Dragon Blood 3: Surety (5 page)

Jasper arrived late afternoon. Hearing him drive up, Amber was out the front before she sensed her mother moving. “She’s in a really bad mood,” Amber said by way of greeting.

Jasper shrugged. “I’ll talk her round.”

“This might even be beyond you. She’s been out the back most of the day. Talking to the shrink. Then she comes inside for a bit, gives me another lecture, throws up her hands, bursts into tears and returns outside with Gary.”

“Maybe if you’d compromise about-”

Amber cut him off. “I can’t change what I am and neither can you. Compromise is impossible.”

“We’ll see.”

“I won’t. She’s coming around the side of the house. You go talk to her, I’m fed up with the lectures.” Amber strode towards the front door, glancing back once to see her mother throw her arms around Jasper as they met at the corner of the house. Feeling a presence behind her, she whirled, flames in her hands before she had time to realise it was Ronan.

“Much better.”

Extinguishing the flames, Amber lowered her hands, not relaxing. “What do you want?”

“Bathroom.”

She followed him through the house, turning the bathroom tap on while he closed the door. Making sure other dragons couldn’t overhear wasted a lot of water. Maybe she should suggest to Jasper that he organise a running water garden at her house. Her house. The thought just never seemed real. She was too young to own her own house. Pushing uncomfortable thoughts away, she faced Ronan. “What do you need to tell me?”

“We should kill Charles.”

“What?” She knew she shouldn’t let him, but Ronan always managed to surprise her.

“He’s a liability.”

“You think everyone’s a liability.”

“He killed a dragon while he was a prisoner.”

Amber stared at Ronan. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. They tried to hush it up, makes them look weak, but I found out. Couldn’t get all the details, but it wasn’t a kid. A male dragon about ninety-years-old. An experienced warrior.”

“I don’t know what to do.” She regretted the words the moment she spoke them. She had to stop acting so weak in front of Ronan.

“Take him out from a distance.”

“No! He’s my grandfather.”

“So? You don’t even know him. The man would kill every dragon in existence if he could.”

“You want me to kill a man that I’m directly related to.”

“I didn’t say you had to do it yourself. We’ll send an assassin.” Ronan paused, watching her carefully. “I could send Doneele’s father, Daray.”

Amber tried to keep the shock from her face. “How did you know?” Was it impossible to hide any secrets from him?

Ronan laughed. “I guessed. You confirmed.”

She glared at him. “Don’t you dare harm her.”

“She’s yours, isn’t she?”

“Yes.” She didn’t even hesitate.

“Then she’s safe while you live.”

Amber sat on the edge of the claw foot bathtub. “What about my uncle?”

“He’s safe. Or as safe as any dragon is.”

“He’s a dragon?” How was that possible?

“No. Married to one and fathered a Gold. So he might as well be a dragon. It’s the old man we need to worry about.”

“We’re not killing my grandfather.”

“Is he yours?”

She stared up at Ronan, trying to figure out what to say. He’d never set a limit, only told her there was one. Now didn’t seem like the time to ask him. “He’s my grandfather.”

“But do you claim him?”

She wanted to be able to say yes, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak the word. How many until she ran out of people she could claim? Lowering her eyes to the floor, she said, “I don’t know.”

“You need to make a decision, kitten.” Ronan sat beside her.

“How can I?” She fiddled with her bracelets, checking that all of them glowed with power and she hadn’t missed filling any of them. “I don’t even know the man.”

“Then it should be simple. We kill him.”

Amber shook her head. “I can’t order the death of an-” she broke off. Innocent man was nowhere near accurate. He was so far from innocent she didn’t have a clue what he was. The word murderer came to mind and she pushed it away. “He’s my grandfather.”

“I once told you this weakness for family would get you killed. Being weak this time might mean the death of others.”

Fear hit Amber and she barely remained seated on the cold, hard edge of the tub. “I won’t let it.”

“Do you think you can protect all of them? That you can be in every place at once? Who will you let die and who will you protect? Kade? Maira? Brann?” There was a flash of gold in Ronan’s blue eyes. “Maybe Rian, Crystal or Jasper. The Knights won’t consider any of you human. Oh they might try and use you, but you’ll all be expendable and not trustworthy.”

She couldn’t remain seated. Rising to her feet, she glared at Ronan. “My grandfather is not to die.”

“Ever?”

Amber opened her mouth to say never, but she couldn’t keep the image of her grandfather from her mind. A dangerous man who’d killed a dragon while he’d been a prisoner. “What weapon did he use?”

Ronan frowned, then nodded once as his frown cleared. “None. He killed the dragon with his bare hands.”

“Oh.” Her legs felt weak. Wanting only to sit down again, she straightened her shoulders instead. “How is that possible?”

“Dragons have weaknesses, particularly when they’re human. And Charles is cunning. Patient and very cunning.”

“You sound like you admire him.”

Ronan grinned, the predatory one that always made Amber dread what he was thinking. “He could almost be my human counterpart.”

There was that sick feeling back in the pit of her stomach. “We get him back, then we decide what to do with him.”

“Fight or negotiate.”

“We can negotiate for him?”

“He’s very valuable. I don’t know if you’ll have anything they’ll want.”

“Try negotiating first.”

Ronan nodded once. “And you try and not get yourself killed before the end of the year.”

“Yeah, I know. Someone’s missing their home, sweet, home.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice.

“There’s nothing sweet about it, but it’s mine and I want it back.” Ronan disappeared into the Void and Amber was left alone.

Sighing, she turned off the tap and sat on the edge of the bathtub. It was crazy. What was she supposed to do now?

“Amber?”

She mentally searched until she found Jasper in the lounge room. A little more searching showed her mother and Gary were out the back again.
“I’m in the bathroom.”
Opening the door, she waited for her brother, closing the door behind him when he joined her.

“Why are you in here?”

She turned on the tap before she answered him. “Ronan was here.” It didn’t take her long before she’d filled him in on the visit.

“I’ve sorted Mum out and I’m going to go talk to Grandma next, but I don’t have a clue what we’re going to do about our grandfather.”

Amber’s eyes were drawn to the plaited leather band around Jasper’s wrist, semi-precious stones down the centre of it, then to the silver rings on his fingers. Silver and semi-precious stones were what he worked with best for storing power. “Are they all full?”

“Yeah, but I’m not lit up like a Christmas tree.” He nodded towards all the bracelets Amber wore, as well as her pendant and earring.

“Maybe you should be. I think we’re going to need it.”

“I can’t believe our family. Bloody Knights. Of all the luck.”

“If they hadn’t been captured we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Jasper shook his head. “No, it’d be worse. If they hadn’t been captured, we’d have been Knights too and never known what it was like to be mages. Never flown as hawks and we wouldn’t have captured our own castle. Or known dragons as anything other than enemies.”

“Never have met Kade.” That thought made her feel empty.

“Yeah.” He fell silent.

Amber couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Finally she could. “What do we do with him?”

“I haven’t got a clue, but he sounds like a real bastard.”

“I can’t believe Grandma has protected him all these years by hiding everything from us and quitting the Knights.”

“Maybe she wasn’t protecting him. Maybe it was Roger.”

“I didn’t think of that. It makes more sense. Not that much of this does make sense.”

“Yeah, I know. I better go and see her. I’m only staying the day. I’m heading back in the morning.”

“What did you tell Mum?” Amber didn’t want to get their stories mixed up.

“The truth.” Jasper grinned. “Mostly. I didn’t mention Crystal. She’d probably feel obligated to tell her parents and they’d freak worse than Mum.”

“What else didn’t you mention?”

“Isleen, your house and our castle.”

“So you didn’t tell her much at all.”

Jasper laughed. “When I left her, Gary was asking her if she wanted something to help calm her down.”

“Great. Typical doctor. Always wanting to fill everyone with pills.” She turned the tap off. “While you’re at Grandma’s, ask to look at the book she’s got listing all the kill on sight dragons. And look at the crimes.”

“All of them?”

“Until you think you’re ready to throw the book at her.”

“Okay.” Jasper gave her a quick hug before he left.

Amber searched out her mother and Gary, shaking her head when she found them out the back. Making her way to the laundry windows, Amber watched her mother pace back and forth, Gary talking softly as Donna gestured wildly. It looked like her mother was still having problems with everything. Jasper wasn’t as good as he thought he was.

It was late when Kade returned home and Amber was already in bed, trying unsuccessfully to sleep. She felt the mattress dip as Kade joined her in the king-sized bed. “Did you have any luck?”

“There were a couple that Maira and Rian were happy with. They’ll give them a trial and see how they work out.”

She snuggled against Kade when he finished getting comfortable. “Ronan found my grandfather.”

“And?”

It took several minutes before she could bring herself to tell Kade everything. He remained silent once she’d finished. “Well?”

“I really don’t know what to tell you, Amber.”

“What would you do?”

“You shouldn’t need to ask. Survival of the fittest.”

She moved so she could rest her head on her hand, her elbow propped up on the pillow. “You think I should kill him?”

“I think you shouldn’t risk your life for someone you don’t know and who is likely to want to kill you.”

Sighing, Amber dropped back on her pillow. “Why has everything got to be so complicated?”

Kade reached for her, tugging her close. “This is your decision. He’s your family. I’ll help you with whatever choice you make.”

“I-” she broke off, sitting up as she finally figured it out. “Damn it. Ronan thinks she’s like me.”

Kade sat up too. “What?”

“Mum. That she’ll do anything for someone she loves. And he thinks Gary will follow his orders, but if he loves her too, all of Ronan’s scheming might be for nothing.”

“You sound happy about that.”

“It’d serve him right if all his plotting and planning came to nothing.” She reached for her mobile phone, which was on the bedside drawers.

“You’re not going to ring him right now, are you? It’s after midnight.”

“Yep.” She dialled Ronan’s number, waiting for him to answer.

“This better be good.”

“You think you can manipulate my mum through love.”

“I know I can. If she loves him deeply enough she’ll do anything for him. All you humans are the same.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Did you figure out why yet?”

“Because you can’t help plotting and planning?”

“Because she interferes in your plans through her ignorance. And that in turn interferes with mine.”

“Can’t you do anything for someone else for a change? Just for them with no benefits at all for you.”

“No. There’s no point to it.” He hung up.

With a frustrated growl, Amber returned the phone to the bedside drawers. “You dragons are so annoying. Everything has to be complicated.”

“Without complications, life would be boring.”

“No it wouldn’t,” Amber muttered.

“Yeah, it would. Imagine a couple of hundred years of peace. What would you do with it?”

“Since I don’t know what peace is like, how would I know?”

Kade laughed softly. “Get some sleep. Or at least be quiet so I can. It’s been a long week with all the interviews I’ve held.”

“I didn’t know you’d been searching for warriors that long. What made you think trouble was coming?”

“You attract trouble like magnets attract metal.”

“I don’t.” Amber rolled over, her back to Kade as she lay on the edge of the bed, knowing he’d take up most of the space once he fell asleep and turned dragon. She didn’t attract trouble. Or at least she never used to. Not until dragons came into her life.

Jasper had not long left for the city, and they were all seated at the kitchen table having lunch, when Ronan appeared out of the Void. “I’ve arranged a talk.”

“What’s going on,” Donna demanded as Gary reached for her hand, which was resting on the table near her plate of sandwiches.

Ronan kept his gaze on Amber. “Be ready in an hour. No weapons allowed. Only the two of us can approach.”

“What are we offering in exchange for him?”

“It doesn’t matter right now. We’re only talking and sounding them out. And meeting your grandfather.”

“You’ll see my father?” Donna leaned forward.

“Can Mum come too?” Amber asked.

“No. It’s not a sight seeing trip,” Ronan snapped.

“I haven’t seen him since I was three-years-old.”

Ronan ignored Donna, his gaze remaining on Amber. “Remember, no weapons allowed.

“Why only two?”

“Two of them, two of us. We meet on neutral grounds and then we’ll discuss things. When the talks are ended, it’s time to leave in a hurry. That’s when the temporary truce is over.”

“But they won’t have any weapons.”

Ronan shook his head. “Have I taught you nothing? A dragon without weapons is never truly unarmed.”

“Neither am I.” She could do more damage with claws and fireballs than she could with any weapon.

“One hour.” Ronan returned to the Void, leaving arguments behind.

Amber tried to listen to what her mother had to say, but there wasn’t a single word she could agree with. Rising to her feet, she kept her eyes on Donna. “No one else can go. I have to do this. It’s the only way to keep us safe.”

“You’re a child. That man can’t expect you to go wandering around the countryside without my permission,” Donna said.

“Mum, it’s settled. Things are different. I’m not a kid, I’m a Dragon Mage.” She brought fire to one of her hands, snapping it closed to extinguish the flames a moment later.

“Being able to play with fire doesn’t make you an adult,” Donna said.

“I know. It’s the people who want me dead that make me one.” She regretted the comment the moment she saw her mother’s expression. It had obviously been the wrong thing to say to convince her.

Donna rose to her feet. “We’re leaving. I don’t care where we go. Maybe England.”

Amber laughed, a slightly brittle sound. “You don’t get it, do you? There’s nowhere far enough. Dragons go where they want.” She made a sharp motion with her hand when Donna started to speak again. “I have to get ready.” Striding from the kitchen, she headed for Kade’s room, closing the door and leaning against it. Besides grabbing a jacket to throw on over her vest, there was nothing else she needed to do, other than not have to listen to another argument.

Hearing movement in the hallway outside, she tensed, relaxing when mentally searching the hallway showed her it was Kade. Half opening the door, she leaned against it, staring at him. “How safe is this?”

“Completely safe until it’s over, but Ronan will get you out of there.”

“Are you sure? How do you know that one day he won’t decide that, word or not, he couldn’t be bothered?”

“Because he’d be dead. Everyone now knows that you’re his to protect. If you die and he’s there, he’ll be hunted until he’s dead. It’s our one law we all abide by.”

“Bloody possessive dragons.”

Kade grinned. “We keep what’s ours or die trying.”

“I miss my old life. It was so much simpler.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into all this, but I can’t say I regret having you here with me.”

Amber pushed away from the door, letting it swing completely open. She slid her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. “It’d be much better if someone wasn’t always trying to kill us.”

“We’re dragons. We not only want to keep what’s ours, but we want what’s our neighbour’s too.”

Hearing footsteps, Amber mentally searched and found her mother was headed her way. Stepping back, she dragged Kade into the bedroom with her, closing and locking the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mum’s coming this way. I don’t want any more arguments. I just need a bit of peace and quiet before I meet my grandfather.” A man who probably wanted her dead. As well as most of the people she cared about. She still didn’t know what to do about him.

Kade linked his fingers through hers, leading her to the bed where he tugged her down to sit beside him. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he drew her close. “I wish I could be there with you, but the rules are two from each party negotiating.”

“What can I expect?”

“It’s a large open circular area about half a kilometre across. Even though you can leave through the Void from it, you can’t enter it from the Void or speak to people in their minds. The paving stones prevent it.”

“What are they made of?”

“Similar to Ronan’s prison, but for some reason they not only prevent calls out, but also within.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. No one does. It could be the stone pillars that surround the place at intervals, but the only ones who’d know are the ones who built it and they all died centuries ago.”

“Does it have a name?”

“Feralenzi. It’s named after the dragon who first suggested we needed a safe place for negotiations between enemies.”

“And the dragons I’m meeting are my enemies?”

“They aren’t your allies.”

“But that doesn’t mean they’re enemies.”

Kade laughed softly.

Amber lightly hit his chest with her open hand. “Oh shut up. Bloody dragons.” Silence filled the room and Amber spent the time before Ronan arrived trying to think about what she could offer in exchange for her grandfather. Nothing came to mind. There was nothing she was willing to part with.

Ronan stepped out of the Void, to stand at the foot of the bed. “Time to go.”

Amber slowly rose to her feet, grabbing her jacket from the floor where she’d dropped it earlier. Shaking it out, she pulled it on. She turned to kiss Kade who’d joined her. “I’ll be back soon.”

Kade’s hand lightly brushed across her cheek. “Be careful and get out of there as soon as the meeting is done.”

Amber nodded, pulling away, her eyes still on him. She felt Ronan’s hand land on her shoulder, his grip tightening. Then she was in the Void, her world reforming before her eyes as they stepped out of the Void to arrive at Feralenzi. She was so not ready for this.

With a hand at the small of her back, Ronan guided her between two large pillars of glossy black stone. Beneath her feet were large uneven pavers, grass growing between the cracks. The place was empty of everything but the stone pillars that surrounded it, the whole space stretching out around them.

Directly opposite, six men stepped out of the Void. Three disappeared immediately while the other three started to cross the circle towards the middle of Feralenzi. Amber couldn’t stop staring at the man in the middle. His hands were shackled in front of him, but his head was held high and his shoulders back, like he was the one in charge. Forty years of captivity hadn’t weakened Charles’ strength of character. Amber had a bad feeling that nothing would weaken this man. That he would never waver from his plan to eliminate all dragons.

They reached the centre of Feralenzi before the other group and Amber tested the area’s security. Kade had been right. There was no mentally reaching anyone outside Feralenzi let alone in it. Anything spoken here would be heard by everyone in Feralenzi and there’d be no mentally calling for help. She fought the urge to step closer to Ronan. The last thing she should do was show weakness in front of the people who had finally reached the centre.

Ronan lightly touched his chest. “Ronan.” He gestured to the side. “Amber.”

The man opposite Ronan touched his own chest. “Blair.” He gestured to the man next to him. “Charles.” Then a little further across. “Irvin.”

Both men were large, over six foot, and taller than Charles. Blair had swirling tattoos down both arms, bronze eyes and dark hair while Irvin had long blond hair tied back from his bearded face and green eyes with flecks of gold. They were dressed in black dragon-leather clothes. Long pants and vests.

“We have need of a captive from the Knights,” Ronan said.

“You’ve already mentioned that, but you haven’t said why,” Irvin said.

“Why will not be discussed. You are obviously willing to part with your prisoner for the right price or you wouldn’t be here,” Ronan said.

While the three men spoke back and forth, making very little progress as far as Amber could see, she studied them. Why hadn’t Ronan given her more information about them before they arrived? And why did he even need her here if there really wasn’t anything she could do or say? She wondered if the bronze in Blair’s eyes meant he was a Gold. Or the flecks of gold in Irvin’s green eyes meant he was one too. Other than seeing them in dragon form, was there any way to tell? Alsandair’s eyes were almost pure gold, but Kade’s were only a golden brown so maybe the eyes didn’t tell the full story. But, then if they were Gold, why had they needed someone to transport them through the Void? There was so much about dragons that she still didn’t know.

Charles spoke, interrupting Amber’s thoughts. “I knew a woman once with hair the colour of yours.”

Amber struggled to come up with something to say. All she could think of was photos of her grandmother when she was younger, her hair the same rich chestnut waves that fell around her own shoulders. She shrugged. “It’s a common enough colour.”

“The woman I knew would never have let dragons speak on her behalf.”

“People change. It’s been forty years since you’ve seen family and friends,” Amber said.

“If she has allied herself with dragons, that woman would be as dead to me as my son.”

Had her grandfather just threatened her? Did he know who she was? She was conscious of the dragons watching her. “We aren’t interested in your past, only how you can be of use to us in the future.”

“I’m a worn out old man, no use to anyone.”

“Quiet.” Irvin hit Charles in the back and he lurched forward, barely keeping his feet. “He’s valuable. If someone could break into his mind without destroying it, all the secrets of the Knights would be laid out for them.”

“How many have tried?” Ronan asked.

“None with great experience. We are only a small clan,” Blair said.

“A Goldless clan,” Ronan said.

Anger flushed Irvin’s face. “Our father is Gold.”

“Yet none of his offspring or his grandchildren are.” Ronan’s tone remained even. “Your clan would dissolve if your father was to die.”

Blair’s hand reached for the empty scabbard at his side. “Is that a threat?”