Heart of the Assassins (An Academy of Assassins Novel Book 2)

by Stacey Brutger

  “You’re supposed to be fucking smart, Attie, so use your goddamned head. You’re the next in rank of power. Whose name do you think is after mine on their murder list? If we work together, we can stop killing each other.”

  “I don’t need your help.” Athena looked pointedly at Morgan. “The issue should be resolved by then.”

  Arrogance oozed from her, those crystal blue eyes so confident and predatory that Morgan felt very much like a specimen under a microscope. She would not survive what this woman would do to her if she got her hands on her, dissection being the least of her worries. They would pick apart her brain first, then her magic, then her spirit. By the time they took apart her body, she would already be gone.

  It wouldn’t be cruelty on Athena’s part, but pure ruthlessness and a single-minded focus on getting what she wanted—the only thing that mattered in her version of the world.

  Athena nodded to her soldiers. They lifted their weapons and took aim. “Last chance to come peacefully and accept your fate.”

  Shade gave her the universal fuck you symbol by flipping her the bird.

  Athena scowled, then gave a flick of her hand. The soldiers fired. As soon as the magical bullets’ magic hit the glass, sigils etched in the wall began to glow. The writing was dense, the sigils overlapping each other repeatedly, but even as she watched, one blazed white, then popped out of existence as the magic inside was expended.

  One soldier grabbed a bow slung across her back, noched an arrow, and let it fly. The bolt zipped through the air with a twang, then hit the glass with a solid thud. Instead of bouncing off harmlessly and falling to the floor, the arrow hit one of the runes dead center and both disappeared in a shower of red sparks.

  Seconds later another arrow went sailing through the air, vanquishing another spell.

  “We’re safe behind the glass for now, but it won’t take them long to break through.” Shade slouched against the desk, his shoulders slumped. “My cousin is very determined and very deadly. She is fanatical in her belief of justice and enjoys the hunt a little too much. If she catches any of you—and she will catch you eventually—there will be no escape.”

  Morgan blew out a heavy breath, knowing what it felt like to fight against your fate. At least hers didn’t lead directly to death. Tiny beads of glass began to dribble down the wall in a globby, liquid mess, the destroyed spells generating waves of intense heat.

  “Kincade?” She looked at the rest of the team. “Guys?”

  Each one nodded reluctantly, though none of them appeared happy about it.

  Morgan turned toward Shade. “Let’s do this shit. I accept your bond.”

  Shade’s head snapped up, his eyes widening. “Wait!”

  The next instant, Morgan dropped to her ass, feeling like she’d been kicked in the chest. Her magic churned under her skin in agitation, turning molten until she feared she could no longer contain the destructive force. Inside the swirling mass, what appeared to be a tiny universe whirled into formation, bright blues and golds and purples almost mesmerizing to watch.

  Then her magic came rushing back, sloshing inside her like water in a bucket, settling around the new universe.

  “What the hell was that?” Morgan struggled to lift her head and glare at Shade. Only he didn’t appear to be in much better condition, half slumped against the desk where he landed on the floor. He unbuttoned his shirt and tugged aside the collar to reveal a silver and gold seal had been stamped into his chest. The top swirling design resembled a crown, while underneath had a name stamped into it…hers.

  “Oops.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Ryder was next to her in an instant, and she leaned against him gratefully. Kincade and Ascher stood between her and Shade, while Atlas and Draven took up positions by the glass wall, glancing at her over their shoulders, concern etching deep grooves in their faces when they frowned.

  Ascher came to kneel at her side and gently tugged down the collar of her shirt. Right below her collarbone was the shape of a crescent moon. It wasn’t a stamp or a tattoo. The moon was created by one long swirling line, twisted into an intricate design. The line wasn’t black, but appeared to have specks of the solar system spinning through it.

  “What the hell!”

  Shade’s eyes widened even more, and he looked a bit pale and shaken, giving her a sickly smile. “Mother approves.”

  Fuck…the queen of the gods.

  Not good.

  Ascher sat abruptly, while Kincade and Draven swore. Ryder tightened his hold around her, but Atlas, the damned ass, appeared intrigued.

  “Cover it. Don’t let the others see.”

  Ryder promptly obeyed the command, tugging up her shirt, leaving his arm across her upper chest in a comforting hug. Shade quickly buttoned his shirt, avoiding looking at her, and her stomach fell. “Tell me.”

  Shade’s head snapped up, his mouth opening, only to be interrupted by the bellow of a dragon, the roar sounding like a prehistoric beast was on the loose inside the building.

  “Your time is up.” Athena didn’t seem pleased at the interruption, clearly wanting to be the one who captured them. The soldiers holstered their weapons and exited the room one by one. “I did warn you.”

  Then she turned sharply on her heel and strode from the room.

  The ominous sound of labored thumping seemed to come from all around them. The wall bowed outward as something enormous moved through the corridor, large clumps of drywall and concrete dust raining down. Then a monster peered through the doorway, the eyeball a brilliant green and bigger than Morgan’s head. The vertical slit in the eye made the dragon seem all the more alien.

  The scales were rigid, more like body armor, the colors a deep red edged faintly with gold, as if the scales were heated. He swung his massive head, knocking out the wall, sending large chunks of concrete and twisted rebar flying through the room as he wedged his head and shoulders through the opening. His tail swung, knocking out more of the wall, sending debris pinging off the glass.

  “Do you have any weapons?” Morgan asked Shade, unable to tear her attention away from the threat.

  Kincade and the men were all lined up in front of the glass, their bodies tense, studying the creature for weaknesses.

  “Yes, but dragons are impervious to man-made weapons.” Shade strode around the desk, yanked out a drawer and dumped the contents over the top. He did the same with the next drawer as well. Chinese stars, knives, magical bombs, daggers, darts, guns, and whatnot spilled everywhere. “The dragons have been raised from birth and trained to obey and work for the different families. While magic can harm them, they have a natural immunity to it that makes them resistant to harm, so it takes a lot of power to make an impact. Their scales are nearly impenetrable, and killing them practically impossible.”

  The dragon lumbered toward them, his tail whipping back and forth in agitation, cracking and knocking into the pillars as he passed, demolishing half of them as he went, leaving chunks of concrete and twisted rebar in his wake.

  His claws left little puncture marks dotting the floor. As the monster neared the glass, he leaned forward, sinking his claws deep, then wrenching his forelegs back, raking long, deep gouges into the floor, as if marking his territory.

  Morgan glanced down at her jewelry, remembering what the guys told her about the black blades she carried…they could kill any magical creature. As the guys gathered around the desk and loaded up with weapons, Morgan closed her hands into fists, comforted when a blade formed in each hand.

  “Don’t do this.” Morgan walked closer to the glass wall, not sure if the big creature could understand her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  In answer, the dragon opened his jaw to reveal dozens of razor-sharp teeth, each of them bigger than her hand. He roared so loudly, the glass rattled and spittle splotched against the surface. The creature swung his barbed tail at the barrier and the glass warbled ominously under the blow. The dragon wasn’t as huge as she expecte
d, maybe the size of an SUV, but the sight of him up close was both terrifying and beautiful.

  The dragon’s claws clicked on the floor when he came closer, his wings pressed tightly against his back, and he took a swipe at her, leaving scratches gouged in the thick glass. Kincade grabbed her arm, yanking her away, covering her with his body. The sigils on the glass blazed bright under the attack, then sank into the dragon’s scales, searing into his flesh. He gave a bellow of pain, nipping and snapping the air at his invisible foe.

  After a minute, the dragon slowly swung his giant head toward her, his eyes narrowed, as if infuriated that her blood wasn’t splattered across the walls, probably suspecting the pain was her doing.

  He then began to tear apart the rest of the room. Ascher dragged her away while the basement walls were systematically dismantled. With the ceiling mostly destroyed, the dragon leapt on top of the glass dome and renewed his attack with a vengeance, growing more insane when dozens of sigils flared bright and began to burn and nip at his scales.

  “We’re surrounded by the glass wards, but it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through.” Shade grabbed her arm and spun her toward the seal. “Do what you need to do.”

  Morgan reluctantly released her hold on her weapons, then bit her lip and admitted the truth. “I can dial in the gate, but I’m not sure how to bring you with me.”

  “Let me worry about that. You just need to make your intent clear when you open the gate.” The dragon continually pounded against the glass, until tiny cracks began to form in the globe.

  Morgan watched those cracks spread ominously and knew that no matter how quickly she could open the portal, there wouldn’t be enough time. She couldn’t risk bringing a dragon into the other realm. Couldn’t risk the beast getting to earth.

  “Kincade, I—”

  “Yeah, I see it. Take him, open the portal and go. We’ll stay behind and delay him. You need to stop the spread of infection.” He plucked Loki off his shoulder, gently tucking the gardog on her own, running his fingers down her hair before dropping his hand. The hound whined, tucking himself close to her neck, as if feeling abandoned, too.

  Everything inside her clenched in denial.

  If she left, she knew she would never see them again.

  Atlas easily read the denial on her face. “You know it’s the right decision.”

  “Don’t make me.” Tears tightened the back of her throat, making speaking nearly impossible. Her chest felt like someone had hacked her open with jagged claws and gutted her. She couldn’t breathe.

  Ryder tore off his shirt, magic wrapping around him as he changed to his wolf. When he padded to her side, he leaned heavily against her leg, as if saying goodbye, and a sob tore out of her. Ascher pulled her away, hugged her tight, the pounding above them growing in strength, matching the throbbing in her head.

  “Don’t make me go.” She shoved away from him, staring up at him pleadingly.

  “Morgan—”

  “No!” Pure rage began to pour through the nearly debilitating pain, and she snarled at Atlas. “You don’t get a say goodbye. None of you get to say goodbye.”

  She backed away from them, betrayal burning away the pain.

  She would be alone again, only things would be worse this time.

  This time, she would have to figure out how to live without them.

  It was too much to ask.

  She turned her back on them, feeling more alone than ever in her life. Loki licked her once under the jaw and whimpered, clearly not wanting to leave either. She tugged on the chain of her necklace and brought the mask up to her eyes with shaky fingers, the mask enlarging to fit. She stared at the stone with tears in her eyes, waiting for the sigils to blaze to life, waiting for the stone to flare with power.

  And nothing.

  “What’s wrong with this stupid thing?” She dropped the mask, unconsciously wiping her hand against her pants, glad not to be touching the metal. The longer she remained, the more her soul ached. She needed to do this now, before she lost her nerve and did whatever the fuck she damned well pleased.

  “How did it work last time?” Shade asked.

  Morgan avoided looking at her men, sensing them surrounding her, like she was a fucking scared animal that would run.

  They weren’t wrong.

  “I was focused on reaching Tartarus, determined to save my team.”

  “And the realm.” Shade stated baldly.

  Morgan shrugged, the pounding from the dragon preying on her last nerve. “They are one and the same.”

  “Shit.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Her powers are connected with her emotions. Without the proper training, we’re stuck here until she wants to leave.”

  “I’m trying!” Morgan shouted at him, doing her best not to shatter into a thousand pieces. “I’m going against my every instinct to do what everyone else wants.”

  Shade blew out a heavy breath. “But not what you want.”

  Morgan couldn’t speak, afraid she would start screaming.

  Glass shattered and rained down on them, the tinkling sound eerily cheerful as it hit the floor. Shards sliced through her skin and clothes a second before the dragon reached into the opening and grabbed her up in his claws.

  Loki tumbled off her shoulder, and she found herself alone with a very angry dragon. To her surprise, the dragon didn’t stink, but smelled more like the dry heat of a wood-burning stove.

  “Morgan!” The men shouted, and chaos erupted below her.

  When the dragon’s large snout lowered toward her, the numbness around Morgan vanished. The metal from her cuffs and rings turned liquid, quickly solidifying into blades, and she lashed out with all her rage and hurt. The black blades sliced deep into his snout, and the dragon bellowed in pain, flinging her away from him.

  She flew through the air and smacked into what was left of the north wall. The concrete cracked, and she slid down the wall, collapsing to the floor. Dust and chunks of stone quickly followed, pelting her as a portion of the wall crumbled on top of her.

  The physical pain was manageable compared to the mental anguish of being forced to leave her men. She pushed herself up on her hands and knees, debris shifting around her.

  The dragon leapt down from the dome, the floor quivering under the weight as the snarling beast charged toward her. If she didn’t find a way to defeat the dragon, the creature would go after her team.

  Athena might want her and Shade alive—but she didn’t need the others.

  Blotches of blood dripped from the dragon’s muzzle, the blood black and congealed…or what she imagined blood would look like if it circulated in a living, breathing furnace. The comforting scent of burning wood intensified as he neared, turning into the overwhelming smell of a raging forest fire.

  Morgan staggered to her feet, ignoring the way the men pounded against the glass wall. Loki stood at the edge of the jagged opening at the top of the ceiling, chattering angrily. Ryder in his wolf form looked to the little pup, then jumped on the desk and tried to leap through the hole in the ceiling. And failed. With just a little more boost, he would succeed. Shade reluctantly raised his hand to the glass. He had to know opening the wall would be giving Athena exactly what she wanted and endanger them all.

  Yet he was going to do it anyway.

  Their eyes met, and she slowly shook her head.

  This time, his hesitation lasted longer, and she realized it wasn’t indecision, he was fighting against the vow he gave. To help her, he would be putting her team in danger. Pain twisted his features, and she knew her time was limited. She was the only thing standing between him and certain death. He couldn’t risk losing her.

  The dragon whipped around his tail, destroying another pillar and Morgan barely had time to dive and roll out of the way of the flying debris. She ran up a pile of rubble, hearing the clack of claws as the beast gave chase. A blow to her back was unexpected, and she shot forward, cracking hard onto the floor. The dragon’s large paw smashed
her into the concrete like she was a bug to be squashed. If they didn’t need her alive, she had no doubt she would be a stain on the floor right now. Claws longer than her forearm were on either side of her head, the weight of the foot pinning her arms to the floor.

  Loki launched himself at the dragon, latching onto his vulnerable ear, and viciously whipped his head back and forth, tearing out a good chunk of flesh.

  The dragon swung his massive head, knocking the little hound out of the air and sending him crashing into the glass, where he collapsed to the floor unmoving, only a few feet away from her. The flame on his chest flickered and dimmed, and her heart thumped hard against her ribs, only beating again when the ember didn’t blink out of existence.

  She feared if the flame ever died, so would he.

  The phoenix fluttered wildly along her back, and agonizing pain shot down her spine, a searing heat felt like her flesh was being burned off her bones. The dragon gave a mighty roar, and the crushing weight on her back lifted.

  Hands grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the fight, the scent of warm earth and hot stone enveloping her. “Kincade.”

  He tipped her head back, his eyes tracing her face for injuries.

  “I’m fine.” She grabbed his arms, and pulled herself upright, her body protesting being upright. Then she caught sight of what had captured the others’ attention.

  An incandescent bird with bright shades of reds, golds and yellows swooped and dove around the dragon, his every touch scorching the scales.

  Her phoenix.

  His flamed colors flickered as the fire burned through him. Black singe marks pitted the dragon’s scales. The stench of charred wood filled the air. The bird was tiny compared the dragon’s massive size.

  But it was a battle the phoenix couldn’t win.

  Already, his flames were dimming. Without thought, her blades formed in her hands, and she ducked out of Kincade’s arms.

  Cursing erupted behind her as Morgan ducked under the dragon’s tail and slammed the blade deep in the dragon’s spine. A roar of pain shook the room, leaving her ears ringing. The dragon bucked and spun, and despite her hold, she lost her grip and went flying again.