Authors: Dahlia Rose
Raul
listened to the words and as the
Shen
spoke, going
from hot to cold and then hot again. The story sounded like the truth, yet how
could he believe it? Only one dragon walked away from the Paladin lands and
into the barrens—his father. He took his father’s place on the court,
trained with the other dragons and the king and they took him in as their own.
His father was not alive
. He can’t be!
“So
you are to use him as bait?” Raul asked.
The
Shen
nodded. “A fight between a dragon and one of
ours put the plan into play before we anticipated. The
Shen
serpent in the fight is a general. He wants to kill the dragon and the human
female who shot him… Well, kill her eventually.”
The
Shen
snickered and Raul punched him in the face. There
was no way he was going to let anything happen to
Raven
.
He took pleasure in watching the blood flow from the serpent’s broken nose.
“Anything
else, abomination?” Raul asked.
“Yes,
one more thing,” it said in a nasally voice. “I was the diversion, for as we
speak, the general is on his way to the glass castle. He will retrieve his human
prize.”
The
Shen’s
sickening laughter only fueled the rage in his
chest and he snapped the neck of the
Shen
and dropped
his lifeless body to the ground. He snatched the medallion from around the
Shen’s
neck, breaking the chain with a violent pull. Usually,
he would clean up the mess and get rid of the body, but that would have to wait.
Right now he had to take flight and save Raven. Dread filled his heart for her
safety. By the gods, this was all an elaborate hoax to get him away from Raven?
Deep within, he felt as if some of the
Shen’s
words
were true. His father was alive. Raul shifted quickly and flew back to the
house on the cliff. Enough time had passed that the
Shen
could descend on the house. He used his internal magic that all the dragons
held within them to move faster. The house came into view and he could see at
least a dozen serpents climbing up the rock wall of the cliff, heading towards
the house. One was already there and Raul recognized the serpent—in his
human form—from a few nights before. He broke the glass of the front
windows and the alarm filled the air with a shrill noise.
Triggering
the alarm would alert Hawke in England, but he could not do anything from
thousands of miles away. Raul propelled himself through another window, shattering
that one too, and threw himself as hard as he could into the man, knocking him
into the wall.
He
then shifted quickly and shouted, “Raven!”
She
came around the corner, carrying one of the large knives that she had obviously
found in the kitchen. She held it over her head ready for a fight.
“Raul,”
she said, lowering the knife to her side, “I was reading upstairs and I just
saw him come directly at the windows,” Raven gasped. “He didn’t even stop, just
came right in—”
“Tell
me about it later. Right now we’re leaving. There are at least twelve more
coming up the rock wall,” Raul said. “I’m going to shift and you’re going to
climb on my neck, then we are taking to the skies.”
“Won’t
I fall?” Raven asked.
“Slip
your hands under the smaller scales of my neck; you won’t hurt me, but you’ll
have a tight hold.”
The
Shen
general that had been thrown through the wall
began to move from under the rubble and called out, “Give her to me, dragon,
and you can have your fallen hero in our possession.”
“What’s
he talking about?” Raven asked breathlessly and then cursed, “Oh, shit, they
are coming across the lawn.”
“Let’s
go,” Raul said and shifted.
He
lowered his head and she climbed onto his neck just as more glass broke and the
Shen
swarmed inside. Raul knew they would be overcome
before he could take flight, so with Raven on his
neck,
he swung around and took a deep breath before he sent a stream of fire breath
towards them. The rest of the glass shattered and the broken glass melted. The
Shen
screamed in
pain
as many of
them were burned alive. He noticed the general trying to shift and came towards
him, sending fire at him. The man barely got over the large
butcher
block
island in the kitchen. If it
was
not for
that, he would have been covered in flames.
With their assailants otherwise occupied,
Raul ran towards the floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen and they shattered
around his massive frame as he made his escape. Raven gave a scream as he
spread his wings and caught the air. He lifted off the ground easily. Raul
concentrated on the magic within to increase his speed, putting as much
distance between them and the overrun house. He would take them to the safe
house and contact the others from there. There was no way he was leaving
Wisconsin until he knew the truth and the
Shen
cell
was destroyed.
He
flew for almost an hour, when the rain had begun to fall the last half of the
journey. When he descended to the safe house and Raven slid from his back, she
was soaked. There was always a secondary house, or “safe house,” in each sector
of the grid where the dragons protected. This one happened to be the penthouse
of the Belmont Hotel in Madison. It was one of the tallest buildings in the
state capital and Hawke paid for roof access as well as almost a million
dollars for private stairs to be built that led from the roof to the penthouse.
The penthouse was all theirs. They owned the hotel and
it was
run by people Hawke hired to look after the investment
. After the
debacle with
Daisye’s
father and how easily his name had
been falsely endorsed to a business, Hawke kept a close eye on the investments.
By this time, Raven was shivering. He opened the door from the roof and ushered
her inside.
“Some
safe house.” Her teeth chattered as she spoke.
“Hawke
does what he needs to, to make sure we’re comfortable,” Raul replied, looking
around.
The
suite was expensively decorated in shades of beige, cream and gold. The coffee table
and end tables were black marble and had expensive vases with ornate flower
arrangements sitting on top. He turned the knob on the gas fireplace and it
roared to life before turning back to face her.
“The
master bedroom is through the door on the left. Go take a shower and warm up.
I’ll call down and get us a meal, plus update the others of our whereabouts. The
house alarm would have signaled them that something happened,” Raul said.
“Okay.”
Raven began to move towards the master bedroom and then turned back to him.
“Who is the dragon they are holding hostage?”
Raul’s
hand tightened on the medallion he held all this time. “Apparently, my father.”
“Oh,
no, Raul—”
“Go
take a shower, Raven,” he said, cutting her off. He didn’t want to look up to
see the pity in her eyes, the emotions and weakness there.
She
didn’t say another word, but turned on her heels and walked away. Raven had
more questions, and he knew she would ask them eventually. He could practically
see the gears of her mind working like that of a big machine. Raul knew he
should get changed and call his brothers, but instead, he sat on the floor
naked and gazed into the fire. His father, the man who left him after losing
his mother, could be alive. How was this supposed to make him feel exactly?
Happy, sad, angry, all of the above?
He did what always
worked for him and pushed it all aside. He lived for what he’d always put first:
his honor.
He’d deal with whatever was to come the
best way he could. With a sigh he got up and went to the guest bedroom. There,
he showered and changed into clothes that were overflowing from the large
walk-in closets. All the while, trying to find his calm and center before he
called Hawke. Finally, he sat on the bed and made a call downstairs to the
front desk to let them know that he’d just flown in with a guest. They would
assume he came in by chopper and landed on the helipad on the roof. He ordered
a late dinner of simple linguine with meat sauce and garlic bread. On impulse,
he asked for two slices of triple chocolate cake for Raven. When that was done,
he dialed Hawke’s number from memory. Hawke answered before the first ring even
ended.
“We’re
heading your way,” Hawke said grimly
“We’re
going to need
Lleau
and Aki as well,” Raul said. “I
intercepted a
Shen
and he told me they do have a cell
in Wisconsin, but that it was a trap.”
“How
so?”
“A
younger
Shen
was keeping me busy so that the
Shen
who attacked me initially, plus about a dozen others,
could descend on the house,” Raul explained. “It seems he is a general and has
Raven in his sights like we knew he would. He was in the house and the others were
coming up the side of the cliff. I got her out and we’re in Madison.”
“What
of the one who drew you away?” Hawke asked.
“Dead…
He had something, Hawke,” Raul said heavily.
“What?”
Raul
said it all in a rush, hoping it would not cause the surge of feelings that usually
came while thinking of his father. “A medallion—the coat of arms of my
father. They said he’s been their prisoner for over fifty years, kept alive for
a situation like this, a pawn of sorts.”
Hawke
was silent for a few minutes before saying, “It could be all lies. He walked
off into the barren lands to die. They could have found his body and took the
medallion.”
“But,
remember, when the search was conducted, his body was never found,” Raul persisted.
“He said they’ve kept him just barely alive. I should find him and find out why
he left me—”
“No!”
Hawke barked. “You are not to go off by yourself looking for a man who may no
longer be alive. I will not have you put your life on the line for him, not
after what he did.”
“It
is my life to do with as I wish, Hawke,” Raul snarled. “I may have been under
your tutelage and your ward, but I am a man now and can think for myself, and
have been from the time I did my warrior ceremony and the king accepted me in
the court.”
“Yes,
but I still outrank you, Raul, and I say your ass stays put until we get
there,” Hawke snarled right back but then softened his tone. “At least until we
know if this is true. Then, we as twelve, with the king’s approval, will do
what we must.”
“I
don’t know how to feel about all of this,” Raul admitted. “The boy in me
watching his father walk away still wants to chase after him.”
“Like
you pointed out, the boy is no more. You are a man and a warrior of the court.
Our feelings take a back seat to the good of our people,” Hawke reminded him.
“I’ll get
Lleau
and Aki and we’ll be on our way.
Daisye
is coming as well. She wants to meet Raven in
person. Expect us in at least forty eight hours and, Raul, no heroics, no going
off on your own.”
“I
understand,” Raul said through his teeth and hung up. He hated being ordered
around like a child.
He
got up off the bed and walked to the door, wrenching it open roughly, only to
find Raven standing on the other side. He looked at her and took in her
appearance. She was wearing a cream-colored knit dress that came to just above
her knees. She had on black tights and her feet were bare. Her long dark hair
hung just past her shoulders and her face was fresh, beautiful, with no makeup.
“I
was going to knock, but I heard you on the phone,” Raven said.
“Eavesdropping?”
Raul asked.
He
saw anger spark in her cinnamon brown eyes. “I don’t need to spy on your
conversation because I could just ask you. I understand you’re upset, but don’t
try to take it out on me, Raul. You won’t like the outcome. I’m no shrinking
flower; I will go spider monkey on your ass.”
“Spider
monkey? You’ll become a small primate?” Raul chuckled.
She
was amazing when her temper flared. He thought of her completely naked and
writhing beneath him, using that fierce temper as fuel for a passionate
interlude. She wanted more than he could give—emotions and love—but
that didn’t mean he couldn’t dream about the attraction that sparked between
them.
“That’s
right. Small, fast and ready to kick ass if necessary,” she snapped and brought
his attention back to the present.
Raul
nodded solemnly. “I’ll keep that in mind, but I think I might like seeing you
go spider monkey, as you say.”
Her
lips twitched. “Uh-huh. You and many others.”
She
took his hand and walked him over to the sofa that faced the fireplace. She sat
and pulled him down beside her. “Now tell me about your father.”
Raul
hesitated. “There’s nothing much to tell.”
Raven
sighed. “Usually people say that when there is a lot to tell. Raul, if anything,
consider me your friend. You can talk to me, and I take it from what I heard of
your conversations with Hawke, you don’t talk much with anyone about what’s
going on inside you.”