"Thanks, Caleb," Carol said shakily.
"I meant that you should trust Lisa."
Seth growled, his touch growing heavier, more possessive. "Will it hurt her?"
Lisa hesitated in a way Carol didn't like. "It shouldn't."
"I don't care if you are the silver dragon," Seth rumbled. "If you hurt her, I'll stop you."
"I'll do my best not to. I promise."
"Just do it, Lisa," Carol said. "We'll talk about how scary it will be afterwards."
Lisa gave her a tight smile at the variation of the phrase Carol has used all her life�Let's do it first and talk about how hard it will be later.
Lisa laid her palm against Carol's cheek. Her fingers touched Carol's temples, her thumb curving against her cheekbone.
Carol looked into Lisa's eyes as requested and bit back a cry. Lisa's irises swirled with silver that spun into a vortex with dark pools in the center. Carol wanted to follow the spiral down, down, to whatever waited there.
Something inside her snarled, resisting the pull. At the same time she heard of cacophony of wind chimes, the metallic ones in Lisa's living room combining with those ringing and spinning inside her own head.
A light, merry voice overlaid Lisa's own, as though two Lisas spoke at the same time. It is difficult
Carol felt a sharp tug on her scalp as though something jerked it forward. The skin on her face moved under Lisa's fingers, followed by sudden pain.
Over the din of the warring chimes she heard Caleb growl and the soft mewling of the babies. Fire pierced Carol's eyes like a thousand stabbing pins, and she felt cool droplets of blood slide down her face. The tangled threads in her mind ripped apart like muscle from bone.
Carol screamed. Behind her, Seth snarled, then his hands jerked from her shoulders, and she heard him hit the wall with a sickening crunch.
Rage blurred her vision. She flung Lisa's touch from her face and backhanded her across the jaw.
"Leave him alone," she shouted, her voice dark. "He is mine."
Lisa stared at Carol in shock. Caleb deposited his children on the sofa and came at Carol, his eyes glittering with mindless fury.
Air whooshed, and Seth became a string of incandescent fire, encircling Carol in a wall of flame.
Caleb kept coming, the good-natured man suddenly a snarling warrior. Lisa grabbed him. "No."
"She hurt you."
"Don't touch her," Lisa said rapidly. "She's a Dragon Master. She can hurt you far worse that you can her, and she can bind you. Let her be."
Seth's opaque flame blurred Caleb and Lisa, but Carol smelled their fear. A very small part of her rejoiced at it.
The rest of her was shocked. "Lisa, I'm so sorry. I'd never hurt you, or Caleb."
"Maybe not on purpose," Lisa said. "I can't remove the mark. I can't reach the part of you that's holding Seth without hurting you and possibly killing him. Or you. I don't know why."
Seth's flame flared and then be resolved into his human form. He stood right in front of Carol, which gave her a nice view of his naked buttocks and the flame tattoo across his hips.
"You will not touch her," he said fiercely.
"I guess I won't. Are you all right, Carol?"
Carol wiped her eyes, surprised no blood came away on her fingers. The pounding in her skull had receded to a faint headache, and she badly needed a glass of water.
"I think so."
"What happened, exactly?" Caleb demanded. He moved back to the sofa and picked up his daughter. Severin looked up from the couch with wide blue eyes, fingers in his mouth. "You can't be stronger than Lisa. No one is stronger than Lisa."
"Apparently, Dragon Masters are," Lisa said, rubbing her face where Carol had hit her.
Carol's body throbbed in a cross between pain and anger, but a distracted part of her couldn't pull her attention from Seth. Neither Caleb nor Lisa seemed surprised by or even seemed to notice his nudity, but Carol's gaze was riveted to Seth, and something in her ached.
He is yours, a voice whispered. The power of a fire dragon, to do with as you please.
She had another vision, this one of Seth over her in the dark, his face twisted in passion. Her passion answered back.
As though he sensed her thoughts Seth turned to her. His front was as nice as his back, hard pectorals dusted with red-gold hair, his skin tanned evenly as though he spent all day in the sun.
Which of course he didn't. He was a dragon; he'd never been human before last night. She saw the wanting in his eyes as he gazed at her and felt the answering wanting in herself. His music wound around her again, its touch as delicate as a lover's.
Behind Seth, Caleb still sounded worried. "What is a Dragon Master exactly? How can one have power over the silver dragon?"
"I don't know." Lisa said. "The silver dragon has never encountered a Dragon Master. Ming Ue said she thought the potential might have skipped Carol, so the silver dragon didn't pay much attention. That and I was always busy with other problems." she finished with emphasis.
Carol heard her friends in the background but dimly. Ignoring them, Seth touched Carol's cheek, his fingers finding the hurt left by Lisa's fingers.
"You're bruised."
"I'll be all right."
Seth continued to stroke her face, and she had to force herself not to melt into him. She rarely let herself react to men, and truthfully, she'd not found one worth much reaction. But her body swayed to Seth's as he bent his head and brushed his lips over hers.
She again felt a searing bite, as though a touch of his fire rippled through her body. Music tingled in her head, and their thought-threads smoothed and became tight once more.
"I want to show you what I am," Seth said. "Will you let me?"
Suddenly, Carol wanted to know very much. She wanted to know everything about him.
She touched his face. "Yes. Please."
Seth looked at Lisa. "You have a way here. I feel it." He pointed to the apartment's second bedroom, which Carol knew held the cribs for Severin and Li Na.
Lisa's brows went up. "Are you sure?"
"I will protect her," Seth said. "I am compelled to, but I would anyway."
"This might not be wise."
Seth balled his hands, which did wonderful things to his biceps. Carol couldn't resist running her fingers up and down his arms, tracing every corded muscle.
Carol felt Lisa's gaze on her, and she clasped Seth's hand protectively. "I have no idea what you two are talking about, but if Seth wants to go in there�Lisa, please let him."
Lisa sighed. "All right. But while you're there, Carol, don't stray one foot from his side. It's a dangerous place already, and it might be doubly dangerous for you." She bit her lip. "Maybe I should go with you."
"No," Seth and Caleb said at the same time.
Lisa glanced at Caleb, who scowled as he cradled Li Na. The baby watched with intelligent eyes as though she followed every nuance of the conversation.
"I'll stay," Lisa conceded. "But if you need me, call me. Promise?"
Seth didn't answer, his gaze intent on the door. Carol couldn't imagine what danger lurked in the babies' bedroom aside from stray toys, but she nodded at Lisa.
Lisa walked to the bedroom door and opened it. Caleb stood like a sentinel by the sofa, Li Na securely in his arms, Severin peeking around his legs.
Carol caught a glimpse of the bedroom Lisa had redecorated for the children in bright hues of blue, red, and yellow, the two cribs perpendicular to each other against two walls.
Lisa raised her hand and drew her finger down the open doorway. Silver magic tingled and jangled, and the hairs on the back of Carol's neck stood up.
The air rent like fabric. Under Lisa's finger, the black tear grew, revealing darkness beyond and a wind so cold it took Carol's breath away. Her hair danced in the sudden breeze, and the wind chimes in the living room spun and clanged.
Seth grasped Carol's hand and strode to the door, his eyes widening into voids as black as the nothing be
yond the tear. His voice swam in her head. Don't let go of me.
She was about to ask why when she found herself falling into blackness at sudden sharp speed. Her insides twisted, and she opened her mouth to scream.
Something solid formed around her and under her, and then she felt herself being lifted straight into a cold, starry sky. She saw scales and wings and a flash of bright red-orange, as the fire dragon arrowed himself across a rocky plain.
"Seth?" she gasped.
"Don't let go."
Good advice. Carol closed her hands around the huge talon in front of her and held on tight.
Flying was freedom. Seth spread his wide wings and let the updraft catch him, reveling in the feel of the thermals.
He smelled the dry air of his home, and inhaled, letting the glory of it fill his lungs. Mountains rose above mountains, the sky stretched to eternity, and there wasn't another soul in sight.
He barely felt Carol's grip on him, but the flame of her presence was unmistakable. She still bound him with his name, but here that didn't seem to matter as much. He wanted to fly, and he could protect her only if she flew with him.
Her rapid heartbeat came to him through the thought threads and her fear. He swooped low over a green forest and up against vast cliffs, wanting to show her the beauty of this place.
She bleated an expletive.
Are you well, Carol?
Dragons didn't emit human-speak from their mouths, but he could project his thoughts to her through their bond.
"No," she shouted. "I'm terrified. Where are you taking me?"
Home.
"Where's that? Is it far?"
"I will show you."
Seth slid through Dragonspace, finding folds in the atmosphere that took him quickly across the vast world. His heart throbbed with joy when he saw the empty spaces of his own territory, the rock-strewn plains, the red cliffs soaring thousands of feet above it.
There was water here, hidden deep underground, bubbling to the surface in springs only he knew of. His cave was tucked high in the cliff's surface, the opening almost invisible from the ground. He felt his lair call to him, and the singing of the stones inside.
Seth landed in the shadow of the cliff and gently set Carol on the ground.
She brushed off her skirt and looked around, staying near his body. "This is where you live? No wonder you're uncomfortable in San Francisco."
It's cold there.
"Not always. In the summer, the days can be warm and soft, downright hot sometimes." She scanned the rolling stillness of the desert. "It's nothing like here, though."
No.
Carol leaned her hands on Seth's nose. "I don't like it any more than you do. I'll do everything I can to fix this."
I think you can't while the other Dragon Master exists.
The power in you didn't call me to save me from bondage to him. You wanted the power of the fire dragon.
"For what?"
To kill the other Dragon Master, perhaps. I don't know.
She absently stroked his nose. "I've always been so sure of myself, so in control, and now something strange is inside me, doing what it wants. It's terrifying."
Seth wove his music around her. You do not need to be afraid.
"Why not? My life is falling apart, and I'm standing in a world that can't exist, talking to a dragon. If Zhen is right, then this Order that the other Dragon Master is involved in killed my mother and won't be happy that I survived."
I will not let anything hurt you. You have bound me, and that means I protect you.
"Against your will."
Seth drew back so he could look down at her. She was so small to him�he could crush her without thinking about it, but he knew he never would. I would want to protect you whether you compelled me to or not.
"I don't want you to have to protect me. Life was so easy until yesterday. All I had to do was prepare for an investors' meeting."
If you had gone to that meeting, you would have had to battle for your life. The demons were ready to take you.
"If you and Zhen are right about that, why didn't they break down my office door to get to me? They just left."
Perhaps they were sent to see how strong you were. The demons could take you if they could, but if you proved stronger and defeated them, well, they are only demons. Dispensable.
"You think they'll try again, then."
They will try until they get what they want. I've had dealings with this Order before. The old man said he would train you to use your mage powers. I think you must believe him.
"This is all so wrong. I can barely take in what Zhen told me about my mother. I didn't just lose her�she was taken away from me."
Tears wet her eyes. Seth nuzzled her, and she leaned against him as though liking his warmth.
Seth had never wanted to be touched before. Only mates touched. He'd not begun the hunt for his mate, but now his dragon self was reacting as though he'd already found her.
But Carol was human and had enslaved him, and Seth couldn't trust his instincts.
Carol ran her hands over his shoulder. "I thought dragons would be cold and scaly, but you're so warm. You're a beautiful dragon."
Am I?
Carol stroked him slowly. "You're not really red. You're iridescent. I can't decide if you're yellow or orange or red or black."
All those. He nudged her again, realizing there was some compensation when he was stuck in the human world�he could touch Carol as much as he wished.
She asked, "So you were here minding your own business, when suddenly you were yanked away to the alley behind Ming Ue's?"
He twined his frustration through their thought threads. I was angry. So angry.
"No wonder you accosted me in the alley."
Seth closed his eyes, narrowing his focus to her scent and the warmth of her hand. Your world is too crowded for me, especially now. I am hemmed in on all sides and feel powerless.
"What do you mean, especially now?"
I was there before, a long time ago. I don't know how long, perhaps a few thousand years of your time. A Dragon Master summoned me and several other dragons. We had to do his bidding, and men of the Order of the Block Lotus were there, too. The Order killed him.
He felt her blanch. "And that's how you were freed?"
Yes.
"So you could just let the Order kill me, too."
Seth's dragon brain processed this, wondering why he hadn't simply stood back and let her be taken. But he'd rushed into her building when he'd seen the demons, his first instinct to protect her.
That could be part of the binding�he'd tried to protect the first Dragon Master who'd called him, too. But he hadn't been human then, hadn't grieved for him.
I'll not let them hurt you, he promised.
"Why is the Order so down on Dragon Masters anyway?" she asked. "What did a Dragon Master do to them?"
Nothing. They want power and will get rid of anyone who stands in their way. The Dragon Master killed their god, and they punished him.
"Killed their god? How do you kill a god?"
He was a demon-god. I don't know how the Dragon Master did it, or if he banished it instead of killing it. The Dragon Master used my power and that of the other dragons to help him, but I remember little of it.
Everything had been a blur of fire and pain. When he'd awoken from darkness, Seth had been free and back in Dragonspace. He never learned what had happened to the other dragons.
"If that was a few thousand years ago, why is the Order still around, and why are they killing Dragon Masters now?"
I don't know, Seth said unhappily. Something was very wrong, and it annoyed him that he didn't understand what.
Something disturbed the energy at the boundaries of his territory. Seth raised his head, testing the wind. He scanned with his dragon thoughts while Carol watched, worried, until he brushed against a cold and ancient mind.
"What is it?" Carol asked.
Black dragon. Seth
slid the wards through Carol's head then snatched her up and launched himself into the clear, dry air.
Malcolm waited one wingspan outside Seth's territory, stopping just short of violation. The black dragon was huge and ancient, three thousand years old at least. His wingspan was twice that of Seth's, but Seth knew he could out-fly him. A fire dragon didn't need wingspan to be fast.
I tracked the demons to their source, Malcolm said without greeting them. As I thought, they are incubi, but not quite. I'd guess from what they did and how they spoke that they were bred from incubi and demons from deeper hells, ones with intelligence.
Smart incubi, Seth finished. That wasn't good. Where are they now?
A warehouse south of the city.
Did you follow them in?
Malcolm snorted. By myself in human form with no backup? I went to Lisa's to report. She suggested I find you and bring you back, and we investigate together. We dragons, I mean. We'll pick up Axel and my Saba on the way.
Every time Malcolm said my Saba his voice went soft, and gentle purple threads shot through his aura. His Saba, his mate.
Carol broke in. "I take it you aren't including me in this expedition?"
You'd be a risk, Malcolm said. We know nothing about your power and would have to spend too much time protecting you.
"I'd be insulted if I didn't partly agree," Carol said.
"Where am I supposed to twiddle my thumbs while you're out finding these smart demons?"
At Lisa's, Malcolm answered. Her house has the strongest protective magic in the city. Anywhere, for that matter.
"Fine." It wasn't fine, Seth could tell. "But don't you dare finish and go out for pizza without telling me. I don't want it to be midnight before someone looks around and says, 'Oh, did anybody call Carol?'"
We'd more likely go out for dim sum, Malcolm said, and Seth realized in surprise that he was joking. A black dragon who knew how to joke�would wonders never cease?
Malcolm led the way back through Dragonspace, and Seth slowed his own slipstreaming so he wouldn't leave Malcolm in the dust. He held Carol securely against him, feeling the bond between them strengthen with every mile.
They approached the rocky ledge, the strange pull of the human world compelling Seth toward the door set into the cliff. Malcolm went through first. A bright light surrounded him and changed his dragon shape to human male, his dragon essence shrinking and warping into a black tattoo that folded around his bicep.
The Dragon Master Page 6
