Authors: Lynda Aicher
“What does it mean?” a deep voice came from around the bend and forced them both to step back farther into the shadows.
She tugged on his hand and motioned forward. He nodded, and they moved in unison over the remaining ground to the curve in the tunnel.
“It’s almost time,” another voice answered, the excitement brimming on the edges.
“Why now?”
“Because we did our job.” Yet another voice, this one thick with a rolling accent. “Our time of groveling in anonymity is almost over. It’s time to celebrate, not question the why.”
Airiana’s gut tightened into a hard little knot of dread. She knew those voices. Beads of perspiration formed on her brow as her body flushed with heat. She inhaled and pushed back the nerves.
Louk tugged on her hand. She looked back at him to see his brow furrowed and head tilted in question much like an inquisitive dog.
She shook her head and turned back to the voices.
The sound of boots crunching over rock was followed by the high pitch of metal rattling. “Damn. It’s still immovable.”
Curiosity forced her to inch forward. She got down on her belly and cautiously poked her head around the bend until she could see into the cavern. Louk was right beside her, laying half on top of her to look.
What she saw sucked the breath out of her and stilled her heart.
The legend was true.
All the stories of her childhood came flooding back to her in undulating waves of horror. Louk inhaled, stiffened, then swore under his breath. He recognized the sight for what it was.
Gog.
Evil incarnate. The Oppressor. The Slanderer. The representative of all things negative.
The one the Shifters served and the Energen feared.
Curled up behind a large barred metal cage, the dragon lay in apparent slumber. It was large, over twelve feet long with red scales and deadly spikes riding down its spine to the tip of its barbed tail. Its head was haloed in fine, yellow-orange hair that tufted up behind its long horns and ran down to garnish his jawline. From its snout, there were two long, tightly coiled threads of hair extending from each side of his nostrils reminiscent of the old Asian mustaches.
Small tendrils of grey smoke floated up from his nose and pushed higher with each exhalation of breath. Sharp, pinpoint claws were evident on the tip of each of its five toes. Five, the sign of royalty—most Shifters had three toes when they shifted into dragon form. Top ranking generals and commanders earned four toes. This was the first dragon she’d ever seen with the infamous fifth toe.
The cage itself sat on an isolated island plateau in the middle of a large, open area. Sheer cliffs dropped straight down from the ledge and descended to a large pit of molten, simmering lava. Flames danced and leaped from the fire pit and explained the sulfur smell that suffocated the space.
Three men stood on a thin ledge around the perimeter of the black, metal cage. The owners of the voices they’d heard. Her gut twisted tighter at the visual confirmation of what she’d already known.
In the middle stood her great grandfather, Tubal. Flanking him on each side were his brothers, Moshech and Rosh. Together, they comprised the Shifter leadership.
“This will be the year.” Rosh inclined his head in confidence. “The years of waiting, of preparation, will finally be over.”
Tubal folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his heels. “It certainly looks that way, but we can’t be too confident.” He reached out and gave one of the bars a good shake. “The bars are still strong right now.”
“But he stirs,” Rosh insisted pointing to the smoke tendrils that lifted from the dragon’s nostrils. “We’ve never seen that before.”
“Do you think he caused the energy buckle?” The third man, Moshech, tipped his head to indicate the dragon.
Tubal shrugged. “It’s a good guess, but we don’t know for certain.” He pushed away from the bar. “The energy blip was certainly strong enough to wake him. But, did he cause it? I have my doubts.”
“Why?”
“It wasn’t centered from here.” Tubal scanned the area. Airiana and Louk quickly pulled their heads back. “And, it had a different vibe to it…something new.”
Louk shot a look of question at her. The energy shift they’d felt was felt by others too? And it was different? How?
“The apocalypse is coming,” Moschech confirmed. “The veil will finally be lifted, and the battle can commence in the open.”
Airiana slowly eased her head back out to watch the men some more. The sick churn of dread festered in her gut. Those men—her relatives, her family—would not stop until they controlled all of the energy on earth. Including their ultimate goal, the human energy.
The Shifters had never been about balance, never preached control or moderation. It was all or nothing. They fostered and cultured the worst energy. The dark, negative energy that festered in the evil and corruption they pushed.
Rosh laughed, a flat, emotionless burst of sound. “When Gog is released, the Energen will be crushed. There are none who can stand against his power. Then the humans will be ours to control. The energy will belong to us.” He pumped his fist in emphasis.
The manic tint to the words sent icy chills over Airiana’s skin. Louk found her hand and squeezed as if he understood what she was feeling. Instantly, the chills were replaced by his heat. The warmth spread through her body and surrounded her soul.
She sighed and closed her eyes, the relief instantaneous. His energy answered her long festering question; she couldn’t be a part of what those men wanted to do.
She felt Louk stiffen, his breath hitched. Her eyes flew open, and she froze.
Across the span, over the dancing flames and harsh rasping echoes, the dragon watched them. His bright emerald eyes glinted against the light, mesmerizing in their clarity. Stunning in the coldness of their depths. They were fathomless pools of misery that look straight to one’s heart and ripped it to pieces without mercy.
And they were focused directly on her.
Airiana stopped breathing. Stopped thinking. Stopped hoping. In that second all optimism was sucked from her and replaced with rank fear.
The darkness invaded, icy cold and immobilizing. The malevolent energy cloaked over her in a smooth blanket of depression. It sucked at her, pulled at the last inclining of security and started its own tune of persuasion. A lure of ancient seduction, ultimate power, unlimited desires fulfilled if she succumbed. If she relinquished herself to the longing, to the festering need to be recognized, she could have it all.
Her dragon, the one on her hand, roared in rejection. Its tail swung in sharp, punishing swipes as it fought against the encroaching energy. It revolted, violently, and released long, scorching breaths of fire and heat in its battle to keep the dark energy at bay.
“Airiana,” the deep voice thundered over the chasm. “What are you doing here?”
She yanked her gaze from the hypnotic eyes of the dragon and saw her great grandfather watching her with eyes just as evil, just as deadly as those of the dragon next to him.
Louk pulled her tight against his hard frame, his arm a band of protection around her shoulders as he tried to yank her away. With his strength came the energy. The power of The Two as it blended together, bound and clashed with the malicious energy that wanted to conquer. To destroy.
Run. Leave. Never return. The words pounded in her brain in time with her heart and reverberated through her body until the truth sunk in and took hold.
With Louk, she was safe. They couldn’t get her. Couldn’t touch her.
She trusted that to be true. But for some reason, she couldn’t pull away. Couldn’t go with Louk even when she knew she should.
The dragon lifted his head and released a raging funnel of fire, orange and red licks of death that snapped and hissed with their intent. They reached across the chasm that separated them and danced with taunting precision before her face. The heat scorched her cheeks, singed her hair, but lured her just the same. Pulled while she pushed.
But, it was stronger than she was and her defenses were crumpling like tin cans in a firing range. The hope of escape dwindled with each leaden beat of her heart until the force was too strong to resist.
Airiana lifted her elbow and gave a sharp sudden crack to Louk’s jaw.
“Fuck!” He swore and jerked away.
In that second, she leapt to her feet and was at the edge of the cliff before he could react. Her breath slowed to match the sluggish rhythm of her heart. The dragon’s gaze held hers and pulled her forward. One step more, that was all it would take.
“
Airiana.
” The sound echoed muted in her mind, but it couldn’t breach the barrier that now encased it. The icy clenches refused to let go and she was too tired to resist. To fight.
Faintly, the rolling sounds of deep, sinister laughter circled her consciousness, but the humor escaped her. Not when everything seemed so bleak. So wrong.
Her leg lifted and came down onto the emptiness of space. Her body fell forward and tumbled off the edge. The fiery air stroked her cheeks, fluttered against her hair and pillowed her body in imaginary softness as she plunged towards the beautiful, swirling molten liquid below.
Chapter Nine
Louk sailed off the cliff seconds after Airiana.
What the Fuck?
He had to reach her. Couldn’t lose her. Not now. Not ever.
Desperation sweated from his pores, his mind a single focus of survival. The heat pressed around him, the flames licked at his body and threatened to ignite it at any second. The sulfur stench ripped through his nostrils and fried his brain with its acidic combustion. But all of that was peripheral to his focus.
Airiana.
He reached out his hand and cushioned the air beneath her. Her body slowed its descent as the element bent to his demands. He commanded the air to hold her, much like he’d done in the silo, only this time it was to save her from the fire pool below. She lay limp and immobile on the pillowed air as he careened closer, his descent continuing at full speed.
A half second later, he crashed into her. His breath gushed out on impact, the force stunning him. But his arms locked around her, his reflexes moving to keep her safe.
Then they were gone.
The faint rumble of a frustrated cry filtered through the energy as he used it to escape. The tingling sensation stroked over his nerve endings in familiarity as he pushed on the force, desperate to get away. To get them to safety.
He could feel their pursuit, the three men that had been with the dragon. They were hunting them, tracking their displaced energy trail as they ported through space. Louk scrambled to think, to define a plan on the run. The men would hunt them until they stopped.
Which left him only one choice.
The compound.
The only place he could go where they wouldn’t be able to enter. The circle surrounding the compound was ancient and impenetrable by anyone outside of the Energen race. Within the five-mile boundaries of the wall was a self-sustaining community that had thrived undetected by humans for thousands of years.
It was the last place he wanted to take Airiana. As a Shifter, she would be in danger there, but at least she would be alive. He would protect her. Keep her safe.
The rest, he would figure out later.
Louk paced at the end of his large bed where Airiana rested. What in the hell had she been thinking? Jumping off the edge of the cliff like some puppet on a string. But then, that was exactly how she had acted. His gut flipped and churned in a bitter pool of anxiety when he thought of how close he’d come to losing her.
It had been over an hour since he’d ported into his bedroom on the compound and settled her on the bed. She hadn’t moved so much as an eyelash since then. Her beautiful body lay limp and deathlike on the top of his duvet. The paleness of her normally bronze skin highlighted against the navy backdrop of the bedcover.
He’d managed to port in without triggering any alarms, but then he shouldn’t have. Despite what it felt like, he’d only been MIA for half a day. Not long enough to raise any warning flags, but he knew the reprieve wouldn’t last for long. Someone would come looking soon. He couldn’t take off while on guard duty without reporting in and expect everyone to just accept it.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
Shit.
He moved to the side of the bed and reached down to lay his hand across her forehead. The energy circled faint and sluggish through her, but it was still there. Barely.
The fear crowded against his heart, making it ache with worry. He rubbed absently at the spot, the feeling foreign to him. Until he’d met Airiana.
Mine.
He lifted his palm from her soft skin and traced his fingers down the side of her face before he pulled them away. She moaned softly when his touch left her and turned her face toward him, blindly reaching for his fingers.
Encouraged, Louk quickly removed his boots and slid onto the bed. He lifted her and shifted until she was positioned in the crook of his arm, her head resting on his chest. Damn, she felt good. Perfect. He had removed her jacket and boots earlier and now she curled into his body as if she was seeking his warmth.
Seeking him.
He pulled her tight and exhaled, the rightness caressing through him. Somewhere in the space of mere hours, his life had taken a right turn and changed forever. He wasn’t letting Airiana go. It didn’t matter who she was, because going forward she was his.
He lifted his free hand and gently pulled the holder from her hair. He ran his fingers through the silky strands until they were spread out over his arm, the ends teasing the exposed skin below the sleeve of his T-shirt. His lips quirked up when no mouse shit fell out. She’d be relieved to know that.
She sighed and arched into him in apparent contentment. His gut tightened and he dropped his head to press a hard kiss to her forehead, the need for her to be okay clambering through him with a force of a tornado. She moaned and shifted again, lifting her face to his in silent need.