Men of Anderas II: Dak the Protector (30 page)

Dak turned to face the black cloth and
closed his eyes. He opened his mind feeling for the vibrations
prickling against his skin. He tried to let her feel what the
strange vibrations did to him.

Kierin gasped in his mind.
It’s something
made from the same stone that I used on you. Something capable of
such a strong vibration has to be massive. Can you describe it to
me?”

“
I can’t see anything more than a basic
square shape, covered by that black cloth. It’s about half the size
of one of the stalls in the stable.”

“
Goddess, protect us,”
she whispered.
“Dak, certain types of black cloth can block or absorb the power
of crystals. For you to be feeling those vibrations, the charge is
extremely powerful. Draagon must have used his man-made crystal to
charge it. It’s the only answer.”

“
I thought you had the only man-made
crystal.”

“
That was my assumption, as well. Someone
else created one but it’s not pure. It’s murky and flawed. Draagon
wears it around his neck.”

“
That’s not good, Little Witch. What are
we dealing with here?”

“
I don’t know, but if an animal--even the
largest predator--got caught in that energy it would be incapable
of thought or movement. It would die within hours.”

“
I don’t think he’s going hunting,
baby.”

“
I see two buildings and a stable. I
think we’ve reached your location.”

“
Be careful, my love.”

Dak forced himself to breathe deep and slow.
Whatever Draagon had planned was about to start. He needed to be
focused and grounded. If an opportunity for escape presented itself
he had to be ready.

Thirty minutes later, Draagon, Kierin and
Jud entered the room.

“I do hope your accommodations meet with
your approval,
Lord Dak
.” Draagon smirked and pulled Kierin
across the floor until they stood in front of Dak. “See, dear one,”
he stroked the side of Kierin’s face and laughed when Dak growled.
“I promised I wouldn’t kill your lover. I will even allow you one
final embrace.”

Jud lowered the chain until Dak’s arms
dropped around Kierin. She lifted herself up and kissed him with
all the love in her heart. Her cry of despair echoed his when Jud
yanked his arms back above his head.

“Come, Lady Kierin. I’m sure you would like
to freshen up before the evening meal. Jud will show you to your
room. He will escort you back here in one hour. Do not be late,
dear one. I abhor tardiness and tend to be quite … harsh in
retaliation. Do you understand?”

“As you wish, Lord Draagon.” She followed
Jud without looking back at Dak.

Draagon waited until she and Jud disappeared
up the stairs before turning his attention to Dak.

“I haven’t quite figured out how you fit
into this situation.” He pulled a chair closer to Dak but made sure
to stay well out of reach of Dak’s long legs. “Are you merely the
stud she used to get pregnant or are you her bonded mate? It really
makes no difference to me since your death would cancel out the
mated-for-life
issue. So, tell me, Lord Beldon Dak, just
what are you to
my
fiancé?”

“Why would I bond to her? Because of her
lies and her cursed bits of rock I can never return to Anderas. To
impregnate an unapproved woman is a death sentence. She’s just a
hot piece of ass.”

Draagon slammed a fist into Dak’s stomach.
“You must never speak so disrespectfully of Lady Kierin.
I
can call her the slut that she is but no one else has that right.
Your claim does guarantee you stay alive. At least for as long as
she
lives. As soon as I can rid her of the brat in her
belly, I’ll plant my own seed. The child will be the beginning of
my dynasty. Tsk. Tsk, Lord Dak. Your eyes give you away. Despite
your hatred of me, I will never allow you close enough to follow
through with the promise in your glare.”

Draagon rose and headed for the door.
“Please excuse me while I arrange for a quiet supper for my fiancé.
I insist that you join us.”

Dak shook with the force of his rage. He had
to get control. Anger was a greater enemy than Draagon himself.
Breathing deep and slow, Dak shifted the small rock from between
his cheek and gum. Kierin slipped it into his mouth when she kissed
him.

“
You forgot to leave instructions for the
rock, love. Although, I enjoyed the delivery method very
much.”

“
I told you what it was while I was
kissing you. Quit joking around. We don’t have much time.”

“
Kierin, I swear I heard nothing when we
kissed.”

“
That is extremely disturbing. It must
have something to do with whatever is under the black cover. That
means we won’t be able to communicate when I come back downstairs.
It’s a sliver of the outlawed crystal and it works like a key, Dak.
A very special key. It doesn’t open anything is …
changes
things. Metal, rope, wood, anything you focus will
mutate
, is the best way to describe it. Metal turns soft and
formless; fibers separate and ravel. Even flesh can be affected. My
father never used it but he thought it would work on practically
any item. Rather quickly, I think.”

“
Handy tool to have around--if it works.
How do I turn it on?”

“
Like any other key. Jud is knocking on
the door.”

Great. A
key
that would set him free
but he can’t get his hands on it. He’d have to think of something
besides spitting it at the hook holding him suspended from the
ceiling.

A squad of guards carried a large dining
table and matching chairs into the room. Within minutes the table
was covered with a snowy white cloth and set with fine china and
crystal. Draagon stood at the open doorway waiting for Jud to reach
the bottom of the staircase with Kierin. As soon as she was seated
at the table, Jud took up his position by the door and monitored
the men serving dinner.

“Jud, please release our guest so he may
join us.”

Jud released the chain but stepped close to
Dak and lowered his voice to a whisper. “If you so much as flinch
in the wrong direction, my blade will separate your head from your
neck.”

Dak was too busy trying to figure out how he
was going to eat with a rock in his mouth to pay any attention to
Jud’s threats. As it turned out, he worried for nothing. Draagon
released him and allowed him to sit at the table but didn’t untie
his hands or offer him food. As a subtle form of torture it was
effective.

Blood rushing back into his hands was
excruciating but his fingers were beginning to work again. Dak
began to cough. Nothing big at first just a glorified clearing of
his throat. When he worked up to a full blown cough, he covered his
mouth with his hands.

“Must you do that at the table?” Draagon
demanded. “It’s disgusting.”

“Sorry.” Dak apologized between coughs.
“Haven’t had anything to drink since early this morning. My throat
is dry.”

“Jud, bring him water. There is much to be
discussed tonight and I can’t have him interrupting me.”

Dak swallowed the cool water and sat back to
enjoy looking at Kierin. When she blushed and smiled at him,
Draagon exploded.

“I knew you lied!” He grabbed Kierin and
pulled her to the center of the room.

Dak jumped up, ready to go to her when Jud
slammed him back into the chair and held him there. Kierin shook
her head warning him to stay calm.

“You’re as deceitful as my mother!” He
snarled, grabbing the corner of the black cloth and jerking it to
the floor. “We share the same father! Our combined genius will be
unstoppable! Your womb will start an empire but YOU MUST LEARN TO
FOLLOW THE RULES!”

“You’re insane.” Kierin whispered in
horror.

The pulsing vibration flared through the
room from a cage made of the same white crystal Dak destroyed so
many months ago. Before he realized what Draagon was doing, he’d
thrown Kierin into the cage and slammed the door. It was like
watching someone pull the power source from a robot. One minute she
fought against Draagon’s grip on the door and the next she
slithered to the floor and closed her eyes.

Dak struggled against Jud’s hold and focused
all his energy on the sliver of rock in his hand. Jud screamed when
his hands, arms and chest disappeared in a cloud of white ash. He
was dead before he hit the floor. Dak leaped across the body aiming
the rock at Draagon.

Draagon screamed and grabbed for his amulet
as it fell to the floor at his feet. Kierin’s tiny sliver had
melted the chain into a gummy lump of metal. Refusing to surrender,
Draagon gave a malignant grin and kicked the stone into the cage
with Kierin. The shock wave knocked both men to the floor.

“You have about thirty seconds, Anderan,
until the second wave triggers an explosion and kills her. Are you
going to come after me or save her?”

Dak roared his frustration and outrage.
There was no choice to be made. Slipping the tiny piece of crystal
into his pocket, he yanked the door of the cage open; pulled Kierin
into his arms and ran from the building. He had to get as far away
as possible before the explosion.

Draagon and his remaining Phantom Riders
were disappearing into the mountains behind the encampment when the
cage exploded. Running in the opposite direction, Dak forced his
body to move faster. The shock wave knocked him to the ground.
Twisting to cushion her limp body, he quickly rolled until his body
covered Kierin’s unconscious form, protecting her from the falling
debris. When everything settled, he gathered the crystal witch in
his arms.

“Come on, baby. Wake up. Can you hear me,
Little Witch? You will not die on me!” Dak breathed a heavy sigh of
relief when he felt the steady beat of her heart. What if Draagon’s
cage caused permanent damage? They were days away from any medical
assistance. He couldn’t even think about what all that energy did
to the baby.

“
Come on, love. Open your eyes. Talk to
me. We’re safe. I had to let Draagon escape or lose you. Please,
Kierin, come back to me.”

“
Why would I go anywhere without
you?”

“By the Beard of the Prophet, don’t scare me
like that!” He cradled her against his chest and buried his face in
her hair. “I thought I lost you.” He whispered softly.

Kierin wrapped her arms around his neck and
squeezed. “Never, my dearest heart. Not even death will separate
us.”

“Let’s go home, Little Witch.”

Epilogue

40 Years Later

“This is much better than the controlled
chaos of the palace, my love.”

Settling his tall frame against the trunk of
the massive tree behind him, Dak smiled, a deep sigh of peace
filling his lungs. He started every morning the same way--sitting
beside Kierin’s grave and watching the sun rise.

“Now that Talon and Shadow have returned,
Melodie has declared a holiday. She and JarDan are happiest when
the palace overflows with friends, family and children.”

Gazing out over the lush valley it was hard
to imagine the cold winter season would soon be upon them.

“Look, little witch,” he whispered. “The sun
is beginning to rise above Falcon Tor.”

Another deep sigh swelled his thick chest.
“I have lost count of the sunrises I have witnessed on a score of
planets. Only here, on Anderas, has such a simple occurrence the
power to bring tears to a man's eyes.”

In quiet solitude, he watched the glowing
golden orb turn the clouds from deep amethyst to soft pink to
blazing white against a cerulean sky.

“When JarDan and I were young, this hill was
our kingdom and this tree our castle.” Dak gazed fondly at the
massive spread of leaves and branches above his head. It would take
three grown men to reach around the thick trunk. “But you already
know how fond I am of this place.”

Pushing his childhood memories to their
place in his heart, Dak turned with a smile. “You have not met
Cordell’s young daughter. Her beauty will one day cause her father
much grief, I have no doubt. Although she’s still an infant at her
mother's breast, she has a way of looking at you … as if … she can
see into your soul.” Shrugging a broad shoulder, he grinned. “She
reminds me of you.”

Memories flashed before his eyes, scenes of
the short lifetime he shared with his crystal witch.

“It is time, little witch.” His ragged
whisper was barely audible beyond the shelter of the ancient tree.
With trembling fingers he pulled the amulet from beneath his tunic,
lifting it over his head. The long, slender crystal pulsed faintly
in the early morning light.

“I have kept my vow.” Emotion tightened his
throat. “I returned to Falcon Tor and brought our children.” He
swallowed hard against the pain in his chest.

“You would be proud of them, Kierin. They
have found good mates. Cordell’s babe makes eleven grandchildren
and I suspect Anne is pregnant again.”

Brushing the fallen leaves from the cool
stone beside him, he gazed at the only physical remains of his
crystal witch. His wife. His heart. His very soul.

“For all their numbers and the love they
freely share, I am alone without you.” Tears dropped unheeded
against the pale marble. When he could once again speak past his
pain, Dak lowered his still powerful body until it covered the
grave. Gripping the crystal amulet in his hand, he stretched his
arms across the slight mound of grass, seeking an embrace he hadn't
felt in almost thirty years.

“I cannot bear this loneliness,” he
whispered. “Keep your promise, Kierin. Please. Come for me, little
witch … come for me.” His whispers filled the morning stillness as
he raised the crystal and plunged the sharp end into the ground
beneath him.