“Okay.” He couldn’t help but sound a bit sullen. He knew he was acting like a whale of a wanker, and reveled in it—usually. Right now, the way she looked was striking the fear of black magic into him.
“Grania?” The mists in the crystal cleared. “You aren’t Grania…where is she?” Blaze demanded.
She leaned forward so Blaze would see her in the crystal. “Oh…my, Grania, you look like you’ve been through hell. No doubt courtesy of something that git did to you. What do you need?”
“I need your healing help.”
“She’s been poisoned with Dragon Night Shade,” William interjected helpfully.
“Holy shit. I’ll be right there…it will take me some time to open a portal without being detected. Just give me a second.”
“A second, you just said it would take you some time…” William's voice trailed off
“He’ll be here almost immediately. He won’t let me down, even if the Capital is burning.” Grania's faith in him seemed rock solid.
“Capital? Are you telling me that Draco has almost reached your Capital? That’s not good news for us.”
“That is why you have to move your ass on getting the spell completed. We are in dire need of it.”
“If they’ve broken through your lines of defense, and reached the Capital, then, your Civil War is almost over. Draco is the champion.”
“No—we will never give up hope. No matter how dark our world might seem.”
“I don’t mean to alarm you or anything, Grania, but our door is on fire.”
“Our door isn’t on fire—that’s the way we dragon shifters open our portals from this realm into our realm, or, in Blaze’s case, from Dragonia into this realm.”
“Uh, huh. I get that. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. You have your own special kind of magic, the more I get used to that thought the better we’ll be able to understand each other.”
“He’s hurt as well. I can feel it as his proximity to me grows nearer.”
“How badly has he been injured?”
“Not as badly as me—thank God. But it’s grim—this means he either left the Capital to visit the fighters at the front lines—or the Capital…”
“Has already been invaded. That’s just great. Should we be bracing ourselves for an invasion of Earth?”
“The last loyal to our side will fight until they no longer draw breath. They will attempt to disable the magical transportation link between Earth and Dragonia. If we are lucky they will succeed. Which, in turn, will slow down Draco. Without the link, he will not be able to conjure a sustainable portal, with which to mount an all-out incursion.”
“Then, my hope is that our two kinds are already working together. We do have some very skilled operatives placed within Dragonia. If they have discovered the news about how this transportation link works, then, they would contribute with all of the magic they wield.”
“That’s good news. Some of my kind lost touch with the way of dragon shifter magic this will hopefully help us out.”
“He is about to make his entrance through the doorway of fire.”
“Blaze always aims to help me. He’ll do whatever he can.” She’d started gasping for air. “Oh, man, my lungs are burning so badly.”
“Just hold on…are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”
“Just stay with me until Blaze arrives. I don’t like to be this vulnerable.”
“You aren’t. I have no intention of leaving your side.”
Finally, it looked as if someone was coming through the portal. The figure wore a cloak of dark crimson. When he came through the gateway he landed on his feet.
“Greetings, Wizard. I am here to see my cousin. Please, get out of my way.”
“Well, I see you and your cousin share some of the same personality traits. You are both curt and to the point when you are on a mission.”
She gave him a soft smile.
“Dragon Nightshade, nasty bit of business that is.” Blaze shook his head, fire flashing in his cognac brown eyes.
William stood up, allowing Blaze to gain access to Grania. Blaze stooped over, gently feeling her forehead.
“Hmm…you’ve been injected with quite a lot of Dragon Nightshade. Your forehead is clammy and cold to the touch…”
“And I’m burning up inside…” Her breath caught on her last word.
“Indeed. The bastards that did this to you—where are they now? I will tear the both of them new hides,” he sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any dragon shifter tears on me. Fortunately, for you, I have a ready supply right here.” He tapped his temple.
“So, your tears will heal her?” William asked.
“They will draw the last vestiges of the poison out of her system, enabling her natural healing gene to kick in—then, she should be right as rain by dawn.”
“You can just turn on the waterworks?”
“I have a lot to mourn for—many of my friends perished in the assault today. It was grave indeed.” His voice almost broke.
William could only imagine the sort of strain he was under at the moment. Watching his world crumbling around him while he was fighting to stop it, was the worst nightmare he could possibly think of.
“Perished? Grania has showed me tonight that your kind isn’t quite as invulnerable as we witches and wizards thought—but from the tales of my childhood, your kind was always portrayed as being nigh unstoppable.”
“When we are facing you wizards and witches, we are a formidable fighting force. You don’t know the special ways to hurt or kill us,” Blaze explained.
“Then, why do you need me? If you can be hurt so badly, why can’t you just handle this on your own?” She made a strangling noise. He walked to the other side of the bed. “You should start crying, Blaze. She’s fading away.” Reaching for her hand, he gripped it tightly. Raising it to his lips, he kissed her. She shivered in reaction to his touch.
“Before I as you say put on the waterworks, I will have you know that I am not easily brought to tears.”
“He isn’t trying to imply that you are a coward, Blaze. Don’t be a ninny. He just wants to know why we can’t put an end to this Civil War.”
“Let’s equate this Civil War to England’s Civil War. The Royal House is falling—by the time I get back there’s no telling what will have happened to the Palace. Even if the monarchy falls, we will rise again. The battle for Dragonia might almost be over, but the war—the war is far from over. The royalists will never give up.”
Her face blanched. “I hadn’t realized it was going that badly.”
“There was no need for you to know the full extent of it, Grania. I know how much this hurts you. Mother didn’t want you to know.”
“Blood against blood…it is madness, sheer madness.” She shivered again.
“Get on and cry or I swear, I’ll give you full reason to!” William shouted, exasperated by the way Blaze was drawing out the healing process.
“The scars of war are never pretty.” Blaze brushed his hand over her wound. He watched as the skin started to heal. Before the skin healed completely, he leaned toward her. Tears glistened in his eyes.
William tried craning his neck around so he could see the entire process. One single tear slipped out of his eye. It hit the still raw looking wound. She inhaled sharply, screwing her face up in pain. “I can feel the Dragon Nightshade being pummeled. I don’t feel so sleepy anymore. Tired, but not like I’ll drift away literally if I fall asleep.”
“You’ll be fine now, Grania.” Blaze looked down lovingly at her. If he weren’t related to her by blood, William would have been green with jealousy.
“Thank you for coming, Blaze. I understand how significant of a decision that was, concerning the state of affairs right now,” she murmured, her voice constricting with emotional turmoil.
“I couldn’t just let you die, Grania. You are family.”
“Have you eaten in the last twenty-four hours? Maybe you should go down
to the kitchen and grab a bite to eat before you go back to Dragonia," Grania suggested.
“Non-conjured food—that sounds good to me. We dragon shifters really haven’t gotten the knack of magically conjuring tasty food—though there is this one lass that can conjure delicious food.”
William snorted.
“What happened to her?” William asked.
“She’s returned to the front. She says she can do more good there—but I miss her magical food,” Blaze sighed.
Grania and William exchanged a look. He knew what she was thinking—and she was right. He didn’t know who the witch was—but if she conjured tasty magical food—there was a good chance she was a witch warrior operative, endowed with the ability to shape shift into a dragon. As long as no one captured her and did a telepathic probe or tested her DNA, she would be undetectable.
“How talented she sounds, she’s quite the enigma for our kind.” He started at the dry sound of Grania’s voice.
“Come again, Grania?” Blaze asked.
“Never mind, I was just thinking…it’s so telling about the straits we are in—if we are mastering magic food conjuring, our side is in its most desperate hours.”
“It can’t be helped. Our food manufacturing facilities have fallen to the rebels, and most of our crops have been burned. We have no choice—it is magically conjured food—or no food at all.”
“And that would mean starvation for our once noble kind. My father is insane. He has lost his way—there is no way of stopping him—save for using William’s spell.”
“Might I remind you both that it’s an unfinished spell?” He yawned despite himself.
“A sleepy wizard doesn’t make a good spell maker—get some sleep, man.” Blaze walked past him toward the door. “Good to see that you’ve made this doorway invulnerable to the transportation fire.”
“The entire cottage is outfitted with such enchantments.” Grania smiled, rolled over and closed her eyes. “I’m going to sleep now.”
“And I am going to eat.” Blaze walked out of the bedroom, heading toward the kitchen.
“Well, since no one cares about me…”
“I care.” Her strong voice startled him, while at the same time soothing him. He liked hearing her so full of life—he’d been so frightened for her before. “You can stay with me and keep the bed warm.”
“Why, Grania, I think you are falling in love with me.”
“Just go to sleep, Wizard.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” he grunted.
Chapter Seven
Grania awoke the next morning with her back curled into him. His arms were wrapped around her. Blinking, she tried to adjust her eyes to the glaring sunlight. She usually didn’t get out of bed this early, but something was telling her to wake up.
“William?”
He mumbled something incoherent, and tightened his hold around her. She clenched her teeth together. Was Blaze still here? Reaching out with her mind, she felt him sleeping in an exhausted slumber. She didn’t have the heart to wake William.
Slowly, she slipped out of his embrace. Standing up, she felt her hair. It had tumbled out of the towel during the night, and fortunately for her, it wasn’t tangled into a rat’s nest. Walking over to her dressing table, she reached for her brush, and started working out the minor tangles.
Something was in the air—she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew bad tidings were coming their way. She shouldn’t be surprised, the briefing that Blaze had given her last night had made her heart race, and yet, she’d felt it coming for the past two weeks. The last time she’d been on Dragonia she hadn’t liked what she’d seen. She’d known then, that her side was getting the shit beat out of them no matter how hard they tried to fight back.
She turned her head at the sound of footsteps. “You woke up fast, Blaze.”
“The telly turned on and woke me up. Some idiot named Nicholas wants to speak to William. He says it’s a matter of grave importance.” Blaze yawned, dark half-moons rimmed his bloodshot eyes.
“Oh—okay. Well, go ahead and see if you can wake him.”
Blaze looked over at her bed. “Don’t tell me the two of you were up to some nymph business last night.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. And, besides, that isn’t any of your business—do you see me involving myself in your love life?”
“My love life happens to be non-existent. There’s nothing for you to stick your nose into,” he chuckled.
She sighed, wagging her brush at him. “Just wake him up and get him downstairs. I don’t want Nicholas waiting for too long. Can’t say I care for him, but he seems to know about the inner workings of William’s government.”
“The witches and wizards have an organized government? I guess you learn something every day. It astounds the mind—such a backward inferior race, has made such incredible strides in the last few days. I will notch it up to another learning experience—I’m not accustomed to learning something new every day.”
“Yes, you do…I’m sure you’re put in your place many times a day. The problem with you, Blaze, is that you always think you’re all knowing. As of now, their government is in better shape than our ruling government.”
“Thank you, my dear. Your point has been expressed and taken.” He smiled. “Speaking of which, I should get back to Dragonia. Mother and father are expecting me.”
“Are you going to be okay?” She stood up, crossing the short distance to him.
“I will be—once I do this!” He raised his hand, a spark flew out of his fingertips slamming William right into the chest. William was hurtled through the air. Waking up, he reacted on instinct and slowed his ascent with his magic.
“Good to know that your boyfriend thinks on his toes. At least if you’re ever ambushed he’ll be worth his weight in gold.”
“What the bloody hell was that for?” William had an energy ball conjured and in his hand, before she could react. He fired it at Blaze. Blaze stepped out of the way and it went straight past him crashing into the wall in the hallway.
“Thank you, William. You’ll be fixing that later on today.”
“Sorry about that. Sure thing, Grania. You still didn’t answer me as to why His Royal Knucklehead here slammed me with that fire spark. I was having such a good dream—only to wake up to a dragon shifting nightmare.”
“Knock it off you two! We can’t fight with each other! Face it, Blaze. You and your parents need all of the help you can get! If William’s people are offering their assistance in this phenomenal struggle that’s costing so many lives—then, you need to accept it. On behalf of the Royal House, you need to embrace the goodwill extended to you. You need to forge an alliance between our two governments.”
“My mother and father will not like this idea—they remember the last war between the magic kind and the dragon shifter kind, and while they didn’t want us to obliterate your race they don’t exactly hold any love for you.”
“And, now, they want William’s help! They purposefully set all of these events into motion. It was their idea to enlist William’s help in the first place—now we all need to get off our high clouds and move past the differences that divide us. We all need to swallow our pride and get on with our lives! If we don’t we won’t have any lives to get on with! Earth will be devastated if Draco manages to invade! Countless lives will be lost—we’ve already lost so much, how can we allow more innocent lives to be forfeited?”
“You are right, Grania. I will hear what this Nicholas has to say.”
They all walked downstairs.
“Hello? I’m still here, waiting—waiting—I need to get a move on—I don’t have all day…being put on hold stinks to high heaven…”
“I am here, Nicholas, and I’ve brought friends.”
“Grania?”
“And we’re with her cousin His Royal Highness, Prince Blaze. That’s a hilarious name by the way…” William said, chuckling.
She gave him a ster
n look. He rolled his eyes.
Looking over at Blaze, she saw him step forward.
“Take a seat on the sofa, Blaze, and ignore the little prick.”
“Little Prick? I’ll have you know, darling…”
“Could we just stop acting like children in grammar school?” she asked, on the verge of losing her patience.
“I agree.” Blaze looked at the television screen. “I am here to listen to what you have to say, Nicholas.”
“Okay, I wasn’t exactly given clearance to talk to you, but my government wants you to bring our negotiations to your mother and father. I guess as their son and heir, you will do.”
“Thank you. I think.”
Nicholas cleared his throat. “We are convinced that Draco needs to be stopped. My government is certain that William is our best hope to stop Draco, but in the meantime you will need help in damage control. Our operatives within your government have sent out pleas for help. They have seen how hard your side is trying to defeat Draco. We will do whatever we can to send more reinforcements.”
“Wait a second, your operatives? Who are they?” Blaze’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“I can’t divulge that sort of information to you. Until we work officially together as allies, we still guard our interests.”
“Of course, the old cloak and dagger act. Your sort does it so well. As much as I’d love to contradict you and have a roaring row with you, I can’t do that in the best interest of my kind. Since, as you say, I’m the sole representative of the ruling class of Dragonia here on Earth—I must concede to your concerns. We will appreciate and accept any assistance your government wishes to give us.”
“That’s absolutely smashing. I’m glad to see that you, as the prince of your kind, know how to conduct yourself when it comes to diplomatic relations with the magic kind. We have a newfound respect for you.”
William cleared his throat. She looked over sharply at him. “What, William?”
“I was just wondering if we should be having a spoken agreement between our governments or a written one. In our best interests, I think we should have an officially written magically binding agreement. In my opinion, that will save a good deal of grief between the two of our peoples. There’s no telling what will happen in the future. In order for us to avoid fractions within our alliance, we should have an accord that will speak louder than words no matter what the naysayers might step forward to gripe about.”
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