Tamed: A Curvy Girl and Dragon Shifter Romance (Black Dragon Brotherhood Book 1)

by Aidy Award

  Zara held up a hand. “Wait. Are we talking about those weird little garden gnome statues or do you know some actual real-life gnomes?”

  Huh. Hadn't everyone noticed that Inanna and Kur were gnomes? Where had the two of them gone? Before Kady could say anything about them, Ninsy spoke up filling everyone in on the magic. “It’s a simple no-entry protective ward using a touch of elemental magic. The witches can probably make a nice strong one, and even the Tsarina can use the power in her mind to create the magic needed, with some instruction.”

  “Yes, but how long do the wards last?” Fallyn asked.

  Neo explained. “Depends on how many attack and how badly they want to get in. Shadow warriors will sacrifice themselves to break through to get to fresh souls.”

  His words gave Fallyn a visible shiver. “What do we do once they break through the wards?”

  “Kady has also learned how to injure them,” Neo said proudly. “More or less. It’s only temporary.”

  Fallyn rubbed the center of her forehead considering what Neo said. “Is it a spell too? Because everything we did in the attack was worthless. Kady, can you show us?”

  All eyes turned on her. Uh-oh. A few days ago, she was just a chubby geek girl hiding out in her tiny house in the woods. Hold up though, she’d come a long way since then. She had some badass powers that could do amazing things. She pushed her glasses up her nose, deciding it was time to get her butt in the game.

  “I don’t really understand what it is. I’m new to the whole magic thing. I was hoping you could help me understand it better.”

  Ninsy touched her arm. “Show them, Kady chavali. We’ll figure it out from there.”

  Kady glanced over at Neo, who had a lusty look on his face. Thank goodness, they’d worked on this, so they didn’t have to make out or get naked to get this part of her magic revved up anymore. Kady reached out and took Neo’s hand. “See, uh, the first time we realized it was my magic that made them visible, we were…”

  Neo had a big ol’ shit-eatin’ grin on his face. Just like a dude to be all proud that his dick had made the magic.

  Swirls of red light rose from her skin and drifted between the two of them.

  Fallyn and Match exchanged glances, seeming to confirm something with each other.

  “Then when we escaped the attack from the crazy owl cult and on the trip down here, I used my power both as the shield you saw and kind of like a bomb going off.” Kady continued to push out the power she’d learned to harness, surrounding her and Neo until they were inside her shield and they disappeared from the rest of the group’s view.

  “Nice stealth, boss. You wanna let us in on that?” Ace asked.

  “Also...who the hell are the crazy owl cult? I'm starting to think you're making shit up.” Zara snorted.

  Kady pushed the shield out further until it encircled everyone. “The army of people who are working with or for the shadow warriors. They've all got owls on their men-in-black style suits and on their helicopters. You'll see.”

  “Whoa. This is badass.” Ace pushed his arm in and out of the magical shield watching it appear and disappear. “I gotta find me a mate who can do this.”

  Fallyn stared at the shimmering magic. “I have a spell similar to this, but it does not harm, only hide.”

  “There's one more part. I’ve only been able to do the explosion that drives them away when, well, ahem…” Kady could feel the heat bubbling under her skin like she’d had too many glasses of red wine.

  Neo continued for her. “I kissed, wait, what did you call it, sweet fire? Ah, I remember. I kissed the bejeesus out of her and was getting into her pants to make her come.”

  Kady turned purple from the inside out. She had to remember to counsel Neo about the privacy of their sex lives.

  Ninsy nodded. “Yes. That's because of the kind of elemental magic Kady uses.”

  Fallyn studied Kady. “She's got fire in her, I can feel that. Maybe a touch of Gold's power over wind and sky too? I do not understand what kind of a witch she is. She can't be a White Witch if she has power over shadow, too.”

  “Very clever, little Red. You are getting closer,” Ninsy said.

  The rest of the group looked at her, waiting. But Kady didn't know either. “Until you all started talking, the only elements I knew about were the earth, wind, fire, and no wait, that's a band. Earth, water, fire, and air. I'm behind the times on shadows being an element too.”

  Ninsy had a flair for the dramatic and waited another minute before she let the rest of them in on her knowledge. “It’s Soul Magic.”

  “Soul is an element?” Kady considered the way her magic worked only when she was with Neo. Her soulmate.

  Ninsy nodded. “All witches gain access to its powers when they are mated. But only a few from a very ancient lineage can claim it as their element. You are one such witch. You come from the very same line of witches who learned from the White Witch herself to pull the shard of soul from a dragon warrior, combine it with the magic of the First Dragon, and grant them the ability to shift.”

  Neo tilted his head to the side. “I see. Yes. When I was trying to help Kady use her power I explained it to her in the same way I understood how to shift.”

  Zara tapped her lips, thinking. “I don’t think we have any other decedents of these witches in town. Are Kady's powers strong enough to save everyone in Rogue?”

  “No. But you do have soulmates and the same power is within you. You just need a boost to learn to harness it.” Ninsy took Zara's hand and joined it with Niko's, then did the same with Fallyn and Match.

  “Can you give us this boost? Show us how to use the soul magic as a weapon? I won't let this town and my people fall if there is any way to save them.” Niko kissed Zara's hand and looked at Kady and Neo.

  Kady nodded. She knew what to do. Probably. She closed her eyes, trying to pull up the feelings, the passion Neo brought out in her. Something glimmered to the surface, but it was weak compared to before.

  Neo squeezed her hand and rubbed his thumb across her wrist. “You can do it, sweet fire. Just imagine all the dirty, filthy, explicit thoughts going through my mind about what I want to do to you when we're alone again.”

  Ooh. Yeah. That helped. A lot. Like he'd literally lit a fire under her ass because she was getting hot. Kady tried again to focus her power, and when she couldn't hold it in any longer, she released a small whoosh that blew through the group.

  They all got a glazed, I-need-a-cigarette look in their eyes.

  Oops. That was maybe too much.

  Match was the first to recover. He pulled Fallyn into his arms and nuzzled her. Then he addressed Kady. “Interesting. There’s something familiar in your magic I recognize from when I was very young.”

  Fallyn cuddled into Match’s arms. “I liked it. She’s putting her heart and literally her soul into this. I can get behind that.”

  “Yes, biedronka, I can use it to our advantage when you call upon our souls for the same spell.” Match kissed Fallyn on the top of the head.

  “I like it. Most action I've gotten in a millennium. I’ll take that spell home and use it all night long.”

  “Ninsy.” Fallyn used a chastising tone.

  “What?”

  Ace dropped to one knee and pressed his hand to the ground. “You all can have fun with your sex spells later. Feel that tremor in the earth? Shadow warriors dead ahead.”

  “We need to get into the forest and find some cover.” Niko pointed to the trailhead behind them. “There are defensible locations. I suggest we pair off and work at the spells to hide and push them back. Come with us. The Reserve is my back yard and I know it better than I know my own house.”

  “Niko, wait. It won’t do us any good to hold them at bay. We could be doing that forever. And if they get past us, it's straight to the packhouse where everyone is holed up.” Zara tugged at Niko’s arm.

  “She’s right. There is one more thing I hadn’t gotten to yet.” Neo’s voice ha
d gone deep and dark.

  The sound of it sent a chill through Kady that she hadn’t expected. For the first time, she saw the toll being a warrior had taken on him. Lines around his mouth and eyes she hadn’t seen before.

  “There is a way to kill the shadow warriors.”

  Niko rolled his eyes like he’d known Neo was keeping something back. “Why didn’t you tell us in the first place, you damn dragon bastard?”

  Muscles worked in Neo’s jaw as if he were trying to hold in the words that could mean their safety. He didn't want to say whatever it was out loud. “Kill the body of the stolen soul.”

  Niko lost his anger at Neo and some of his color. “Fuck me.”.

  How many family members had these brave warriors already lost? How many might be lost today?

  If he or any of them had to kill a loved one to fight these horrible monsters, the shadows wouldn’t have any souls left to steal, because they would all be lost.

  Kady hadn’t called upon the universe to help her since she’d become more acquainted with her magic, but she did now.

  Dear sweet universe. Thank you for bringing Neo into my life and helping me realize the power within me. Please help me keep him safe and help him find a way to defeat the enemy without losing his own soul.

  Kady’s magic rose to the surface, swirling around her in a dance of red light. Screeches wrenched through the air and the ground shook. She looked down the road and saw the forms of dozens of shadow warriors swarming like killer bees.

  May all their souls be saved.

  Band of Brothers and Sisters

  Chp 15 - Neo

  “Incoming.” Ace called out and pointed toward the town. The dark smoke-like figures of a dozen shadow warriors bore down on them. “Go, go, go. Into the Reserve.”

  Neo grabbed Kady’s hand. “Can you push them back to give us time to get into defensible positions?”

  She nodded. His fierce curvy warrior.

  Their hands glowed where they touched, and she drew the power, closed her eyes and pushed it out in a burst of fiery light toward the shadows.

  All the other times Kady had used her magic the shadow warriors had dissipated before their eyes. Some had reformed but were visibly weakened. But this time, when she threw her burst of power at them, they swerved, bobbed, and weaved around the lights.

  “They’ve learned.” Neo shouted. He was surprised it had taken them this long. “We need to find a defensible position, where the witches can work together.”

  A tide of soldiers, blank-faced, in battle gear with that damn owl on their helmets and vests, marching forward, weapons drawn, appeared on the dirt road.

  Niko shouted, “We won’t make it without some help. Where’s a fucking magic flying broom when you need one?”

  They heard an engine rev behind them and the screech of tires coming up fast. Neo glanced over his shoulder and saw Kady’s red and white pickup truck break free from the restraints of the trailer it was tied down to and accelerate into the parking lot.

  It took out three soldiers, knocking them to the ground and running right over them before racing across the road and pulling up in front of their group.

  “Herbie?” Kady’s jaw dropped at the sight of her vehicle, engine running, ready to go.

  It honked its horn for her.

  “Well, hello, Herbie. Long time, no see.” Ninsy patted the side of the vehicle and jumped into the open bed of the back. “Come on, people. Don’t just stand there, we’ve got a fight on our hands.”

  Neo pulled Kady into the cab and shoved her in front of the steering wheel while the others piled into the back. “He’s yours, drive him into the forest, see if you can find a covered position.”

  She threw the vehicle’s gear control forward and grabbed the steering wheel. Her small spiky pet sat atop it.

  “I’d be surprised you’re here, Percy, but I’m clean out of surprises. Nice to see you, little buddy.” She patted his head and pressed on the accelerator.

  They sped down the road, but instead of following it, Kady steered them up a pile of boulders that formed a bumpy makeshift ramp.

  “Hold on to your butts.” Herbie accelerated and, by the feel of it, hovered over the ground. They flew over rocks, past trees, and into a section of the forest Neo recognized.

  He pointed to the base of the Dragon Tree. “There, quickly. There are small caves and tunnels under there.”

  Kady nodded and aimed them for the tree trunk. “Where's the entrance to the cave? Oh crap, I see it. We’re not going to fit.”

  She wrinkled and wiggled her nose. Just as they were about to hit the tree, Herbie transformed beneath them, tumbling all but Kady into the cave and the dirt.

  Kady came to a soft landing, sitting astride a broom. “Sorry. I was going for a big broom for everyone to ride on.”

  Neo would contemplate that bit of sorcery later. “Ninsy, Kady, quick, erect wards around the cave.”

  The women formed a circle, and Ninsy drew symbols in the air. In a breath, a buzz and a short flash burst around them. Not a second too soon. The first wave of shadow warriors crashed into the protection the wards offered.

  “With this many of those bastards attacking, we don’t have much time before they break through the wards.” Ninsy pointed to several spots that were already showing cracks.

  “My magic didn’t work on them this time. We’re stuck in here.” Kady walked back and forth in the small space afforded by the cave, holding her broom and biting her lip.

  Neo took her free hand to stop her nervous pacing. “They’ve learned our attack strategy. So, we’ll have to change it up.”

  Ace looked out the front of the cave and waved the rest of them over to see. “Look, the human troops are gathering around the tree. The way I see it, the best chance we have is to eliminate the soldiers and the shadows attached to them.”

  Which meant killing humans who were likely innocent. Neo knew he, Ace, and Niko had taken lives before in the line of duty, but not blameless civilians.

  “Suggestions?” Ace was a crafty strategist, so if anyone could come up with a plan to get them out of this FUBAR situation, he could.

  “If the witches can spread their magic like a directed scatter bomb, we can follow with our fire to eliminate the humans.”

  Niko nodded. “I don’t have fire, but I can still rip their throats out.”

  Neo folded his arms and stared at each of the member of his impromptu team. “Good, then let’s make some magic. Kady, my love, let's show ’em how it’s done.”

  Kady reached out, touching his arm and drew on the heat between them. She glanced over at the other witches to give her instructions. “It comes from deep inside, and I have to pull on the magic first, and then transform it into the shield. When it comes into contact with the shadows, they literally dissolve. I have to warn you, it hurts, especially the first time.”

  She let her magic recede and stepped across the space to take Fallyn and Zara's hands. “I don’t know how else to show you, but to bring it up in the same way I do with Neo.”

  Kady closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Before she blew it out again, her soft glowing magic had encompassed both women.

  “Oh, yeah. I got it,” Fallyn said.

  Zara laughed. “It’s a bit like foreplay.”

  The ladies both took the hands of their mates. Zara closed her eyes and soon a soft amber light glowed on her skin. Fallyn’s magic was red like Kady's, but didn't have the same swirl of Neo's darkness to it.

  Neo put his arms around Kady’s waist. Her scarlet light grew and overwhelmed the room. “Match, Niko, it will help to strengthen the magic if you can, uh, show some affection to your ladies.”

  “Lay one on me, Niko, baby.” Zara pulled her mate down for a kiss.

  Fallyn took Match’s hand and placed it over her belly. Her own light grew almost exponentially and matched Kady’s. If he had to guess, Neo would say she was pulling on the power of three souls, not just the two.

&nbs
p; Kady's voice floated through the cave, almost ethereally. “Do you feel how it’s surrounding you? Try changing its direction, pushing it out. That’s how I turn it into the shield, and a weapon.”

  The other people in the room dissolved from view as Kady enveloped them in her magic.

  “I think I’ve got it, but you two are the only ones who disappeared.” Fallyn’s voice penetrated the shimmering translucence.

  Kady lowered her shield and the rest of the people reappeared. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to help. I wish I knew more about how magic works.”

  Ninsy tilted her head to the side, thinking. “Everyone’s gifts are a bit different. They’ve got the basics of your spell, but I neither Fallyn nor Zara are soul elemental witches. They won't get that disappearing part down. We can still fight the spooks off. Once they break the wards, there’s no putting the same ones up or even reinforcing them.”

  “I suggest you ladies get ready, because here they come.” Ace pointed to the mouth of the cave where three shadow warriors were all flying at a crack together.

  “First Dragon be on our side.” Neo brought the dragon as close to the surface as he could without shifting in this tiny space and killing everyone with his dragon ass and stepped in front of Kady. He saw Ace do the same with his dragon and stand in front of Ninsy, protecting her since no one else was there to do it.

  “On my mark, ladies, let it loose.” Neo took a deep breath and squeezed Kady's hand.

  The shadow warriors crashed the wards, one recoiling back, but the other two bursting through the barrier. Their soldiers followed fast behind.

  “Now, now, now.” Neo ran forward and shifted fully into the dragon, bursting out into the forest. He let out a great roar, shaking the trees and throwing the soldiers on their asses.

  The full power of the soul magic whooshed past him. One specter swerved to avoid Kady’s light but got caught by Fallyn’s.

  Zara’s magic obliterated the other shadow warrior at the same time as Niko shifted into a huge white wolf and turned the soldier to dog food.

  Neo stepped forward gaining ground with each burst of magic and light from behind him. He slashed and tore at the throats of the soldiers nearest to them with his teeth and tail. A team of three jumped out from behind a boulder and fired their weapons.