Bound to the Dragon King (11 page)

I can’t tell if it’s working or not so I try to stop feeding my magic to it and maybe try somewhere else but I can’t. It’s drawing my energy in faster and faster and I can’t stop it! I take in a deep breath to try and steady myself, but I can’t. I pull my hands from Asher’s to break our connection and instead of yanking them away, I pull them free easily as if he’s not holding onto me at all. I fill with dread as I realize that I’m fading away, just like I used to when… Oh no! This can’t be a dream. It has to be real. A scream rips from my throat, startling everyone out of their focused trance.

“Ash…” A sob escapes my throat and I try to grab his hand. The women break into nervous whispers.

“Lindy, what’s going on? Wha…” He stops abruptly as he realizes that he can’t get a hold of me. “No!
No!
Lindy stop,” he shouts.

Panic contorts his gorgeous face like it used to when I left him like this. His eyes pull away from mine, darting around rapidly as he tries to find me. “I don’t know what’s happening,” I cry out, but I can tell from the perplexed look on his face that he can’t hear me.

Ruby and Cera grab a hold of each other. I can tell that they’re trying to do magic, trying to bring me back to them but there’s no spell to stop this. I wonder where I’ll wake up. Back in bed with an alarm blaring? Another day in the library? This has to be real. I can’t have dreamed this!

Tears spill from my eyes. “Ash! I love you,” I scream, hoping desperately that he can at least hear that, but his face hardens, letting an agonized howl.

The scene in front of me fades and I’m left standing in complete darkness. Did I die? I don’t think I did because I have a feeling that dead people don’t question their existence. I shift my foot forward unsteadily.

“At least the floor feels real,” I say aloud and my voice echoes oddly. Am I in a cave? “Hello?” I say more loudly, listening to the “hello, hello, hello” that echoes back. Hmmm, that’s strange.

A blinding flare sparks to life in front of me, sending me stumbling backwards onto my butt painfully. I’m definitely in a cave, but where? And why would the spell have taken me here? I move to stand up, but stop in my tracks as I hear footsteps approaching.

“Well, look who got caught in our little trap? Less like a library mouse after all,” a dark shadowy figure says with a familiar voice that sends chills through me.

“Who are you?” I ask, hoping that my shaking voice is not too noticeable.

“You would forget me so fast?” the voice says moving closer. The shadows lessen as he steps into the light and I can see who it belongs to. My stomach heaves as he smiles and reveals his sharp pointed teeth. It’s the seeker from the library, the one who inspected me so cruelly. He laughs and I can smell his rancid breath. “I see you do remember me. I have that effect on people,” he says reaching out a pale hand to help me to my feet. I scoot away from him and his red eyes flash with anger. “You on the other hand were entirely forgettable Melinda Merrick, until now. So, how did a witch with no powers get caught in our little trap?”

Shit. This isn’t good. I don’t know what to say without giving away Asher. How much does he know already? The vile creature reaches out and grabs my ankle. I try to pull my leg away, desperately wanting to escape his touch.

“Not going to talk?” His gleeful laugh sends a fresh wave of chills over my body. “Good. I like it better that way.”

His whispered spell has me writhing on the floor in more pain than I have ever felt. It’s as if he ripped my whole body in half and slammed it back together haphazardly. My bones are surging with an electric current, essentially frying me from the inside out.

“Stop… please… no!” I plead with him. The pain eases and I caress the cold stone floor, eagerly trying to shed some of the heat from my too warm body.

“How did you activate that spell?” he asks, pointedly still fondling my ankle.

“I… I don’t know,” I lie. I can’t give him away. I would rather die than to betray Ash to this sick bastard. Another wave of pain slams into me. My head hits the hard stone floor with a sickening crack.

“What’s this?” he asks grabbing at my wrist. My bracelet flashes with power. My gasp gives away that it’s something important to me. He loops a pale finger under the clasp and pulls roughly, popping it off. My heart sinks as I realize that my only sure method of getting back to Ash is gone. Why didn’t I think of it sooner? His red eyes examine each of the different gems. “Where did you get this?” he hisses eagerly.

“None of your business,” I snap.

“I see that you’re not yet willing to speak the truth. Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time together to work on that.”

He stands abruptly and reaches out for the orb of light. It sinks into his palm and I watch as he walks away, leaving me bleeding in utter darkness. I hear the sound of a door opening and closing in the distance. A scream that even I don’t recognize tears from my throat and echos into the darkness. I shut my eyes and hope that this is all just some kind of sick dream but I can’t tell the difference between the darkness with my eyes open and shut.

“Ash,” I whisper into the dark. I try to cast a spell to carry my words to him, but my magic is blocked somehow. I sob loudly, not caring if anyone can hear me. I’m all alone, with no magic, and completely terrified at the prospect of seeing any more of the SIGMA seekers, or even worse, Arralt himself. My head throbs with pain and I give in to it, letting it wash over me. My tears spill over onto the cold stone beneath me. I shudder against the floor and pray that my dreams will take me back to him. Back to my dragon and all of my friends. It was real and I will cling to it until they kill me.

_______________________________

Asher and Lindy’s story continues in the final installment,
Claimed by the Dragon King
, available in January 2015. Sign up at
http://eepurl.com/2e9k1
to receive a reminder when it’s released and for a chance to win a copy!

Thanks for reading!

-Caroline Hale

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Tw

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven