Let There Be Dragons (The Children of Ankh Book 3)

by Kim Cormack

  Melody nodded. She’d heard her. She ducked down, crawled on the floor and stood up behind the boy who still hadn’t looked up from his cell phone. His earbuds were in and he was off in his own little world. Melody smiled and waved one hand. She’d obviously found the name she was looking for. She was crawling back over when he noticed Kayn standing there with a soaking wet top.

  He took the earbuds out, looked her up and down, cleared his throat and nervously said, “Can I help you?”

  Melody hadn’t crawled out from behind his desk yet. It was show time. Kayn provocatively bit her lip as she leaned over the desk and whispered, “I’m on a trip with my dad and I’m bored stiff. Where I can go to find some fun around here?”

  He grinned at her as he inched a little closer and replied, “I get off in a few hours. I’d be happy to show you around.”

  Kayn harnessed her inner Chloe as she seductively responded, “What would we do first?”

  Melody was still stuck but concealed from his line of site. This guy had incredible eyes. They were deep chocolate brown with flecks of gold. She found her gaze travelling to the curve of his smile. He looked like he’d be a great kisser. What was wrong with her? He was a stranger. He grinned at her and when he did, she noticed he had unbelievably sexy dimples and a tiny scar on the left side of his clean-shaven chin.

  His eyes wandered from her face to the wet tank top appreciatively as he answered, “I’d take you for dinner at this little place down town and then we’d grab something from the liquor store and go down to this really beautiful spot that only the locals know about. It has quite the view.”

  She seductively tucked one of her loose curls behind her ear and whispered, “That sounds like fun.”

  When Melody tried to move, the floor creaked. Before he could turn around to look, Kayn slid her hand over his and whispered, “I think I’m going to like this town.” She felt an intensity building as her pulse began to race. Kayn shivered as the pheromones released from her skin. Melody already had the information they needed but she needed to see if the ability she’d borrowed would work. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. His eye become blank and she felt free to push her limits as she seductively enquired, “I’m also looking for some of my friends. I need to see what room they’re in. It would be a group of five or six reasonably good looking people wearing gloves on one hand.”

  He mechanically responded, “They are in rooms 305, 306 and 307.”

  Melody crawled out from behind the desk and Kayn whispered, “Thank you. Now I want you to go lay that gorgeous head of yours down on your desk and close your eyes for ten minutes. When you open them, you will have forgotten all about this conversation. You will feel like you have the flu. You’ll need to call in sick but you’ll feel fine in the morning.”

  He nodded as he closed his eyes and in seconds he was out cold. The girls took off and managed to keep themselves from laughing until they were sprinting up the stairs towards their room. It was only then that it clicked. They were on the second floor. Trinity’s rooms were directly above them. They could have heard them at any time. Melody quietly rapped on the door while Kayn kept staring at the balcony above. There was a pause before Zach flung open the door. He was much more attractive to her than he’d been only moments before. It must be the ability. Perhaps, it didn’t just make her more attractive to other people. It also made everyone else more appealing to her. This was interesting…

  Zach’s eyes followed her as she walked past him and sat down on the bed. He commented, “I see you’ve figured out how to use those new abilities.”

  Melody grinned and replied, “Like a rock star. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand in five seconds flat. By the way, their rooms are directly above us.”

  Astrid panicked, “You have to turn it off. They’ll sense it. To the other clans, the scent of those pheromones means Frost or Lily are close by.”

  Zach held his hands out and explained, “If it works to calm other Dragon glitches, why not this one?”

  Kayn hesitantly took his hands. She didn’t want to let this particular ability go because it made her feel powerful. Perhaps, it was more than that… This ability should belong to her. After a minute of contact with Zach, she shivered and felt normal again.

  “Do you think they know we’re here? Melody asked while staring at the ceiling.

  The five of them sat on the beds, holding their breath, hoping Zach had covered up Kayn’s ability in time.

  He whispered, “If one of the other clans are close by, shouldn’t our stomachs be warning us?”

  “Not if we’re not in any danger,” Astrid explained.

  Melody sparred, “This morning our stomachs were complaining.”

  “Well, I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine.” Astrid replied as she stretched out on the bed.

  Haley shoved Astrid over as she sprawled out next to her and suggested, “They have three rooms. The girl we’re looking for must be in one of them. I guess we’ll have to do a little bit of recon.”

  Kayn looked directly at Melody and stated, “According to Jenna, you will know who she is. We have the room numbers. Why don’t we just wait until we’re certain everyone’s asleep and break into those rooms. We just need to get in and out without making a sound.”

  “We’ll need keys to the rooms,” Zach pointed out. “Maybe Kayn should go back down to the lobby and see if she can get us copies of their keys. Mel should be the one to sneak in and out of their rooms. If someone wakes up she can just claim she’s looking for Thorne.” He winked at Melody.

  “That won’t work,” Mel countered. “We’ve already talked and let things go. He’s not stupid.”

  Zach disputed, “True, but it might confuse the situation long enough for us to subdue Trinity and grab the girl.”

  “Subdue them with what? They didn’t leave us any weapons,” Astrid responded while staring at the stucco on the ceiling.

  He got off the bed and said, “Hold that thought. Come on Brighton. Let’s sneak down to the lobby and see if it’s still open. You guys order a pizza from somewhere. We shouldn’t risk going down to that diner again we’re too exposed.”

  The pair cautiously snuck out of the room. The coast was clear. They dashed down the flights of stairs and when they reached the office door, it was locked. There was a sign saying it was closed until 9 am and there was a number to call in case of emergency. They had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Why had those dumb asses sent them out on their own to do something this important? They heard the diner door chime. There was nowhere to hide. They didn’t know if it was Trinity so they couldn’t risk even glancing in that direction. Kayn panicked as she met Zach’s eyes and he understood what she was about to do. There was no other choice. She kissed him. They backed into the shadowed corner of the cement alcove by the office doors and took their public make out session far enough to make it seriously awkward for onlookers. She felt his hands travelling to places they shouldn’t be. He was probably just playing along. Kayn clicked, her glove. The one gloved hand was always a dead giveaway. She had to hide it. She slipped her hands underneath his shirt and they began to heat when she touched his rippling abs. She shivered in response. They were at the bottom of the stairs. No, no this was not the time to set off that ability. Zach was turning her on. Kayn heard a part of the conversation as the group began scaling the stairs. She recognized Thorne’s voice. Now, she was certain it was Trinity. They were planning to have a few drinks and watch a movie. They’d probably all be in one room. It was a struggle to concentrate on what they were talking about and not Zach’s surprisingly impressive seductive skills. He added kindling to the fire with his creatively hidden hands. An intoxicating heat began surging within her. Kayn felt the pheromones release and now she didn’t want to stop. Zach grew more aggressive with her as her pheromones worked their carnal magic. He was also incapable of stopping himself as they switched positions with neither one of them capable of rational thought. She
began to fumble with the button above his zipper.

  “I want you so bad,” He whispered against her hair.

  She couldn’t think about anything but being with him.

  A voice hissed, “Call the number on the door and get a damn room.”

  It was like a giant splash of cold water. They shoved away from each other and saw the man strolling away from them. Kayn covered her mouth with her hand. What in the hell were they doing? They’d almost done something ridiculously stupid. Zach leaned back against the wall and slid down it until he was sitting in the corner on the cement with his face in his hands. She did the same against the other wall in the alcove. They were both trying to breathe slowly so they could calm their racing pulses. The ability she’d siphoned from Frost had almost made them both do something they really didn’t want to do. Kayn felt her Handler staring at her and she met his confused expression with an apology in her eyes. This was going to make things awkward for a while.

  Zach gave her a weak smile. He whispered, “That’s one powerful gift you’ve unwrapped Brighton. Five more seconds and I would have taken you right here in public. Without any ability for rational thought, I might add. Do you get to keep it or does it go away?”

  “I honestly have no idea,” she answered. Her pulse was beginning to regulate. A sense of calm washed over her and this time, it happened without even having to touch Zach’s hands. They sat there in the shadows, confused over their inability to stop. You can’t be blamed for anything you do while under the influence of magic.

  Zach struggled to stand up and chuckled, “My legs feel like they’re made of Jell-O. For future reference, that’s how you kiss a guy.” He gave her a roguish smile as he held out his hand to help her up.

  She took it and he gallantly towed her to her feet. Kayn grinned at him and commented, “You didn’t do so bad yourself. That would be what has Melody so hot and bothered.” She brushed her shirt down and began to wipe the lipstick off his face. She attempted to fix his hair. If she looked half as ravaged as he did it was going to be obvious to the others.

  He shook his head as he returned the favor and began trying to fix her smeared lipstick. He patted down her hair, grinned and teased, “If you’d kissed me like that earlier, we’d still be in the bathroom.”

  I’m a horrible friend. Melody had just come to her and told her she liked him. She was a seriously shitty friend if she’d just steered him away from Melody.

  Zach was grinning at her. His voice piped in to respond to what she’d been thinking, “We were drugged by your ability. I was just kidding about the bathroom thing. We’re friends. We are always going to be friends. Just friends. I know that. Just like I know that in this life we’ve been given, sometimes we’re going have to do things we normally wouldn’t do. This doesn’t have to be a big deal if we don’t make it one. We kissed and it was hot, but we did it so Trinity wouldn’t see us. There was a method to our madness. On a happy note, you calmed yourself down faster this time. If they’d sensed the pheromones they’d be down here already. We’ll just go back upstairs, tell them what happened and figure out another way to get into the room.”

  She smiled at him and responded with a slow nod. As they scaled the stairs, Kayn noted that it was still absurdly hot outside. She was starving. She wasn’t just hungry, she was ridiculously ravenous. They made it to the room and quickly glanced at each other before entering.

  Zach repeated his earlier words, “It’s not a big deal.”

  Melody’s face exploded into an enormous smile as they entered. She announced, “We’ve just concocted a brilliant plan.” She strolled them while holding the bracelet Jenna had spelled to stifle Astrid’s ability.

  Taking Astrid’s bracelet off didn’t feel like a good idea.

  Mel began to explain, “We do have a weapon. Astrid’s saliva is a hallucinogenic toxin. We just have to figure out how to administer it to three rooms full of Trinity. Were you guys able to get the keys?”

  Zach shook his head as he answered, “No, the office is closed until 9 am.”

  Melody seemed a bit aggravated as she probed, “What took you guys so long?”

  This was awkward. Kayn replied, “We ran into Trinity and we were forced to… improvise.”

  Her friend’s eyes widened as she kept the increasingly awkward line of questioning going, “They didn’t see you, did they?”

  She felt far too guilty to meet Melody’s trusting blue eyes. These abilities were going to cause some serious complications in her life. Kayn danced around the touchy situation by saying, “Not exactly.” She tried to change the subject, "Did somebody order pizza?” She strolled over, grabbed the yellow menu off the end table by the landline and began flipping through it.

  Haley knit her brow, smiled and repeated Kayn’s last words, “Not exactly?”

  Zach tried to steer their conversation away from the uncomfortable topic, “I don’t think they know we’re here, but we heard them say they were planning to have a few drinks and watch a movie. Maybe they’ll all be in the same room?”

  Melody wandered over, snatched the menu out of Kayn’s hand and asserted, “Can you stay focused for a second? We need to figure out a way to get Astrid’s toxin into their alcohol. Do you think you can still use Frost’s ability?”

  No, she couldn’t stay focused. Focus had never been one of her strong suits and yes, she could use Frost’s ability but she shouldn’t. Kayn maneuvered her way past the group gathered in the middle of the room and flopped down on the bed with her limbs spread out like a starfish. She started to giggle. How in the hell were they going to pull this job off? They had no idea what they were doing and she was a loose cannon. This gong show was only going to get more comical. What did they have? Haley had instincts. Astrid had poison. Melody was a Healer and Zach had no idea what his ability was yet. She had the ability to use all of those abilities at once. Kayn rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. It was quite possible she wasn’t thinking straight. So far today, she’d made out with Zach… twice. Then she’d seduced some poor kid working at the front desk and made him think he was sick. They hadn’t accomplished anything except for not being caught. Now the big plan was to roofie Trinity. She started to laugh even harder.

  Zach sat down next to her and said, “Are you alright?”

  Kayn raised her face off the pillow, grabbed it out from under herself and smoked him with it as she responded, “Think about it. Our big plan is to break into each room and roofie Trinity. There has to be a faster way to do it?”

  Astrid sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Alright, if you have a better idea, lets here it.”

  She suggested, “What if I borrowed Astrid’s ability and then try to use Frost’s at the same time? I’ll intercept one of the Trinity, kiss him and ask him nicely to spit in everyone’s drinks. Once they’re out, we’ll stroll right in and take the girl. Why make this more complicated than it needs to be?”

  Melody looked at her and said, “I know you managed to use it on the clerk at the front desk but can you use it to control one of us?”

  Kayn glanced at Zach. He was still sitting next to her on the bed. Their impromptu make out session was still fresh in both of their minds.

  He rather bluntly answered, “Trust me, it’s not going to be a problem.”

  A look passed between them. Zach knew she couldn’t control that ability, any more than he’d been able to control his reaction to it. It was in both of their best interests to just pretend it hadn’t happened. Kayn’s stomach rumbled loudly and she wished they’d ordered that pizza someone had mentioned earlier. She didn’t have time now and once their plan started, they’d have to run as soon as they got their hands on the girl they were searching for. She’d probably be eating cookies, granola bars and gas station subs in the RV for days.

  “Well, let’s do this,” Astrid declared. “Take some of my ability so we can get this plan underway.”

  Astrid’s gift wasn’t one, she wanted to keep.

 
Astrid extended her hands towards Kayn nervously, winced and whispered, “Be gentle with me.”

  Kayn smiled as she took Astrid’s hands. Almost immediately hers began to heat up. The energy traveled up her arms into her chest, where it caused the embers of her Conduit ability to combust. It felt like every nerve ending in her body was sparking up. Now, there was no control. Intense waves of euphoria rocked her soul as her body absorbed the new ability. Astrid’s eyes widened. She began to struggle.

  Zach stepped in and asserted, “Kayn. That’s enough. You’re hurting her.”

  She’d lost herself for a moment there. Kayn released her grasp on Astrid’s hands, catching a glimpse of the clearly visible veins on her arms. She needed more. Why bother drugging anyone? She could just walk upstairs, pound on the door and ingest their abilities. She was absolutely ravenous. The primal instinct to continue to feed her ability caused her to gap out while staring directly at Melody.

  Mel nervously cleared her throat as she glanced at Zach and whispered, “Duty calls.”

  She could just take her healing ability. She wanted it and it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk herself down.

  She heard Zach’s voice say, “Are you still with us?”

  Kayn snapped out of the trance enough to ominously respond to his voice without moving her eyes from Melody. Her next logical meal, “I need more.”

  Zach knelt in front of her and whispered, “Come back to us. Remember where you are and what we’re supposed to be doing.”

  Melody dared to come closer as she confidently stated, “Kayn’s not going to hurt me. She’d never hurt me. I’ll just give her some of my ability.”

  Yes, by all means, come closer and make this easy.

  Zach stood his ground as she warned the others, “She’s not in control. I can feel it.”

  Kayn glared at her Handler. He needed to move out of the bloody way and let her do what she needed to do. She touched her fingertips together and they sparked with energy. She slowly started to pull them apart.