A Bond of Venom and Magic (The Goddess and the Guardians Book 1)

by Karen Tomlinson

  Instinctively she knew the light was the woman’s energy, her magic and her life force, and it was flickering like a candle about to be extinguished.

  “It is time,” whispered the woman, reaching out a bony hand and touching Diamond’s necklace, then her heart. Warmth bloomed in Diamond’s chest.

  “The prince needs you, and soon every living soul in this world will need you,” the woman rasped urgently. “Go now. South. A guardian is free. “

  Diamond screamed as the woman faded, replaced by burning red eyes and a huge maw lined with black teeth. Dragon fire engulfed her, heat searing her skin, melting it from her bones. It sucked the oxygen from her lungs. She couldn’t breathe! She was burning! A piercing wail of terror escaped her lips.

  Abruptly she was knocked sideways and big hands rolled her swiftly on the stone floor as the vision left her.

  “Wake up!” bellowed a harsh voice, a stinging blow landing on her cheek before hard fingers clutched her shoulders and shook her. Gasping for air, she hit out at the flames still licking her skin.

  “Diamond! Stop, wake up!” Another slap rattled her brain and her eyes flew open, immediately latching onto Hugo’s. Sapphire sparking with silver flame held her completely in thrall. Then he blinked and that tether broke. Smoke curled through the air above Hugo’s head. Amazingly there was no pain—she was not burnt, and neither was he. But it had felt so real. She collapsed into his grip like a rag doll.

  “What the hell happened?!” he barked, pulling her off him. “The air around you just burst into flame.”

  The muscles in Hugo’s jaw tightened as he looked her over. General Edo stood just on the periphery of her vision, watching them intently. A pale-looking Tom stood immobile next to him. A puzzled expression flitted over the general’s brow as he regarded Hugo before his narrowed eyes rested on her again.

  “We need to go south,” she blurted out urgently, ignoring Hugo’s question, not because she didn’t want to answer, but because she couldn’t explain what had just happened. “The prince is in danger,” she said with a trembling voice. Hugo eyed her as though she were mad. “Please. We have to go. Now!” she implored, trying to control the shaking and utter panic that threatened to turn her into a useless mess.

  “Why? What just happened? Are you a witch or some sort of magic wielder?” he barked suspiciously. “Is that why the Wraith Lord wants you?” he growled. “My oath requires me to take all magic wielders to the palace or kill them.”

  “I don’t know what just happened!” she cried in truth, trying to ignore his last words. A violent shudder racked her body. Diamond closed her eyes briefly against her fear and confusion. A dragon. A guardian—oh gods!

  “Please. We have to go!” she cried her voice high pitched as she grabbed at Hugo’s calloused, leathery hands. She had to get him to understand! They had to go south. “Please….” she whispered imploringly, unaware of the strange brightness in her violet eyes. “I am not a witch or magic wielder,” she sobbed. “I’m not. I’m not!” she almost wailed.

  “Fine,” he growled, his face cold as he stood and began barking orders out to the already waiting warriors.

  Trembling, Diamond felt around her face and hair.

  “It’s okay. I don’t know what just happened, but somehow you are not burned,” General Edo told her, inclining his head toward Hugo. “He saw the flames and moved faster than anything I’ve ever seen before to get to you. Damned weird thing happened when he reached into them to grab you, they went out immediately, as if he sucked them inside himself.”

  In her confusion Diamond missed the narrow-eyed, assessing look General Edo cast at Hugo as the guard strode back to Diamond.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Hugo said pulling her to her feet and holding out his arms.

  General Edo bristled. “She will come with me,” he said squaring up to the younger man.

  Diamond honestly didn’t care who she went with but Tom snorted, “No offence, but I’m not being carried by any of them again today,” he said, huffing at Zane.

  Zane grinned like a wolf and drawled, “Aw, do I make you nervous?” A couple of the other warriors smirked at Tom’s reddening face. “Don’t worry. I like my men with more muscle.”

  Hugo growled, “Quiet, Zane. Now is not the time.”

  Zane bowed his head slightly, but Diamond did not miss the way his eyes flicked to Tom. Fae males were not singular in their sexuality.

  Does he like Tom? she wondered.

  Tom, however, deliberately ignored the warrior he had been sparring with only moments before. “If I have to hitch a ride, I’ll go with you, general,” he grumbled. “At least I know you.”

  General Edo snarled at the boy and eyed Hugo coldly. But Hugo held his gaze, dominance pouring off him. They did not have time for this. Diamond swallowed hard and stepped into Hugo’s body. An invitation.

  The general eyed her glacially, as if she had committed an offense. “Look after her,” he warned Hugo, resting his hand meaningfully on his sword. “She is no threat to your Queen.”

  Hugo raised his eyebrows a fraction. “I will make that decision,” he replied, sending Diamond’s blood cold. “But for now, I give you my word I will keep her safe.”

  Diamond let Hugo lift her, one arm under her legs and another around her shoulders. Carrying her effortlessly to the lip of the cave entrance, he extended his wings and stepped into thin air. She squeezed her eyes shut, convinced they were about to fall to the forest below. Her stomach dropped and cold wind ruffled her hair. Steeling her nerve, she peered down, wishing she hadn’t when all the blood rushed from her head. The ground was a sickeningly long way down.

  “Trust me. I won’t let you fall,” he said.

  Trust him? Is he mad? Of course she didn’t trust him, not after that last comment. But she didn’t know what other choice there was. Twisting slightly, she gripped tightly onto his shoulders, not caring if he thought her gutless. At least if he decided to drop her she would not immediately fall.

  His eyes flicked over her body. “Did you get burned anywhere?” he asked stiffly.

  “No.” she answered, although she had no idea why not if the flames were real enough to create smoke. Her stomach tightened at the prospect of finding a dragon in this forest. Goddess above. A dragon! One of the legendary guardians to Eternity, the land of the gods. Red eyes flashed in her mind.

  The vision, if that’s what it was, had drained her. Her head felt too heavy for her shoulders. Diamond rested her cheek against Hugo’s chest, turning her face into his tough jacket and away from the cold wind. It must have made him uncomfortable because a few seconds later he hitched her up and re-adjusted his embrace, tightening his grasp on her.

  Onwards they flew, an impressive band of airborne warriors, their golden wings glinting in the sunlight. Hugo led them over the endless forest canopy, his own wings dark against the ashen sky, letting himself be guided by Diamond’s instincts.

  The weather shifted, becoming grey and stormy, whipping the trees into a frenzy. It became harder for the warriors to fly; much to Tom’s chagrin, General Edo had to pass him on to another fae. She did not know whether to worry for her friend or not, as Zane shouldered a surprised Karl out of the way and hovered in front of the general with a comical mix of tight-lipped contrition and quiet pleading. Tom looked desperately at Karl, but the other warrior just shrugged helplessly at Zane’s behaviour.

  “It seems he likes you, so it’s either him or you walk,” Karl grinned. “I’m not going to fight that grumpy bastard for you.”

  Tom swore viciously but allowed Zane to take his weight. Diamond found it hard not to smile at the incongruous sight of her friend being carried like a child by an overbearing, heavily muscled fae warrior. Tom might be terribly skinny but he was still six feet tall and would weigh a considerable amount. Something told Diamond Zane would not struggle. Even if he did, he would not pass Tom to another.

  Hugo showed no trace of fatigue or wanting to pass her to one of the
others. Tilting her head back enabled her to study his face properly. It was then she noticed his eyelashes weren’t white. They glinted as he blinked. They were silver, like the sparks in his eyes. This close the ridged, scar stood out stark and proud against his dark golden skin. Wanting to trace a finger along it, she wondered if it hurt him. As if he felt the weight of her scrutiny, he slowly and deliberately met her gaze and held it. Heat warmed her cheeks and she looked down.

  They left the dense northern forest, flying south east. Hugo refused to rest, taking heed of Diamond’s increasing anxiety for a prince she had never met. None of the warriors complained, all of them beating their wings hard to keep up with him. The forest below looked like a winter storm had ripped it to pieces. After a time the sulphuric smell of rotten eggs began to infuse the air, overpowering her senses. Covering her nose with her hand didn’t stop the gags rippling up her throat.

  A circle of flattened and scorched trees appeared in the devastation. Ash floated in the air and covered the flattened ground in a smoking grey blanket. Diamond had never seen anything like it. Hugo and the general hovered, surveying the unnatural sight before them. Zane held back, glancing down at Tom, who folded his arms over his chest as he steadfastly ignored the big warrior. The others, their faces betraying their uncertainty, remained in formation behind General Edo. At the centre of the wreckage a vortex of black mist twisted and raged from the ground into the black clouds above. A strange feeling bloomed inside her, as if something inside that mist called to her.

  Movement fluttered at the edge of Diamond’s vision, distracting her. “There!” she shouted, pointing down to the ground on their right. Tapping Hugo’s shoulder quickly to get his attention, she leaned in towards his ear. “I saw something move. I know I did.”

  “I need to put you down.” Tension rippled through Hugo’s body as he spoke. There was a fallen, charred tree trunk almost hidden by ash below their feet. She pointed to it trying to keep her hand steady. Her heart thumped against her ribs at the thought of him leaving her alone, but even though he had not said it, Diamond got the feeling Prince Jack Oden was also his friend.

  “There,” she said, keeping her voice strong. He nodded. When her feet hit the ground it took her a moment to recover her balance.

  “Stay hidden and don’t move from here,” he instructed brusquely then shot up into the turbulent sky.

  Diamond crouched down, hiding behind the fallen tree, one hand clutched tightly over her mouth and nose. The smell of sulphur was overwhelming. Saliva rushed her mouth. Heaving, she spat it out.

  A low, pulsing rumble spread through the earth, shaking the ground and making her insides quake until a sudden ear-splitting roar deafened her. She instinctively dropped to the ground and screwed herself up into a ball, clutching her hands protectively over her ears. Mercifully, the roar was short lived. Coarse, warm ash slipped between Diamond’s fingers as she pushed herself up and peered over the top of the tree trunk. Swirling mist, blacker than any shadow she had ever seen, was sucked up inside the lungs of a huge creature. Standing taller than any tree, its massive, scaly tail swished dangerously close to Diamond’s hiding place.

  Terror trapped the scream in her throat. Her vision had been true! And if this beast existed, so too did the goddess and every other legendary nightmarish creature she had hidden from under her bedclothes as a child. The enormity of that thought paralysed her.

  Lunaria and her war with the god of Chaos. It was all true.

  This roaring, malevolent creature was a guardian. Ice crept along her veins. It clearly did not answer to the goddess Lunaria. Who does it answer to—the god of Chaos?

  Red eyes rolled and raged like pits of fire. Black bony ridges protruded all the way up his spine, from the end of his barbed tail to the base of his big skull. There three twisted red horns curved outwards from the dragon’s ridged forehead, surrounded by smaller spikes that thrust from the side of his massive head and jaws like a macabre halo.

  The beast swung his tail in a huge arch, crashing close by into the ground that the fallen tree bounced and a branch hit her stomach and knocked her off her feet. Gasping for air, she scrambled up and ran as fast as her shaking legs would take her. Away, away from this creature of fire. Gas burned her lungs, her eyes watering until everything blurred. Trying not to breathe in the poisonous cloud, she made herself sprint. This creature was far more terrifying than any Seeker. In the vision this red-eyed dragon had incinerated her.

  Sweating and breathless, she reached the edge of the ash circle and dived down behind a bush, staring in horror at the harsh beauty of the beast. It was close enough for her to see each individual mirrored, black scale. Acid drool dripped from the dragon’s huge maw, smouldering on the ground where the slimy globules landed. Stretching back its reptile-like mouth, it bared row upon row of hideously sharp, black teeth. Fear rippled through her at the sight of them. Cloying heat sucked oxygen from the air, making it unbearably difficult to breathe. Crawling forward on her hands and knees, she cried out as spikes of scorched twigs dug through her leggings. Gasping, she collapsed down on the ground, salty sweat trickling into her eyes and mouth.

  Where is Hugo? Panic threatened her vision, her lips beginning to tingle. All she could see were shadows and smoke. Her eyes desperately searched through the sparse forest, her brain not registering how odd it was for her to wish for him rather than her childhood friend or the general who had always been part of her life. That weird tugging sensation pulled at her insides, and she knew beyond any doubt Hugo was coming.

  A movement in the trees caught her attention. Strangely, it was opposite to where she had seen the flash of movement before. A young man near Diamond’s age, tall and lean with curly brown hair, ran forward. A sword hung down his back, its ruby hilt glinting as angrily as the dragon’s eyes.

  He has to be the prince. What is he doing? she thought incredulously. He’s right in the path of the dragon’s gaze. Is he mad?

  The prince reached for something, and she realised there was a huge black and white animal lying on a bed of branches and leaves. A water leopard! Then she remembered what Hugo had said. Their lands were the lakes and mountains that bordered the Barren Waste Lands. Prince Oden’s allies.

  Diamond instinctively knew the animal was hurt. Its black barbed tail swished, hitting the prince’s leg as if trying to get him to leave him. Clearly the stubborn prince wasn’t paying attention. Neither of them would escape the dragon’s attention.

  It rolled its massive head, triumph making its whole body quiver. Anger and desperation laced the water leopard’s bellowing roar. Animal eyes sought her out an instant before a growling voice echoed in her head, making her jump.

  ‘Save him!’

  Without any thought for her own safety or the fact she had heard the big cat’s voice in her head, Diamond launched herself into a run, ash plumes bursting from beneath her feet.

  Hot prickly sensations ran over Diamond’s sweat-drenched skin as she charged toward the prince, Hugo and everyone else forgotten in her haste.

  ‘Your energy—your magic. Use it to shield, to protect.’ The emaciated dream woman’s voice echoed weakly in Diamond’s head. The spark of heat the woman had ignited within Diamond’s chest burst into uncontrolled flame, shifting rapidly through every cell in her body; muscle, sinew, bone, they all burned with something Diamond could not comprehend.

  ‘Magic.’

  The word whispered through her soul, leaving her fearful of what that might mean if she lived through the next few minutes. Diamond pushed thoughts of Hugo’s threats aside. Right now, instinct told her to let this power flow. The woman’s aura stayed with Diamond, a misty presence quivering on the periphery of her consciousness commanding the magical energy within her in a way Diamond could not do herself. Encouragement and support flooded Diamond’s mind.

  ‘Free it,’ urged the woman’s voice. A peculiar milky film covered her violet eyes. Far from obscuring her vision, the magical sight sent the world swirlin
g with colour, a kaleidoscope of energy exploding from the living magic of the world. Diamond did not have time to admire the beauty around her.

  Level with the dragon’s front claws, she skidded to a halt, panting hard. Waves of blistering heat coursed through her body, becoming more difficult to contain with every passing second. Alive and impatient, it wanted out—out of her body. Her eyes flew to the vulnerable prince. The air crackled and energy flared around Diamond’s body. Unbound from its prison, magic engulfed her, turning her skin and hair into a river of silver and white light. The woman’s control on Diamond’s magic slipped and it fought for release. The dragon gave a bellowing roar and Diamond exploded into movement, running faster than she ever had before.

  Orange scales glowed underneath the dragon’s neck, turning molten and flowing like a turbulent river of lava. Moments later, dragon fire surged forth towards the prince and the water leopard.

  Fuelled by anger and despair, magic swirled like a lightning storm around her arms, crackling through the air. Throwing her arms forwards, an orb of white energy exploded from her hands. It engulfed her, the forest and the dragon’s prey in a huge protective bubble, abruptly cutting off the flame from around them. Diamond ground her teeth. The power flowing from her felt dangerous and far stronger than her ability to control. But there was no choice; if she could not dominate it, they would all burn. The huge dome of magic held a strong protective force against the torrent of dragon fire.

  Horrible, terrifying minutes passed. Sharp, agonising pain saturated her arms. She could not, would not fail…. Her shield stayed strong even when the flames ceased and the dragon began battering the dome with his spiky tail, boiling with unchecked rage when his fire could not burn through.