Bk 1 Dracones Awakening

by Sheri-Lynn Marean

  “Nice ass.”

  A chill shot through her. “Who are you?” she asked and even though her instincts screamed to get away, she was too stubborn to listen.

  “Someone who’s been waiting a long time for you.”

  Chapter Two

  Terror

  JAX CLENCHED HIS JAW and struggled for control, but it was useless. An inky darkness seeped from him, a furious entity bent on vengeance and directed at the six men in front of him. Their fear was palpable as they sought escape, but they brought it on themselves and now it was too late.

  Their attempt to kidnap a young teen was thwarted when he stepped into the alley. They didn’t know he was a Dracones, but did recognize him as a Supe. With evil grins plastered on their ugly mugs, they attacked. Jax moved easily, ready for the fight, welcoming it. Things were going well, and if he hadn’t been so intent on protecting the teen, the six hunters would never have touched him. But he had and as a result, they got in a couple lucky swipes on Jax. Then one guy managed to slip past him. Jax lost it when he turned to see the guy holding a knife against the terrified kid’s throat.

  Hell no, he did not just do that! Jax’s anger spiked as the skinny teen began to shake, and his eyes widened in fear. Then a thin line of red started to trickle down the kid’s throat, and suddenly the dark rage that lurked inside of Jax erupted.

  A cloying black cloud covered the alley and the stench of fear and piss permeated the air. Piercing screams reverberated off the walls of the buildings around them, then were quickly cut off. Crimson blood sprayed everywhere, and Jax was sucked into a vortex of horror-filled memories.

  Similar screams of terror from long ago, drifted on the wind only to be overpowered by the roar of a fiery inferno. Uncaring what it destroyed, the fire tore mercilessly through their village. Cold, menacing death grasped anyone left alive with uncaring hands, leaving destruction in its wake. Jax tried to shake the memories free, but other memories invaded. Evil laughter haunted him, as a long-ago agony took over, leaving him bloody, chained and helpless. Filled with pain and shame, he struggled to free himself. Then when he thought it was over, a voice he detested repeatedly called him a piece of shit, telling him how weak, dirty, pathetic he was. How he’d never be any good, and no one would ever love him.

  Jax gripped his head, chest heaving, and shoved the ghosts of his past away. The hilts of both his knives pressed into his skull and he had to resist the urge to vomit. With a shudder, he leaned against the filthy brick wall in the dingy alleyway, and fought the darkness that threatened to consume him. Stop! With a furious growl of anger, he slammed his head back against the bricks once, then again. Sweat trickled down his back and finally, the pain eased the darkness from his mind.

  The black fog dissolved, leaving behind a coppery scent of blood, along with an odor of weak magic. Jax grimaced and chest heaving, he straightened up and swallowed. Then he turned in a circle, looking at the bodies. Damn! I hate when this shit happens.

  Two weeks ago, he’d been shot in the leg when he caught two of the Ilyium abducting a couple of homeless old men. After a brief fight, he left the Ilyium unconscious, and put in an anonymous call to the authorities. He waited up on the roof for the police to show up. When they did, they took statements from the homeless men and then took the attempted kidnappers away. Yet just two days later, Jax found the same kidnappers back on the streets. Gotta love the system. And what the hell do the Ilyium want with the homeless anyway?

  Jax ignored the shaking in his hands and tore his gaze from the blood and gore to search the alley for the kid, fearing that he’d hurt the teen as well. Just the thought made him want to gag. Then movement beside the dumpster caught his eye. Oh thank the heavens!

  Yet as the shivering teenager caught sight of him, he cowered back. Aw crap! Shame filled Jax. “I won’t hurt you.” Then, to give the kid a moment, he bent over the body closest to him, and used the guy’s shirt to wipe his blades clean.

  Not long after they arrived in Washington from Tartaria they learned, to their dismay, that the Ilyium lived and hunted on Earth as well. Then, a couple of years ago, they noticed a spike in homeless people going missing. As the number kept rising, Jax started to suspect their enemy; the Ilyium. Turned out he was right.

  Still ignoring the kid, Jax stood up and peeled his gray hoodie away from his side. He winced at the jagged cut across his ribs, then inspected the tear in his sleeve. The slice across his forearm was neat and clean. He rolled his eyes. So much for my protection spell.

  Two months shy of his twenty-second birthday, his power had been growing stronger as he neared his Awakening, and while the strength of their power varied, it was also unstable. Zander tried to teach them how to use their power, but ultimately, they needed to accept and become comfortable with it. Not an easy thing to do when you feared your powers were spinning out of control.

  Instead of protecting him, the spell had just shielded him from the blood spatter—big whoop! At least the bleeding from both wounds had slowed. He may not heal as fast as the rest of his kind, but he still healed faster than a human.

  Jax faced the spooked teen and sighed. He’d have to alter the kid’s memories. With a busted lip, greasy, shoulder-length brown hair, he appeared to be around sixteen. And his thin, long-sleeved shirt that might have once been green, along with his torn and frayed jeans, told Jax he was likely homeless.

  “You all right?” Jax asked. The kid wiped his nose as he regarded Jax with wide scared eyes, but didn’t say a word. “What’s your name?” Jax tried again, using his compulsion to calm the teen at the same time.

  “Rory.” The shaking stopped, though he still appeared freaked.

  Jax amped up the compulsion. “It’s all right Rory, you’re safe now. When you leave this alley, you won’t remember any of this.” Jax watched, satisfied, as Rory’s fear slipped away and the teen nodded his understanding.

  Jax sheathed his blades, then walked over and picked up his enemy’s knives and guns from the ground. With one eye on Rory, he stepped around another body and grabbed the tranquilizer gun.

  Jax frowned. The Ilyium were going to Tranq the kid and he had no idea why. What was his enemy up too? He thought about the shots that had been fired at him and knew that surely someone would have heard and called it in. He needed to be gone before the cops showed up.

  Weapons taken care of, Jax pulled his wallet from his pants pocket and took out all the money he had. “Here, get something to eat, and find somewhere to sleep. Inside, okay?”

  Rory blinked, nodded and hesitantly accepted the money.

  “Do you own any warm clothes?” Jax asked, wishing he could do more for the kid.

  “No.” Rory pursed his lips and glared, daring him to remark on his lack of clothing.

  Through a mix of suppressed emotions, anger simmered, never far from the surface as Jax remembered living in fear himself. A few days after he turned ten, dear ol’ Dad showed up. Marcius, always a cruel man, had grown meaner over the years after the Ilyium attacked their village, which was proven by his treatment of his boys.

  Even though he shouldn’t think such things, Jax never stopped wishing Marcius had died when their village was attacked. For some reason Jax never understood, Marcius hated his boys, him especially. So, it was no surprise and a huge relief to both Jax and his brother Sami, when Marcius allowed Zander to bring the boys to the safety of Earth with him and Tierney. But it was a surprise—and a hellish one—when Marcius showed up a few years later and dragged him and Sami away from their new found security.

  The feelings Rory invoked made Jax grit his teeth as he unzipped his hoodie and pulled it off. Though not a coat, it would help keep the kid a little warmer. Besides, Jax had a duffle bag of clothes in his car. “Here, put this on.”

  Rory blinked at the hoodie in surprise. “T-Thanks.”

  Jax assessed the skinny teen. Rory wouldn’t survive if the Ilyium came after him again. Taking a knife from one of the dead men, Jax sheathed it and offer
ed it, hilt first to the kid. “Take this. Protect yourself. Stay out of dark alleys, okay?”

  Rory accepted the weapon with a frown, and then hesitated for a moment before taking off.

  Jax sighed and eyeballed the blood splattered alley. I wish the police luck. They are going to need it. With very little power left, he pulled a simple cloaking spell around him. No need to scare anyone with all the weapons he carried. Knowing the spell wouldn’t last, he hurried away with a slight limp.

  Jax had planned to go home last week, but his leg wound wasn’t healing as fast as he had hoped. He suspected that his slow healing was due to his inability to get much sleep, a condition he developed after Marcius took him away. Regardless, he couldn’t let Tierney or Sami find out he was fighting the Ilyium, and if they saw the wound they’d figure it out, and then freak. He so didn’t need that.

  Jax glanced at the time on his phone, swore, and hastened his steps. Zander was still missing, and he needed to get home. He’d been away long enough. Plus, he still needed to pick up his date. Shit. Why am I bringing a date home? Oh right—to keep from getting too close to Tierney. Just thinking of her made his pulse race and other parts of him harden. Not now, dumb ass! Pushing thoughts of the amethyst-eyed, annoying female from his mind, Jax drew on his ebbing power.

  He made it to within fifty feet of his car when the spell dissolved. He glanced quickly around and hurried the last few feet to his pride and joy, an old black Chevy Impala. After popping the trunk, he stowed his weapons and slid on his comfy, brown leather jacket. Warmth encased him as he shut the trunk, walked around to the driver’s side door and climbed inside. Weary, he leaned back and shut his eyes. The familiar trembling started. Slow, easy breaths … try to stay calm.

  The adrenaline rush wore off and nausea set in.

  Chapter Three

  Anxiety

  TIERNEY SHIVERED WITH UNEASE. What the hell! Who is this guy? With an eye on the SUV behind her, she tried to read the creep’s mind but got nothing. No thoughts. Though she did discern three minds in the vehicle. Huh, not human, then.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “You of course—what else?”

  Disgust filled her. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen!” Tierney torqued the throttle and flew into the other lane, passing the line of cars in front of her. Adrenaline surged as she zipped back into her own lane, narrowly avoiding an oncoming car. Oops, sorry … A pale, horrified face whipped past her in the oncoming lane. She really didn’t mean to give the guy a heart attack.

  Tierney shifted her focus between the road in front of her and the creep behind her as he passed the same vehicles and caught up to her. “Who are you?” she repeated, getting angry.

  “I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

  Tierney ground her teeth. “Go ahead, spoil the surprise.”

  “So feisty. I like a challenge. We will have great fun together … with that tight little ass.”

  Rage consumed her. Who the hell is this guy? Something about him felt familiar, but she couldn’t figure out what. “Yeah, I’ll have great fun when I cut your dick off and shove it down your throat.” She flashed teeth in her mirror.

  Maybe they’ll pull over if I do, she thought, knowing there was a gas station just past the next intersection. Though impatient to confront this creep, she really didn’t want him following her home. “Let’s not wait, we can meet now.” She passed the intersection and eased off the gas.

  “I know you’re dying to meet me, but I’m not alone, and I hate to share—don’t worry, we’ll be together soon enough.”

  Ugh. That just made her skin crawl. Tierney shot into the gas station parking lot, and spun the bike around in a shower of dirt. She waited, her pulse racing, as the Escalade slowed. Huh, did the jerk change his mind? After talking to her like that, she wanted to kick his freakin’ ass. She watched the black behemoth turn at the intersection instead.

  “Until we meet again,” creepy A-hole said.

  A growl of frustration escaped her, and she had just decided to follow him when Sami’s voice stopped her.

  “How much longer you going to be?” he asked, sounding grouchy.

  “Sorry, Sami. I’ll be home soon.” Tierney sighed. Shit. I missed supper. With a scowl, she glared at the SUV’s fading taillights, gunned her bike and shot back onto the road. What a major dick!

  She felt like kicking herself over her lost chance. And what the hell is up with Sami? He sure is cranky tonight. Samarias shared Tierney’s birth date and was also twenty-one. Her normally sweet friend had inherited his mother’s golden hair and emerald eyes, though tonight he sounded more like his prickly brother, Jaxsaron.

  Jax was older than her and Sami by ten months, and his dark brows often pulled into a scowl to match his mood. As a kid, his shiny, raven black hair was long and glorious, soft to the touch. Eleven-years-old and recently returned home, broken both mentally and physically, Jax awoke screaming from a nightmare one night and locked himself in the bathroom. By the time they calmed him, and convinced him to open the door, Jax had hacked off most of his hair. Though he never said why he did it, he’d kept it short ever since. And while Tierney might not know the details, the haunted look in his blue eyes never failed to pierce her soul. She loved both brothers, but sometimes her fierce, ‘I’d kill or die for them,’ feelings terrified her.

  She thought about her and Sami’s seventh birthday back on Tartaria so long ago. Her dad had been attending a secret meeting with other clan leaders, when the Ilyium had struck. In a brutal massacre, they killed her mother and little brother, along with Sami and Jax’s mother, and most of the village. Men, women and children, young and old alike died that day.

  Now she wondered what her little brother would have looked like if he still lived. The attack had left the survivors devastated, and no matter how hard her dad tried to keep the clan together, it fell apart. Two weeks later, Zander led a group of them from Tartaria to Earth through a dimensional portal.

  Impatient but almost home, Tierney slowed her bike as the turnoff to their driveway approached. She glanced at the little house across the highway. A soft yellow glow shone through the windows, and a single sad strand of Christmas lights hung on the porch railing. A small, beat up yellow car sat out front. It appeared that the mom and little girl were home, while the abusive husband wasn’t. After a domestic disturbance there four years ago, they all tried to keep an eye on the family.

  Tierney flicked on her signal and turned off the blacktop onto a winding gravel road. Trees and foliage blurred past as she roared up the mountain. After a half-mile, she eased off the gas and exited to a large plateau, letting her eyes drink in the breathtaking sight of her home.

  Tierney’s dad brought them here after the massacre, and she loved the immense log building that used to be a ritzy resort. Large enough to have housed their entire village, a balcony wrapped around three quarters of the upper level, while a deck surrounded the main floor. Beneath all that were the underground parking and laundry facilities, while the pool and workout room opened onto a patio overlooking the lake. The two tall windows on each side of a massive rock chimney at the front of the building, always looked like they were reaching to the heavens to her. She glanced around at the forest surrounding them on three sides. A bunch of small cabins were interspersed between the trees, while on the other side of their home was the lake, with the mountains and an amazing view of the valley stretching beyond.

  A faint whiff of something caught her attention. Burnt ozone? There was no other way to describe the smell. Tierney scrutinized the yard skeptically. No one was around and as quickly as the burnt scent came, it disappeared. Weird. Okay, so I must just be freaked at seeing Jax.

  Jax had stolen her heart as a child and still owned it—though he didn’t have a clue. Oh my sweet, tormented man. Her heart ached for him. Jax kept his shields high, guarding his pain, but as an Empath, Tierney often caught glimpses of his suffering. She never let on, knowing he’d be mo
rtified if he knew.

  Now her emotions twisted inside her at the idea of seeing him this evening. With a rumble, she rolled past the entrance to the underground parking, and pulled up to the side door. She set the kickstand and pushed ‘Creepy Asshole’ out of her mind when a loud, echoing caw drew her eyes to a towering hemlock tree that stood fifteen feet away. She sat on her bike and searched in the direction the sound came from, but saw nothing. About to give up and head inside, she shivered when everything blurred and went gray again.

  What the hell? She eyeballed the yard through the weird dingy tint, and heard another caw. The sound drew her eyes back to the hemlock. A quarter of the way up, perched a large, shiny raven and it appeared to be staring at her. Tierney’s skin started to crawl. What the hell is going on? Is that the same bird as earlier?

  Intent on studying her feathered tormentor, she jumped, then chuckled when it dropped to a lower branch. Opening her mind, she tried to connect to the bird and received … nothing. Extremely weird. There were none of the basic eat or hunt instincts that she normally got from animals. Maybe I’m not paranoid, maybe I have a tumor.

  Without taking her eyes from the bird, Tierney climbed off her bike. She jumped when an eerie shriek pierced the air, and then the raven toppled to the ground. What in all the universes … The bird lay still and a sudden wind blew dirt and leaves around, then the trees began to sway. Again, she searched with her senses, but other than faint magic, she found nothing unusual. Wait, faint magic? So, someone had to be doing this …

  She stalked over the crisp ground, slowing as goosebumps rose on her skin. Her breath misted in front of her. This feels wrong, I should get my ass inside. Instead, her gaze swept the trees and surrounding forest. Everything was still tinged with a colorless murky film. She crouched down cautiously, and laid her hand on the bird’s chest, hoping for a heartbeat.