.
They ran up the stairs. The metal shook and jangled under their feet but held up to the assault. There was a door at the second floor, but they continued up. At the top of the stairs was a solid stone wall with candle sconces in the shape of dragon heads on either side.
“There’s no door,” Bella said. The house was full of dead ends like this. The architect was either a sadist or had quit before he was finished.
Chloe cocked her head, listening to a spirit. “You’re gonna love this,” she said. She reached out and turned one of the sconces and the wall opened before them. It was a secret door. The only light they had came from Chloe’s phone, but it was enough to see a darkened hallway beyond.
“This is the third floor, but I don’t recognize this,” Bella said. “We must be in a secret part of it.”
The hallway was narrow, just wide enough for one of them to walk through but not both. Chloe went first, following the spirit’s lead. “I think we’re in the walls. Between the house and the mountain,” Chloe said. “He wants us to follow him. He’s really agitated. Are we sure this is a good idea? I don’t know this ghost very well.”
“We could run away. We could let Heath burn the estate to the ground and let Dorian’s chains strangle him. But I don’t want to. I’m tired of running. I’m tired of giving up. I want to stand my ground and fight for what I love.” Love, she said. And she meant it. She didn’t know how it was possible, but she loved Dorian and the thought of him dying under the weight of his chains was too much to bear. He’d been a monster. He’d been a terror. But she knew that wasn’t him. The real him, the one she loved, was the one she’d danced with in that field of flowers.
She wanted to save him. She needed to save him. They just needed to find the key.
“Okay, sister. I’m in,” Chloe said. “I don’t want to look for a new job anyway.”
The hallway had no doors that Bella could see, but Chloe flipped some hidden switch in the wall and a crack of light appeared, then widened into a doorway. They both stepped through into a large room with stale air. A skylight overhead illuminated the dust they stirred with their feet, filling the air with dull sparkles. A thick wooden post occupied the center of the room. Chains hung from rings mounted on top of it. It took a moment for Bella’s eyes to adjust and then her heart stopped.
The walls were lined with skulls. Human skulls. Hundreds of them, stacked like bricks. Even the door they’d entered from was covered in skulls.
“What the hell is this?” Bella asked.
“Shit,” Chloe said. “Fucking shit.” She looked pale and unsteady. She plopped onto her butt heavily.
“These are human. There’s hundreds in here.”
The floor was etched with lines and symbols that Bella couldn’t read. It looked like some huge circle was inlaid in the floor with squiggles around it and inside it. A magic circle? Sure, why not. If her best friend could talk to ghosts and the man she loved was secretly a dragon, why not a magic circle.
The door creaked and then slammed shut. The teeth of the skulls chattered with the impact.
From below them, they heard yelling. Men yelling. Heath must have returned and he brought reinforcements.
“What are we doing in here, Chloe? Why’d the ghosts lead us here?” Bella walked around the room. There were chests in the corner. Large chests made of oak and iron with thick padlocks on the front. “Is the key in here?”
Chloe shook her head. “I’ve been wondering why there were so many ghosts in this house. You only get ghosts from violent deaths and strong emotions and unfinished business. They’re actually pretty rare. But this place, it’s just crawling with them. They’re everywhere. They wouldn’t ever tell me how they died. Most ghosts can’t, y’know? But they were all so terrified of Octavian. I should have realized.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The skulls, dude. They belong to the spirits. The spirits in the house want our help. We need to burn their bones so they can move on.”
“It must have been Octavian. He was a hunter. And also I guess a murderer? This is bad, Chloe.” Bella tried the wall where they’d come in, but couldn’t find a handle or any secret latch.
The sound of gunfire came from below them.
“The spirits say that Dorian has been hurt. The hunters have him.” Chloe said, her head cocked to the side.
“What hunters?”
“The guys who burned down the lodge with Octavian inside. They’re here. They plan to do the same for Winter’s Breath. That Heath guy, he found them, brought them here. He knew about them before, the spirits say.”
They needed to get out. They needed to get away from the fire Heath would set. To save Dorian, and Agatha if she was still around. But how? There was no exit. No way out.
The light shining down from the skylight dimmed. Bella glanced up and saw a seagull on the glass, looking down at them as if wondering if they had any crackers for it.
“I have a really terrible idea,” Bella said.
“I don’t want to die in here,” Chloe said.
“Then we climb. If there’s no doors in this creepy sacrificial chamber, then we climb. I bet Octavian did terrible things in this room. I bet he has secrets locked away in those chests that will either break Dorian’s heart or reveal some hidden wealth. The only way out of here is that skylight. This room is a freaking dragon den and if we want to survive, we have to climb.” She reached down and pulled Chloe to her feet. “Are you with me?”
Chloe nodded, but then fell back off her feet. “I can’t. The spirits are freaking out. They’re too loud. I can barely see you. Go on without me. Come back and open the door or throw down a ladder or something.”
Bella hated to leave her friend behind, but it wasn’t like she could carry Chloe on her back. She’d come back. She would.
The skulls were mortared into the wall. They weren’t going anywhere. And they led all the way up to the skylight. Bella tried experimentally to climb, but she found her dress limited her movement too much. She reached down and tore it along the seam, making a slit up to her waist. Hopefully whatever spirit it belonged to wouldn’t get pissed at her ruining their clothes and give her a good shove.
Bella put her fingers into the eye sockets of two skulls and stepped on top of two more, and pulled herself upwards. It was extremely uncomfortable. The bones were slippery and sharp and cool to the touch. But hell, if she could pass the California Bar Exam on the first try, she could do anything.
Even scale a wall made of skulls.
She focused on one step at a time. One handhold at a time. And bit by bit, step by step, she ascended the wall. Chloe was muttering to the ghosts below when Bella reached the skylight, and with one nudge it popped open. Hidden springs lifted it up and away and Bella pulled herself onto the roof.
The wind caught her and spun her with an intense gust. Bella had never liked heights, and she could hardly bring herself to stand on the mansion’s wide, gently sloping roof. The area around the skylight was marred with thick gouges, like someone had taken an ax to the roof. Or, Bella thought, like a dragon had landed on it.
“I’m okay,” she yelled down to Chloe. “Stay safe!”
“Just hurry, girl,” Chloe yelled back.
Bella crawled a few feet away from the skylight and then saw more skylights dotting the roof. Each of them had deep gouges nearby where, she guessed, Octavian had landed. It was unreal. The view from the roof was spectacular. Behind her was the peak of the mountain stretching only a few dozen feet over the zenith of the roof. Beyond it was the Pacific, rolling and crashing and always hungry. Ahead of her the mountain dipped down precipitously. She knew there was a road that led all the way down to Bearfield, but from her vantage point all she saw was trees and fields and rocky cliffs.
Bella walked carefully to the edge of the roof near the front door and saw a half dozen SUVs parked in the driveway. A pickup with monster truck tires had driven right into the hedge maze, crushing the bushes.
She saw no way down. Bella checked all around the perimeter, hoping for a ladder or fire escape or secret slide or something—anything—but there was nothing but steep drops all around.
She’d have to go through one of the skylights.
Bella walked along the roof, keeping her body as low as she could. The wind was unpredictable, dying off into sudden stillness and then roaring back, nearly knocking her off her feet. She checked each skylight, glancing down into them, looking for some way to get down. Mostly she just saw skulls when she peered through the windows. But one of them led to the main third floor hallway. She remembered the way the dust looked when it floated in the light. She found the right skylight, popped it open and dropped down through it, falling ten feet to the floor with a thud.
Something in her ankle popped when she landed, but she had no time to worry about it. Sounds of crashing and hollering came from the second floor. It sounded like Heath’s associates were ransacking the house for valuables and smashing out all the windows they could find.
Bella stilled herself and listened to where the noise was coming from, then walked as quietly as she could to the other wing of the house and found stairs down. She took them slowly, trying not to make the metal groan. Once she was on the second floor the ransacking noises were louder. Heath was shouting at someone in Dorian’s office.
Bella crept through the second floor to get close enough to hear.
“We can’t kill him,” the new voice said. “We need him. Do you know how little we know about these things? Are they dead or alive? Are they from space or man made?”
“No way,” Heath barked. “You didn’t see what this guy did. You didn’t see him change. He’s too dangerous to live. We need to kill him now.” The sound of a gun being cocked echoed out of the office, down the stairs and off the front door.
There was no time.
Bella looked around and found a small vase. It was probably a priceless heirloom, but so was Dorian, wasn’t he? She hefted the vase in her hand and hurled it out across the foyer so that it smashed loudly enough to draw their attention.
“Bella?” Heath called out. “Is that you?”
But Bella was gone, darting through the back rooms of the second floor before looping back to the rear entrance to Dorian’s office. If Heath and his violent friend were distracted, maybe she could grab Dorian and get him out of there. It was worth a try at least.
She opened the door and crawled in, keeping her head low. What she saw broke her heart.
Dorian was chained to one of his straight-backed office chairs with so many loops of steel chain that his chest wasn’t even visible. His head hung to one side and his face was a mask of blood. Heath had been beating him. More blood pooled under him, dripping from a wound somewhere under the chains. It must’ve been a gunshot.
Bella crept up to him. “Dorian,” she said. “Dorian, please wake up.” But he was motionless. His breathing was shallow and quick.
“Valdemar,” she tried. “Are you awake.”
Dorian blinked. “That’s not my name,” he said with a groan. “Please don’t call me that.”
“Oh my god, you’re still alive. You’re okay,” Bella said. “For a moment I thought you were dead.”
“I will be, soon. These men are hunters, Bella. Professionals. You need to get out of here before they find you. Please, go. Run. Get somewhere safe. I couldn’t bear it if you died because of my stupidity.” His eyes weren’t opening. His breathing grew even more labored. He was nearing the end.
“You can’t die, Dorian. You just can’t. I’ve only just met you and there’s so many things we still need to do together. I want to take you to San Francisco and show you this bakery that makes little caked that look like baked potatoes for some reason. I want you to show me the town where you grew up. I want to argue with you about what to watch on Netflix and to cook dinner with you and to go out dancing and to do all of the silly things couples do together. Please stay.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She hugged Dorian tightly.
“I ruined everything, Bella. I’m such an ass and I’ve treated you so cruelly. Please tell me you’ll forgive me. Please tell me you can still do that.”
“Of course I forgive you. I love you. I have this crazy feeling like we’re supposed to be together, y’know? So please don’t die. I forgive you completely, for all that you’ve done,” she sobbed. “Just please don’t go.”
Bella heard a clink sound. And there, at Dorian’s feet, was his cold iron bracelet. It had unlocked and fallen from his wrist, impacting the rug and staining it with scattered rust. They’d never know if it was her love or her true forgiveness that shattered the curse. It didn’t matter. After two years of being split in two, of his human side and his dragon side being divided, he was whole again. Bella was the key. She’d always been the key.
As she watched, Dorian’s wounds healed. It took little more than an instant. His heart beat steady and strong, color returned to his skin. His eyes opened slowly, glowing with a golden light and he snapped the chains binding him as if they were nothing. In one moment he was at death’s door, and the next he was looking healthier than she’d ever seen him.
“I’m sorry for what you’re about to see,” Dorian said to Bella. He walked out of the office and the lines of his body blurred and expanded outwards. The air filled with the spicy scent of cinnamon and where the man had been, there was now a golden dragon with reddish wings, a massive tail, and claws three feet long. It stood on all fours and let loose a bellowing roar that echoed magnificently throughout the house. The beast was huge. His bulk filled the staircase. But it was Dorian.
The man she loved was a dragon.
He swiveled his head around on his long sinuous neck and fixed Bella with a look of profound sadness, before turning back towards the front door where Heath and the hunters were standing, open mouthed with terror.
Dorian walked down the grand staircase, his talons clicking on the marble.
“Go,” he said to the hunters, who gawked at him unmoving. “Go!” Dorian roared and the men raced out of the building, colliding with each other in a rush to get out of the house first. Heath raced out, too, his face a mask of terror. Dorian chased after them, barely fitting through the front doors.
At least now she knew why the doors were so huge.
Dorian hurled himself into the air, beating the sky with his massive wings, pursuing the hunters and Heath all the way down the mountain.
He didn’t kill any of them, but they’d never be able to sleep again without seeing his hungry mouth in their dreams.
CHAPTER 9
She was waiting for him on the front steps when he returned. He glided over the mountain, his body immense and incredibly graceful at the same time. He circled Winter’s Breath three times before landing in front of the big house. He walked up to Bella slowly. His dragon eyes were unreadable to her, but his scales were a striking golden color.
Bella reached out as the dragon approached and touched him with her hand, stroking his strong flanks. She gasped at the touch. He was dry and warm, but with some energy crackling through him
that made her fingers tingle. She could see it, like golden fire leaping between them.
The air seemed to catch fire around the dragon and then, where the beast had been, was Dorian standing in the middle of a blackened circle.
He was completely naked.
He looked morose, which puzzled Bella. Hadn’t he just won? Hadn’t he chased off their attackers and found the key to saving his life? Her heart leapt with joy. Why didn’t his?
The sun was lower in the sky and the hint of a spectacular sunset was already gathering in the west. Night would be coming soon.
“What’s wrong?” Bella asked, taking a step towards Dorian.
“You’ve freed me. There’s no way I can repay you, no way I can thank you enough,” he said. “I was sure I’d die because of that foolish curse. But you saved me.” He seemed so different with the curse lifted. All of the rage was gone. The twitching and the tantrums—it was all gone. What was left was like a purified version of the man she fell in love with. Or what if she’d loved the broken version, and the healed version of Dorian was a stranger to her? Could he still be the same man?
“You saved me first,” Bella said with a smile, but Dorian just looked more glum.
“You don’t have to be kind to me, Bella. You’ve seen what I am, what I can do. I’m a monster underneath. I’m a dragon. I know you’ll leave now, just please do it quickly. Don’t draw out your goodbye. There’s no way anyone could love a monster like me. I’ve got too much of my father in my veins.” He turned from her, staring out across the estate.
“You think I want to leave?” Bella asked. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“How could you not?”
“I’ve just saved you, Dorian. I’m not letting go of you that easily.” She took his hand and pulled him back toward the house. He gave her a look like he couldn’t believe she’d want to touch him after seeing his other side.
“But you do owe me, thief.”
“Thief?” Dorian said with a look of alarm. “What did I steal?” His glum mood burned away when confronted with her smile. He clearly couldn’t believe she still wanted him after she’d seen what he could do and what he could become.
Chained: Reckless Desires (Dragon's Heart Book 1) Page 12
