by Dena Christy
Lyssa pulled up in front of Andor’s house as her stomach cramped. God, what was she going to say to him? She cringed when she remembered how she’d spoken to him the last time she’d seen him. Instead of listening to him and giving him the benefit of the doubt, she’d told him that he was insane and needed help. Would they be able to come back from that?
She gripped the steering wheel tight as she debated turning the car around and going home. Maybe it would be better if she came back tomorrow, when the day was fresh with new possibilities?
“You’re doing this.” Her voice echoed in the car, loud in comparison to the stillness around her. She’d put this off too long already. He needed to know how she felt. If he wasn’t prepared to forgive her for not believing in him, she would accept that. But she had to at least try to get back together with him.
She got out of the car on shaky legs. Giving her head a shake she stood straight and forced steel into her spine. In all the time she’d been with Andor, he’d never shown her anything but kindness and respect. She had to believe that it would be no different this time. He would listen to what she had to say, and once she was with him, she was certain the right words would come pouring out.
She went up the steps and took one last deep breath. She had to see him, had to tell him what was in her heart. She knocked on the door and it echoed inside the house. Several minutes passed and she wondered if her knock would be answered. She raised her hand again when the door was yanked open.
“What do you want?”
A man she didn’t recognize, but who had the same European accent as Andor, stood in front of her. She had to crane her head back to get a good look at him, and he had the same coloring as Andor but his features were arranged in a subtly different way. He was obviously a relative of some sort.
“I’m here to see Andor.” She have him her brightest smile to mask her intimidation and it didn’t do anything to eliminate the scowl on his face.
“He is not here.” He closed the door in her face.
Lyssa blinked several times. What had just happened? He couldn’t know who she was, since they’d never met. What had he been so rude? Dare she knock again?
She raised her hand and thought better of it. If Andor wasn’t there, she really didn’t want to talk to that other man to convince him to tell her where he was. She’d come back tomorrow, when hopefully Andor would be home.
She turned to go back down the steps when the front door opened. She looked back and Rickman’s eyes flared wide when he saw it was her.
“Lyssa, I’m so sorry. Iszak shouldn’t be allowed answer the doors. He’s not yet used to the way things work around here. Come in the house.” Rickman rushed outside, and took her arm in a gentle hold. He led her into the house, and closed the door behind them. The man he called Iszak leaned against the wall, with his arms folded over his massive chest and his scowl as deep as ever. Lyssa wanted to tell him that his face was going to freeze that way, but thought better of it. This man didn’t appear to have much of a sense of humor.
“He said Andor isn’t home. I can come back and talk to him tomorrow.” She was comfortable around Rickman, but this Iszak character made her nervous. Unless Rickman told her that Andor would be back in the next few minutes, she was leaving.
“Rickman, who is this woman? She should not be seeing Andor today or tomorrow.” Iszak gave Rickman a look that Lyssa couldn’t interpret, and she wondered what was going on.
“It’s okay, Iszak. This is Lyssa, and I’m sure you will agree that she needs to talk to him. Sooner rather than later.”
Iszak’s eyes focused on her with a laser like intensity that made her shift on her feet. It was like he was peering deep inside her and she didn’t like the feeling at all.
“So you are the woman who rejected my brother. Have you come to make amends or are you here to hurt him further?” He took a step closer to her and his eyes changed. Lyssa blinked hard, sure that she was having some sort of hallucination. His eyes could not look like they were made of flame instead of the silver grey they’d been only a second ago. Then it hit her, what he’d said. He was Andor’s brother, and as far as she knew, the only brother’s Andor claimed to have were the dragon statues in the basement.
Her legs sagged. Rickman gave a startled exclamation, and supported her until he could get her over to a chair. She sank down gratefully as her head swum and she feared her body would not be able to stay upright any longer.
“It’s okay, Lyssa. Just put your head between your knees, and breathe.” Rickman gave the back of her head a gentle push, and she obeyed, putting her head between her knees. After seeing the fortune teller she’d been about ninety percent convinced that Andor had been telling her the truth. Now she knew for certain that he had been, and the reality of it made her woozy.
“What is wrong with her?” Iszak's voice rumbled above her and she took another deep breath when she remembered what his eyes had done.
“I think she’s a little freaked out by you. Andor told her that he was a dragon, and that’s something that is a little hard to believe. I’m sure she was coming around to the truth, but you’ve obviously shocked her into accepting it. Why don't you back off and let me handle this. She is the key to saving your brother, so we can’t scare her away now.”
“It’s okay, Rickman. I’m fine now.” Lyssa sat back up and her head remained steady. Her cheeks burned for a moment. How foolish she must have looked, almost fainting like that. Her own embarrassment was forgotten when her brain caught up to all that Rickman had said. “What do you mean I’m the key to saving Andor? He’s alright, isn’t it?”
She reached out and clutched Rickman’s arm. Andor had to be okay. She could not be too late, not now that she knew for certain that he’d spoken the truth.
“How much of the book did you read? Did you get to the part about the dragons being cursed?” Rickman pulled a chair over and sat beside her. He took her hand and stroked it, which soothed her nerves. She needed to calm down. She couldn’t help Andor if she wasn’t calm.
“I did, but what does that have to do with Andor?”
“My brother is cursed, as we all are. Unfortunately for him, he has not found a woman to love and accept him before his curse reaches its pinnacle.” There was an accusation in Iszak’s eyes when he spoke, and she knew that he blamed her for rejecting his brother. Didn’t he know how hard it was to believe in such things as dragons? She could feel her defensiveness rise inside her, and she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.
“You don't know what I’ve been through, buddy. So why don’t you just back off.” Her voice came out in a tone she used once already today, when she told Kevin to get out of her house. It was a roar and she could feel her own power rise inside her.
Iszak’s eyebrows climbed his forehead, and he inclined his head to her. “It looks like my brother has chosen his mate well. You will need all the strength you’ve just shown me if you are going to save him.”
That was the second time he’d referred to saving his brother, and she was no closer to getting an answer.
“What is he talking about?” She looked at Rickman, hoping he could provide her the answers she needed.
“The Hunter’s Moon rises tonight, which means Andor’s curse will rise with it. If the curse is not broken in time, he will go mad and become dangerous. There will be no bringing him back from it, and…” Rickman’s voice trailed off, as if he was afraid to say out loud what would need to be done if Andor went mad. Lyssa’s body went cold as she understood the implications.
“Then we will have to save him first. Where is he?” She stood up and hitched her purse high on her shoulder. She would save him. There was no other option.
“He went to the clearing to be alone. I’ll take you there.” Rickman led her from the house, and her phone buzzed inside her purse. She ignored it. Whoever was calling would have to wait. Andor was much more important.
She was hyper aware of Iszak hulking behind her, and she stuck
as close to Rickman as she could as they walked to the clearing. There was something wild and untamed about Andor’s brother. He lacked the civilized veneer that Andor had, and seemed more dangerous to her than Andor ever had.
Her phone buzzed again, and she rolled her eyes. Whoever was calling would have to get the hint that she wasn’t interested in talking right now.
They got to the clearing and it was empty. There was no sign of Andor anywhere.
“Did he come back to the house? Did we miss him somehow?” She thought there was only one path to the clearing, but maybe there was another one? They were in the midst of twilight so perhaps Andor had taken the other trail and they hadn’t seen him.
“There is no other path. Something is wrong.” Iszak came around and stood in front of her. He sniffed the air as he walked around the clearing. “Andor was here, but the scent is faint, like he hasn't been here for a while.”
Iszak looked down at the ground and paused. He stooped and picked something up. Lyssa got over her fear of him as she walked closer to see what he held in his hand.
It was a tranquilizer dart, and her mouth went dry. She didn’t want to think that someone had deliberately been out to hurt Andor, but what other reason could there be for that to be here while Andor was not.
Her phone buzzed again, and with a sinking feeling she knew who it was. She pulled her phone out of her purse, and although it said unknown caller, she knew exactly who it was. She touched the answer button and put the phone to her ear as a deep anger burned inside her.
“Where is he, Kevin?”
20
Andor’s lids were heavy when he pushed them open. He looked around and it took a moment for him to figure out what was going on. He was shackled to a post inside a cavernous room that appeared to belong in an abandoned building. The only thing inside was dust and cobwebs and it had the distinct smell of age.
“So glad you could finally join me. I’d feared that I’d miscalculated the tranquilizer’s dose. It’s hard to get it right on someone who isn’t human.”
Kevin. Would this man never go away? Andor had had his fill of him weeks ago, and now he was turning up again. Just when Lyssa thought she was free of him, he was going to haunt her once more.
“I’ve grown tired of you, Kevin.”
Perhaps it was time to deal with Kevin once and for all. He would never put aside his obsession with Lyssa, and Andor could no longer protect her from him. It did not appear to matter to him when Lyssa told him that she was never going to get back together with him. He thought all he needed to do was kill Andor, and Lyssa would magically fall back into his arms. Once he was dead, there was going to be no stopping Kevin from going after her. This was one last thing he could do protect her, because Kevin would never stop unless he was dead. Perhaps it was time for Kevin to see what it was like to tangle with a dragon.
“You won’t have to put up with me for much longer. I’ve called Lyssa and once she gets here she can see me kill you. Then she’ll be free of whatever spell you have on her, and she will come running back to me.”
There was no way that Andor was going to subject Lyssa to the pain of seeing Kevin murder him. The roof of the building was just as old as the building itself, and through the holes in it, Andor could see the Hunter’s Moon peeking through. Tonight was only the first night, and his curse would not be at its peak for two more days. He did feel a certain recklessness pumping through his veins, and he made the decision that now was the time to kill Kevin and damn the consequences. This was the last act of love he could do for Lyssa and he would sacrifice all that he was to do it.
His eyes tracked his enemy as he paced around the immense room. There was a smug look on Kevin’s face, and Andor noticed the crossbow he held in a relaxed grip, pointing it at the floor. It didn’t look like Kevin had prepared it for firing, and that was his first mistake. It was obvious that Kevin had never faced a dragon in his full form, otherwise he would known that he would need to have his weapon ready along with about ten other men prepared to fight.
His second mistake was binding him with metal. The shackles around his wrists, while heavy and substantial, were not made of dragon forged iron. There was no burning sensation when they touched his skin, and they would not hold him. He turned his hand, and grasped the edge.
“What makes you think that I will let you kill me when she gets here? It is hardly in my best interest to do so.”
A dull flush crept up Kevin’s face, as if he hadn't considered the possibility that Andor might not be willing to cooperate. He’d obviously been impetuous in planning this kidnapping and murder scheme, and it would be his downfall. If Lyssa was on her way, Andor would need to accelerate his elimination of Kevin. There was no way he wanted her to see this man again.
He focused heat from his finger tips to the edge of the shackle, and his touch grew hot enough to soften the metal. Once it was pliable, he pulled until it had loosened enough to allow him to get his hand out of it. The other shackle received the same treatment, and he was free. He let the metal shackles fall to the floor as he grinned at Kevin.
“What are you doing?” Kevin’s eyes darted to the shackles on the floor and he scrambled with his crossbow. Andor rushed toward him, and while he could have faced him as a man, he wanted Kevin to see what he obsession had led him to. He was willing to risk the taking of his form accelerating his madness. It was worth it if it freed Lyssa from Kevin. He called forth his magic and his body transformed to his dragon form.
The power of the Hunter’s Moon held him in its grip, and rational thought was shoved to the back of his mind as he circled around Kevin. His talons clicked on the concrete floor as a sounds as close to a laugh as he could get in this form came rumbling out of the depths of his huge body. The supposed dragon hunter shakily put a bolt in his crossbow, and he let it fly. Kevin’s panic did not improve his aim and the bolt sailed past Andor to land in the post he’d been shackled to only a few moments before.
Kevin scrambled away toward the door and Andor snaked his body around him with a swiftness that was at odds with his immense size. He blocked the other man, and turned his head so that it was within inches of Kevin’s.
“P…please don’t kill me. I’m sorry. I’ll leave her alone and you’ll never see me again.” Even in his last moments on the planet Kevin showed the kind of man he truly was. He was a coward, who only felt strong when terrorizing a woman. Andor slowly stalked him as Kevin backed away in the opposite direction. Kevin could not be believed, his cowardice would make him say anything to save his own skin. If he was allowed to live, he would only come back to haunt Lyssa at a later time and Andor would no longer be around to shield her from him.
A deep rumble sounded in his chest as his dragon’s fire built inside him. Once he released it there was no going back to the man he had been. Perhaps there would still have been a chance for him if Lyssa loved him, but he was out of time on that score. He would be long gone before she got here, the risk of hurting her was too great to stay after he had dealt with Kevin.
“No, please.” Kevin fled to the back of the building, but there was nowhere left for him to run. He was being merciful with Kevin, since dragon’s fire was all consuming and he would not suffer as he would with regular flames. Andor’s rib cage squeezed like a collapsing bellows and flames shot out of his gaping mouth, spraying destruction in a wide swath over the entire back of the building. Flames licked greedily over the rotting wood frame of the building, and Kevin’s softer human flesh was obliterated as soon as the flames touch him, as if he’d never existed at all.
Andor turned quickly and with a fluid swoosh of magic he body resumed its human form. Any trace of the man he was only manifested in his physical form. In his head he was now fully a dragon and he felt his power thrumming through his veins. There was nothing that he could not do, and he would be glorious in his domination of those around him.
He walked through the building toward the door as the world around him burned. Flames o
f his own creation could not touch him and he walked out the door without so much as a speck of soot on him. The Hunter’s Moon bathed him in its light and he could feel his power rising stronger than it had when he’d loosed his killing flames. He was a mighty dragon and he would rule this world.
“Andor?”
His head turned sharply at the sound of her voice. Lyssa stood only a short distance away, flanked by his brother and Rickman. His brother held a crossbow in his hand, and Andor knew that unlike Kevin, his brother was more than capable of ending his life with it.
“You should not be here. Kevin is no longer a worry for you.” He held himself in check by only the loosest of threads, and if she did not leave now, she would see a dragon in the full grip of feral madness. It was too late for her to save him, he was certain of it. The only sliver of humanity remaining inside him was weakening with every second that passed and soon the love he held for her would be nothing but a faint relic of his past. He would not risk her being near him when it was extinguished. “You need to leave.”
“I’m not leaving you, not this time.” She took a step forward, and Iszak put his hand on her arm to keep her from moving forward. Andor’s eyes focused on his brother’s hand on his mate, and a deep rumble built in his chest. It came out in a possessive growl. The dragon recognized her as his mate, and it did not want her to go anywhere. She was his and no one was to touch her, not even his brother. The grip he held on his humanity loosened even further, and red edged at the fringes of his vision.
“Remove your hand from her, brother.” His voice had taken on the deep, molten tones of a dragons roar, and he felt himself slipping ever further into the madness that was eating away at his soul.
“You know that I do not want her for myself, but I will remove my hand if that will make you stand down. Don’t make me fought you, Andor.” Iszak slowly took his hand from Lyssa.