The door swung open and the thugs from the night before stepped through. One of them had a tray of food and set it on the desk in the corner. He grinned at her, revealing sharp canine teeth. His eyes glowed hungrily as he looked at her. Sniffing the air, he licked his lips.
“I could drain you right now,” he teased. “But I won't. The elders would have my head. But I have a right to my share of the blood.”
He backed out of the room and slammed the door. Aria started, jumping at the sound. She shook her head, thinking about his words. They wanted to suck her blood. The reality of them being vampires was sinking in more and more. She sighed and crossed the room, inspecting the food he'd brought her. A piece of white bread and overcooked scrambled eggs. There wasn't even a fork. She sighed again and sat down at the desk, eating the eggs with her fingers.
She picked at the bread and began to pace the room, taking small nibbles as she tried to come up with a plan. A small peep came from the window, almost too quiet to hear. She hurried over and found a little yellow bird sitting on the windowsill. She looked closer, inspecting the creature. It flapped its wings but couldn’t fly away. It was injured!
Aria coaxed it into the room with crumbs of bread, until it was finally inside. She scooped it up in her hands and held it against her chest as it began batting its wounded wing. She carefully walked across the room and sat down at the bed.
Aria opened her mouth and the notes of her healing song spilled out into the air. Soon, the bird’s nervous flapping ceased, and it grew calm in her hands. She continued to sing, opening her palms to inspect the creature.
He looked up at her with trusting eyes, and she smiled down at him. His wing did not mend after one song. She knew from experience that it would take more than just one session to heal the little thing. She took him across the room and placed him inside a discarded shoe box, giving him crumbs of the bread. He seemed happy in there, picking at the bread, his beak thumping and scratching on the cardboard.
“There you are, little guy. Now at least I have you to take care of while I'm in this horrid place. I will make sure that I bring you back to health so that you can fly free. Even if I never see freedom again.”
Chapter 4
The dragons of the House of Flames met on the back lawn, preparing for their early morning flight to the vampire’s compound.
“Engage stealth mode,” Kian said.
Dax slid his finger over his wrist device, activating his stealth mode.
“Mental link engaged,” said Bethi, their ship’s AI computer.
Their mental link came online, allowing them to speak to each other without words.
“Shift when ready,” Kian said.
Dax took a deep breath and let it out, letting his inner emerge from deep inside. The beast had been growling, clawing, and roaring inside him, demanding that he save the girl. He had not slept well. Now, finally, his inner beast was set free, and he could rescue her from her torment. His massive red beast launched into the air, flying out ahead of the other dragons. Ready to fight. Ready to bring down the entire vampire compound if he had to.
“Stay in formation,” he heard Kian say.
Dax’s wings beat the air as he flew toward the vampires’ stronghold. He respected Kian’s implementation of careful strategy, but more than a few times, he had found his tactics were advantageous. When other dragons wanted to stop and think and analyze, Dax would charge in, swords at the ready, fire blazing, and take care of whatever threat was before them. He would win before the more measured dragons had even prepared themselves for battle.
But Kian was his prince and his commander. He had to listen to what he said. And he knew that he had a point. He didn't want to make it worse for Aria. If the vampire wards were stronger than they were last time, it could be a tricky rescue mission.
“The vampire mansion is one hundred miles away due east,” Bethi said over their mental link.
The dragons shifted east, flying in unison on the airstreams toward the mansion. Their bodies were under the cloak of invisibility. Undetectable to passing airplanes or other human activity in the skies. They could go completely unnoticed with their superior technology.
The dragons continued their flight, wind whipping past their ears. The vampires had the advantage of being able to slip in and out of material form without having to physically travel. It was a power they’d maintained even after thousands of years on Earth had made them weak.
These new, weaker vampires were easy to fight — Dax had taken on two dozen of them without a single scratch — but they were nearly impossible to kill, because they now healed almost instantly if they dissipated into smoke. An adaptation that had thrown everyone off guard.
He beat his wings upward on the jet stream, fighting the headwind that slowed him down. He lifted over the wind and then dove down again, finding a new current to glide on. The other dragons followed. He could sense them in formation through their mental link. Finally, they made it to the edge of the vampire’s estate and landed gracefully in the deep woods at the boundary of the property.
“Shift into half-dragon form,” Kian said through the mental link.
Dax shifted into his half-dragon form, sensing the other dragons around him. Even in stealth mode, they could see a faint outline of each other. They all came to stand together under the cover of the forest, the predawn darkness disguising their movements.
“Here, we will analyze the wards before attempting to break them.”
“Bethi, what are you picking up?” Cato said, sweeping his wrist device over the at edge of the tree line.
“Analyzing magical wards,” Bethi said.
“How long this is going to take?” Dax grumbled.
“Approximately five minutes,” Bethi said.
Dax let out a deep sigh that came out through his physical form.
“Please remain silent,” Kian said through their link.
Dax gritted his teeth, trying to be patient as the computer analyzed the magical wards around the property.
“Analysis complete,” Bethi said.
“These wards are more complex than anything we have ever encountered,” Cato said.
“Even in our home systems?” Kian asked.
“They have developed new magic in the million years since we have dealt with them.”
“Can you break it?” Kian asked.
“I will try.”
“Attempting ward break,” Bethi said.
Dax gritted his teeth even harder, feeling the pain in his jaw as he tried to remain silent.
“I don't care about their wards. I can take them all on. These vampires cannot best me.”
“Dax, we've explained this. If we are stuck behind the wards, you may not be able to get out.”
“No vampire magic can keep me in!”
“You don't know that,” Kian barked.
Dax might be? angry but he wasn't going to make any stupid mistakes when it came to his mate.
His mate.
Dax knew that's what she must be. Kian and Cato insisted that he wait for a mate analysis, but everything inside him told him that she was the one he had been waiting for. Dax had waited a million years to find his fated one. The moment he saw Aria, his inner dragon was sure she was it. He didn't care that dragons hadn’t depended on their mating instinct in millennia. That didn't matter to him.
All that mattered was how he felt. And he felt that she was his mate. He hadn't even smelled her yet. Just the sight of her was enough to incite his dragon’s mating impulse. Cato thought it was because they were on Earth and Dragon Souls lived here, but the impulse had grown far more aggressive since laying eyes on Aria.
Kian had found his mate. He’d had the same feeling when he had laid eyes on Everly. Why should they doubt Dax? But they doubted everything he said and did, because they liked to sit around and talk, like little girls.
He needed action, to move, to make things happen. The other three were not as decisive as he was, and he sometimes t
hought it was a terrible flaw they all shared. He had the true soul of a fire dragon. He didn't know how the rest of them had grown so impotent, but he suspected it had something to do with their dying sun and the loss of their females.
He pushed all these dark thoughts from his mind. Knowing that he was only angry at his crew for making him wait. Sometimes you just had to go in and see what happened, and make your decisions on the fly. He wished that they understood that.
“Wards deactivated,” Bethi said.
“They will be aware of our presence now,” Cato said.
“Move in,” Kian said.
“Finally,” Dax muttered, charging toward the mansion.
The other three continued along with him across the grounds silently under their invisibility cloaks. As soon as Dax stood under the eaves of the mansion, his lungs filled with a magical scent. Like spring rain and sunshine. Soft breezes that kissed his battle worn cheeks. Love in full bloom like a budding flower. His inner dragon went haywire.
“She's up there,” Dax barked, unable to control his shift. “I'm going to get her now.”
“Dax no,” Kian said.
But it was too late. He wouldn't be controlled. He wouldn't be told what to do any more, even by his commander. If Kian didn't like it, then he could try to see if he could punish him. Dax roared. His inner dragon flew out from within.
He launched into the air, landed on the roof beside the tower, and peered with one giant eye into the tiny window. He saw her sleeping on the bed in the corner. So peaceful and delicate. He shifted to his human like form. He needed to speak with her. He deactivated his invisibility cloak and stood in the window.
“Aria,” he called out. “Aria wake up.”
But she didn't stir. Kian shouted at him through their mental link, and Cato and Aiden cursed his disobedience.
“You've alerted the vampires to our location, Dax,” Kian chided.
“I'll deal with them,” he growled. “Aria wake up,” he said again.
Finally, she stirred on the bed and blinked in the predawn darkness. She turned on the lights and examined her surroundings.
“Hello?” she said.
“Aria, over here,” he said.
She looked up at the window and padded across the floor to gaze out at him.
“Who are you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “Are you a vampire?”
“My name is Dax. I'm here to save you.”
“How are you going to get me out of here? I can't fit through the window,” she said, slapping her very curvy hips. Dax growled, salivating at the sight.
“I will make room,” he said. “Stand back.”
She hurried back and stood at the other side of the room. Dax fisted his hand and punched at the wall.
“What are you doing?” she gasped, horrified and confused.
“I'm getting you out,” he said.
“The vampires are coming,” Kian said behind him.
The other four dragons had shifted and landed on the roof around him. Dark figures were emerging from every window and door in the building.
“You're going to see some strange things, Aria,” he said, trying to reassure her. “Don't be afraid. We are here to save you.”
“Okay,” she said from the other side of the room.
Dax turned away from the window and shifted, as dozens of black forms descended upon him. He had only made a small hole in the wall, extending the window by twice the size. It would give Aria a better view of the battle being waged.
He leapt into the air as the shadowy vampires descended on him from every direction. He twirled in the sky, bashing them off as they became physical. They fell to the ground and became vapor once again. Dax landed on the ground in a heavy thud, breathing fire all around him.
As soon as they caught fire, they went invisible and his fire went out. He hated that he couldn't catch them or burn them to a crisp as he once had. They were slippery as eels and impossible to catch. He bashed and snapped at them with his claws and teeth, breathing fire all around. When that didn't work, he decided to burn down their house. He let out a billowing breath of fire, igniting the entire lower level of the mansion. The vampires shrieked, distracted by the flames.
“You agreed not to come here,” their leader, Victor, said.
“You agreed not to kidnap Dragon Souls,” Kian said.
The dragons and vampires faced each other. Kian in his human form and Victor wearing a tailored suit holding a cane.
Dax clawed and blew flames all around, undistracted by the showdown between the leaders. The vampires shrieked when they caught fire and flipped out of existence, only to come back a second later perfectly fine.
“We’re taking the Dragon Soul,” Kian growled.
“You can't have her,” Victor said.
“We are taking her,” Kian said. “If you need to feed on blood, then take it from non-sentient species, such as pigs. If you insist on human blood, buy it from blood banks or find willing volunteers. If you don't meet these conditions, the Guardian Dragons of Earth will not rest until each of you is set aflame.”
“Since when did you become the guardians of this planet?” Victor asked.
“Since we woke up and found you here. Get used to it,” Kian said, shifting into his dragon form.
Finally, Kian was showing himself as the fire dragon he was born to be. Dax smiled, his sharp dragon teeth showing as he grinned.
Chapter 5
Aria stared in shock, hiding from the fight outside her window. The man who had said he'd come to rescue her had been so handsome and strong. A stubbled square jaw, jovial mouth, and moss green eyes were framed by a tousled mass of wavy blond hair that came to his impossibly broad shoulders. She wanted to believe this Adonis was truly here to help her. But then he turned into a massive red dragon, and she wasn't so sure anymore.
Aria had been surprised enough at the existence of vampires. But now she also had to believe in dragons? It was just too much. She snuck toward the window and glanced outside again. There was a full-blown battle taking place out there. In the sky, on the ground, on the rooftops.
She stumbled back and scooped up the wounded bird, which she’d named Charlie, and held him close to her. She sang a soft song to calm his frantic chirping. She didn't know what would happen after this violent fight, but she intended to keep Charlie safe no matter what.
Her voice quivered as the power inside her surged through her hands and radiated into the little broken creature. She knew that soon his wing would be healed, and he would be able to fly away and live in the wild as he was meant to. But if something happened to him, in this bloody, fiery battle of vampire and dragon, she would never forgive herself.
Her heart beat wildly and she could barely concentrate on her song, but she put every ounce of her strength, focus, and resolve into keeping her little bird safe from the storm.
She placed him inside the pocket of her shirt where he could nestle comfortably against her chest and went to look out the window one more time.
Victor, the leader of the vampires, faced a man she didn't recognize. The entire bottom level of the mansion was aflame. The dragon who’d said he’d come to save her was now in the form of a massive red beast, taking on dozens of vampires.
There were other dragons out there too. One of them was half shifted. He had a physical body resembling a man, but he had wings coming out of his back, claws, and fangs. He danced like a ninja with flaming swords in his clawed hands, fighting several dozen vampires on the ground and in the sky.
Another half-shifted dragon was shooting vampires with laser beams from some kind of wrist device. She shook her head, not quite understanding what the hell was happening. Was that a dragon with a laser gun? She just didn't get it. This was beyond reasonable. If she hadn't already been kidnapped by vampires, the sight of all of this commotion would probably have made her faint.
She realized that she now lived in a world of the strange and wonderful, and it would probably b
e best if she just got used to it.
She herself was not exactly a normal human. Her ability to heal the sick with her song had been her secret all her life. It started when she was a young girl, about five, a year before her mother passed away. She’d found a neighbor's cat that had been attacked by a dog. Its front paw had been ripped open, and it couldn't walk.
She’d sat with the little black and white feline where it had hidden under the porch steps. Guided by instinct, she’d sung to it, holding her hands against the wood. After fifteen minutes of singing, the cat ran out from under the porch and dashed across the street, as if it had never been hurt at all.
The cat couldn’t use it’s bloodied, broken paw when it had run on three legs under the porch. Yet it ran away, just as healthy as it could be. From that day forward, she knew she had a special power. She healed many creatures and people too. But she soon learned she had to keep it a secret.
When she’d told her mother about her gift, she’d laughed and told Aria not to be silly. She said magic didn't exist, that it was just part of one of her fairytales. Her mother had said Aria was a big girl now and needed to know the difference between fantasy and reality. A year later, her mother was hit by a drunk driver and passed away on the operating table.
It had left a deep impression on Aria’s young psyche. She’d always believed that if she’d been with her mother in the hospital, she could have saved her. She’d grown up conflicted about her identity, her power, and her place in the world. On one hand, she knew her power was deeply loving and good. On the other hand, her late mother’s words continued to ring in her mind like a tolling bell.
Aria couldn’t resist trying to help people, but she only used her power in secret, never drawing attention to herself. She just knew that if anyone ever found out she believed in magic, they would lock her up and throw away the key.
After her mom died, she’d grown up with her dad. And he had never remarried. As a traveling salesman, married to his work, they’d moved at least twice a year throughout her childhood. When her mom was alive, it had been easier. But without her, Aria had no one to tend to her emotional needs. Her father was a good dad, for a distant workaholic, and he’d taken care of her physical needs. But her childhood experiences had left her unsure of herself and unable connected to anything, including herself and her own needs.
Dax: House of Flames (Dragon Warrior Romance) (Dragon Guardians Book 2) Page 2