Dragon Guard (Ever Witch Book 3)

by Kit Bladegrave

  I growled continuously, but Nikolai grinned right back until I was shoved forward into the fortress. The foyer was massive and lit by iron chandeliers as well as wall torches.

  Black Diamonds stood sentry every ten feet and when I turned around to see the door’s fortifications, I cursed. If they closed them and threw that heavy bolt, I’d never get through them on my own. Everywhere I looked stood a Blood Moon Priest or a dragon. I was going to die here in this dreadful place, and my soul would join the ranks of other lost ones crying and wailing for all eternity.

  I expected to die fighting, I really did. Never thought I’d see age fifty, but this was not how I wanted it to happen. Being taken prisoner and used as a sacrifice in some dark ritual.

  “Take them to the chamber,” Fredwin directed, and I was shoved towards the right.

  “Radnak is here, yes?” Nikolai asked.

  “He arrived yesterday and is more than ready for us to move forward,” the other priest replied. “I feared we would not have enough to perform the deed, but thanks to these two, we can take care of this first stage today.”

  First stage of what? What the hell was Radnak after?

  “And you’re certain he needed this one to be brought here?” Nikolai snarled, shoving me in the back hard enough to make me lose my footing.

  The guard kept me upright, and I threw a glare at the bastard.

  “He had special plans for him, but now he will serve a purpose instead of being Radnak’s plaything,” the priest said sternly. “His blood is strong. He has survived much in his life. It will power the spell nicely.”

  I wanted them to keep talking, but then we were through another set of doors and entered what appeared to be a domed cave carved into the side of a mountain. We stood at the upper ring and stared down a steep slope with steps and ledges carved into the stone. In the very center was a flat platform with a table stained red. Heavy chains hung from each corner and torches with red flames surrounded it. The platform was connected to the rest of the room by four adjoining stone bridges and surrounding the innermost circle were iron cages, all interconnected, and all filled.

  Benji was just being locked in one as I was shoved into the last one.

  I tore the gag from my mouth and spat at Nikolai as he moved past. I grabbed hold of the bars, but he only sneered at me for a few more seconds before he wiped his face and moved on.

  “I would take these last few moments you have,” Fredwin said as he came up to my cage next, “and make peace with yourself.”

  “Why would I do that?” I snarled.

  “Because in a few short moments, you and all the other sorry souls here will be killed,” he stated. “And I’m sorry to say you will not get to witness what comes next, but it will be spectacular. A ritual centuries in the making.”

  “Whatever you’re planning, Everest and the others will stop you.”

  “Oh, will they now? You think what, because she’s a Descendant she’ll be able to stop him?” He laughed darkly. “Take a look, Slade, and see for yourself what Radnak thinks of the Descendants.”

  I shifted my gaze to where he pointed, and my stomach plummeted. “No.”

  There, walking out onto the platform in a line, their eyes glazed over and bearing robes matching the ones worn by the Blood Moon Priests, were eight women. Eight Descendants, their necklaces in full view over the red fabric. I recognized some of their faces as ones we had been charged with protecting, but they’d disappeared. We swore they’d been killed, but apparently, Radnak had captured them instead. Each one stared straight ahead as if waiting to be told what to do.

  “They are extremely powerful witches,” Fredwin said sounding fascinated. “What they’re capable of is astounding, and I’ll admit, if Everest had more time to learn about her power, she might be a threat, but alas, that day will never come.”

  “What did you do to them?” I growled, unable to look away from the horrible sight. I pictured Everest standing there, a mindless tool, unable to break free of whatever held her.

  “We turned them of course. Now, they serve us and thereby Radnak. So, you see, there is no one capable of saving you, Slade. No one at all. They will come, and they will attack, but they will lose.”

  Fredwin turned at the sound of a deep bell tolling and walked away without another word. He met with other priests before they spread out, each one taking up a post beside one of the cages. Dragons and witches filled every single one, and most were either unconscious or appeared frozen by fear. A few rattled the bars of their cages, screaming curses at the Blood Moon Priests, but they were met with deaf ears.

  I didn’t bother yelling, but instead plastered myself to the bars facing the platform as another door opened and a line of Black Diamonds marched inside, but not onto the platform.

  A moment later the dragon I hated above all others moved into view, and a new chorus of snarls and threats arose.

  Radnak appeared, dressed in formal black and silver armor fit for a king. He smiled at his prisoners, letting his gaze slide from one end of the room to the other until it finally landed on me. “Slade. I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear the news you would be joining us today.”

  I bared my teeth at him but didn’t bother with insults. Words wouldn’t do anything at this point.

  “Your blood is going to help fuel this moment in history, and for a few moments at least, you will bear witness to the birth of true power.”

  Still, I said nothing, but then he snapped his fingers, and the Blood Moon Priest by my cage reached through to grab hold of my arm.

  I struggled, trying to break his hold, but then he flatted his palm on my forearm, and the excruciating pain had me gasping for air.

  Benji screamed himself awake next to me, and when the priest let me go and moved away from my cage, I saw him bent over double, crying as he cradled his left arm against his chest.

  “Hang in there, kid,” I muttered, and he nodded, but said nothing.

  My own arm throbbed, but I did my best to ignore it. I had to get us out of here and fast. The symbol now etched into my skin continued to burn, an intricate design that appeared to be a mix of the Black Diamond markings and those used by the priests—crescent moons, and diamonds intertwined in a graceful appearance, mocking what they really stood for.

  I ran my fingers over it but cursed at the pain and turned my attention back to the platform. All the Blood Moon Priests had moved passed our cages, forming a circle at the edge. They reached out their arms, forming a circle all the way around the platform, the eight Descendants joining them. Words fell from their mouths, and a chant was started, humming with dark power.

  The sigil on my arm burned and I bit my cheek to stop from screaming like so many others did.

  “Bring her,” Radnak ordered over the sound of the chanting.

  For a horrible second, I thought Everest would be the one dragged into the room, but the figure was short, head covered in a black hood, so I had hope still. Some.

  “Prepare her for the ritual.”

  I muttered over and over, praying it wasn’t going to be Everest and when they tore the hood off, I only breathed a half sigh of relief for the older woman with silver-white hair who stand beside Radnak and shouldn’t have been possible.

  “You bastard. You will be killed for this,” the woman shrieked as she was dragged toward the stone table and lifted onto it. “You hear me, Radnak. I spit on you, I curse you and your clan for all eternity.”

  Charlette Esmerie, the clan leader of the Emerald Petites. How had Radnak gotten his hands on her?

  I gripped the bars despite the pain it caused me and watched as they chained her arms and legs then draped another around her waist to keep her there.

  “You can scream all you like,” Radnak told her as he approached, “but it will not save you.”

  “You will not get away with this. They will know I am missing by now and they will—”

  “They will what?” he snapped as he leaned over her, baring
his fangs. “Your own Council saw me and the Blood Moon Priests, and yet they did nothing to warn their clans. What do you think they will do?”

  Charlette thrashed against the chains, but they held her tightly. “My death will be the start.”

  “You are right about that my dear,” he said, running his fingers down her cheek, “however, it will not be the start of your clan coming to avenge you. It will be the start of my new reign over all dragons. Once I have every clan leader in my grasp, no one will oppose me, and the world will be mine.”

  All the leaders? What the hell was he up to? He leaned back as the chanting continued and I expected him to grab a dagger, or a sword, whatever he was going to use to kill Charlette, but instead, he merely waited as the black-and-red robed Blood Moon Priest joined him. His head was bowed, and his lips moved, but I was too far away to read them at all.

  He reached his hands out over Charlette, and the moment they glowed red with his power, the sigil in my arm flared to life, and I yelled in anguish, clutching at the bars just to try and keep myself standing.

  And I wasn’t the only one.

  This magic was draining us all of our lives, our blood, but it was Charlette’s scream that sounded the loudest as her back arched off the table and a bluish hue formed over her body as though the Blood Moon Priest was attempting to pull something from her.

  The chant grew louder, competing with her shrieks and I realized in that instance exactly what he was doing.

  That was her soul. He was stealing the soul of a clan leader, and not just hers.

  He was after all of them. If he had every soul… the world as we knew it would end. There would be no stopping him.

  I yanked on the bars of the cage, but it was no use. As my strength waned, I waited for the end to come, picturing Everest in my mind and praying if she ever found out the truth, she’d forgive me, not that I’d be around to know.

  On the bright side, if I died now, Radnak’s plan would fail.

  I smiled even as I fell to the bottom of my cage.

  It was the little things that mattered.

  THIRTEEN

  EVEREST

  The robes came in handy when we realized there was no other way through the gate. Passing through them was more nervewracking then walking through the camp, but we made it and followed others moving towards the massive fortress that lay straight ahead.

  “He’s in there?” Amelie whispered. “How are we going to get him out?”

  “Let’s get inside first,” I suggested, and we walked as fast as we could without calling attention to ourselves.

  Once inside, there were sentries posted every few feet, but no other Blood Moon Priests.

  “Keep walking,” I muttered to them both and followed the main hall.

  We were nearing the end, and panic started to take hold as I doubted it’d be long before we were found out if we started wandering aimlessly around the fortress, when I heard a thunderous chanting followed immediately by screams that made my blood run cold.

  The three of us turned in that direction and burst through a set of doors to find a cave-like room and a scene that seemed to come straight from my nightmares.

  “Oh,” Amelie whispered harshly as she grabbed Jared’s arm. “Look down there.”

  So much was happening, it was hard to know what she meant. The ledge before it appeared to drop off into nothing was lined with cages, each filled with a person screaming or writhing in pain, attempting to bust out of the bars. Beyond them was a line of red-robed priests, their hands clasped, and appearing to be in some sort of trance.

  When I shifted my gaze further, I spied Radnak and another priest standing over a woman. She was the one screaming the loudest and for good reason.

  “It’s her soul,” Amelie hissed in terror. “They’re removing her soul.”

  “Who is she?” I asked, searching the cages for one face in particular.

  “Charlette Esmerie,” Jared supplied. “Clan leader for the Emerald Petites. Why didn’t we know she was missing?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” I hissed. “We have to stop whatever he’s doing and get them out.”

  “All of them? Everest, we can’t.”

  “So, you want them all to die?” I snapped at her.

  Any second now, one of those Blood Moon Priests was going to spot the three of us standing up here. We had to move quickly to free the people in those cages. Whatever ritual Radnak was performing was clearly killing them—

  Slade.

  The second I saw his hunched form, his blond hair dirty and hanging lank over his shoulders and the rest of what I could see bruised and bloodied had my hands curling around two knives at my sides. If we could get the cages open, get the people out, the ritual would be disrupted, I hoped.

  Or I could just distract Radnak. He wanted me, right? What better way to distract him from the prisoners being freed than me waltzing right up to him and handing myself over, or at least pretending to.

  “Get Slade and however many others you can out,” I ordered Jared and Amelie.

  “Everest, what the hell are you planning? Everest.”

  But I was already moving down the center aisle towards the platform.

  Jared cursed once more as I kept on walking. Without giving myself a chance to overthink it, I unsheathed two knives and grasped them as Tank taught me when going in for the kill.

  I reached the cages and heard Slade whisper my name in disbelief, but had to tune him out.

  A few others reached out to me through the bars, seeing my eyes and the necklace around my throat as I tossed the robe aside.

  When I reached the line of Blood Moon Priests, I stabbed one in the back, hearing a shocked intake of air before he collapsed. I spun around to stab another in the throat.

  The chanting didn’t stop as I expected, but when I straightened, Radnak was staring right at me.

  “Sorry to intrude,” I said with a smile, wiping blood on my pants from my knives, “but looked like one hell of a party. Thought I’d join in.”

  “Descendant… Everest if I’m not mistaken,” he growled my name and held out his hand to the priest beside him.

  His hands stopped glowing, and Charlette’s body collapsed back to the table. She panted harshly, and her confused gaze landed on me. The other priests continued to chant, but at least she was safe for a few more moments.

  “How may I ask did you make it here without being caught by a single one of my dragons?” His eyes darted around, and I noticed the guards closest to him hunch under that gaze.

  “It’s a gift,” I replied, wondering how long I could keep up this bad ass persona.

  I was channeling Slade as much as I could, but the second Radnak started towards me, I felt my legs start to tremble in fear.

  I’d seen how large of a dragon he was and heard enough stories to know what he was capable of. A voice in my head yelled at me that I was an idiot thinking this was a good idea, but it was too late now.

  “Must be. I must admit I am impressed. However, you will not succeed in killing me.”

  “You sure about that? I could get lucky.” I tossed the knife in my right hand end over end then slung it to the right. It shot like a bullet through the air, and I had to fight not to gape in surprise when it hit a priest in the chest, and he collapsed. I drew another without missing a beat and sneered. “All it takes is one lucky shot.”

  “And why would I give you that chance?” He crossed his arms as he stopped, barely a yard away from me. “Why would I not just kill you right now?”

  “You said it yourself, you need me.”

  He grinned, but it was far from friendly. He was a predator, and I was very clearly his prey. “Need you for your powers, yes, but as you can see,” he waved his hand to something behind him, “I can get those without you remaining… you.”

  I wasn’t sure what the point of pointing out more priests was, but then the one near the table snapped his fingers, and eight of them raised their heads and removed their ho
ods. Women, all of them were women, and my necklace flared with power at the recognition of exactly who they were.

  “Descendants,” I whispered. “What… what did you do to them?”

  “Who said I did anything? Of course, I did do something, but that’s beside the point. They’ve joined me, and now their powers will aid me in finally finishing this war, once and for all.” He moved closer.

  I backed up, my steps not as certain as before.

  “I will give you this one chance to join me willingly, Everest, and one chance only. Or, you can become a mindless servant just as they are.”

  I wanted to look behind me and see if they’d gotten Slade out of his cage yet, but that would give them away, and so far, the priests and Radnak were focused only on me. I had to keep that way as long as possible.

  “Join with me, and you can see what your power can truly bring you.” He spread his arms wide. “There will be no limitations, no rules.”

  “Right, because that’s how this world works,” I muttered.

  “It will be once I am in charge. You are a Descendant, think of all you can do.”

  “Not so sure you want me on your side,” I admitted with a cringe. “I’m not exactly good at using my magic yet. I tend to make things explode without meaning to or can’t make them work at all. It’s a bit of a work in progress, and I’d just be slowing you lot down.”

  “Not if you join me. I will teach you all you need to know, as will your sisters.”

  I glanced at the women again and saw their eyes were completely glazed over. Whatever remained of them was buried deep. “And if I refuse?”

  “Then you will become nothing more than a vessel for the rest of time,” he snarled.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll go for option C.”

  His brow furrowed, and he paused in his moving closer. “There is none.”

  “No? Are you sure because I’m pretty sure there’s always an option C,” I mumbled, wracking my brain for anything else that might slow him down, but he reached out for me, and I did the only thing I could think of.

  I brought down both knives on his forearm.