Dragon Mark

by Kit Bladegrave

  “It’s going to be fine,” Everest whispered and gave my hand a quick squeeze. “You’ll see.”

  “You’ve never met them before,” I reminded her. “They’re going to see me and attack without asking questions. That’s what they always do.”

  “Not if I’m here,” Charlette said with a firm nod. “I will not let them kill you.”

  “Who says they’ll let you stop them? You’ve been kidnapped, remember? By me.”

  She gave me a wicked grin. “I may look old, Slade, but I am the finest warrior amongst my clan. They will not harm you, nor kill you. You have my word as clan leader of the Emerald Petites.”

  That in no way calmed my nerves. But then a bright flash of white light appeared, and there was no more time to debate if this was the right thing to do or not. The moment two figures emerged, I cursed and tried to protectively push Everest behind me.

  “Those are not the leaders,” I snarled as Sphinx and Hollow Well guards poured out of the portal, easily outnumbering the fighters we brought with us. “Damn it, I knew this was going to happen.”

  “Just wait,” Charlette said, stepping forward. “They did come.”

  “Yeah with an entire bloody army.”

  I stared across the town square at the fifty or so guards until Orella and Quinto finally emerged from the portal, armed, ready to do battle. Behind them was Grant, Charlette’s husband. Of the three, he was the only one showing any emotion on his face as they moved toward us, their guard escorting them.

  The portal remained open behind them, and I bet the rest of their men were ready and waiting to charge through at a moment’s notice.

  “Stop growling,” Everest whispered.

  “Why?’

  “We’re here to talk peace, remember? And I would stop giving them the death glare.”

  “They came with an army, Everest.”

  “Because they’re under the impression you kidnapped Charlette and me. If you want this to go well, try to be a bit more positive.”

  My eyes slid sideways at her commanding tone. She’d grown more confident since our fight against Radnak, and I found myself admiring her for it one minute, then the next, cursing it and wishing she wasn’t. She’d been careless with her own safety before, and now I hated to see what she’d do in a fight if she believed she could win before even heading into it.

  Charlette took a few more steps forward, and after some urging from Everest, we did the same, keeping ourselves in a line. Orella’s eyes narrowed when she saw Everest’s hand clasped in mine. She threw her hand up to stop them all, and I heard her growl from across the square.

  “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded loudly. “We came here to negotiate your release and that of the Descendant, but it appears there something else occurring here. And why is there only one Shadowguard? This is a trap, it must be.”

  “I’m sorry for the deception,” Charlette explained, and held up her hands quickly to stop Orella and Quinto from pulling back their guard, “but I feared it was the only way to secure a meeting with you so I could introduce you to someone very important.”

  “He’s a Shadowguard,” Quinto bellowed, his hand falling on his sword already. “The one who stole you away from your husband. We do not wish to meet him, but to kill him.”

  I took a half-step toward him with a snarl. “You could try,” I muttered, and heard Everest mutter aggravated curses next to me. I gave her a look. “See? I told you this is exactly what would happen. Her lying did not help.”

  Orella’s brow wrinkled at my outburst, glancing again at how close Everest and I stood together, me unarmed, then her gaze turned to Charlette, her hands unbound and not appearing to be a kidnap victim in any shape or form.

  “Is he the one who took you?” Orella demanded. “And is this the Descendant you said he had also? She appears quite… friendly with her kidnapper.”

  Everest stiffened beside me. “Because I’m with him, lady, got it? Because he’s not who you think, so back off before I make you back off.”

  Overconfident indeed, but I could’ve kissed her, as Orella’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed again at being talked to so rudely.

  Still, I had to intervene. “You two should really just stop talking for about five minutes, alright? And let her explain. Let them both explain.”

  Quinto bristled and drew his sword several inches from its sheath.

  I growled, throwing out my arm to protect Everest, which earned me a scowl. Orella appeared more than ready to tell her men to attack, but Charlette held up both her hands and the Petites within the guard stood at attention, awaiting her command.

  “My warriors, if you would lower your weapons and step away. Now.”

  They exchanged glances, but did as she told them, separating themselves from the others.

  “I will not have my guard be harmed for your foolishness. This young dragon here is the Lost Heir of the Shadowguard clan, and he is not our enemy.”

  “You expect us to believe this nonsense? They have obviously brainwashed you,” Orella yelled. “He is a Shadowguard and must be dealt with according to our laws. You do not stand above them, Charlette. None of us do.”

  “I knew you as a child, Orella,” Charlette fired back. “Who taught you what you know about leading, hmm? Who taught you? Tell me.”

  The Hollow Well leader ground her teeth, not saying a word.

  “I did, because you were left an orphan when your parents were killed, not by Shadowguards, but murdered by their own kin. Do you truly believe I am so weak to let myself be controlled? Do you? Answer me, girl.”

  I smiled as Orella’s cheeks reddened and she rolled her shoulders, clearly wanting to shift.

  “That’s what I thought. We have allowed ourselves to follow this unethical law that allows the murders of innocents for far too long, my friends. Far too long.” Charlette walked straight to her husband, and they shared a brief embrace.

  “Were you hurt?” he asked.

  “I would’ve been dead if those two had not risked their lives to save mine,” she informed him with a nod toward Everest and me. “They have been fighting a war that never actually ended, and it is about damned time we join back in.”

  “And you expect us to believe you?” Quinto drew his sword a few more inches, those golden eyes fixated on me.

  I saw the violence he clearly wanted to inflict on me, but Everest stepped between us, breaking the connection and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Make a move on him, and it’ll be the last thing you do,” she warned.

  I growled again, but she didn’t budge. We were really going to have to talk about this when we got out of here.

  “I expect you to listen to the truth the Council has hidden from us,” Charlette told him. “Please, Quinto, Orella, I would not have asked this of you if it wasn’t important. There’s much going on in this world we’ve neglected to see, and if you two can’t take the time to learn what’s been happening right under our noses, it’ll be too late to act by the time the true enemy comes.”

  “And what enemy is that?” Orella asked, a bit calmer than before.

  “The Black Diamonds.”

  Quinto’s laugh was harsh, and I tensed the same time Everest did. “They’re dead. They’ve been dead since the war ended, Charlette.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not entirely true,” she said, and turned back to look at me.

  I wasn’t sure what she expected me to do, but then I heard a grunt come from behind me and turned around to see Jenny and Preston dragging along another dragon, a gag in his mouth, his hands bound.

  I felt my jaw go slack. When the hell had they taken the time to go capture a Black Diamond? And why hadn’t they told me?

  “Did you know about this?” I asked Everest as they came closer and she shrugged. “Everest, damn it.”

  “I knew you’d want to go with them and we all decided sending the Lost Heir out to capture a prisoner as proof was not a good idea. Just accept it
and move on.”

  My mouth worked to scold her, but I couldn’t get the words out, and an annoyed grunt came out instead. Last night when I couldn’t find her… couldn’t find any of them, they’d been out there risking their lives for one of those bastards?

  I stared at her hard, and she continued to avoid my gaze. There was more to it than this, but the others approached with our captured enemy, and I dropped it. We were definitely having a talk when we returned to base.

  Jenny and Preston avoided my furious gaze as they pulled the Black Diamond along behind them, passed us, and toward the center of the square. Everest went to join them, and I had no choice, but to do the same. The dragon was beaten up and fought against his bonds. I didn’t recognize him from the group of dragons that escorted me and Benji to the Fell Gates, or was part of the group watching me while I was being tortured. Too bad it wasn’t Nikolai, but then again, I might’ve just offed him without giving him a chance to speak.

  Orella, Quinto, Charlette, and Charlette’s husband cautiously moved closer. Preston grabbed the dragon’s head and tilted it to the side, revealing the unmistakable marking on his neck, though his unique eyes were enough to give him away.

  “Where… where did you find him?” Orella asked in disbelief.

  “At a Black Diamond encampment in the human world, in the middle of nowhere,” Jenny told them. “Camping with Blood Moon Priests.”

  Quinto barked a harsh laugh. “A trick, this is all a trick. They’re not real, not anymore.”

  “I beg to differ since it was Black Diamonds and Blood Moon Priests who attempted to steal away my soul using blood magic,” Charlette announced. “Alvaron, show them your arm.”

  I sniffed derisively at that name, but held out my arm to show the mark burnt into my skin.

  “Radnak is the leader of the Black Diamonds now, and he is attempting to collect the souls of all the clan leaders,” Charlette continued. “Alvaron was nearly killed, as was Everest, while they saved me and the sacrifices they were using to perform this monstrous act. They’re holed up at the Fell Gates, and I fear this is only the beginning.”

  Quinto opened his mouth, probably to argue more, but Orella held up her hand to silence him. “I will hear you out, Charlette, and… Alvaron, as well,” she announced, surprising me. “You have never led me astray in all the years I’ve known you and after what happened with the Council, and seeing this Descendant obviously not in a state of distress, you deserve our full attention. Doesn’t she?” she added, glowering at Quinto.

  He squared his shoulders, shoving his sword back in its sheath as he eyed me. “I’ll listen, but I can’t guarantee anything else.”

  “That’s all we ask.” Charlette turned to stare at the Black Diamond as she began to recount what happened to us all at the Fell Gates and the horrors yet to come.

  Three

  Everest

  I dug my nails into the palm of my hand as a distraction against the throbbing pain in my side. I’d been fine all morning, but the second the portal opened, it started up again.

  My body felt flushed, and each step made me dizzier than the last. I managed to hide the mark on my ribs from everyone, but eventually, Slade would figure out there was something wrong with me no matter how much I lied to him.

  Warily, I let my gaze wander over the outskirts of the town. If Preston and Tank left the trail as they said, then where the hell was this Nikolai with his forces to attack? Any second now, we were going to lose our chance to capture Radnak’s second and prove to the other clan leaders once and for that this war was real.

  Slade caught me looking, tilting his head in question, but I shrugged and took his hand briefly.

  This wasn’t going to work, neither plan, and we would be returning to the mountain base all on our own, still.

  I glared at the sky again, hating how much I wanted to be attacked.

  Charlette had just finished telling the other leaders about her time with Radnak, and our heroics getting her and the others out.

  Quinto huffed. “Fantasy, that’s all this is,” he muttered, and I wanted to smack him upside the head. How could anyone be this thick-headed? “What would Radnak want with our souls? What? There’s never been any ritual ever created that would use souls like that.”

  “And as I have told you, it’s a nightmarish creation made by the priests. By the gods, it’s like talking to a brick wall,” Charlette growled. “A Black Diamond sits before you right now, and you refuse to believe your own eyes.”

  “I refuse to be made a fool of.”

  “Then you’re going to get yourself and the rest of your clan killed for your stupidity.”

  Quinto drew his sword, and behind him, every Golden Sphinx did the same, but so did the Emerald Petites until two lines of guards stared each other down, ready to attack.

  “And you, Orella? You can’t tell me you believe this farce.”

  I thought she’d looked intimidating when she first walked through the portal, decked out in red and white armor, her red hair pulled back in a long braid that hung down her back, beaded and interwoven with leather straps. Those red eyes flared in annoyance, and the anger only deepened the frown lines on her face as she moved to stand beside Charlette.

  “For too long we’ve let the Council blindly tell us what we should believe in regard to the Shadowguards and their ongoing hunt for them,” she stated. “I for one detest our part in killing them without cause for the past few hundred years. And Charlette has no reason to lie.”

  “I never took you for being stupid.”

  “Why else would I come out in the open?” Slade demanded. “Why? You think I want to be killed by your lot? You stand here, and you think you’re all so intimidating with your armies, but I tell you right now, if you can’t accept this truth, Radnak will come for you, and you won’t be able to stop him.”

  “Son, my army is far stronger since the war,” Quinto argued.

  Slade shook his head. “I’ve seen what these monsters have done to armies, Quinto. I’ve seen them tear the strongest of us down until we begged for death,” Slade said, each word sharp as he stalked closer to Quinto.

  I moved with him, staying close in case the Sphinx decided to attack.

  “Radnak doesn’t show mercy and those Priests? They’ve been using blood magic on the Black Diamonds. They can spew fire and ice and they can half-shift. Can your army stand against forces as powerful as that? Can they?”

  Quinto’s eyes darted warily to the Black Diamond with us. “You’re lying.”

  “Look me in the eye and tell me that the past twenty years of my life have not been filled with pain and suffering, of death and torture,” Slade hissed. “Tell me I’m lying.”

  Quinto leered as he leaned in. “You are lying. I don’t give a damn if you are the Lost Heir or not. You are a Shadowguard, and you and your clan can all rot in hell. I’m taking my guard, and I’m leaving. Have fun dying,” he shot at Charlette and Orella. He pivoted harshly on his heel and waved his hand overhead. “Move out.”

  “Quinto! If you walk through that portal, you can kiss any help from me goodbye,” Slade shouted. “Do you hear me? Radnak will come for your soul and your people, and I won’t lift a damned finger to stop him. You’re on your own.”

  He waved a hand over his shoulder dismissing Slade and continued trudging toward the portal.

  Slade’s hands curled into fists, and he started to go after him, but I grabbed his shoulder. “Let him go. If he wants to get his people killed that’s on him.”

  “He doesn’t understand. His people, they’ll suffer just like mine have.”

  I turned him around, forcing him to look at me. I wanted today to be easy, but even with the Black Diamond, I had my doubts. His angry gaze focused on me and then he sighed and rested his forehead against mine. “You can’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Not now.”

  “Doesn’t help when you’re hiding things from me.” His gaze narrowed, and those intense blue eyes s
aid one way or another, he’d get the truth out of me.

  “I had no choice.”

  “Yes you did, and you chose to lie to me, just like you’re doing with whatever else is happening to you.”

  “Nothing is happening to me…” I frowned as a chill raced down my spine.

  “You can’t keep acting like this. I never should’ve told you the truth… Everest? Great, now you’re just going to ignore me to my face?”

  I shook my head, but that chill raced down my back again, and this time I turned, staring down the road. The necklace warmed against my skin, and I spotted the crimson tendrils of magic shooting toward us a second before I grabbed Slade by his shirt and yanked him to the ground with me.

  “They’re here. We’re under attack,” I bellowed, and the old stone fountain the town square exploded as the magic meant for us struck it instead.

  Stones rained down on us as Jenny and Preston called for our guard to move out.

  Dragons roared and fell from the overcast sky. Black Diamonds, a lot of them. About damned time.

  Quinto spun around, and if we weren’t about to face another battle, I would’ve laughed at the look of sheer shock on his face at the sight of more Black Diamonds dropping to the ground as the guards charged in to meet them head-on. That, and the red robed figures that sprinted down the street to be met by the forces we had hiding in the buildings all along the main drag. We told Slade we only had a small number with us, but we lied about that too, and now they poured out of the buildings more than ready to face this attack we planned for.

  “Think he believes you now,” I muttered to Slade as he growled and scrambled back to his feet.

  I could tell he was furious, seeing nearly the entire fighting force from the mountain instead of just a few, but there was no time to get into that now.