Awaken the Dragon

by A. C. Arthur

  When the other demonics lifted their hands to send streaks of blue light filtering through the air, the bodyguard cursed. Power pulsed through Shola’s veins as training scenarios played in her mind. This was not her job, not what she had been sent here for, but something needed to be done, or she would never make it to fulfill her destiny.

  With moves that were faster than the light cutting through the air, the bodyguard kicked one demonic until it dropped to the ground. He never looked behind, but reached an arm back to punch the next demonic coming for him. Then he pulled a dagger from the back of his pants and stabbed the first demonic in the center of its chest. It disappeared in a puff of blue smoke. The next one bold enough to approach him from behind caught the dagger in the throat, his body also going poof.

  Although he fought like a highly trained warrior dressed in all black, his body whisking through the night in powerful motions, she didn’t believe he could stop the demonics. Not by simply using hand-to-hand combat. She had to do something. Her mind centered on the earth and all that surrounded it before she slowly lifted her arms to call for the wind. It tickled along the line of her fingers, easing up toward the tip where it stung with urgency to be released. Wiggling her fingers sent the air around them into a frenzy, paper from gutters rose to twirl on the breeze, windows on all the buildings rattled and a soft whistle shot through the night.

  The blustery air threw the remaining demonics off balance while the bodyguard continued to pounce and strike them down as they tried to attack on wobbly legs. With each swing of his dagger, blue smoke swirled into the whistling wind. And when they were all gone, she dropped her arms to her side just as the bodyguard turned to face her.

  “I told you to get inside the building! Did you not understand that?”

  Again with that irritating tone. Either he thought she was an idiot or that she could not decipher English—which was silly because she’d spoken to him before she climbed onto his bike. It didn’t matter and she wasn’t going to reply to his rudeness.

  He didn’t seem to care because he stalked past her to his bike. Kicking the stand that held the bike up, he straddled the seat and started the engine.

  “Get on and hold on tight. We’re getting out of here before more of them show up,” he commanded.

  She acquiesced because he was right, they needed to leave this place. Shola climbed onto the back of the bike again, pushing her dress between her thighs once more. Only this time when she did that, on impulse, she moved her hands back farther until the bunched-up material pressed into her core. She held it there for what seemed like endless moments praying the throbbing that increased in that area each time the bodyguard looked at her would stop.

  It didn’t.

  He pulled off. The bike moved much faster than it had before, like it was flying on the wind. The air burned against her cheeks now, and when he took the first turn this time, she almost slipped right off the seat. Her arms went around his waist, the front of her body slamming against the back of his.

  “Glad you understood that time,” he said when he looked over his shoulder at her again.

  Shola bit back another snappy comment. The only thing she understood was that this was probably a bad idea. She wasn’t totally certain because sexual activity had not been high on the training schedule for her, but the instant tightening of her nipples as she pressed against his strong back was definitely a sign.

  A very bad sign.

  Chapter Two

  Burgess, Pennsylvania, was once a small mining town situated adjacent to a larger area once known as the Smoky City. Now, two hundred years later, Burgess was the equivalent of hell with a rainbow on top, the place where preternatural evil had chosen to nestle itself among humans, and therefore, it was where Theo belonged.

  At its max, his bike wasn’t going fast enough. The dual wheels in the front took the corners much smoother than was probably expected but he wasn’t worried about expectations, not at this moment. He was much more concerned with what had just happened. Why had tracer demonics attacked him?

  Nobody in Burgess knew who or what Theo was. During his time in this place he’d owned a mining business, founded a private school and now ran a specialized security company. He walked, talked and assumed the role of any other human in this realm...if any other human could live for three hundred years.

  Gloved fingers gripped the handles of the bike as his teeth clamped down tightly. There’d been no need for an attack. They’d been riding in a fully occupied district during a common time at night. There was no sign of any preternatural behavior, no soul identities appearing on his radar. And yet, the tracers had appeared in numbers and attacked. Pissed off didn’t accurately convey how he felt about that.

  Seconds after that thought, Theo’s vision blurred. It was quick and sudden, and before he could readjust, the beast’s pupils switched places with the human’s. The streets of Burgess became a colorful maze that Theo navigated on instinct alone. The GPS nor his memory were guiding him at this stage. The beast was in charge now; the human didn’t have a choice. Demonics had a tendency to change the rules whenever they came on the scene.

  Theo didn’t like his plans being changed.

  As a matter of fact, he’d never stood for any alteration to his agenda. Tonight wasn’t going to be any different.

  He turned down a dark street, passing abandoned buildings and all that inhabited them. Unlike the other structures in Burgess, the dwellings on this block had no exterior lighting and the street lights which normally lined the curb in narrow strips as it stretched from one corner to the next, had been disabled. Pitch black engulfed the bike and its riders, but the beast could see just fine.

  Unfortunately, his client wasn’t as at ease.

  Her arms tightened around his waist and she moved closer. His body reacted instantly. With her breasts pressed against his back and her crotch nestled up to his ass, the beast bristled with conflict. On the one hand, it was determined to get to its destination and find the answers at the forefront of its mind. On the other, it had been a very long time since it last gave in to primal urges. The human had much better control over that aspect of their being and apparently much more willpower than the beast.

  He leaned into the next turn, focusing on getting to the doorway before his beast fought to break through and take to the sky. The bike would never be as fast as the stretch of wings floating through the air. A huge part of him craved that feeling almost as deeply as the beast, but he would continue to fight it. He had no other choice.

  * * *

  Invisible to the human eye, a golden yellow doorway shimmered in the distance. The bike surged forward, going straight through that colored opening before it snapped closed.

  Once on the other side, he stopped the bike and got off, booted feet hitting the mossy-soft ground. He walked until he stood beside a gnarled thorny tree a good distance away, bringing his wrist up close to his mouth to make the call.

  “At the East 50th veil. Send a vehicle, loaded. And do a deeper search for client number 9729.” He said the words fast and quietly, never doubting his orders would be received and carried out. On all the business and tax forms, he was the owner and lead agent of the Legion Security Company, but, in reality, he was so much more.

  “Where are we?”

  She was closer than she should be. He turned to see her standing no more than three feet away. Everything about him was enhanced, from his vision to the speed with which he moved. Where he came from, his stealth and strength were unrivaled. Yet, he hadn’t heard her approach, nor felt the warning of someone sneaking up on him.

  “You didn’t do what I told you to do. I instructed you to run and take shelter in that club.”

  She didn’t blink but moved her arms until she clasped her fingers together in front of her. She looked demure standing in a dress that seemed to be sewn with gold thread, her chin lifted, gaze focused on h
im. For a split second, that unnerved him. He was looking at her through human eyes, not exactly sure when the beast’s had receded since he’d been so focused on getting off the streets and making the urgent call. Now she was in her normal form, not the glimpse of her soul identity that he’d seen upon first meeting her—the face that should have been his first clue that things were about to go wrong.

  “I was unaware that I took orders from you.”

  Her voice was calm yet held the barest hint of rebuff that only stoked his ire.

  “I can’t do my job if you’re not inclined to follow simple instructions. The next time I tell you to do something—”

  “I will do what is best,” she interrupted. “Always.”

  His words were meant to be a final declaration; now he bit back the heated rumble that churned in the pit of his stomach.

  “Stand here. The vehicles will arrive momentarily, and then we’ll leave.”

  He walked away from her, going to stand closer to the door, as if by sheer will the trucks would pull up on command. That wasn’t how it worked, but staring at her was making him feel...uncomfortable. And he was never uncomfortable. He’d worked long and hard to maintain a level of contentment and wasn’t totally sure why that was being shaken tonight. What he was certain of was that something was going on, something he wasn’t going to like.

  “Upon this earth there are said to be veils separating the human from other species and worlds that exist on an alternate plane. I studied world mythology during my time at school. Is this that place?”

  The majority of Legion Security’s clients were human. Celebrities, politicians, wealthy humans who needed personal protection for a multitude of reasons. Steele led the home and business security division, while Magnum dealt with the personal side. As for Theo, he handled the preternatural cases because he was the badass of the Legion, or at least that’s what his staff called him. There were some humans who were aware of the preternatural world blending with its own. And then there were the nonbelievers.

  Shola hadn’t seemed afraid or surprised by the tracer demonics so she definitely wasn’t a nonbeliever.

  “There are veils that serve as passageways between the different realms of the universe. We are in the In-between.” Even as he spoke he had a sense that she knew, or at least she should have known. Shola N’Gara was anything but a normal human, the appearance of a soul identity, or a being’s true soul, was proof of that. She didn’t move like any woman he’d ever met. When she walked, her long legs carried her in a graceful fashion, but he’d also seen her quickly climb off his bike and take a fighter’s stance. Of course, he’d turned away from her at that moment because he’d been more concerned with saving her life. Tracer demonics traced high potency power and when they found it, they attacked with a bite to their prey before sucking every drop of power from them and moving on. Humans that inadvertently ended up in a tracer’s path were killed easily by as little as a scratch from the midlevel demonic. If one had come close enough to Shola she would be dead right now.

  “So we’re hiding.” It was a statement, one she seemed fairly certain was true.

  “I have no need to hide. Whatever wants me, I face.”

  “Like you did those demonics.” This came in her still calm and placid tone, which contradicted everything he thought he was sensing about her.

  He turned slowly until he was facing her again. She’d moved from her previous spot. Not too close behind him this time, but definitely not where he’d left her. Unlike in Burgess, the In-between was a bright place. It was warm like a thousand suns beaming concentrated rays into this one locale. The ground was foggy and the warm breeze that passed through was visible in wavy lines. While he could see through to a being’s soul identity, he wasn’t a reader, meaning he couldn’t sense her soul emotions the way an empath or some of the magickals could. But he wanted to. That was shocking because in all the time he’d been on this realm, the last thing he’d wanted to deal with were emotions. Not his or anyone else’s.

  “I suppose you read about them too.” He sensed that all of her knowledge wasn’t coming solely from books, but in the end decided to focus more on the demonics at the moment. It was his job—or rather his penance—to keep the preternatural from interfering with the human world.

  There was a slight lift of one arched brow before she replied, “Reading is fundamental.”

  “So is following the rules,” he snapped.

  She didn’t respond even though he was almost certain she had lots to say.

  At first glimpse she appeared docile, yet the set of her shoulders when she stood, and the gentle almost hypnotic sway of her hips when she walked, screamed of a passion so vibrant it was like a physical assault. Either that or he was just damn horny. The churning he’d felt in his gut moments ago was now spreading, moving through him with a warm pressure etching along his skin. Irritated by the feeling, he turned away from her again.

  He stared at the door they’d traveled through. It was still closed, its impression a steady hologram on this side, instead of the shimmering rays of light displayed on the side of the Human Realm. Also as opposed to on the other side of the door, time stretched on like an eternity here. He looked down to check his communicator, waiting for the notification that the other vehicle had arrived.

  “I need to get to the hotel.”

  Her voice sounded closer, but she hadn’t snuck up on him this time because he’d been listening for any movement she might make. Looking at her wasn’t necessary for a response.

  “You’ll get there. Your husband-to-be won’t leave if you’re late.” The words were spoken with more disdain than he’d intended. But this night wasn’t turning out the way he’d thought it would so he was slowly running out of fucks to give.

  “He won’t be there.”

  He should be here now. What type of guy let his soon-to-be wife travel to a foreign country on her own? Why hadn’t he been the one to meet the Odò Guard? And why did this woman need an additional guard for two weeks? The company’s standard questionnaire did ask why security was needed. It was a basic question designed to offer the best form of protection possible, while keeping his agents safe as well. Any tactical strategy was best served by having all available information. So why was he getting the sense that he wasn’t playing with all the cards this time? Whether that was an omission on Magnum’s part, or on the part of Ms. N’Gara and her husband-to-be, he planned to find out.

  “I’ll get you to the hotel safe and sound. Don’t worry.”

  “I am not worried.” She paused, the shallow whisper of her breathing filling his ears. “I am anxious.”

  The urge to see her, to look into her eyes for a sense of who and what she was gnawed at him until he was about to turn and face her, but his communicator buzzed.

  He kept his gaze straight ahead and reached for the door handle. “Our ride’s here.”

  His fingers appeared to slip right through it, but the powerful locks eased out of place and the door opened and he stepped back.

  “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”

  She hesitated, looking at the door and beyond it to the pitch blackness. When her gaze found his again he could have sworn he saw the darkening of fear in the red swirls of her eyes. Fury bubbled in the pit of his stomach and he yelled, “Go!”

  * * *

  Shola was flanked by two men, both as tall and as broad as she’d noted her guardian to be. Neither as alluring, however.

  The two stayed beside her, one putting his hand on her arm, leading her to the big black truck parked only a few feet away from that lighted doorway she’d come through. The back door to the truck opened. One of the men moved to stand at the far end of the truck, while the other ushered her into the back seat. She slid across the cool leather and had just pulled her legs inside when the door slammed shut.

  With concerted effort, she sat back agains
t the seat, inhaling a clean new scent and closed her eyes briefly. Slow, deep breaths would regulate her pulse rate and calm her mind, if not her spirit. That would take more work for which time and space were not readily available.

  What the hell was going on?

  All she’d needed was a ride from one point to another. Was that so difficult? The bossy guard, his motorcycle and the appearance of demonics weren’t things she’d even considered a possibility. And yet, all of them were her current reality.

  “When the normal becomes abnormal, evil is at work.” She whispered the old proverb, imagining her voice was that of her great aunt, who, at one hundred and one, was the oldest member of their tribe.

  But when had Shola’s life ever been normal? From birth she had been surrounded by an invisible cloak of chaos and now was the time for that cloak to be discarded forever. Without thought, she touched the cool metal of the pendant hanging from the multicolored beaded necklace. The coolness immediately soothed her and she drank of its calming power, relaxing further and assuring herself that things would work out according to their plan.

  Seconds later the calm dissipated. The door across from where she sat opened, and he slid on to the seat. There was plenty of space back here so she should not have felt crowded, but she did. The guard was built, his body obviously muscled even through the leather jacket, black shirt and jeans he wore. For the first few seconds she had seen him, she’d thought him ominous and extremely sad. Now, after their trip through the city, she thought him demanding, arrogant and extremely sexy.

  “When the normal becomes abnormal, evil is at work.”

  “What?”

  Her head snapped in his direction and heat fussed her cheeks. Had she said that out loud?

  “Nothing.” She shook her head. It might be better if she just got out of the truck and traveled alone from this point on. Something about the start of this trip, this man and all that had happened wasn’t right.