Drakkar ~ Beyond the Lie (A Dark Order of the Dragon Novel Book 3)

by Sandra Bischoff

  Drake took her hand. It was soft and warm, welcoming. “Drakkar Dragoni.”

  Sheridan froze, letting go of his hand.

  “Mom? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Nettie. Um, Drakkar, would you excuse me? I just remembered something I have to take care of. If you need anything, I’m sure Nettie can get it for you.” Sheridan turned on her heel and ran up the stairs out of sight.

  Drakkar stared after her. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Nah, Mom has been stressed with the new job and dealing with Jake. It was probably a conference call or something work related to deal with. Come on; let’s get this room fixed so you can get back to bed. It’s still a few hours till sundown.”

  The pillows were scattered everywhere. A few were torn open, giving everything a light coating of feathers. Drake sifted through the mass destruction to find his phone. Once located, he was relieved to find Jake hadn’t crushed it. How would he explain having to get another phone so soon after the one he threw?

  Drakkar slid his finger across the screen, lighting it up. “Serenity, I think I should just go.”

  “Go? You can’t leave.”

  “Yeah I can. I have a friend who’s able to pick me up as long as you have a garage for him to pull into.” Drake flipped through his contacts.

  “We have a garage.” She placed a hand on his. “You really don’t have to do this. Jake won’t bother you again.”

  “It’s not him. I’m only avoiding a bigger issue at home. I have to deal with it.” Or should I say her.

  “Okay. If you really want to, I won’t try to stop you.”

  “Thanks.” Drake held his phone to his ear waiting for someone to answer. When they did- ”Hey, Nick. I need a ride.”

  “Wait, Nick? Nick who?”

  “Montgomery, why?”

  “Your friend is Nick Montgomery?”

  Drakkar frowned. “Yeah, if you want to call the annoying cattle a friend.”

  “Hey! Still on the phone, here.” Nick’s voice echoed.

  Serenity backed up a step. “You’re the psycho vamp?”

  “Nick, you have five minutes to get here.” Drakkar ended the call, not waiting for Nick’s answer. He slowly lowered the phone from his ear slipping it in his back pocket. “What did you say?”

  Serenity backed up a step. “I only said. . . .”

  “Yes?” He stalked closer, forcing her against the wall. Drakkar braced his hands on either side of her head, trapping her. A blue glow illuminated her face, light emanating from his eyes. He tilted his head, baring his fangs.

  Her eyes wide, Serenity wet her lips. “Psycho vamp,” she whispered.

  “Psycho Vamp.” Drakkar let out a harsh laugh. “Here I was thinking you were different. You’re just like the rest of them.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Judgmental Cattle,” he snarled. “Humans are nothing but food for my people. Somehow I allowed you to cloud my view.”

  At that moment his phone beeped. Drakkar pulled it out and glanced at the screen. “Which way to your garage? I’m outta here.”

  He felt the mixture of hurt and hatred radiating from Serenity, but didn’t care. His mother warned him not to get involved with humans. A human was the reason the two of them were exiled from the kingdom. A human was the reason he would never be heir to the throne. A human stole his birthright out from under him.

  And a half-breed human was going to pay for that.

  It didn’t matter to him that the girl standing before him, nearly in tears, did nothing wrong. She only showed him kindness. Serenity was unique. There was no judgement in her eyes last night. He shouldn’t treat her this way.

  Yet, while he was being an ass to her, she still pointed him toward the garage. She walked to the end of the long hallway, opened the door, and pressed the button to open the garage door. After the black van with tinted windows pulled inside, she immediately shut the door behind it. Nick opened the window and waved. All she did was flip her hand up in acknowledgement.

  Serenity turned on Drake. “Your ride is here. Get the hell out of my house and my life, your highness.” Without giving him another second to say anything, she shoved him into the garage and slammed the door.

  Drakkar blinked.

  No one treated him this way, especially not a human. He was about to rip the door off the hinges and storm after her when Nick beeped the horn.

  “We going, or what? I was in the middle of kicking Jerry’s ass on the Playstation.”

  Shaking his head, Drake turned from the door and climbed into the back of the van. “You mean you were getting your ass kicked.”

  “Nah, man.” The garage door opened and Nick backed out. “Without you killing me every time, I’ve been able to rack up quite the score.”

  A snort from the dark cavern behind him was his only answer.

  Nick drove across town. The silence in the vehicle became deafening. Nick tapped the steering wheel and kept glancing in the rearview mirror. After a few blocks, Drake couldn’t take it anymore.

  “You got something to say?”

  The only human he’d ever call a friend looked up in the mirror and then back at the road. “Nope, not me.”

  “You forget, you can’t lie to me.” Drakkar tilted his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. “Spill it.”

  “How did you end up at Serenity’s house?” Nick pulled over and parked on the side of the road. He turned in his seat to face Drakkar. “Do you have any idea who her family is?”

  Drakkar opened one eye. “Yeah, her father was killed in the Trade Center collapse, her mother is a Conservator and her uncle, he tried to kill me while I slept because he has some serious PTSD issues. Did I leave anything out? Oh, and I really enjoy waking up to a good shish-ka-bobbing in the middle of the day? Does wonders for the mind and body.”

  “Ha, ha, ha, wise ass.” Nick leaned forward. “Her mother doesn’t just work for the Conservators. She is the head of the Paranormal Investigations Unit. She’s the big kahuna under the Prince himself. I’d be willing to bet you just got made, bro. So much for flying under the radar. Momma Bear is gonna be pissed.”

  “I can handle my mother.” Drake adjusted the bucket seat so he could lay back comfortably. “Enough talk, Cattle. Get me home.”

  Nick mimicked what Drakkar said. “Fine, just remember I warned you.” He turned back around and put the van in gear. After a few feet, he slammed on the brake. Drakkar slid off his seat. “Oops my bad. Squirrel.”

  Drake lunged for him. Nick hit the gas and forced Drakkar back into his seat. “Not so fast. Sunlight up here, remember?”

  “It’s the only thing saving you right now.” Drakkar growled.

  Drake settled in and watched the landscape as it flew past the darkened windows. He couldn’t get last night out of his head. Something was missing, something important. Why couldn’t he remember anything after seeing Bonatelli get out of the SUV?

  “Question.”

  “Answer,” Nick said over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on the road.

  Drakkar sighed. “Can we not do this again? I think I’m developing a migraine.”

  Nick looked into the rearview mirror. “That’s not possible. I thought you were immune to human ailments.”

  “So did I, apparently that’s just another myth I’ve exposed.” He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the pain radiating in his frontal lobe to stop. With no luck, Drake made eye contact with Nick. “Now, about that question. When was the last time you heard from me?”

  Nick stopped at the red light. “Last night when you bailed on school. You flew out of class like a bat out of hell and never looked back. You even knocked Serenity’s stuff all over the floor. Though, I don’t think she knew it was you.”

  “Seriously, that’s the last time you saw or heard from me?” Drakkar rubbed his eyes. The pain became more intense as he tried to remember. Even the events from school were fuzzy.

  “Yeah, dude. Not eve
n a random text. Nada. Well, until you commanded my presence and that of my emergency transport.”

  Everything Nick said was true. Drakkar knew it. But that didn’t explain why someone wiped his hard drive clean.

  The light turned green and the van rolled through the intersection. Houses around them thinned out. After another mile of nothing but trees, they approached his private road. It was well hidden by a mirage of brush created via a spell Absinthe procured. Nick turned and drove through the mirage. It swallowed the van. When the dust settled, no one would know they passed through.

  Other than the people employed by Absinthe, Nick was the only human to know exactly where Drakkar lived. The only reason Nick knew was because Drakkar actually trusted him. Sure he gave the guy crap every chance he got, but that didn’t change the fact he was a loyal friend. The only friend Drakkar ever made.

  They pulled up to the garage. Before Nick could beep the horn, the door opened. Nick pulled inside. On the landing above stood an angry and lethal Absinthe. Her yellow eyes flashed. Drakkar knew he would not be coming out of this one unscathed.

  He tapped Nick on the arm. “I think you should get out of here the second I close that door. I don’t need a smart ass cattle in the crossfire.”

  Nick nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Besides, I’d hate to have anything happen to this coat. It’s new, ya know?”

  “Yeah, I know. As soon as I close this door, get lost.”

  Drakkar opened the passenger side door and hopped out, slamming it behind him. The moment his feet hit the floor, the garage opened, Nick slammed the van into reverse and floored it. Unfortunately, it went nowhere.

  Absinthe held up her hand keeping the van immobile. As much as Nick revved the engine the vehicle never moved. She descended the stairs slowly.

  “Let him go, Mother. He is just an innocent ride.” Drakkar’s foot landed on the bottom step.

  Her gaze settled on him. “He is not one of those I trust. Why should I let him go? So he can scurry back to the Conservators and tell them where we live? I will not allow that.”

  Drake heard Nick’s heart rate elevate. He’d probably piss his pants if Absinthe got her claws on him. Drakkar wouldn’t let that happen. He knew what his mother was capable of. Nick didn’t deserve the pain, at least not from her.

  “Nick is my cattle. I called him to pick me up. I was stranded at someone’s house and needed to get out of there quick. He’s trustworthy.”

  “No human is trustworthy.” Absinthe lowered her hand. As soon as her hold was gone, Nick slammed on the gas and left in a cloud of burning rubber. Drakkar’s breath left him in a gust of relief. Nick was out of danger, that’s all he could ask for. He couldn’t lose the one being who considered him a friend.

  “You have much to answer for, Drakkar.” Her hand came up again. An unseen force grabbed him around the neck, picking him up. His feet dangled. She turned on her heel, climbing the steps, the invisible force dragging him along behind her.

  Serenity stood in the middle of the overturned guestroom. She didn’t know where to start cleaning. The remnants of what were once pillows was scattered around the windowless room, covering the floor and damaged furniture. A broken bedframe and overturned mattress were shoved in the far corner, while bits of splintered wood littered the carpet. There was one large, jagged piece from the box spring support near the door. It was left there when her Uncle dropped it after she stepped in to stop the fight.

  She was starting to regret her decision, especially after Drakkar’s generous thank you.

  Picking up the piece of wood, she shook her head. Jake and his ingenuity. Even in a state of a full blown PTSD episode, he made sure he possessed a weapon. And what was the first thing he thought of?

  Staking a vamp through the heart.

  Okay, so not the brightest thing for him to do. But, given what he’d been through with her father, she couldn’t blame him.

  Stephen and Jackson Avery were the most formidable Enforcers the Conservatorship had to offer. They worked as a team in the Paranormal Investigations Unit. The very same Unit her mother headed.

  Whether it be a case of what constituted as vampire domestic abuse or a supernatural homicide, there was no case they didn’t put their heart and soul into solving.

  That was until September 11, 2001.

  That was the day her world stopped.

  A tear rolled down Serenity’s cheek. The Avery brothers had been working a case in the east village. Some kind of demon sighting or werewolf encounter; she wasn’t sure anymore. All she remembered was his voice on the answering machine when she got home from pre-school. It was etched in her memory forever.

  “Hey, Sher. Don’t think Jake and I will make it home for dinner. This case is-” An explosion went off in the background of the call. “Holy shit! A plane just hit the Trade Center. Screw this case. Jake and I are heading over there to see if they need help. Give little Boo a hug and kiss.” The sound of shuffling and muffled voices became more urgent. “I’ll call you later. I love you.”

  The message ended there, and that was the last they heard from him. Her father died helping people get out of the building, or so they were told. He would never be remembered like the other victims. He was a ghost to the human world. Stephen Avery never existed as far as anyone outside the Dark Order knew. But he left behind three people who knew him and loved him.

  That was the only thing that mattered.

  Until Jake showed up on the doorstep and filled in the blanks the world would never know.

  He and her father made it to the Trade Center in a matter of minutes, perks of working with the supernatural. They were able to help some of the survivors out of the second tower when the first one was coming down. Emergency personnel tried to make them leave but a muttered spell or two and the firemen changed direction and helped others.

  They became separated at some point. Jake searched the fallen, looking for her father. She couldn’t imagine the panic he felt. In the complete devastation of the moment, he found his only brother trying to help a vampire who had nowhere else to hide. She was cornered. She couldn’t get out safely. When he went to move her out of the building, she clawed his face and torso.

  She’d gone full-on feral. Nothing he said got through to her. Jake was powerless. He could only watch her tear her father to shreds before sinking in her fangs and draining him.

  Stephen fell to the granite floor, dead on impact. Jake’s vision went red. To this day he couldn’t remember what happened. He didn’t know how he got out of the building before it came down. All he did know was her father’s body was crushed beneath the rubble and he survived, barely.

  “Serenity?” Her mother’s voice echoed in the empty hall way.

  She held no desire to hear the ‘I told you so’ she was sure her mother prepared. Yes, it was her fault this happened. She should never have brought Drakkar home. His presence in the house set her Uncle completely off his rocker. Jake most likely saw her father’s murderer all over again. It was one reason he was relieved from field duty with the Conservatorship.

  “Baby, you still down here?” Sheridan stepped into view. “There you are. Did I hear the garage door?”

  “Yeah, Mom. Drakkar’s gone.” She picked up the torn pillows.

  Her mother stroked her hair. “Aw, sweetie I’m sorry.”

  Serenity pulled away. “I’m really not in the mood to hear you tell me I should have known this would happen, Mom. Can you just leave me alone to clean up my mess?”

  “Serenity, this isn’t your mess to clean. You did nothing wrong. In fact, bringing him here was probably the best thing you could have done.” Sheridan held open a black plastic garbage bag. Nettie shoved the ruined pillows in it.

  “How so? All I succeeded in doing was making Jake loose his marbles and pissing off a friend.” She paused and then said quietly, “Or someone I thought was a friend.”

  The two of them righted the bed and put the mattress back in place. Serenity sat
on the edge, her eyes focused on the floor in front of her. Sheridan sat next to her. She took Serenity’s hands in hers.

  “Hey, don’t look so down. Just because he’s mad now doesn’t mean its forever.”

  Nettie smiled sadly and lifted her gaze to meet her mother’s blue eyes. “You didn’t hear what he said. Drakkar told me I was no better than any of the others who have hurt him. Mom, I didn’t know Jake was down here. If I knew . . . .”

  Sheridan hugged her. “Jake is like a ghost. You never know where he is. But, he will be the one to clean this. Not us. You and I have something else to do.”

  Nettie frowned against her mother’s shoulder. “What?”

  Pulling back, her mother smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind Nettie’s ear. “You have to tell me everything you know about Drakkar.”

  “Why?” Serenity was bewildered. Why was her mother was so interested in Drakkar?

  “Because he’s the link we’ve been looking for all this time. He’s Princess Absinthe’s son, and the means in which to take her down.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Why won’t she just let me die already?

  Blood filled his mouth and ran down his throat. Drakkar gagged. Ordinarily he would relish it, but not now. It wasn’t the blood of a meal. This was his blood.

  He curled into a ball, hugging his stomach. How many lashes did he take before he finally collapsed? How many times did she strike him, kick him, or throw him into the stone basement wall?

  Hundreds? Thousands?

  He didn’t remember. He lost count.

  Then he blacked out.

  When his mother said he would pay for his insubordination, she meant it. It was in times like these that he realized he was more a pawn than her son. If he vanished, she wouldn’t shed a tear. She’d probably throw a fit about another spoiled plan, hunt him down like a dog, and beat him until he finally broke. Yet never shed a tear over him.

  What he went through could not possibly be the norm, could it? He was more than sure Nick’s parents, -okay they were human, -but they didn’t torture him like Absinthe did him. He would have recognized the bruises right away. A mirror of what most likely covered his body.