Van was still glaring, looking as if he was going to do this human-style.
Seth ran back between them, reading quickly through the contract. He groaned, wondering how Anna could possibly sign this. How she could be so stupid.
But then he remembered that night they had talked about her sister. With her dragon heart, of course she’d risk anything to help someone she loved.
But did she see any of the risks listed? Did she sign a paper that was totally blank?
Seth turned the paper over, and he could sense it was enchanted. Who had given this to her?
He flipped it back to the front to continue reading, though there were more than a dozen paragraphs.
“It’s binding,” the fairy called out to him. “I’m going to take her. It’s just a matter of how many of you are going to die first.”
Seth had never seen a fairy fight a dragon, let alone five at once. But the fairy’s utter confidence made him nervous.
They were magical creatures. Full of the kind of magic that dragons only had a tiny piece of.
Seth might end up needing his poison, and that made him nervous as well. Still, he tried to scan the contract quickly, just in case it had any info that could help him.
“Who’s first?” The fairy cracked his knuckles as his wings sprang out of his back again.
“I am,” Griffin snarled in his dragon voice as he opened his fanged mouth to unleash fire. For several long seconds, the spot where the fairy stood was engulfed in flames, spreading out across the grass and consuming everything it touched in a large radius.
But as the smoke cleared, the ground sizzling in the aftermath, Seth could see the fairy still standing there, looking completely unharmed.
“You didn’t think I’d come prepared to fight dragons?” he asked, his tone cold and calm.
Seth had heard of fairy magic, but he’d never thought someone could shrug off a blast like that.
Griffin growled. “Your tricks won’t protect you from me.” With a thud, he advanced, snapping forward to grab the fairy in his jaws.
But the fairy took off lighter than a feather lifted by a sudden breeze, and Griffin’s face found nothing but earth where the towering man had been just a moment earlier. Then, with another swift motion—so quick Seth had to focus hard to be able to watch it—the fairy’s leg swung forward, slamming Griffin in the side of his head, making his whole dragon body reel to the side from the force of it.
Seth sucked his cheek in, gnawing it nervously. The fairy had a reason to be confident.
Seth clenched his fists, trying to keep his poison back as Rainier, quicker on his feet than Griffin, came around his partner to attack the fairy.
“Just because you’re fast doesn’t mean you can dodge this,” Rainier said angrily, just as dozens of rocks began to lift out of the ground and fly at the fairy.
He flinched for a second as they pounded into him. Then he took off into the sky, a dark spot in the dim glare of the overshadowed sun.
Then he dove, quick as a lightning bolt, and Rainier whirled, swinging his spiked tail upward. A loud boom resonated in the air as Rainier’s tail stopped midair, and Seth could see the fairy holding it, blocking it.
“Don’t make me laugh, dragon,” he said, throwing the gigantic scaled tail aside as though it weighed nothing.
Shock flashed in Rainier’s silver eyes, and he raised his sharp talons, swiping quickly at his foe.
But the fairy dodged right, then left, then swung upward in an uppercut so hard that it made Rainier’s head snap backward. The huge silver dragon fell back, and a moment later, Rainier reappeared in human form, lying on his back and not moving.
Fuck.
Normally, the dragons’ size made them formidable to other shifters. But against something so quick, their size just made them easier targets.
Seth could feel his poison bubbling forth out of the dark place inside where he kept it contained. He couldn’t afford to let it go right now. He couldn’t give in to the fear that was rising that they were going to lose. And the fairy would take Anna.
He focused on taking deep breaths, determined to keep himself in check and watch the fight to know when the situation might go from bad to worse.
When he might be needed.
Anna was in the house, safe at the moment. If Seth had time, he’d run to her, try to fly her away from here. But right now, it would just reveal her location to the fairy.
Griffin charged again, and Van had to dodge to the side to avoid being crushed underfoot in the red dragon’s warpath. The fairy’s attention turned immediately as Griffin attacked. He darted forward in the air like a firefly but so much faster.
As the fairy fought Griffin, Seth could hear thunderous thudding sounds as each swipe, each bite Griffin attempted was met with a barrage of punches into his neck, his sides, his exposed legs. Punches so hard they seemed to send shockwaves over Griffin’s scales.
Finally, Griffin’s dragon dropped forward, and a shimmering veil fell over him, replacing the dragon with a man on the ground on one knee.
His fists were clenched, his face bloodied as he struggled to stand.
Then the fairy landed and stood in front of him, folding his arms, his expression the same as when he’d first appeared. Unreadable. Emotionless.
“Not bad,” the fairy said darkly. “I’d heard you could take a few punches, but I’m impressed by the sheer determination—”
A masculine shout rent the air, interrupting the fairy, as Van (in his human form) sprang at him from seemingly nowhere. Caught off guard, the fairy stepped back as Van kicked upward, narrowly missing his groin before he redirected his kick, catching the fairy in the cheek.
Maybe it was better to fight in human form.
But the fairy shrugged it off like it was nothing, stepping back and reassessing. To the side, Seth could see Griffin, one hand on the ground, trying to push himself up but almost falling over in the process.
How many bones had the fairy broken to make even the red dragon look like that?
“I like it when people fight dirty,” the fairy said to Van. Their black hair whipped in the wind as they faced off. “It gives me an excuse to do the same.”
Van didn’t respond, only charged again, black hair and trench coat flying behind him. Though he was noticeably shorter than the humongous fairy, Van didn’t seem to care as he swung, dodged, and counterattacked with all his might.
He looked fearless, and for a second, Seth could see the leader he could have been.
Then, just as Van was pulling his arm back, ready to strike again, Seth watched as the fairy made a lightning-quick jab right into Van’s throat. He immediately fell to his knees, and the fairy plucked him off the ground, holding him by his throat as Van clawed and struggled for air.
Then Seth saw Van’s eyes fly open, and he could hear the telltale sound of their purple dragon’s unique power baring down on the fae probably at full strength.
The fairy’s expression tightened in pain, his face turning away for a moment, and his grip slackened for a split second.
Then the fairy’s teeth clenched, and in a flash, his free hand swung forward to pummel Van in the face. His focused intensity went dazed, blank, as his head lolled momentarily.
“You think to pull apart my mind?” Seth could see the fae’s grip on Van’s neck tightening. “I think the things you’ll see there would scare even you, purple dragon.”
“I doubt it,” Van gasped out, scoffing even as red dripped down the side of his battered face, his expression eerily calm.
The fairy just sneered, watching Van struggle a moment longer before giving him one final crushing blow to the face. When he released Van, the purple dragon crumpled to the ground, unmoving.
Seth’s insides were roiling as if his innards were millimeters away from a searing, poison ball of fire that would break out at any moment and kill all of them if he lost control.
But if that was what it took to protect Anna…
The
fairy folded his arms, looking bored, and appraised Seth for a moment.
“A little small for a dragon, I think,” he said. “I’m not sure how I should handle this.”
Seth opened his mouth to speak back, to tell him exactly what kind of “small” dragon he was, when suddenly, a small gold dome surrounded the fairy, trapping him in place.
“Seth, take Anna and go!” Byron called out, and Seth turned over his shoulder to look at him. Byron’s face was bruised, his gold jacket covered in grass stains as he ran toward them, covering the distance with surprising speed.
The fairy raised an eyebrow, appraising the sudden development with irritation.
“I’ll hold this guy off,” Byron said with a huff as he reached Seth. Pain flashed in his expression as he glanced at Rainier then Van lying on the ground.
Seth tried to ease the gold dragon’s worry. “They’re not dead, I think. But that doesn’t mean we have much—”
But they were interrupted by the sound of something shattering like thick glass being thrown onto a concrete floor, and they both turned just in time to see Byron’s dome erupting into a thousand shards from the inside out. At the center of it, Seth saw the fairy’s fist, which much have somehow had the force to break it.
“Shields are made for keeping things out, not trapping things in,” the fairy said as the golden shards faded into nothingness, disappearing around his feet. Then he advanced toward them, taking long strides.
“Shit,” Byron muttered. “Guess I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way.” He cracked his knuckles, and before Seth could grant any advice whatsoever, Byron was charging headlong toward the fae.
Seth froze in place. Even if he tried to run now, to save the others from the poison building inside him, he’d never make it. Not with how fast the fairy moved.
No. Seth might just have to use the one thing he hadn’t used since that day. He might not have a choice.
Byron threw all his strength into the first punch. But the fairy just raised his arm, blocking it, the loud clap in the air making Seth’s ears ring for a second.
The fairy countered with a quick strike into Byron’s stomach, and Byron grunted, raising a hand to grab the impossibly quick second punch with his hand.
Caught off guard for a split second, the fae swung his other hand, which Byron grabbed as well. Both men faced off, arms at ninety-degree angles as they both pushed forward, each trying to overpower the other.
Byron’s entire body flexed, so big in spite of being noticeably shorter than the fae. And for a moment, Seth wondered if he could hold the fairy back.
The fairy’s knee shooting up and pounding Byron in the chest subdued that notion, and Byron flew backward, landing in the dirt. He rolled onto his side and coughed up blood for a moment, coloring the burned grass red. Then he wiped it off with his sleeve, frowned, and got back up.
The fairy strode forward again, indomitable, as a red-haired blur appeared in the corner of Seth’s vision. Then, like a feral beast, Griffin jumped onto the fae’s back, wrapping his long arms around his neck in a chokehold as the fairy staggered from the surprise attack.
“Get him, Byron!” Griffin growled, struggling to keep his hold around the fae’s neck, biceps bulging from exertion. Byron, barely able to catch his breath from the last blow, ran forward, arm cocked.
But in that moment, the fairy reached up, grabbing Griffin by the neck, shrugging out of his grasp, and slinging him forward like a heavy backpack. Shock registered on Griffin’s face for only a moment as he toppled right into Byron, throwing them both down onto the ground in a heap and knocking the last wind out of Byron.
But Griffin wasn’t quite done, scrabbling to his feet, swinging wildly at the fae who dodged the exhausted, nearly broken red dragon’s blows with relative ease.
Then, with a swift punch to the face and a loud crack, Griffin fell to the earth, lying face first on the ground.
“Is this the best the human world has to offer?” He glared in a wide circle, finishing at Griffin lying motionless at his feet, then snapping his gaze up to meet Seth’s. “You disappoint me.”
Fury and frustration surged through Seth.
He couldn’t fight this man strength for strength, speed for speed. He knew it. Even with help, even with a blue dragon, it wouldn’t be possible.
But his curse, the power of the black dragon, just might be able to.
If he lost it, though… If he couldn’t control it…
What if he hurt Anna?
The fairy, no longer taking his time, was in front of Seth in an instant. The blow to his chest from the fairy’s fist was like being blasted by a ten-ton hammer, and Seth felt nothing but air and wind for several seconds before the ground shattered his fall with unforgiving harshness.
He clutched the earth at his side, trying to push up, though every part of his body groaned from the movement.
Then he inhaled deeply as he looked up to see the fairy coming toward him, ready to unleash on Seth during what was perhaps one of his last breaths. The pain inside was unbearable, but Seth could weather it a second longer if he could just get a good shot at that fairy bastard.
But then someone appeared next to him. Someone tall and lean but muscled like all dragons. Someone with short black-blue hair and intense blue eyes.
A face Seth hadn’t seen in so long it looked like a stranger for a moment.
Lee.
He stared up at the blue dragon—at the man who used to be the blue dragon—and had no idea what to say to him.
Then Seth heard the door to the house open, and he let out a curse as he tried once again to restrain his poison and calm himself down.
Anna was coming their way.
Chapter 15
I almost trip as I run out the back door of the house, off the deck, and onto the grass toward my dragons.
I know they told me to stay here, to stay safe, but I can’t. Not when they’re all in danger. Not when I might be able to help.
That stupid contract. I saw the fairy hold it up and knew that either they were in league with Lee or they were tricking him as well all along.
But when Lee showed up by Seth, looking utterly cold despite what just happened, I guess I got my answer.
“Wait!” I yell out, running past fallen dragons, though I badly want to check on all of them, make sure they are okay. I hate myself for being human at this moment, for not being able to do anything for them.
The fairy turns to me, and those haunting, huge dark irises make me feel frozen in place. He’s nothing like I pictured. He’s scary, and though he’s not exactly ugly, there’s something about him that just really repulses me.
Maybe it’s the fact that he hurt my friends. Yeah, probably that.
“What do you want, human?”
“Take me with you. Just take me and leave them alone. I’ll go with you.”
The fairy’s eyes glimmer as they narrow. “I was going to take you anyway. What are you offering?”
“I’ll make it easier on you,” I say. “Look at Seth. He could go off on you right now, and we’d all be toast. But this way, I’ll just go with you. We’ll all be fine.”
The fairy eyes Seth warily, and I can see that even he doesn’t like the thought of setting off the black dragon, though he seems ready to.
He looks at Lee, who is standing back with folded arms. Lee is wearing a blue robe that’s darker than his swirling blue eyes. His black hair still glints with little bits of dark blue, even though it’s short.
His face is still as handsome as I remember it, but right now, those perfect lines are set in cruel ways, making him less than beautiful.
He watches me without saying anything, making me even more nervous.
I see Griffin raise his head in my peripheral vision, and his eyes lock on Lee. “Traitor.”
The fairy looks bored and impatient. “Lee, if I take her now, will that satisfy the contract? The deal was you get her here and prove she’s a dragon heart by gathering all
the dragons, and I help you with the pickup since you can’t take down all your friends.”
“You have to take Seth too,” I say because I don’t think he will make it if we leave him here. “Take both of us, and we’ll go quietly.”
“I can’t have the black dragon inside my tower,” the fairy says, frowning.
“Lee, please, he’s dying,” I say, going to Seth and wrapping my arms around him. “Please don’t do this. You don’t really want to hurt your friends.”
“Oh no, I do,” Lee says, looking around at the fallen dragons and smirking. “They took everything from me, and now I’m taking everything from them.”
“We didn’t take anything,” Griffin mutters. “We all fucked up that day.”
“I lost my dragon,” Lee says viciously, turning to face Griffin, who can’t even get up yet. “I lost my heart. My soul. Now I’m taking yours.”
Lee nods to the fairy, who walks to me and puts his arm around my waist, jerking me in against him. He ignores my struggles to get back to Seth.
“Wait!” I cry out. “I won’t go without Seth. I’ll tell him to kill all of us right now.”
Lee rolls his eyes. “But you’ll go if we take him?”
I nod. I’m confident the other dragons can recover and get us both back. But Seth… Seth needs me with him. And maybe, maybe Lee could be persuaded to help him if I could offer whatever he wants from me.
Lee is quiet for a moment, surveying Seth and the other dragons. Then he lets out a groan and nods for the fairy to take Seth also.
The fairy grabs him around the waist and chucks him over his shoulder, where Seth stays still.
Lee faces the dragons. “If you want her back, you can come to the glistening city and look for me. Search for Nerrenth. But I warn you. If you want to take her, you might have to pay everything. Like I did one time for trusting you.”
Then he disappears, fading out like he has every other time I’ve seen him.
Fairy magic, I realize.
I send a helpless look at the dragons who can see me now, hoping they understand why I’m doing this. Hoping they understand that I want them to be safe even if they don’t want to come.
Soul of the Dragons: Bad Dragons Page 10