Seafire Dragon

by Natalie Kristen

  His shape was human but there were glittering black scales covering his entire body. Piper looked into the man’s glowing red eyes and gasped. “Y-you’re the serpent,” she stammered.

  “Yes.” He gave a slight bow. “My name is Romus. I’m the owner of this humble establishment.”

  Piper snorted. There was nothing humble about him or his establishment. “You’re a snake,” she said.

  “I’m a sea serpent,” Romus corrected with a smirk. “And a sorcerer.”

  With a wave of his hand, clothes appeared on his body and his scales vanished.

  He wore a well-tailored suit and the glow faded from his red eyes. Piper watched Romus warily as she came out from behind the desk. He was tall and thin, and completely bald. He had the same slitted red eyes and featureless face as his guards.

  Piper swallowed a whimper. Romus and his guards were all sea serpents. She was literally trapped in a nest of serpents.

  Romus moved behind the large, ornate desk and sat down. His movements were languid and deliberate, but Piper had no doubt at all that he could move with lethal, deadly speed.

  “A hippogriff,” he said, smiling.

  Piper stood in front of Zander to block him. Zander flapped his wings angrily and screeched at the enemy.

  Piper shook her head at her son and raised a warning finger.

  “I thought Hawke was trying to pull a fast one on me,” Romus said with a chuckle. “When he contacted me and asked me how much I was willing to pay for a hippogriff, I told him to name his price. I actually laughed when he told me to get the money ready.”

  Piper scowled. “Let us go. Now.”

  “You’re at the bottom of the sea,” Romus said, spreading out his hands. “Where will you go?”

  “You have no right to keep us here,” she snapped.

  Romus shrugged and waved at a coffee pot on the side table. The pot tilted and poured steaming black liquid into a dainty porcelain cup.

  “No one gets out of the Dome without my knowledge and permission,” Romus said, walking to the side table and picking up the cup. He took a sip and sighed contentedly.

  Zander used his hind legs to kick over a bookcase. Romus raised a brow when the bookcase toppled noisily but he didn’t look surprised, upset or angry.

  With a snap of his fingers, the bookcase righted itself.

  Piper kept her face impassive. Romus was a sea serpent shifter and a sorcerer. Hawke had told her that Romus was a genius at harnessing technology and magic.

  Piper saw modern, state-of-the-art equipment all around the office. And she had seen Romus’s confident, effortless command of magic. He made things happen with just a snap of his fingers.

  He was smart, cunning and very dangerous. But Piper refused to believe that she and Zander were doomed.

  “What do you want with us?” she demanded.

  “I actually only want your son,” Romus said, putting down his cup. “A hippogriff makes a superb pet.” He tapped a long finger against his lipless mouth. “Hmmm...he can also make a great prize. I can raise the price of the tickets for the upcoming tournament substantially if I advertise him as a prize for the champion.”

  Romus tilted his head at her. “I can see he’s a spunky fighter too. So are you, actually. And you’re pretty creative in your fighting techniques. Maybe you can be the opening entertainment.” He rubbed his hands. “The arena will be packed!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Seath flew faster through the clouds. He held on to the scents of his mate and son, and kept flying. His brothers flew soundlessly behind him.

  They were now a great distance away from Shadow Point. Seath saw no buildings or dwellings below them as he flew. The forest had given way to a barren, rocky terrain, and he could smell smoke and ash in the distance.

  Be careful, Seath, Sky warned.

  Yeah, I smell trouble, Storm agreed.

  Seath nodded at his brothers. He could hear their voices clearly in his head. Once all their dragons emerged, their dragons simply connected and bonded instinctively. In dragon form, they could communicate with their minds and they could convey their thoughts seamlessly to one another. Seath could even feel the simmering sense of dread and foreboding in his brothers’ hearts.

  But more acutely, Seath could feel Piper’s pain, rage and terror. She was in terrible danger, but she wasn’t giving up the fight. She was holding on and fighting the enemy as hard as she could.

  There was a sudden burst of smoke in the distance. They were now flying over a rocky, mountainous region, and Seath saw a thick plume of smoke spewing from the top of a volcano.

  Seath let out an anguished roar and swooped towards the volcano. He could scent her.

  He flew nearer and saw a tiny sliver of bright yellow fabric on the side of the volcano. He recognized it at once. It was the tip of Piper’s bright yellow sneaker. He could scent her sweat, fear and anger, but the scent was fading fast.

  How did her sneaker land on the volcano?

  No! Seath let out a bellow.

  He couldn’t lose her.

  Fury burned in his gut and Seath dived towards the volcano in mindless agony and rage.

  Seath!

  Focus, Seath! Find her! Sky snarled in his head.

  Seath roared again and tore away just before he hit the crater of the volcano.

  His big brother was right. He had to find Piper.

  Piper was still alive. He could feel the fierce pull of the mate bond, and his dragon turned around as it locked onto the location of its mate.

  Seath flew away from the volcano and sped towards the sea. His brothers flew with him, flanking him and supporting him.

  Seath flew over the vast expanse of the sea, gliding above the lapping waves.

  He stared down at a spot in the middle of the sea and spat out a ball of fire. His dragon fire burned right through the water, and he saw the ball of fire slam straight down to the depths of the ocean.

  Your fire...it can burn through water! Storm roared.

  Seath nodded. He knew what it meant.

  He was a seafire dragon. Not only could he breathe fire in the water, he could breathe underwater.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Piper kept her expression calm and impassive as she watched Romus tap on his electronic tablet behind his desk. She glanced over her shoulder at the two guards standing behind them, and pretended to look bored. Showing her fear and anger would accomplish nothing.

  Romus had invited them to take a seat in front of his desk, but when Piper declined, Romus had called his guards in and told them to get Piper and Zander into the chairs. The guards had unceremoniously pushed Piper into what looked like a swivel chair in front of Romus’s large desk and bundled Zander into the chair beside her. Piper discovered at once that it was no ordinary swivel chair. Once she had been pushed into the seat, cuffs snapped from the armrest to secure her wrists to the chair. She saw the same happen to Zander.

  “Don’t move around too much,” Romus said conversationally. “You don’t want to get an electric shock.” He chuckled. “Yup, you’re sitting in an electric chair.”

  Zander slumped in his chair. He was back in human form and he looked scared and tired, but he kept his eyes on her. As long as he was with his mother, he wouldn’t break.

  Piper smiled at her son. She was his strength. She had to remain strong and optimistic. If she panicked, the boy would pick up on her fear and lose hope.

  “We have company,” Romus said as he stared at the tablet. “Those dragons have found the location of the Dome. And I think one of them is a seafire dragon.”

  Turning the screen to Piper, Romus said in a deceptively calm voice, “I’m sure you recognize these dragons.”

  Piper stared at the screen and saw three dragons flying over the vast sea. She recognized Seath’s dragon immediately, and she knew that the other two dragons were Sky and Storm. They were circling slowly overhead.

  Piper gasped and looked up. Seath and his brothers were fly
ing directly above the Dome. They had found her.

  Romus shook his head. “Technology allows me to have a great surveillance system. I can see everything that goes on around and above the Dome, but I think these electronic signals also give our location away.” He put the tablet down and jerked his head at the two guards standing behind Piper and Zander.

  “Tell Hawke to get rid of these dragons. They followed him here,” Romus ordered. “Tell him that he was supposed to deliver the goods with no strings attached. I don’t want any trouble. So he has to deal with the trouble that he had brought to my doorstep.”

  The guards clicked their heels and nodded.

  “Oh, tell Hawke that he can only collect his full payment after he has gotten rid of all three dragons,” Romus added. “I’ll be watching.” He tapped the tablet and bared his fangs in an awful smile.

  After the guards left the room, Romus pressed a button and the huge screen on the far wall blinked to life.

  “We’ll watch the fight live,” Romus said, smirking. “My guards will embed a camera into Hawke’s shoulder. We will be able to see how he takes on these dragons of yours.”

  After a while, the screen flickered to life. Piper couldn’t even breathe as she watched the grainy image on the screen gradually sharpen. At first she couldn’t make out what she was seeing, but she soon realized that the blurry images and the obscuring bubbles across the screen were caused by the swift upward movement of the camera through water.

  “My guards have released Hawke from the Dome,” Romus said, leaning back. “Let’s see how good these dragons are.”

  The images cleared suddenly, and Piper knew that Hawke had emerged from the water and was shooting up into the air.

  Zander jerked in his chair. “That’s Daddy! I see him! And...Uncle Sky and Uncle Storm,” the boy cried. “They’re here!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Seath roared a warning to his brothers when he saw Hawke explode out of the water. The black dragon shot out of the sea and into the air like a missile, and immediately aimed a ball of fire at Seath.

  Seath fired back at Hawke. The black dragon flew higher and fixed his eye on Seath.

  Sky and Storm came at Hawke from opposite directions. Balls of fire spun through the air and plunged into the sea.

  Hawke came after Seath but Storm blocked him and roared. Go! Go get your mate and son!

  Sky nodded at him. We’ll deal with Hawke. He won’t get away.

  Sky and Storm had the enemy cornered. They were attacking Hawke mercilessly, and Seath saw that there was no way Hawke could escape.

  With a quick nod at his brothers, Seath dived headlong into the water.

  With his powerful tail, Seath navigated his way through the cold dark depths of the ocean. He could sense that his mate and son were near. They were trapped at the bottom of the ocean, but strangely and inexplicably, they were alive. He could feel their anger, fear and hope. They knew he was coming for them.

  Finally, Seath caught sight of a massive rock structure. It was a huge underwater cave, but there was something built within the cave and it looked like a large dome. He kept swimming towards it. He knew that his mate and son were inside that dome.

  Waves of magic rippled from the dome. Seath could feel powerful electronic signals coming from the cave. And he could sense activity inside the dome.

  Seath tensed when he saw something move at the side of the rock structure. Dark shapes hurtled towards him, and Seath realized that three large sea serpents were coming right at him.

  The three sea serpents surrounded him quickly. The intelligent glow in their red eyes told Seath that these sea serpents were shifters.

  He had heard of shifters who lived in the sea, but he had never encountered one before.

  The serpents seemed determined to stop him from reaching the underwater cave. Seath suspected that these creatures were acting under orders from their leader. And their leader had Piper and Zander.

  One of the sea serpents attempted to coil its long, black body around Seath but he twisted round and burned the enemy with his dragon fire. The powerful white-hot flame cut through the water and hit the serpent’s body.

  With a violent jerk, the serpent fell away from him. The other two serpents backed away when they saw that Seath’s dragon fire had burned right through their comrade’s body, cutting it in two.

  A seafire dragon was actually more effective in the water than in the air. Seath could move faster and his fire burned hotter through water.

  The two remaining sea serpents circled him warily. Seath watched their movements and timed his attack.

  Seath shot fire at the larger of the two serpents but the serpent dodged and sliced through the water with amazing speed.

  Seath clawed at the enemy and blood bloomed in the water. Thrashing in rage and pain, the sea serpent unhinged its jaws and aimed its deadly fangs at Seath’s neck.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Seath dodged the blow, moving with blinding speed through the water.

  He kept breathing fire, distracting the sea serpents with flames which burned bright and hot in the water, illuminating the dark, watery depths of the sea.

  Seath blocked the attacks and waited for the opportunity to land the fatal blow.

  He finally saw his chance. Swiftly, he moved in for the kill.

  His claws slashed down and severed one of the serpent’s head from its body. Dark, black blood stained the water as the body started to sink.

  Seath spat out a huge ball of fire but missed.

  The last serpent was the largest and fastest of the trio.

  Seath spewed fire furiously at the enemy, but the monster glided through the water and disappeared into the depths of the ocean. Seath gave chase.

  Seath’s eyes blazed with fury as he closed in on the enemy. He spat out a ball of fire to block the serpent’s path.

  As the sea serpent turned around and flew at him, Seath clamped down on the serpent’s body with his teeth. He tore viciously into the belly of the beast and ripped out its innards.

  The water clouded with the blood of the dead sea serpents. Grimly, Seath swam through the murky water and pushed into the underwater cave. He moved swiftly through a tunnel and saw a rock roll away to reveal a doorway as he approached.

  Seath narrowed his eyes. The enemy knew he was coming.

  The enemy was opening the door for him and welcoming him into its lair.

  Seath pushed through the doorway and he instinctively spread out his wings when he felt dry air around him.

  He could feel magic crackling in the air. The interior of the cave was brightly lit and completely dry. This was some powerful magic. The magic kept the water out and allowed those lights and electronic equipment mounted on the walls and ceiling to operate.

  Seath made a smooth descent and landed in the middle of an arena. He shifted to human form and dropped in a crouch on the sandy floor. Where was he? It looked like he was standing in the middle of a huge stadium or arena.

  Turning around, he looked up at the grandstand and saw a bald man standing there. The man had no nose or lips. His red eyes had the same glow as those sea serpents, and his mouth was just a wide slash across his face

  “You killed three of my best guards,” the man deadpanned.

  “Who are you?” Seath demanded.

  “I’m Romus.” He spread out his arms. “I own the Dome.”

  “What have you done with my mate and son?” Seath snarled.

  Romus shrugged. “I’ve not done anything to them. They were delivered to me.”

  “Let them go.”

  Romus leaned forward and smiled. “They’re mine now.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  “They’re not yours,” Seath growled.

  Romus snapped his fingers and two uniformed guards appeared behind him. They were holding Piper and Zander by their necks.

  “Daddy!” Zander shrieked.

  Romus chuckled. “What a touching family reunion. Brings tears t
o my eyes.” His expression became serious as he faced Seath. “You are a seafire dragon. I’ve been searching far and wide for a seafire dragon. You are formidable and undefeatable underwater, and well, my operations are all underwater.”

  Seath narrowed his eyes. What did the sly, wily old snake want?

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Romus said. “You stay. And I’ll let them go.”

  “No!” Piper cried.

  Seath stared at both Piper and Zander. He had finally found his family. He wasn’t going to give them up. And he wasn’t going to give himself up either.

  Seath let out a slow, lazy smile. “You want me? You’d have to win me.”

  Romus’s red eyes blazed as Seath smirked at him. “You want me to work for you, but I can only work for someone I respect. You will have to prove that you are better than me. I will stay if you can defeat me. Come on. This is an arena, isn’t it? Let’s do it right here. You’re a sea serpent, Romus. You can easily take on a dragon, can’t you?”

  Romus remained silent and Seath laughed mockingly.

  “Are you afraid, Romus?” Seath challenged. “Are you really afraid of a young dragon?”

  “I’m afraid of nothing,” Romus snapped.

  “Good. Come on then, what are you waiting for?” Seath taunted. “You have home-field advantage. This is your arena.”

  Seath spat on the ground and declared, “Win the fight, Romus, and I will stay and serve you for the rest of my life. If you lose, you let us leave.”

  Romus glared at Seath for a moment. With a barely perceptible nod, Romus vaulted over the grandstand suddenly and shifted.

  His long, black serpentine body dropped soundlessly onto the sand in the arena.

  Seath backed away as the giant serpent reared up and slithered towards him.

  “Okay.” He blew out a short breath and glanced at Piper and Zander. “Okay, let’s fight.”

  Zander’s eyes were shining with hope and anticipation, and he broke into a proud smile. Piper looked like she wasn’t breathing at all. Her face was deathly pale, but she managed to nod at Seath.