Dragon's Lair (Silhouette Nocturne (Numbered))

by Denise Lynn

  Had he been around even then? She remembered the overwhelming fear at seeing the dragon in her rearview mirror. It was the same type of fear she felt whenever Nathan invaded her mind—a cold, sickening dread she was unable to control. Why had he been following her back then?

  “You must leave here.” Danielle stood up and came over to stand before her. “I was right, you are dangerous. Braeden will die if you stay.”

  From the forcefulness of her words, there was little doubt in Alexia’s mind that Danielle Drake actually believed that. However, Alexia didn’t.

  “I’m not leaving, Danielle. I don’t believe your curse is true, and even if it were, why would you assume for one second that Braeden couldn’t be protected by means other than magical?”

  “You just admitted that you were run off the road by a beast, and you could have been killed. What if it had been Braeden?”

  Alexia was surprised at the level of worry Braeden’s aunt displayed. She was also surprised that the woman seemingly believed her without question. She’d always been certain Danielle would accuse her of making it all up.

  “Look, for one thing, Braeden has this innate sense that warns him of danger. For another, he wouldn’t have been as terrified as I was and probably wouldn’t have jerked the wheel so hard.” She didn’t have the heart to tell his aunt about the dragon coming out of the book. It would only upset her more. “Danielle, he’ll be fine.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  Alexia couldn’t find the words to ease Danielle’s fears. “What can we know for certain? Nothing.”

  “If anything happens to him…” The woman stopped abruptly, her gaze directed out the glass doors.

  “What?” Alexia turned around, looking over her shoulder. “What do you see?”

  “Nothing. Mist. Shadows. Nothing that would interest you.” She spun around and headed toward the door. “I should go.”

  “You don’t have to. Stay, check out the manual with me.” Alexia paused. What was she suggesting?

  “No. I have a meeting to attend.”

  Relief flooded through Alexia as the door closed behind Danielle. She didn’t know what she’d have done if the woman had taken her up on her offer.

  She went over and opened the balcony door. Braeden’s aunt had seen something, leaving Alexia’s senses even more on edge.

  Alexia leaned back from the computer monitor, rubbed her eyes and stretched. Since Braeden wasn’t home, she’d turned down his brothers’ invitation to dinner so she could work on the book some more. After a while, though, putting this diary together was rather boring.

  And typing up her notes, if anything, was even more boring.

  “Alexia.”

  She froze. There was that voice again—Nathan.

  “What have you learned?”

  “Nothing. Go away.”

  “Not until I get what I’m after. Then—” He laughed. The sinister sound made her hands shake. “Then maybe I’ll go away.”

  Alexia leaned over and reached for the phone to call Sean or Cam. Before she could touch it, the receiver flew across the room as if thrown.

  “No, no, my dear. We don’t need anyone else.”

  Trying hard not to panic, she said, “The book is nothing but a diary. That’s all it is. Look for yourself.” She pointed at the monitor, then choked on a scream. A ghostly image stared back at her from the screen.

  “No, I don’t believe you. No one would waste the time and energy involved in creating that grimoire to use the pages for a simple diary. I will get the truth, Alexia.”

  With her feet Alexia shoved the chair as far away from the desk as possible, screaming, “Leave me alone!”

  With any luck her brothers-in-law might hear her.

  He laughed again. Alexia covered her ears to no avail. While the face on the monitor appeared to laugh with evil humor, the sound still came from inside her head.

  “No. You’re going to tell me what I want to know.”

  An invisible force slammed her arms down onto the chair. Unseen bindings held her wrists securely to the chair arms.

  Frantic, she tried jerking free. Without thought, she cried, “Braeden, Braeden, I need you now!”

  But Nathan’s laughter grew louder, drowning out her cries. Had Braeden heard her?

  “No. I’m afraid he didn’t. It’s just you and I.”

  A cold, nearly frozen finger stroked down her cheek. “I’d nearly forgotten how soft, pliable and defenseless human skin feels beneath my touch. It’s been far too long.”

  Alexia leaned as far to the side as the invisible binds would allow. Fear closed her throat, cutting off any further cry for help.

  Her struggles proved useless. The unseen finger trailed further down her neck, rimming the edge of her sweatshirt.

  He pressed one finger at a time against her throat, dragging her upright in the chair. “This may hurt a bit, Alexia, but only for a few moments.”

  Slowly he tightened his grip. “At first you’ll panic. See, even now your eyes grow wide.”

  A little more pressure against her windpipe. “Then you’ll struggle to breathe. Can you hear your own gasps for breath? Or does the sound of your heart pounding in your ears drown out the sound of your lungs begging for air?”

  Her throat convulsed against his hand as she desperately tried to pull in a breath. Alexia’s eyes welled with tears. She didn’t want to die like this.

  The rush of his hot breath against her ear drew a strangled whimper from her. “And now—now you’ll feel light-headed, the room will turn hazy, out of focus. Soon, very soon, Alexia, your limp, nearly dead body will be mine to do with as I please.”

  The room spun. Her heartbeat slowed. And her body felt strangely weightless.

  Again his evil laugh resounded in her head. “Don’t fear overmuch, though. I will not kill you. This is only a warning. The next time, you will give me the answers I seek.”

  As if no longer inside her own body, Alexia watched from across the room as a murky shadow hovered over her physical self, now slumped in the chair.

  Had he killed her? Or was she hallucinating? Either way, she was quite obviously here, not over there in her body. She couldn’t be certain, but she didn’t feel dead.

  What she felt was anger. No, it was more like rage and she’d be damned if she was going to stand here and do nothing.

  There was no way she could take on Nathan alone. If there was the slightest chance she still lived, she needed to get help. Quickly. She raced across the room for the door.

  He didn’t appear to see her or sense her. Grateful for that bit of luck, she ran through the living room to the front door and grabbed the doorknob. Her hand slid through it as if the knob was no longer tangible.

  Alexia stared at the knob, her hand and finally at the door, whispering, “This is either going to hurt really, really bad, or it’ll work.”

  She stepped toward, then through the door and stood in the hallway. With a brief glance behind her, she smiled. “Not bad.” But who would she get to help? Even if she could just walk into the suite where Sean and Cam were, would she be able to communicate with them?

  Danielle’s voice floated down the hall from the dining room. The woman was singing to herself. Alexia realized there was one person nearby who could hear her thoughts. She rushed in that direction, all the while shouting inside her mind, “Danielle, get the boys. I need help, now.”

  The sound of glass shattering echoed around the corner. As Alexia rounded the last turn in the hallway, she saw Danielle standing in the kitchen with broken glass at her feet.

  “Danielle, please, it’s Nathan. He’s going to kill me. Help me.” She tried grabbing the woman’s arm, but again her hand touched nothing.

  However, Danielle’s eyes widened and she jerked her arm away.

  Frustrated, Alexia shouted, “Damn it, woman, go!”

  In a flash, Danielle ran for Sean and Cameron. She beat on the door to the suite, and when they answered, she gasped,
“Alexia needs you—now.”

  Cam grabbed a key card from the entryway table and headed out the door with Sean on his heels. Alexia followed as they entered Braeden’s apartment, each going in a different direction to find her.

  “She’s in here!” Sean yelled from the office. Cam and Danielle joined him.

  Alexia stared in amazement. She was passed out on the floor. Hopefully she was just passed out. No sooner did that thought enter her mind than the room went hazy, then spun wildly and she felt herself fall limp to the floor.

  “Alexia, Alexia, can you hear me?”

  Arms were around her, shaking her gently. She opened her eyes and stared up at Cam. “Yes. Can you hear me?”

  Her voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk. Her throat felt swollen.

  “Of course I can,” Cam said. He slid an arm beneath her back and helped her to sit up. “I’m going to take you into the bedroom, then call Braeden.”

  “No.” She grasped his shirtsleeve. “Don’t call him.”

  Sean stood at Cam’s side looking down at them. “Lexi, there are red marks on your throat. If they turn to bruises, it’s going to be a little hard to hide. I think he needs to know that someone attacked his wife.”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  Cam agreed with Sean. “We have to call him. Otherwise he’s going to be ticked when he finds out later.”

  Alexia stared at Danielle, willing her to listen. “Someone was hurt during this last break-in at Mirabilus. He has enough to deal with there. I’m not badly hurt, so don’t let them call him. He’ll only rush right back here into what could be even more dangerous.”

  Danielle nodded in obvious agreement, then stepped into the conversation with her nephews. “No. Alexia’s right. Don’t call Braeden.”

  The lush green forest of the Isle of Mirabilus stretched endlessly before him. The island was approximately 150 square miles, and nearly three-quarters of it was wooded, making the search for the missing girl all that much harder.

  Some of the witnesses claimed a tornado had streaked from the sky. Others swore they saw a dragon diving from the clouds. Either way, a little girl was missing. According to the island’s historian, nothing like this had happened in more than four hundred years.

  Braeden leaned on the stone wall surrounding the keep while waiting for the last search team to return. Throughout the night, they’d hit one dead end after another. Not even the power of his magic broke down the barrier preventing them from locating the little girl.

  Finally, toward dawn he’d seen the briefest snippet of a vision and had sent the teams to the caves. With luck she’d be in one of them. And with more luck they’d find her alive.

  Braeden glanced over his shoulder at the gate towers and was satisfied to see his orders were being followed. A line of cars and trucks drove through the gates. Around sunrise, frustrated by their fruitless search and dreading another abduction, he’d ordered the island’s constable to send everyone with children to the apartments inside the walls of Mirabilus.

  He wasn’t about to chance another child being abducted. The safest place, the only place to ensure that wouldn’t happen, was inside the walls.

  Protective magic had been woven into the wall. For countless centuries his ancestors had strengthened the intricate spell that kept the castle and its inhabitants safe from dark powers.

  Unfortunately the spell didn’t safeguard against the mortal dangers attacking Mirabilus of late. But at the moment, Braeden’s main concern was keeping his people safe against Nathan.

  He heard footsteps approaching and felt Rolfe, one of the groundskeepers, draw near. “Mr. Drake, we found Cindy.”

  He didn’t turn around as he asked, “Alive?”

  “Scared half to death, but outside of a few scratches and bruises, she seems well enough.” From the corner of his eye, Braeden saw the older man’s hands shake. Composing himself, Rolfe finally said in a near whisper, “She could have been killed.” His voice rose. “She’s just an innocent child, barely seven. Why would anyone kidnap her?”

  Braeden placed a hand on Rolfe’s shoulder trying to offer comfort. “Where is she now?”

  “The doctors are checking her over just to be sure. And Beatrice is there, too.”

  “Good.” Braeden’s sigh of relief whooshed from him. Beatrice was the island’s healer. While it was unlikely the woman could do much to assist in healing any physical injuries, she was one of the few who’d be capable of soothing the girl’s fears. “Where was she found?”

  “In one of the lower caves.”

  A couple of more hours and the tide would have taken the child out to sea. “Her parents?”

  Rolfe leaned against the wall alongside Braeden. “I picked them up in the four-wheeler and brought them here. They’re with Cindy and the doctors now.”

  “Good.” Braeden looked at his man. Lines of fatigue marred Rolfe’s face. Dark circles beneath his eyes made him look older than his seventy years. “You’re exhausted. Go home, get some rest.”

  “If you don’t mind, sir, and if there’s room, I’d like to bring my wife here.”

  They’d recently added more apartments to the complex within the walls. There were now enough units to house every family living on Mirabilus. With the uncertainty in today’s world, it was the only way Braeden and his brothers knew of to keep the inhabitants safe without having to drain their powers.

  The residents had their own homes and their own lives, and until today they’d never been ordered to move inside the walls. Braeden was thankful that the few families who’d argued against the move had been easily convinced to do it.

  “Rolfe, you’re more than welcome to bring your wife here. No need to ask.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll be on my way, then.”

  Well aware that Rolfe was exhausted, Braeden knew he’d be walking nearly a mile to his small bungalow. “Let me.”

  The man’s sigh of gratitude as he disappeared under the spell echoed into the night.

  Braeden leaned back against the wall and searched his mind for every little detail he knew about Alexia. A cold, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach nearly screamed the obvious at him.

  He’d been wrong.

  She wasn’t involved with Nathan. Even though she’d possessed no magic until recently, she’d always been intuitive. If her mind hadn’t recognized Nathan’s vileness, the cringing of her spirit would have sent her running in the opposite direction.

  He owed her an apology. Braeden closed his eyes against the distasteful thought. It might stick in his throat, but it was owed.

  As he’d done throughout the night, he mentally opened the curtain of time and space between Mirabilus and Dragon’s Lair.

  But this time, Alexia’s presence was nowhere to be found.

  His heart plummeted. Before the fear could wrap him in cold dread, he took himself back to the Lair and stepped into his office suite.

  Chapter 12

  The surf pounded against the rock wall below the cave’s entrance, sending a cold spray of seawater across Nathan’s materializing form.

  His senses picked up the lingering trace of intruders. He swung away from the entrance, his eyes piercing the darkness of the cave as he searched for his prey.

  The girl was gone. Nathan’s lips curled over his bared teeth. Gone. While he’d toyed with the Dragon’s mate, someone had taken the girl from his lair.

  He should have killed her, but the terror in her eyes and her screams of horror had lent so much strength to his powers that he’d thought to feed off her fear once again.

  Nathan waved a hand before the rock wall, bringing Mirabilus into view. Curses dripped from his tongue. The child still lived, but the residents of the isle were moving into the keep where they’d be safe from his powers.

  For now.

  He closed that view to focus on Dragon’s Lair and the manual spread out on the table. Soon he would possess enough power to break the spells wrapped around Mirabilus.

 
; Nothing would keep those on the island safe. He groaned in delicious anticipation.

  Once he attained the level of Hierophant, he would see to it that the Drakes paid for all the crimes committed against him and his father. The revenge he’d taken out on Aelthed was not enough. He wanted all the remaining Drakes to pay.

  He would wipe their existence from this earthly plane. They would die at his command—slowly and in agony. He would siphon their magic, adding it to his own as he drained them of life.

  Soon. Soon all would be his.

  Braeden froze in the doorway to his private office. Alexia sat on the floor holding her head in her hands, Cameron, Sean and Danielle all gathered around her. Braeden’s stomach twisted in knots and he heard his aunt say, “No. Alexia’s right. Don’t call Braeden.”

  “What would they not call me about?” He pushed Sean out of the way to stare down at Alexia. He snarled a curse as he knelt beside her, then took her from Cam, gathering her into his arms.

  The intensity of the fear snaking through him took him off guard, shaking him to his core. Braeden shook the ice-cold emotion from himself and studied the red marks around Alexia’s throat. They looked oddly like handprints.

  He gently touched her neck. “You thought you’d hide this from me?”

  “It’s nothing.” Her voice rasped. “I’ll survive.”

  Braeden covered her lips with a fingertip, ordering, “Be quiet.” He glanced up at Cam. “What happened?”

  His brother shrugged. “We just got here. As far as we’ve learned, Nathan attacked her.”

  Braeden swore again, then ordered, “Call for the car, she’s going to the hospital.”

  Alexia shouted, “No!” But not a sound left her lips. Her eyes flew open with surprise and she asked, “What did you do?” While her mouth moved, she remained mute.

  She glared at him.

  “I told you to be quiet.” He shrugged. “Since I know you never listen, I took care of it myself.” Braeden narrowed his eyes at her, hoping to bully her into accepting his decision. “You are going to the hospital.”