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

by Kim Cormack

  Molly was on the edge of her lounger intently listening to the crazy story she was being told. She stammered, “Keep going.”

  Grey chuckled and kept telling the tale, “So, the twin’s souls rejoined and Frost lost Chloe. Kayn lost Kevin to Triad and Kevin’s memory was wiped so he wouldn’t remember Kayn. Eventually Frost and Kayn sort of started seeing each other. In a selfless move, he let her go before the Testing so she could figure things out with Kevin. In a sick plot twist, that I swear I knew nothing about, the clan arranged to have Kevin kill Kayn so that she would become a Dragon and lead the others out of the Testing.”

  Molly stared at Kayn for a minute and then back at Grey. She shook her head in disbelief and declared, “That’s a horrible story.”

  Kayn grinned because in hearing it back, it sounded like absolute insanity. “What you overheard was Grey’s reaction to me trying to explain that after the Testing my twin’s memories and emotions are now the same as my own in my mind and my heart.” She liked this kid. It was a little bit funny to speak to someone that was only a few years younger as though they were lifetimes apart. Perhaps it was because she’d been to hell and back. For every time she’d died during the Testing, it felt like she’d gained years. Molly seemed to be dealing with everything she’d been told with a remarkable amount of maturity. She noticed Molly staring at her again and she said, “Yes?”

  The newest of the Ankh enquired, “Are you and Frost a thing?”

  She wasn’t sure how she should answer that question. They were a confusing thing. She should go and find him. Kayn stood up and as she started to walk away she paused, turned back and replied, “We’re something.” She noted that she was becoming attached to Molly. They’d better not lose her to another clan before her eighteenth birthday. She looked back at her again. Her eighteenth birthday was years away. Being on this side of the situation felt a little bit odd. She padded down the smooth seamless cement walkway barefoot until she heard the sound of his laughter and she followed his voice into a private area surrounded by a marble wall. Inside there was a completely secluded hot tub, full of scantily clad people. Frost was deep in conversation with an attractive brunette and he hadn’t noticed her standing there. The girl had her hand on Frost’s chest, shamelessly flirting with him. Zach noticed her. Just as she was contemplating strolling over there and yanking her out of the hot tub by her hair. Zach got out of the water and suggested they go back to their room to get out of the sun for a bit. He was either running interference for Frost or doing his job as her Handler by trying to save the mortal from her slightly unhinged temper. Frost noticed her there just as she was about to walk away. Kayn glared at him, pressed her lips together and nodded. Yes, I saw that. You jackass.

  He shifted away from the girl and made the mistake of far too casually saying, “Are you coming in?”

  Was he asking her to join them? Kayn venomously sparred, “No, I’m not feeling it now. That water looks a little too dirty.” Frost tossed his head back and laughed.

  Zach grabbed her arm and as he gently led her away, he whispered, “Let’s go bruiser, before you go full psycho. You’re reading way too much into this my friend.”

  Was she really? Did he have to let some chick touch his chest? She followed Zach up to the room. He had a key pinned to his shorts. Weird?

  He opened the door and sweetly suggested, “Come and sit down at the table for a minute.” He wandered over to the coffee machine on top of a little red microwave and turned it on.

  She wandered barefoot into the room and noticed that there was a little kitchenette with white basic particle board cupboards and drawers. There was graffiti all over them. When she took a closer look, she realized they’d been covered with a white board. People had been decorating them with washable markers. The kitchen table was one of those small folding card tables which was also covered in graffiti and initials. She sat down in one of the little chairs, hoping it wouldn’t collapse under her weight. It was a strange looking room. It had the vibe of the interior of a kid’s unfinished treehouse. The bed was the only normal looking piece of furniture. She’d stayed in some strange places. This room would definitely be added to her list of the weirdest hotel rooms in North America. It felt like it had only been a minute as Zach placed a mug of coffee on the table in front of her. She found herself wondering if the heat from the bottom of the mug was going to destroy the washable marker art on the table. She was so going to forget, lean on something and be covered in washable marker. This was who she was as a person. Zach placed a cup full of packets of sugar and coffee whitener on the table and took a seat on the other side. He asked her to pass the whitener and she swiped her hand, without touching the cup. It slid across the table towards him without flying across the room. She’d done it on a whim because they were alone but doing it properly with some control had been pretty cool.

  He tried to do the same thing and it flew off the edge of the table and clinked on the floor, but didn’t break. She bent down, picked it up and placed it back on the table. Kayn giggled as she cheered him on, “Try it again.”

  Zach moved his hand slowly this time. It slid right into her hand. He beamed and she grinned back at him. Kayn took a sip of her piping hot coffee, forgetting that it wasn’t milk from a fridge but powdered coffee whitener. She burned her tongue and said a few rather colorful words.

  Zach cleared his throat and as she looked at him. he confessed, “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to help you with these anger issues. Did I word that properly?”

  She smiled as she tried to take another sip of steaming coffee without responding to his confession. What was she supposed to say? This was all new for her too and she didn’t necessarily see it as a bad thing. She’d spent so long filtering herself. She wanted what she wanted and when she felt anger she showed it. She looked at him and replied, “I know you may miss who I used to be but this is who I am now and I’ve never felt more free.”

  His eyes softened and he backtracked, “I’ll try to reword that sentence. Frost always flirts with everyone. Hell, sometimes I even feel like he’s hitting on me. What about some girl flirting with him in a hot tub today, made you want to yank her out of that hot tub by her hair?”

  She smiled and chuckled, “You heard that. I just thought it. I didn’t do it and we haven’t had a chance to talk privately since Vegas. You’re missing part of the backstory. It’s not important though. I wasn’t going to hurt her, she’s mortal.” Kayn noticed the washable markers in the center of the table, she plucked the cap off one of them and decided to start a game of hangman. Zach started playing with her by guessing letters without even talking about it.

  They’d been playing for about five minutes when Zach took a guess, “I almost slept with him in Vegas.”

  Kayn laughed as Zach started his hangman without saying a word. Once he was finished she started guessing the letters. About five minutes in she guessed the sentence, “But Frost is a man whore.”

  She nodded because he was right. He had been… She knew that but she also knew they could be more than that. The door opened and Frost walked into the room. Oh Shit! Zach quickly placed his mug over the name Frost. Kayn, leaned over the table and tried to nonchalantly smear her seedy info with one of her arms.

  As he strolled towards them, he stated, “These are weird frigging rooms. In mine, everything glows in the dark. There’s even glow in the dark markers.” Frost looked directly at Kayn and asked her if she wanted to come check out his room.

  Lord help her, she did but she was still ticked off at him. She couldn’t make it that easy. She glanced at Zach and invited him along, “Come on Zach. Let’s go check out Frost’s room.”

  Frost grinned at her obviously understanding he was doing penance but she wasn’t sure he understood why. When they only walked next door, they were both aware that Frost might have heard their whole unfiltered game of hangman. He drew the blinds and the room became dark. His room was extremely cool. She excused herself, “I need to go to t
he bathroom.”

  He turned the lights back on and replied, “It’s over there.”

  Kayn strolled across the room and closed the door behind her.

  She heard Zach announce, “There’s pizza in Grey and Lexy’s room. The keys on the counter. Lock the room when you’re done.”

  “Alright. I’ll be right there, “she replied. When she was finished Kayn washed her hands and then wondered if there was glow in the dark writing on these walls too. She turned off the lights and looked around the back of the room. There was writing everywhere, on the back of the door she saw something that she knew came from Frost. It was their initials and a heart. Then there was, I’m sorry. I’m trying, written underneath it. She recalled the romantic little cabin with the initials carved into the back of the door. The one they’d almost stayed in together. He knew she’d see this. He’d known the initials on the back of the door had meant something to her. She stayed there for a minute before walking out. They’d all left. She noticed the adjoining door. Would he try to use it? Her stomach flipped and she knew that was a warning. She stepped outside and locked the door behind her. Down the end of the long balcony she saw a group of people approaching. Her heart clenched. Was that Kevin? As the group came closer she realized it was just somebody that resembled him. She smiled at the group of guys and waited for them to pass. Why was she thinking about him now? She’d put him behind her. Had she really put him behind her, or had she stifled all thoughts of Kevin by hyper focusing on Frost? It had only been a matter of months since the Testing. Suddenly, everything became clear. Jenna might have been right. Her emotions had been either shut off or amped up since the whole banquet and virgin sacrifice fiasco. She needed to find her normal. Whatever that meant. Truth be told she didn’t plan to slow anything down with Frost. It was time to be happy. She knew even if their relationship was short lived, it’d be worth her while. She opened the door where she heard familiar voices and smiled at the group, making the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well, Kayn took a few pieces of pizza with her and wandered back to her room. She devoured the pizza and snuggled under the covers. She was exhausted. Kayn stared at the adjoining door to Frost’s room. Was it locked? This was definitely not the night for that life event. She began to aimlessly click through the channels until her eyes grew heavy and sleep stole her away.

  The sound of music filled her senses and she was standing in front of a mirror in a strapless flowing teal prom dress. She recognized the bathroom. Her curiosity peaked as she followed the sound of the music out of the washroom and down a long dark hallway. There were lockers, all the way down the length of it on either side. At the end were large double doors. It was the gymnasium. She knew this school. She’d gone to this school. She’d had this dream before. This was the dream about what could have been… He would be there waiting for her. She knew this but she wasn’t angry. She was hopeful. This was the domesticated version of her former self. She was Kayn Brighton the track and field star. She was just a girl and this was just the dance she’d never gone to. She shoved on the doors and they opened to reveal the cheesy decorations of a prom she’d never had. The theme was obviously space. Silver stars had been painstakingly hung by long strings from the ceiling. Dozens of them on each thread. Planets adorned the gymnasium walls. The best part about this dream was that each time she had it, the theme of the prom changed. Last time the theme had been, under the sea. Familiar faces were everywhere but there was one person she was searching the crowd for. He didn’t appear to be there. Derek, the boy who’d been taken by Abaddon, under the guise of meeting up with her was eating something that made one of his cheeks bulge out. He covered his mouth when he saw her and waved with his free hand. She shook her head and started to giggle. This was another reality. One where the two of them hadn’t been forced to fight to the death. Somebody slapped her butt. She spun around and had to catch her breath. It was Chloe. Her twin flounced away without saying a word. She stood there in awe, watching her sister as she made her rounds. The crowd separated and she saw him standing there talking to someone. Kayn grinned as she watched him having an animated conversation, obviously describing something. From this vantage point the hand gestures he was making were pretty damn comical. The music slowed, making it easier for her to maneuver her way through the crowd towards him.

  Kevin turned around just as she reached him. He smiled and teased, “I was wondering where you were. One second you were standing beside me and the next you were gone.”

  Her eyes filled with moisture. She quickly blinked the tears away. That’s what happened to them. One second he was there beside her and the next he was gone. It was hard to see him as he was now and comprehend that he was destined to be her enemy. Kayn took his hand as she would have before everything changed between them. He pulled her into his embrace and she laid her head on his shoulder as they began to sway to the soothing rhythm of the music. This was really him and these were the moments they had lost.

  He whispered against her hair, “I love you. That will never change.”

  She pulled away so she could look into his eyes. These were the words they’d never gotten a chance to say. She tenderly touched his cheek as a surge of tears swelled and the emotional damn within her broke. “I love you to,” she admitted. Their lips met sweetly at first and then the kiss deepened with the passion that had been slowly building between them for their entire lives. They became lost in the moment until they heard somebody say, “Get a room.”

  Kayn laughed nervously as she searched the crowd for the comic culprit. Something he said snapped into her mind. That will never change. Why had he added that to his declaration of love? What was this?

  He sensed the change in her demeanor as she backed away from him, he pleaded, “Don’t leave. I’m not ready for this dream to end.”

  It couldn’t be? She needed to know. She closed the space between them and started to unbutton his shirt.

  Kevin teased, “Right here? Really?”

  She folded down the edge of his shirt to reveal the symbol of Triad, branded on his flesh above his heart.

  He’d tricked her. Rage tightened in the pit of her stomach. She shot daggers of hatred at him with her eyes and hissed, “How are you here? Why are you here?”

  Visibly amused by her instantaneous change in attitude, he grinned flirtatiously and sparred, “What are you doing here?”

  They stood there staring each other down as Chloe approached to break up their visual standoff.

  Her twin gave her an ominous smirk as she enquired, “You need me, don’t you?” She stepped into her and they became one as they were always meant to be. Blinding white light exploded around her, causing her to squeeze her eyes closed. When the glare ceased to incapacitate her Kevin had disappeared. She was standing in a dance full of misshapen faced hollow eyed demons with their mouths open, twisted in torment. In her hand, one of the demon blades. There was a time when this would have been a terrifying sight but now her pulse raced with excitement. A voice in her mind whispered, “You don’t need that knife.” She released the blade and it bounced on the floor with a few melodic clinks. Her senses were assaulted by the putrid scent of sulphur. Kayn marched towards one of the demonic beings and grabbed either side of its contorted face. Her hands warmed, followed by the addictive sensation of its life force as it travelled up her arms and gathered in her chest. She felt her fingertips tingle and knew what that meant. She touched the tips together and then gently pulled them apart, molding herself a ball of energy. The demons began to merge into one massive dark abomination that appeared to be a snake with the legs of a centipede and slick black as tar shiny scales. Operating on instinct, Kayn raised the ball of energy she’d formed between her hands and pitched it at the creature. In the aftermath, blood, meat and tissue splattered everywhere even some demon intestines were hanging from the decorative stars on the ceiling. She stood there alone after redecorating the gymnasium with macabre demonic innards, wondering what came next when she gasped and woke up
. That had been one seriously insane nightmare. She managed to focus in on her surroundings and was relieved to find she was still in her hotel room in bed. She glanced at the bed next to her. It was still made. Nobody had slept in it. Zach hadn’t come back to the room. Maybe, he met someone? It occurred to her that it might still be early and the others were a couple of rooms down, having a few drinks and hanging out. She glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed and it was flashing at midnight. Well, that’s not helpful. She had a vague recollection of unplugging something to plug in her cell phone. It was probably the alarm clock. Kayn rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow. She closed her eyes and with no problems, she drifted back to sleep.

  A Kidnapping and a Kiss

  Kayn awoke sensing something amiss, even before she’d opened her eyes. She was in an odd position. Her arms were above her head. She tried to move them and realized they’d been bound. Shit…seriously? She opened her eyes. The room was still dark. The clock was still rhythmically flashing at midnight. Kayn struggled for a second, attempting to free herself. What in the hell was she bound with? She should have been able to snap handcuffs like they were twigs. What was going on? Someone was in the room with her. It couldn’t be? Kayn hadn’t been gagged but she knew the drill. There was no point in screaming for help. From who? Some mortal passing by. What were they going to do? Situations like this were less emotionally taxing when you knew you couldn’t die. If it was a serial murderer it would seriously suck but it wouldn’t wreck her week. Sensing someone in the shadows, she said, “Would you like a chance to explain yourself before I rip these restraints off my wrists and kill you.”

  A familiar voice chuckled, “You’d be wasting your energy but go ahead and give it your best shot.”

  Kayn swallowed the lump in her throat. Why was he here? She struggled to break the chains that bound her but they wouldn’t budge. Kevin stepped out of the shadows into the faint light that glowed from her cell phone near the floor beside the bed. She’d wondered when their paths would cross again. Seeing him was less confusing now. He was her enemy. It had been a smart move on his part to restrain her.