The Fate of Her Dragon (4 page)

She’d never heard him sound
so…
human
. Still thinking about what Rayne had said, Alicia jumped when
her mother grabbed her hand and started to speak. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare
you, sweetheart,” Sarah Beth chuckled then suddenly becoming serious, she
added, “the Commander is right. You have to believe. Keep talking to him.
You’re all he has until he can once again see daylight.”

“I know, Mom, but it’s hard.
I’m scared. What if we can’t save him? What if
I
can’t save him?”

“You just have to believe,
Alicia. You just have to believe.”

But is that enough?

Chapter Five

Drago had absolutely no idea
what had happened. One minute he was talking to his mate and the next…
she
was gone
. Not like all the other times when he’d known she was asleep or
he’d been too tired to project across the miles to reach her. No, this time was
different. He knew Alicia was still breathing but other than that, essentially,
she was nowhere to be found. He’d called and called but to no avail. There was
just a mass of dead air screaming its ugly silence back at him.

Feeling more trapped than he
had in all his hundred years of captivity, the Guardsman and his dragon gave in
to their combined feelings of inadequacy and roared. Drago pushed all his anger
and frustration into that earth shaking shout of frustration. Feeling helpless
was not something the Assassin easily accepted. It was something he fought
every day of his captivity but now, without the feel of the woman who had come
to mean so much to him in such a short amount of time, he felt lost and
completely alone.

Shaking his head the best he
could against the silver shackle that anchored his neck to what he feared had
become his casket, Drago searched for the calm he’d instilled in all the
Guardsmen he’d ever trained. It was imperative he focus. He had to keep calling
to Alicia. He had to fight against the flood of pain and agony from almost a
hundred years of captivity threatening to drown him. She was his lifeline, and
there was no way in heaven or hell he was giving up without a fight. His mate
would save him. He would survive. They would be together.

With those exact words
forming a mantra in his mind, Drago summoned all his strength and that of the
great beast with which he shared his soul and shouted with all his might to his
mate. “
Alicia! Alicia,
mo chroi’,
where are you? What is happening?”

He continued for several long
minutes, pausing every so often to listen for the reply he prayed would come,
but over and over, his hopes were dashed. Drago was left exhausted and aching
without so much as a whisper from Alicia.

“I have to rest. If only for
a moment.” He spoke out loud for the first time in more years than he could
remember. The scratchy, broken echo of his voice was a sad reminder of all the
time he’d lost buried in the ground, kept from the ones he’d sworn to
protect…kept from the ones he loved.

Drifting in and out of
consciousness, Drago continued to call to Alicia through their ever-growing
mating bond. He knew it was a weak attempt but he couldn’t give up, couldn’t
give into the temptation to sleep even though it pulled at every fiber of his
being. Taking a deep breath, his chest expanded against yet another set of
silver chains the
Dorcha
had placed to keep him prisoner, but this time,
his constraints felt tighter, almost as if they’d somehow constricted against
his torn and broken flesh.

Sure it was his imagination
playing tricks, Drago tested the shackles at his wrists and ankles. He shook
his head, unable to believe what he felt. It seemed impossible since he’d only
ever been able to move a few scant inches, but they too had tightened and
restricted his movement even more than they had before. It was at that precise
moment he realized every time he swallowed his Adam’s apple rubbed against the
thick, silver collar around his neck. The smell of burning flesh filled his
cell. Not only were his restraints tightening but now they were starting to
burn.

Is it not enough that
silver eats away at dragon’s flesh? Now, it is on fire too? Dear Universe,
please let Alicia make it in time.

For the first time since
being placed in his prison, the cold, dark tendrils of doubt began to fill the
Assassin’s mind. He questioned the ability of Alicia and her and family to help
him. He questioned the loyalty of his nephew and those his mate had said Rayne
commanded to assist in his rescue. It was totally out of character, but for the
only time in his life, Drago questioned his sanity and his strength.

Maybe I’ve finally lost my
mind. Maybe this was all a fantasy. Maybe Alicia was all a figment of my very
tired, very weak imagination. After all, this is what the bastards wanted. They
wanted me suffer. They wanted me to weaken. They wanted me to spend eternity in
a hole in the ground without one shred of hope.

Twisting his hands and feet
and turning his head to the side in an attempt to relieve even a second of the
pressure and pain his bonds were inflicting, the Guardsman felt a slight shift
in the earth around his tomb. Holding his breath and his body completely still,
Drago prayed to feel the sensation again. Heartbeat after heartbeat he waited
to experience even the tiniest movement, if for no other reason than to reassure
himself he hadn’t gone completely mad.

Deciding his imagination was
once again playing tricks, Drago attempted to turn his head in the opposite
direction, only to find the shackle around his neck had tightened again, making
all movement impossible. One by one, he tested every shackle and chain, only to
find the same was true at every point. They had tightened so much he was unable
to move at all. It was uncomfortable and frustrating to have lost even the tiny
range of motion he’d come to rely on, but what worried him the most was the way
the mass of silver around his chest and torso restricted his ability to draw
all but a shallow breath.

Drago remembered the words of
the
Grand Draoi
as the Assassin drew on his years of training and
experience to control his breathing and keep his muscles lax…

“You are no match for the
Darkness that will rule the earth. Dragon kin will be destroyed and we will be
victorious. Enjoy the rest of your very long life knowing I won.”

The Assassin had always
believed the evil wizard meant for him to live forever knowing they were still
wielding their offending magic over the world he’d committed his life to
protecting. Drago knew from Alicia, if she hadn’t been part of his growing
imagination, that dragon kin was still alive and thriving. It was one of the
few things he had to be thankful for, along with the beautiful woman the
Universe had created just for him. But maybe the Guardsman had been wrong.
Maybe his time was now coming to an end.

Drawing another shallow
breath, Drago stopped. There it was again and this time, he knew he wasn’t
going insane. The earth around his prison had shifted. Unfortunately, almost
simultaneously, his constraints once again tightened.

That’s it! It has to be
what’s happening. It’s all part of the
Draoi’s
plan. The bastard literally built a failsafe into the spell holding
me captive.
The wretched beast saw to everything.
He knew there was
a chance that I could be found, maybe even rescued, so he added a kill switch
to the magic. If for any reason I am about to be discovered my shackles simply
wring the life out of me. I must admit, I never saw that one coming.

Attempting a sarcastic
chuckle at what the Assassin was sure would be one of his last breaths, he
wasn’t surprised to find it was barely a wheeze. The seconds were ticking by.
It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. Drago let his eyelids fall. Not
that it made any difference in the complete darkness he’d been subjected to for
all those years, but opening his eyes was something he’d become accustomed to
since discovering his mate.

Alicia…

Her name floated through his
mind, accompanied by the image he’d pulled from her consciousness. The picture
he’d held onto every day since learning of her existence. She was simply
amazing and he would be forever grateful to her for the few hours of comfort
she’d provided after all his years of seclusion. Drago knew it wouldn’t be long
until he was in the Heavens and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he would wait
forever if it took that long for his beautiful mate to join him.

One more shallow breath,
another tightening of his chains, more movement of the earth around him. Silver
and heat burnt through his torn flesh. Blood flowed from every wound. His
dragon roared over and over in his head at the injustice the Guardsman had to
endure.

That roar gave him the
strength to send one more message to Alicia, one declaration he wanted her to
carry for all time…

“I don’t know if you can
hear me, but I need for you to know how very much you’ve come to mean to me.
Not just because the Universe said we are destined to be but because of your strength,
your intelligence, your beauty, and your heart. You are truly an amazing
creature, Alicia McKennon. Know that I go to the Heavens with an abundance of
love and admiration for you, my gorgeous mate. Live a long and happy life and
know that I will be waiting with open arms for the day you join me. All my
love,
ceann beag
, all my…”    

And with that, Drago lost
consciousness.

Chapter Six

The dragons had been digging
for hours while the witches performed a containment spell for the
ever-increasing black magic filling the atmosphere. Alicia worked hard to lend
her magic while continuing to talk to Drago through what everyone was calling
their mating bond. She prayed every second her calls went unanswered that he
was hearing her and just unable to respond. It was the most nerve-racking
situation she’d ever been in.

“You better hang on, you
crazy ol’ dragon. You’ve caused me too many sleepless nights to get out that
easily,”
she joked, wishing she felt
as happy as she was trying to make her voice sound.

Looking up, Alicia caught
Hannah and Melanie looking at her with a bone deep sadness in their eyes that
made the young witch’s heart hurt. Hannah gave a weak attempt at a smile while
Melanie just gave in and walked toward her.

Moving to Alicia’s left, Melanie
grabbed her hand and whispered, “I just can’t imagine how hard this is on you.
I’m here if you need to talk.”

Any other time Alicia
would’ve fired back a smartass comment about just trying to be a good person
and help another out, but she knew it was useless. It was time to admit to
herself, if no one else, that Drago was her mate. It was the only explanation
for everything that had happened between them, whether she thought she was
ready or not.

Her father always told them
that Fate knew what she was doing and with the help of the Goddess, would never
give them anything they couldn’t handle. Alicia had never really understood
that statement until now. It was just a damn shame Fate and the Goddess thought
more of the young witch than she thought of herself.

“Dammit, Drago, answer
me!”
Alicia demanded.
“This is all
your fault. You barged into my life and made me care about you and now you’re
not there when I need you.”

The young witch knew she
wasn’t being fair but she was tired, frustrated, angry, and most of all,
scared. She just needed to hear her Guardsman’s voice. Nodding to Melanie,
who’d rejoined the chanting, Alicia too mouthed the words that would keep the
world safe from the noxious magic attempting to escape their grasp.

Dropping the hands she held
on either side of her, Alicia moved to the edge of the cavern the dragons
continued to dig in search of whatever the
Dorcha
had used as a focus
item when they’d locked Drago away. She squinted into the darkness, listening
to the constant sound of metal moving earth as each Guardsman dug with a
single-minded focus. They were recovering one of their own. One thought long
dead, and they were letting nothing and no one stop them from rescuing the
Assassin.

Offering her hundredth prayer
of the day to the Goddess and the Universe, Alicia closed her eyes and hoped
with all she was. Standing absolutely still, opening herself to whatever
heavenly being was feeling especially generous, the young witch let the
entities that governed her existence and that of the Guardsman who’d suffered
so much see exactly what that one man had come to mean to her. She admitted to
them that she needed him to be okay and even more than that, she simply
needed
him
.

Drago had slipped under her
radar. He had become as important to her as the air she breathed and the people
she loved. There was not a world she could imagine where he did not exist and
she would do whatever she had to make it so. Summoning her strength, she opened
her mind to call to her Guardsman one more time when Rayne yelled from deep
beneath her feet. “Kyra! Sarah Beth! Alicia! Get down here! We found
something!”

Without a second thought,
Alicia dropped to her butt, let her feet dangle over the edge into the hole in
the ground, and began scooting on the newly excavated dirt. She heard her
mother tell her to be careful and Kyra call out to Rayne that they were on
their way but none of that mattered, the dragons had found something and she
was going to see if it would help her rescue Drago.

Alicia seemed to slide through
the dirt forever before she finally caught sight of the Guardsmen gathered at
the bottom of the pit. The darkness was oppressive and she thanked the Heavens
when Kyra’s flashlight shown from just over the young witch’s left shoulder.
She also chuckled when the white witch grumbled, “I swear to the Goddess. How
many times am I gonna have to tell y’all that witches don’t see in the dark the
way dragons do? Oh, and by the way, that whole mate sharing thing hasn’t
happened where my night vision is concerned.”

Kyra’s complaining seemed to
lighten the mood, but her exclamation of ‘Oh shit!’ when she saw whatever the
dragons were gathered around had Alicia standing and pushing her way through
the circle of huge men. What she saw was something out of every witch’s
nightmares.

Sitting not ten feet from
where she stood was a four foot by four foot silver box inscribed with every
black magic sigil known to witchcraft. There wasn’t a single square inch free
of the deep, inky markings. Taking two careful steps forward, Alicia gasped and
looked to her mother. “That’s blood. They carved into the silver and then
filled the carvings with blood.”

Her mother shook her head but
it was Kyra who answered. “More witch’s blood. More dirty blood magic.” She
paused and bit her bottom lip, a look of total concentration coloring her
violet eyes.

Alicia counted to ten before
the tiny witch spoke again. “But this is where the focus lies. It’s in that
damn box. Now, we just have to figure out how to get it out of there.”

“If we finish digging it out
can we carry it to the surface without letting anymore magic loose than we
already have?” Royce asked, apparently voicing what the other Guardsmen were
thinking since they nodded and awaited Kyra’s answer.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve
gotten through the worst of the magic that was shielding the box from
detection. It had to have been disrupted when y’all kicked the
Dorcha’s
ass and saved Melanie.” She grinned a wicked little grin before continuing. “Or
else we wouldn’t have felt it and I’m pretty sure Drago wouldn’t have been able
to talk to Alicia.” Kyra winked at the younger witch before turning to Royce
and Rayne. “All right, you boys get this box out of the dirt and up to the top.
I’m gonna take Sarah Beth and Alicia with me so we can get everyone prepped and
ready to help us open this damn thing.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Kyra
crooked her index finger in a
come here
motion to her mate, giggling
when he bent down and then swooning when he kissed her until she was
breathless. Alicia was happy for them, but also felt a pang of jealousy that
she had yet to lay eyes on Drago. Shaking her head, the young witch turned and
headed back up the mountain of soil, this time on her knees instead of her
butt. She pushed all thoughts of anything but Drago’s survival from her mind.
They were making progress. Finding the focus was a good thing even if it was
the most evil magic she’d been close to in her entire life. It put them one
step closer to freeing her Guardsman.

It took almost an hour of
additional digging and then careful maneuvering to get the silver box out of
the hole and resting safely on the copper rack Kyra and Sarah Beth had
constructed. Alicia, her sisters, and Melanie gathered the list of roots and
flowers Kyra had given them and made enough sachets for every witch to hold
while they recited the spell that would protect not only everyone in their
group, but also the inhabitants of the surrounding area from the black magic
held within the focus object.

It took forever before Alicia
saw the tops of the Guardsmen’s heads as they moved to the edge of the cavern.
The dragons that actually touched the silver box wore thick, magically enhanced
leather gloves, while the others formed a loose circle around their brethren,
ready to take over should their assistance be needed. She held her breath as
they stepped out of the hole, one united Force, both the dragons of the Golden
Fire Clan and the dragons of the Blue Thunder Clan, shoulder-to-shoulder,
working toward a common cause.

Carefully moving onto solid
ground, the dragons made their way to the copper rack, placed the silver box
upon the crisscrossed bars, and stepped back. Kyra motioned for the witches to
follow her while she poured salt in a circle about ten feet around the silver
box. Each witch stopped at their appointed place, waiting for the circle to be
complete and the spell to begin. Once done, Kyra took her place between Sarah
Beth and Alicia. The tiny witch looked into the face of every witch gathered
and smiled. Alicia could feel her infusing the others with her faith and
confidence in the ritual they were about to perform.

When Kyra spoke, it was with
an authority that seemed impossible from the five-foot platinum haired woman
with the kind violet eyes and heart of gold. “
We gather here today to invoke
the help of the Goddess and the Universe we hold dear in neutralizing the dark
magic set in motion nearly a hundred years ago by those who would see our world
destroyed. We seek to release the one held captive and diffuse the evil
enchantment back to the hell it came from. Guide our actions, uplift our hearts,
and fill our souls with the sense of purpose only you can provide. Blessed be.
Blessed be.”

The witches all followed
suit, echoing Kyra’s words until they were a chorus of many voices sounding as
one, seeking to help the man that was quickly owning Alicia… heart and soul.
She chanted with her sister witches until the words came automatically, while
watching Kyra and her mother cautiously cover the silver box with a blanket of
copper mesh that would hold the focus object and its deadly magic in place
after the lid was removed.

Alicia also saw a copper box
sitting on the ground beside Kyra. She knew the tiny witch and Sarah Beth were
planning to move whatever was in the silver box into the copper one. They were
hoping to neutralize the deadly magic contained within, which would allow them
to locate Drago.

Holding her breath while
watching Kyra and her mother perform the deadly task, Alicia let the chant play
over and over in her mind at the same time she called to her Guardsman.
“Drago,
if you can hear me, please know that we’re trying to get to you. I have
everyone doing everything possible to find you and get you free. Hold on. It’s
almost over. I promise.”

She whispered the last words,
hoping with all her heart that she would see his face before the sun set on
another day. Letting go of the breath she was holding, Alicia opened her mouth
to recite the spell aloud when several things happened all at once, tilting her
world on its axis.

First of all, Kyra and Sarah
Beth lifted a strange, glowing stone from the silver box into the copper mesh
just as Rory yelled from the bottom of the hole in the ground where he and
Kellan had stayed to continue digging to make sure no other surprises jumped out
and bit them in their collective asses. “Somebody who knows something about
magic better get their ass down here right freaking now. We found a tunnel and
it’s covered with more of those crazy ass hieroglyphics y’all called sigils. It
stinks to the Heavens of black magic and rancid blood and…”

His words were cut off as
Alicia finally heard Drago’s voice in her head. She smiled then immediately
started to shake her head as she listened to his words.
“Live a long a happy
life and know that I will be waiting with open arms for the day you join me.
All my love,
ceann beag
, all my…”

“No! No! No! Don’t you
freaking dare!” Alicia yelled in her mind and out loud simultaneously. “Don’t
you dare give up! We are almost there!”

Tears streaming down her face
she raced toward Rayne, screaming as she ran, “Hurry the hell up! We have to
find him! I can’t even feel him breathing anymore. He’s just gone! Son of
bitch, Rayne, do
something
! Drago is dying!”