Drakon's Promise (Blood of the Drakon)

by N. J. Walters

  Sarah released the breath she’d been holding and turned to stare out the window, watching the city pass before her eyes. She had to remember that Darius had lived a very long time—she couldn’t quite wrap her head around the four-thousand-year thing—and had seen and experienced more than anyone else on the planet, with the exception of other drakons.

  She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Her mind wouldn’t shut down, though, and scenes from the past twenty-four hours played out in her head over and over. Exhaustion pulled at her, and she struggled to stay awake.

  It seemed ludicrous that she’d be able to sleep at a time like this, but the body could only take so much before it shut down. She covered her mouth when she yawned and forced her eyes open. She could rest once they were onboard Darius’s plane.

  The man actually owned his own plane. Yet another clue that she was no longer living her normal, mundane life. She took the subway to work. She didn’t just roll up to a private plane and climb on board.

  Her eyes popped open just as they started to shut again. “Flight plans. You have to file them. They’ll leave a path for the Knights to follow.”

  “Don’t worry about that. If anyone cares to search, they’ll find one that said we went to Miami.”

  “You’ve got it all figured out.” Why she was so disgruntled by that fact, she wasn’t sure. She was glad he knew what he was doing. She just didn’t like feeling useless, like she had nothing to contribute to their safety.

  “I always have an escape route. Several, in fact.” He tightened his fingers around the wheel. “This is not the first time over the course of my life I’ve had to evade the Knights.”

  And he was used to going on the attack, not running. That thought struck her like a lightning bolt. “If I weren’t with you, you’d have stayed in your apartment, wouldn’t you?”

  She didn’t need to see the hesitation before his curt nod to know she was right. Now she really felt like an albatross around his neck. “You don’t have to go with me. You have the book. You can put me on a plane and I’ll disappear. Maybe go up into Canada before the Knights realize I’m gone.”

  He growled at her. The low, menacing sound raised all the tiny hairs on her arms and the back of her neck. “No. You stay with me.”

  She’d half expected him to be relieved by her offer. After all, they’d only met this evening. But she also knew that Darius had a huge streak of honor in him. Maybe it was his age, or maybe it was because he was more than human, but she’d risked her life to warn him about the Knights, so he probably felt he owed her.

  She didn’t want to question why that made her stomach heavy and her chest ache. But another part of her was grateful they were going to be sticking together for the foreseeable future.

  The rest of the drive passed in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. When he finally turned off the road, it was onto a short drive that led to a private parking lot near an airfield. A security checkpoint loomed ahead.

  “Look away,” he told her. She did as he asked while he rolled down his window and dealt with the security guard.

  “Evening, Mr. Varkas. I didn’t know you’d planned to fly out this evening. It’s not on my list.” The guard was pleasant enough, but Sarah’s stomach churned.

  “Last-minute business.”

  “You have yourself a good flight.” The guard tapped the vehicle with his hand and the sound made her flinch. And then Darius was moving forward. They were inside the chain-link fence.

  “Almost there,” he told her. Darius drove the vehicle right up to a small jet waiting on the tarmac. He put the vehicle in park and turned to her.

  “I know. I know.” She held up her hands in mock surrender. “Wait here.” She pitched her voice low and gruff in a poor imitation of his.

  He stared at her, and then a smile broke across his face. He chuckled, shook his head, and climbed out of the vehicle, leaving her alone with her thoughts once again.

  A man approached Darius as he strode toward the plane. They spoke for several seconds and then Darius came back to the vehicle. He opened her door and helped her out before he reached across the seat and grabbed his knapsack. “Let’s go.”

  Her bag held tightly in her arms, she headed toward the short staircase leading up the plane. The man Darius had spoken with waited with another man at the base of the steps. They both nodded at her but didn’t speak. Then they went to the SUV, climbed in, and drove off.

  Darius exerted light pressure on her lower back, urging her up. They were exposed and vulnerable out here in the open. Sarah hurried up the metal stairs and stepped onto the luxury airliner. As soon as they were inside, Darius pulled up the steps and closed the door, locking them inside.

  There was a small, built-in galley right in front of them. To her right was the seating area. The leather chairs were more like luxury recliners. There were four in total—two of them facing each other on either side of the narrow walkway. Beyond them was a long sofa.

  “Where’s the crew?” There was no one in sight. Not that she’d expected a flight attendant, but she’d figured the captain or copilot would greet him.

  Darius smiled at her, and her stomach dropped. “No. Oh, no. Tell me what I’m thinking isn’t true.”

  “And what are you thinking?” he asked as he placed his knapsack in a storage compartment.

  He tried to take her bag, but she clung to it, not willing to relinquish any more than she already had. “You’re not flying this machine, are you?”

  “Of course I am. I just dismissed the pilot and copilot. That way no one but us knows where we’re really going.” He carefully pried her bag from her hands. “Don’t worry, Sarah. I helped the Wright brothers fix the flaws in their original design. I’ve been flying planes since the dawn of human flight.”

  Her fingers lost all strength at that little tidbit of information. He plucked her bag out of her hands and stored it alongside his.

  “And if something happens to the plane, I can shift and fly us to safety,” he reminded her. “This is the safest flight you’ll ever take.”

  She put out her hand to steady herself as her knees went weak. She knew he was telling her the truth, but it was a truth that was difficult to truly comprehend.

  “Want to join me?” He motioned to the cockpit.

  Sarah squared her shoulders. Why not? What was one more crazy experience in a day filled with them? “I’d like that.”

  …

  A knock came on the door of Herman’s study, and he motioned his head of security inside. “Our man has managed to track her phone,” Riggs told him.

  “She’s had it turned on all this time.” That surprised him somewhat. Sarah Anderson had struck him as an intelligent woman, not someone who would make that kind of mistake if she suspected she might be in danger.

  Riggs didn’t smile, but he did look pleased with himself. “She’s probably not thinking clearly. My guy managed to pinpoint her location briefly before he lost it.”

  Herman scowled. “Then we don’t know where she is.”

  “Her last location was a small airport, and guess whose plane took off moments later.”

  “Darius Varkas.” Herman began to pace. “So she went to him with what she overheard.” He wasn’t surprised Varkas had taken Sarah with him. She was a valuable asset and could be used as a pawn in their little game of cat and mouse. It was what he would have done. She must have stolen the spell book. There was no other reason for them to leave the city. Varkas would have used the woman to find the book if it was still lost.

  That meant that Varkas now had the book and knew the Knights were after him. It was the confirmation he needed. If Varkas weren’t a dragon, he wouldn’t have run. And he certainly wouldn’t have taken the woman with him. Excitement roared through Herman. Varkas truly was a dragon. All his years of searching for one, and all the money he’d spent, had finally paid off.

  Herman stopped and considered what might come from the book being around Varkas. The sp
ells in the book were powerful. Would being around the book have an effect on Varkas? Only time would tell, but it would be fascinating to find out. Too many people believed inanimate objects had no energy, no power. They were all fools. Some very special objects, such as the book, were imbued with great power if one knew how to wield it.

  “Where are they going?” Before Riggs could answer, Herman waved off any reply. “Whatever flight plan he filed will probably be false, but we have to check just in case.” He turned back to his head of security. “Someone has to know where that plane was going. Find out.”

  “Yes, sir. We’re trying to locate her phone again, but there’s some interference, like it is being blocked. If we can get past that, we’ll have her position.”

  Riggs left as quietly as he’d come. Herman rubbed his hand over his face. He was tired after being awake all night. Another sign that he was weakening. What he needed was a shower and some breakfast. He had confidence that his people would find Varkas and the woman sooner rather than later, and he wanted to be ready.

  Herman could feel it in his bones. They were closing in on Varkas, Sarah Anderson, and the book. It was only a matter of time.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tarrant’s voice crackled over his headset. “Eagle’s nest to baby bird. Eagle’s nest to baby bird.”

  Darius smiled in spite of himself. “Hello, eagle’s nest,” he spoke into the attached microphone. “Are you the mama bird now?”

  “I might as well be. How are things?”

  Darius glanced over at Sarah who was snoozing away in the copilot’s seat. She’d missed the sunrise, not stirring as the sky lightened. She really was exhausted. Even now, he could see the dark circles under her eyes.

  “We got away with no problems.” Which had actually surprised him.

  “You haven’t let Sarah go online, have you?” his brother asked.

  “No. Both her computer and her phone are in her knapsack.” When Tarrant began to swear, Darius got worried. “What is it?”

  “The GPS in the phone. You need to destroy her phone and the laptop. Temple might have had people put a tracking device on either one or both. Even if he hasn’t, he can still trace your location through her phone. He probably knows she’s with you, and if they’ve been monitoring her, they know where you are. Fuck. Are you sure she’s not with the Knights?”

  “Shut up, Tarrant.”

  Beside him, Sarah stirred. She blinked several times and yawned. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said as she looked at him. Her hair was slightly tousled and her eyes were only half open. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She sat up straighter, all exhaustion leaving her as worry replaced sleepiness in her gaze.

  “Your phone and laptop. Temple and his men might have put a tracker on them. Even if they didn’t, they might be able to use GPS to trace you.”

  Her mouth fell open but she quickly closed it. “Stupid. How could I have been so stupid? I have to turn in my phone every morning at work—they’ve had plenty of chances to tamper with it.” She undid her seat belt and climbed out of her chair. Darius glanced over his shoulder and watched as she shoved open the door to the cockpit and went straight for her knapsack. She pulled out her phone first, opened the back, and took out the SIM card. Then she reached back into her bag and got her laptop.

  “What should I do with it?” she asked. “Remove the battery? Or will simply smashing it do the trick?”

  Darius relayed her question to Tarrant. “I’d like her to remove the battery and then destroy the unit. I don’t trust Temple and his men. I’d really like to have both phone and laptop smashed to bits and tossed off the plane.”

  “How about if I burn them to a crisp,” Darius offered. “That would fry any circuits and melt the plastic.”

  “That would work,” Tarrant told him. “Just don’t blow up the damn plane in the process.” Darius was glad Sarah couldn’t hear that side of the conversation.

  “Oh ye of little faith,” he retorted. He pushed out of his chair and exited the cockpit.

  Sarah’s brown eyes widened as he approached. “What are you doing here? Go back. Who’s flying the plane?” Her face lost all color.

  “Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’re on autopilot. An alarm will ring if there’s a problem, and this won’t take long.”

  “No one is flying the plane,” she muttered. “Of course everything will be fine.” She laughed, and he was concerned by the slightly hysterical sound of it. She rubbed her hands over her face and squared her shoulders. “What are you going to do?”

  “Burn it.” He opened a cupboard in the galley and rummaged around until he found a metal ice bucket. Not ideal, but it would have to do. “Remove the battery.”

  Darius placed the ice bucket on the table beside her. “Put your phone in here.” She took out the battery, then dumped the phone and the SIM card into the bucket.

  Darius took a deep breath and concentrated on building the fire within him. It wasn’t easy. His entire body wanted to embrace his dragon form. Sarah gasped and moved back as he directed his fiery breath into the container. The plastic and wires melted together. Before the fire alarms could sound onboard the plane, he slammed the cover onto the container, smothering the blaze.

  “Holy crap.” Sarah stared at him and back at the container. “You blew fire.”

  His body had wanted to shift, but he’d managed to keep that from happening. Not a good idea to let the creature out on a small jet. It had taken effort, and the seams of his shirt had split. Could have been worse.

  “I had to destroy the phone. I’ll make sure you get a new one,” he told her. Tarrant seemed to have an unlimited supply of them, although Sarah’s phone had been much newer and more sophisticated than the ones he usually used.

  “It’s not the phone.” She waved her hand as some smoke escaped around the edges of the ice bucket. “Why didn’t you just use a match or something?”

  Darius shook his head. “Drakon fire is much hotter than a normal flame. It’s a faster and cleaner burn.” He opened the bucket and there was only a small glob of plastic at the bottom. “I need to destroy your laptop.

  Sarah hugged it to her chest for a moment before handing it over. Darius cracked the computer in half and then broke each half into smaller pieces. Sarah watched and dodged a flying piece of plastic. It landed on the seat beside her, and she retrieved it, holding it clutched tightly in her hand.

  Darius removed the battery and yanked out the circuitry. He put the pieces into the ice bucket and fried them with his drakon fire. “That should do it.”

  Sarah swallowed heavily but didn’t comment. She was still pale and was clinging hard to the small piece of plastic she was holding.

  “Why don’t you get something to drink or eat? There’s plenty in the galley.” He carefully removed the small piece of plastic from her hand, relieved she hadn’t cut herself on the sharp edges. Once he checked it to make sure there was no tracking device attached to it, he tossed it into the garbage.

  Sarah gathered herself and nodded. “I could use some coffee.” She motioned to the ice bucket. “What about that?”

  Darius picked up the hot container and carried it into the galley kitchen. He placed it safely in the metal sink, pulled off the cover and turned on the water. Smoke rose, and what little remained of the electronic guts from the computer sizzled. He shoved the cover back on but left it in the sink. “That should be fine now.” He motioned to the cockpit door. “I need to get back.”

  “Oh God, there’s no one flying the plane.” She shoved him toward the door. “Go fly. I’ll make coffee.”

  Darius was reluctant to leave her, but he didn’t have much choice. He did detour long enough to grab another T-shirt from the clothes he left onboard and quickly changed. Then he made his way back to the pilot’s chair and checked to make sure everything was as it should be before he spoke to Tarrant, who he knew was waiting.

  “I fried the phone and the electronic guts of the computer,
” he told his brother.

  Sure enough, Tarrant immediately answered. “That should do the trick, but you need to change your landing destination, just in case.”

  Darius thought about it for a few seconds and reviewed his options. “I can fly into Oregon and then drive up to Washington.”

  “That means you have to rent a vehicle, and it puts you on the road a long time. We don’t know what kind of resources the Knights have, but we have to assume they’re the best.”

  “What do you suggest?” He trusted Tarrant’s judgment.

  His brother heaved out a breath. “I have a private airstrip up here. It’s off the grid and not visible from the air. You have to dip down and fly into a canyon.” He rattled off the coordinates. “It will be a tight squeeze for your jet. It was meant for a slightly smaller plane.”

  “I can handle it,” he assured Tarrant.

  “If you can’t, you’re going to be out one expensive plane.”

  “It’s not the plane I’m worried about.” It was Sarah. He could easily survive a crash, but she couldn’t. Still, it was the best option they had. Tarrant was right about one thing. Landing at another airport and renting a vehicle left them more vulnerable.

  “Contact me again when you’re close so I can hit the lights on the field. They’ll help guide you in.”

  “Roger that.” Darius heard Tarrant disconnect their call. He leaned his head back and went over his options again and again until he was satisfied what he was picking was the best one. Then he took a deep breath and adjusted his coordinates. When the time came, he’d drop down below any radar before making his approach to Tarrant’s secret airfield.

  …

  Sarah opened the ice bucket and stared at what was left of her phone and the inner workings of her laptop. It wasn’t much. She put the lid back on. It didn’t smell as bad as she thought it would, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant.

  “Coffee,” she reminded herself. She needed it badly. She’d gone from being asleep one minute, to watching her only electronic links to her former life literally go up in smoke the next.