“We have no quarrel. Leave us alone and I might let you go unharmed.” Kaden spat some fire in their direction and Magnus flinched. He remembered what it could do and he narrowed his eyes at Kaden’s satisfied smirk.
“Oh, you see, I want your head to decorate my halls and the woman in my bed.” Magnus licked his lips. “She could keep me entertained for many nights. She is a feisty little thing, is she not? Just the way I like them.”
“No!” Kaden snapped. “Let her go and I will face you fairly,” he offered instead. He would gladly sacrifice himself for Olivia’s safety.
“Kaden!” They heard the female voice call out from the cave. “No!”
“Olivia, don’t you dare come any closer,” the dragon answered back into the cave.
“So her name is Olivia… Seems my sweet Olivia lied to me,” Magnus taunted, loud enough so his voice would reach her.
“She’s mine!” Kaden snarled back, a familiar bout of possessiveness washing over him, rousing the beast inside him. His tail twitched, thumping against a tree.
“Oh my, this keeps getting more and more interesting.” Magnus maintained the veneer of amusement, hiding behind it the shock and disgust that a woman like her would willingly stay with a monster like the dragon.
“Olivia, sweetness, come on out, I have so much more to offer than this…this monster -”Another ball of fire flew in his direction, almost reaching him, but he continued to taunt. He took a few more steps back and stood behind a tree. “I could make you a real princess… you could have anything you ever wanted… I am after all the Prince of Illirya, and I could give you anything your heart desires.” Magnus hoped his wordcs would change her mind.
Kaden snorted. “So you are the prince after all… Tell me… Your father, Magnar, is he still the same bastard he used to be?” Kaden goaded the prince, hoping to taunt him into making a stupid, impulsive move.
“Don’t you dare bring my father up, you monster. You’re nothing, no one! You are dead!” Magnus snarled back, his face blotched with angry red spots. His eyes drilled into Kaden, wishing he could kill the monster with the look alone. No one was allowed to speak that way of his father… expect Magnus himself. He had had enough of talking and he reached for his new weapon, which he had named The Striker, for the sound it made was that of a hammer striking an anvil.
“Leave us alone!” Olivia yelled back out.
Kaden rolled his eyes as he spoke back to her barely above a whisper. “Olivia, love, please stay back. Let me handle him. I will not let him hurt you or even get close to you.” He turned his eyes back towards his adversaries, watching Magnus take something out from a special belt pouch.
Olivia sighed dejectedly. She wrapped her arms around her middle and retreated further into the cave, Pup close to her side. “Just be careful.” Her voice wavered. She walked past the hearth, and then stopped. Hmmmm… She lit the candle in her lamp and ventured to the back cave, hoping she would find something useful, something she could use to help her dragon. A weapon maybe, though she knew not how to wield any, or maybe something to trade with… I doubt that would work. She just needed to try and do something constructive.
Magnus’ knights were taken aback by this new development. Theo and Damien wished they were closer so they could talk to each other but unfortunately they had spread out to different sides, their bows ready. They remembered their deal, though; if it got too much, run away: there was no shame in staying alive. Reed stood close to Magnus, on the prince’s left, his eyes narrowed, weapon ready for the lunge. Cassiel flanked the prince from his right, standing proud, waiting to act when told. The other knights were spread out to either side, forming a loose half circle around the cave mouth.
“Look, dragon!” Magnus spat the word. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You know how it goes.” The prince cranked some sort of a weapon, drawing Kaden’s attention to it, and the dragon realized it was probably the one that had pierced his wing. His eyes narrowed on it. He needed to see what it could do, how much of an advantage it would give them.
“The easy way is that I chop off your head swiftly, hopefully in one try. The hard way, I kill you slowly, letting my men finish you off while I play with my little princess, making you watch and listen to her struggles as she pleads for help. Either way, you end up dead and she ends up mine.” By the end of his speech, Magnus raised his hand, aiming the striker toward Kaden’s head.
“What will it be?”
“My way.” Kaden hissed and the prince fired his weapon. The sound it produced pierced the air as the round projectile flew toward Kaden at an amazing speed, grazing his shoulder when he tried to dodge out of the way.
Kaden flinched and glanced down at his wound, barely registering Olivia’s shriek of alarm coming from the cave. He looked back up at Magnus, and watched as he put another projectile in the weapon.
The prince cranked the handle once. Kaden inhaled deeply as he took a heavy step closer, the earth trembling beneath his feet.
Twice.
The dragon inhaled and held his breath, conjuring his fire. He took another step closer.
Magnus raised the weapon and this time, before he his finger squeezed the trigger, Kaden spat out a large ball of fire in a quick, short breath. The prince sought shelter behind his tree just as the blazing projectile hit the trunk and it burst into flames.
Magnus yelled out an array of profanities, as his men sprang into action.
Reed moved first and charged at the dragon with a roar of his own. “Get him!” Lance, Colin and Cassiel heeded his command.
Kaden switched his attention to the men rushing at him from different directions and he used his fire against the closest one. The man retreated, beating at the flames on his sleeve. Arrows flew toward Kaden’s head. He dodged one. The other bounced off his scales but the third one penetrated the natural armor of his shoulder just as he retreated into the cave.
He had to come up with a plan; this way at least, if the men tried to enter the cave, he could just fry them halfway in. They would be bottlenecked in the narrow entrance and being caught like that would hopefully provide them with more time for thought.
The agonizing screams of a man burning alive slipped into the cave, bounced off its stone walls and into Kaden’s heart as he kept his eyes locked on the cave’s entrance.
Reed watched as the dragon’s fire flew towards Colin, throwing the man back, the flames engulfing him before he hit the ground. His excruciating screams filled the forest. The nearby birds and animals scattered away in haste. Reed still forged on toward the cave, knowing there was nothing he could do for Colin and that Donovan would take care of him. He had a dragon to catch. As he neared the cave’s mouth, he caught himself in time and only peeked in, then ducked back when fire flew towards him.
Cassiel and Magnus reached Reed’s side. Blinded by rage and long unfulfilled desire, Magnus passed Reed, heading for the cave. Cassiel grabbed the prince’s shoulder and pulled him back before he charged head-on toward a certain death.
Donovan ran straight for the burning man, but there was no hope. He took off his cloak and flung it onto Colin in an attempt to choke out the fire. As he pressed his hands against the fabric, trying to wrap up his friend, his palms burned. He flinched, and as the cloak caught fire, he jumped back. A burning substance clung to Colin, kindling the fire until spent. So it wasn’t just flame that dragons spouted, but some gelatinous fuel that coated the victim and kept on burning.
The screams turned to gurgles as Donovan helplessly watched Colin turn a crispy black color, causing even the war-worn combat healer to gag at the sight. The smell of burning flesh, and the sight, was too much for the young man to handle; he turned his head to the side and threw up the contents of his stomach. In the end, there was nothing he could do.
The rest of the knights gathered around the cave’s mouth with Magnus, trying hard to ignore the dreadful screams of their companion, hoping they wouldn’t meet the same fate.
Inside
the cave, Kaden waited for the next target to appear, hoping no one else would be foolish enough to charge inside.
“Kaden?” Olivia spoke in a small voice, huddled with Pup in a corner. She had her hands wrapped around the little wolf, preventing him from going out, and holding onto him as if he were her lifeline, burrowing her tearful face in his fur.
When the fight erupted, she ran back, frightened for Kaden’s life. She was also angry. Angry for being so helpless. She wished she knew how to wield a weapon, realizing just how useful that skill was, if only to be able to defend herself. She didn’t think she had it in herself to take a life. Nonetheless, she vowed she would learn how to fight back, but at this moment, there was nothing she could do. Those were trained men out there. Even though they might not hurt her, or at least she hoped so, her actions could put Kaden in more danger than he was already in.
The dragon turned toward Olivia and his features softened at the sight of her. He approached her slowly, but kept listening to the goings-on outside so he could act in time if needed.
“Liv?” he said in a tender voice, and she looked up at him with fear in her eyes. “I won’t hurt you, Liv.”
“I know.” She took a deep breath as she rose to her feet, the young wolf taking the opportunity to try and charge out. He had recognized the familiar scent of the men who had killed his parents and were now threatening his new pack.
Kaden snarled at the pup, making him withdraw, though the pup growled in return. Olivia stepped back, but the desperate look in Kaden’s eyes made her lunge for him.
Olivia threw her arms around Kaden’s snout, hugging tightly, nuzzling her face into his cheek, comforting both.
“You know…” They heard a voice echo into the cave, “we find ourselves in a very exciting situation.”
Olivia didn’t let go of her hold on Kaden but she did turn her head toward the sound. Luckily, they were not in the line of sight of the entrance to the cave.
“A situation which, in the end, will not benefit you at all. Quite the contrary, you find yourselves trapped. Now… before you make any stupid assumptions. We will not charge in blindly and let ourselves be fried, but you cannot get out unharmed either. We will be waiting, prepared. You cannot stay in there forever. You will both need food and water. Will you let her starve to death?” Magnus’ grave voice carried through the cave. He was hoping they really were trapped with no other way out, otherwise his threats were useless.
“Shit, damnation and … curses!” Kaden hissed in a whisper, making Olivia turn to look back at him. “I am such a fool.”
“What? Why?” Olivia furrowed her brow. “Why would you say that?” She stroked his cheek.
“He is right… I got us trapped here. There are no other ways out. I should have told you to run when I saw them. I should have held them back while you ran away… I really am an idiot,” Kaden scolded himself as he pulled away from Olivia. He noticed the arrow sticking out of his shoulder like an annoying thorn so he angrily pulled it out with his teeth and cast it aside. The small wound would heal quickly.
“Oh –” Magnus’ voice carried inside again, “- and this time, I will not give you a choice about how you will die… you have killed one of my men, it’s the hard way for you now.”
Olivia whimpered and Kaden closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Olivia noticed a haunted look in his gaze. They both ignored Magnus as Olivia moved to stand in front of Kaden again.
“Kaden, look at me,” she pleaded, and was relieved when his eyes instantly sought hers. “You had no choice in killing that man… We will have no choice. It will be either them or us.”
“I am so sorry, Love.” Kaden shook his head, regret and guilt eating at his soul. “I am so sorry you got caught in the middle of all of this.”
“I am not, Kaden. If I wasn’t here, that would mean never having to have met you. But I did meet you, and I do not regret a single moment.” Olivia stepped closer to her dragon. “I could never regret meeting you.” She brought her hands and ran them over his scales. “We will work it out… we will get out of this…” She leaned her forehead against him. “Will we not?”
Kaden lowered his head and rested it against her back. “Yes, we will.” His voice was as uncertain as Olivia’s heart.
“Ignoring me won’t make me go away.” The sound of Magnus’ voice made them both groan at the same time, and their simultaneous reaction brought up a chuckle in spite of the dire situation. Their brief moment of mirth faded and died as the seriousness of their situation reasserted itself.
“He really is annoying,” Kaden said a bit louder, hoping Magnus would hear him. He lay down.
“I heard that!” Magnus called back. “And I will annoy you out of that cave if need be.”
Olivia sat down next to Kaden’s head, resting her side against him as she pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her knees. “What are we going to do?” she asked, already trying to come up with solutions of her own.
Pup scooted closer to them and settled over Olivia’s feet.
“I am thinking.”
Those were Kaden’s only words for the next hour.
Chapter 20
“Charlie? It’s us.” Theo announced as he and Damien approached the tree Charlie was bound to.
Her eyes snapped up to them, relief washing over her when she saw her friends. She surveyed them, head to toe, and her shoulders slumped in relief when she saw them unharmed. She had heard the shouts, the bangs and clashes, the sounds of battle and the blood-curdling screams. She was only able to imagine what had been going on.
Theo knelt next to her and removed her gag while Damien went behind the tree and cut the ropes that bound her.
“Are you alright?” Theo said in a low, quiet voice.
“Am I alright? I should be asking you that. What the bloody poo happened? Those screams…” Charlie shivered involuntarily.
Damien unwound the ropes from around her. “It was Colin. He’s dead,” he said, his jaw clenched tight.
Charlie rubbed her red, scraped wrists as she looked at her friends, now both crouching in front of her, waiting for them to explain.
Theo sighed. “The dragon spat a ball of fire at him…”
Charlie sucked in a breath. “Shite!” Her eyes widened. “Did ya kill it?” She tried to run her fingers through her mane of red curls only to have them get tangled in it. She frowned at her offending hair.
“No, but… it’s so complicated.” Damien sighed as he sat back on the forest ground. He crossed his legs and pulled them up, wrapping his hands around his knees.
“What do you mean complicated?” Charlie said and turned around, searching for her dagger which was hidden in the grass near where her hands had been tied. Theo and Damien had given her the dagger as a precaution, and whenever she had been bound, they would hide her dagger close by so she could cut herself free if she found herself in real danger or if they didn’t come back.
Theo joined Damien on the ground and leaned on his lover’s shoulder, who in return kissed his head.
“He talked,” Theo said.
“Who is he?” Charlie asked as she tucked the dagger away in her belt bag and looked down at her dress. It could use a washing, a simple dark green cotton dress with silk trimmings, and four buttons going from her neckline to down between her breasts. She always left the top two unbuttoned. She had a brown leather belt wrapped around her slim waist, accentuating her curves, with one belt bag on each side. She brushed the dirt and leaves away.
Damien handed her his waterskin and said, “The dragon.”
Charlie took a sip to soothe her dry throat so when the words registered in her brain, she almost choked on the water. “Wait! What? Talked? He?”
Theo then told her everything that had happened, especially that the dragon had talked, was obviously male, that the woman was actually named Olivia and had called the dragon Kaden, and that it seemed he was protecting her. He left out the details about Colin’s death. It had been too
gruesome a sight.
“Oh wow.” Charlie’s eyes were wide. “Never knew I’d see a real dragon, and definitely never thought he’d talk.” She shook her head. “Actually, when I think back now… all the so-called dragon attacks… no one was ever even seriously hurt; that’s why I thought the stories were bogus, and I never heard of anyone getting killed, ‘til now, that is. Don’t you find that odd?”
“I’ve never thought about it myself but yes. It seems he only stole things, if it’s the same dragon. We really don’t know how many there are out there. I myself thought them only a myth, stories told to children. And in those stories he mostly scared people away but… hmm... this is all so weird and complicated. I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore.” Theo ran his hand over his face, suddenly looking older than he really was.
They were all quiet for a few moments, trying to wrap their minds around everything that had happened, Charlie wondered about the young woman. At first, envy suffused her, having that sort of freedom. A freedom to live however she pleased, even if it meant living with a dragon. How had that happened? A dragon! A talking dragon… and now, Magnus was after it, after him… or worse, them. Envy was replaced with worry, than pity, for she knew Magnus, knew he wouldn’t give up until he had what he wanted. Charlie had experienced what it meant being Magnus’s “property”, and the poor woman would be his for the rest of his life. She hoped it would be short. He deserved to die a stupid death!
“We need to go back. We were supposed to have returned by now. Magnus sent us to fetch you and the horses and then we have to go and search around the cave, and the forest, to see if there are any other entrances.” Damien was the one to break the silence as he stood up and pulled Theo with him.
“Yes, right. He’s mad enough already, don’t need to add oil to that fire.” Theo extended his hand towards Charlie to help her to her feet as well.
“What are you going to do?” Charlie smoothed out her dress with her hands.
Dragon's Treasure (Dragons Awaken Book 1) Page 18