Darkness Rising

by Katie Reus

  As the wind shifted, a charcoal-ish scent filled the air though he could not see anything burning. But he could scent for miles if the wind and atmosphere were right. And something told him they were heading straight to where the burning originated from. He was not sure what that meant.

  He didn’t like this entire setup, nor the meeting out in the middle of nowhere. Cynbel might have been afraid of Prima but he had been a warrior. No, Reaper wasn’t certain he bought the fear angle at all. It did not make sense.

  He continued onward, surpassing the females, his annoyance building by the time they reached a giant, charred area that had incinerated trees and other animal habitat right along the shoreline of one of the rivers. He scanned the immediate area, looking and scenting for predators. He did not scent any other shifters nearby, though with the recent fire, that could be the reason.

  His senses were acute, but fire had many uses.

  When he was certain the place was uninhabited by other shifters, he descended to the outskirts of where the fire had been and shifted to his human form.

  “This was dragon fire.” Prima appeared next to him moments later.

  Greer did the same and he had to force himself not to stare at her strong, lithe and naked form as she eyed the destruction. “I smell more than one dragon.”

  “Same,” Prima said even as Reaper nodded.

  “Stay here,” he ordered both of them, not caring about his tone as he stalked across the ashes of trees and anything else that had been unfortunate enough to be here when this had been started. He recognized the scent of dragon fire, though he could not decipher who it belonged to. And from the air he’d easily seen that the pattern of burn circles had been created from a being in the sky—a dragon.

  “There’s something else under the dragon fire.” Greer’s voice was soft as she came up next to him. “Not just the destroyed land and animals.”

  “It’s a dragon.” His words were blunt. “It smells like Cynbel. And there’s too much ash piled around here.” He indicated the scorched earth they walked across and frowned at the sight of Greer’s feet and ankles covered in the filth.

  “You think he was the dragon who ashed another dragon, or do you think he’s dead?” Now Prima spoke, both females clearly having ignored his order to stay put.

  “I do not know.” He scanned the skies now, looking for a threat, but saw nothing aside from little white clouds and birds far in the distance. “I want to scan the area for a few miles in all directions, but then we should head back.” He did not think they would find anything but he would still look. None of this felt right. “His scent is strong here.” He motioned to the ashes. “I believe…this might be him.”

  To his surprise, Greer put her soft hand on his upper arm. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “He…was not a friend.” Not exactly. “But thank you.” When he felt his gaze begin to dip lower, he forced himself to turn away from her. He would not disrespect her and ogle her while she was here with him acting as backup.

  “Let’s go,” Prima said abruptly. “I don’t like this place.”

  Yes, Reaper did not like something about it either. Even though he couldn’t see or scent anyone, he felt eyes on him. And he did not like that at all.

  He reached out and placed his own hand on Greer’s back, urging her toward the shoreline and out of all this death and destruction. “Come.”

  One way or another, Reaper would find out what was going on.

  * * *

  They made it to the mansion in record time, something Reaper was glad for. He’d sensed someone watching them and he couldn’t think of a good reason for someone not to reveal themselves. If he hadn’t been with Greer, he would have taken to the skies and shot his fire around, aiming for whoever had been spying on them. Because if Cynbel was dead, whoever was watching them was a prime suspect in his killing.

  Now he and Prima were in the kitchen, discussing their next move, while Greer contacted her Alpha. She’d been vague about why she was calling him, and it wasn’t Reaper’s place to question her, even though he wanted to.

  “I’ve reached out to some of my contacts,” Prima said, looking down at her phone and doing…something on it. “And I think you’ll be happy to learn that Cale is in New Orleans as well. He’s with his half-brother, Damari.”

  He stilled at her words. “Truly?”

  “Truly.”

  The males were brothers, though they had different fathers. They were ancients like he and Prima. “They contacted you?”

  “Actually, they left word at Cynara’s club for you. They apparently tried to text you?”

  “Oh, my phone is in the bedroom.” He did not carry the thing around everywhere like Prima and the others seemed to do. It was not second nature to him.

  “Well, when they didn’t hear back, they contacted me. Cale did anyway. They would like to see us.”

  “Good.” While he did not like to leave Greer, he wasn’t certain he wanted to bring her to this meeting either.

  Thankfully Prima had the same thought because she said, “We are not bringing Greer. Not after this morning.”

  “Agreed. I do not like the fact that they are contacting us so soon after finding those ashes.” His instinct told him Cynbel was dead, but he would not claim it was so until he knew for certain.

  “We are on the same page, then. And since I know you don’t want to be the bad guy, I’ll tell Greer that just the two of us are going.”

  “Thank you.” He had done enough to annoy the female and he felt like he was finally making progress with her. Very small, dragonling steps, but he would take what he could get. One battle at a time was how wars were won. “Do you know if she likes anything in particular?”

  Prima’s head tilted to the side ever so slightly, her inky black braid spilling over her shoulder. “What do you mean?”

  “I would like to buy her a gift—with money that I do not have.” Something that bothered him very much. He needed to get to his hoard, which was far, far north of all civilization.

  “I have plenty of funds. You may have what you wish. I know you will eventually pay me back. And if you don’t, I don’t care.”

  “I will pay you back. And you have not answered my question.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I do not know what she would like. But I can ask some clanmates and see if they have any ideas.”

  “Thank you.”

  Prima paused for a long moment, watching him closely, even ignoring the little ping of her phone. “Do you think she is your mate?” Her words were spoken so quietly, there was no way Greer could overhear them upstairs if she was eavesdropping.

  Something told Reaper that Greer was so civil and polite she would never do such a thing, regardless. Still, he did not answer audibly, but simply nodded. He felt the mating call in his bones, all the way to his core, that they were connected. Considering how different they were, it did not make sense. But the attraction and connection between he and Greer was electric, something he never even imagined before. He’d heard of the mating pull, but this…it defied logic.

  To his surprise, he cared little about the lack of logic. He only cared about claiming her, possessing her. Making her happy for the rest of her life.

  “Ah,” was all Prima said.

  “Did the brothers say anything about their cousins?” He needed to change the subject. Reaper had fought alongside Cale and Damari many times, and unlike him, they had loved their clanmates. They’d been warriors, yes, but they hadn’t forsaken their clan as he had. They should still be in contact with their clan.

  “No. The message was brief. And the meeting place is a home. I looked up the address. It’s not the bayou at least.”

  “Okay, then. Go tell Greer we have to leave.” He wanted to see her before they left but decided against it. He might be weak and ask her to come along. His dragon craved being close to her, but right now that was not the smart move. He needed her to stay put for her safety, and his sanity. And if
she pushed back and asked if she could come, he was fairly certain he could not tell her no.

  This was a revelation about himself and he was not sure how he felt about it.

  She had changed everything.

  Chapter 10

  “I scent more than simply two dragons,” Reaper murmured to Prima as they approached the house from the east. On a sidewalk that badly needed fixing, they kept their strides casual. Beaded necklaces and other sparkly things littered the tree branches above them. Such a strange custom.

  She simply nodded. “I recognize only two.”

  It was the same for him. He recognized Cale and Damari, but with the various scents, he wasn’t certain if this was a trap or not. “New plan.” Instead of turning onto the stone path through the open gate toward the walled-in home not far from where they were staying, he continued walking and Prima did the same.

  It would take some maneuvering but they were going to infiltrate the house instead of directly approaching the front door.

  They found a place to hide, strip their clothes and call on their camouflage. Leaving their clothing bundled up and hidden in some bushes was the only option.

  “Human or dragon?” Prima asked as they stepped out from behind a tree, naked but invisible to humans.

  “Human.” Less damage that way. If they weren’t being set up by Cale and Damari, they wouldn’t want to go into full-on battle mode as dragons.

  Though the gate was open, they decided to scale the wall from opposite sides of the yard. Then, using their natural gift of speed, they approached the house. He took the west side while she took the east.

  The purple-colored house rose three stories with balconies on each level, making it easy for him to scale to the third floor. The set of two glass doors was locked, but he did not see any other mechanism set up as a trap. Manipulating the lock with his mind, he turned it until it opened. In the past he had mainly used it to move stone—as a weapon. In this new world, he figured he would have many chances to use this particular gift.

  Once inside, he quickly scanned the bedroom. It held the faint scent of Damari, but no one was inside. His feet were quiet against the wood floors as he approached the already open doorway. As he stepped into the hallway, he heard voices from down below.

  All male.

  Soon enough he would be scented, and so would Prima. Soundlessly he released his claws, and using his supernatural speed, he raced down the stairs, his feet barely touching the steps.

  “There’s no way he’s involved in any of this.” Reaper recognized Cale’s voice. What was he speaking of? And involved in what?

  “We can’t take the risk.” Another familiar voice. Damari.

  He had once considered these dragons his brothers-in-arms. He hoped it was still the same. So much had changed in this new world.

  Suddenly it went silent and he knew they were aware of his presence. He’d masked his scent as much as possible, but these were ancients like himself.

  “Show yourself,” Cale called out.

  Reaper let his camouflage fall as he stepped around the corner into what turned out to be a large kitchen. Both males were standing at the ready, claws extended, their dragons in their eyes.

  “What the fuck? Why are you naked?” Damari growled at him.

  “Why the fuck do you think? Who else is here?”

  Another male stepped inside the kitchen, followed by two more. Reaper vaguely recognized them but only because of the familial resemblance to Cale and Damari. They all had the same sun-kissed bronze skin, pale green eyes and dark hair.

  “You thought to attack us?” Damari’s eyes sparked with rage.

  “No. I scented more than the two of you—I wasn’t sure if I could trust you.”

  “You’re not alone.” Cale shifted slightly, scenting the air.

  Reaper didn’t respond, just watched them, waiting, all his muscles tight as he prepared to take them on. If that happened, this house would be destroyed and humans would surely know of their existence. There would be no way around it then—and he wasn’t certain if that mattered to these dragons. He was not certain it mattered to him.

  “That’s right.” Prima let her camouflage drop as she strode up next to him, equally naked, her own claws out.

  He noted that the three males behind his friends eyed her with interest. God, males were so fucking typical. And he was no different, except that he had eyes only for a certain beautiful healer.

  “Prima.” Damari gave her a wide, flirty smile. “When we heard you and your sister had risen, we knew the world was right again.”

  “How long have you two been awake?” she asked, not returning his flirty, obnoxious grin.

  “A year.”

  “Did you kill Cynbel?” Cale asked abruptly, looking between the two of them.

  “No,” they both said. Then Reaper continued, “I was supposed to meet him this morning and found a pile of ash instead. I don’t know that it was him.”

  “It’s him.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because someone delivered his head in a box an hour ago. Your scent was on it.”

  He blinked. “Mine was?”

  “Yes. But such things can be manufactured, especially if you were near the site of his murder. Which is why we’re not killing you now,” Cale said.

  He snorted. They could try to kill him. There might be a lot about this world that he was adjusting to, but killing to defend himself? He had not forgotten how to do that.

  “I had no reason to kill Cynbel. I was in fact looking for him since rising. And you,” he said, nodding at Cale.

  “Did either of you kill Enaes?” Damari spoke this time, his question as abrupt as his brother’s had been.

  Reaper blinked in surprise but shook his head. “No. I have no reason to kill anyone and I have just woken from Hibernation in the last week.”

  The tension in both men’s shoulders eased, their claws retracting. No doubt they scented the truth in his words. “Where are your clothes?”

  “Hidden in a cache not far away from here.”

  Damari turned and looked at one of the males. “Grab both of them clothing.”

  The male nodded and disappeared from the room.

  “Your cousin is dead?” Reaper asked, referring to Enaes.

  Expression grim, Damari leaned against the center island. “Yes. And not just him. At least a dozen ancients were killed upon their awakening.”

  Next to him Prima straightened. “This is the first I’ve heard of this.”

  Damari nodded. “This news has not spread far. The murdered dragons were slaughtered before they could fully arise. They must have trusted the wrong people with the location of their Hibernation.”

  “Not necessarily,” Prima said. “Someone could have been working with a witch to find their locations.”

  “Ah,” Cale said, even as Damari nodded slowly.

  “Fucking witches,” Prima muttered.

  “Fucking witches indeed.” There were not many beings that Reaper loathed. But witches were one of them. He knew there were a few good ones out there, but none of the ones he had ever met were. The ones he’d known had embraced the darkness, using what should be a gift for their own gain, to hurt others. It was disgraceful.

  The male who had disappeared to find clothing returned, carrying two bundles in his hands.

  “It seems a shame to cover all that up,” the male said, handing a bundle directly to Prima.

  “It does, doesn’t it,” she said even as she slipped the very tight T-shirt over her head.

  Yeah, something told Reaper that this young male had picked that shirt intentionally.

  Ignoring the unknowns for now, he looked back at his friends as he pulled on a pair of pants. “What do you know about who is killing ancients? And why was Cynbel killed?”

  “For the first question—not enough, unfortunately,” Cale said. “We haven’t been awake for long and we are still adapting to this new world. We only found out about a
few of the kills by accident. After, we started digging on our own. As far as Cynbel, he asked us to come to New Orleans after we recently discovered another murdered ancient. And we do not know if the things are connected.”

  Reaper was silent for a long moment. “There are a lot of reasons to kill ancients, but so many at one time? It is organized, with purpose. I do not like this.”

  “I can talk to my clan,” Prima said. “Because if they’d known about this, we all would have known. They have what they call a hacker who is great at researching people and things. And we have a healer who is also skilled at research.”

  Reaper frowned, looking at Prima.

  “Not her,” she said, clearly reading his mind even though he hadn’t said Greer’s name aloud. “I’m talking about Drake’s mate.”

  “Wait…you have two healers in your clan?” Damari asked, his interest clear.

  She nodded once. “Yes. We are very blessed.”

  “Best sex I ever had was with a healer,” Damari said, causing all heads to turn his way. “What? The female used me then disappeared. Best. Sex. Ever.”

  “Your mind is always on your dick,” Cale muttered, rolling his eyes.

  An unexpected laugh bubbled up inside Reaper. “I am glad that some things have not changed despite all the time that has passed.”

  “We should contact my clan, let them know what you’ve told us,” Prima interjected. “They’ll want the names of the dead and any other details.” She turned to Reaper. “And we need to inform Greer as well. She should be kept up to date since she was with us when we found Cynbel.”

  “Who is Greer?” Damari asked.

  “Mine.” The word tore from Reaper’s throat, his tone possessive and murderous.

  Both males raised their eyebrows but did not push any further.

  Reaper’s beast had risen to the surface so quickly, he was barely holding on to his dragon, keeping him in check. And the male—his friend—had simply asked who she was.

  Reaper needed to stay in control.

  Chapter 11

  Greer was surprised to run into Reaper and Prima as she reached the bottom of the stairs. They must have just gotten back.