“Tirah, you need to take her head now.” Captayen shook her and pulled her over to the dead female.
Trembling, she gazed around at all the violence and wished she were anywhere else.
“I said, take her head. You know what your punishment will be if you disobey me, do you not?” Captayen asked close to her ear. His fetid breath made her gag, and she remembered the torture and imprisonment her fellow students had gone through when they dared disobey a direct order.
At least they’d been given a second chance to redeem themselves. All her life, Casin had told her that as a female, and the daughter of a slave, she wouldn’t get that same chance. It didn’t matter that her father was the commander. She’d go straight to the slave quarters to pleasure any man who wanted her.
“I will be first in line to sample you.” Captayen leered. His pale eyes brimmed with lust, and renewed revulsion swamped Tirah. “Now!” He held his blood-covered sword out to her.
“No. I can’t.” Tirah tried to resist, but he muttered a spell and suddenly Tirah found herself reaching for his gory weapon against her will.
No, this can’t be happening. “Please, don’t make me do this,” she whispered, her panic building.
As her fingers made contact with the hilt, she wanted to vomit, until another much more powerful magic pervaded the air. It felt sweet and protective and enveloped her, cutting off Captayen’s weaker magic.
Startled, Tirah gazed around and froze when she met a pair of dark-blue eyes. They were filled with so much emotion, it was staggering. Dreads. The connection between them lasted only a moment, yet in that time, a jolt of fire—recognition—shot through her. Tirah gasped and felt like she was suffocating. Then it lifted, and the magic was gone as if it had never been, leaving a bare, gaping hole weeping inside of her.
What in all the worlds is happening to me? Confused, she tried to keep her focus on Dreads, until Captayen snarled and blocked her field of vision. He shoved the sword firmly into her hand.
“You dare to disobey me?” His handsome face was red and ugly with anger.
Breathing heavily, Tirah shook her head. “This is wrong, how could you do this?”
“These are our enemy. This is what we do. We kill them.” Captayen sneered.
Tirah licked her lips and stared down at the slight female. She’d been so very pretty, and in her eyes, Tirah had felt the depths of a pure, loving heart. No. No matter what Captayen said, Tirah couldn’t justify what they’d done to the female. To someone who hadn’t harmed any of them and never would have.
“Is Casin right?” Captayen asked, studying her intently.
“What?” Tirah wasn’t sure what he was talking about now.
“Casin claims you aren’t useful for much, but you helped us today. If you do as I command, I can make what happens later pleasant for you as well,” he said lewdly.
With his sword in one aching hand, Tirah clenched the bloody fingers of the other into a fist. The horrid reminder of what she’d already done was something she’d have to live with. “How could you do this? You tricked me and used me to lure an innocent here,” she spat, feeling sick all over again.
“I am your superior, you will show more respect,” he snapped.
“You don’t deserve my respect.” Tirah glared at him. Since she was six, she’d practiced with knives and swords, but now an unbearable weight, a burning fury, settled upon her.
Captayen’s cold eyes dipped down to her breasts. “You will do as I say, and we will take her head back to base with us. Then, you and I will have some fun of our own. Or, I can take her head, have you forcibly dragged back home, then bound to your bed for my pleasure. The choice is yours. It really makes no difference to me.” He studied her. “Though your brother will enjoy you more if you fight.”
Despite the sting, Tirah’s hand clenched around the sword and she drew in a deep breath. He’d said it. What choice did she have? Besides, the female was already dead. Tirah could only imagine what they would do to her if she refused.
Heart beating rapidly, Tirah sidestepped out of the way of the fighting, watching as Captayen reached down and yanked the female up by her hair.
Reluctantly, feeling as if she were in a dream, Tirah moved forward. She caught sight of Dreads outside of the circle as he glanced her way. His dark eyes widened in horror, before he turned to block his next attacker. Tirah took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and swung the sword.
Hot blood soaked her uniform and face as she fought not to gag.
She trembled violently as the head rolled on the ground and stopped beside her. Then she bent over and threw up.
Everything around her was muffled as she wiped her mouth with a shaking, blood-covered hand, then slowly began to back away. She blinked and tried to look away, yet the vacant, pale eyes staring back at her wouldn’t release their accusing hold.
Chapter Eight
Flames of Hades
Tirah expected one or more of her fellow soldiers to cut her down for her actions, and was surprised when she found herself at the edge of the circle instead.
She tore her gaze from her dead superior, unable to grasp what she’d just done. What were you thinking? Your life is forfeit now.
As the soldiers brought the dark-haired dragon shifter down, she heard a furious roar, then Dreads charged into the circle.
Cold slithered through her, and Tirah stared at the weapon in her clenched hand. Blood dripped off the Itarium steel blade. No, no, no … Disgust curled up inside of her, quickly followed by horror and shock at her actions. She released the vile sword and watched it drop to the ground.
She wiped her hands on her uniform, then realized that she’d never get clean. She blinked again and staggered back, wanting to get away from it all, but it was impossible. Vile magic continued to swirl all around her, irritating her skin. No, the bloodshed today would forever stain her soul. Then her ears popped, and the sounds of fighting, along with the stench of blood choked her. Tirah turned slowly, taking it all in. This horror needs to stop.
Tirah swallowed hard as her anxiety spiked even higher. What she was about to do, combined with what she’d already done, would likely mean her death. Yet there was no turning back and she didn’t want to live in a world where she was a part of such vile murder.
Decision made, she took a deep breath. So be it. She was already screwed, she may as well, dig the grave a little deeper. Trembling, Tirah drew her heel through the sacrificial blood coating the ground. A pop of displaced air sounded, and the ward keeping the circle active broke.
The cloying magic slowly slithered away, and Tirah’s hands went to her ears as everything suddenly grew in volume. Then she coughed as smoke from burnt flesh choked her.
Saddened at the loss of life surrounding her, Tirah watched, glad to see the dragons quickly and effectively cut down the soldiers. Some of her comrades seemed to realize they were fighting a lost cause and fled.
Part of her wanted to follow them, yet the other part was drawn by an insatiable need to go to the dragon male with the dreads. Tirah took a step forward, only to stop when she caught a faint chanting. It came from her right. She strained to see what it was, but all she saw was a large outcropping of rocks.
Then as the chanting grew louder, terror began to fill her. A different kind of magic, one even more evil than before, sizzled through the air. Suddenly she couldn’t move, she was frozen in place and it felt as if sludge flowed through her veins.
Panic consumed her as the ground beneath her feet let out a loud groan. She sneezed when the stench of sulfurous fumes erupted all around her. She needed to get away. Now. Tirah drew on her own strength and snapped out of her stupor.
The ground groaned again, even louder this time, and Tirah gasped. The middle of the circle split apart, revealing a fiery chasm. Green flames licked upward, and the heat was unbearable. A pungent black cloud rose with the flames and spread in the air. Tirah stared. The opening looked like a jagged hell portal. She wiped at her
burning eyes. What the—? How is this possible?
Then the air shook violently, and Tirah lost her balance and fell.
“What did you do?” a soldier screamed as he ran past her.
Tirah ignored him and gaped as bright, fluorescent green flames shot up mere inches from her feet. She scrambled back just in time to see the scorched ground crack and open right where she’d fallen. Her heart raced as she got to her feet and went to flee … only to see the same soldier sucked into another fiery crevasse.
“Quick! Run, Tirah!” a voice in her head hissed, making her blink.
Who—? Stunned, she realized it was her mother’s voice. “Mother?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“How is this possible—”
“There’s no time to explain right now. Just hurry back here. I have a pack ready for you,” Ashara continued.
Certain she was losing her mind, Tirah shook her head, yet it didn’t matter either way. She needed to go. She started to run, but it seemed that everywhere she set her foot, large cracks split the ground beneath her, making her change direction. Every second or third step, she had to shift directions or fall into one of the holes. Breath coming fast, Tirah scanned all around. Numerous green spewing fissures fanned out from the center of the black burning maw, snapping and sizzling as it sought victims.
She jumped when more fluorescent green flames singed her heels, then started in a different direction only to leap out of the way as she nearly collided with another soldier.
Once clear of the gaseous hellfire, Tirah let out a sigh of relief. But it was short-lived. She couldn’t afford to slow down. She was about to start running when a distant movement to the right caught her attention. What—? It was someone hiding behind the rocks. Likely the spell caster. Coward. Except … weren’t they all cowards? Preying on the weak?
Another grievous roar pierced the heavens, snapping her to action. She took off again.
“You can’t hide from me. I will hunt down each and every one of you here today. You will pay for this.” The words echoed through the night air and Tirah shivered. She didn’t have to be a genius to know that the dragon making the vow would never stop. Not until he found everyone involved tonight, her included.
It was Dread’s. His fury and despair ached through her, twisting her guts, and making her hesitate. Then she stepped in a dip and her foot gave out. “Demons,” Tirah hissed trying to keep her balance. She managed not to fall, but her ankle screamed in protest when she continued to run. She needed to get to her mother before the other fleeing soldiers reported that she had killed Captayen.
Chapter Nine
Vow of Vengeance
“Adarias, I’ve got you.” Saber struggled to hold onto his brother while fluorescent green hellfire spit, hissed, and sucked at them with eager claws, but then Adarias’s agonized gaze met Saber’s. The depths of despair in his brother’s eyes pierced straight to Saber’s soul. He knew the instant Adarias gave up.
“No, don’t do it, please,” Saber shouted and struggled to pull his brother free.
Adarias shook his head. “Little brother, save yourself.”
“No!” Saber screamed, more determined than ever, yet knowing he’d already lost. Still he fought to hang on, until Adarias shook his head and let go of him.
“Don’t leave me,” Saber cried. The ground buckled and threw him back. He drew on his power, shifted into his half-form, and hovered as the rolling folds snapped shut with a deep, harrowing rumble. Magical waves continued to rip through the earth as everything went back to the way it had been before, as if it had never happened. Yet it had, and now Adarias was trapped in the fiery bowels of Hades.
Blinded by uncontrollable rage, Saber shot flames at the heels of the soldiers as they fled in terror. Then he sank to the ground. “Adarias?” There was no return answer.
Though nearly paralyzed with shock, he shifted back into human-form and roared his vow of retribution at the fleeing cowards.
My brother, I will find a way to free you from your prison. Saber had no idea how he was going to keep his word, and he didn’t care. He’d die before he stopped trying.
He scanned the area. Searching … for what, he didn’t know. Not even the bodies of the Ilyium scattered everywhere was enough to appease him.
Over the years, one by one, his family had been taken from him. Most killed by the very foe who had just taken Maya and now Adarias. Don’t forget about Cass.
Saber swore. Both Adarias and Cass had been his best friends. Now they were gone. What would he do without them? Sure, there was still Zales, and the rest of his sisters and brothers, though he’d only kept in touch with a few, and had no idea where the others were. It didn’t matter, they all had their own lives and didn’t need him interfering in them.
Agony and depression sucked at him, pulling him down, until a new kind of torment pierced his skull. Saber winced, wondering what was happening. He hadn’t been wounded. Yet as slices of past battles and death slid like a mosaic through his mind, he understood. This was the beginning of the end. The first signs of his humanity disappearing.
Now? Fuck. Saber scowled at what this meant. The only person powerful enough to end his existence when he turned rogue had just been sucked into Hades, and no one ever returned from there.
It was just his fucking luck. Beyond done, Saber welcomed the physical torture. It dulled the loss of his brother and niece. Something bit into his fist and he opened his palm. Right before Adarias let go, he had pressed a medallion into Saber’s hand. Saber refused to think of what it meant. He glanced at Maya, expecting to find her mutilated. Instead, she lay as if resting.
Saber gazed upward. Why? How can you let this shit happen? Haven’t we fought long enough? Will it ever end?
It didn’t matter that he knew it was the curse that kept the war ongoing. Hate-filled words spewed from the mouth of a crazed Ilyium witch over a thousand years ago. Words that landed them all in this heaping pile of shit. Only a miracle of epic proportions would ever change their circumstances.
Saber didn’t know how long he sat, but then thunder rumbled in the sky, and with a sharp crack, the heavens opened. As rain pelted from above, the words spilled from his soul. “I’ll not stop until I avenge you, my dear Maya.
Once the rain abated, Saber rose to his feet. He wished he could run away from his next task. Blue eyes blazing with renewed anger, he slid the medallion into his pocket, then gently scooped up the broken body of his niece.
At least they hadn’t managed to behead her. Then Saber glanced at the body that had been beheaded. Good, he thought.
With a swirl of power and a coldness the likes of which he’d never experienced, he shifted into his dragon. With a last calculating sweep, Saber imprinted every detail and every scent, and let it burn into his mind and soul. Then he took to the sky, hatred blazing throughout him.
Saber ignored the urge to fly far away and instead landed near Maya’s village at the base of Fallen Mountain. Shifting back into his human-form, he faltered at the wrenching cry that sounded eerily like Cass.
Chapter Ten
Broken
Saber’s skin prickled in apprehension. As a fully bonded mate, Maya’s death should have killed Cass. No, he had to be imagining that it was his friend. Yet as Saber drew closer, his mouth dropped open. A bonded mate was not supposed to outlive the one who was his soul.
But somehow, someway, Cass had. And it was clearly tearing him apart. How is this possible? He knew for a fact that Cass and Maya had bonded.
Yet there was his best friend, a male that was every bit his brother as his own were. His green eyes wild and his blond hair plastered to his face, Cass roared and fought the warriors holding onto him.
Saber couldn’t imagine what his friend was going through, and here he was about to add to the misery. Saber groaned. He’d rather rip out his own heart and die a slow, brutal death than subject Cass to this.
With Maya’s body in his arms, Saber’s gut clenched
in dread as he approached the gathered crowd. He jerked when Cass let out another piercing, mournful cry. Cass wrenched free, staggered forward, and fell to his knees.
Saber bit his tongue, tasting blood, and steeled himself as Cass stretched his arms out to his dead mate. Absently, Saber noted the destruction of the village square, an indication of how badly Cass had lost control.
“Cass,” Saber said, wishing there was something else, anything else he could do, rather than this.
“Give her to me. Give me my mate,” Cass’s voice cracked.
Saber clenched his jaw and lowered Maya into his friend’s arms. As Cass sobbed over Maya’s body, Saber moved away a few feet and herded the crowd with him, allowing Cass some privacy. As he was bombarded with questions, he attempted to push his own emotions aside to calm everyone.
“Where is Adarias?” someone asked.
Saber grew still. It was like time slowed, and then no matter how hard he tried to keep his emotions in check, his anger surfaced. Saber’s eyes flashed with the fire of his hatred.
Gasps tore from a few throats as everyone moved away from him.
When he managed to rein in his emotions once again, he answered the question, leaving everyone speechless.
Then more sobs arose, and Saber closed his eyes. If he was going to get through this night, he’d need to get away from all this.
“Sabe—” Cass whispered, but whatever Cass wanted to say, caught in his throat.
Saber crouched down beside his friend and laid a hand on Cass’s shoulder.
“Why am I here?” Cass asked, and the sorrow in his voice broke Saber’s heart.
“I don’t know, buddy. I don’t know.” Tears prickled at the backs of Saber’s eyes.
“I know how, but not why,” Cass said.
Saber frowned, but before he could ask what Cass meant, his friend interrupted him.
Saberthorn (A Paranormal/Fantasy Dragonshifter Romance): Dragonkind ~ 52 Realms Page 5