by Leela Ash
A big, meaty arm caught her at once. “You know, I don’t want to hurt you,” Arnage, the Bear, rumbled. “But I will break yours legs if you try to run away.”
Not that he needed to threaten her. Past him, Tess saw a half dozen other men. Wiry, nasty-looking customers. One grinned at her, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
Rats. Lots of them.
Sick as she was, Tess seriously doubted she could outrun all of them. Best to wait and watch for a better opportunity.
So she gave the Bear a lop-sided, weak smile. “Okay then. Don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll behave myself.”
“Good.” His solid, immoveable grip on her arm didn’t loosen at all. “Both of you, come with me. The Man wants to talk to you.”
‘The’ man? Like there was only one of them? She considered making a joke about that but Arnage didn’t look like he had much of a sense of humor.
Dick, of course, immediately flew into full boot-licking mode. “Wonderful! I am, obviously, deliriously happy to have an opportunity to clear up this misunderstanding.”
A snicker ran through the Rats. The Bear, on the other hand, didn’t even seem to hear. Hand clamped on Tess’ elbow, he led the two of them back out into the empty bar and over to another backroom.
Whispers swelled as she stepped into the room. Tess stumbled and only Arnage’s strong hand kept her from sprawling on her face. The sense of danger, of unseen fingers prodding her, grew stronger.
What the hell was wrong?
The burst of nausea passed. Tess opened her eyes and found three people waiting for them.
One was the Rat-woman who’d tased her. She stood by a desk, a cardboard box beside her. The sight of that box filled Tess with foreboding. Whatever it held was dangerous.
The other two people weren’t physically present. A man and a woman stared at her from a computer screen.
Dressed in a tailored suit, he had the regal gaze and chiseled features of an aristocrat. Salt and pepper hair hinted at age, but no signs of weakness softened his hard, dangerous body. He stared at her across a desk, hands steepled in front of him.
The woman who stood behind him was downright creepy. Tall, reed-thin, with white-blonde hair that fell all the way to the floor. A simple white robe, unadorned, was all she wore. With skin pale as a vampire, the only color in her face was her strange, jarring eyes: one sapphire blue, one emerald green. Both bright and cold enough to be stones.
Seeing them, the last of Tess’ humor died. She was in deep, deep trouble.
Apparently, there was some kind of video-conferencing going on because the strangers’ eyes followed her as Arnage marched her across the room.
The Rat cleared her throat. “Master Alester, these are the two I told you about. Amatessandra, or Tess Everlyn, as she calls herself. The other is Terandicandros.”
“But you can call him ‘Dick’,” Tess inserted. “Most people do.”
No one laughed, yet that sad attempt at a joke cheered Tess. It drove the fear back, just a little bit.
“Thank you, Dorrissey,” the man said. That must be Rat-Woman’s name. “Mariset, your opinion?”
The pale woman bent forward, frowning. “I am unsure. It is difficult to sense remotely.”
The ‘Master’ seemed displeased by that. “I don’t have time for this nonsense. You two.” His piercing gaze settled on his prisoners. “Dorrissey tells me you pretend to be some strange sort of Shifter that no one’s heard of.”
“Adanai, my Lord,” Dick inserted, with a fawning bow. “Think of us as Fae, if you will.”
“Sounds like nonsense,” Alester snapped. “Dorrissey, Shift. We’ll see if they’ve got the blood or not.”
At once, the small woman’s form blurred and melted, collapsing into the greasy form of a dog-sized rat.
Everyone looked at her, as if expecting some sort of response.
Tess shrugged. “Still gross.” Dick remained diplomatically silent.
“No delusion, no delirium,” Alester muttered. “All right. You’re definitely either Shifters or Kin.”
Tall, White and Willowy’s eyes narrowed. “There is more to the woman, Master. Something is bound to her.”
Bound? Tess frowned in confusion. So did the witch’s master.
“What, precisely, is bound to her?”
“I am not sure.”
“No, of course you’re not,” he muttered. “You Witch Hares are damnable pains. You couldn’t be more vague if you tried.” The woman seemed oblivious to that insult; she wasn’t servile, even if she did call the man ‘Master’. Tess swore she could feel the Hare’s eyes, moving across her skin like worms, prying at the edges of her mind.
That sensation couldn’t be real, could it?
Though, if magic truly existed… Tess’ stomach gave another lurch.
Alester gave an exasperate sigh. “I am a busy man. I don’t have time to let you figure this out. Dorrissey.” The Rat ducked her head, submissive. “Take them to Dr. Rawls. Tell him to interrogate them, dissect them, and send me the report on what they are.”
Di… Wait. What? Tess blinked in horror. What the hell kind of person ‘dissected’ people he found strange?!?
She was starting to understand why Darian fought so hard to hide his son from these Fangs of Apophis. Once again, Tess felt a pang for the way she’d left him. What she wouldn’t give to have her Mate at her side.
Dick, meanwhile, gave a very undignified squawk. “My Lord, my Lord, please! There’s no need for that, surely! I’m happy to cooperate, even if Amatessandra isn’t. And I assure you that I’m far more useful to you alive than dead.”
“I’m sure you think you are,” the aristocrat replied coldly. “Though I don’t agree with your assessment.”
Tess said nothing. Her nausea hadn’t disappeared, but she was getting used to it. The cold, uncaring lines of Alester’s face left her no hope of convincing him to spare her. Better to wait, and hope for an opening to escape.
But Dick the Ever-Idiotic was positive he could talk his way out of anything. “Please, I beg you, listen to what I have to offer. Surely, you wish to know why the Wellsprings, the portals to the Other Side, closed?”
Alester radiated complete disinterest. “Dorrissey told me about your claim. Vaguely interesting, I admit. Such knowledge is completely impractical, however.”
“Not at all!” Tess winced at Dick’s manic smile, the hint of hysteria that threaded its way into his voice. “Such knowledge might allow you to reverse the process. To open Wellsprings of your own.”
“Maybe,” Alester admitted. “Probably not, though. The doctor will sort it all out.”
“But…”
“Give it a rest, Dick,” Tess said wearily. Dammit, that scrawny Hare would not stop staring at her. She was beginning to think that Dr. Rawls and his ‘dissection’ wouldn’t be half as bad as staying here, under those creepy eyes.
“I will not!” The Adanai’s voice rose higher, skating perilously close to a screech. “There’s more! I swear! Let me live and I can tell you how to make weapons that will kill a Dragon.”
The effect of his words was electric. Everyone, both here and on the computer, straightened, their eyes widening. Even Tess was shocked. How the hell could Dick know that?
“You have my attention,” Alester said. “Continue.”
“First, give me your word that you’ll spare me. Your servant,” Dick spat the word and glowered at the Rat, “lied to me, but I will trust you, of course. Dissect Amatessandra if you will, but let me live and serve you.”
A guffaw escaped Tess before she could stop it. “Wow, Dick. Now I remember why I dumped you.”
Yet his offer fell on fertile soil. “Very well. You have my word. So where do I find these magical weapons?”
“Inside her.” To Tess’ startlement, Dick pointed at her. “I am a mere harpist, a commoner. She, however, is a princess of our kind.”
With a start, Tess recalled that memory stone, the one with the ‘Disn
ey’ pictures. Apparently, that really was her and Dick.
“Her people were Dragon slayers. Somewhere, perhaps deep inside, she recalls how they enchanted spears and arrows that would slice through a Dragon’s scales.”
Skepticism clouded Alester’s finely chiseled face as he turned to stare at her. “Is this true?”
“Nope.”
Dick was prepared for that. As a frown darkened Alester’s face, he smoothly inserted, “Ah, but that’s the crux of the problem, you see. We Adanai can store our memories in stones. The fact that Amatessandra doesn’t currently remember this lore means nothing.”
“Master.” Once more, the thin Rat inclined her head toward the computer. With downcast eyes, she continued, “I must acknowledge that – upon this creature’s advice – I explored the woman’s home.”
They ransacked her shack? Tess bridled at the thought. Dammit, her lawn chair was probably shredded. She’d been growing fond of the awful thing.
“We found a dozen odd stones which may validate his story.”
“You have them?” Alester asked.
“Yes. Here.” The Rat patted the cardboard box on the table. At that touch, a shiver passed down Tess’ spine, as if someone had stepped on her grave.
Her stones? Here? Was that why she heard whispers and felt as if unclean hands brushed against her? She fought to keep fury and disgust off her face, but didn’t fully succeed.
Bad to worse. Even if she could escape ‘dissection’, how could she steal her soul back from these monsters?
Alester grew more pensive. “Mariset, can you confirm that these stones are in fact powerful?”
One thin, pale eyebrow arched. Though, to Tess’ discomfort, the witch wasn’t looking at the box. Her gaze still remained fixed on her. “Yes, they’re magical. And I can confirm that there truly is a living Wellspring in this world.”
Ice poured down Tess’ back at that pronouncement. Could the Witch Hare read minds? Had she accidentally betrayed Darian?
Even Alester looked shocked by this new development. “Explain yourself.”
A dark eagerness stirred in the Hare’s face. “Because I now understand what is bound to this Amatessandra: a Shifter’s soul. She’s the Mate of a Dragon. And Dragons cannot find their soul-mates without a Wellspring.”
Everyone, from Rat to Worm, gaped at her in shock and fear. Dick, however, curled his lip in disgust. “Have you fallen so low, my princess, to join yourself to one of the lesser kind?”
That was the final straw. Tess’ irritation bubbled over, and her sharp tongue finally came unbound. “Okay, you got me there. Yes, Lady Icicle is right: I’ve got a really big boyfriend. So let’s make a deal. You losers let me go and I’ll ask him not to kick all your asses. No promises. But hey, I’ll ask.”
It was a joke, really.
But no one laughed.
Alester rose from his desk and began to pace. The Shifters in the room with her paled. Hell, the Bear even broke into a sweat.
“Why isn’t the Dragon there already?” Alester muttered.
Why would he be? The question made no sense to Tess. Darian had no way to know where she was.
Or did he? Crazy as it sounded, everyone clearly expected her Mate to come bursting through the door at any second.
Hope flooded through her, shockingly intense. Tess was used to taking care of herself. But damn, she was in it deep right now! She needed a hand. A big hand. Preferably one with claws. Behind that joy, however, lurked something deeper. Something vulnerable, something she found hard to accept in herself.
Love.
It thrilled her to think that she truly was tied to this Dragon. That he might put his life in danger to save her. That she meant more to him than life itself.
Her captors still pondered their conundrum. “The Dragon had a boy,” the Rat suggested. “Perhaps he needed to remove the child to safety first?”
That stopped Alester in his tracks. “Good point. Family would be as dear as Mate to a Dragon.”
Something Tess couldn’t deny.
“Right. You need to move fast, Dorrissey. I’m shocked you’re not dead yet.”
Tess wasn’t a bloodthirsty person, but damn that sounded good to her! Her spirits soared to think that rescue was at hand.
Alester’s next order, however, brought her mood crashing to the ground. “Fortunately, the information we need is in those rocks, not the Dragon’s Mate. Dorrissey, send the stones and the man to me. Kill the woman.”
“What?” Tess yelped. “Hang on a sec. You know I’m his Mate. If you kill me, he’ll spend the rest of his life making you pay.”
“He’ll have to find me first. And trust me.” The aristocrat gave a cold, tight smile. “We Worms are hard to locate when we put our minds to hiding.”
Dorrissey bowed and said, “Arnage. Do it.”
The Bear drew his hunting knife… then hesitated. “Why are we…?”
“Do you want to face an angry Dragon?” the Rat hissed at her reluctant henchman. “No? Well, he knows where his Mate is, at all times. Get rid of her before she leads him to us.”
Time. Tess eyed the wincing Bear. She needed more. Should she run? Fight?
Or trust in decency when she saw it?
“Arnage.” Hands low, unthreatening, Tess turned to face the Shifter. “You don’t have to do this. You know it’s wrong.”
“Yeah, but…” His nervous eyes flickered to his outraged superiors. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a choice.”
“You do. There’s always a choice!”
He shook his head slowly. “You don’t understand what they’ll do.”
“We’ll protect you. My Dragon and I.” Tess stepped within arm’s reach, close enough that the Bear could snap her neck if he wanted. Because she knew, deep inside, that he didn’t. “You’re not a bad man. I can tell just by looking at you.”
“No.” Bone-deep sorrow clouded his voice. “I am. I failed them, my Family. I… I deserve the Fangs.”
She’d only been stalling, trying to buy time to save her own life. Suddenly, Tess found that she cared, passionately, about this. She wasn’t the only one with a terrible past.
“What you deserve is a second change.” Conviction, pure and absolute, echoed in her words. “My Dragon taught me that. Everyone can change. The past doesn’t…”
Movement, behind Arnage.
Tired of waiting for obedience, Dorrissey drew a gun and pointed it at her.
For one second, Tess froze. Saving Arnage had so consumed her that she’d lost track of the Rat. And that one single second let Dorrissey squeeze off three shots.
But even if she had forgotten the treacherous spy, Arnage hadn’t. Woken by her compassion, his true Bear nature stirred. Without thinking, he stepped in front of Tess to shield her.
Three bullets slammed into the big man, rocking him back on his heels. Tess wailed, expecting him to crumble to the ground.
Instead, a bestial roar split the air. Arnage shimmered, grew, and suddenly an enraged Kodiak bear loomed over Tess. Dorrissey screamed in horror as her former servant turned toward her.
Chaos broke out around them. From the computer screen, Alester shrieked impotent orders. Gun shots and howls of fury filled the air as Rat and Bear tore the room apart. Faintly, Tess thought she heard gunfire from outside the building. But she didn’t have time to worry about that. She needed to grab her stones.
She darted toward the desk, steering clear of the berserk Bear. Arnage wouldn’t deliberately hurt her, she was sure. But in his blind rage, he could kill her before he knew what he was doing. Fortunately, Dorrissey sprinted for the door and the two of them plowed through into the bar’s main room. A woman’s scream rang out. Tess winced as she snatched up the box that held her soul stones.
Scratch one Rat…
Not something she wanted to see, but that door was the only way out. Clutching her box, Tess turned…
And found Dick standing behind her, holding the knife Arnage had dropped.
Time slowed as the blade slashed toward her neck. This attack didn’t catch her by surprise, however; some part of her soul had always expected treachery from the Adanai. Tess snapped the box into the air, blocking Dick’s attack, then shoved forward, plowing into him. The slender man staggered backward.
“You jackass,” she hissed as she tossed the ruined box aside. “You always were a snake.”
Dick glared and raised his blade. Tess circled away from him, summoning what memories of combat she could. Hand versus knife was bad, but she could do this… couldn’t she?
A roar froze both Adanai, one so loud that it dwarfed Arnage’s howl. The ground shuddered as something enormous slammed into it. Screams and shouts filled the air, and the sound of a building shattering.
Tess’ mind struggled to make sense of this new assault. Had a plane crashed? A bus?
Then great scaled claws tore through the wall, and she knew what it was.
Not what. Who.
A Dragon.
Her Dragon. Her Mate. Come to wreak vengeance on the people who had hurt her.
One blow shredded the wall, sending boards flying through the air. A Dragon’s enormous golden head thrust through the gap and, with a flick, flipped the roof aside. Tess gaped, stunned speechless by the sight. She had never dreamed of such power, such strength, such fury.
This was her Guardian. Her Protector.
Heaven help anyone who raised a hand against her.
Today, however, Heaven did not choose to shield those wrongdoers. Dick’s blade fell from his numb fingers. With a shrill wail of terror, he fled.
Darian’s paw lashed out. And with one blow, he ended the man who had betrayed her.
Chapter 16
“I still think I should have done something about that Bear,” Darian growled.
Tess smiled at his protective urge. She felt dizzy, almost drunk with joy because after dispatching the Fangs, they’d flown back to her shack in the woods.
Flown. On Dragon wings.
The memory of that held her in a delirious cocoon. Air, whipping through her hair as shreds of cloud tore past. His control, his mastery, as he banked and soared. The intoxicating joy of entrusting herself to him, completely.
