by Zoe Chant
Garrick’s arm shot by him, the knife missing his cheek by a bare inch. Dante ducked out of the way, keeping his movements small and economic. He was aware he’d have to have enough energy left to take on Roy... whatever he was.
He could feel Garrick’s frustration rising the more he simply dodged his attacks. It was something Dante could use: an angry opponent was an opponent who made mistakes. Garrick clearly was unhappy at how the fight was going – and maybe he was scared of what Roy would do to him if he found out he’d botched this.
Dante was desperate for this to end, but he was driven by love for Mercy, by the mated bond they shared – it was a source of strength, not a source of fear. As long as he kept it at the forefront of his mind, no one could take him down.
I’m coming for you, Mercy, Dante sent to her, hoping she could hear him.
Letting out a grunt of annoyance as Dante once again avoided his knife, Garrick lunged forward – and made the mistake Dante had been waiting for him to make.
He overextended himself, his arm outstretched, his body leaning too far forward so he was off balance. Dante gave him no chance to right himself: he lifted his forearms so that one was behind Garrick’s arm and one was in front, and then moved them in opposite directions, quickly breaking the bone. It was a move that no one but a dragon would have had the strength to pull off, and it was brutally effective: Garrick’s howl of pain reached the rafters, the knife clattering to the ground. Dante was about to kick it across the room, when, thinking twice, he instead picked it up, taking care to only touch the handle, rather than the iridescent blade.
“You – you bastard –” Garrick gasped out, staggering backwards. “You really think you can –”
“Where’s Roy?” Dante demanded, without giving him a chance to finish. “Where’s he taken Mercy?”
Garrick let out a low laugh. “Fuck you. You think I’d tell you? Roy’d kill me.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t tell me,” Dante growled.
Garrick sneered. “I’ll take that chance.”
He was probably right, Dante thought, even as fury pulsed through his veins. Garrick was no longer an immediate threat to him. To kill him now would be to return to a way of life Dante had sworn he never would. But Garrick didn’t know that, and Mercy’s safety was more important right now.
He looked down at Garrick. “Last chance,” he said, lifting the knife. “Tell me, and I’ll leave you here alive. And I promise you – I will beat Roy. He can’t kill you if he’s dead.”
Just for a moment, Dante saw uncertainty flicker in Garrick’s eyes as he looked him up and down. Maybe he could sense that he meant what he said about killing Roy, the dragon’s blood giving him supernatural intuition. But then, he simply shook his head.
“No one can beat Roy. He’s... you don’t know what he is.”
Despite himself, Dante felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
“Fine,” he snarled. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He brandished the knife briefly – and then brought the heel of his hand down quickly on the back of Garrick’s head, rendering him unconscious.
He couldn’t waste any more time here, demanding answers Garrick clearly wasn’t going to give him. He had to get to Mercy now.
Trust the bond.
The words suddenly drifted into his mind without his conscious will.
Trust your bond. Trust your blood. Trust your dragon.
Dante closed his eyes. His dragon hadn’t been there when he’d reached for it before – but then he recalled that Garrick had mockingly dangled his amulet in front of him when he’d woken up. He must still have it on him.
Turning over his limp body, Dante quickly searched Garrick’s pockets, at last finding the piece of his hoard stuffed into Garrick’s shirt pocket. The first touch of his fingers against the gold sent a shock of energy straight though him, jolting through his chest like electricity.
Dante quickly slipped it on over his head, feeling his blood pulse, his strength renewing itself. His dragon surged up within him, roaring in fury, flames pouring from its mouth.
Our mate! Where is our mate?!
Dante let the dragon’s rage fill him – along with its unstoppable desire to protect their mate at all costs.
We will find her, and we will punish those who have threatened her!
All at once, Dante saw it: the glimmering golden light of the bond, stretching out from his chest. All he needed to do was follow it.
It will show us the way. It will show us to our mate.
Dante snarled, allowing the dragon to come forward. He felt himself shifting, claws replacing his fingers, his body growing, his skin becoming scales. Wings sprouted from his back, and a fire – a real fire – burned in his belly.
Lifting his head, Dante roared his fury out into the world. His dragon’s senses could feel a cool draft from above him, and, looking up, he spotted a wide gap in the roof. Dante didn’t hesitate – spreading his wings, he launched himself upward into the air, crashing through the gap and taking off part of the roof with him.
He roared again as he soared through the night sky, not caring who heard him. He hoped that Roy – whatever he was – could sense him coming.
And I hope that Mercy can sense it too, Dante thought, as he sped on, following the guidance of the bond.
I’m coming, Mercy. I promise you. I’m coming.
Chapter Eleven
Mercy
Mercy sat on one of the plush couches of Roy’s suite, looking down at her hands, willing them not to shake.
I heard him. I know it wasn’t my imagination, unless I’m cracking up even worse than I thought.
She’d had a whole conversation with Dante – surely she hadn’t just imagined that? She didn’t know how it’d happened, but she was certain it had. It hadn’t been just her mind playing tricks on her. It hadn’t been just another symptom of the PTSD she suffered from.
She could hear Roy’s low voice from across the room where he was talking on the phone to someone. She watched him from beneath her eyelashes without raising her head, wondering yet again if she could reach the door before he caught her.
Mercy swallowed. In ordinary circumstances, she was pretty sure she could have. Roy had his back to her, and was farther away from the door than she was.
But...
But these clearly weren’t ordinary circumstances.
Mercy didn’t know what was happening, but there was something... wrong with Roy. The way he’d suddenly appeared in front of her the last time she’d tried to go to the door. The way he’d talked about mere humans, as if he was something else. And now...
As if sensing her eyes on him, Roy glanced over at her, and Mercy shivered.
Now, his eyes seemed to be alight with some kind of terrible fire – something she had never seen there before. She’d used to think Roy had beautiful eyes: blue and sparkling. But now, the only word she could use to describe them was evil.
What is he?
Mercy had always prided herself on her practicality. She didn’t believe in any kind of mumbo jumbo supernatural stuff. Horror movies didn’t even faze her – she’d seen way too much horror in real life for that.
But Roy was freaking her out, in a way that went way beyond knowing that he’d lied to her about wanting to give her money, and that he’d been the one behind scaring off the business owners in Hainesville and making their lives miserable until they couldn’t stand it anymore and sold up. It even went beyond the fact that she didn’t know what he’d do to her if she kept refusing to sign the papers he’d brought her here to sign.
And then there’d been the... well, the conversation, she supposed, with Dante, where she’d heard his voice, clear as a bell, inside her mind. What had that been about? Mercy didn’t understand in the slightest, even as she knew it’d happened.
Fear and confusion jostled in her heart.
What the hell is going on here?
She didn’t have any more time to c
ontemplate it, however, since at that moment Roy hung up his phone, turning toward her, his face cold. Mercy forced herself to raise her head, meeting his gaze defiantly.
Roy sighed, shaking his head. “For what it’s worth, Mercy, I did want to try to do this the nice way. Some of your neighbors sold up quick – and I gave them a fair price. For what they were selling, anyway. It was only you who had to go and be so stubborn that I had to get involved.”
Mercy couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down her spine at Roy’s words – but she’d never been a shrinking violet, and she wasn’t about to start now.
“The nice way?” she asked, her lip curling. “Bullying people into selling up? Buying up a school so you can build fancy apartments on it? What about any of that is nice?”
Roy shook his head, eyes flashing. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. And the worst thing about all of this, Mercy, is that I was actually looking forward to seeing you again. If you’d just played ball like a good girl, none of this would have happened. I was even thinking about rekindling our romance.” A malevolent grin twitched at the corners of Roy’s mouth. “It’s not too late for that, Mercy – I meant what I said when I told you you were beautiful. We can still forget about all of this... unpleasantness and pick up where we left off. Think about it – you’d live a life of luxury. You’d never want for anything ever again.”
Mercy stared at him, wondering if he’d gone insane. “Never,” she finally spat out, once she found her voice again. “I’d rather live in a hole in the ground with Dante than in a mansion with you.”
A look of pure fury crossed Roy’s face. “You say that,” he snarled, “but you don’t even know what he is. He never told you. So much for the romance of the century!”
Mercy’s mouth went dry. Was Roy just crazy? What was he talking about? What hadn’t Dante told her?
As she tried to sort through the jumble of her thoughts, she remembered when they’d been sitting together in her kitchen this morning. Dante had been trying to tell her something before Roy had called her – something serious. She’d been able to tell by the look on his face. But she’d been so concerned with trying to get ready to see Roy that she hadn’t taken the time to listen to him.
Could it be... could Roy really be telling the truth?
Was there really something about himself that Dante hadn’t told her – though he’d tried? Something that Roy knew and she didn’t?
It couldn’t be his criminal record – Roy had already told her that.
So what else could it be?
Whatever it was, Mercy decided she didn’t care. Dante had proved to her that he could be trusted. She’d never felt such an instant connection to anyone else before. Whatever he had to tell her, she’d accept it – even if it took time.
That is, if I can get out of here with my hide intact...
“I’m never going to sign my restaurant over to you, Roy,” she said. “So don’t ask again. You might think your money puts you above the law, but I promise you – I’ll never stop fighting you. I’ll raise whatever hell I have to. I’ll block you at every turn. I’ll show you that you can’t just bulldoze over people, no matter how much money you have.”
Roy seemed amused by her speech. “Pretty words, Mercy. But in the end, that’s all they are. I –”
Roy’s words cut off suddenly as a confused frown crossed his face. As Mercy watched, he shook his head as if trying to clear it, blinking. But then, the confusion was replaced by an expression of rage.
“Impossible,” he muttered to himself, his voice low. “That stupid, incompetent – ”
Roy was obviously talking to himself. Mercy blinked, swallowing.
What’s he talking about?
She scarcely dared to breathe as she watched him – but then, she heard it.
I’m coming, Mercy. I promise you. I’m coming.
Once again, she heard Dante’s voice in her head, as clearly as if he was in the room with her now.
Mercy gasped, her eyes widening. She didn’t understand it at all – but there was such certainty in Dante’s voice that she found herself believing him. Somehow.
But then Roy turned to face her again, his eyes filled with cold fire, and dread filled her once more.
“Come with me,” he said, his voice harsh with anger.
“I won’t go anywhere with –” Mercy started to say, but Roy’s hand shot out, faster than she could see, and grabbed her around the wrist, yanking her to her feet.
His grip was stronger than anything she’d ever felt before, and Mercy gasped with shock and pain.
“Let me go, you fucking bastard –”
“Shut up,” Roy snapped, as he began to pull her across the room to the terrace door. “Don’t make me do something you’ll regret.”
She tried to yank her arm free, but Roy was just too strong. And it wasn’t the normal strength of a human being, either – somehow it felt...
... Almost superhuman.
Mercy tried to push the thought from her mind, but it did her no good. There was something strange about Roy, about Dante, about this whole situation.
Roy had kicked open the door and pulled her out onto the terrace before she could follow the thought any further.
“Like I said, don’t do anything stupid,” Roy said, his voice low and dangerous.
Releasing her arm, he strode to the edge of the terrace, stepping up onto the railing without any sign of fear or hesitation.
Mercy gasped, staring at him. What is he...?
In the next second, Roy had jumped from the railing, leaping out into the night air. Mercy could only stare in horror at the place he’d just been, her mind totally blank with shock. She stood, her breath frozen in her lungs, scarcely daring to believe her eyes.
What – what just –
Finally gathering her wits, Mercy ran to the edge of the terrace, her heart thumping. This had to be some trick. There was no way Roy would have just –
Mercy stopped in her tracks, lifting her arm to cover her face as a sudden, massive gust of wind blasted her. It was so strong she nearly lost her footing, and she had to bend her knees to keep from being completely bowled over by it.
As she raised her head, Mercy wasn’t sure what she’d expected to see – Roy leaning out of a helicopter, action-movie style, or some kind of futuristic hovercraft only an evil billionaire would own – but it was not what she saw before her now.
Mercy’s eyes widened, her brain frozen. She couldn’t move a muscle.
What – what the hell is –
A massive, terrifying creature hovered in the air in front of her, beating its leathery wings slowly. In the darkness of the evening, Mercy could only make out a few details – it was covered in patchy fur that occasionally gave way to scales, and it had a long, curving tail that whipped through the air, dripping what looked like some kind of viscous liquid. Raising her eyes to its face, Mercy felt her stomach drop in terror.
Its... its face...
Its face was wild, its mouth wide and filled with glistening teeth, all of them longer than her arm and sharper than sabers. Its red eyes bored down into her, pinning her to the spot.
Mercy couldn’t do anything but stare in abject terror. Her legs wouldn’t move. Her lungs wouldn’t breathe. Her heart felt like it had stopped entirely.
And yet, somewhere within her, she felt her soul cry out –
Dante! Dante, please – help me –
But even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew that even Dante – strong and brave and dedicated to protecting her though he was – couldn’t do anything against a monster.
Mercy felt her knees wobbling beneath her as she stared at the beast. Such things weren’t real – they couldn’t be real. They were just things out of fairytales – they didn’t actually exist.
But even as she tried to deny it, Mercy knew she wasn’t hallucinating. This was all real. It was all horribly, horribly real.
I knew there was something weird about Roy
, but I never imagined... I never...
The thought hit her with a shock.
She’d watched Roy jump from the railing without a moment’s hesitation, and then, a second later, this – this creature had appeared.
The jumble of fear and horror in her brain wouldn’t let her actually put the thought into coherent words, even as she knew it was true: that the thing in front of her now was –
I have to get out of here.
Mercy felt a surge of adrenaline, her legs finally obeying her as she turned to run to the terrace door. But she’d only managed to take one or two steps when she suddenly felt a hot breath against her back, and then tight pressure around her mid-section.
Looking down, Mercy almost screamed as she saw the monster’s massive claws wrapped around her, before they lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing at all.
“No – no –!”
Mercy smashed her fist into the creature’s scaly fingers, but it did absolutely no good. Not that she had really expected it to, but she was damned if she was going down without a fight. She hammered at the monster’s scales even as it lifted her off her feet, and then, with a beat of its massive wings, launched them upward.
Mercy gasped as the hotel terrace disappeared from beneath her with a shocking speed. The air grew cooler around her as she was suddenly propelled into the open sky, the monster’s fingers still tight around her waist.
What does he want with me?
Mercy felt dizzy, and for a moment she was worried she might faint. She wasn’t the fainting type – she could never have been a nurse if she’d had a weak stomach – but in these circumstances, she felt it might have been justified. Her stomach felt like it was in free fall, her brain still not quite able to admit everything that was happening.
She’d been captured by a terrifying monster, who also happened to be her ex, and now he was flying her through the sky, with who knew what plans –
Mercy! Mercy, are you all right? I’m coming – I promise you!
Dante’s voice in her head cut through her panic. Despite herself, Mercy almost let out a sob of relief – even though she knew that there was nothing Dante could do to help her. No one could help her. What could they do against a mythical beast that shouldn’t even exist?