by Bonnie Vanak
Or the magick in the crystal you seek. Ariel swallowed hard. “This crystal you need to find... why does the wizard want it?”
“He didn’t say.” Justin craned his neck, staring at the sky. “Those wizards aren’t exactly forthcoming with information. But I got the sense it’s dangerous.”
She didn’t want to return to the house, letting Justin leave again. Because this time he’d leave for good and he was her only connection to this new and frightening aspect of herself. Ariel pointed to the hiking path leading back to the parking lot. “Let’s walk.”
As they made their way along the path, gooseflesh broke out on her arms. Ariel kept shivering. Something nasty hovered in the air, thick with menace.
They turned a corner and she halted, gasping. It wasn’t the cold causing her feeling of dread.
But the man blocking their path - her father.
20
For months, Justin had imagined the moment he’d confront the man he hated above all others. In his mind, he’d rehearsed what to say, how to say it, and how he’d lift Leo Harrington by the throat and shake him until his brains rattled.
Fury and grief twined inside him as he stared at his nemesis. Immobilized by emotion, he could not move. Silence draped the air between them, broken only by the distant call of birds and the wind sweeping down the jagged rocks.
Finding strength, Justin took a step forward. Cold, hard anger replaced the fury. He longed to shift into dragon, lash into Harrington with sharp teeth and claws. Watch his hot blood splatter over the path, hear his piercing screams. Maybe then the screams of his own would finally cease.
I will tear you to pieces.
And then he felt a small, warm palm slide into his hand. Ariel. Quivering, he closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, feeling her presence soothe his ragged nerves.
I made a promise not to kill you and I signed it in blood. If not for your daughter, I’d break that promise because I don’t give a damn about the consequences.
But I do care about Ariel.
Leo halted, staring back at him. And then looking at his daughter. Justin cleared his throat.
“Hello you bastard,” he growled. “Looking for me? I’m not as easy to capture now. I’m into your little tricks.”
This was his fight, his moment. Maybe he couldn’t kill Harrington. But he could make him suffer, strip the skin from him and laugh while he bled.
Ariel made a small choking sound. Concerned, he glanced down.
Stunned, he realized she wept. The tears rolling down her cheeks deflated his anger.
I can’t do this. It will hurt her too much.
He almost laughed. All this time he’d craved revenge, and one small, feisty woman had turned his world upside down, erasing his sole purpose for living.
Leo Harrington wasn’t his concern any longer. Deep inside, he felt something ease, like air released from a pressure valve.
Justin turned, and wiped one with the pad of his thumb. “Ariel, sweetheart, I’m not going to kill him. I won’t.”
But if his own anger had abated, hers had ignited. Ignoring him, Ariel dropped his hand and flung out her hands. “When were you going to tell me the truth about what I am? That I’m half-dragon, Father?”
The words screamed into the air echoed through the valley. Justin watched Leo flinch as if his daughter slapped him. His enemy looked older, more harried.
“So you know at last.” Leo put a shaking hand to his face.
“I know, and I hate you for it,” she yelled. “You lied to me about my entire life! Tell me the truth about my mother! Now!”
If Justin had planned his revenge, he couldn’t have asked for anything better – for Leo’s daughter to hate him as much as he did. And yet he found the satisfaction lacking. All these long months, waiting for this moment, and it felt curiously flat.
Ariel mattered most. Not revenge. Nor justice.
Leo finally lifted his head. “No.”
“You bastard!”
As she lunged forward, he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Easy sweetheart,” he murmured. “He’s not worth it.”
How well he knew this.
Her father was a liar.
She deserved to know and yet the man who sired her, the only one who did know the truth, blocked her from it. Ariel’s feelings boiled over. She forgot Justin, forgot everything except her rage at Leo lying to her all these long years. Dimly she felt a strong, muscled arm around her waist, holding her back as she strained forward, wanting to shake sense into her father.
“Why? Why didn’t you tell me Mama was a dragon? You knew how much I loved dragons, and you told me they were evil! Was my mother evil? Was this why you married her?”
“I knew this day would come. I’ve tried so hard to protect you,” Leo muttered.
“You told me Mama died in a car accident. How did she die, Father? The truth this time. Tell me!”
But it was as if Leo couldn’t, or wouldn’t, hear her. He was in a world of his own.
“It was all his fault, the black dragon.”
Beside her Justin loosened his grip. “What the hell?”
Confused, she stilled. “What black dragon?”
“Chase. A black dragon from her clan. He sought revenge against her after she left the clan to marry me.”
Ariel’s chest tightened. Oh goddess, she had a bad feeling about this.
“Dragons seldom mate outside their own kind.” Justin’s deep, steady voice gave her footing on a slippery slope.
“Marian did.” Leo rubbed his face, and she noticed he looked more haggard than she’d ever seen. But that didn’t matter.
“Why would she marry you?” Justin demanded.
“We were madly in love.” Leo’s shoulders sagged and she suddenly realized all the secrets he’d kept over the years. Such a burden.
A burden he must reveal now. “Father, tell me the full story.” She was proud how her voice didn’t quaver.
“Marian was to marry a dragon from a rival clan to end a feud, but she was too independent, proud and wanted to marry for love. I met her while living at Mystic Shores. She came there to infuse the dying community with magick and while working together with crystals, we fell in love.”
No wonder people from the community welcomed her. Leo was the one who found the crystal and her mother had been the dragon who used her precious magick to infuse them. “You told me that Mage community disowned you.”
Leo shook his head. “I said that to protect you from going there and discovering the truth. Longtime residents like Vern knew exactly who your mother was.”
Her father reached into a pack he set down and withdrew a long iron spear. “Chase was a black dragon, like him.”
He pointed the spear at Justin, who stepped back.
“Chase was from her clan and hunted her down. He killed your mother for disobeying her clan leader’s wishes.” Leo’s voice broke. “I thought we were safe. Hidden. He found her anyway.”
This couldn’t be happening.
“I spent years perfecting a spell to counter the black dragon’s powers in case he returned to finish you off. I had to find a way to keep you safe! You’re all I had.”
“Impossible.” She backed away, her throat tightening. “I would have remembered.”
“I cast a memory spell to make you forget.” Leo’s expression turned anguished as he lowered the spear. “I couldn’t bear your nightmares, your screams. I would have done anything to keep you safe. That’s why I told you dragons were evil after your mother died.”
Oh dear goddess. Everything made sense now. Her love of dragons, the yearning she’d had to fly, the constant feeling she didn’t belong to anyone or anything and she was constantly in the wrong place. Her hatred of the cold and her love of warmth and sunshine.
Ariel squeezed her eyes shut, her heart racing. In the black SUV with Mama, sitting in the back seat and laughing as her mother tapped her fingers in rhythm to the song on the radio. A shadow overhead, and cold,
dark fear. Mama telling her to pull the blanket always on the back seat over her. Hide.
I can outrace him. Unbuckle your seat belt and lie flat.
But Mama…
Do as I say! Lie on the seat. Be very quiet and he can’t see you.
And then a horrible thump, the SUV sliding and grinding to a halt. Screams echoed in her mind, followed by terrible silence. Blood seeping into the back seat. Pain burning in her leg and tears flowing down her cheeks as she tried to be quiet, oh so quiet, as Mama instructed…
“The black dragon followed us on the road.” She gulped down a trembling breath and wiped her streaming eyes. “It was the size of a commercial airplane. Mama warned me to be quiet. And then he landed on our vehicle, and Mama swerved and went into the tree. There was no time to run or escape. I was lying on the back seat, hidden, but my foot was caught beneath Mama’s seat. Mama was crushed to death.”
The noise in her head grew louder and louder, a flap of wings. Not the crash of vehicles, but wings. Wings like Justin’s. She turned to Justin.
His mouth opened. “Ariel…”
“Crushed to death. All for being a dragon. Her last act was to save me, Justin. I lost my mother because of a damn dragon hated her mated to a Mage. The dragon killed her!”
“I promise, I will find out and give you justice. Not what your father wants. That’s revenge.”
He took a step forward. She watched, bile rising in her throat, hatred festering in her heart. Justin could walk. Fly. Escape.
Because of his species, she could not. She’d lost her mother to a dragon. Her foot. And her father.
Her entire life had been a lie, believing she was a Mage. Believing that her mother’s death was an accident.
Never had she hated Leo more. Ariel felt something inside her surge with pure power. She willed it to surface, and then saw her palm glow with red energy.
Not pausing to think, she flung it at her father, the source of her rage. The glowing ball sailed through the air and smacked Leo in the chest. He staggered back, dropping the spear.
“You’re selfish, wanting to grab power for yourself and all the while telling me it was to restore my missing limb.” Rage engulfed her, so much rage and power she felt giddy with it.
She sent another tendril of power straight for Leo. This time he smacked into a rock, his lip cut.
Leo held up a hand. “Stop, please. I did it for you, Ariel. I had to find a way to use dragon magick to give you a way to protect yourself, while hiding the fact you were half dragon. Your Mage powers weren’t strong enough to shield you. Dell, my assistant, insisted that if we altered Justin’s blood and injected you with it, it would infuse you with new strength but the Mage familial DNA would override the dragon abilities. I was wrong. He was wrong.”
“Your experiments nearly cost me my life. Your days in the lab are over, Leo. You fucked with me and screwed me up.” Justin’s voice went tight.
“I gave you powers beyond that of any normal black dragon. The ability to breathe fire whenever you wished. And to heal.” Leo coughed, wiping blood from his lip.
Strength filled her. Justin was right. She had to choose her own path and destiny instead of living in shadow. “I can’t live like this any longer. I won’t marry Parker and you’re not going to kill Justin. I never want to see you again.” Ariel spread her arms wide to protect him, but Justin stepped in front of her.
“No, Ariel,” he said quietly. “Don’t do this. He may be an ass, but he’s your father. Don’t destroy your relationship with him. At least what he did he did for you. My guardians who took care of me after my parents died were cruel and uncaring. Your father loves you, and you love him.”
Gently he clasped her shoulders and stared down at her with intent. “You deserve to be loved and have someone sacrifice everything for you, sweetheart.”
Her heart swelled with love for him. Justin was honorable and noble, and damn brave, and he cared. She didn’t know why he’d left, but that didn’t matter now.
Justin’s laugh sounded bitter. “You’ll find this hard to believe, Harrington, but I forgive you for everything you did to me.”
“You can’t hurt him, Father. Never again.” Ariel stared up at Justin, cupping his face with one palm. “I won’t allow it. Put the spear away.”
“It’s not for him.” Leo gasped. “It’s to do what I should have done years ago – kill Chase. I did some checking with Mages in the Mystic Shores community and Chase is the Drogmire. An iron spear will take him out. Nothing else will, except dragon fire”
Both she and Justin looked up to where he pointed – at the rock they’d just descended.
“The Silver Wizard turned him into the Drogmire as punishment for killing Marian. He put him in charge of guarding the baby dragons. It’s time I destroy him.”
“You can’t. The Drogmire is the guardian of the cavern and baby dragons. The Coldfire Wizard will destroy you.” Justin glanced down at her. “Not that I give a damn about that, but Ariel does.”
The spear shook in Leo’s hands. “I must do this. All these years I’ve promised to avenge my Marian. It’s time.”
“Go home, Father. It’s over, and done with. Don’t mess with the affairs of wizards and dragons.”
Shoulders slumped, Leo turned and headed back toward the parking lot.
Tremendous weariness hit her. Her father couldn’t climb well, and there was no way he could access the cavern. Justin slid his arms around her waist. It felt so good to be held, she merely leaned against him.
“My whole life has been a lie. He denied me my heritage, Justin. My mother did, too. Why couldn’t they tell me?”
Justin kissed the top of her head. “He did it to protect you, little bird. I get it now. I believe if I had a daughter, I’d do everything in my power to keep her safe, too.”
Tears swam in her eyes as she lifted her head. “Not at the cost to you. Nothing is worth what he did to you.”
Justin cupped her face with his warm, strong palms. “It’s in the past and I’ve come to terms with it. I survived. I’ll keep surviving, sweetheart. My concern now is you.”
He lowered his head. His kiss was warm, sweet and tinged with passion. Ariel threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, needing this connection, needing to be grounded to him.
She drank in his mouth, tasting him, feeling desire rise. Ariel didn’t know where it would have led if not for the sound in the distance. It broke him apart like two strong hands yanking at them.
“Oh goddess,” she whispered. “He’s going to do it.”
Justin cocked his head. His eyes widened. “Son of a lizard!”
No need to explain what the sound was. She’d heard it before when she and Leo had taken a ride, sweeping through the canyons.
Helicopter.
21
Justin shifted into a dragon. Stay here. I’ll deal with him.
No. Ariel raced over, sprang onto his back. He’s my father. This is my fight.
The old coot was far cleverer than Justin anticipated. Grudging respect filled him. Leo couldn’t fly like a dragon.
But he could rent a helicopter.
With a mighty flap of his wings, he rose into the air. Using their telepathic mind link, he urged Ariel to hold on. Part of him wanted to keep her grounded, protect her. But this was her father and if he didn’t fly her up to the cave, she’d climb. Or worse, force a transformation into dragon in an attempt to fly herself.
A dragon’s first shift was often painful and more experienced mentors required to aid them. No way in hell would he leave her alone to chance it.
The whap whap whap of the helicopter blades sliced through the air. Pressure squeezed his chest as he angled away from the machine. A man dangled from a ladder above the ledge where the Drogmire still slept. Wind whipped the ladder back and forth. Sunlight glinted on the black spear the figure held.
Leo.
Still clutching the spear, Ariel’s father jumped down to the ledge. Justin hove
red. Holding a stationary position in the air took tremendous muscle strength, but he’d done it before.
Expecting the Skin helicopter to fly away, he was surprised to see another figure leave the machine and descend the ladder. This man jumped down to the ledge as well, no weapon in hand.
The hell with this. He wasn’t about to wait and see if the entire US Army climbed out of that damn thing. Hang on, he urged Ariel.
Justin dove beneath the helicopter and then with a sweep of his tail, gave it a gentle whack. The machine spun madly for a moment and then the pilot regained control and took off, heading for the Bell Rock parking lot.
Justin angled downward and landed on the ledge behind the two men. Raised voices drifted on the wind. They argued, but he couldn’t quite make out the words. At the cave’s entrance, the Drogmire still slumbered, oblivious to the unfolding drama.
Ariel slid off his back. Before she could race forward, he shifted back and grabbed her. “Easy,” he murmured into her ear. “We need to find out what the hell’s going on before rushing into anything.”
“He’s my father.” Worry etched her expression. “No matter how angry I am with him, he’s still my father.”
Justin stroked his thumb over her soft cheek. “I know, sweetheart. Follow my lead and stay behind me.”
They turned and he crept toward the cavern door where the two men still argued. Leo raised the spear. Justin’s mouth went dry as the other man knocked it away. Then the man hit Leo, who collapsed to the ground.
The man picked up the spear.
Ariel gasped. Leo’s assailant turned and saw them.
Not good. So not good. Justin’s heart raced. Power flickered in the air, tremendous power and suddenly he knew why.
“You two,” the man said, and laughed again. From a scabbard hanging on his belt, he withdrew a knife.
That voice…no longer was it quavering with age and soft. It was high-pitched and girlish, same as he remembered the three months he’d been imprisoned.
“Vern?” Ariel’s voice was low with shock.
“Not Vern,” Justin said slowly. “Dell, your father’s bastard of an assistant.”