“She threatens to beat you and you laugh,” Tyler muttered and shook his head. “I thought my friends were the weird ones.”
Emma barely glanced at the room as she walked across the thick green carpet. Before stepping through the sliding door, she flipped the outside floodlights on.
The thirty-foot deck and surrounding lawn lit up, casting a glow that tried to reach the surrounding forest.
Beside her, Tyler jumped. Glaring at the brilliant lights, he growled softly.
“Sorry, I didn’t think about startling you,” Emma said, laying a hand on his tense arm, unconsciously rubbing the flickering flames of the mate mark.
He shook his head and chuckled. “I think you’re paying me back for the bubble bath.”
Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss. “Nope, but don’t worry, I will pay you back for that one.”
Turning, she hurried across the area and down the steps, sitting the laptop on the edge of the tall deck.
Waiting for it to boot-up, she rubbed her hands down her pants. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. She hated being the center of attention and here she was about to ask the entire world to listen... well, maybe not the entire world, just enough people to stop the fighting.
“Chélah, I feel sharp darts of worry flickering through me. What aren’t you telling me?” he pressed. His frown grew dark, waiting for her to answer him.
“Maybe I should’ve talked to Uncle Keith. If I screw this up, it could make matters so much worse. I wanted to record you shifting from human to dragon. I thought if I could post it on YouTube people would see that you aren’t a monster.” She shook her head, frustrated at herself for not thinking things through. “What happens if the government sees the video and thinks that intelligent dragons are an even worse enemy? What if they drop an atomic bomb on us or something?”
He cupped her face. Leaning closer, he gently kissed her lips. “I have faith in you. Whatever you decide, I’ll stand beside you, but I think you have a good idea. From all you’ve told me, the mortal government will see us as a threat no matter what we do or say. If we can get the sympathy of the people behind us, we might stand a chance of forcing them to the negotiation table.”
When she didn’t respond, he tightened his hold on her and kissed her forehead. “Come on,” he briskly rubbed her back, “whether we see your plan through or head home, we need to get this ball rolling. All these lights will soon attract attention.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. Swallowing the nervous knot in her throat, she stiffened her resolve, forcing her thoughts to focus on what was most important. They had to let the world know that dragons were people too, information that was a dual edged knife. Truly, the video could hurt as much as it helped, but she couldn’t think of any other way.
She tilted the screen, hoping she aimed the camera correctly. “Okay, I’ve never actually used the web cam so getting a video of us posted on the web might take a couple of tries.” She sighed, glaring at the camera lens. “Kayla is really good with this stuff. She’d make it work on the first try.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him step closer. He hesitated.
“I can’t help having a funny feeling about Kayla,” he said tentatively, brushing his fingers across her shoulder and down her arm, gently caressing her mate mark.
“Why?” Emma asked guardedly, not wanting to lie to him. She’d rather wait until Kayla was present. Once he met Kayla and her parents, she knew he’d accept them. Yeah, right. She sighed, knowing that might be a foolish belief.
“Did you notice she didn’t speak English, but my native language when she threatened me?” he asked, watching her closely.
Her face went blank. Swallowing hard, she waved toward the forest. “She must’ve been bitten by a pixie. You worry too much. We have enough problems without adding to them. Come on, this is ready,” she said, tugging him to a grassy spot in front of the deck.
“How did she know about the council?” he questioned. Grimacing, he rubbed his chest. “Chélah, stop that. I can feel your fear of me.”
“Yeah, um,” she stuttered to a stop when he growled.
He tugged her close, wrapping his arms around her. “I would never hurt you, never!”
“I know that,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not what I was afraid of.”
“I felt your fear of me,” he growled.
“It wasn’t fear for me, but for Kayla,” she said. Sighing, she hugged him tight before tilting her head up to meet his eyes.
“Why?” he asked, questioning her gently. “You’ve told me how much you care for her.”
She breathed a quick prayer of thanks that he wasn’t like Kyle when it came to judging other races. “Yeah, like a sister,” she said, agreeing with him. “Look, I promise I’ll tell you everything, but let’s talk about it when we get back to the castle. I’m starting to feel exposed out here. The hair on the back of my neck keeps prickling like someone is watching.”
He inhaled the breeze and growled, searching the nearby trees for any sign of movement. “I don’t see either of them, but Kyle and Zach are probably watching us instead of searching for trespassers.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s get this done. I was going to rehearse, but let’s just go by the seat of our pants.” At his comical look, she burst out laughing. “Sorry, I take it you’ve never heard that saying?”
He grunted. “No, and I don’t think it’s a phrase I care to remember. I don’t want anyone touching the seat of your pants.”
She tried stifling a giggle, but it slipped out.
“Feel better,” he asked, running a warm finger down the side of her face.
She smiled up at him and nodded her agreement. Sucking in a deep burst of courage, she turned to the computer.
“Okay, change to dragon.” She glanced behind her, just to make sure he changed, and grinned.
A big, black dragon stood behind her. Tyler tilted his viper-shaped head, watching his mirror image on the computer screen. He opened his mouth and snapped it shut. “That is so incredible. It replicates everything I do.”
“I guess that’s as good a definition as any.” She turned her attention to the computer. Clicking through several screens, she hit start. Turning, she stepped backward several feet, standing next to Tyler’s head. Slapping a serious expression on her face, she looked straight into the web cam.
“Hi, my name’s Emma and the dragon beside me is Tyler.” She laid her hand on his muzzle and grinned as he carefully leaned into her touch. “They are not monsters. Everyone needs to realize that dragons are people. They are shape shifters. Tyler, would you shift to human?”
The large black dragon disappeared and Tyler stepped forward in his human form. “As Emma said, I’m human. The major difference between you and me is the fact I can change my shape,” he said earnestly, looking straight into the computer screen.
“Tyler is from Tuatha Dé Danann. The elders of Tuatha think the dimensional barrier separating Earth and Tuatha simply gave way. They don’t know why it happened, but now that they are here, they don’t want a war. Last night, the U.S. military, led by Brigadier General Thackwart, attacked a village. I was there. That little village was not a military base. It was a place filled with families, just like yours and mine,” she said passionately. “I understand how upset people are, but that’s no excuse for slaughtering innocents. We’ve got to stop this before the fighting can escalate any further.”
Tyler laid his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. “Emma has explained to me how some of your cities have come under attack. The Alliance is not responsible for those attacks. Just like earth, my home world of Tuatha has different nations. The Alliance is a very large assembly of numerous races, a united group of people. The Alliance has always striven for peace, but there will always be other factions, other nations, who will forcefully try taking what is not rightfully theirs.”
“The Lords of Wormwood are vicious. The
Southerners kill and torture without remorse. The Alliance has tried for thousands of years to negotiate peace with the Southerners, but the high wizards and vampires of the southern continent always destroy the truce.”
Emma picked-up where he left off. “I’ve met dragons, gryphon, pixies, and wér-wolves. They are all people from The Alliance. They strike me as truly good people. The kind you hope move in next door. Please, spread this video. Make it go viral. Working together, we can create peace.”
She stepped forward and hit stop. With very little trouble, she uploaded the video to YouTube and her Facebook page. “Well, that’s done.”
“Tyler!” Kyle hollered.
Emma turned toward the forest, where Kyle stood pointing toward the moonlit sky.
Diving toward the house, silhouetted by the blood-colored moon was a dragon. It roared, shooting a burst of flame across the midnight backdrop.
Tyler ran forward, shifting into dragon. He took off, leaving the ground in a rush of wings. He roared. The furious sound echoed through the night.
The mark on her arm turned a dark, burning red reflecting his red-hot fury.
“Tyler.” His name was a groan of fear, rasping out of her suddenly dry throat. His rage billowed through her. He didn’t answer her through the two-way. Deep down, she hadn’t expected a response; she knew the answer. The enforcers didn’t need to hunt for Andrew. Tyler’s traitorous cousin had found them all on his own.
High in the moon brightened sky the dragons came together in a thunderous crash. Snapping and clawing at each other in a fight to the death. Flames spread across the star-studded background as they fought.
Something tingled across her skin, making her hair stand on end; the ghostly touch felt like a brush with electricity.
A glowing orb of power slammed into her chest. The force of the spell - and a spell was all it could be - rocked her world. She flew backward a dozen feet, crashing into a hedge of rose bushes lining the base of the house.
Shuddering under the blow, she shook her head, trying to focus her eyes. A glance around the brightly lit lawn didn’t reveal her attacker. She shoved herself into a sitting position and stifled a cry of pain as dozens of needle sharp thorns punctured her palms and backside.
She glanced up, but still didn’t see the witch. She didn’t know why the witch didn’t immediately attack, but Emma wasn’t complaining. With that thought in her mind, she began fighting her way out of the tangled mess.
She clenched her teeth as thorns ripped deeper into her tender skin, refusing to utter a sound. There was no way she was going to distract Tyler as he fought Baby Face.
Movement near the far side of the house caught her attention. Well, crap and cuss words, her time was up. Sucking up her nerve, she rolled over the crushed bush and onto the grass. She would never plant another rose bush, not as long as she lived.
“What did you do? That blast should’ve killed you,” snarled a beautiful blonde girl as she slowly walked toward Emma. Raising her arms, the girl’s slender hands began glowing; twin orbs pulsed yellowish-white, growing larger with each second.
The sound of the dragon’s fight increased as one of them roared in a sharp bellow of pain.
Emma tried focusing on the witch. She really did. She knew her life depended on it, but the airborne fight split her attention.
Dark, furious roars of anger and pain filled the night as the battling dragons clashed directly above the house. She shuddered, knowing the dragons, each having a lethal set of claws and teeth, struggled to destroy the other. She could not imagine Tyler being hurt, much less losing him.
She snorted to herself. If she didn’t pull it together, she would be the one to die. And since they were entwined heart and soul, mates forever, her death would destroy Tyler faster than the razor sharp claws of his enemy.
Deep in her throat, she snarled. Energy crackled through her, turning her anger into a roaring furnace. She sensed the power in her body. Praying the energy would bend to her will, she focused her willpower, instructing her body to change into wér. An animalistic fury flooded her mind and she shifted. Growing taller and broader with cords of muscle, she bared sharp teeth at the witch. Her growl rumbled across the lawn.
The girl’s slow, methodical steps jerked to a sudden halt. Dumbfounded, the girl blinked. Her face contorted in disgust. “You aren’t mortal. You’re a filthy silvá!”
Behind the girl, near the edge of the woods, Kyle had shifted into wér-wolf and was charging the witch.
He made it about halfway across the wide lawn before the girl turned. Her back hunched. The girl frantically waved her hands toward the attacking wér-wolf, muttering a string of guttural words that hurt Emma’s ears. The orb turned gray then black.
Emma knew the witch had to be terrified. She didn’t blame her. The wér-wolf had a terrifying arsenal of teeth and claws.
Kyle ignored the witch’s glowing hands. Running toward her with such force, his muscles bulged with the effort. Teeth glinting under the floodlights, he roared a challenge that sounded across the lawn.
Emma ran forward.
The girl jerked one hand backward and threw the glowing glob at the rapidly approaching wér-wolf. Whatever the girl threw at him must’ve been powerful.
The ball of dark light hit him in the chest. The orb exploded, belching black flames that consumed the fur on his upper body. He cried out, snarling in pain.
The witch turned, lobbing the remaining orb at Emma.
Emma dodged to the side, frantically rolling to avoid the pulsing ball of black light. It hit the ground, exploding on contact. Black flames sprouted everywhere the liquid touched.
The fiery attack slowed Kyle, but didn’t stop him. Running straight at the witch, he never hesitated.
Turning her back on Emma, the witch faced the charging wér-wolf. She frantically muttered a string of words. A burning glow appeared around her left hand. The burn intensified, turning red before darkening into an oily black boil.
Avoiding the hungry black fire eating the ground bare, Emma scrambled to her knees. The witch was ignoring her. No doubt thinking the wér-wolf was more dangerous. A deadly curve touched Emma’s lips. That was fine with her. Crouching, she launched herself at the witch.
The witch glanced behind her. Her eyes grew huge as she saw Emma barreling down on her, not that it did her any good. Pinned between a charging wér-wolf and furious white scaled wér-dragon, the witch had nowhere to run.
A feline roar sounded from above Emma.
She didn’t take the time to look, giving the witch and the seething ball of black goo her undivided attention.
The witch’s hands came together, turning the rolling mass into a blaze of flickering black flames. She raised her hands. This time she didn’t throw the flames. The witch ran toward Emma, hands outstretched. The black fire licked across the girl’s fingers, reaching for Emma.
Emma liked to think she wasn’t a complete idiot. If the witch wanted to touch her, that was the opposite of what Emma would do.
At the last second, Emma dropped to the ground, avoiding the witch’s touch. Sliding on her knees, she lunged forward, slashing her glistening white claws across the girl’s thighs.
The witch screamed a high-pitched sound filled with pain and anger.
Kyle hit the witch from behind. Blood spewed as the wér-wolf sliced his claws across the girl’s unprotected back.
The girl’s scream of anger turned into a wicked shriek of agony. Crashing to her knees, she flung her hands outward. Black flames dripped from her fingers, burning the grass to ash in an instant, gouging the ground.
A dragon roared. The crazed sound filled with anguish as Andrew raced toward them. The dragon’s move was too little, too late.
From the air, Zach dived toward the witch. Front legs stretched outward, the gryphon targeted the girl’s head. Human-like hands, tipped with lethal claws, slashed through the back of the witch’s head.
The witch’s cry died in her throat. She drop
ped dead, hitting the ground in a boneless pile.
Kyle lurched forward, ripping the girl’s head from her shoulders.
Andrew roared, a torturous sound of intense grief echoing the death of his mate. A moment later, his winged body hit the meadow. A thunderous crash erupted as the big dragon smashed into the ground, digging a jagged path behind him.
Emma slumped forward, trying to calm her racing emotions.
A soft thud sounded beside her.
Her head snapped around, body tensing for whatever might attack her.
She shouldn’t have worried.
Black, scaled arms wrapped around her, pulling her to her feet in a gentle tug. Tyler curled his strong body around hers, cradling her in a protective embrace. “You’re okay?”
“I am now,” she said, tightening her arms around him, never wanting to let him go.
Epilogue
Days after the fatal fight, Emma stood on the back deck of her house, glaring at the sun-filled lawn. The torn-up area looked like a bulldozer had gone crazy, digging a huge groove in the earth where Andrew had crashed to the ground.
The day after the fight, Andrew’s mom, dad, and baby sister removed his body. They took the witch’s body as well. His brothers refused to help, calling Andrew a traitor.
Over forty-eight hours had passed since Emma helped kill the witch. A lot had happened, too much and not enough at the same time. Talk about a puzzling mixture.
The buzz of arguing voices sounded from inside the basement, cutting across the natural music of birds and other odd creatures.
“Hey,” Tyler said softly. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his lean arms around her waist. The gash Andrew ripped across his shoulder had healed. “What’s wrong?”
Emma (Dark Fire) Page 22