Dragonmark

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  She scowled at the unfamiliar term. "The what?"

  It's a form of sleep, so deep that I cannot awaken. At least not without my dragonstone. For all intents and purposes, I'll be as the dead. A stone dragon awaiting the day when someone or something revives me.

  Shaking her head, she didn't like the sound of this at all. "You can't do that."

  I can and I will. I won't risk you. Should I be forced to it, I want you to free your mother and save yourself.

  "And you?"

  He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. Don't worry about me. Just see it done.

  She tightened her grip around his. "I'm getting your stone back. If I have to face down Morgen myself, I will do it."

  Smiling, he rubbed the pad of her forefinger against his whiskered jawline. I wish you luck with it. Now, we need to see if we can locate the merlin of this device.

  "How do we do that?"

  With luck, it'll lead us to its guardian.

  "Without luck?"

  It'll lead us to our graves.

  12

  "What are we doing here?" Edilyn watched as Illarion knelt to pull back the weeds from an old grave that rested near the crumbling remains of a forgotten abbey. The sun was quickly fading over his shoulders.

  There was something eerie and solitary about this place. Not just that it was so remote, but the way that it was situated on a hilltop, overlooking the sea. Like his island, there was an almost fey quality to this hallowed place.

  This is where Kynon ap Clydno is buried, along with his wife, Morvyth. I'm trying to pick up their scents so that we can track their descendent.

  "I don't follow."

  Glancing up at her, he gestured at the ground, where a broken Celtic cross capstone marked the gravesite. Worn down by unforgiving time and unrelenting weather, only a few runic letters remained to betray who occupied it. Kynon was one of Arthur's knights. With a jerk of his chin, he indicated the grave beside it. Morvyth, the daughter of Arthur's brother-in-law, Urien. Poor bastard actually made the mistake of marrying Morgen, and breeding with her.

  She choked on what he was saying. "Morgen? As in le Fey?"

  He nodded. So you can imagine Urien didn't come to a happy ending. Sighing, he brushed his hand over the hallowed ground where the couple slept in eternal repose. Sadly, none of them did. At any rate, it was Kynon who first brought the Halter to me for safekeeping, after Merlin entrusted it to his care.

  Edilyn was aghast at what he was telling her. It didn't make sense. "Wait! Merlin entrusted one of the sacred objects that Morgen can use to take over the world to Morgen's son-in-law? Seriously?"

  Hence the reason he gave it over to me. While Kynon loved his wife, he didn't trust her to not surrender the Halter to her mother.

  "I'm still having trouble understanding why on earth Merlin put it in his hands to begin with."

  He let out a silent laugh. The legend claims that Epona first fashioned her Halter for Kynon's father, Clydno Eiddin, when he and his army rode out from his kingdom to Gwynedd to avenge the fallen prince, Elidir. When such sacred items are created, only a member of the direct bloodline can access their power. Others might have some success with it, but more likely than not, it backfires and they or others are harmed--usually fatally. So when Camelot fell, the Halter had to go to Kynon. No one else could wield it.

  Rubbing her temples, she scowled even more. "That still makes even less sense. How could Arthur use the items, then, to rule his people?"

  Illarion gave her a knowing smile. Before Uther became pendragon, he was known as Uther ap Modron.

  A chill went down her spine at a name she knew all too well. It was one every child knew the legend of, even though the priests did their best to purge it from them. "Modron? The mother goddess?"

  Aye, and no one knows who Uther's father was. But given the powers of Arthur and the fact that he was able to access all the objects and use them ...

  "He had to have been directly connected to the powers that created them."

  Exactly. Either way, we know for a fact that Uther's mother was. And if both were ... It would definitely explain why Arthur was such a formidable king and why he was able to unite the land. Why Emrys Penmerlin was so enamored of the boy and his powers, and went to such lengths to hide and protect him.

  Illarion rose to his feet. There was a peculiar light in his eyes. One that never failed to make her scared and nervous.

  "What is it?"

  He transformed into his dragon's body. Mount up. Someone comes.

  Her heart pounded as more fear rose and she hastened to obey. No sooner had he secured her to her saddle than she saw what had concerned him.

  It was an army of dragons. But they weren't like the Were-Hunters who'd been attacking her village. These were larger. Spinier. They appeared more like hell-beasts bent on absolute destruction.

  "What are those?"

  Something that shouldn't be here.

  "What do you mean?"

  Mandrakes. They're part of Morgen's forces.

  She scowled at the way he said that. "Are they different from drakomai?"

  Aye, very much so. They're the children of dragons who were seduced by the Adoni. Hybrids of the two species, they are evil incarnate, hand-raised to be Morgen's lapdogs.

  "How are they here?"

  I don't know. They shouldn't be able to cross Merlin's Veil. Ever. Somehow, they found a way--Illarion's words broke off as he flew into something hard and solid.

  Something unseen.

  Like the hand of an angry god, it swatted him from the sky and drove him to the ground faster than he could recover. His only thought to protect Edilyn, he teleported her off his back and into a small copse of trees.

  An instant later, he slammed into the ground so hard that it felt as if he'd broken every bone in his giant body. His breathing ragged, he struggled to stay conscious. More to the point, he struggled to rise to his feet.

  What the hell?

  But with that came another fear....

  Addie? Don't call out to me. They're looking for us. Stay hidden and silent.

  Still, he could feel her fear and concern. It reached out to him, making him wish he dared go to her and make sure that she was all right. The best he could do was try to stir up his scent to keep them distracted and away from her location.

  Terrified for her and shaking from his pain, he limped through the trees to draw them away.

  "Well ... well ... if it isn't the lost son of Ares?"

  Illarion froze at the familiar voice. Even more furious, he turned to glare at Gale, who definitely shouldn't be here. A minor Greek goddess and sorceress, the petite blonde was a handmaiden of Hekate.

  That was enough to anger him on his best day. But given the fact that Hekate was the mother of Dagon ...

  He was in the mood for a Greek meal today. With Gale being the main entree.

  What are you doing here?

  She cracked a smile that made him want to crack her skull. "You know what I want. Hand it over and no one dies."

  I'm not about to surrender the Halter.

  Gale laughed out loud. "You're not that stupid, Illarion. That's not what Morgen's really after, or Cynfryn. It's child play for our intentions. A trifle. We merely used that to flush you out. I told her that if she pressed Virag to get the Halter, you'd come to the graves to pick up their scents for its cymerlin, thus exposing yourself to our army. And once we had you ... then we could work on getting what we're really after."

  And that is?

  "Your father's teeth. What else? Have you any idea what I can bargain those for? Split them between Morgen and Cynfryn. I will be richer than Midas."

  He went cold at those words. Shit! He should have known!

  But he wasn't about to betray that to her, or to anyone. Instead, he blinked slowly and acted nonchalant. I don't know what you're talking about.

  "Of course you do, Illy. Now give me the Spartoi. Or I'll feast on the heart of your woman."

  You can't threaten me.

  She let out an evil laugh. "Oh, but I can. See, I know something you don't. A secret Brenin Cynfryn told me about. I can break your life bond with Edilyn."

  Impossible!

  "Nay, it is not. Give me what I want. Or I'll undo Savitar's bond and watch you lose everything!"

  With a calmness he definitely didn't feel, he moved away from where he'd put Edilyn, trying to pull them in the opposite direction.

  Just when he thought it was working, Edilyn cried out as the mandrakes found her. It was her battle cry. God love her, she was fighting them with everything she had.

  Determined to help, Illarion rushed at Gale, intending to tear her apart. But no sooner did he reach her than everything spun. It was so foul and violent, he looked around for a tornado.

  Yet that wasn't what caused this sensation.

  This was Gale. The handmaiden was sucking them from this realm into another. Damn her for it!

  Illarion fought her as best he could. But Hekate was the goddess of crossroads and gateways. As her servant, Gale could access those powers.

  There was nothing he could do.

  Nothing except run to Edilyn, who didn't stop fighting until she saw him. "Illarion?"

  Without a word, he wrapped himself around her. He didn't have the heart to tell her what was about to be done to them.

  Not until they were both sucked into the vortex and slammed into the ground with such force that for a full minute, he couldn't move or even breathe. But once he was able to catch his bearings and see where they were ...

  Honestly, it was no better.

  While it wasn't the real hell, it might as well be.

  "Where are we?" Edilyn asked.

  Illarion let out a long, slow breath as he saw the drab, colorless sky over them. This was the realm where everything had been forgotten. A realm where time stood still and all things damned here became twisted and preyed upon.

  We're in the Tor.

  "I don't understand."

  Forget the world you knew, Edilyn. The old rules of the human realm don't apply here.

  As if some divine being was listening and keeping score, his marked palm began to burn. Scowling, Illarion cursed and shook it, then looked down.

  In that moment, his world truly came undone.

  Edilyn scowled at her own hand, which was now as unblemished as his. "What's this mean?"

  Absolute horror went through him as that significance hit him like a hammer to his stones. The bitch had told the truth ... it wasn't a lie, after all.

  Savitar's spell has been undone by the magick here.

  Locking gazes with her, he swallowed hard as his emotions choked him. We're mates no more.

  13

  "How can this be? How can we no longer be mates? We're bonded!"

  Illarion shrugged at Edilyn's question. I have no idea. I didn't know anything could undo it. Never have I heard of a mating being undone, never mind a life bond.

  If that wasn't bad enough, he heard a deep, fierce growling.

  Edilyn's eyes widened. "What's that sound?"

  You don't want to know. We have to find shelter.

  "Better yet, let's find an exit!"

  He laughed at her naivete. If there was one, my lady, I'd already have us out. You don't just walk out of here. This isn't like Avalon where I have the ability to come and go. This is the Tor. We're locked here. Without a key, we're screwed.

  "How do we get a key?"

  Morgen has one, but I doubt she'll share.

  Suddenly, out of the darkness around them, an army began to appear.

  Edilyn gasped at the terrifying sight. Holy saints! That was more than they could handle alone. "Illarion? What do we do?"

  He shifted his forms. We fight.

  "So glad your sense of humor hasn't fled. But..."

  He dipped his wing so that she could scramble up his back. No humor, Addie. We fight. I've trained you. Trust in me and we will beat them back.

  With a shaky breath, she took her seat. Illarion manifested her weapons for her. And as soon as he had her secured, he flew toward their enemies.

  Aye, she was petrified, but what stunned her was the fact that her training kicked in and drove out her fear. Once the fighting began, they ceased to be an overwhelming horde. They were merely targets.

  By the time the battle was over, they were both coated in blood. Her body throbbed from her wounds and the stress of the hours of fighting. Yet that didn't concern her.

  "Illy?" She slid from his back to inspect him. "Are you all right?"

  He nodded, but by the way he moved, she knew he was in pain, too.

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  In spite of his injuries, he shifted forms. Only then did she see the gash he'd taken to his abdomen.

  Gasping, she reached to touch it, but he stopped her. I'm fine. We must find you shelter.

  She ground her teeth as unreasoning fury took over and drove out her pain. "I'm going to kill my brother!"

  Illarion knew the feeling.

  But before he could speak another word, he felt a shift in the air behind him. Turning, he saw the shimmer there that could only mean one thing.

  Gale.

  Fury exploded inside him as he seized Edilyn's sword from her hip. With a blind rage, he summoned his powers and rushed the goddess.

  She'd barely manifested in front of them before he ran her through.

  Just as she started to laugh, she realized that she wasn't immune to the blade. It wasn't a mere mortal weapon.

  It'd been forged by the gods.

  "What have you done?"

  Not I, bitch! You started this fight. You and Morgen and Hekate and Dagon. I'm only finishing it. He kicked her back. And I will die before I see my father's army in your hands or Morgen's.

  Edilyn moved to stand behind as the goddess staggered back and fell.

  She glared at the two of them. "You'll never escape from here. Neither of you!"

  Illarion sneered at her. Neither will you.

  She died a moment later.

  Normally, that might have been concerning without a Chthonian to absorb her powers, but because they were locked in this realm and her powers weren't that significant, Illarion wasn't worried about it.

  Edilyn clutched at his tunic. "What's to become of us here?"

  We will endure. And we will find a way out of here. I promise you.

  She grimaced at his wound. "Just swear to me that you won't die and leave me alone in this horrible place."

  I swear it to you.

  It was an oath Illarion made sure to uphold. For the next ten years, he kept himself and Edilyn safe from every twisted form of shadow fey, every piece of Morgen's army, and every halfling that came for them.

  But on the fifth day of the tenth year, Morgen's Stone Legion of gargoyles and her mandrakes hit them with a surprise attack at dawn.

  One moment, Edilyn had been on his back, and in the next, Maddor, Morgen's commander, had torn her from her saddle and sent her plummeting to the ground.

  Horrified, Illarion had done his best to catch her or use his powers to cushion her fall, but he'd been overwhelmed by their forces.

  Edilyn!

  By the time he reached her, she'd been barely alive and in more pain than he could imagine. Unmitigated rage and agony had torn him apart.

  Her eyes glazing, she'd reached for him.

  He'd clasped her hand and watched the light fade from her beautiful blue eyes. In one dreadful moment before any words could be spoken, they'd turned dull, and in a single gasp, she was gone.

  An instant later, his enemies had seized her lifeless body and ripped her from his arms.

  They'd sent his beloved back to him in pieces.

  The irony was that if Morgen had tried to bargain with him before they'd harmed her, he'd have given her the Spartoi. For Edilyn alone, he'd have sold out the entire world.

  Morgen hadn't given him the choice. Her cruelty was such that she'd been bent only on his punishment.

  Now ...

  He lived only to see her and her mandrakes burn. There was no other purpose.

  For the dragon lived on without his heart.

  14

  Illarion froze as he heard the voices that drew near his cave. Normally, they'd be dead already, but there was something highly unusual about these two.

  Something that kept him from eating them.

  They were nothing like the ones of the past.

  "So there be dragons in these woods?" a woman asked.

  "Just one." The man's voice was thick with a Welsh accent that rendered his words barely intelligible. "Well ... there are many mandrakes, but only one true dragon that I know of. And Gwyn said dragon claw, not mandrake claw. So I'm assuming he wants a claw from the one, true dragon what lives here."

  "What's the difference between a dragon and a mandrake?"

  "Mandrakes are fey-born creatures. They be shapeshifting bastards who can take the form of either man or draig."

  "Draig?"

  "Dragon, me love. And they're all currently enslaved to Morgen and live in and around Camelot. But the one ... he's the last of his breed here. And he slumbers in yon den."

  Illarion quirked a brow at those words. So, they were after him, but they weren't an army, nor were they necessarily malicious.

  "Cool. I'll distract him. You knock him on the head and we'll be right out. Did you bring a pair of giant dragon-sized nail clippers?"

  What the hell?

  Even her companion gave her a baffled scowl. "Sarcasm?"

  She laughed at his question. "What was your first clue? The words or the tone of my voice?"

  The man was dressed as a medieval knight, complete with chainmail and a crusader's surcoat and cape. She, on the other hand, was dressed in clothes that came from far in the future.

  At least the twentieth or twenty-first century, if Illarion remembered correctly. Though to be honest, it'd been a while since he'd ventured there.

  That was his brother's time period. Not his.

  The knight smirked at the woman as he surveyed the area, and carefully led them forward without making a comment on her additional playful barb.

  As they drew closer to Illarion's lair, the woman took cautious note of the human bones littering the ground. Something Illarion had done as a warning to others, and as a happy poster for himself. While it couldn't bring Edilyn back, it made him feel better that he'd made those who'd harmed her pay dearly for her life.

  And these were the strangest two Illarion had ever seen. He watched as they drew closer and closer to him.

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