Fate Of The Minotaur (Her Dragon's Bane 5) (8 page)

So full. He lay still, his cock deep inside her, his mouth soft on hers. Around his hard length, her sex held him tight, a sheath so snug it was as if they were made for each other. When he began to move again the friction was almost too much. Her inner walls, already sensitive from where he had fingered her to her first orgasm, now threatened to cause a meltdown of sensations in her brain.

Her hands stroked his skin, her fingertips pressing into him to urge him on, as his thrusts became harder. In and out, her small cries gaining in pitch with each thrust. Fin leveraged his body and pulled so far out of her, that only the head of his cock remained, and then he thrust hard back into her, forcing her up the bed. His hand went under her bottom, and when he repeated the thrust, he held her still, making her take the whole thick length of him. It was as if he wanted to split her in two, but she yielded to him, her sex stretching to take him.

Her orgasm grew, she tilted her pelvis up and took what he had to offer, her clit stimulated with each thrust of his hips as his body brushed against her. Then he came, his thick cock spurting deep inside her, filling her with his essence. Her own orgasm hit her, her sex contracting, drawing her seed deep inside her womb. Would it be possible for her to conceive his child, or was she too ordinary for such a mythical beast? As he impaled her again and again on his cock, all thought of children escaped her, replaced by an earth-shattering orgasm that only this big hunk of flesh could ever give her. No man could ever match the way Fin made her feel.

He tried to fill her completely, his lunges now short jabs into her wet sex as he released the final part of his seed. She gasped breathlessly under him, not wanting any of this to end. Because once it did they would have to return to reality, and that reality was fraught with danger of the blood-sucking kind.

At first she didn’t move; he simply lay inside her, his face turned away. She allowed him the time he needed to compose himself, knowing that he had revealed more to her in these last few hours than he probably had in the whole of his life before. Sybil didn’t have the words to tell him that it was the same for her, that she had shied away from people for so long, kept herself away from humanity so to avoid looking at herself as different. Now, she had found someone who was as different as she was. And she felt as if she had found her soul mate. The one she could trust and depend on over all others.

“Fin,” she said at last. “How did you find me?”

He moved off her to lie beside her, his arm possessively draped over her. “Tara.”

“Tara knows that I came here?”

“Yes.”

“So she knows what is going to happen?”

“No. She can only see it from our side. Not the vampires. She doesn’t know your prophecy. Although I told her what you told me. It seemed right.”

“And she let me come? Do I die here?” she asked quickly. “And surely she wouldn’t have sent you if she thought you would die here.”

“Tara is a selfish creature. But I do not think she would send us to our deaths. I believe she made sure I came here to save you. You have to remember that she has lived with her gift, and been alone because of it, just like you. So I think she will make sure you live.”

“Did she tell you how it would end?”

“After I told her about your dream, she thought for a moment. Then she said she had preparations to make.”

“Preparations?”

“Who knows with Tara? The best we can do is deal with this vampire. Are you sure you can trust him?”

“Yes. In my dream, another vampire killed him, and then the vampires fell to their knees to follow a vampire who goes on to enslave the whole of the human race. I don’t think I need to embellish that statement: needless to say, there is a lot of blood and a lot of deaths.”

“And by helping this
Lord
Angus, this will change?”

“I don’t know. I mean, it will change, but I don’t know if it will be enough to quench the uprising against humans.”

“I wonder if this vampire who kills Angus is the same one who tried to break the truce with the dragons.”

“I don’t know. I’m not like Tara; my gift only works when it wants to.”

He kissed her head. “You should rest. I’ll keep watch over you.”

“But you’ll be tired too.”

“I will not sleep while that blood sucker is in the same house. He might be the better of two evils, but he is still evil.”

She kissed his cheek, “I love you, Fin.”

He hesitated, and she thought he wasn’t going to return her declaration, but when he did say, “I love you too,” it was with a voice so choked with emotion she wondered how he had ever got a single word out at all.

Resting her head on his chest, she closed her eyes and slept. Only to wake in seeming minutes, yet the house was bathed in twilight, the warmth of the sun already gone from the sky. The only way to tell was from the soft light on the shutter.

“Did I sleep that long?” she asked Fin.

“No. Dusk, comes early to Hollowton. By witchcraft or otherwise, the sun is not welcome here. Now you’re awake we should go downstairs, wait for Angus, and then find out the plan.”

She got out of bed stiffly. “I wish we could just go back to my little cottage and make love. I worry I will never see it again.”

“You will, Sybil. I will protect you with every last breath in my body.”

“That is what worried me, Fin. I don’t want to live with your death on my conscience; I want to live with you forever by my side in life.”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of allowing the blood suckers to kill me.”

They dressed in silence, both lost to what was to come. Then he took her hand and they went to the door, pulling it open to find Lord Angus waiting at the top of the stairs.

“You’re up at last. Come, we must make haste. You said tonight will be the night of the attack?”

“Yes,” Sybil answered.

“Then there is little time to lose. Night will be upon us. I have been thinking over what you said. And if the force against me is to be made bigger with vampires from Christon, then it stands to reason it will not happen at first dark. That gives us some small window of time.”

He reached the bottom of the stairs before Sybil and Fin had time to reach the first stair, then he set to opening the door. As the half-light spilled in, giving the grand hallway an eerie glow, the realisation that they were about to go out and walk among vampires hit Sybil.

“Is it safe? For us.”

“You are my guests; anyone making a move to harm you will be dealt with severely. We still uphold some manners and customs. Thankfully.” With that, he stepped outside, and Sybil and Fin had no choice but to follow. However, both of them thought they would be so much safer behind that bolted door than out here in the town full of the undead.

Barely had they stepped outside of the house, when the first newcomer arrived, hissing at them, especially when he saw Fin’s wooden stake. Angus seemed to stare into the vampire’s soulless body and make him do his bidding. Sybil realised they had underestimated the power Lord Angus had over the other vampires. More than ever, she knew they had to keep him alive.

Lord Angus moved fast. Fin could match him stride for stride, but Sybil had to jog to keep up. By the time they reached the place they were heading to, a large Victorian building with a few vampires talking outside, her chest was heaving with breathlessness. A sight that excited the vampires, and not perhaps for the reason it excited Fin. No, these were looking at the place where her heart thumped in her chest, and more than one of them licked its lips. Sybil simply shuddered in disgust and reached for Fin’s comforting hand.

“You have brought us a meal, Lord Angus. You always provide for us.”

“These are my guests, they are not food. They bring me tidings of an imminent invasion from our brothers in Christon.”

A round of hissing and low growls rang out. It appeared that the term “brothers” was very loose, even contemptible.

“Tell us where to find them and we will meet them with force? This is our territory,” one of them bellowed.

“One of us has rallied them to his aid,” Lord Angus continued when the jeering subsided.

“Winston. It will be that traitor’s heart of his, out for revenge.”

“You have guessed well, Simon. He plans to use one of our own against us. I have a spy in their midst, and Winston has discovered this. He is to be killed, unless we strike first.”

More hisses. “To strike first would be to start a war.”

“The war is already started. Winston has already tried, and failed, to break the truce between us and the dragons.”

“No. The truce has lasted for centuries. No one would be stupid enough to break it.”

The discussion raged on, Sybil turned to Fin and asked, “Why do they fear the dragons?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea.”

But with a sudden downdraft of air, they were about to find out. For behind them, along with a smug-looking Tara, landed the dragons. All seven of them had come to play their part in this war.

The hissing amongst the vampires rose to fill the air: some angry, some afraid.

“The Lord Angus has betrayed us,” a voice shouted.

Lord Angus turned to look in awe at the big beasts before him. Then he looked at Sybil. “Have you betrayed me?” he asked, his red eyes dancing in the darkness.

“No.” She shook her head, staring at these wondrous beasts, which she had only ever seen flying in the distance.

Tara slid down and approached Angus. If she felt fear, she certainly did not show it. “I believe you need assistance, Lord Angus.”

His eyes narrowed but it did nothing to dim the flames burning there. “And is that what you offer?”

“Yes. The dragons have come to honour the truce. I believe somewhere in the small print we are allowed to join in with you in a battle if Hollowton is under siege. It was written so long ago, though, the edges are a little blurred.”

Lord Angus smiled. “I believe I remember that clause. I would be honoured to have you by my side.”

Tara smiled and held out her hand. “Excuse me if I don’t make the pact in blood. It might get you all so very excited.”

“That would be a good idea. Do you know the prophecy that Sybil here has seen?”

“Some. Fin kindly relayed it to me. I cannot read your kind,” she said, “You are very lucky that your fates are not excluded from Sybil’s gift.”

“Very lucky, “Angus murmured, casting an eye over Sybil and giving her a faint smile. “She is truly brave to have come to my aid alone. And I believe I have you to thank for sending Fin.”

“He is to remain by her side.”

“Agreed. Or would it be best if they seek refuge now that you’re here?”

It was the first time that he had agreed to let Sybil leave. She hoped that she could go somewhere safe and take Fin with her. Tara, however, answered, “No. They must stay.”

Sybil felt her heart sink. And when Tara and Angus walked off to the dragons, Angus looking diminished in front of such fearsome beasts, she turned to Fin and said, “Why can’t we leave?”

“I don’t know. But there will be a reason, have no doubt.”

“But we would be safe.”

“And things might go wrong. Charlotte always told me that Tara does what needs to be done for the outcome to come out right.”

“For who?” Sybil asked.

He kissed her quickly, pulling her close to him. “I will not let anything happen to you.”

“To us.”

“To us,” he agreed.

Within minutes, a large group of vampires had arrived, swelling the numbers considerably. Sybil wondered if they had already altered her prophecy; it was such a shame there wasn’t an update button. She envied Tara her ability to be able to examine different outcomes. For her there was only one.

Lord Angus returned to them. “Tara said you should fall back to the dragons. Winston approaches, and the dragons are going to stay hidden for now. I will see you later, to thank you properly. If I survive,” he said wryly.

“Good luck, Lord Angus.”

Lord Angus moved through the crowd. They parted to allow him right of way and then gathered around to follow him. Sybil followed Fin to where Tara stood among the great, fiery mythical creatures. Events were about to unfold: Why did he feel such a sense of dread?

“Will it turn out alright?” Sybil asked Tara.

“If you mean will the right vampire be victorious, then yes.” She looked at Fin and something passed in front of her eyes, making Sybil afraid.

“And will we survive?”

“We will all live,” Tara said, yet turned before she could meet Sybil’s eyes.

Sybil felt cold dread seize her. She swore to protect Fin, as he had sworn to protect her. Before she could speak to him, a shout from some way off signalled trouble had begun. The dragons began to stamp with impatience. They wanted to go to war.

“Look at them,” said Tara. “So eager. They haven’t had to fight for so long; it was all I could do to restrain them from coming here at once when I told them of the battle. And there was me thinking I would have to persuade them to fight.”

“Aren’t they going to join yet?”

“Oh, no. That is just a skirmish, which Angus will control. The real battle will begin soon enough, though. Here, Fin. I brought you a sword to use too. It has wood through the centre of it, so it works like a wooden stake but slices like a sword. I found it in the archives at the Stronghold. You would be surprised what they have squirreled away in there.”

“Thank you,” he said, examining the blade.

Sybil simply felt sick; she wanted to grab his hand and run, as far and as fast as she could. But she couldn’t outrun the prophecy. And she had to trust in the other people standing with her. For the first time ever, she felt part of something bigger than herself rather than an observer. Taking her courage in both hands, she reached for the wooden stake in Fin’s belt.

“Just in case,” she said.

“Oh, yes. Here, I brought a few,” Tara went to one of the dragons, the biggest of them all, and reached into a bag slung onto one of his spikes. The dragon gave her a look of contempt, but Tara just smiled sweetly. “He hates me using him as a pack horse; he thinks it’s degrading.”