As Maya’s inner feminine muscles clamped down on him, the rhythm of Draakar’s movements increased until he could not contain his release any longer. With another roar, this one from the part of his soul always belonging to her, a cry of joy erupted. He spilled his essence and kept spilling into the cradle of his truemate. When the tremors throughout his body finally stilled, he rolled onto his back, taking Maya with him.
She laid her head on his heart and smiled as its frantic movement calmed. Without opening her eyes, she repeated the pledge of bonding back to him.
Our life is one, Maya told her mate as tears of joy coursed down her cheeks. Our soul is one. One cannot exist without the other. Ever we are intertwined, in this world and beyond, in this life and next. I belong to you as you belong to me. Even death hath no dominion over us.
Hot tears fell against his chest, and he felt the lingering sadness and joy in her heart. Shed no more tears, beloved. I am here. I love you, Maya, I always have. From the day I was created my sole purpose was to love you. I swear you will always come first. Nothing and no one will ever separate us again.
Draakar raised her head and licked the tears off her face, but his actions made her cry even more. So he kissed her instead. That did the trick and her tears stopped as she stretched her body fully over his. Then they both froze. They had run out of time.
He comes, Maya sent.
Yes. He’s close. You still have time to leave. I can send you back to the hospital now. My powers are as they should be.
No. We are one. We do this together, Dark One. I am your mate, and as I told you once, I fight at your side.
He looked into golden eyes shining with tears, caring, worry, and love. Even though she hadn’t told him the last, it shone in each look, each touch she gave. He brushed his hands against the sides of her face before raising his head to press his lips softly against hers. Very well. We face him together.
Draakar felt her reluctance to move. He shared it but eventually she rolled off him. Before straightening, she dressed herself in black jeans and a rust-colored sweater. By the time she looked up at him he’d already donned his customary all black ensemble, this time with a short black leather jacket.
“Oh come on,” she groaned and changed the color of his shirt to match the color of her sweater. “Better, and don’t go changing it.”
Even knowing the confrontation with the silver dragon remained imminent, he took a moment to smile at his mate. “As you wish. Your powers are coming easier to you. You didn’t even give it thought.”
She beamed. But then Draakar saw the short lived bubble of euphoria she had been riding abruptly pop when she remembered what they yet had to face. “Draakar, what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to kill the betrayer.”
“I understand that we have to. But how?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“What the hell happened?” Talon asked, not really expecting a ready answer.
“I don’t know,” Robert replied. “The wall just closed up on us.”
“What should we do?” James asked. “Can you open the portal, lad?”
“No. Even with you both helping I still can’t open it. Maybe if we combined all the powers of the First we might be able to open it.”
“So should we contact everyone at the hospital and have them meet us here?” Robert asked.
“Not yet. Let’s give my father some time,” Talon stated. “We wait till dawn, just as he wanted.”
“Well, lad, I believe he’d want us, Robert and me,” James said indicating himself, “to wait. He wanted you to go and wait at the hospital.”
Talon shook his head. “No. He wanted me to wait until dawn so that’s what we’ll do. If he’s not back by then we’ll all head back to the Stones, and we’ll open a gate to Akgon.”
Talon.
Father! What happened? Are you all right? Did you find Maya?
Yes. We’re both fine. I need you to listen. Take Robert and James and leave now. The betrayer is on his way.
But Father…
No buts, Talon. Go. Go now. Return to the hospital and get everyone back to the Stones. Have Ian go on ahead and get the jet ready. Maya and I will join you at the Stones.
All right, Father, when should we expect you?
Time moves differently in the realms, Talon. We know that. So I’m not sure. But if we do not join you in a couple of days, use the power of the Stones to help you put out another call to our human brethren then return to Akgon with as many as you can gather.
I will not abandon you, Father.
You have no choice. There are mates among the human brethren who can help save our world. If I fail, you are the brethren’s only hope. Save as many of them as you can. Use the power of the Stones and ask Mother Earth for any help. They will help if they deem it a time of great need.
What about my mate, Father? I cannot leave if she remains and is in danger.
Although she is young Talon, she is strong. A call, such as the one you may have to send out, will guide her to you. Now go. You don’t have much time.
Talon turned to his father’s Firsts and quickly told them what he had said. They all understood if the betrayer prevailed, those with brethren blood would be the first hunted and destroyed. Chaos would ensue. They hurried out of the cave and down the mountain to their car in pitch darkness. Not even a sliver of moonlight split the overcast night, but with their dragon sight they could see clearly enough to get down the mountain to the car still parked at the side of the road.
“I’ll drive,” Talon said as they approached. “I’ll try to cloak our presence as much as possible.” Talon paused as he opened the car door and looked up at the darkened deserted road. “I can sense the betrayer now. There is a distinctive odor of chaotic magicks on the edge of the wind. Come, we’ve got to hurry. Since my cloak isn’t strong enough to protect us if he passes us on the road, we’ll leave in the opposite direction I sense he’s coming from. Hopefully I can manage so he won’t be able to sense us or the car from a distance.”
“I don’t know, young Lord,” Robert said as he got into the car. “It just doesn’t feel right leaving Draakar and Maya to face this bastard on their own,” he continued as James got in behind him and Talon pulled away from the curb.
“He’s right,” James agreed.
“I understand how you both feel. I feel the same way. But if my father and Maya together can not defeat the betrayer, we’ll probably need all of us to even stand a chance.”
“So what are ya saying, laddie?” James asked.
“We go back to the hospital and get everyone. I’ll send Maya’s parents with one of you on to Akgon castle in Ireland, but the rest of us will come back here. We will be there if he needs us. I may need your energies. I cannot draw them like my father can but you both can feed me yours.”
Both men nodded they understood.
The black Hummer hadn’t rounded the first curve when Talon looked in his rearview mirror and saw headlights coming up the mountain. He called on Mother Earth to boost his magicks, and the Firsts in the car channeled their powers to help him shield their presence from the powerful being in the car behind them.
Talon didn’t see the car pull over to the side of the road and the two shadowed figures get out. By the power of Mother Earth, they didn’t see him, but one stopped and looked in the direction the Hummer had gone.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” Isaiah asked as he came to stand beside him.
“I’m not sure,” the man he knew as Justin said. He turned and looked at the mountainside in the direction of the cave. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. Draakar should be here soon. He may be closer on our heels than I thought, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll still have enough time.”
The two men stood before the stone wall in the cave and Arwan opened the gate. The second he crossed over, it slammed shut behind him.
Isaiah, stranded on the other side, called to his Lord but got no response. He didn’
t panic since they had prepared for this. He knew what he had to do. He made his way back to the car and returned to the city to execute his Lord’s wishes.
Arwan knew immediately he had been tricked, even though he could neither sense Draakar nor see him. The mist appeared thicker than usual and try as he might, he couldn’t communicate with the being of the realm. The gate didn’t respond to him, and he could no longer call forth the portal. He reached for his magicks, enhanced by the power of the mist, and found it still there. At least he still had those powers.
He surrounded himself with it until his body generated a silvery glow. Bolstered, he took a few steps forward and the tendrils of the mist moved with him. Where before its touch soothed now it turned bitterly cold, and Arwan could not block the cold from seeping into his body. Shivering once, he blocked his discomfort from his mind then came to a stop.
I know you’re here, whelp. What did that weak sniveling fool of a brother call you? Ah yes, Draakar. I remember. Draakar, so you continue to use that name. Well, let’s get this over with. Show yourself.
I am here, betrayer.
Arwan slowly turned to face Draakar.
Where’s Maya?
“I’m here.” The mist cleared beside Draakar to reveal Maya standing at this side.
You belong next to me, Maya.
“Not in this life time, betrayer, or the next.” She raised her hand from her side and Draakar took her hand in his.
Ah, but you will be mine. No matter what the whelp has told you. You are my mate. And my true name is Arwan.
“I don’t really give a shit what you call yourself. And my mate is beside me.”
Arwan looked at them with his dragon senses and knew they were mated. He growled. Not for long. He raised his hands and shot a bolt of silver lightning straight at Draakar’s heart.
Draakar and Maya immediately raised their shields.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Is that the best you can do? Draakar didn’t wait for a reply but shot an energy bolt from his eyes right back at Arwan, who didn’t react quickly enough. The bolt hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him off his feet and into the air. The betrayer landed on his back, some twenty feet away from the couple. The mist cleared a path directly to the body, giving Draakar a clear view of the unmoving creature on the ground.
Draakar didn’t move. He simply turned his palm over and sent more energy fire to his enemy. But Arwan’s body started to glow again. Even though he appeared unconscious, his shield remained raised and Draakar’s bolts couldn’t penetrate it.
He released Maya’s hand and moved toward Arwan, but he hadn’t gotten very near when the glow surrounding Arwan’s body grew brighter. The betrayer’s body shimmered and his shape expanded and elongated, transforming into his dragon form.
Draakar initiated the change to his dragon to meet the silver dragon rising before him. Arwan completed his shift faster than Draakar and took to the air while Draakar’s dragon form remained incomplete. The silver dragon spread his wings, hovering above the Dark Lord. He opened his jaw, and spewed silver and blue fire down on Draakar’s still shimmering partial change.
Maya watched in horror as flame surrounded her mate.
Acting purely on instinct, she raised her hand and a bolt of golden energy shot forth, hitting the silver dragon in one eye. The vibration from the roar of pain erupting from Arwan’s throat caused the ground beneath her feet to shake. She had brought Draakar the time he needed to recover and complete the change.
A dragon reflecting no color raised his enormous wings and shot up off the ground to meet the silver in the air, raking his talons across the betrayer’s chest as he flew past. Thick red blood oozed from the eye Maya’s energy bolt had hit, and also ran from the chest of the silver dragon to stain the mist swirling beneath the battle in the sky.
Draakar soared higher above the wounded dragon. The betrayer still hovered in the air, a little closer to the ground now. His wings appeared to barely hold him up and his head hung down toward his chest. Hurt but still dangerous. The Dragon Lord turned in midair, pinned his wings to his sides and dove straight for the betrayer to finish it all. He was at the point where he could not stop his downward momentum when Arwan suddenly turned. He tucked his wings against his body, propelling straight up into mist, faster than Draakar could react to stop him.
By the time Draakar turned to follow, Maya couldn’t see the other dragon.
He shot into the mist, Maya sent to him as she watched from the ground.
Flying in circles, Draakar replied, Yes, he came this way because he left his scent as well as a trail of blood behind. There is another portal here. That’s how he’s escaped.
How could that be?
Draakar landed before her in dragon form and changed before responding to her question. Portals can exist anywhere, he sent as he walked toward her on human legs clad in black jeans.
It took Maya a moment to respond as she raked her eyes over him, still in awe of the change from dragon to man. She would never get tired of staring at the beauty of Draakar in either form. She shook her head. This was not the time. They were in a battle and she had to focus.
Maya sent her thoughts to him. By the smile lighting up his face, she could tell he had already heard her wayward thoughts.
As I am in awe of you, beloved.
Are you all right?
Yes, thanks to you.
When he stood in front of her, she had to touch him. Maya reached out and ran her hands up and down his muscular arms, just to make sure for herself he was all right. He pulled her toward him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked up at him. Maya still had questions, and knew if she succumbed to his embrace she would forget everything but him. Why wouldn’t the mist warn us?
The mist didn’t understand it was a portal. To the mist it appeared as just another place in its realm. It controls the one we came through but apparently not this one. It opened from the other side. The betrayer must have a link to wherever it leads. That’s the only way he could have opened it. I do not believe it leads back to Earth. I would know. Very few power sources are strong enough to open to more than one world, and the Stones no longer respond to him.
Well, do you know where it does go? Surely not Akgon?
I don’t know where it leads, but it doesn’t go to Akgon.
Can you open it?
I have tried but its magicks is unknown to me.
Well, what are we going to do? We can’t let him get away.
You’re right. He may still be able to get back to Earth. We will have to return to the Stones and see if they can be of any help in locating the betrayer or opening this portal. If not, when I get back to Akgon I can consult with my seers. They may be able to come up with something.
Maya moved out of his embrace. Come on then, let’s go. Can we seal the portal at least from this side so he can’t use it?
Hmm…yes, but then no one will be able to ever enter this realm again from that portal. With the help of the mist, I can close the one above, but that would mean the mist would be isolated for eternity.
Maya’s body suddenly became rigid. When her body relaxed, she spoke. “The mist wants you to bind the portals with your magicks, Draakar. It said not to worry. The energy, both positive and negative, we generated here today will enable it to keep both portals closed to the betrayer, but your powers or your emissaries would be able to open it. Now that it knows about the portal to another realm, while it can’t control the opening from the other side, it can control who enters this realm and the betrayer will not be allowed.”
“That’s good. I would not like the mist to always be alone.”
“It would like us to send other brethren here from time to time so that it may learn more about us.”
“That’s possible.”
“Oh and by the way, did you know the entity is male?”
The lines on his forehead crinkled into a frown. “A male? I don’t believe it’s either male or female as cr
eatures from either Earth or Akgon understand it.”
“Not true. I get the sense it’s definitely male. Call it Dam intuition.”
He smiled. “If you say so beloved.” He took her hand and kissed her palm.
The mist parted in front of them to reveal a dirt floor and a rock wall on the other side. Draakar let Maya cross over first, but then they both paused to say farewell to the mist before moving into the cave. The slit in the wall closed behind him.
Draakar turned to face the rock surface and lay his palm upon it. Maya heard him call upon both the powers of the mist and Mother Earth, and then he sealed the portal so no one the mist did not wish to enter could. He took Maya’s hand again. We must return to your parent’s house. That’s where Talon and the others are. I’ve let Talon know we’re headed there and to wait for us.
Where’s my mother?
She’s there also. I told you she’s fine. Apparently, Sherri and Paul have arrived. I have some good new. Sherri finished the healing on your mother I began.
That is good news. Wait. What about Paul? Is he well enough to travel?
Yes, he’s fine.
What happened to his wife’s body? Is it still in Ireland? I didn’t even think about it or funeral arrangements when we left.
You had others things to think about, but all is well. It has all been taken care of. We’ve actually been away for two of your earth days, Maya. During that time, Sherri and Paul brought his wife’s body back with them. She had no family of her own so they had her buried earlier this morning in Florida, where they lived.
Poor Paul. I’m sorry we weren’t there for him. Was Sherri at least with him?
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