The walls were brick and the floor cement. He had a large U-shaped work space. His computer faced out, equipped with a graphics tablet and stylus when he wanted to do digital drawings, a scanner for when he wanted to scan in freehand work. He also had a drafting table. And on one large wall he had sheets of paper to allow him to draw at will.
Like now.
He opened a drawer in his desk and got out a fresh supply of pencils. Going to the largest page, he selected a pencil and began to track his brother. He worked fast, not trying to remember the dream or control his art. He didn’t judge, didn’t even look.
He just drew.
And then finally he could inhale without the cold violence searing his lungs. Key wiped his arm over his head and was surprised by a knock at his door. Adrenaline seared his veins, and he pulled his knife from the holster. Common sense told him that Liam wasn’t going to knock on his door, but Roxy was upstairs, and he wasn’t taking any chances. Going to the door, he looked out the peephole.
A tank-sized man with a bald head and an eagle earring stood there—Sutton West. Key’s surprise kept mounting. He pulled open the door. “Why are you here?”
Sutton strode in, turned and said, “Axel filled me in.” He looked around and paused on the drawing. Then turned back to Key. “Where’s Roxy?”
Adrenaline had primed Key’s body for a fight; his muscles twitched, and his blood raced. “She’s asleep.”
Sutton stilled, turned his body slightly, so immobile it looked like he had silenced his heart. Seconds stretched out, then his shoulders eased slightly, and he hit Key with his gaze. “I hear her breathing. That’s good.”
“I’m not going to kill her.”
The other hunter wore a black T-shirt, black fatigues, and hiking boots. “Axel says that you have an ancient dragon named Dyfyr sleeping in you”—he lowered his eyes to the tat—“and now he’s waking up.”
Key wasn’t sure where this was going, so he said nothing.
“I’ve been with you when you fight. You start off fine, like any hunter, but when you get pissed, something happens. You go into a cold, killing frenzy, ignoring pain like it’s not even there. And I think it’s something to do with that dragon.”
Key shrugged. Sutton was very close to the truth. Dyfyr had always been inside him, and Key had felt the dragon reach out and pull him to the cold gray place where he existed. Key didn’t feel pain as much there, and Dyfyr and Key often merged, working together to destroy what had pissed them off. Usually rogues. But it had started long before Key began killing rogues. It’s what Key was, the creature that his mom and the fertility witch had created.
“So what I’m wondering is, what if Dyfyr doesn’t want to wake up? And Roxy forces him and really pisses him off?”
Key frowned. “I don’t hurt women, or innocents.” That wasn’t entirely true, he had once. But never again. “You’ve hunted with me countless times, and I’ve never noticed you being afraid I’d lose it and hurt you. Getting soft since you mated, old man?” Sutton was four years older than Key.
A corner of his mouth lifted. Dropping his arms, he flexed his massive hands. “Anytime your dragon wants to come after me, I’m willing. Always good to have a sparring partner.”
He wasn’t kidding. Sutton was always looking for a stronger, faster, more brutal sparring partner.
Lowering his hands to his side, Sutton glanced at the latest drawing and said, “What is this, Key?”
He turned and got a good look at the scene he’d drawn. “That’s Liam.” His half brother was on his knees bent over a woman, cutting and smearing her blood over his bare, hairless chest. Key could see the fading places on his body where the blood was being absorbed through, feeding the sick craving for the witch’s power in her blood. Liam had been rogue as long as Key could remember, and he’d always had the strange contrast of hard, bulging muscles and soft, hairless, almost feminine skin. They believed the stark contrast was from absorbing all the power in witch blood—the power gave rogues more strength, but the female hormones also gave them some feminine traits. In the garage, part of Key’s mind had realized that Liam was bigger and yet more feminine than he remembered. He had to be getting a lot of witch blood.
He shifted his gaze to study the woman, trying to determine more about her. She’d been stripped to her underwear, but she was so drained of blood, her skin was caving in around the wounds. Walking closer, he pointed, “This mark above her right breast, it’s a schema.”
Sutton stepped up beside him. “The top half of the fertility goddess. It’s outlined in black and filled in with brown and green. So she was a fertility witch who had her power.”
“And now she’s dead. I woke up with the scent of blood and the pounding urge to draw this scene.” He didn’t mention the bloodlust.
“Weird shit. You draw your brother’s kills through some psychic connection.” He fell silent, then said in a flat voice, “Look at the setting.”
He examined the landscape around Liam and the dead witch. He saw the dirt lot, the cars parked nearby, the small building off to the side, and the old antennas overhead. Recognition hit him—it was the old radio station out past the cemetery. “Rogue Cadre headquarters.” His adrenaline spiked again. “Liam is here in Glassbreakers.” He pulled out his phone and called Axel, told him what he had.
“I’ll send out some recruits to look for the witch,” Axel said. “We’ll meet later today.”
Key hung up.
Sutton said, “Watch that dragon, Key. Later.” He left. Key locked the door, then he went upstairs.
Roxy walked around Kieran’s loft, trying to get her bearings. He’d told her last night he owned the building and used the bottom floor as a studio. The living area upstairs was a huge space with exposed brick walls, ductwork overhead, and wood floors. The best feature was the long wall of floor-to-ceiling windows across the room that opened to a balcony.
The kitchen was in the center on the opposite side of the windows. The long granite countertop divided the space and had bar stools.
The living area had a red rug on the hardwood floor with a metallic gray curved couch topped with red throw pillows. It faced a big-screen TV mounted in the corner so it could be seen from almost anyplace in the living area.
The other end of the loft was split into a large master bedroom and bathroom. Roxy had slept in there at Key’s insistence, and he’d slept on the couch. She sank onto the soft cushions, looking out the windows to the landscape of the beach city.
Kieran walked out of the bedroom wearing jeans, boots, and a blue T-shirt that made his eyes look more blue than gray. His face appeared tanned, but Roxy had seen him naked and knew that was his natural color. It really stood out with his blond hair. He barely looked at her and went into the kitchen.
His scent swirled around her, dark and spicy mixed with soap. It made her stomach tighten and her schema start to throb. She ignored it.
“Do you want coffee?” He filled the coffeemaker with water, then scooped in grounds. “Or tea?”
“Tea.” She felt displaced. She didn’t have even the most basic of items. He’d given her a toothbrush, and she’d used his comb to work through her hair. She’d had to put on her same clothes. “I need to use a phone. I have to call my mom, my dad, and make some business calls.” She wasn’t going to give up everything. She’d still be a producer for her dad, find a way to get him to keep trusting her. She wanted the Eternal Assassins books. Maybe it would help Shayla forgive Roxy for her decision.
He set the kettle on the stove, turned on the flame, then walked around the island toward her. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he handed it to her. “Call whoever you want. We’ll get you a phone, clothes, and other stuff later today.”
He turned and went back to the kitchen.
“I’ll have my dad send over a laptop, a phone, and maybe I can have Shayla pack some things from my apartment,” she said as she dialed her mom.
“No,” Key turned with two mugs in his
hand. “I’ll get you whatever you need. I don’t want to risk people knowing where you are and possibly compromising your safety or theirs.”
She frowned as she thought about that, but then a voice answered, “Yes?” in her ear.
“Mom …” For a second her throat tightened and her eyes burned. And then the anger and betrayal took hold. “I need information, no more secrets.”
Key set a cup of tea on the table in front of her, along with a plate of chocolate and powdered donuts. He picked up a chocolate one, bit into it, and vanished again.
“What happened to you?” her mom asked. “The soulmirror witches are asking all kinds of questions. Roxy, how do they know about waking the dragon? That is sacred!”
Key came back with his coffee and a sketch pad. He sat in the chair with his back to the window, crossed his ankle over his knee, flipped open the pad, and looked up at her. Realizing she was staring, she quickly answered her mother’s question, “I was kidnapped and taken to a rogue. He knew about my full goddess schema. He demanded to know if I’d woken the dragon and where the Tear was.”
“Oh Roxy! No!” Her mom’s voice rose. “Did he hurt you? You got away?”
She sucked in a breath, hearing the real panic. “I’m okay. Key and his friends rescued me. Mom, the rogue had been looking for me, or more specifically, my schema. How could you not tell me?”
“I didn’t know! Roxy, you can’t think I knew the rogue was looking for you. I only knew how important you are to the fertility witches! We need you to Awaken your magic, but I didn’t know …” She took a deep breath and asked, “How could he know about your schema and that you can wake the dragon? It’s a sacred secret, told only to Awakened fertility witches.”
“Trust me, getting cut a few times will make you reveal anything.” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress those memories.
“Blessed Ancestors, Roxy! Do you need me? Where are you? Still in Vegas? Wherever you are, I’ll get there and heal you. Or I can find a witch closer to—” Her mom’s voice cracked.
“I’m healed, Mom. What I need from you is the truth. Your secrets and lies damn near got me killed.”
“Roxanne! You cannot blame me for that! How—”
“Stop it.” She stared out at the rooftops of city buildings. It felt like her mind was leaping from roof to roof, but unable to find any answers. “I am not playing your games, Mom. I want to know about my schema and how it can wake the dragon. And anything you know about a Dragon Tear.”
Her mom sighed and said, “You will need to Awaken your magic, and then we’ll do a ritual trying to wake the dragon. We’ll need a man to represent the dragon in his human form, and you’ll perform sex magic.”
She cringed and kept her gaze trained on the windows. She knew Key could hear the conversation. This was what she didn’t want. Maybe to someone like Kieran it seemed stupid, maybe it was just sex. But to her … “No. I’m not having sex with some random guy.” She could hear the smooth strokes of Key’s pencils on the page and wondered if that wasn’t exactly what she’d agreed to with him.
Was she losing herself, trading her values, her beliefs, for magic? Would sex eventually be just a power source to her? Not about a connection, a way of sharing herself with a man?
“Roxy, you don’t understand. This is why I didn’t tell you, why we don’t tell anyone who is not an Awakened fertility witch.” Passion enriched her mother’s voice. “It’s a beautiful ceremony reenacting the creation of fertility witches in the story ‘The Dragon’s Lover.’ ”
Roxy felt her chakras tighten in some kind of visceral response. She glanced over to see Key’s hand still as he heard what her mother said. She remembered Key’s drawing of the dragon and his lover. Was she the first fertility witch? “How was she … created? What does it have to do with a dragon?”
There was a pause, then, “I’ve already told you more—”
She would not be put off. “A rogue knows, and he seems to be one step ahead of us. If you want me alive to Awaken my powers, then start talking.”
Her mom took a breath and said, “This is the story passed down from the lover:”
She gazed at the skies
Day and night
More than sun, moon, and stars
She saw soaring dragons
Earthbound and lonely
Believing she, too, was magic
She dreamed of flying
Wrapped in dragon wings.
And then one majestic creature
Plucked her from the earth
Taking her to the heavens
Teaching her of love
Passion heated their blood
Shifting him to his man-form
Laid her on the sweet grass
And gave her true magic
Her dragon loved her so
He bestowed his magic kiss
A gift of fertility magic
In the mark of a goddess
Her magic and love bloomed
Growing eternally stronger
Until death ripped her away
Vowing to return one day
Her magic swelled until her heart ached. “The mark, that’s the fertility goddess?” That’s what Liam had said when he had her.
“Yes. But the curse broke our power. We’ve done countless ceremonies trying to wake the dragon in the hopes that he would help us strengthen our power back to the pre-curse levels. Eventually we realized it wasn’t going to work that way. We couldn’t wake him. But then your schema began to take shape as the fully formed goddess, and we realized you had the full mark just like the one the dragon gave his lover.”
It swirled in her head. “Mom, do you know the name of the dragon?”
“No, we only know the lover’s story. Why?”
Her stomach bubbled with excitement. “Key has a tattoo of a dragon. His name is Dyfyr, and I think he might be the dragon that bestowed fertility on his lover.” The pieces all fit. The goddess mark connected the stories of Dyfyr and the lover. Even now, just remembering the drawings Key had done of Dyfyr and his lover had the power to make her heart swell and her throat tighten with powerful emotion. She added in a soft voice, “He’s my soul mirror.”
“Roxy, don’t you see? You have to do this! You’re our hope! You’ll be able to wake the dragon, he’ll become your familiar, and then in the ceremonies, he will increase all our magic through you.” Her mom took a deep breath. “It won’t break the curse for all of us, but it will at least help control the sex drive and give us more power.”
But no pressure or anything. She was confused on one point. “How will it help you control your sex drives?” She was not going to have sex in front of a bunch of old crones, no matter what the reason. Don’t look at Key, she told herself.
“Our magic is sexual in nature. When we Awaken, that drive is powerful to help us reach our high magic in our top three chakras. The curse trapped us at the fourth chakra and leaves us in a loop of needing sex to get more power to reach those chakras but being unable to do it. It’s an unending cycle. But when we circle our magic with you in the ceremonies, we’ll reach our chakras through yours. It will satisfy that need in our magic, at least temporarily.”
Tension built in her. “Do all these ceremonies require sex?” She weakened and glanced at Kieran.
He raised his eyebrows and grinned.
Jerking her gaze back to the view, she waited. Gwen finally said, “No. Well, you may need to gather energy in your chakras from sex before the ceremonies, but no. That kind of sex magic is very powerful and used sparingly.” She added, “Your father had no right to turn you against magic, against your heritage.”
“I don’t want to hear it, Mom. He wanted to keep me safe. If my chakras died, my schema would have vanished. The rogues would have no interest in me.” A throb started behind her eyes. She added, “Dad wanted me, he loves me.” But would he still?
“I love you, Roxy. I shouldn’t have left you alone that night. Your father was supposed to come
over but canceled. I made a mistake.” She bit off the word, then said, “Your father’s the one who walked out on us. In the beginning I had my high magic and he was fine. But when the curse took away my familiar and things got rough, he walked.” She sighed and added, “All that matters is that you don’t suffer this way. Roxy, stop fighting and Awaken your magic. Wake the dragon.”
Why argue? It’s what she was going to do anyway. “I’m not doing this in a ceremony with other witches around. Tell me how to wake the dragon with just the two of us.”
Gwen hesitated again, then said, “It’s sex magic. You need your magic, then you call the dragon, he Awakens and fertilizes you.”
Roxy blinked, keeping her eyes focused on the windows. “Lovely.”
“It is!” Gwen snapped. “It was the dragon’s gift to his lover. He made love to her in human form, gifting her with fertility. He shared his own magic with her.”
It did sound romantic and lovely put like that. She looked at Key. His hand moved over the page, sure and steady, his face angled down and backlit by the windows. Even sitting he appeared big and strong, with an edge of ancient power in the lines of his muscles. She had to remind herself that it wasn’t going to be anything more than sex between them. “Thank you for the information, Mom.” Another thought occurred to her. “Please be careful. If the rogues find out you’re my mother, they might go after you to get to me.” The very idea made her queasy.
“I know how to protect myself. Roxy, you can do this, you’ll be one of the most powerful witches. And things will be … better.”
Roxy felt a weird vibration at her mother’s pause. More secrets? Or because she thought Roxy waking Dyfyr would help all the fertility witches? “Mom, what are you not telling me? I swear if you hold out—”
“Nothing. Roxy, I know you had a bad experience, but I’m not the enemy here. I’m trying to help.”
She thought it through. “What about the Dragon Tear? Do you know anything about it?”
A beat passed. “You’re being paranoid. These emotional swings are natural when you begin your Awakening. But you need to fully Awaken so that—”
Sinful Magic: A Wing Slayer Novel Page 12
