Rayne, Kellan, and Royce took over, kicking the remaining debris from the tunnel to make sure there was ample room for the dragons to protect the McKennons as they entered the last but most densely spelled part of the underground cavern. Kyra and Royce led the way, with Rian and Sarah Bath right behind, closely followed by Drago and Alicia. Had the Assassin had his way, his mate would’ve been farther back in the line. However, the ladies had decided the order based on magical proficiency, and from the look Alicia gave him when he opened his mouth to protest, the Guardsman decided it was not a battle he was going to win, so shut his mouth and nodded.
The witches were chanting their Banishing Spell as the group cautiously moved through the tunnel, only stopping when every witch and Guardsman was within the cursed cavern. The sigils flamed to life but unlike the others, didn’t blink from existence or change colors. These actually bled. Dark, inky gore seeped from the carvings while a low, haunting moan rose from the dirt beneath their feet. The louder the witches chanted, the brighter the sigils glowed. The blood flowed down the walls and across the floor as if it was alive and coming to attack the witches.
Preparing to remove his mate from harm, Drago reached for Alicia just as the witches raised their arms and shouted, “A bheith imithe Demon!” in unison while throwing the contents of their sachets at the attacking fluid.
A loud pop and a bright burst of light exploded before them. A blood-curdling scream echoed off the walls and smoke filled the tunnel. Drago was left completely blind. Luckily, he could feel Alicia’s elation through their mating bond. He could see in her thoughts this was what Kyra and Sarah Beth had been preparing the McKennons for while he’d been knocking down the wall.
As the smoke cleared and what little sight he had returned, the Assassin could see the blood had been reduced to ashes. The sigils, although not glowing, were still dark black and the presence of black magic still palpable
“A little heads up would have been nice. You could give an old man a heart attack.”
“Hold on, it’s not over yet,” was Alicia’s only response before Kyra shouted, “Ara is go dti’ ifreann! Riamh ar ais!”
The McKennons echoed the tiny witch’s spell in unison. The sigils receded into the stone only to burst forth and float in the air above their heads.
“Solas!” Sarah Beth commanded just a second before flame lit the candles the witches carried.
Holding the light above their heads, the witches repeated, “Ara is go dti’ ifreann! Riamh ar ais!”
One last burst of light and the sigils blinked from existence. A sigh of relief filled the cavern as the Guardsmen gave the witches a questioning look. It was Rayne who asked what the others were thinking. “And you couldn’t have told us what was going to happen before shaving at least a few years off our lives?”
Kyra moved away from Royce, who was obviously less than happy about what had just happened and was letting his mate know about it in no uncertain terms. “I…We weren’t exactly sure how it was going to go down. Sarah Beth and I had a good idea, but nothing with this much evil is ever set in stone, so we played the odds. I knew if y’all had any idea what was going to happen,” she looked at Royce and winked, only to be regarded with a growl and a frown, “there was no way you’d let us go through with it. I knew we had the magic we needed, we just had to get in here and do it. Sorry about the scare, but now we can move on.”
Shaking his head, the Commander sighed. “I get your motivation, just do not agree with your tactics. Let’s not do this again, shall we?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking I need new boxers and a bottle of hooch,” Rory joked, trying to ease the tension.
“There will be further discussion, mate,” Royce growled when Kyra returned to his side after nodding to Rayne.
“Whatever, big guy. I got this,” Kyra said as she turned her back on him before shouting, “Oh, my Goddess! She’s close! I can feel Mom. She’s not far from here!”
For several heartbeats no one moved. Drago wasn’t even sure if anyone breathed. Then it was as if a switch had been flipped. Kyra looked to Royce and then Rayne. “We have to go! She’s hurt.”
And with that, she was off and running.
Chapter Fifteen
They caught up to Kyra as she was dumping out her backpack under what appeared to be a trapdoor. Alicia’s mom was standing beside the tiny witch as they discussed something that had them both frowning and looking at the door above them. Alicia bent at the waist, placing her hands on her thighs, and tried to catch her breath. Running was not something she enjoyed or did often, if ever. She knew she had more than a few pounds to lose but had decided long ago running would never be her thing.
Drago rubbed her back while having the audacity to not even have broken a sweat. Not able to raise her head, she griped, “I guess I should be glad you didn’t throw me over your shoulder again so we could get here faster.”
“I thought about it but…”
Whatever Drago was about to say was interrupted by Kyra as she asked for their attention. “I know what I’m about to ask you to do is above and beyond any friendship or kinship we share. It’s going to be dangerous. I can only feel my mom, I can’t communicate with her. I can tell that she is hurt, but as Royce keeps reminding me, she’s a tough old bird and I believe we’re here in time.
“Sarah Beth and I are going to scry to see what exactly is up there. I can tell you just from what I can feel that it’s a lot of black magic and evil intent. I just need y’all to form a circle and lend us your power. It shouldn’t take long.”
When the McKennons had formed a sacred circle and Melanie had said the incantation to close it, Kyra and Sarah Beth took the antique silver mirror the tiny witch had covered with salt and rosemary. They lit the white pillar candle symbolizing the Goddess and began to recite the spell that would show them their enemies. In less than five minutes, Alicia could see pictures forming on the glass.
The young witch was too far to see what they were but could see from the look on her mother’s face that it was not good news. Kyra gasped then cursed. “Son of a bitch! I will rip the flesh from his hide. That bastard has her chained with iron.”
Jumping up, Kyra looked at Royce. “He’s torturing her. I have no clue why but the bastard and his flunkies are gathered around a Summoning Circle and that can’t be good.”
Turning back to Sarah Beth, Kyra shocked everyone by asking, “What’s the best way to get up there?”
It was obvious she was too worried about her mother to be making decisions and knew it. Sarah Beth took a few moments to think while everyone else remained silent. Alicia knew her mom hated to be the center of attention and was proud of the way Sarah Beth looked Rayne and Rian each in the eye before answering Kyra. She had acknowledged their positions of authority but needed to speak to the one person with the most at stake.
“I believe if we move fast enough we can use the dragons’ magic for cover and our magic to infiltrate. I believe whatever they are up there conjuring has their full attention. Sheer number and the element of surprise will be our advantage, but we need to move quickly. Cleland is impatient. Either he’ll get what he wants or he’ll move on and most likely take Calysta with him”
Kyra nodded. “I agree.” Then turned to her mate who stood beside Rian, Rayne, and Drago. “What do y’all think? Can we make this happen?”
“As if we have a choice. Your mother and I may not be buddies but we never leave one of our own behind,” Royce answered, taking Kyra’s hand and pulling her to him.
“I’m proof of that,” Drago added.
Alicia squeezed his hand, chuckling when he whispered in her mind, “Your mom’s an expert strategist.”
“She had to be with seven magical daughters.”
“You are one of us, Kyra. Of course, we’re going after Calysta. What do you think we’ve all been waiting for? Plus, there’s not a one of us that doesn’t want a piece of Cleland and the Dorcha,” Rayne confirmed what everyone was thinking.
The Guardsmen laughed while nodding as Sarah Beth continued to explain the plan. In no time at all everyone was in place and ready to go. The air was thick with anticipation and tension. Looking from one face to another, Alicia could see the intense focus and dedication each person had to what they were trying to accomplish.
Offering a silent prayer to the Goddess, she watched her mother for the sign to move. A single nod had the witches scurrying up the rope ladder while the Guardsmen stood at the ready to jump through the trapdoor as soon as it was open. The dragons’ magic filled the air, dancing on Alicia’s skin like little butterflies.
A single word spell uttered by Sarah Beth had the trapdoor popping open just enough for her to slide her fingers under and quietly lift it the rest of the way as she climbed through. Alicia watched her mother and then Kyra disappear into the opening that reeked of sulfur as she hurried up the ladder.
Drago’s words floated through her mind. “Be careful, mo ghra’. I’ll be right there.”
Once inside, Alicia was glad to see a makeshift wall of old furniture and debris separating them from the Dorcha. She helped the rest of her sisters and Melanie through the door and then they all stood back as one by one, eleven Guardsmen jumped through the trapdoor, immediately forming a wall of muscle between the witches and the Dorcha. Alicia breathed a sigh of relief when Drago appeared and took his place with the dragons.
He gave her a quick grin before drawing his broadsword from the sheath on his back and turning toward the stacks of garbage. The others followed suit, assuming a fighting stance. The Dragon Guard was a truly amazing sight at all times, but when they were going into battle, it was spectacular to behold.
In that moment, the young witch knew exactly why these men had been chosen. Why their families had been given the honor of carrying the essence of a dragon within them. They were honorable, without reproach, and willing to give their very lives for what they believed in. To know the Universe had chosen her…had made her, little ole Alicia May McKennon, to be the mate of a dragon, was staggering and something she decided to think about later as her mother gave the go sign.
Everything happened at once. The Guardsmen burst into the room where Cleland worked his black magic and immediately became engaged in battle with the athame-wielding members of the Dorcha who had been lying in wait. Alicia took an extra second to watch the grace with which Drago wielded his blade. It was truly poetry in motion. She was amazed at his accuracy with the condition of his eyes and almost felt pity for the wizard who met the end of his blade.
Bringing her attention back to the matter at hand, Alicia followed the others along the path the Guardsmen were cutting through the Dorcha. They avoided the blades and made as direct a path as possible toward Cleland, chanting the spell that would drown the Draoi’s Summoning Circle in pure white magic. Unfortunately, it bounced off an invisible shield and evaporated into thin air.
Cleland and his followers continued to call to the evil forces, completely ignoring the war erupting around them. Black smoke and soot rose from the portal beneath the blood-drawn pentagram etched into the floor. The longer it took to find a way through the barrier, the closer the Dorcha came to raising a demon from the depths of Hell.
With Calysta free and Royce taking her to safety, Kyra joined the McKennons. “Make a circle around theirs,” she commanded.
The witches obeyed.
“Say the Banishing Spell and throw the salt,” the witch yelled over the growing noise of the combat around them.
As one unit, the witches shouted the spell and threw the salt. It was like water hitting an electrified fence. Sparks flew in every direction. Tiny holes began to form in the magical barrier, allowing their white magic to seep into the portal, causing it to start collapsing.
Cleland leapt from his position at the head of the Summoning Circle. A look of surprise was quickly replaced by hatred as the GrandDraoi began issuing orders to the four wizards also in the circle with him. The tall, robed men stood and turned, forming a tight perimeter around the portal to keep the witches’ white magic out.
The ten white witches’ voices rose until each was shouting the Banishing Spell while pouring all the magic they could into the deep dark hole. Cleland scurried like the rat he was, desperately trying anything possible to keep the white magic at bay until whatever was rising from Hell could arrive.
An agonizing, ear-splitting screech burst forth from the hole in the floor combining with the clash of swords and the witches’ chant after an exceptionally powerful wave of white magic made its way through the wizards’ defenses. The noise in the room was deafening. Had it not been for her bond with Drago, Alicia would have never known when the Dorcha’s blade struck his ribs.
Instinctively turning to help her mate, Alicia was pulled into the vacuum created by the collapsing portal. Only the death grip Melanie and Hannah had on her hands kept her from being swept away. Struggling to maintain her footing and make her way out of the deadly suction of black magic, she watched Drago take the head of his opponent before rushing to her aid.
Blood poured from his wound as he grabbed her forearms and pulled. Jace and Liam appeared beside their mates and gripped Alicia’s elbows on either side, lending their immense strength to her struggle for freedom. Almost free from the vacuum, the young witch dared to look over her shoulder. Running toward her, athame in one hand and a gris gris bag in the other, Cleland grabbed her outstretched ankle, scratching her with his blade and pulling her back into his web of black magic.
Drago roared. A huge red light emanated from his body as Alicia felt him give control over to his dragon. The glow around her mate took the form of the great beast who was also her mate. A power she could have never imagined flowed between them.
Cleland shrieked as he was pulled farther and farther away from the portal and closer to those who wanted to see him dead. At the last moment, the Draoi let go of Alicia’s ankle. Momentum pushed her directly into her mate’s arms while it flung Cleland backward into his followers.
The five men landed in a pile on the edge of the gateway to Hell. The black smoke thickened. The ear-splitting screech turned to maniacal laughter. Enormous skeletal hands emerged, grabbing the Draoi and his followers and dragging them into inky darkness. Blood-curdling screams could be heard as Cleland and the wizards descended into the depths of Hell.
The smoke and soot receded as the portal slowly closed and then blinked out of existence, leaving only a greasy spot where it has once been. Sarah Beth and Kyra immediately began performing a Cleansing Ritual, while Alicia thanked the Goddess that she was alive.
Without so much as a word, Drago carried Alicia toward the hole and jumped down. When they’d reached the spot where her mate’s broken coffin lay Alicia was fed up with the silent treatment, so she did the only thing she could think of to get him to stop and put her down…she pinched his arm.
“Ouch! What the hell was that for?” Drago asked, stopping and letting her slide down his body before taking a step back and glaring at her.
“It was to get you to stop and talk to me. I understand if you’re upset about what just went down. I have to admit I wasn’t thrilled. I was actually scared shitless but dammit, the silent treatment is not cool. You even blocked our bond. Which by the way is not fair, since I don’t know how to do that. You have to say something. Talk to me. Just freaking talk to me!” Alicia was growling by the time she took a breath, which was very unlike her but in her defense, the last few minutes had been incredibly daunting.
Drago stood motionless, his face expressionless, and since he’d blocked their bond, there was absolute silence. It was a true Mexican standoff. Alicia wasn’t sure if she should yell some more or keep having th
e staring contest he’d started. Quickly deciding there was no way in hell she was going to let him win an argument she didn’t even understand why they were having, she put her fists on her hips and stared back. It was hard to ignore the blood still seeping from the wound on his side, but it was obvious he was healing so she tried to put it out of her mind.
The sound of approaching footsteps drew her attention. Turning her head to see who was coming, Alicia squeaked her surprise when Drago’s arm came around her waist and she found herself thrown over his shoulder, traveling so fast everything was a blur. Only the presence of the cool night air and the smells of the forest let her know they had exited the crater.
In mere seconds her senses were bathed in the fresh salty air of the sea and she knew her mate had taken them to the edge of the cliffs. Forward motion stopped and Alicia found herself unceremoniously, although gently, set upon a large rock overlooking the ocean. Drago paced in front of her, avoiding eye contact and grumbling under his breath.
On his fourth pass, Alicia sighed. On the eighth, she yawned, and on the tenth, she gave up and said, “Oh, my Goddess, get it over with. Yell at me. Scream at me. Do whatever you need to do but stop this…this…whatever the hell this is.”
Spinning on his heels, Drago closed the gap between them in three large steps. He leaned down until they were eye to eye with only inches separating them and growled, “You want to know what this is, ceann beag? Do you really want to know?”
Nodding because words escaped her, Alicia waited.
“This is a dragon at the end of his rope. I thought I had lost you. I thought Cleland was going to throw you in the pit. In the blink of an eye, I saw my world without you and do you know what it was like?”
She shook her head.
Drago took a deep breath. His eyes closed as he slowly exhaled, his warm breath a kiss against her cheek as Alicia watched her mate struggle for control. When he opened his eyes, it dawned on her that he’d lost his dark lenses during the fight. She’d been so mad before it had escaped her attention. Now she could appreciate the bit of the brown that was returning to his iris whereas before they had been as black as the night sky above them. He no longer growled when he spoke. Instead, she could hear pain and a fear that hadn’t even been present when he was locked in that horrid box.
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