by ML Guida
Gwen struggled, but in a split second, her other wrapped her arm around her throat, while still holding pistol to her head. She cursed silently. She should have anticipated that move. She’d used the same one many times before, fighting ruffians in the streets of London.
Theo looked between all of them, his tail coiling like a snake, and Gwen could see the frustration and fear in his eyes.
Her double exerted enough pressure around Gwen’s throat to cut off her supply of air. “Don’t do it, Theo. She won’t kill me.”
“Don’t be so sure,” her double whispered into her ear. “Patience isn’t one of my virtues.”
Gwen groaned. How many times had both Grace and Leif scolded her on her short temper? She had always had a hard time waiting for what she wanted, and her double obviously suffered this same trait, but killing someone for money left a dishonorable taste in her mouth.
Theo sat back on his haunches and flew into the air, exhaling a blaze of fire.
“I knew he would go for it.” Hera curled lips into a lopsided smile.
“See?” Gwen gasped. “She’s lying.”
Hera flicked her hand. “You’ll soon find out, won’t you?” She sauntered toward her. “Bring her inside.” Her voice turned as deadly as a demon’s.
Her identical half slowly released the arm around Gwen’s neck. “We’ll see about that. Now, move.”
Gwen touched her tender throat and winced. She gently took a swallow, then gulped down precious air.
“Move,” her double said, as she pushed her.
Gwen stumbled but managed to keep her dignity and not fall. The pressure of the pistol was placed in the middle of her back. She didn’t think she’d be fast enough to unman her assailant.
She reluctantly followed Hera, hoping she wasn’t walking to the gallows. Inside, the home wasn’t what she’d expected–no bubbling cauldrons, candles, or caged animals. She was treated with warm colors of pink and purple. Pictures hung from the walls of the painted desert and large-petal flowers. A fire flickered in the fireplace, but there was no cauldron, so Gwen couldn’t figure out why red smoke had poured out of the chimney.
Overstuffed furniture faced the fireplace and surrounded an oak coffee table that had colorful, hand-covered, wooden figures. Hera brought over a wooden dining room chair with a rose-colored cushion.
“Sit here.”
Her voice left little room for argument, and Gwen had little choice with the pistol in her back. She sat in the chair. Her hands were jerked behind her back then tied quickly, cutting off her circulation.
She refused to ask for mercy and glared at Hera. She hoped Topper would strip her of her powers, but if Theo returned with her wand, that seemed unlikely.
“Don’t look so glum,” Hera said, as she threaded her fingers through her hair. “He’ll bring back my wand.”
“And I’ll get my gold,” her dizzying other half said, as she turned her pistol on Hera. “Or you’ll not see another sunrise.”
Hera crossed her legs underneath her. “You’re not the trusting type, are you?”
She put her back against the wall. “I don’t trust anyone. Get me another bottle of rum.”
Hera frowned. “I think you’ve had enough.”
Gwen’s double fired the gun, barreling a hole in the middle of Hera’s recliner.
“You bitch!” Hera yelled. “You could have killed me.”
“If I wanted you dead, you would be. Now get me the rum.”
“Fine.”
Hera stormed over to a cabinet and opened it up. She snagged a bottle then gave it to Gwen’s double, who snatched it out of her hand.
Hera walked back to her recliner. “You’re very rude.”
“So?” The double unscrewed the lid slowly, then took a long gulp. She held the bottle tight as she trained the gun on Gwen.
Gwen realized that her other self possessed every negative aspect she had, but a thousand times worse. She’d drink more, she’d be more distrusting, and willing to hurt anyone to survive. But the one that she hadn’t seen was the need to protect those she loved. Maybe this other half would be different if either Gracelyn or Leif were here.
Obviously, being attracted to Theo didn’t count. It would have to be much more for her to save him, but then she wasn’t even sure this other side of herself possessed this quality.
Hera gestured with her arm. “Why don’t you sit on the couch? It’s quite comfortable. We may have a long wait. And the way you drink, you’re liable to pass out.”
The double narrowed her eyes. “I can handle my liquor. I’m comfortable where I am.” She widened her stance, her pistol in one hand, the sword in the other, just like Gwen used to when she fought. She could use both hands equally, which more than once had taken her enemies by surprise.
Hera shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She picked up a metal device and flicked her fingers across it.
Gwen squirmed in her chair. “What are you doing?”
Hera didn’t even look up. “Reading.”
Her cavalier attitude grated against Gwen’s nerves.
Gwen’s double blurted, “How can that be? ’Tis not a book.”
Hera glanced between them and turned the device around, which had glowing words. “It’s a tablet, which has over a hundred books on it.”
Gwen lifted an eyebrow, believing it was another trick.
Hera held up her hand. “Not magic. Technology, and no, I don’t want to discuss it.”
Gwen struggled to free her wrists, but they’d gone numb, and her stiff fingers refused to move. Hera didn’t pay an ounce of attention to her, but Gwen didn’t want to test her assumption. Besides, her guard never wavered.
She leaned her head on the back of the chair, wondering what Theo was planning. Hopefully, he wasn’t going to do something that would get himself killed.
She thought of Theo’s teasing smile that melted her insides. His golden eyes that peered inside her heart, accepting both her strengths and weaknesses, but still wanting her. She remembered the taste of lips on hers that stirred a budding desire. To her chagrin, familiar, bubbling feelings that she long denied crept up her throat, forcing her to acknowledge them–lust, excitement, wildness. They scared her, making her admit something she’d long avoided. She’d never felt like this for any other man–even when she was whole. Which scared the living pirate out of herself.
She’d find a way to save him, even if meant killing her other half.
Chapter Eleven
Theo soared into the midnight sky, exhaling fire.
He looked at the stars, not having the faintest clue which planet was the dragon queen’s. It could be any of them. Even if he knew, how the devil could he contact her?
The dream came to him.
No matter how much it bristled him, he needed help whether he wanted to admit it or not. He flew as fast he could to Hera’s simple little adobe home. Like all the Magic resident homes, blooming cacti, which constantly changed colors, were planted in front of the house. A black cat lay stretched out in the middle of the yard but didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by Theo’s great size, since it had probably seen more than its fair share of magical beasts.
He landed outside the wooden gate and tried to transform, but anger and frustration held him. He wasn’t in control–the dragon was.
He tilted his head back and shrieked.
Lights went on up and down the street, and he ignored them. The door opened, and Topper came out, wearing a red silky bathrobe, as if she’d just taken a shower, but he didn’t care.
Gwen was in danger.
“Theo?” She yawned sleepily. “What’s wrong?”
He looked at her pleadingly, hoping to make her understand.
“It’s Gwen. Isn’t it?”
“Topper, what’s going on?”
Excited voices repeated all around Theo.
“Is that the sheriff?”
“Are we under attack?”
Topper motioned to shush the crowd. “
Calm down everyone. I know as much as you do. I think our solemn sheriff is stuck in dragon form.”
Theo narrowed his eyes.
“If you don’t mind–”she looked around–“I need some privacy with him. I promise, you are all safe.”
For now, he thought.
Gnomes, trolls, and people dressed in their nightly garb wandered back into their homes, grumbling. Theo ignored them, concentrating on Topper.
“Now, first, my dear sheriff, you must learn to control those overbearing emotions of yours.” She lifted her arms high over her head. “Breathe in.”
Theo rolled his eyes.
She frowned. “Do you want to save your mate?”
The last thing he wanted to do was new age mumbo-jumbo, but he’d do it for Gwen.
“Close your eyes and listen to my voice. Take deep breaths from your diaphragm.”
Reluctantly closing his eyes, he followed Topper’s lead and inhaled and exhaled deeply, expanding and compressing his lungs.
“That’s it. Breathe in. Breathe out.”
Her voice was smooth and soft like a smoldering fire. He thought of nothing else but her voice. His fast-beating heart slowed, and the anger pumping in his veins diminished.
“Open your eyes, Theo,” she said gently.
Theo did as she said and realized he was a man–not a beast. He frowned. “How?”
“You have to learn to control your anger. Once you do this, you can transform back and forth at will.”
“Topper, I need your help.”
Concern flared in her eyes.
He nodded. “Hera and Gwen’s double have her. Gwen’s evil half is demanding dragon gold, and if I don’t deliver, she plans on killing Gwen.”
“If she kills Gwen, she’ll die.”
“That’s what I told her, but supposedly Hera has cast a spell that even if Gwen dies, her other half will survive. Is that true?”
She crunched her eyebrows into a deep scowl. “I don’t know. Come inside. I need to do some research.”
Impatience boiled inside his gut, but law enforcement had taught him that moving half-cocked led to disaster. He followed Topper into her home. She went over to a bookcase filled with every spell book imaginable and pulled out a black one with no words on the spine.
She was busy thumbing through it while he took a seat next to the fire. Suddenly, a weariness rolled over him, his limbs strained and heavy, as if he’d overstrained every muscle, every bone in his body. He closed his eyes…
“Theo, awaken,” a strong, familiar, male voice ordered.
Theo fluttered open his eyes. He exhaled a loud breath of relief. He was back on the mysterious aqua planet, and a long shadow fell over him.
He shielded his eyes. “Damon?”
“Aye, it’s me. The queen has seen your plight and has sent me to offer you help.”
Theo scrambled to his feet. “She knows of the gold and will give me some?”
Damon tossed his head back and laughed. “Dragon gold is a myth on the planet Earth. We do not hoard treasure.”
His hearty laugh sent a prickle of irritation down Theo’s stiff spine. “Then, what exactly does she plan to do?”
Damon slowly sobered, then stretched out his hand. In the middle of his palm was a glimmering gold stone with a narrow black diamond in the center of it.
“Is that gold?”
“Hardly. It’s dragon eye–the most powerful stone on my planet.”
On closer inspection, Theo realized that there was a jagged, glowing red border around the gold. “Does it possess magical powers?”
“Of course. That’s why I said it was our most powerful stone.”
Theo jerked his gaze back to the surly warrior. “Tell me what it does.”
“It is difficult to say. Each stone is different and only will reveal itself to its true owner.”
Theo frowned. “I don’t understand,” he said impatiently. “How is this going to help me with Gwen? I don’t have time for a lesson.”
“If you don’t listen, then you won’t know how to use it,” Damon chided.
Theo flipped his hand. “Fine. Go on.”
“Very well. This stone is an exact replica of the owner’s eye. No one stone is alike, and only the owner can use it.”
The stone moved in Damon’s palm, and Theo swore it was looking at him. He glanced up at Damon. “Are you saying this one is mine?”
“Obviously. It comes to be when you are to be mated. Open your hand.”
Theo didn’t hesitate.
Damon turned his hand over as if he was going to drop it into Theo’s outstretched hand. Suddenly, he wrenched his hand back.
“What are you doing?” Theo spat. “Give it to me. You said it was mine.”
“First, you must promise nothing is to happen to the witch who cursed your mate.”
“What? Why? She deserves to be punished.”
Damon’s eyes grew darker. “I’ll not give this to you until you promise no harm will come to her.”
He released a warning growl that caught Theo’s suspicion. Somehow, Hera had piqued this dragon’s protection or perhaps even the queen’s, but all Theo cared about was Gwen.
“For all of her meddling, Hera will most likely be banished from Magic and her powers stripped.”
Damon curled a corner of his mouth into a sneer. “I meant physically harmed.”
“We will not hurt her if that is what you mean.”
Damon stood there stubbornly waiting.
“No, I’m not going to burn her to a crisp if that’s what you’re asking. I give you my word–no physical harm will come to Hera.”
“I’ll will hold you to that.” Damon handed the eye to Theo.
As soon as the eye touched Theo’s palm, hewhisked out of the planet like a rocket. He woke in Topper’s recliner, still gripping the dragon eye tight in his hand.
Topper sat in front of him. “Theo, are you all right? I have been shaking you for the last five minutes. I thought you had a heart attack,” she said frantically. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“No.” He slowly unclenched his hand to reveal the glowing stone. Warmth seeped up his arm. Strange tingles burst through him, but he was at a loss on what it meant. “I was back on the mysterious planet, and this time, they gave me something.”
Topper looked at it closely. “What is it?”
“It’s a dragon stone.”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure, I have no idea how the thing works.”
When Theo handed it to her, it immediately turned into a gray stone. The warmth and tingles fled from his body, as if a cozy blanket was lifted off him.
“What the hell just happened?”
Topper smiled. “I think understand now. Here, take it.”
Theo took back the stone, and the same sensations rushed over him.
“I believe this is a faith stone,” Topper said. “I have never seen one before and have only read about them. In order for this to work, you must believe without a shadow of a doubt that the magic hidden in the stone will work. One pebble of doubt is enough to render it useless.”
“Great, then I’m screwed.”
“Not necessarily. I can help you with this, but then the rest is up to you.”
“Gwen’s in danger. I’m ready to try anything.”
“Good.” She picked up wand that lay on the dining room table. “Now, repeat after me. I believe in myself.” She spun her wand around as she talked.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Theo,” she warned, still spinning her wand. “You’re wasting time. Do you want to save Gwen, or not?”
He stared at the stone that seemed to look at him, begging him to try.
“Fine. I believe in me.” He gritted his teeth.
She frowned. “Say it like you mean it.”
This was ridiculous. “I believe in me.”
“Again.”
“I believe in me.”
He’d lost some of the sarcasm
in his voice, and the tingles grew stronger inside him. He repeated the words three more times, and each time, his heart quickened. Something burst inside him like a loud pop. He jerked several times as power rippled through him.
“Theo, where are you?” Topper cried in alarm.
He stopped and looked down at his stretched-out hand that was invisible. He laughed, then put the eye inside his pocket. He gripped Topper’s shoulders, and she widened in surprise.
“You’re invisible. That’s your power.”
“Yes, thank you.” He lightly kissed her on the cheek. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go save a pretty little pirate.”
Chapter Twelve
Gwen glared at Hera, who’d fallen asleep in her overstuffed chair without a care in the world. Her soft nerves made Gwen want to scratch out her eyes. Even her double had stretched out on a nearby couch, still gripping her gun, but as far as Gwen could tell she wasn’t snoring, which meant she might be resting her eyes. Any sudden sounds would likely launch her into an attack.
Gwen hadn’t slept a wink all night. All she could think about was Theo and what fool plan he was devising to save her–one that would get him killed. She couldn't sit here and do nothing and worry and fret like an old woman. She shifted in her chair, pulling on her arms, trying to loosen her bindings, but her numb fingers only brushed over the tight rope. She exhaled in frustration.
Her indecision had grown worse as the night wore on. As if every minute, her mind was turning into soggy seaweed. She’d finally come up with the thought to try to cut her bindings with the discarded sword.
So far, her double hadn't moved an inch, but she could be lying in wait like a predator ready to snag a curious prey.
Gwen couldn’t help but wonder if her pickled mind was fading. For some reason, her double was able to make decisions faster than Gwen, which was so frustrating.
Luckily, her captors hadn’t bound her ankles. Not knowing what else to do, she twisted her body hard. The chair screeched across the hardwood floor, louder than a pissed off dragon. Gwen held her breath, waiting for her double to press a sword against her throat, but the woman hadn't even flickered an eyelash.
