Black Ruins Forest (The Elder Series Book 1)

by Karen DuBose

  I wonder if that tells me that not all the elders are in on the scheme to use or kill me. But where are the other Elders? Why aren’t they stopping the others? When will this vision come to pass? Will I be able to stop it, or at least warn the people back home? I have so many questions and no answers. It’s driving me insane. How can I help them if I don’t know how?

  I’m yanked back to reality. It’s never a fun ride when I have a vision and am forced to return to the real world. I shake my head. My hands are bleeding from squeezing my fists so tightly. My breathing is labored, and I feel feverish. I’ve never come out of a vision like that before. I have fourteen sets of eyes on me. Most look worried. Others are expressionless. Mom is the first to ask what I saw. I can’t talk about it here. I don’t want anyone overhearing us. So, I just shake my head.

  “What do you mean, what did I see?”

  I don’t want anyone there⸻that doesn’t already know⸻to learn I’m a seer. They’ll ask too many questions. Mom looks at me confused until it finally hits her.

  “I was asking what you saw that was good to eat, baby girl.” ‘Nice save, Mom’

  “I want the fried chicken.”

  Everyone is lost in thought while we wait for the waitress to come back. Kiernan leans over to whisper in my ear.

  “Baby, I think you need to go wash your hands and face before you scare the waitress.”

  I look at my hands. The blood is smeared all over them.

  “Thank you.”

  Kira walks to the bathroom with me. I keep my head down so people won’t look at me. We get into the bathroom, and I start to wash my hands. When I look in the mirror, I’m horrified to see blood running down my cheeks. It looks like tears of blood. What the actual hell is going on? I turn to Kira with shock and fear written on my face. She just shakes her head and mouths “We should talk about it later.” I look back to the mirror. What was going on with me? I hurry up and wash my face off before anyone sees the blood. That’s all I need⸻people asking questions that even I don’t even have the answer to. I especially don’t want to talk about it with people who don’t need to know.

  “You know, I think red is your color,” Kira says.

  I look at her through the mirror. I start laughing hysterically.

  Yep, I have lost my damn mind.

  Kira comes over and hugs me tight, letting me know she’s there for me. How are we going to survive all of this? People’s lives are at risk. For some reason, I’m the key to all of this. I haven’t wrapped my mind around all of this yet. There’s no time to let it all sink in, but for some reason, my brain has decided that now is the right time to work it all out. I don’t just think I’m losing my mind, I know I have lost it.

  “Everything will be ok. Just keep the faith,” Kira says.

  I kept shaking my head ‘no.’ Everything will not be ok. Things are about to get a hell of a lot worse⸻worse than any of them think. We need to go. I need to tell everyone what I saw, right now. I rush out of the bathroom and power walk to the table.

  “We need to go now. This can’t wait.”

  I start to leave. I feel strong arms pull me back.

  “What’s going on, baby?”

  I turn in his arms to face him.

  “I can’t say here, and if I don’t talk about it soon, it may be too late.”

  That’s all I say before dragging him outside to the blaster. Mom is the last one out. She’s walking beside one of the dragons⸻I have no clue what his name is⸻carrying all our food and drinks. I don’t even remember ordering any food. Knowing my mom, she ordered for me.

  We pile into the blasters and head to the PH. I run to the rooms, with everyone right behind me. They aren’t asking questions or telling me to slow down. I think they know that this is going to be very important.

  I have a very bad feeling deep in my bones, and I can’t shake it. I grab the key card from Bruno and open the door. They all pile into the room, finding places to stand or sit. I’m too hyped up to sit. I’m prowling like a caged animal as I wait for everyone to get in the room. Kiernan pulls me to him in order to get me to focus and start talking. I silently thank him. The vision I had was horrifying on so many levels. I don’t even know how to break it down. I take a deep breath and tell them what I saw.

  When I’m finished, the room is filled with cussing and yelling. I have to cover my ears before they all make me go deaf. I can feel the anger rolling in the room. It’s almost suffocating. I have to walk over to the balcony and open the door. I need fresh air. I’m out there for about five minutes before I find myself in Kiernan arms. He’s shaking so badly that I think he’s going to turn me into a milkshake. I turn into him to look at his face. That’s the last thing I remember before darkness takes me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  When I open my eyes, there’s so much fog that I can’t see more than arm’s length. Where am I? Did I leave my body again? Who wants to see me now? I call out my dad’s name, hoping he’s the one that called me, but there’s no answer. I try focusing to see if the fog will clear, but it doesn’t.

  “You’re not going to get a clear view unless I will it. I called you here, and I control it,” someone says. It’s a female’s voice.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “The time will come when I can answer that, but for now, I need to warn you of the danger you will face. The Elders know you’re a seer. How, I don’t know. I wasn’t told. You need to be extremely careful. Kiernan will need your help in the next twenty-four hours. His dragon is extremely strong and wants out. It is not willing to wait until he is nineteen. It knows you need him. You must go someplace to hide until he can get control over his dragon. It will not be willing to leave your side until he thinks you are safe. You need to let his dragon know you’re safe with him in his human form. Like I said before, it will be a chore all on its own. Best of luck to you. I can’t wait to meet you soon.”

  Without warning, I’m back in the real world with Mom, Kira, Kiernan, and Bruno’s worried eyes looking at me. The other dragons are still cussing and pacing around the room.

  I try to sit up, but I feel like I’m not in my own body. I look around and realize that I’m looking down at myself. How is that possible when I just saw them looking at me? I walk around the room, trying to get their attention, but no one even bats an eye. Kiernan is holding me, saying something I can’t hear. I go over to him and place my hand on his shoulder. He shudders and looks around.

  “Did you guys feel that cold draft? It’s like it went straight through me.”

  “I felt it, too. I also feel like someone is in the room with us,” Mom says.

  Well yeah! I’m standing right here, hello! I jump up and down. They still don’t see or hear me. How am I going to get back into my own body? I look dead. Am I even breathing?

  Mom looks at me and says something. She closed her eyes. Suddenly, they pop back open so fast it’s scary.

  “I know what’s happened to her. I can feel her here, but she can’t get back into her body. It’s like someone is blocking her from re-entering it.”

  Everyone looks at her with worried eyes.

  “How do we get her back into her body?” Kiernan asks.

  He’s still shaking so badly that I think he’s going to fall apart right then and there. I need to get back to him. He needs my help. I just don’t know how to get back yet.

  I’m staring at Kiernan, so I don’t even notice my mom lying on the floor until she’s suddenly standing next to me.

  “Baby girl, I need you to listen to me.”

  “How are you here? And what’s happening?”

  “There’s no time for that. I need you to hold my hand and walk to your body.” I do as she says.

  “Now I need you to concentrate on getting back into your body. Clear your mind. You have to really want to do it.”

  “I do want to go back. How can someone block me, Mom?”

  “Someone doesn’t want you to be here.”

&nbs
p; Who could do this? How can they even know I left my body? The more I think about it, I can feel something there. It’s not strong. I haven’t been able to feel it until now.

  “I can feel something blocking me.”

  “That’s great. Now push it aside with all your might.” I do that. I can feel myself becoming centered with my body.

  I enter my body, and the first thing I see is the most beautiful pair of green eyes. I just want to get lost in them right now. Kiernan leans down and captures my lips before I can even say ‘hi.’ This is where I want to be at right now, safe in the arms of my man.

  I pull from his kiss and look at my mom. “How did you know I needed you?”

  “I felt you. I also felt someone trying to block you. They weren’t strong enough to hold you. I knew you wouldn’t know what to do, so I went to help you.”

  “I still can’t get over the fact that you’re a witch. Thank you for helping me. I was starting to freak out. I didn’t think I was ever going to get back.”

  She walks over to me and hugs me. It’s awkward because I’m still lying in Kiernan’s arms.

  “Love, why are you shaking so badly?” I ask him.

  “I don’t know what is wrong with me,” he says, straining to talk.

  “We need to go now,” Bruno says, helping Kiernan up.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As much as I would love to stay where I am, I need to get him somewhere safe⸻like now. I stand next to Bruno as he is holding him up. I look into his beautiful eyes and see the pain he is in. We need to hurry.

  I place my hand on his cheek. “We need to go somewhere remote, somewhere you can let your dragon out. He wants out, and he’s not going to wait.”

  Bruno picks him up, he can’t walk on his own right now. I wish I could take his pain away. I hate seeing him like this.

  How am I going to convince him to change back, and who the hell was that woman?

  “Baby, what are you talking about?” He rasps out.

  “You can’t sit there and tell me you can’t feel it. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

  “I feel fine, love.”

  I think shock has set in. He can’t even talk; it’s all slurred. I look at Bruno, searching his face for answers.

  “He’ll be fine, but if we don’t get going soon, we’ll all be in trouble”

  Everyone looks at him and they all get their heads out of their asses and start getting things in motion. I grab his hand again, but he doubles over in Bruno’s arms making him almost drop him and starts to moan. I look at Bruno with tears in my eyes. I don’t even have to say anything. Bruno throws him over his shoulder and hauls ass. I can barely keep up.

  We all get into the blasters. Bruno lays Kiernan on my lap and jumps in taking off like someone is chasing us. I hope Bruno knows where he’s going. Kiernan starts sweating really badly and moaning like he’s dying. I hold onto him as tightly as I can without causing him more pain.

  “We’re getting you somewhere safe, love. Hold on a few more minutes. I love you, baby. You’re going to be ok.” I keep repeating those words to him.

  I have no idea if he is or not. I tell him everything that the voice said when I was out of my body. He lays there and doesn’t say anything. I wasn’t really expecting him to.

  “If this is true, we’re going to have a big problem on our hands. He will destroy⸻or try to destroy⸻anyone he thinks is a threat to you,” Bruno says from the driver’s seat.

  “How am I supposed to tell a pissed off dragon to calm down and tell him to shift back?”

  “That’s the fun part. He won’t listen to me. His dragon has claimed you as a mate, and there’s nothing anyone but you can say to him. He probably won’t let the rest of us dragons near you, and that’s going to be a problem unless you like flying. Flying would risk all of us being seen.”

  Great. Now I have to deal with his alter ego, a twenty-five-thousand-pound dragon. ‘Yeah fun for me.’

  I feel movement, and I look down to dragon eyes. They’re so vivid green that I got lost in them until I hear the growl from his chest. I’m not the only one who hears it. Bruno pulls over so fast that I almost go flying through the windshield.

  Bruno jumps out of the blaster and opens my door. “Get him out now.”

  I’m lost for words until Kiernan starts shaking so badly that he’s vibrating the whole blaster. The other door is yanked open, and he’s snatched out of my hands. I get out to follow Bruno.

  “Stay here. This could get dangerous,” Bruno tells me.

  Like I’m going to let him go through this alone! I was told to help him, and I’m planning on doing just that.

  “Did you forget that I’m supposed to help him through this? Did you miss that part?” I say, walking past them.

  I hear Kiernan growl again. This time he’s angry. There’s a cave a few paces away. I point to it, and Bruno follows me as I walk toward it. Kiernan’s thrashing in Bruno’s hold. We barely make it to the cave before Kiernan loses control to his dragon.

  I can see his body shifting. It’s nothing like I have ever seen before. I have seen dragons shift before, but this is something totally different. I can hear the bones breaking and skin ripping. It’s happening so fast that I don’t think he’ll survive this.

  The next thing I know, there he is in his dragon form, looking as big as he was in my vision. He barely has any room to move. I’m lost in his beauty.

  Bruno takes a few steps away from Kiernan. Then he backs up to the entrance. Kiernan swings around and starts to go after Bruno. I get in the middle of them and hold my ground.

  “Kiernan, you have two seconds to turn your big magnificent dragon butt around and shift back. The other dragons are guarding the cave. They are no threat to me or you.”

  He gives me a grunt and a snarl. This is going to be a long night. I look at Bruno and nod, letting him know I’m ok. He nods back and stands at the entrance. Now how am I going to get him to shift back? That’s the million-dollar question.

  I go to Kiernan and lay a hand on his leg. I can’t reach his face since he’s like twenty-feet-tall.

  “Baby, how are you feeling?”

  He turns to me and lays his head down so that we’re at eye level. He’s that huge. Dragons can’t talk. They can only communicate with other dragons through their minds. They can only do that when in dragon form. When they’re in human form, they’re not connected. So, I’m not surprised when he doesn’t answer.

  “I’m doing better than I was a few minutes ago.”

  What the hell? I jump from hearing him in my head. How the hell can I hear him?

  “How am I hearing you in my mind?”

  “I am your true mate. You will be able to hear me when I am in dragon form. It helps with communication. I feel like the luckiest dragon right now. I found my soulmate.”

  I look at him, shocked. I can’t believe this. I mean I’m so happy, but this is unreal. I wonder if all my thoughts are broadcasting.

  “Can you hear my thoughts or just the ones I want you to hear?”

  “I cannot hear your thoughts. The only reason you can hear mine is because we are true mates. Once you shift and we become a mated couple, we will be able to talk to each other without speaking.”

  “So, I have to speak out loud to you for us to communicate?”

  “Yes, love, at least for now. Once you shift, we’ll be able to talk to each other in any form. At least that is what I have been told and read. You are going to be magnificent when you turn into your dragon.”

  “Are you flirting with me?”

  “If I was, would you stop me?”

  “It is kind of weird when you flirt with me in your dragon form, but I can say one thing: You look hot!”

  He lets out what I am pretty sure is a laugh, but it doesn’t sound like it. It sounds more like a purr.

  “Did you just purr?”

  “I don’t purr. I rumble.”

  I have to laugh at that. It’s so cute. He huffs at me and
knocks me backwards onto his tail.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Now why would I do that?” I say with an innocent look.

  He growls at me playfully.

  “So, are you going to change back so we can get going?”

  “No, I’m staying this way. I can protect you better.”

  “You can’t stay like that. You’re a little big to be in the blaster.”

  “We can follow them.”

  “I hate to break this to you, but if you go flying around, the Elders will know where we are. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that kind of trouble right now.”

  “I’m not changing back until I know you’re safe.”

  “Kiernan, listen to me. There are eleven other dragons here to help protect me. You need to stop being stubborn and change back.”

  He growls that angry growl again. I turn to see who he’s growling at.

  Bruno entered the cave. “We need to get going soon.”

  “I don’t want them around you until our mating is complete.”

  I turn to him with my hands on my hips.

  “You listen here. I will have whomever I want around me. You have no say. So, get a hold of that alter ego and reel it back in. If you don’t, you’re going to have to deal with me.”

  He growls but doesn’t say anything else.

  “Now get back into your human form so we can finally be there already. I’m over all of this and you’re not helping.” I walk outside the cave.

  I wait for what feels like forever before he emerges from the cave. He doesn’t have a shirt on. I guess Bruno gave him some pants to put on. That’s a shame: I can’t stop looking at his half-naked body. I just want to run my hands up and down the curves of his eight pack. He walks up to me and puts my hands on his chest.