by D T Dyllin
“What?” Jenna asked with her head swiveling back and forth between the two of us. “Did I miss something?”
“Nothing that you need to worry about,” Khol stated with finality. Lucky for me, Jenna liked to ignore such things.
“It kind of is, since I’m going with her.”
“You are?” I asked with surprise.
“Yep.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Jeremy practically growled. “She’s obviously going to need protection from whatever danger you’re dragging her into.”
My face flushed from my friends’ reactions. I really hadn’t expected them to want to go with me, and it kind of made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, even if I could never let them go in good conscious. “Guys, I can’t let you do that.”
Jenna raised her chin and met me with a steel gaze that I would have recognized if I looked in the mirror. “You’re not letting me do anything. It’s happening whether you like it or not. You’re my best friend, and we have to stick together.”
“No,” Khol said. “I won’t permit it.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes and stalked towards Khol. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“Or me,” Jeremy chimed in. “Regardless of how you feel about us, you know we’ll come in handy in helping to keep her safe. And you want her safe, don’t you?”
Khol ground his teeth together. “Of course.” He brought his gaze back to study me for another moment before speaking again. “If I bring you with us, you must listen to what I have to say. There will be many things you won’t understand, and I don’t have time to stop and explain everything all the time.” I saw acceptance, although reluctant, wash over his face. “Fine,” he said. “I will bring all three of you to my lair.”
“No!” I exclaimed. “You can’t mean that.”
“Jeremy’s right. I must do whatever necessary, however unpleasant for me, to keep you safe.”
“Who’s going to tell our parents? Who’s—”
Jenna cut off what was about to be a stream of reasons why they shouldn’t go. None of them would have stopped me if the shoe was on the other foot, but I had to try. “I’ll have one of my friends tell my parents, and in the message, I’ll tell my parents that they need to fill in both of your parents.”
“Well, Khol said we had to leave now. You guys won’t have time to go and get your stuff,” I said, grasping at straws.
“That’s okay,” Jenna chirped, revved up from the excitement of what she probably perceived as an adventure. “I can borrow some of your stuff.”
“But we’re not the same size!”
“We’ve made it work before, we can make it work now.” Jenna beamed at me, very pleased with herself.
“And as a guy, I’m sure I can figure out something there, right?” Jeremy looked at Khol, who tightly nodded once in affirmation.
Jenna began bouncing up and down. “Yay! It’s settled! Now hurry up and pack so we can get going, P.J. I’m going to find a friend to deliver the message to our parents for us.”
“I just—I don’t—what’s happening?” I mumbled more to myself than anyone else. Just when I thought things couldn’t possibly spin more out of control, they had. I rubbed at my temples, positive I was about to be hit with a massive headache. And then something occurred to me. “What happened when you followed Emo Boy? I mean, besides you getting that information?” I still couldn’t quite bring myself to say the rest, that they wanted me dead. Pretty harsh, even for would-be world-stealing aliens.
“I was hoping he would lead me to others . . . like him, but I was only able to pick up the information because of a phone call he made.” Khol’s jaw rippled with tension before smoothing out. “He would have harmed you if he found you here.”
“And?” I prodded.
“And I took care of him after he ended the call.” A dark smile spread across his face that sent a chill up my spine.
“What exactly does that mean?” Although I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer.
“Just gather your things and rest assured that Emo Boy, as you referred to him, will no longer be an issue for you.”
Referred, past tense. Did Khol kill him? The boy that the alien had been in was just a host, wasn’t he? So what happened to the parasite inside him once the host was killed? Would he die along with the host, or would he simply try to move on? Maybe once the alien climbed into a host, they were joined, becoming one. Maybe I should stop thinking of them as two separate entities and think of them as one.
“Think of them as one. The creature takes control of the body, absorbing the person inside, at least as far as I can tell, and he won’t be bothering you anymore,” Khol said as if he’d read my mind. And again I found myself wondering if he actually could and just wasn’t telling me.
Annoyance flared within me. I didn’t want Khol or anyone poking around in my brain. “Stop doing that,” I snapped. He shrugged as if to say he couldn’t help it, and I fought the urge to smack him before I began scanning my room for clothes and such to take with me. Because I was so annoyed with the whole situation, I just started shoving stuff into my bag with the hope that I was bringing with me what I would want later. Oh well, it wasn’t as if I couldn’t send Khol back to get something if I forgot it. I snickered to myself at the thought of turning him into an errand Dragon. I wondered if he would actually do it if I asked. After a second’s deliberation, I decided he would, in fact, fetch things for me because he was trying to get into my pants. I felt certain that males, of any species, were the same, and predictable when it came to that issue. “Ready,” I proclaimed after I swept my face wash and other necessary beauty products into my already overstuffed bag. “So how are we going to do this?”
Khol raised his eyebrows at my comment. “I’ll simply shift the three of you over to my lair.”
I scrunched my face up at him, again, wondering why he hadn’t done that with us when we needed to hurry to save that girl I saw in my premonition. “Why didn’t you just do that before when we needed to get to the school?”
“Because my powers are not back up to their full strength yet, having been in hibernation for many years. I will get very tired after I do this, and that wasn’t an option before.”
I guess that made sense. “Oh.”
“So it’ll be mostly up to me to protect her until you fully recover?” Jeremy asked. Then his tone shifted angrily. “How were you planning to do that before, when you were just going to take her to your lair?”
“I would have only been taking her, and that’s not as taxing,” Khol said with annoyance at Jeremy’s question. “Do not doubt again that I can keep her safe.”
“You didn’t do a very good job before.” I could practically feel the tension in the air radiating from both Khol and Jeremy.
“That was different, that was—”
“Boys, boys, boys.” Jenna stepped into the space between the two of them. “There will be plenty of time to fight over P.J. after we get her somewhere safe.” Neither Khol nor Jeremy said anything, but they kept glaring at each other over Jenna’s head.
I sighed. “Can we just go already?” There was enough testosterone in the room to smother me, and it was nothing short of exasperating.
“You must all be touching me,” Khol said without looking away from Jeremy. For Christ’s sake . . . men. I walked over to him and took his hand. Jenna did the same but slid her hands around Khol’s arm, sighing with enjoyment. I had to bite my cheek to keep from telling her to get her hands off of him, and I didn’t like that I felt that way, not one little bit. Khol finally looked away from Jeremy so he could smile at me, obviously enjoying my little twinge of jealousy.
Jeremy finally came over to stand by Khol, and I started to get nervous about what he would do, when he reached up and touched Khol’s arm with his fingertips on the same side
that Khol was holding my hand. He locked eyes with me, and then we were gone.
For some reason, when Khol had said lair, my mind conjured up thoughts of something set inside a cave, or in the side of a mountain. What I had definitely not expected was a friggin’ ginormous house, or castle really, set on lush green lands that went on as far as the eye could see. And let me tell you, that’s pretty far because I have 20/20 vision.
“Wow,” I heard Jenna say under her breath.
“My sentiments exactly,” I muttered.
Khol smiled at me with amusement. “What did you expect, a cave or something?”
“No,” I grumbled, even though by the twinkle in his eyes, I knew he’d picked up on the fact that I had been expecting exactly that.
“My Lord.” A guy about six foot tall, with flame red hair and illuminated green eyes, although not as bright as Khol’s, was suddenly kneeling in front of us, or more in front of Khol, really. Even if I hadn’t known to expect more Dragons, I would have immediately known this guy was one; I could feel it down to my bones. I studied him with curiosity as he rose from his crouch only to lock gazes with me. He took an awkward step towards me that caused me to clutch Khol’s hand tighter, which until that instant I hadn’t even realized I’d still been holding. I watched as a fine tremor rolled over the new Dragon’s body and his nostrils flared. “She’s—”
“Not for you to consider,” Khol cut off the new Dragon’s words curtly.
Still staring at me with an intensity that made me want to disappear, the other Dragon took another step towards me. “Her power—it’s—it’s—unique, not cold like the other female Dragons I’ve felt. It calls to me with a warmth I didn’t think possible.”
An inhuman growl erupted from Khol. “Macon, back off,” he said before he calmed himself. “I know the will to resist is harder for one so young as yourself, but she’s not for you.”
Macon looked at Khol with what I can only describe as pain on his face. “Then why haven’t you claimed her yet? She’ll drive us all mad until you do.”
“She’s part human,” Khol said, as if that explained everything.
And for Macon it seemed to. “Yes, my Lord, I understand. I will try to avoid her until she bears your Anam Cara mark.” With that, he pulled what I now had come to think of as a Khol—a disappearing act—but apparently all Dragons liked such dramatics.
I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “So that’s what you were talking about.”
“Yes.” Khol nodded as he tugged my hand and began walking towards the castle.
“Why didn’t you just pop us into the castle instead of out here?” I asked as my head swiveled around, trying to take in all the unfamiliar sights and sounds of this new place.
“Because I wanted you to see my land.” There was a note of pride in Khol’s voice that I couldn’t miss, and it made me wonder if the old stories of Dragons and their acquisitiveness were, in fact, based in reality.
As we made our way inside through a side door, probably what would be called a servants’ door, my senses prickled, letting me know that there were more than a handful of other Dragons on the premises. My skin felt tingly, like little bits of electricity were running over the expanse of my body, and I trembled with the pleasantness of it.
“Why are we going in the side door?” Jenna asked. “I wanna tour of this place.”
“P.J. needs to be isolated from the others here. You can have a tour after she’s settled if you wish,” Khol said with a touch of annoyance. I wanted to laugh because Jenna had that effect on everyone it seemed, but the pleasant tingling had changed, and it was if my skin were burning, and my vision danced suddenly as if I were drunk.
My focus narrowed down to only Khol, and as my breaths began to come in short little bursts, I curled myself up against the side of him as we walked. “Kiss me,” I purred, not caring who saw. I craved the taste of him, and I wanted his hands on me because surely his touch was the only cure for my burning desire.
“Not now. I must get you—”
I didn’t hear the rest of what he said to me. Anger at him flared inside me for denying me what I wanted. If he wouldn’t give me what I needed, then surely someone else would. “Macon,” I called in an almost sing song voice.
Macon immediately appeared directly in front of us, and I tugged free of Khol and stepped towards him. Khol growled, but I didn’t care, he had his chance, now it was Macon’s. “Macon,” I purred. “You’ll kiss me, won’t you?” His eyes seemed to grow brighter in intensity as he came to me faster than I’d seen anyone ever move—well, except Khol maybe. His lips met mine in a searing kiss that had me wrapping myself around him as a moan escaped from me. Yes. I thought. This is exactly what I need. But before I could sink deeper into the kiss, Macon was ripped away from me and slammed into the wall. Khol scooped me up in his arms, to which I didn’t protest, and suddenly we were in a different room. A room with a rather large bed, I realized with pleasure.
My head was swimming as I reached out and pulled Khol towards me, capturing his lips with mine. “You know what I want,” I growled. “Give it to me.” I felt possessed, like someone else had taken over my body, and I kind of liked it. I’d never felt so completely free before. Except with Bryn, my mind whispered. I screamed and clutched at the back of my neck, it was if someone were holding a hot iron there. “Bryn!” I cried out wishing he were here with me and not Khol. Bryn’s touch was always the cooling balm that soothed my heated skin; he was who I craved.
Khol grabbed me and spun me around, prying my hand off the back of my neck to see what was causing me the pain. “No. That’s not possible.” His voice was filled with a mixture of shock and anger.
The pain subsided as abruptly as it had begun, and left without it, I was suddenly too weak to remain vertical. I fell over onto the bed and curled into a ball, darkness already pushing at the edge of my consciousness. “Bryn,” I heard myself gasp. “Please. I need Bryn.” And then I lost the battle with consciousness.
16
“My Lord, how will we track them without her aid? None of us can see them for what they really are, even you, without using her power. We can’t let them get an even stronger foothold than they already have.” A low male voice spoke urgently.
“I’m already aware of the problems we face, but we need to take care of her first,” Khol said in response.
There was a pregnant pause during which I pondered why people were always talking around me when I lost consciousness. You would think people would want to let me rest and feel better instead of jabbering their jaws around me.
“How did you not notice until now, my Lord?”
“It must have something to do with the Black Dragon’s powers. He must be young, very young. Young enough to even pass for human. He might even be partially so, like her, which could explain it. He will come for her as soon as he can. He probably already feels the pull. He will know his partial claim is in threat. It will drive him mad.”
“What will you do?”
“Claim her before he fully does so. Her Anam Cara will not be a Dubh Arach. She will be mine.” Khol’s words came out barely sounding human, which in fact, he wasn’t. I must be dreaming. What were they talking about? I’d never met any kind of Dragon before Khol had showed up to complicate my life, let alone one from a different clan.
“What will you do if he comes here?”
“I’ll do what I need to do to ensure she fully belongs to me. I wanted to give her human half the time to get used to the idea, but I no longer have that option.”
“Wha? No,” I slurred, trying to wake up all the way. “I trus ou.” What I was trying to tell him very unsuccessfully was that he couldn’t claim me without my permission. I trusted him with that fact, and he said as long as I trusted him, he would wait. It didn’t matter that I never planned on givi
ng him permission. He believed one day I would. As for the rest, I still didn’t know what he was talking about. Why did they think someone was coming for me?
“Shhh, my little Seer, you need to rest,” Khol said as a large warm hand smoothed hair away from my face.
“No. I need Bryn,” I somehow managed to say and actually make it sound like English.
“No.” Khol’s voice sounded harsh. “The only one you need is me.” I squirmed to try to get away from his touch, but I didn’t have the energy. I began to feel very sleepy again, my body very heavy. I tried to respond, but my mouth was too tired to move. I was holding on to awareness by a very thin thread.
“She’ll sleep for awhile longer, and then I will return for her,” Khol said to the other Dragon. I didn’t like the sound of that. “If the Black Dragon shows up, you know what to do.” I liked the sound of that even less.
“What about her companions?”
“Confine the boy to his room, but the girl is permitted entrance.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
That was the last thing I remembered until I sat up with a start, in a strange bed, in a strange room. “About damn time,” Jenna’s familiar voice exclaimed beside me.
I turned to see her lounging on the bed, right next to me, reading a magazine. “I’ve been dying to talk to you.” She ceremoniously folded the magazine and met my eyes with her deep brown ones, which were currently sparkling with delight. “Sooo . . .” she drew out, “me and Macon—”
I raised my hand to cut her off, which caused her to frown. “Give me a second to orient myself before you hit me with what is sure to be another tale about how you got the latest notch in your belt.” Jenna thrummed her fingers against the folded magazine impatiently. I inhaled deeply a couple of times while I allowed my gaze to sweep my new surroundings. Fancy, I thought, if not a little gaudy. The room looked like it had been transported right out of Marie Antoinette’s time; everything was marble and encrusted with gold. “Let them eat cake,” I mumbled. Yep, if the outside of the castle hadn’t answered my questions about a Dragon’s acquisitory nature, then this room definitely did. I wondered if there was a big pile of treasure in a vault downstairs somewhere.