Dragon in the Mist

by Julia Mills

  “Then what the hell are you waiting for?” Annalisa exclaimed with the rest of the McKennons in attendance readily agreeing.

  “Take the lead, Sis,” Alicia yelled. “We got your back.”

  Looking down the line of her sisters, seeing the love in their eyes and the sparks of the power filling the air, Mara knew there was no way one fucked up demon and a stupid old bitch could take them down. Giving a single nod of recognition at the same time that her mom and Calysta joined their formation, Mara looked at Uther as he fought so valiantly and knew what she had to do.

  “Uther!” She beckoned. “When I give the signal, you and the other Guardsmen need to hit the floor. The girls and I are gonna take this bastard out once and for all.”

  “Aye, mo ghrá.” She could hear the smile in his voice as he advised his brethren of the McKennons’ plan.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Mara saw Drago look at her sister, Alicia, and knew that just like Mara had had to look at Uther, Drago needed to make eye contact with his mate. She could only smile and whisper, “Ain’t love grand,” as she prepared to begin the attack on Death Incarnate.

  “Hey, asshole,” she screamed, her taunt causing all motion to stop and the ten-foot-tall, black-scaled, red-eyed, fire-breathing demon to look right at her.

  Throwing back his head and barking with laughter that could have just as easily been a snarl, Thanatos jeered, “Any last words, my little plaything? Something you need to say to me before I devour you and your teeny, tiny little witch sisters?”

  Staring down the biggest monster she’d ever seen, Mara threw back her shoulders, lifted her chin higher and spat, “Yeah, eat shit, you motherfucker.”

  “Now!” She shrieked to Uther.

  Watching the Guardsman hit the ground as she and the other witches raised their joined hands, Mara roared, “GO TO HELL, THANATOS!”

  Bolts of lightning shot from their joined hands. Fireballs reigned down through the holes in the ceiling. The floorboards beneath them shook with such vigor that it was hard to remain standing, but Mara and the others continued their assault.

  Moving forward, one tenuous step at a time, Mara summoned the magic from not only her sisters, but also Calysta and her mother. Gritting her teeth, smiling what she knew was an evil smile, the youngest McKennon witch let go of her sister’s hand and focused on Thanatos.

  Chuckling as if she was teasing him, not attacking him, the demon snickered, “Oh Mara, you really are such a delight. Did you really think you could banish me by yourself? Or at all?”

  Refusing to rise to the bait, she pushed harder, concentrated on his chest and the black heart she knew beat just beneath his scaly armor. Pushing the demon back with every step, every blast of the tremendous magic streaming through her, Mara was sure she was about to explode in a million pieces. Her body trembled. Her muscles shook. Her head pounded from the force of her actions.

  Then, just when she thought she couldn’t contain another ounce of the raw power of the Earthen magic not only given to her family, but also to the Priestess for a single second longer, Uther’s arm wrapped around her waist and her courageous mated lifted her off the floor.

  Leaning back against his muscular chest, letting her dragon keep her upright while she doubled her efforts, Mara blasted Thanatos with everything she had. Tears streamed down her face as she continued her assault. Sure she’d finally gained the upper hand when the demon stumbled down the steps and staggered to the middle of the courtyard, Mara almost smiled, but instead ended up screaming because she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  Thanatos wasn’t going down that easily. Opening his grotesque jowls, the demon spat an otherworldly shriek into the night sky as he sprayed flames of acidic fire directly at Mara and Uther.

  Opening his arms wide, the demon demanded, “Rise, my children. Come out of hiding. Claim the world that is meant to be yours.”

  She wouldn’t have believed it if she’d hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. Hundreds upon hundreds of long, black, oily snakes bursting from the ground, slithering directly towards her and Uther, their fangs glistening in the moonlight, their bodies undulating in the most unnerving manner, chanting, “Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.”

  Holding his ground, Mara heard the buzz of Uther calling to his brethren a split-second before Kayne ripped her from her mate’s arms as he reassured, “Keep the magic coming, Mara, and watch your boy, he’s about to pull a freakin’ rabbit out of his hat.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Running to the side, needing the room to call forth Brennus in the form of his Avenging Dragon, Uther ignored Thanatos’ cackled scoff of, “That’s right. Run and hide, you spineless piece of dragon shit. It will make the game more fun if I have to find you before devouring your heart.”

  Stopping a hundred yards from the demon, Uther spoke directly to the Dragon King with whom he shared his soul. “I need yer power, mo chara. We have a demon to kill.”

  As the Guardsman gave himself over to the mysticism of his dragon’s ancient magic, he suddenly remembered King. Wondering where the jaguar had gone, Uther prayed that his new friend was okay and promised himself to locate the feline as soon as the battle was over.

  Magic filled the air, Brennus got to his feet, pushed against the confines of the Guardsman’s mind and from one heartbeat to the next, their perspectives were switched. Uther was now looking out of one of many of the Dragon King’s forms, the one that had earned them the moniker of the Avenger.

  Standing near to eleven-feet tall, his armor constructed of glowing white scales reinforced with the forte of the stars, Brennus maintained the impenetrable brow-spikes of his original form and the lethal talons that jutted from his fingers. His snout was shorter, more compact than those of his winged dragon, but the canines he used to render flesh and bone were longer, sharper, and infused with a serum that incapacitated his enemies, leaving them paralyzed but still able to feel pain.

  In this form, he was unbeatable, unstoppable and hellbent on destroying whatever enemy stood in his path. Racing back into the fray, letting the massive battleax and flail he was given by the Goddess at the moment of his first transformation materialize in his massive hands, Uther roared, “THANATOS! The hour of yer death is nigh.”

  Spinning towards the raging Avenger, a trail of fire and venom decimating the ground as Mara and the witches battled the ever-growing number of snakes covering the ground, Thanatos mocked, “Look at the mighty dragon. Thinking he can best Death Incarnate.”

  Swinging his flail over his head, the whirring of the huge, iron-spiked ball drowning out the sounds of battle as it spun from its place at the end of the massive chain attached to the six-inch thick wooden baton, Uther let go of the weapon, smiling as it hit its mark. Blood, thick and viscous, the color of hot tar, poured for the gaping hole in the center of Thanatos’ torso as the demon’s anguished roar shook the ground.

  Absorbing the energy and force of the stars above, as was his birthright as one of the only remaining Star Dragons, Uther ran across the charred bodies of the serpents the witches had vanquished. Watching his brethren battle an all new onslaught of the nasty vermin out of the corner of his eye, Uther ran as fast as he could directly towards Thanatos. Raising his battleax, the blade pointed outward and lying parallel to his shoulder, the Guardsman dropped into a slide, slicing through the tendons of the demon’s left ankle.

  Jumping to his feet, doing a spinning about-face as Thanatos screeched in pain, Uther repeated the action, carving down to the bone in a perfectly straight line across the demon’s opposite ankle. The breeze from the flailing, screaming demon’s body hitting the ground blew past the Avenger as he jumped to his feet, spun back around, and planting his feet shoulder width apart, opened his jaws, blowing wave after wave of dragon fire at the wounded monstrosity.

  Moving closer, his flames only serving to keep Thanatos on the ground, Uther jumped atop the demon’s enormous chest and threw himself onto his stomach. Unhinging his jaw, the Avenger slashed at Thanatos�
�� throat with his fangs, injecting copious amounts of acidic venom directly into the abomination’s bloodstream.

  Wailing and thrashing about, Thanatos batted Uther off his torso and into the air. Landing with a resounding thump at Mara’s feet, the Avenger sprung back to his feet, just in time to see King, five times his normal size and resembling a photo of a saber tooth tiger the Guardsman had seen long ago, launch himself at the demon’s face, scratching through his thick, leathery scales, snarling as he threw pieces of flesh and gore aside.

  Unrelenting in his assault, holding on as the demon rolled over and over, King jumped to the side when Uther dove onto Thanatos’s back, again thrusting his teeth into his neck and releasing every ounce of the toxic sedative from the glands inside his jaws. The demon’s movements slowed. He fell onto his stomach, face down in the carnage of his dead serpents, fighting to get to his feet and wailing like a petulant child.

  Tearing his teeth from the demon’s neck, spitting the rancid flesh from his mouth, Uther yelled, “Come here, Mara. The final blow is yers. Thanatos is yers to destroy.”

  Opening his mouth to contradict Uther’s words, Thanatos could only mumble, drool running down his chin as the Avenger’s poison took effect. Holding out his hand, Uther lifted Mara onto the demon’s chest, placed the grip of his battleax in her hand and watched as his mate dug in with the heels of her hiking boots.

  Grimacing at Thanatos, Mara’s words came out as a snarl as she shouted, “Go straight to hell, you fucking piece of shit.”

  Swinging the hatchet, her war cry filling the airwaves, Mara separated the demon’s head from his shoulders in a spray of acidic blood and flying pieces of gore. Shielding his mate from the caustic plasma, Uther wrapped Mara in his arms and had just gotten to his feet when an explosion of black magic blasted the couple through the air. Thanatos’ parting words echoing across the night sky, “You may have won this battle, but I still have your brother and the other Berserkers.”

  Landing ass over tea kettle, still holding tight to his mate, Uther watched as pieces of demon, parts of serpents and gallons of black blood rained down on the witches and the Guardsman. Looking to what used to be Thanatos, the Avenger was shocked to see a gasping Agatha blanketed in the nasty remains of Death Incarnate.

  Locating Maddox, Calysta at his side, Uther hollered, “Priestess, the traitor is yers to slay.”

  A broad smile curved across the mad dragon as he gave Uther a single nod, quickly following his mate through the carnage. The Avenger loosened his grip on Mara so that she could turn in his arms and watch her Priestess dole out a bit of justice.

  Standing over a dying Agatha, Calysta sneered, “Why? Why did you betray me? Betray the Enforcers? Join forces with a demon?”

  Opening and shutting her mouth, gulping at the air, blood streaming from her lips, Agatha gurgled, “B-Bec-cause…I…I h-hate y-…y-you.”

  “But why? I was always nice to you, even when you were hateful and mean.”

  “B-Bec-caus-se…I-I…I…”

  “Shut the fuck up. I just don’t care, and now you can hate me in Hell.” The Priestess took Maddox’s long blade from his outstretched hand, raised it over her head and with one whizzing strike severed the bitch’s head from her shoulders.

  Stepping back, the tip of the iron blade dragging in the blood-soaked earth, Calysta spat, “Sruthán, Bitch.” Walking away as Agatha’s anguished wails assaulted their ears and flames enveloped her body.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A week had passed since they’d destroyed Thanatos and Agatha. Things seemed to be getting back to normal. Uther was making plans for their mating ceremony, and Mara had spent more hours than she wanted to think about talking to her mom and sisters, explaining why she’d gone after Cleland by herself.

  They seemed to understand. Said they would always love her, and at the end of the day, Mara figured that was all that mattered.

  She and Uther had spent every spare moment together. It was pure joy getting to know him, as well as teaching him about the modern world. Mara couldn’t help but laugh when she showed him a cell phone and explained how it worked. His eyes had narrowed as he’d accused her of using magic to play a trick on him.

  The best day had been when Uther officially asked her to be his mate and slid the biggest, most beautiful ring upon her finger. Looking at it now, she could still barely believe her eyes. The stone in the middle, a brilliant emerald cut diamond, represented the Star Dragons and the Celestial bodies who blessed their origins while the smaller princess cut black diamonds stood for the night sky in which they so elegantly hung. He’d explained that it had belonged to every Queen of his Clan since the beginning of time with his mother being the last to wear it. It was an honor Mara had never expected and would cherish for all eternity.

  Their only ‘discussion’ had come when Uther said he wanted their official mating ceremony to take place right away. Mara had insisted that they needed to go and find his brother, Zared, and the other Berserkers. The conflict hadn’t lasted long. Uther pulled her into his arms and kissed her senseless before setting her feet back on the ground and announcing that he’d won.

  Yeah, I let him be all Alpha…but only this once…

  “We have exactly three hours to get you ready for your mating ceremony, or there will be one very pissed off Avenger,” Alicia snickered. “And that is not something you want to deal with, trust me.”

  “Oh, I trust you,” Mara chuckled as she was whisked down the hall and plopped in front of the three-way mirror in the master bedroom of the house she and Uther would be living in until their home was built.

  Two hours into the process, Mara’s hair had been piled atop her head in a beautiful style of loose curls and braids adorned with baby’s breath that her mother grew behind the family home. Her makeup had been applied with such perfection that Mara barely recognized herself and even her fingernails and toenails were painted in a French manicure.

  Sarah Beth made dinner, and they were all sitting around the dining room table chatting when a knock at the front door silenced the group. With a knowing look, Alicia ran from the room, returning just a few moments later, carrying a huge black box tied with a white satin ribbon.

  Laying the box in the middle of the bed, she turned and grinned. “Get over here and open it. I’m dying to see what’s inside.”

  Standing, Mara feigned a scowl and tsked, “I bet you already know.”

  Batting her eyes and giggling like a schoolgirl, Alicia teased, “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”

  Unable to hold out any longer, Mara burst out laughing, careful not to smudge her makeup. Like a child at Christmas, she tore off the ribbon, threw the lid aside, and ripped through the tissue paper with her sisters, her mother and Calysta watching her every move. Lying atop what she could only assume was her mating gown was a small white note with her name elegantly scripted on the front.

  Removing the card, Mara could only sigh as she read the words penned on the linen stationary. Ye are the light of my soul. I am in awe of yer strength. Today and forever, I love ye with all that I am. Always, Uther.

  Taking a deep breath, holding her tears at bay, Mara lifted the most gorgeous gown she’d ever seen out of the tissue paper and stood staring. Fashioned from an alluring white gossamer, with silver woven throughout the fabric that shimmered as the garment unfolded before her, the gown was all the more perfect because her mate designed it just for her.

  Holding it against her chest, she gazed into the mirror, marveling at the way the tiny crystals decorating the neckline shined like stars in the night sky. Slipping the dress over her head, Mara was amazed at the perfect fit.

  One shoulder was covered with the silken material while the other remained bare. The bodice was fitted to perfection, making her more than ample bosom the focal point, a feature she was sure Uther had anticipated with a wolfy grin as she took in her reflection in the full-length mirror in the center of the room.

  Appearing behind her with a wide satin
ribbon the color of antique silver, Annalisa tied it around her waist and kissed her on the cheek, laughing as Mara grimaced, “Oh my Goddess, I feel like Cinderella, wide hips and all.”

  It was then she remembered Uther’s appreciation of her body and the way his lilting Scottish brogue sounded as he’d whispered, “Never change, mo chroi’. I love you just the way you are. Every erotic curve and sensual dip is a feast for my hands and eyes. You are perfection, both inside and out.”

  It was Alicia’s turn to appear behind her, carrying a pair of satin ballet slippers an exact match to her dress. Turning, Mara slid her feet into the shoes where they’d been placed on the floor and then spun as everyone clapped and cheered.

  On the verge of tears, Sarah Beth stepped up to her, kissed her gently on both cheeks and gushed, “You’re a vision. I’m so very happy you’re back with us and so proud of the amazing woman you’ve become. Be happy, Mara, just be happy.”

  “Oh, Momma, I will.”

  Unwilling to cry and risk ruining her makeup, Mara turned to her sisters and joked, “Do I clean up nice or what?”

  Laughing aloud and agreeing wholeheartedly, everyone in the room took a turn wishing her an eternity of happiness, before holding up their glasses and toasting to all the children she and Uther would have. Shaking her head and vowing to wait at least ten years until there were any little Uthers running around, Mara’s laughter was cut short when another knock sounded at the front door. This time her sister, Brenna, ran to the door, shouting, “This one’s for you, kiddo.”

  Linking arms with Alicia and heading to the door, Mara reached for the knob, and pulled open the door, grinning from ear-to-ear when she saw Kayne and Maddox standing at attention.

  Resembling knights from King Arthur’s Court, just as she knew they would, Mara winked as she asked Kayne, “Everything ready for the surprise?”

  “Yes, ma’am, and Uth has no idea.”