by Julia Mills
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Dragon in the Mist
Dragon Guard #26
by
Julia Mills
There Are No Coincidences.
The Universe Does Not Make Mistakes.
Fate Will Not Be Denied.
Copyright © 2017 Julia Mills
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictional manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
NOTICE: This is an adult erotic paranormal romance with love scenes and mature situations. It is only intended for adult readers over the age of 18.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Cover by Linda Boulanger with Tell Tale Book Covers
Edited and Proofed by Tammy Payne with Book Nook Nuts
Beta Read by Linda Levy
Formatted by Charlene Bauer with Wicked Bold Creations
DEDICATION
Dare to Dream! Find the Strength to Act! Never Look Back!
Thank you, God.
To my girls, Liz and Em, I Love You. Every day, every way, always.
To everyone’s who’s ever thought they couldn’t go on, this one’s for you.
You may be down, but you are NEVER out.
If you need me, all you have to do is holler.
Take Care!
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
About Julia
Also by Julia Mills
Index of the Original Language of the Dragon Kin
Dragon in the Mist
Mo bhana-bhuidseach beag……….My pretty little witch
Mo dóchas ach amháin……….My only hope
Maité mo chroí……….Mate of my heart
Rí na jungle……….King of the jungle
Mo chara……….My friend
Mo chroí……….My heart
Mo ghrá………..My love
Tá tú ag an bhfianaise mo anam……….You are the light of my soul
Macushla……….My darling
Sruthán……….Burn
Ta’ mo chroi istigh ionat………. My heart is within you
A chumann……….Sweetheart
Chapter One
“Help… please…help me… you’re my only hope…”
The voice burst through his mind, waking not only the man but also the ancient Dragon King residing within his soul. He could feel the powerful beast pumping centuries-old, pure white magic through his body, mending broken bones, reviving languid muscles, restoring his once vibrant strength, and bringing crystal clarity to the chaos of his broken mind.
Laying perfectly still, letting his dragon repair the wounds of a hundred years, the Guardsman focused on the infinitesimal glimmer of light in the farthest reaches of his soul. Its power called to him. Its allure was inescapable. It was her… the voice… the woman who called to not only his mind but also his heart and soul.
She sounded so lost, so scared…so very much in pain that his hardened heart began to soften, breaking a little more with each passing moment. Borrowing from the magic of his dragon, Uther pushed his mind’s eye farther into the light. Searching the darkness, lengthening, and strengthening the incredibly small bond the woman had somehow forged between them, the Guardsman reached out to her, whispering, “Hold on, mo slánaitheoir. I will not fail you.”
“Oh, but you will fail, dragon scum,” came the low, eerie reply, its evil leaving a slimy trail like that of a snail across a rotten log. “This vessel is mine,” the voice flaunted, the darkness of his words invading Uther’s mind as the raspy threats continued. “I have fought your kind before and lived to tell the tale. You are weak, dragon. Insane from too much time alone. The bedlam of your mind reminds me of rats scampering from the light, hiding their beady eyes, and cowering in fear. You are no match for me. I am Thanatos, Death Incarnate. I will destroy you just as I plan to destroy all who stand in my way. This world is mine for the taking, so slither back into the hole from whence you came.”
“Release the woman!” Uther roared, battling the heavy silver cuffs and chains that bound him to the coffin. “Release her now, or with the Heavens as my witness, I will pull your worthless demon soul from her body, tear whatever wretched pieces of you remain to bits and feed your leftovers to the vermin. Not even the master who bore you will what remains of you.”
“Empty threats,” the demon cackled. “That is all you can offer. You are lost, alone and buried deep within the earth. Did you think to fool me?” Thanatos scoffed. “You are no threat to me, dragon. No danger to anyone, but yourself. I shall do as I like with Mara and anyone else I choose to inhabit, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.”
The demon’s laughter, like long, gnarled nails sliding across slate, reached through the bond Uther had been trying to secure, grabbed the Guardsman by the neck and flung him against the bottom of his prison. His connection with the woman snapped. His hard-fought control shattered. His dragon’s roar rattled the silver tomb that had been their home for longer than either could remember.
Attacking his sarcophagus with the frenzy of a madman, Uther shattered the barbed rings of silver embedded in the flesh of his neck, crushed the shackles restraining his wrists and feet, and mutilated the wide sterling-studded belt that dug into the emaciated muscles of his torso. Raising his fists and feet, he hammered against the lid of the silver box with a single-minded, highly-focused determination. The sounds of popping rivets and metal being pulverized was music to the Guardsman’s ears, as rocks and dirt poured over his head, burying him in the same earth that had held him captive for so very many years.
Reaching for the top of the reinforced frame of the lid, Uther wrapped his beaten and bloody fingers tightly around the corrosive metal. Working tirelessly, he sought to pull himself free of his incarceration as tons of falling soil fought to keep him a prisoner, but through it all, he refused to give up.
Wrestling his way out of the box, Uther ignored the silver burning and eating away at his flesh, thankful for the copious amounts of magic his dragon shoved into every cell of his body that allowed him to keep going. Pushing through the mud and the muck, the stones and the soil, the decaying roots, and the fetid waste of too many animals to count, he focused every ounce of his energy on the sound of the woman’s voice…Mara’s voice.
She was his inspiration, his hope, the only motivation he needed to escape. The pain ra
diating from her soul was a beacon lighting the way. The sheer, unadulterated hate burning within him for the demon sucking the marrow from her bones his fuel and the bond she’d forged between them, his compass. Nothing and no one would stand in the way of him saving her.
Fighting to stay conscious, unable to draw even the smallest breath, Uther was literally drowning in dirt. Powering on, his right fist finally burst through the earth, followed almost immediately by his left. Scrambling to find a stronghold, his hands latched onto a large root, the thorns ripping through his burnt and abraded flesh, his skin tearing from the muscle as blood poured down his arms.
Summoning the very last ounce of strength both man and dragon possessed, Uther heaved his massive body out of the dirt, until his head, chest and torso erupted through the soil into the blessed rays of light. Gasping for air, the Guardsman coughed and wheezed, spitting dirt, bile, and blood all over in his effort to breath.
Rolling onto his back, his feet still buried in the ground, Uther gulped the hot, humid air of his surroundings, shielding his burning eyes from the shards of sunlight breaking through the dense foliage overhead. Using his rusty senses, he probed his surroundings, looking for anything familiar, anything that would tell him where he was.
The wet, smoldering heat was a sure indication that he was close to the equator. The animals he could feel inching ever closer, unsure if the Guardsman was friend or foe, said there had to be water nearby, and the root he’d used to lift himself from the depths of his prison signaled he was in the Amazon, miles from his home and his brethren.
If any of them survived…
Over and over he tried to contact Drago or Kyran, even Angus or Quinn, any of the men he’d called brother, but his calls disappeared into the darkness, blocked by the residual black magic neither man nor beast had the enchantment to erase. Visions of the night he and his brethren were ambushed by the wizards, the feeling of being trapped in a coffin, buried, and left for dead, had been his constant companion for nearly a century. He’d called to each of the members of his Force so very many times during his imprisonment, but every word had been thrown back at him, a mocking reminder of his helplessness and loneliness. These men were his family, those he’d fought beside for nearly all of his adult life. He could only pray they’d survived the savage and underhanded attack by one of dragon kin’s greatest enemies.
His stomach growled, insatiable hunger caused cramps like a fist to his stomach as his throat threatened to close from the intensity of his thirst. Slowly opening his eyes, only able to lift his lids the smallest amount, Uther rolled to his stomach, struggled to his knees and with the aid of a massive vine stumbled to his feet.
His limbs felt like lead. His mind was foggy. His eyes refused to focus. Had it not been for the powerful, pure, white magic of his dragon, Uther would still be lying beside the hole he’d emerged from just moments before.
One foot in front of the other, refusing to give up, the Guardsman followed the roaring sounds of a waterfall. Step by blessed step, the air became cooler, lighter, easier to inhale. Then, as if a miracle from the Goddess herself, the cool, refreshing mist of clean, crisp water pecked at the dirt caking his skin.
Feeling his way to the shore, Uther redirected his dragon’s strength to his preternatural senses, letting them stretch as far and wide as they could. Looking for adversaries, ready to fend off any who saw him as an interloper, and finding none, the Guardsman slowly walked into the cool, refreshing stream until its gentle waves lapped at the bottom of his chin.
Taking great gulps of water as fast as his hands could reach his face, he ignored the searing pain as the life-giving liquid restored and revitalized his parched throat and filled his empty stomach. Focusing again on the bright white glow of the link he shared with Mara, Uther sought any and all clues that would tell him where she was. He needed to find her, had to save her from certain death, wanted to vanquish the evil holding her captive. It was his purpose for being, of that neither man nor dragon had any doubt.
Just as she saved me…
Climbing from the water, glad to feel the sun setting at his back, happy for the much-needed respite from the oppressive light that his eyes so desperately required. Pushing his hunger aside, Uther trudged forward, deeper in the forest, farther from the peaceful waters, searching for Mara with every one of the enhanced senses given to him by, Brennus, the Dragon King he’d been paired with nearly three hundred years. The scattering of the smaller inhabitants of the forest was a mere echo in his mind as he pushed forward. His chapped lips cracked the briefest of smiles as he heard their thoughts, knew they recognized him as an apex predator, top of the food chain, and someone they didn’t want to encounter.
Then there were the larger animals and reptiles, who moved closer but also kept a very wide berth. Uther’s grin turned into a full-blown smile despite the severity of the situation he faced. It was reassuring and good for his soul to know he hadn’t lost anything after so long in the ground. The helplessness and hopelessness, an eternity of being one of the living dead was over. Because of her, because of one small voice in the darkness, the Guardsman they all called the Avenger, was alive and being feared as the supernatural force that he was, in the Rain Forest of all places.
One foot in front of the other, tearing through the dense overgrowth and moving anything impeding his progress, Uther created a path through terrain, following the trail of the light in his soul. He couldn’t forget her tiny, breathless cry. Her fear continued to beat at him like the noonday sun. She was his lifeline, his savior, for she’d broken the curse holding him hostage, freed him from his undergrown tomb and returned to him his will to live.
“I will find you,” he growled into the silent jungle, the darkness closing in all around him.
Able to use his night vision with little to no pain, Uther began to jog and soon he was running. The swoosh of the wide, leathery wings of the flying fox bats as they flew from tree to tree in search of the fruit they loved so very much was in direct contrast to the careful, stalking of the leopard cat, whose movements were barely perceptible even to the Guardsman’s supernatural hearing.
Ducking in just in time to miss having a Wallace flying frog land on his head, Uther was forced to make an abrupt stop as a pair of bearded pigs stood completely still, blocking his path, and looking at him as if he might be dinner. Sizing them up as they did the same to him, Uther watched their bristly coats and wiry beards blowing in the breeze and scented others of their Sounder quickly approaching from all sides. Watching intently as their hooves pawed the ground, the Guardsman wasn’t surprised when both male and female lifted their long snouts, snorting, and squealing for their friends to hurry up.
Letting his hands fall to the side, careful to control his breathing, Uther bowed his head in an effort to show he meant them no harm. Several tense seconds passed, the jungle so silent that the Guardsman heard a leaf touch down in the distance right before the larger, more muscular male threw back his head and with a screeching war cry barreled towards Uther.
Spreading his legs shoulder width apart, bending his knees and steadying his stance, Uther caught the hog mid-leap, spun around to the side, and slammed the boar flat on his back on the jungle floor. Looking the beast in the eye, the Guardsman growled low in his throat, maintaining eye contact until the pig lowered his eyes and relaxed.
Standing up and taking a step back, Uther looked every single bearded pig that had come onto the scene directly in the eye. One-by-one, he waited for them to look down and acknowledge his supremacy. Walking through the center of the gathering of the Sounder, it was the Guardsman’s turn to roar.
Listening as his declaration of strength and dominance echoed through the Amazon, Uther growled, “And now, I am coming for ye, Thanatos.”
Chapter Two
She heard his call, felt his power, tried to answer, but Thanatos was too strong, had too much control, had crushed her only hope of escape with his raspy taunts and gruesome insults. Why wouldn’t he
let her die, or better yet, kill her himself and just be done with it all?
The atrocities she’d been forced to commit haunted her every waking moment. It was a nightmare that had no end, going on and on, replaying on a loop, reminding her how far from grace she’d truly fallen. There simply was no return from what she’d done. No way she could ever go back to her family, or face the dragons. Despair was her only companion. The ghosts of her victims her only friends. Her life was not her own and never would be.
Regrettably, the phantoms only came when the demon retreated. Those hours daylight that the bastard gave up control of Mara’s mind. This was when the faces of her victims, stretched in horror and fear, would play out like one of the slasher films her sister, Isabella, used to watch while all the other McKennon sisters hid their eyes and squealed for her to turn the channel.
Wish my brain had an off switch…
Unfortunately, even when her mind was free, her body was not. Thanatos maintained control, forcing her to lay in whatever hidey hole he’d found, loving that she relived every gory detail of his misdeeds without any way to escape. She knew he watched in silence, was reveling in her pain, sucking up her misery like gravy on a plate, using it to recharge himself and fuel the horrendous acts that were still to come.
On this occasion, the young witch found herself propped against the cold, stone wall of a cave. From the scent of salt water and the cool, bite of the breeze on her chaffed and bleeding cheeks, Mara knew she was by the sea. Her only concern as she listened to the sounds of the waves as the seagulls called to one another was underlying scent of lava.
Of, course the bastard has left me in a live volcano. He just loves to tear me up, so he can put me back together…
Seeing the first rays of the morning sun tiptoe into the mouth of the cavern out of the corner of her eye, Mara stared at the toll the demon’s possession was taking on her body. Scars from the hundreds of times Thanatos had stitched her back together with his despicable black magic lay thick and knotted upon her skin. Jeers and sneers as he chastised her for not being strong enough to contain him, replayed in the back of her mind. The torment was endless and every day she prayed he would find another vessel. Begged for the Goddess to hear her pleas. Wanted the bastard to jump from her to another’s so that she might use that split second that the demon was helpless to banish him back to the Pits of Hell. It had become her only wish, the only way she could go meet her Maker knowing she’d saved others from Thanatos and had beat the useless windbag.
