by Jo Vanz
“I do,” he replied with a frown. “Do you really think it’s necessary? I don’t feel anyone, Paul.”
“Katie isn’t the only one that is evolving,” he snapped. “My one purpose in life is to protect her. So maybe for once you need to listen to me.”
The need to get Katie out of there was growing. The hairs on the back of his neck stood as goosebumps rippled down his arms. Time was running out. Paul turned to Mark. “Now!” he barked.
Mark and Katie shared a quick glance. Katie nodded her head at him right before he pushed past them and headed for the back room. “You better be right about this, Paul,” Mark grumbled. He took a deep breath before opening the door. Paul knew what room this was. It held Mark’s collection of dragons. He had wanted to savor the look on Katie’s face as she stepped in and got her first look.
The walls were lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves. Upon each shelf were dragon figurines of all sizes and colors. A dragon mural had been painted on the ceiling and in the center of the room stood a six-foot tall, pure gold dragon with it’s wings spread wide. Paul knew that to the left of the door there was a switch that would make the dragon spin slowly.
“Why are we in here?” Paul grumbled. As much as he wanted to tease his brother again, the feeling of impending doom was growing. His skin was itching with the feeling now. Paul was starting to worry that if they didn’t move soon then his dragon would force a shift change and then fly out of here with Katie.
“What better place to put in an escape route than my favorite room? Any dragon would think that I couldn’t put one in here without risking my collection, but I did.” Mark’s smile grew as he looked around the room. He quickly walked over and plucked a small keychain up off the shelf and pocketed it.
“What the bloody fuck is this?” Chiles asked as he entered the room. Mark’s smile disappeared as he looked over at the towering man.
“Just let it go, dude. You wouldn’t understand. Hell, my brother has the same driving forces making him buy Mustangs and even he doesn’t understand.” Mark shook his head as he clenched his fists at his side.
Paul knew that he should apologize to his brother but not right now. They needed to be moving, not standing here gaping over his brother’s silly obsession. “Can we move?” Paul bit out. He was starting to get sick from fighting with his own instincts. With each passing moment he was slowly losing the battle.
Mark nodded his head and went over to a shelf on the far wall and gently pushed figures out of his way. He then removed a small panel from the wall and turned a knob.
The giant dragon in the center of the room started to slide to the side, revealing a small tunnel. They would have to go down one at a time, using up valuable time.
“Mark, you go first, followed by Chiles and then Katie. I will follow everyone.” Paul stood tense, waiting for someone to argue. He was relieved when they all nodded in agreement and did as he told them.
Right before Paul slipped through the slim opening, he reached over and grabbed a figurine. It had been one that their mother had bought for Mark. Paul didn’t know why but he felt it deep in his core that at any moment this would all be gone. He felt the need to save this one for his brother. Because as much as he teased Mark, Paul knew he couldn’t fight his instinct to hoard these things. So if his brother was about to lose it all then Paul was going to make sure he could at least have this one.
Paul quickly pulled off his shirt and wrapped the fragile dragon within it, then hurried to catch up with everyone.
As Paul approached the group from behind, his anxiety spiked. “Run,” he screamed. No one bothered to argued, they just took off, weaving through the slim brick tunnel and finally down through the sewage tunnels below the street.
Even with the stink, no one said a thing. They looked back every few steps, giving Paul a questioning glance. Paul just shook his head and they pushed forward. When they were a good bit away and were about to climb the ladder up to the street, everything around them shook. Paul pulled Katie back against him, doing his best to protect her from whatever was going on.
***
Katie’s hands trembled as she pushed away from Paul. As much as his arms wrapped around her made her feel safe, she needed to know what had happened. Paul had been on edge over something. At first she had thought he had been overreacting. Being possessive since Chiles had been there. Then she began getting a little tingle. Felt the need to run. To get away from Mark’s apartment.
She wished that she would have had more time to admire Mark’s collection of dragons and had hoped that she would have another chance again, but now she got the feeling that would never happen.
Without thinking, Katie headed straight for the ladder and began to climb it. She was three steps up with she was wrenched back by her waist. She let out a soft squeal before turning to glare up at Paul.
“Let the boys go up first, love. We don’t know what happened yet or who could be out there. It’s best if we let them go check it out.” Katie sighed. She didn’t like the idea of sitting back and waiting but nodded in agreement and watched as Mark and Chiles climbed the ladder and disappeared.
“Why aren’t you wearing your shirt?” she asked to pass time. She had been wondering why he had taken off since he had caught up to them.
“I will explain in a bit. For now, I just need to hold you. I need to know you are safe.” He pulled her back up against him and held her tight.
Time seemed to crawl by. It felt like hours as they stood there holding each other, waiting for the boys to get back. Katie was starting to worry that something had happened to them. She knew Paul felt the same way, even if he would never admit it. He was tense. His heart raced in his chest.
Katie was about to voice her concerns when Mark came back down the ladder, followed closely by Chiles. Katie and Paul rushed over to meet them.
“So what happened?” Katie asked franticly. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer. Her gut twisted as she waited for their reply.
After a few moments, Mark shook his head. “It’s all gone.”
“What’s gone?” Paul asked from behind Katie.
Mark fell to his knees in front of them. His hands covered his face as sobs began to escape him.
“The whole building,” Chiles said with sorrow in his voice. “The one with Mark’s apartment. It was all just gone. We tried to help save those stuck under the rubble but we couldn’t. I believe we are the only ones to survive.”
Katie thought of the young family that they had shared the elevator with. The little girl with rosy red cheeks had brought a smile to her face. She collapsed to the ground next to Mark. These people were dead because of her. If it hadn’t been for Paul, they could have been buried right beside everyone else.
Her breaths became rapid. Her heart sped up and tears spilled down her cheeks. Her fears were coming true. She had put these people in danger. She had killed innocent kids. She didn’t want this. Didn’t want to be a queen. To have a target on her back. For others to lose everything because of who she was.
Without thinking, Katie stood and raced away. She only had a small head start, but she would use it to her advantage.
Chapter 7
“That stupid bitch,” Julie mumbled as she watched Katie crawl out of a manhole. “How the hell had they known?”
Julie had thanked fate over and over since seeing the Royals out and about. She didn’t want to pull anyone in to help her because she didn’t trust that they wouldn’t turn on her and tell the Royals her plans for them. Yet they had known. How?
She had been so careful. Paul had seen her for a split second before she had disappeared. They had no idea that she had followed them back to Mark’s apartment.
Julie reached into her pocket and thumbed the talisman there. It was a simple opal wrapped in twine that had been enchanted to give the owner the power of invisibility. Even in her dragon form, if she ever gained that ability. Julie had wondered off and on over the last few weeks if
anyone had found out that she had visited the witches. Surely if they had, they would have put something together to counter the effect of this talisman.
A slight laugh of joy rolled off of her lips as she took in Katie’s appearance. The look of horror was written in every crease. Tears streamed down her face. A roar of fury echoed below the street. “So the queen is running from her king. Interesting.” After cutting gas lines to to the whole building and setting it on fire, Julie had hoped that it would kill them, but now she was curious to see how this would all play out.
After another moment, Katie took off running toward an alleyway. Paul exploded from the man hole and took off after her. Then came Mark. The jackass looked as if he was about to faint at any moment. A man that Julie didn’t know followed closely behind Mark. He was tall, dark and handsome. Mark stumbled a little bit and this stranger caught him and helped him for a moment before pulling his hands away. The man went stiff. Unmoving. Then slowly he turned his head until he was staring straight at Julie.
“Now who are you?” Julie whispered to herself as her heart began to pound away in her chest. The man tilted his head to the side for a moment before spinning around and going after the group of Royals.
Julie fell to her knees. Had he really seen her? Or had something else happened? Julie wasn’t sure, all she knew was she felt as though she had just been stripped down and left standing there naked for the world to see. Uncontrollable tears spilled down her cheeks. Her body started to shake as heat built up in her chest.
Julie wasn’t sure how long she knelt there in the middle of the sidewalk feeling as though she was on fire. It felt like a lifetime had passed. Images flooded her mind. People burning. Blood gushing from lacerations. Families breaking down in tears and screams.
She had caused all of that destruction. Had killed innocents. For what? For selfish reasons. A laugh escaped her lips. She loved knowing that she had caused so many people pain. Had taken everything away from some very deserving people.
It took all of her mental strength, but eventually Julie had broken free. She rolled her neck and stretched with a huge smile on her face. The stranger was powerful. He could be very useful, especially since he was already so close to the Royals. She would give him the choice. Pledge his loyalty to her or die.
***
“Katie!” Paul bellowed somewhere close behind her. Katie tried to push aside the thoughts of turning and running straight into his arms. She couldn’t do this. Not now. She needed to get away. Needed her own space.
People gave her dirty looks and cussed at her as she pushed past them. There were too many humans. They could die just for being close to her. Tears spilled down Katie’s face. She needed to get away from them, but where could she go quickly? Where no human could follow?
Her eyes shot to the sky. There. She would have to push past her fears again, but she could do it to save lives. To get away. She scanned the buildings that surrounded her. To her surprise, Elder Enterprises was just down the road. She turned and headed straight for it.
The guys caught up to her as she waited for the elevator to open. Paul didn’t say anything, just swept her up into his arms and held her close. He mumbled something in a foreign language before pressing kisses anywhere he could reach.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a group of men standing there, eyes red and puffy from tears. They all stood there in shock as they looked at Katie, Paul, Mark, and Chiles.
“We were told you were inside Mark’s apartment when the building exploded,” an elderly gentleman said on a sniff.
“We got out right before it went up in flames. But why don’t you ride back up with us and we will explain everything?” Paul said with a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. When everyone nodded in agreement, the four of them entered the cart and road up in silence to the top floor.
Katie didn’t move her head out of the crook of Paul’s neck the whole ride. Tears silently rolled out of the corner of her eyes and onto his neck. His hands clenched around her each time one dropped onto his skin. When the doors slid open, Paul ordered everyone into the conference room to wait for them. He turned in the opposite direction. Once inside an office, he sat down on a couch and forced her to look up at him.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he said before capturing her lips with his. It was soft and loving. His hands gently rubbed over her body, making her shiver in need.
Katie broke the kiss. “I shouldn’t be here,” she whispered. “All those people died because of me.” Tears fell uncontrollably.
“No, love. Those people died because of a sick-minded person. Not because of you or me, but because someone had it in their mind that they were doing the right thing.” Paul pressed a kiss to her temple.
“I’m not ready for all this responsibility,” Katie finally admitted out loud. “I don’t want to be Queen. I just want to be with you.”
“Oh, love, I know exactly how you feel. I didn’t want this either, but we have each other. We will make it through this together. For whatever reason, fate believes we are perfect for this. So if nothing else, trust in that. It was fate that brought us together. It will be fate that gets us through these though times.”
Katie smiled. “You are wrong about one thing.” Paul raised an eyebrow in question. “It’s not fate that will get us through this. That is all us. We are the ones fighting. The ones hurting. The ones who have to make the hard choices.” She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. “We are the ones who love each other. Not because fate said so, but because I feel safe with you. I need you.”
Paul didn’t say anything, just pulled Katie close and held her in a tight hug for a few minutes. Slowly the worries washed away and were quickly replaced by a burning need. She twisted in his arms so that she was now now straddling him. Placing both hands around his face, she pulled him in and pressed her lips against his.
Chapter 8
An hour later, Katie and Paul walked out into the conference room holding hands. Katie still wasn’t sure she would make it as the queen, but she felt better knowing that Paul had the same fears. It gave her some hope that they would survive this. That they would make great leaders.
Katie let out a sigh as she slipped her hand out of Paul’s and stepped forward. After a quickie in the office, Katie and Paul had finally decided on their next step. As she separated herself from Paul, everyone in the room turned to look at her.
After a few moments of silence, Katie started walking around those seated at the table. Among them were a few Elders that Paul had said he trusted, so she walked up behind them, leaned down and whispered in their ears. Their faces automatically went blank and they sat there awaiting her next order.
“What the hell are you doing?” one man blurted out as Katie passed him. Katie paused and looked straight at him.
“I am changing the path of the dragons. We would invite you to help but let’s be honest, we don’t trust you.” He clenched his jaw as if trying to stop himself from saying something. Katie just brushed it off before turning and finishing up what she had started.
Once at the head of the table again, all eyes turned to Katie. She took a deep breath and dug deep to pull out as much authority as she could find. “Unless I have told you differently, you need to leave now and do not come back until you are called upon.”
All the men she had not spoken to stood, bowed, and then walked away without another word. Katie still didn’t think she would ever get used to the feeling of using her Alpha abilities. She hated taking away someone’s free will. After they got the dragons back on a good route, she would never use it again unless it was absolutely necessary.
“Now, each of you have been given specific orders. If you would begin doing as you were told, I would greatly appreciate it,” Katie said with a slight smile. She had barely said the words before they all stood to do as they had been asked. Some scattered into offices to make calls or set up meetings. Big things were about to happen for the dragons. Drastic changes w
ere coming. But first, they needed that damn book of prophecies.
Three men approached Katie and Mark. “Take me to the book,” Katie demanded. They all turned and led Katie over to the far wall. They each stood before their own block and pressed a hand to the center. The wall fell back a few inches before splitting and sliding to the side.
There, behind a wall of what looked to be four-inch thick bulletproof glass, sat the book surrounded by lasers. Damn, Katie thought. They really weren’t taking any chances again. Good thing for her that she could get to the book without all the hassle of breaking through the barriers.
“Open it,” she commanded. She wasn’t in the mood to be nice. That could come later after these messes were cleaned up. When the dragons were on a better path. Katie was even toying around with the idea of coming out to the rest of the world, but she figured that should wait until most of the females were found.
The three elders stepped forward to stand in front of three glass bowls jutting out from the wall. Then as if they were all of one mind, they each pulled out a dagger and sliced their palms open, letting the blood fall freely into the containers.
After a few moments, something clicked and the wall started to slide open. Katie went to step forward but Paul held her back. “It’s too easy.” He moved to stand in front of her. “Ask them if there is any other trap.”
Katie turned her head to look at the three men. “Is there anything else protecting the book?”
The men all shuffled their feet and looked around as if to try and fight telling Katie something. “The book is coated in a lethal poison. It will eat through anything you use to protect your hands. Gloves, clothes, anything you can think of. Then it will slowly leech all the oxygen from your body. Your organs will slowly shut down. No dragon healing will be able to save you.”
