My irritation had reached its peak just as a set of iron keys were dragged against some bars. Life force in the dungeon awakened. The other prisoners in the dungeon began to rustle around like eager animals. The sound moved closer and closer to my cell. The gargoyle who was speaking to me had already hauled ass. I spun around and waited in the center of the cell. Sure enough, a dragon shifter stopped right in front of my door.
"You're awake," he said. "It's time to see the King."
There were three gargoyles behind him which I figured he'd brought to watch his back. My father wasn't the only one with a reputation. They knew very well that if given a chance to escape, I'd take it. I'd do whatever damage necessary in the process to regain my freedom…on my terms.
The dragon shifter pointed to the twin pair of daggers hooked on his belt. "And before you get any ideas, there is never a shortage of Sirix on this realm."
Sirix—the poison that caused near total paralysis. It was the same poison the soldiers had shot me with in Bursgate to get me to comply. His blades were probably laced with it too. And he spoke the truth. The original compound only existed on this realm. It existed in abundance here.
"Let's get this over with." I lifted my wrists. "Unchain me."
I was ready to face my father again—the man who'd set his own son up to waste away and die on a near barren realm.
Chapter 5
Leona
It had been so long since I had ventured outside of the protection circle. I would never forget why I was taking this journey in the first place, but I couldn't help but slow my pace here and there to take in the views. The demons had destroyed almost everything in their quest to appease their King, but Mother Nature was on the rebound, and I wanted it to remain that way.
I noticed that things were a lot different compared to the way they were before the first wave hit. Everyone seemed more suspicious and on edge as they went about their day. Natchez was still a protected city, but no one could be too certain these days about whose side anyone was on. I had learned that a long time ago on my own—the hard way. Most of my life I had been homeschooled, but a lot went on in my coven. I saw firsthand how greed, jealously, and times of war could change a person.
In less than a month, I would be twenty-two years old. Since birth, I had been marked to lead my coven and rise as their Queen, but when my mother disappeared during the supernatural apocalypse, my training was cut short. That didn't stop me from continuing to work on my craft. I could've taken the position already. My initiation was to take place months ago. But I still couldn't come to terms with the fact that my mother was gone. Not to mention, the 9th Grimoire was nowhere to be found.
I glanced behind me at the two Crow vampires watching me like hawks from a park bench. They looked uncomfortable under the bright morning sun, but the Crows were day-walking vamps. Unlike some other breeds of vampires, they were immune to the sunlight. They could also shape shift into crows.
The ferry I would board would take me into a town I hadn't ventured in since this all happened. I hadn't told my Uncle Franc that I was planning to visit my mother's twin sister, but I was sure he had more than just the two vampires spying on me. I was smart enough to know that he didn't really let me out on my own. There were eyes and ears everywhere reporting back to him. If I wanted to, I could've cloaked myself, leaving behind the vampires and all the spies. But I didn't. They followed me to the bus and rode with me on the trolley that led me to the ferry dock. For now, I would behave.
I glanced out across the water at the boats docked on the other side of the Mississippi River. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I let the crisp wind sweep across my face. Tendrils of hair whipped against my face and bits of sand stung my eyes. Dry leaves rustled and brushed past my ankles as I used everything but my vision to take in my surroundings. The seasons were about to change in Natchez, welcoming the cooler weather. Autumn would be here in less than a few weeks.
The dark clouds looming overhead and the lightning cracking in the distance only served as a warning for what was to come. As a natural born witch, I'd been cursed—or blessed, depending on how one looked at it—to notice subtle telltale signs of something brewing on the horizon. I could feel it in my bones. The pending rainstorm didn't bode well for my trip across town.
Just across the river, the border lines blurred. On the other side of the Natchez River, the citizens of the city weren't under the protection spell of the Trillium. I wouldn't venture there yet, but sooner or later I would have to cross into a different type of territory. One where the supernaturals outweighed the human population.
When my ferry docked, the Crows and I boarded. It was the last ferry of the day, but unsurprisingly, there weren't many occupants. As I slipped the straps of my handbag from my shoulder, my scarf slipped off my neck, taking flight as a strong, violent breeze whipped by. The ferry had already pushed off from the edge of the bank. My scarf floated down into the river.
"I'll go get that," the Crow called Adam said.
"No." I caught his arm. "It's nothing. I have more."
"You sure? I can fly, you know. I'll catch up with you two later."
"I'm sure. It's fine, really," I said, knowing very well that if the Crow shifted he'd have to feed frequently after that. That would slow me down. I didn't want my misplaced scarf to slow me down.
"I don't need it," I assured him.
He took the seat beside me.
Along with the Crows and I, there were three humans and one underage supernatural. The fae-child, who held onto her guardian like her life was in peril, couldn't have been more than five years old. Although her age was questionable, I had no doubts that she wasn't human. An unsuspecting soul wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, but I knew right away. The girl smiled at me, but her guardian nudged her and told her to stop. I didn't blame her. I was a stranger, and one could never be sure about anyone they met these days. I sometimes even questioned my motives with all the visions that came to me on a nightly basis. I couldn't tell if my visions were predicting the end or foretelling the beginning of something else. I wished that I could predict that this would all be over soon and that the innocent humans and supernaturals would come out of their hiding places and leave their fears behind. But there was still work to be done, and I couldn't do it sitting at the head of the elder's table while wishing my mother still lived.
So, my journey begins…
Chapter 6
Carrick
The chains binding my wrists were never removed, but there was still enough poison in my body to prevent me from shifting. As I followed a fellow dragon shifter into what I suspected to be a trap, the iron balls around my ankles dragged against the stone floors with every step I took. By the time I made it to the back of the castle, my legs burned like hell.
As soon as the large panel door to the King's meeting hall was pushed open, I saw my father right away, all decked out in black leather and iron-clad garments. He sat at the head of the table. A woman of golden hair sat to his right. No one else was in the room. One of the guards left the room while the other closed the door and remained inside. I was still bound at the ankles like a common slave.
"Hello son," my father greeted. "You haven't changed one bit. Although, you could use a good haircut."
He was grinning, but no part of me was either amused or happy to see him. I didn't return the endearment, but I did raise my gaze to meet his.
"Why have you dragged me back here after all this time?" I asked.
"Aren't you happy to see me?"
"I'm not stupid enough to believe that your soldiers entered Bursgate to bring me here just to see you. Get on with it. What do you want?"
King Zaros frowned. The golden-haired woman who sat to his right leaned in and whispered to him. Something about her seemed familiar, yet I couldn't quite pinpoint it. But when I saw her twirling a quartz stone around in her palm, I knew instantly. The quartz gleamed and her eyes shone almost a translucent black to match,
giving her non-human status away. She wasn't a human, but a light fae. A supernatural being from the Ivory Court realm.
"I thought you might like the change of scenery," King Zaros said. "You've told me many times not to treat you any different from the other warriors. But you haven't become useless, have you?"
"My realm guardians and I had proven ourselves way before the Shadow Council sent assassins out to hunt and kill us. You went right along with their plans to get rid of us."
He gave me a look of indifference. "No…I had plans of my own."
I eyed him carefully, waiting for further explanation.
"Guard, remove the chains from his ankles," he ordered.
When I was free, he pointed to an empty stone chair adjacent to him. "Sit please."
I took the seat.
"I carried out the laws of the Shadow Council by dealing with those of demon's blood, but as I said…I had plans of my own," he said.
"If you were carrying out the laws of the Shadow Council, you would've had me killed when you had your soldiers capture me,” I said.
"And I made sure that it was my soldiers who captured you." My father shifted in his seat and twiddled with a gold ring on his right index finger. "You're my son. Do you think I would kill my own flesh and blood? It was my prerogative to deal with you how I like."
"And you dealt with it by sending me to waste away and endure a slow death."
"Imprisonment is what saved you. What I did wasn't against the Shadow Council laws and they know it. If the bounty hunters wanted you that badly, they would've tracked you to Bursgate and killed you there."
"Ha." I choked on a short laugh. "They'd never willingly step foot on that realm. It's a living hell. They'd probably enter The Void before risking eternal imprisonment in Bursgate."
My father grinned.
"You knew that, didn't you?" I asked.
He fiddled with his gold ring. "As much as you and your brothers like to think you're in charge, you're not. I did what I did to protect my lineage."
"The realm of Bursgate still belongs to King Mercud, doesn't it?" I asked. I was certain this was a fact, making it easy for my father to have unfiltered access to Bursgate.
"Never mind that." He waved a hand. "What you might not know is that they're far fewer assassins out there. The funny thing is that they were sent to kill cross breeds, but it was the purebred demons that got to most of them."
Knowing that purebred demons were still out roaming freely on Earth left a bad taste in my mouth. "That's unfortunate."
"Bearing our family name Dragoe, we have ruled the realm of Kastanbul for centuries. There will always be a Dragoe here on this realm. Even if I have to make more sons…" He looked to the fae on his right. "But my time has come and gone, son."
"Demon blood runs through my veins as well as that of my brothers. Our children will have the same. Demon blood…no matter how small the percentage."
"What of it? Don't you think I knew what I was creating when I entered your mother and gave her my dragon seed?"
I looked away and swallowed my discontentment.
"Your mother was a cross breed," he said. "She gave me three sons. Three fire-breathing dragons all bearing the mark passed down through the Dragoe bloodline. Yet, only one of my sons has the heart of a true leader yet he wishes to roam freely on Earth instead of on his own realm."
"I don't wish to cower in the towers of this castle which is why I took a warrior's oath."
He frowned. "Who said anything about cowering?"
"Get on with it, Father," I said, my patience waning. "Why have you dragged me here?"
"So we can talk about how you'll pay for your freedom."
I couldn't control the irritation festering inside of me. "I've never begged you for my freedom. If freedom is what I want, I'll take it on my own terms."
He grunted and then chortled in laughter. "Are you sure about that? Bursgate is inescapable. The only way out is down through Hell where the Blackwald demons roam. Virtually no one is immune to hellfire, son."
"When the time was right, I would've taken my chances…if I chose that path," I told him.
He drummed his fingers on the left arm of his chair. "You mean like another one of our dragons?"
"I'm not Zhastar. I'll never side with the Demon King." For him to even make that suggestion was ludicrous.
"I have to ask these days, you know, but I know you're not dumb."
"If you brought me here to play games, you might as well take me back to Bursgate," I told him.
King Zaros was silent for a moment. The quartz-hugging fae touched my father on the leg to get his attention and told him something. What was she to him? His advisor or just a mistress?
"Your freedom isn't free. That's quite an oxymoron, isn't it?" He chuckled.
I wasn't amused.
"I bargained with the Shadow Council for your freedom…in fact," he continued.
"You bargained for my freedom?"
"Yes, and of course, they'll be expecting us to deliver on the promise. Will you hear me out?"
"What was this bargain?"
He turned to the fae girl and said, "Leave us."
She looked upset, but then my father gave her a stern look. She swiftly rose from her chair and left us in the meeting hall alone.
My father took a sip of his ale, put his mug down on the table and then said, "Let's get on with it then."
Chapter 7
Carrick
We were still seated in the meeting hall as I waited on my father to spill the beans about his bargain with the Shadow Council. He got up, refilled his mug with ale, and then filled another mug, which he slid across the table to me.
I watched him sit down and gobble down the ale.
When I didn't drink anything, he said, "I'm not trying to poison you."
I snorted. "You could've fooled me. I've been shot up with Sirix I don't know how many times since your soldiers came for me."
"Do you know what they say about Sirix?"
"What?" I lifted the mug and took a healthy sip of ale. It was the first time in a long time since I'd had a good drink.
"After so many times of being injected with it, you become immune," he told me.
"I don't remember signing up to be your guinea pig," I said.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he countered. "You do know that the others aren't as strong as you, right?"
"The others?"
"Your brothers. Nor are they all that wise either. They would never have survived Bursgate."
I thought of my older dragon brothers, Aldrick and Zavrick, who didn't choose a warrior's life. Or maybe they just wanted to stay away from our father's tactics. They led stress-free lives on other realms. I sometimes wondered how I got caught up in all of this myself.
"I've never wanted to follow in anyone's footsteps. I doubt that Aldrick, Zavrick, and I are your only offspring with the countless women you've bedded in this castle."
"We're not going to go there," he said, dismissively. "Not today. It's true that I have other children, most of which I haven't verified yet since the dragon shifter gene didn't pass to them. Kastanbul is a dragon's realm. You hold the most potential. If only you'd come to realize just how much."
"Depends on how you look at it. Potential is measured differently in the eyes of every beholder. Is it not?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Yes, you're right."
"What are you doing with an Ivory Court fae?" I asked.
"Palmera sent her to me as a gift." He grinned.
Palmera was the current Queen of the Ivory Court realm, home of mostly fairies, elves, and wizards of the light kind.
"She's a gift I cherish. My fae has potential."
I rolled my eyes.
"I need her magic for greater things," he added.
"Well, duh…why else would you keep a fae around?"
"Duh? I don't follow."
I could literally count the number of times on my two hands that my fath
er had been to Earth and he was nearly five hundred years old. He wasn't familiar with the lingo and he had no desire to be.
"If she's allowing you use of her magic, what have you promised her in return?" I asked.
"Let’s just say that we both have a common interest and when I share with you what I know, you'd understand," he said.
"Humph…doubt it," I mumbled under my breath.
"Your dragon appears to be very unstable," he noted. "I sensed this the moment you stepped foot in the room. That tells me you've been scavenging around Bursgate like a common man."
I ground my teeth together. "What did you expect? You threw me inside to rot."
"Kastanbul dragons don't rot. We turn to stone. Men rot," he countered. "My soldiers said you weren't in your true form when they found you. And based on the instability of your dragon, I'd estimate that you didn't shift often."
I forced a smile. "You know me well, Father."
"Considering the fact that hellfire spills on the ground in Bursgate, I figured you'd at least take the skies more often."
I huffed in frustration. "Are we here to talk about why a father would throw his son into a supernatural prison to certain death? We can start with that first or we could start with why you pick now to drag me out of the hell you threw me into."
He paused, linked his fingers together and leaned back in his chair. "I didn't throw you anywhere to certain death. I had to make a choice or lose you forever. After the demons had raided nearly every realm, the Council met. It was decided that the only entity who could've aided the Demon King in gaining access to our realms was a demon entity. Someone with just enough demon blood to want to help him. We still think it's Zhastar, one of the missing realm guardians."
"Could have been, but we don't know that. The Council doesn't know that. They persecuted us for his betrayal," I said.
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