by Julia Mills
“Please make sure he never forgets how much I love him and let him find another to love him as he rightly deserves.”
Warmth spread throughout her dying body from the spot where the bond she shared with her dragon warrior lived and removed all her pain. As she took her last breath, Audrey heard, “All will be well, my child.”
Chapter Four
The world around him ceased to exist. He could feel the wooden floor beneath his knees. Smell the brimstone and sulfur from Adramelech’s evil magic. See the smoke where once his beautiful mate had been standing. But it all seemed so far away, like the background scenes in a motion picture...insignificant, just filler. What was real, what mattered...ALL that mattered, was that Audrey was gone, taken by the same piece of shit Demon Lord who’d had her in his clutches for more years than Rian wanted to think about.
He imagined the worse. Thought of the scars he’d touched on Audrey’s skin. His fingertips tingled as he remembered feeling the thick, rough tissue underneath her soft silken flesh. He knew they were more gnarled, more prominent than they needed to be because the sack of shit that held her captive had done nothing to aid in her healing. Hard as he tried, Rian couldn’t stop the images of her lying bloodied and beaten, in pain and suffering through the long days of healing.
Many nights Rian lay awake imagining all the tortures his mate had been made to suffer. Looking at a specifically large scar running up his own arm, the Dragon Leader shook his head. He’d made a choice to fight. His scars were a badge of honor. He’d earned every one. They showed he’d fought harder than his opponent and had been victorious. Audrey didn’t have that luxury. Hers would always be a sad reminder of the betrayal of her uncle, the heartache of not being there when her father was laid to rest, and the untold misery she’d suffered at the hands of Adramelech. Unable to break the spell the horrible images running through his mind created, Rian barely heard Rory screaming right behind him.
“What. The hell. Was that? Did y’all see that shit?”
“Yes, and I can smell the sulfur and brimstone it left in its wake.” Brannoc growled, with his sword at the ready, still checking the cabin for enemies.
“Is Rian okay or just being a dick as usual and ignoring all of us?” Royce grumbled as he set the couch back on its feet and plopped down, blade across his lap.
“Looks like your brother was well prepared,” Kellan’s low rasp of a voice, thick with his Scottish brogue, cut through all the confusion as he nodded to the Devil’s Trap expertly drawn on the ceiling. Moving his foot, he raised his eyebrows and added, “Two traps for one little demon? Seems like overkill.”
“She is not a demon,” Rian ground out through gritted teeth.
In one fluid motion, the Dragon Leader stood, drew his sword, and was across the room with the blade to Kellan’s neck. “You will not talk about my mate that way.” His low, continuous growl resonated through the suddenly silent cabin.
The buzz of Rory and Royce privately speaking mind-to-mind irritated his frayed senses, but not as much as the sounds of Brannoc trying to sneak up behind him. Spinning on the balls of his feet while drawing his dagger, Rian stopped only when it was against Brannoc’s jugular.
“What the fuck, Ri? You gonna kill us all?” Rory asked with a look of complete shock and awe on his face.
“Yeah, come on Rian. Rory’s right. We just came up here to check on you. You’ve been acting like a madman since we found Drago and the disappearing act was the straw that broke the dragon’s back. You’re the Leader of the clan. The one everybody looks up to. We’ve covered for you all that we can. The other Elders are asking for you. We had to come. Now, drop the blades and let’s talk about this shit.” Taking a step closer, Royce put his hands out in front of himself as a sign that he meant no harm.
Shaking his head, Rian’s younger brother looked totally disgusted and more than a little pissed as he went on. “You’re not gonna kill Kell and Brann. I know it. You know it. Hell, they know it. They’re letting you hold them at knifepoint to show respect. It’s damn sure not because they’re scared of you! I have no doubt either of them could put you on your ass with one arm tied behind his back. Together, they could have you trussed like a Christmas turkey in three seconds. Cut the shit and talk to us.” Royce ran his hand through his curly red hair and sighed. “Cause this shit’s not getting us anywhere.”
Rian knew his brother was right. Felt the good intentions, no matter how misguided he thought they were, coming from all of them. It was reassuring to know that even when he had a knife to their necks, his brethren still had his back.
Slowly lowering the blades, Rian stood tall, refusing to be ashamed for what he’d done. He knew he’d do it all again...and more if it meant saving Audrey. Standing perfectly still, the Dragon Leader looked at the faces of his brothers, as well as two of his oldest friends, and was shocked to find no recrimination...only questions and more than a little concern.
Never one to wait, Rory closed the distance between them, slapped Rian on the back, and asked, “Got anything good to drink? I’m thinking this conversation is gonna take beer...lots and lots of beer...maybe a keg or two.”
“Wouldn’t turn down a cold one either, but the fridge is empty,” Kellan answered from the kitchen. Rian turned; shocked that he’d missed the scarred dragon’s movement. Another testament to how focused he was on Audrey’s freedom.
“Beer’s good but all I brought was whiskey.” Brannoc winked, carefully taking a step back and pulling a fifth of Scotch from his backpack. “I figure if there are more than two of us together it’s always good to have refreshments.” He hoisted the bottle in the air before plopping down on the couch.
Once they were all seated, each with a drink, Royce immediately asked, “Okay, what’s really going on, Ri? Enough is enough, spill.”
Knocking back all the Scotch in his mug, Rian leaned his head into his hand and massaged across his forehead with his thumbs before speaking. He had no idea where to start but decided since the dragon was out of the bag, he might as well tell them everything.
Taking a deep breath, he sat back and looked each man in the eye before beginning. “I’m sure y’all remember about a week after Roy left to train and join MacLendon’s Force that Stefan and Marcas approached me about taking over Dad’s spot as Head Elder. It had been vacant for a while, and from what they said, they’d all been waiting for me to be ready to take over. At the time, I wasn’t sure I even wanted it. I was perfectly happy leading our Force, fighting the good fight, and training the new guardsmen.
“Of course, they had other ideas. As only an uncle can do, Stefan told me how it had always been Dad’s dream to have one of us follow in his footsteps.” He gave a half-grin to Royce and Rory. “Then as Dad’s oldest friend, Marcas confirmed what Stef said and added that it was Dad’s greatest wish right after us all joining the Guard. Thank the Heavens, Niall was too busy instructing new Healers. I don’t think I could’ve taken his two cents worth on top of everything the others had dumped on me. Anyway, without Roy to yell at and with Ror training in the mountains, I decided to take a walk on the beach to clear my head. I knew it always worked for Dad, so I gave it a try.”
He reached for the bottle of Scotch sitting in the middle of their circle, poured way more than two fingers, and drank it down before continuing. “What I found wasn’t answers. No, that would’ve been too easy. I found my mate, Audrey Dobresou, a princess from another kingdom. I also soon found out she was the unwilling prisoner of a Demon Lord, the Chancellor of Hell to be precise.”
“Mother...”
Rory wasn’t able to finish his statement as Royce jumped to his feet and bellowed, “That was a hundred years ago, Ri!”
Nodding his head, Rian scrambled for what to say. But it didn’t matter because they were all talking around him.
“What the hell? You’ve been keeping this whopper from all of us for a hundred frikkin’ years? You can’t even keep a surprise birthday party a secret. What the hell,
man? You bucking for Superman’s job?” Brannoc was shaking his head, brows furrowed, while he bit the inside of his cheek; something he always did when he was trying to solve a puzzle.
“Explains the Devil’s Traps and the cabin,” Kellan added, never one for many words.
But then came Rory. As usual, he had more to say than anyone else. “Seriously, Ri? Seriously? You’ve been dealing with this shit for a hundred years and never told any of us? You walk around issuing orders and acting like the sanctimonious Dragon Leader while messing around with a demon?”
In a flash, the youngest O’Reilly brother was on his feet and pacing as he talked. “Something ain’t right. It just feels off. You don’t do shit like this. That’s my job. I’m the little brother. I’m the screw up. Not you. Not Roy. Y’all are responsible. Always think about the greater good. Leave the stupid shit to me.”
He stopped pacing and looked at Rian with his hands on his hips. “How do you even know she’s your mate and this isn’t some trick by this piece of shit demon to lure you into a trap?”
The words were barely out of Rory’s mouth before Rian was flying across the room, blade drawn, aiming for his baby brother’s chest. Thankfully, Royce could move more quickly than his older sibling could and was between his brothers before Rian’s dagger was anywhere near Rory’s chest.
Holding Rian by the neck at arm’s length, Royce snarled, “Calm the hell down.”
Turning to look at Rory, he growled through gritted teeth, “Can you just once try not to say everything as it floats through that air tunnel you call a brain? Dammit, you’ve seen a dragon when he’s kept from his mate. You know it’s freakin’ torture. It’ll drive even the weakest of us crazy. Look at Ri. He’s a fucking mess. We’re just lucky he’s as strong-minded as he is or the dumbass would’ve lost all his marbles long ago, and then where the hell would we be?”
Looking back and forth between his brothers one more time, Royce asked Rian, “Now, can you play nice?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Rian grumbled, dropping the arm holding the blade and hanging his head.
Frowning at Rory, Royce raised an eyebrow while asking, “And you, dumbass, can you please keep your mouth shut?” Then snorting, he corrected, “Or at least count to five before saying something stupid so we have time to prepare?”
The room erupted in laughter as Rory shook his head and chuckled, “No promises.”
With the tension level lower and the air not quite so thick he could cut it with a knife, Rian continued, “Just to clear the air and answer Rory’s question...I have been summoning Audrey every full moon for about ninety years...”
“Son of a bi...” Rory murmured under his breath.
“Explains a lot,” Kellan commented while Royce and Brannoc sat completely still, waiting for Rian to continue.
“Audrey has done everything, including steal a book from Adramelech’s private library, to get herself out of hell. After all this time, I know her well enough to assure you she is not evil, merely trapped. And to answer the question screaming through your minds, yes, I’ve been cautious. I’ve been working with Eleanor and her coven since day one. She’s had some crazy monk with an extensive knowledge of the dark arts helping her for as long as I’ve been meeting with Audrey and they’re still hard at it trying to find a way to make the Summoning Spell a permanent escape for my mate.”
Royce cleared his throat, which always meant Rian wasn’t going to like what his younger brother had to say...but Roy was going to say it any way.
As if on cue, he asked, “I know you think you’re sure her intentions are good, and I know this is gonna piss you off, but I gotta ask. You know I do...Can you feel her through the mating bond?”
Trying to hold his temper, Rian answered through gritted teeth while glaring at his brother. “Yes, Roy, I can read her mind. The bond is alive and strong when we are together. There are even glimpses, I guess you’d call them twinges, of recognition while she’s in hell. But, I’m thinking all the evil concentrated in one place, not to mention she’s on a totally different plane of existence, blocks most of our connection. Either way, as soon as we are back together I see everything that’s happened while we were apart through her memories. I feel her emotions, hear her thoughts, the whole kit and caboodle. Audrey doesn’t even try to hide from me. She has no blocks or walls. We have no secrets.”
Rian knew Royce had only the best of intentions and meant no harm, but that didn’t stop his younger brother’s questions from rubbing Rian the wrong way. Thankfully, Royce was too deep in thought to notice the Dragon Leader’s irritation.
None of them meant any harm. They’d all been his brethren going on a hundred and fifty years. But sitting and listening to their thoughts...thoughts in which four people he held in such high regard doubted the woman he loved more than life itself, sucked. Taking a deep breath, he tried to rein in his temper while blocking the barrage of thoughts coming from his brothers and friends, and once again, prayed Audrey was all right.
Rory opened his mouth but was silenced by a look from Royce as the middle O’Reilly son started to speak. “Okay, I can see where you’re coming from. If Kyra was trapped anywhere, heaven, hell...wherever...I would do everything in my power to get her back. But what I don’t understand is why you kept it a secret for all this time? I mean, it’s not like you’re any closer to springing your princess from the Underworld than you were a hundred years ago. Doesn’t make sense that you didn’t come to us for help.”
Rian had his reasons for keeping everything from them and could’ve explained, but he knew it would only result in more bickering and more time spent talking...time he was sure Audrey didn’t have. Instead of telling them that it was all his pride and ego, he admitted yet another sin. “Well, recently I’ve gotten closer to getting Audrey out of the Underworld, but you’re not gonna like what I did or what comes next.”
“Oh, we know what you did, big bro.” Rory laughed, looking satisfied that he’d finally been able to speak but immediately irritated as Brannoc spoke over his next words, effectively cutting him off.
“Maddox has been on the warpath since you snuck in and took the Stone. Says you were the last person he thought would ever steal from him.” Brannoc shook his head and took a drink from his cup. “The old mad dragon is threatening to descale your dragon and neuter you and it doesn’t sound like he’s gonna use anesthetic.” Laughing aloud, he continued. “Man, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that this book,” Rian grabbed his duffle, pulled out the journal, and laid his hand on the cover, “says I need a Focus Stone covered in black magic sigils written in the blood of innocent white witches as part of the ritual to save Audrey. I was thinking that I was already in too deep to tell anyone about all of this.” He motioned around the cabin and at the Devil’s Trap on the ceiling. “I was thinking I could get in and get out with the Stone without Maddox knowing and he would just figure he’d misplaced it. After all, he is crazy. I stopped thinking and started praying that I could finally go to the Underworld, bring my mate home, and live a normal life like we’re supposed to do when we find our mate. Lastly, I just acted on instinct.”
He said the last few words while shouting and jumping to his feet. Feeling the need to burn off the nervous energy flooding his system, the Dragon Leader paced and blew out a long, haggard breath.
They are either with me or against me, but one way or another, I will get Audrey out of hell.
Long moments of silence ticked by. Rian was half-afraid to look at his brethren. Something that in all his one hundred and sixty-five years had never happened. He was the assertive one, the leader, the one who hit every challenge head on, never second-guessed, never looked back, only forged ahead—but this was different. Remembering the hundreds of times he’d contemplated telling his brothers about what was happening; the memory of standing on Royce’s front porch with his hand on the doorknob before deciding there was no way he was putting anyone else in danger and turning away floate
d through his consciousness.
“You have a way to get her out?” Kellan’s raspy voice sliced through the silence. “You believe it will work?”
Nodding, Rian threw the ancient human-skin bound book to his long-time friend, grabbed the Scotch, and downed what was left in the bottle. Unable to sit still as Kellan read, Rian paced the floor. He watched as Kellan opened the book to the long ago marked last entry and read the words that were his mate’s only hope. It seemed like forever before the scarred dragon closed the book and looked up.
“Well, shit.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say? Well, shit?” Brannoc immediately snorted while shaking his head.
“Look for yourself.” Kellan threw the book at his clansman before producing more Scotch from his duffle. Tipping the unopened bottle towards the O’Reilly brothers, the scarred Guardsman raised his eyebrows, silently asking if they wanted more to drink.
“Hell, yeah. Looks like the night is far from over. Fill ‘er up, barkeep.” Rory chuckled.
“I think I’d better keep a clear head.” Tapping the side of his forehead, Royce continued. “Kyra’s listening in. I figured it couldn’t hurt to have a witch in on the plan and besides, she was worried about ya’, you big lug.” He leaned forward and punched Rian in the arm.
“Tell her I said thanks.” Rian felt guilty for making Kyra worry but figured it was a feeling he’d been having for so long, a little more didn’t matter.
“Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you that she owes you an ass kicking.”
Laughing aloud for the first time in a long time, Rian could only nod and thank the Heavens his brethren were teasing him and not marching him to the remaining Elders of their clan for a Tribunal. Watching from of the corner of his eye, he saw Brannoc reread the journal entry for what Rian was sure was the third time. As the best navigator Rian had ever seen, Brann was known for his attention to detail and caution—and this time was no different—but it didn’t make waiting any easier.