Highland Burn (25 page)

“Ye found me, cousin. Took ye long enough,” Marcus taunted, wanting James to lose control and make the first mistake. An unpredictable, out of control dragon was a dead one.

Unfolding his wings, James swept the ground, sending blood-drenched dirt into Marcus’s face. Frantically he wiped his face. But before James could make contact, Marcus heaved his sword above his head and slammed the metal into James’s long neck.

James roared in pain and stumbled back from the deadly blow. Marcus used this to his advantage and quickly approached James, intending to give the final blow. All he had to do was hit the same spot with more force and the beast’s head would be hanging on his wall like a prized trophy.

Cocky and confident, Marcus advanced on James, but failed to see a long, black tail sweep across the ground knocking him on his arse. James stood over Marcus before he could catch his breath and get to his feet.

One giant paw grabbed the betrayer’s neck, talons pinned his neck to the ground like a cage. James lowered his head just inches from Marcus’s. Blood from his wound dripped down his neck and splattered upon Marcus’s face. Hot breath invaded his face as James stared and snarled at him.

Sinister laughter ripped through Marcus. “Cousin, it really doesn’t matter who dies here tonight as long as it’s a dragon who dies." At that moment Marcus’s eyes glowed ice blue with reptilian slits.

Even though James was in dragon form he still had human thoughts inside. Marcus a dragon? Nay, after all these years he would have felt it. Lips peeled back to form a snarl. Not only had Marcus betrayed him; he’d betrayed his Dragonkine brothers. Rage and anger took over reason as he thought of how Marcus had used Abigale and put her in great danger.

“Go ahead, do it, kill me!” Marcus shouted.

~~~~~

Magnus and Rory quickly shifted back into human form after the last archer met his death by dragon. Magnus stopped and observed his surroundings as he felt a prickle of magic slip up his spine. They were closer now to the campsite than before and the stench of death was faint, but enough to tell Magnus that there was much more to this situation then a rescue mission.

“Nay,” Magnus grumbled. “I can’t believe I didnae recognize it sooner."

Rory walked up to Magnus, tucking his tunic into his plaid. “Recognize what?”

Magnus bent down and grabbed a handful of dry earth. “Blood shall awaken the spirits. The king will rise again.”

“Magnus man, ye must stop sputtering in rhymes and riddles. I dinnae understand.”

“Rory, we are on the sacred ground of the ancients. We must hurry. Dragon blood can no be spilled on holy ground.”

A shrill whistle from Magnus called out to their horses. Two warhorses came charging to their masters from the forest. Without hesitation, Magnus grabbed a lock of mane, threw his muscled leg over the horse, and took the reins in his hands. His horse pranced in anticipation, eager to run. “We must make haste. I’ll explain everything soon, but we must stop those fools from killing each other.”

Rory shrugged his shoulders and quickly mounted his horse.

~~~~~

James began to crush Marcus’s neck until Magnus and Rory ran toward them. “James, ye can no kill him! No here,” Magnus yelled. “Ye dinnae understand, if ye kill him Scotland will be destroyed. We will all die.”

James turned his head to look at Magnus as if he didn’t understand what the daft man was saying.

“Let him go, lad. No blood can be spilled.” Magnus challenged James with glowing green eyes. The firmness of Magnus’s voice held true; James didn’t want to fight an elder, but Marcus had put his lady in harm’s way. No way was Marcus leaving this place in one piece, he needed to be punished. One way or the other, a part of the bastard was going to die. He wouldn’t shed his blood here tonight but he could take his dragon, leaving him a mortal human. Which he deserved for betraying him.

Without hesitation, James took his free hand and buried it deep into Marcus’s chest. Marcus’s eyes flew wide open, and he tried desperately to squirm away.

Desperate, Marcus fought to break free, but it was too late; James retrieved his fist from Marcus’s chest and with it his beating dragon heart. Marcus screamed in defeat.

James released his talons and backed away. No dragon ever enjoyed seeing a Dragonkine’s essence destroyed. Every Dragonkine warrior standing by could feel Marcus’s loss.

Marcus stood and gripped his chest. “Ye have always thought ye were better than everyone else haven’t ye? He spat at James’s feet. "Ye take what ye want and do no care about anyone but yerself.”

James stood, nostrils flared as he fought back the urge to singe him to ash.

Magnus’s voice broke their stare down. “Marcus, ye need to leave well enough alone. Ye are now banished from Scotland. If we see ye here, we will stop at nothing to hunt ye down and kill ye,” Magnus stated grimly.

~~~~~

Marcus looked around the campsite. There was no signs of the Creepers anywhere. Strange, he thought, why didn’t they help him now? Together, they could slaughter these dragons and fulfill his destiny. Where were they?

“Exiled?” He spat. Being as he’d felt like Scotland had never really opened her arms to him nor his Dragonkine brethren, he laughed. After years of feeling like a failure, he'd cloaked himself as human thinking mayhap he could find acceptance as one. But history could not be erased; he could never forget what the humans had done to his king. In truth, it was because of these vile humans that his life had never been lived to its fullest potential. And wasn’t it ironic how his own people called him the traitor, when in fact it was the humans that had betrayed Dragonkine.

The Earth had shifted now, he could feel it. He would right the wrong and soon, verra soon, his kingdom would rise again.

Showing the Dragonkine no signs of weakness, even though he felt every last drop of energy slowly fading, Marcus climbed up on his horse and clucked him into a run as he fled the site.

The path he chose to take took him high into the cold snow-covered mountains deep in the Highlands. No one would venture up there, nor would the bite of the frigid weather chill his bones; ice now replaced his warm blood.

Strength was fading fast and he began to feel faint. He released his hands from his chest. To his surprise, his hand was covered in blood.
Blood?
he thought. When James had taken his dragon heart there was no blood that he’d noticed, but as he looked down into the white snow, a trail of crimson followed him.

His body went limp, causing him to fall off his mount and into a cushion of powdery snow. As he lay there looking up into the sky, flurries covered his face.
Blood has been shed, now hasn’t it?
Marcus grinned in triumph as his world slowly filled with darkness. Perhaps enough blood had been shed.

Chapter 23

Danger and delight grow on one stalk. ~ Scottish Proverb

“Let me go, Conall. I must see him.” Abigale squirmed in Conall’s arms.

“Nay, my lady. James does no want you to see him like this.”

“I can no stay hidden while Marcus and those creatures kill James. Dragon or not, I must stop him. He will listen to me.”

“I’m afraid I can no let you.” Conall struggled to gain control of the feisty lass. “Settle down or I’ll have to tie ye to a tree.”

Finally Abigale came to her senses and settled, for she was no match for the six-foot-five, hulking warrior.

Conall released her. “See, much better. Promise ye’ll stay put?”

“Aye.” Abigale humphed and paced a short distance, thinking of a way to get past Conall. They were only a few feet away, she could run back to James before he caught her. At least she hoped she could.

“I’ll be right back.” Conall walked behind a thicket of shrubs.

When it dawned on her what he was doing, she saw the perfect opportunity to run while Conall hid behind the shrubs to relieve himself. Well… aye, she did promise to stay put, but James needed her. Surely, Conall would find it in his heart to forgive a little trickery. She uncrossed her fingers and took off toward the campsite.

Conall walked back to the spot where he’d left Abigale. He was busy looking down at his trews as he finished tying them and said, “James will be fine.” When no one answered him, he looked up. “Bloody hell!” She was gone. Quickly, Conall took off after Abigale. Since he knew exactly where she was going, it wouldn’t take long to find her. He had to catch her before she reached James.

As Abigale arrived at the camp, Conall caught up to her and grabbed her arm, stopping her from going to James. The commotion attracted the massive black dragon’s attention. A deep throaty growl came from the dragon and Conall released her. Relief that James was alive overshadowed her fear and she slowly approached the big beast.

As Abigale got closer, she fought back the urge to run. Never had she seen a dragon before and quite frankly it scared her to death. Pure, raw power radiated off him and the mere size of the beast would cause anyone’s heart to stop. Now she understood why James wanted to shelter her from this side of him. Still, inside that dragon lived the man she loved.

Hot air puffed out of the dragon’s nostrils as if to calm his nerves. With his head lowered, he gently stepped toward her.

When the dragon was within reaching distance, Abigale placed her shaking hand on its soft velvety nose. Funny, she thought it would be rough. Gaining more confidence, she trailed her hand over his jawline and was amazed how gentle this beast was. She turned her auburn head from side to side, admiring how beautiful this creature was.

The dragon nudged his head gently up against Abigale’s chest craving more of her touch. Indeed he did, for she swore she heard him purr when she ran her fingers down his neck. He wrapped his tail around Abigale’s waist and pulled her closer. She smiled; she knew this dragon was harmless, after all it was James that watched her when she looked in his swirling amber eyes.

A clap of thunder shook the earth, breaking their embrace. Misty rain fell from the heavens and lightning flickered in the distance. Just like a quick reflex, James unfolded one of his massive black wings over Abigale’s head, shielding her from the storm. Startled, more from the loud thunder than from the dragon, she moved closer, tucking herself beside his neck. Droplets of rain beaded against his skin as she watched the water pour off his wings. As terrifying as this beast was; he was gentle as a kitten.

The wind blew and a cold mist of rain pelted her causing her to shiver. Knowing they would have to find shelter soon, she looked up at James to tell him just that, when she noticed blood trickling down his neck from what looked like a deep gash. “Ye’re hurt," she said with concern.

Naturally, the surgeon in her took over and she began to examine the severity of the cut. She ran her fingers around the wound then, as though she thought herself daft, she heard James’s voice vibrating through her head. “I’m alright, my
bel ange
.” A shudder rippled through her. She could hear him, yet his lips didn’t move. It was as though he was inside of her, talking. Puzzled she took a step back and said, “I can hear ye in my thoughts.”

“Aye, through mind speak,” James said.

“Mind speak?” Now Abigale knew she must have bumped her head.

“Aye, it’s through our bond that ye can hear me.”

“Magic,” she whispered with amazement. “Aye, some kind of magic.”

James began to growl when Magnus approached them. Even though he treaded softly, dragons were extremely possessive of their mates and would not hesitate to kill another if they appeared to be a threat. “James, no need to fash yerself but we need to get the lady oot of the rain before she catches her death.” With ease, James lowered his head and gave Abigale a nudge toward Magnus. “He’s right. Go with Magnus and I’ll be right behind ye."

”My lady, Rory has found us shelter from the rain. Come now we must go. James will follow shortly.” Magnus said.

Abigale took one last look at her dragon and then followed Magnus to shelter.

~~~~~

Magnus and Rory stood guard near the entrance of the cave, giving Abigale privacy to shed her wet clothes. She wrapped herself up in a plaid and was now spreading her wet garments over a boulder near the fire Conall had built for her. As he tended to the fire, he didn’t look happy with her, for she had lied to him. “Forgive me Conall, I—“

“Aye, I would have done much worse if my love was in danger. So no need for forgiveness my lady. James on the other hand, may have an issue with it. He didnae want ye to see his dragon.” Conall placed a dry piece of wood on the flames. "Here, sit down and warm yerself. James will be here soon.”

“Thank ye Conall. I can see why James trusts ye. Ye’re a good man.” Abigale smiled and took a seat next to the fire.

Conall nodded and joined his fellow Dragonkine.

As the fire warmed her cold body, she felt guilty that Magnus, Rory and Conall were still wet and cold. “There’s plenty of room next to the fire if ye care to join me.” Abigale called out.

“Nay my lady. James would rip our eyes out of their sockets if he caught us even looking at ye with no clothes on,” Rory replied over his shoulder.

“Don’t be silly. I’m wrapped up.”