Dragon Wish (38 page)

A low laugh slipped out. “No, I wore it to make him mad.

He kept going on and on about the White Dragon kingdom

this and that so I decided to put on something other than

white.”

Ren’s dark brows quirked up. Paladin laughed.

She turned away, leaving the two men. She walked to the

foyer where a servant met her. He led her upstairs down the

dimly lit hall to another bedroom. There, the turbaned

servant informed her that some clothes would arrive soon.

She murmured thanks and he left.

The soft, muted green and burgundy striped cover on the

bed matched the solid green lounging chaise and armchair

across the room. She smiled in anticipation of much needed

rest. Slipping out of her dress, she was glad to be free of the

flashy material. She slid naked between the sheets to rest her

head on the pillow. Just a little nap to refresh her and she

would be ready for whatever the men decided. She released a

satisfied sigh. A moment later, she fell asleep.

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The morning sun domed above the sand dunes behind

Seren. Wrapped in a hooded cloak, she squinted over her

shoulder to the glowing horizon. Light filtered across the

waves of sand in a checkerboard pattern. Cold still

permeated the air, but with the slow rise of the sun, the

sharp bite slackened enough for her to feel comfortable

within the cloak’s thin gauze material over the even thinner

sarong the wizard’s housekeeper loaned her.

Their party, consisting of her, Paladin, Ren, several of his

servants, along with Calis worked their way across the dunes,

heading in a westerly direction of Gimal Zabara. The true

name of the safekeeping caverns deep within the desert.

During the night, the two identical men who’d helped in

her rescue, Cie and Rie, departed for Durfalin. Their

purpose, stressed by Ren and Paladin was to warn the city’s

leaders. The brothers would help erect a barrier around the

surrounding walls and land.

She looked over at where Ren stood on a dune’s crest,

waiting for the slower members of the little caravan to catch

up. Ever since the evening before, after she’d witness the

vision about him, the wizard had avoided her. The vision

remained clear in her mind. She assumed her ability to see

things bothered the man.

“How are you?” Paladin asked from close behind her.

Shivers of need passed through her. She turned, facing

him. “I’m fine, ready to arrive. That’s all.”

He nodded. “It’s only a little farther. I can feel the

pressure from the barrier. Can you not sense it also?”

She stopped and stared into his eyes, uncertain what he

meant. She tilted her head, concentrating. She didn’t know

what the barrier consisted of, she assumed magic, but

nothing came to her. “No, not really.”

“Perhaps once we are nearer you will.”

“Maybe.” She clasped her hands and took a deep breath,

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needing to ask him why the dragons hadn’t sent her back to

Earth after her rescue. She’d woken up this morning with a

nagging need to find out something important. It’d bothered

her, constantly nudging at her mind. Thinking it best to

come out and ask, she looked over at him. “If I was back on

Earth, would Arcane still attack?”

He stiffened, his hair fluttering in the soft breeze. “That, I

do not know.”

Staring at him, she sensed a sudden change in him. He

wouldn’t meet her look. Again, the impression that he

withheld some piece of information from her sprang to the

forward in her thoughts. Not sure how to proceed, she

turned and stepped away. “I was just wondering.”

“We can talk more once we reach the caverns.”

A measure of relief came over her. She nodded with a

contented smile, confident he’d assuage her worry. More

eager to arrive at their destination than when they first left

the compound, she walked at his side.

The heat increased, bearing down on her. She was

thankful for the clothes on her back. She glanced around.

The others members in the group appeared unaffected by the

scorching air while others like Paladin suffered, sweat

pouring from their bodies, soaking their clothes.

In the distance, a deep blue shape formed on the horizon.

Heat waves shifted over the sand, and prevented her from

distinguishing any details. With each step, the dark spot

cleared, forming an outcrop of limestone jutting from desert.

She sighed, relieved, ready to reach some type of shelter

from the sun.

Overhead, dark forms moved across the sky. She

recognized some of the distant shapes as dragons while

others coasted too high for her to tell their identity. Three of

the dragons flew toward the party. With their approach, their

large, muscled bodies rippled in the sunlight, larger than

dracs. Flying in a triangular formation, the beasts descended

on a current, circling around to pass over their small

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caravan. Seren’s stomach quivered with unease.

“What do they want?” she asked Paladin. He, too, studied

them, his eyes narrowed in speculation.

“Let us hope they don’t intend to stop. Those are adult

lesser dragons from the rogue lands.” He explained,

tightening his grasp on her arm and increasing his pace. “We

have one good factor on our side. Ren.”

“What clan do they come from, black?”

“No, they are from the blue. I’m surprised to see them

this far north. Their clan leader lives in Avaris’ southern

regions.”

At his observation, a spiraling intuition struck Seren—

they’d been sent to find her. Did Arcane’s reach extend so

far? She touched the rounded curve of her belly. They

wouldn’t harm her child, she wouldn’t let them.

The trio swooped around them once more, spiraled lower

before landing in a spray of sand. One in front and another at

an angle on the right. The third beast touched down on the

sand several yards to Seren’s left, well out of Paladin and

Ren’s attack range. Ren, sideways to the dragons, held his

staff across his chest, the stone in its tip aimed at the beast in

front of them. Paladin drew both his swords, prepared

should the dragons attack.

This close, their scales glistened and rippled over their

elongated bodies. Their legs, shorter, stockier than Lior’s,

shifted in the sand. A flowing frill started at the crown on

their heads. It ran down the back of their necks to end at

their shoulders. The frill moved up and down.

Ren held the front dragon off. Paladin did the same with

the one on the right.

No one moved.

Time slowed.

Heated air carried by the wind passed over the group,

coating them with a light sandy layer. Seren curved her arm

over the top of her abdomen, determined to protect her

unborn child.

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Three sets of cold black eyes stared at them. Instinct

warned her that they focused on her. The sand beneath her

feet slipped a little, and one foot lowered with the shifting

ground.

The frills on their neck stood straight. The two in front of

Ren and Paladin snapped their long necks down, mouths

gaped, revealing razor sharp teeth.

Magic flew from the stone on Ren’s staff, sending shafts

of glittering light shards at the dragon. At the same time,

Paladin sprang at the beast before him, swinging his blades

at the second one. Neither made a solid hit. Drawn away

from her, they continued with their attack while the two

beasts retreated.

Movement came at her from the left. She glanced in time

to see the third dragon, who’d stood watching the others but

now raced over the sand on its hind legs, clawed fingers

reaching for her.

With more gentleness than she believed possible, it

plucked her several feet off the ground. The momentum of

the charge kept them going for a good distance. The deep

blue beast shoved her away. She flew back, landing in the

side of a dune, sand avalanching over her from above.

She fanned the dusty cloud swirling in front of her face,

struggling to breathe, all the time trying to keep the dragon

in her line of vision. He stayed in front of her, its neck

straight with its jaw flattened against his throat. The frill on

its spine stood erect.

The other two dragons leapt away from the two men and

joined their ally. She anchored her feet to stand without

sliding in the loosened sand. Heart beating, heat searing her

lungs, sand scratching her eyes each time she blinked, she

hid her fear, tilting her chin high. She tightened her hands

over her abdomen.

They would never harm her child, though how she

intended to stop creatures the size of a semi-truck, she didn’t

know.

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Seconds ticked by. In the distance, Paladin and Ren

struggled to reach her. Paladin shouted her name, worry and

fear evident in his voice. Hot winds curled over the dune

behind her, sending fine glistening particles down over her.

Instead of falling at her feet, the floating dust twirled in front

of her stomach with more rising from the ground. The dust

shifted and deepened, forming the shape of a man.

Long strands of hair blew over a cloaked back. Booted

feet floated above the ground, levitating the form created

from wind and sand. The image carried the deep earth tones

created by the desert. Skin, hair, and clothes materialized

without any other hues.

Seren scooted to the right, stopping at an angle to see his

face, one she recognized, yet never viewed. In the vision from

so long ago, she’d seen only his eyes and body. Now, looking

up at the lean features, her heart tightened and tears washed

the fine grains from her eyes. He reminded her of Paladin,

though much younger.

The dragons’ heads lowered. The one in front growled

deep in its throat.

The image of the young man spoke, his voice soft,

threatening. “You dare touch my mother.”

A powerful magical charge surged at the beast. With the

impact, it sank several inches into the sand.

“My mother.”
This time, the words came out stronger,

almost a shout, the force behind them struck the dragon

again, shoving it deeper into the desert floor. The two beasts

on either side of the one who’d threatened Seren, slithered

several feet away, their heads dipped in submission, touching

the rippling ground.

Deep grunts came from the beast before him.
“Arcane

instructed us to find this woman and bring her to him.”

A breeze fluttered over her son’s image, lifting and

moving the illusion of clothes and hair. “Arcane? You think

he is so strong he will stand against me? You would follow

death, my brother?”

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“Humans have long sought to destroy our kind. Do you,

human that you are, seek to carry through with their

desire?”

“Dare you question me?”

Magic circled her son’s form, visible to the eye with tiny

particles of power. Each one glinted in the hot sun. Another

magical blast struck the beast, but instead of forcing it lower,

it drew the dragon closer. “My mother has named me. Do

you desire to know that which is bestowed on me? It is

appropriate for who I am.

“I am Legion. Many in one. An unstoppable force to rule

over Avaris with a mighty fist, conjoining the clans. In my

veins, there flows even the blood of your clan leader, Karia.

Think you, she would approve of your actions this day?”

For the first time, the beast wavered in its angry resolve.

Its gaze flickered, and then the thickly lashed lids closed.

A low laugh came from Legion. “I think not. Your actions

of this day, the one against my beloved mother alone, have

sealed your fate.”

The air around the dragon shimmered like the heat waves

across the desert. The beast opened its mouth in a soundless

scream. Its body, starting at its nose, dissolved into a black

mist. Sparkling light flickered among the vapor and

separated from it, sucked in by her son.

Sudden pressure built in Seren’s abdomen. Power flowed

into her from her son’s image. The baby rolled, kicked, and